Leviticus Chapters 10-12

10:1 - Wow, that sounds really harsh. The bible does not give us any clear understanding of the motivation Nadab and Abihu had for bringing strange fire in the tabernacle, but I think we can discern that it was sinful. They were bringing unauthorized fire (Maybe pagan ritualistic fire from peoples around the Israelites) into the presence of God almost immediately after He told them specifically what the ceremonies were supposed to be like. It follows a disturbing pattern in the lives of human kind starting with Adam and Eve and working it's way to you and me...even after it is clear to us what God wants - we often still reject Him and go our own way. Just as God showed He approved of their good sacrifice by burning it up with fire...He showed how disappointed He was in their selfish twisting of ceremony by burning the two sons of Aaron with fire.

10:11 - Now this is interesting and works in perfectly with the first passage I talked about. Did you understand what happened? Aaron and his other sons did not eat the holiest meat of the sin offering like they were supposed to! Why didn't they die when they messed up the ceremony like Nadab and Abihu? Well, Aaron explains himself - he did not think it was proper for he and his sons to eat the holiest meat offering because of the sin of his older sons...he did not think his family was worthy at that moment. He contemplated what God would want and acted to honor God, not himself. It's all about the heart! Nadab and Abihu had some sort of unknown selfish motivation for what they did and they paid for it. Aaron's only motivation was honoring God and God allowed him to break with tradition without consequences. Something for us to remember...its not about the ritual its about the heart!

Chapter 11 - The writer of Leviticus is not explicit as to why God makes certain animals clean and certain animals unclean? What is the motivation? Why is it so important? Well, there are lots of crazy theories out there, but I will offer one that I think makes pretty good sense. The food laws that God gives the Israelites really force them to think about the reverence of life and the importance of being holy (set apart). God reduces the number of animals the Israelites have to choose from - they cannot just run around the world killing everything in sight, because life is sacred. The animals that can be killed are abundant and tame enough to kill in humane ways - again highlighting God's heart for life. God will not allow the consumption of blood which shows that he cares for the health of the Israelites and the worth of blood. God sets all these rules because He wants the Israelites to understand that He only allows them to kill out of a concession of His grace. Death was never meant to have a place in creation! Man is not free to kill whatever they want whenever they want - they are allowed to kill animals because of the grace of God. Chapter 11 seems t0 offer commentary on how much God wants to protect life.

12:2 - A lot of questions come up when you read through the shortest chapter in Leviticus. Why does a woman who gives birth become unclean? Is pregnancy not a beautiful, God ordained for of creation? Yes it is, and in Genesis, God even tells men and women to be fruitful and multiply - pregnancy is a good thing! So what is up with the uncleaness? Again, we see the importance God places on blood. Through the birth process, the women comes in contact with blood and she becomes ritually unclean. It does not mean that she cannot come in contact with other people - it means that she is ceremonially unclean for tabernacle activities for a short time. It's about the sanctity of blood not giving birth.

12:5 - Why is the time for purification double for girls? Is God sexist? (Grossness alert - be ready) I believe that it is because baby girls when they are newborn also have some bloody discharged for a few days. The mother and the child both bleed and come in contact with the blood, so the time of purification is double. Not oppressive sexist, but logical reasoning.

12:6 - Why does the woman have to offer a sin offering? Is it sinful to have kids? No! She does not offer a sin offering because she did something morally wrong, she offers the offering because of the ritual uncleanness. The offering is for the sin of being unclean, which is not her fault...she did not do something wrong, she just became unclean - which is sometimes unavoidable as seen in other parts of the bible.