Leviticus 10-12

Nadab and Abihu become the first priests to lose their lives because of "unauthorized fire before the Lord" or something similar to this. When God gives careful instructions to those that are supposed to be serving Him, He expects those instructions to be followed. While it has changed (fire doesn't break out against us), the idea still persists today and did in the New Testament. You remember a few weeks ago when we were learning about Ananias and his wife Sapphira? That was a big mistake. You might have read in 1 Corinthians when Paul tells the church to release a man into Satan's hands due to the despicable actions he was committing. The church (and the priesthood of believers) is not demanding perfection, but obedience and humility. For God to state in chapter 9 not to offer unauthorized fire to the Lord, and then for them to do this in chapter 10 (which is not necessarily a timeline, mind you – it might have been years) is unseemly. For God to tell the church to the light of the world and salt of the earth – why would He not be upset by us constantly be losing our saltiness due to dumb sins? I wish He would call us out more boldly. I wish He would demand more of us and then act in fire to back it up. I wish we could feel the fury sometimes – even if it really hurt me (or killed me). If something like this would happen, there is a good chance we would all change our lives quickly and act in faith – so why don't we now?

Chapters 11 and 12 have a number of things you likely never expected to see in the Bible. I love it. Why would God ask for some of these things, you might ask? My answer is two-fold at this point (more might come as I grow and learn more). First, God wants to protect His people from disease and infection. Some of the animals that they are not allowed to eat or touch are the ones that would carry disease or would cause sickness if not cooked properly. Therefore, God is protecting the people from some of these diseases (as they are in the desert and don't have great cooking supplies – like a meat thermometer). The others are for the health of individuals or the growth of the nation. If you are not allowed to do certain things at certain times of the month, it might encourage you to do them later, when a baby would be more likely to be created. If you aren't allowed to do certain things after childbirth, it encourages the mother to heal – the man to man up and wait – and for the health of another baby, if another pregnancy were to happen. I really marvel at some of these laws now that I am older and married. God was protecting everyone in these things. Often we see His laws like rules that are not fun – and therefore need to be broken. Maybe, just maybe, God has a better plan and is desiring that His people follow through for the sake of each other and their best life. He protects us from ourselves, but we want to rebel from these protections… doesn't that seem a little wrong?