“‘I will set my face against any Israelite or any foreigner residing among them who eats blood, and I will cut them off from the people For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life. Therefore I say to the Israelites, “None of you may eat blood, nor may any foreigner residing among you eat blood.” - Lev. 17: 10-12

Chapter 17 of Leviticus records two of the more mysterious and significant laws in Torah. On the surface, these laws deal with unauthorized sacrifices and dietary restrictions regarding blood. But these regulations point to something deeper, I am certain - truths held in the heart of the Father and safeguarded by the instructions in question. As Paul said to the Corinthians, “now we see in a mirror dimly what we shall see face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall I know fully just as I am fully known.” I do not understand all these laws signify, but I know they point toward Christ. The signs speak both to His ministry on earth and His eternal ministry before the Father in heaven. I have more questions in my mind than conclusions this week. If anyone reading would like to chime in, please feel free.

Leviticus keeps surprising me! Who knew that chapters on the inspection of skin maladies could be interesting? I admit, I have found this text more repulsive than fascinating in years past - but I am beginning to understand the fullness of what Luke reports. “Then beginning with Moses and with all the Prophets, He (Jesus) explained to them the things written about Himself in all the Scriptures.” - Luke 24:27. All scripture plays a role in the story of salvation. Everything points to Jesus.

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying,  “Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments and the anointing oil and the bull of the sin offering and the two rams and the basket of unleavened bread.  And assemble all the congregation at the entrance of the tent of meeting.”  And Moses did as the Lord commanded him, and the congregation was assembled at the entrance of the tent of meeting.

And Moses said to the congregation, “This is the thing that the Lord has commanded to be done.”  And Moses brought Aaron and his sons and washed them with water.  And he put the coat on him and tied the sash around his waist and clothed him with the robe and put the ephod on him and tied the skillfully woven band of the ephod around him, binding it to him with the band. And he placed the breastpiece on him, and in the breastpiece he put the Urim and the Thummim.  And he set the turban on his head, and on the turban, in front, he set the golden plate, the holy crown, as the Lord commanded Moses.

Then Moses took the anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it, and consecrated them…. And he poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron's head and anointed him to consecrate him.. - Lev 8:1-10

I am surprised, and somewhat embarrassed to admit, that I prefer blogging to journaling. I am not as careful or as patient in my writing when no one else is looking - and I need the discipline for the education of my own soul. Writing forces me to slow down, to think, to gel half-baked thoughts into words. Writing invites me to explore connections which, frankly, I would miss if I were reading without a written response to the text.

My Holy Week post on penance is a prime example. That little sermon was an exhortation to my own soul. I needed to rejoice in what the Spirit was showing me in Exodus, and put penance into practice in my own life. What I did not know at the time is that the Spirit was preparing my hear for the treasures of Leviticus - treasures which had seemed dull or irrelevant in the past. For the first time in my life, I am excited about Leviticus! The book is changing my relationship with the Trinity.

I grew up under the teaching that penance was a misguided religious practice. I understand the heart of the argument. God’s grace is free. His mercy flows from His nature. We cannot earn our pardon; Christ alone is our atonement. All these things are true. And yet, I have come to believe in the redemptive nature of penance.

I value penance partly from human experience. When we sin against a neighbor, our relationship is damaged. Forgiveness is essential to restore peace; but we as sinners cannot demand forgiveness from those we have wronged Mercy must flow freely for it to carry power. However, mercy will not hit is mark, it will not work its wonders, unless the recipient is truly penitent. Penance is the means by which we recognize and receive the holy gift of mercy.

If Exodus 32 is the low point of the Old Testament, then Exodus 33-34 are its height. The tenderness of God is demonstrated in the face of betrayal. His mercy and justice are put on display. In these chapters the LORD bares His heart to a friend. He hurts like a rejected Husband, but He takes comfort in the love of His prophet - one whose heart is gripped with awe and wonder - one who will not let go - one who intercedes on behalf of the people God has chosen to love.

The passage is so beautiful that I must quote it.

Then Moses said to the Lord, “See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people!’ But You Yourself have not let me know whom You will send with me. Moreover, You have said, ‘I have known you by name, and you have also found favor in My sight.’ Now then, if I have found favor in Your sight in any way, please let me know Your ways so that I may know You, in order that I may find favor in Your sight. Consider too, that this nation is Your people.”  And He said, “My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.” Then he said to Him, “If Your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here.  For how then can it be known that I have found favor in Your sight, I and Your people? Is it not by Your going with us, so that we, I and Your people, may be distinguished from all the other people who are on the face of the earth?”

