Day 35. Leviticus 16-18

Leviticus 16-18

Leviticus 16

¹And the LORD spake unto Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered before the LORD, and died;

Remember, back in Leviticus 10, god killed Nadab and Abihu for burning god's favorite incense with strange fire.

God then tells Moses that Aaron isn't to go behind the vail, or he'll die. He's supposed to offer a bullock and a ram as offerings. And he's to offer two goats and another ram.

⁷And he shall take the two goats, and present them before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

⁸And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat.

One of the goats is actually the scapegoat. The first scapegoat was a ram. It was the one that was stuck in the thicket when Abraham was going to sacrifice Isaac in Genesis 22. That scapegoat wasn't as lucky as this one.

⁹And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD's lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering.

¹⁰But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness.

This scapegoat gets released into the wilderness.

¹⁵Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat:

I think I'd rather be the scapegoat who gets released than the sacrifice goat who gets killed.

¹⁶And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, that remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness.

¹⁷And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when he goeth in to make an atonement in the holy place, until he come out, and have made an atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all the congregation of Israel.

Remember, this is the punishment that Aaron has to do, so he can continue to be the high priest. He is forced to atone for the sins of his sons, even though the sons were killed for their sin, it wasn't enough, god wanted more killed.

²¹And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness:

²²And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.

Wow, something doesn't get killed in this whole blood bath. It's still amazing. The picture is The Scapegoat, by William Holman Hunt, 1854.

²⁹And this shall be a statute for ever unto you: that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you:

³⁰For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the LORD.

This is a part of Yom Kippur. the Day of Atonement.

³³And he shall make an atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for the tabernacle of the congregation, and for the altar, and he shall make an atonement for the priests, and for all the people of the congregation.

³⁴And this shall be an everlasting statute unto you, to make an atonement for the children of Israel for all their sins once a year. And he did as the LORD commanded Moses.

Having a scapegoat is the ultimate lack of responsibility. Not only are you not punished for your own faults, someone/something innocent is given the blame. Many christians believe Jesus is the scapegoat. He died for their sins. Do you teach your children that it is ok for them to do whatever they want?

Leviticus 17

³What man soever there be of the house of Israel, that killeth an ox, or lamb, or goat, in the camp, or that killeth it out of the camp,

If you kill an animal...

⁴And bringeth it not unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to offer an offering unto the LORD before the tabernacle of the LORD; blood shall be imputed unto that man; he hath shed blood; and that man shall be cut off from among his people:

⁵To the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices, which they offer in the open field, even that they may bring them unto the LORD, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, unto the priest, and offer them for peace offerings unto the LORD.

You HAVE to offer some of it to god. For every killed animal, a piece of it must go into the tabernacle.

⁷And they shall no more offer their sacrifices unto devils, after whom they have gone a whoring. This shall be a statute for ever unto them throughout their generations.

This is the first use of the word devil(s).

If a man offers a burnt offering or sacrifice and doesn't take any of it to the tabernacle, that guy is kicked out.

¹¹For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.

¹²Therefore I said unto the children of Israel, No soul of you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger that sojourneth among you eat blood.

Blood makes the atonement, it is how you absolve yourself in front of god. It's the only way to get back into the good after doing a wrong.

¹⁵And every soul that eateth that which died of itself, or that which was torn with beasts, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger, he shall both wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even: then shall he be clean.

Eating something that dies on it's own will only make you unclean for the rest of the day. That's not so bad.

Leviticus 18

³After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do: neither shall ye walk in their ordinances.

Don't do the things that they did in Egypt. Be your own people.

⁶None of you shall approach to any that is near of kin to him, to uncover their nakedness: I am the LORD.

This is the prohibition against incest... kind of. It's not stated to not have sex, it just says don't see then naked, but that really means "don't have sex with them".

Here's the list:
Father, Mother, father's wife (not mother), sister, half sister, niece, granddaughter, aunt (both mother and father's sister), uncle, uncle's wife, daughter in law, sister in law, woman and her daughter (regardless of your fantasies), woman and granddaughter (regardless of if she's a GILF), woman and sister (damn), woman on her period, neighbor's wife.

²¹And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.

Apparently sacrificing (burnt offering) children to Molech was common.

²²Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.

This is the verse that says that it's not ok to be gay. Leviticus 18:22 is the "don't be gay" verse. How anyone who is gay can justify being a christian is beyond my ability to comprehend. The two do not go together. I'm not advocating kicking gay men out of church, I wonder how a gay man could ever think that a religion that uses the bible was correct.

²³Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion.

Don't have sex with animals. The verses are back to back. Bestiality is as bad as homosexuality; the punishment is the same. (not my opinion, it's straight from the bible)

²⁹For whosoever shall commit any of these abominations, even the souls that commit them shall be cut off from among their people.

According to the bible, gay men are an abomination. This law was never repealed. Jesus didn't do away with the law. People will claim he did away with the "ceremonial" law, but not the "moral" law.

³⁰Therefore shall ye keep mine ordinance, that ye commit not any one of these abominable customs, which were committed before you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein: I am the LORD your God.

Was having sex with the entire family a common practice in Egypt?

Points to ponder:

1. Is having a scapegoat shirking responsibility?

2. It's convenient how the religious leader was also the secular leader (was there an actual separation or were all law violations sins directly aimed at god?) and therefore, were able to receive a part of every animal that was killed.

3. Do you believe Christianity and Judaism can coexist with a homosexual? How do you justify that? If you reject Leviticus 18:22, what other parts do you reject? If you are gay, how can you chose to worship a god who has said that you are an abomination?