So… How do I look at the scriptures that clearly state I should do something that I don’t do, or that I shouldn’t do something that I am?
I think this is a great jumping off point for a larger discussion about the specifics of how we approach some of the commands of the Old Testament.
If you recall from the last topic of whether we can/should take the scriptures literally, the first issue that must be worked through deals with who the information was first intended for and what they would have understood it to mean. Every culture is rich in nuance and shading, shared experiences and history that they automatically draw on when communicating. That sharedness obviously effects both what we say and how we hear what others say.
This, in many ways, is part of what can make understanding some of the Old Testament a bit harder than simply reading what is on the page and then doing it. A.J. Jacobs, in his book The Year of Living Biblically, attempted to sidestep this process. In his very interesting book, he stated his goal was, “to live the ultimate biblical life. To follow every single rule in the Bible – as literally as possible.â€
What makes for a very interesting read does not always make for a solid understanding of what the scriptures are actually calling upon us to do. Please hear this, I am neither saying that we shouldn’t try to follow what the Old Testament teaches, nor that it is impossible to arrive at what it is saying. It isn’t even always difficult. I am simply saying that in some of the more tricky passages, a larger understanding to the environment surrounding the text is helpful. David Barr, the author of The New Testament Story says it like this…
“…there are three obstacles that stand in the way of correctly interpreting the biblical writings: We speak a different language, we live approximately two millennia later, and we bring different expectations to the text.â€
So, what might be some of the issues that God was looking at when he guided the writer of the Pentateuch to originally give these commands to the Jews, and then to later have them be written down for us? Just so we are clear, here are some of those tricky commands that we don’t always know what to do with…
10 “But all creatures in the seas or streams that do not have fins and scales–whether among all the swarming things or among all the other living creatures in the water–you are to detest. 11 And since you are to detest them, you must not eat their meat and you must detest their carcasses. 12 Anything living in the water that does not have fins and scales is to be detestable to you.†Lev 11.10-12 NIV
‘Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed. ” ‘Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material.†Lev 19.19 NIV
“Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.” Lev 19:27
And then, one of my favorites, Deut 14.21… “Do not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.â€
So, these are just some of them. What do we make of this? I personally love our local Cajun restaurant’s jambalaya, complete with boiled crayfish on the top. We have even taken our new members out for that very jambalaya because we are so awesome. Those are certainly out, aren’t they?
The first question we should ask, perhaps after “What the ….?!â€Â is, “What is God trying to do here?â€
I think it is important to look at that question. What is God trying to do? And maybe another question would help it out a bit, that one would be, who is God trying to be?
Stay tuned… more in a couple of days…
Peace, Jim