I am coming to love Moses as a friend. When I head his stories as a child, he seemed so imposing, even frightening, that I could hardly think of him as a real person. But the better I know the LORD, the more I understand why Jews revere Moses so highly. Moses proved himself a faithful friend to God through suffering. Moses was a man of sorrows, like Jesus. His intimacy with God was, at times, a burden he bore on behalf of the people. He was cursed, maligned, rebelled against - and yet he served the people as a faithful shepherd, a teacher, and a judge. He began his service at the age of 80 after years of exile in the desert. He was too old by human reckoning, to bear such weight. Yet God entrusted Moses with a level of authority unparalleled until Jesus walked the earth. The connection between Jesus and Moses is so mysterious and significant that the Father arranged for Jesus to see Moses in person before His passion. That is true friendship! (Mat 17:1-3)

The parallels of Jesus’ forty days of temptation with Israel’s sojourn in the desert would be difficult to overstate; and yet, the imagery in Mark’s account harkens back even further - back to the Garden of Eden in the fall of Man. Eve was tempted much like Jesus. She met the Accuser face to face. She fell for his lies, as did Adam, and they were driven out from Eden. (liek Jesus was driven into the wilderness.) With the expulsion of Adam and Eve, all of creation fell into disorder. The animals which Adam had named turned wild. They became a threat to the very people who were supposed to be their stewards. There was enmity between Eve and the serpent. Plagues of locusts, frogs and gnats inflicted upon Egypt. Wild jackals, lion and bears threatened both sheep and shepherds. Scorpions stung men and frightened children. Creation was marred with death and violence.

Mark’s gospel includes a fascinating detail left out of Matthew’s much longer account of Jesus’ temptation. It says that and “He was with the wild animals.”……

The two major themes of Exodus are interwoven - the deliverance of God's people and the revelation of God's name. These are also the two major themes of Revelation - the revelation of God's Throne, and the final victory of His people in Jesus's name.

So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea; then they went out into the Wilderness of Shur. And they went three days in the wilderness and found no water. Now when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore the name of it was called Marah. And the people complained against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” So he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet. - Exodus 15:22-24

Being that scripture is the primary revelation of God to mankind, and that scripture is limited in length, it can be easy to think we have read it - that we know the story. It is easy to convince ourselves that we have “heard” as He has to say. This temptation is often expressed by relegating God’s self-revelation to the realm of theology. Once we feel reasonably secure in what we believe, we feel free to move on to our litany of requests. But God’s revelation in scripture is not like that.

With the exception of Jesus, of course, the LORD has never had a friend like Moses. No other human has been vested with such authority. No other person has spoken to God at such length, so regularly, face to face “as one speaks with a friend.” Scripture says God put His words in Moses’ mouth and His authority in Moses’ hands. It was an awesome, beautiful partnership, but it got off to a rocky start.

I know that the parsha this week is taken from Exodus 13. The readings have moved on, but I am stuck in Genesis. The story of Jacob is speaking to me in ways that it never has before. I cannot help thinking of him as I grieve my mother’s passing. In fact, I mention him in her eulogy which I would like to post here today. I do not mind focusing on my Mom today as the Lord commands us to honor our fathers and mothers. In doing so, I feel more closely connected with Israel the patriarch as well.

This is the Torah verse which grabbed me this week:

”I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a memorial stone, where you made a vow to Me; now arise, leave this land, and return to the land of your birth.’” - Gen. 31:13

The names by which Lord makes Himself known are always significant. In this case, why not address Jacob as “the God of Abraham and Isaac” as He had before? The Lord could have dazzled Jacob by revealing Himself as the Creator of the Universe. He could have frightened the patriarch with the mystical answer He gave to Moses, “I Am Who I Am.” Instead, God chose to refer to the place where He first revealed Himself to Jacob.

My mother is the one who showed me the significance of the place God chose to wrestle Jacob. It is a great gift she has given me this Advent. I have been thinking of Jacob as I sit my her bed because she is currently engaged in the greatest wrestling match of her life. Mom is about to return home …

The following meditation is taken directly from Rabbi Jonathan’s Sack’s commentary on the story of Joseph and his brothers. It is relevant to all who seek to follow the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob. It is especially important to those of us in the CTR community who are committing to love one another through the direct address which Jesus taught.

When I was a child in Sunday school, Bible stories were presented as morality tales. The patriarchs and prophets were heroes of the faith - models to be emulated. The stories about Jacob, however, never seemed to fit. I knew that for some reason God favored Jacob over Esau; but Jacob seemed like a lying schemer to me. Was his story a lesson in the ends justifying the means? That interpretation seemed incompatible with the rigors of the Law, and the teachings of Jesus. Did God simply overlook the conniving of Jacob’s youth in foreknowledge of who he would become? Perhaps, but there is never a point in Jacob’s story where he passes a great test of faith, like Abraham did. Nor is he portrayed as a man of prayer, like Isaac. In fact, while Jacob schemes to claim the firstborn’s birthright, it seems he is more interested (at first) in the honor that it confers than in the details of the promise given to Abraham. I say that because of Jacob’s reaction to his revelation of God in a dream.

I have not heard many teachings focused on Isaac as an adult. The stories of Abraham and Jacob occupy more space in scripture. Even the terrifying, pivotal story in which Isaac is placed on the altar centers on Abraham’s faith rather than Isaac’s. But Isaac was no helpless infant in that drama. He carried the wood for the sacrifice on his back. He submitted to his bonds though he could have overcome his elderly father in a fight. Isaac could have parted ways with Abraham after the ordeal, but he did not. He loved his father to the end of his days, even as Jesus loved His father unto death.

Though scripture says little about Isaac as an adult, we know two things with certainty.

1) Isaac was in the habit of mediation, so we can assume he cultivate a rich inner life.

2) He loved his wife Rebekah. Even when Isaac lied about his wife to Abimelech (as Abraham had done with Sarah), he could not keep away from her. Now it came about, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked down through a window, and saw them, and behold, Isaac was caressing his wife Rebekah. - Gen 26:8