So, I hear this question very quickly after I get the first one.
To remind everyone, the first one is “You don’t really take the bible literally do you?†After we walk through that issue, the next one is “What about all the weird commands in the Old Testament? Usually the ones that are brought up are the ones that deal with us being commanded to not eat shellfish and not to get tattoos. Occasionally the one about not cutting our sideburns comes up as well.
I am usually asked if I have read those and what I do with them.
Yes I have. Â 🙂 Â And the questions are very good and fair ones.
So, I thought it might be good to take them next. They get at more than just what do we think about tattoos and Bluefin crab, they get at how we read the very scriptures we take to be from God to us. Do we just think the lines we agree with are from God? If all of them are, how do we excuse not following the ones we don’t? How do we decide what to follow and what to not?
These questions get to the very heart of how we read the scriptures and how we allow those scriptures to shape us.
So, the questions I think that deal with this one are…
1) 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?
2) Why do I think God the Holy Spirit would guide the writers to write something can seem so archaic and unnecessary?
3) Jesus said that he didn’t come to defy the Law, but rather to fulfill it. Â And then he proceeded to give one of his most famous teachings about the new way he was calling us to see the Law. Â What is up with that?
4) So.. .what’s the deal? Â Shellfish or not? Â Can I get the sick eye tattoo this guy is sporting if I think I can pull it off or would it be morally wrong to do so? Â Polyester? Â I mean, beyond the obvious offenses of that stuff…
Any other ideas? Â Any missing pieces to this line of thought? Â Lemme know, lemme know…
Peace, Jim
JJ said...
1Right along with question 4, Leviticus 25 talks about being able to buy slaves from neighboring nations. I always kind of interpreted Leviticus as something that was written specifically for the people of the time. I’m sure Leviticus circa 2010 would have rules regarding Twitter and WalMart.
11/30/10 1:37 PM | Comment Link
Nate said...
2Didn’t Jesus’ death free us from the covenant of old testament law and also the need for animal sacrifice? There is a scene from the old “West Wing” series that portrays the President publicly teeing off on someone about the old Leviticus laws. The woman is like a Dr. Laura takeoff, and I remember part of it was like ‘So you’d have a small family ceremony to stone your grandmother for wearing a garment of two different threads’. Seeing thru a glass darkly is sometimes the best we can do this side of heaven.
11/30/10 1:58 PM | Comment Link
Daniel said...
3@Nate, I beleive there is danger in saying Jesus freed us from the “Old” Testament. If you are going to throw out the Old Testament, then the 10 Commandments become obsolete. He didn’t free us from these things, he came to clarify them. And not just to say only the 10 Commandments are valid, remember, Jesus’ answer to the most important Law isn’t even one of the 10.
The book of Leviticus mainly deals with Levitical Law, Law which the Levits were to enforce. These mainly pertained to entering and worshipping in the Temple. Just as I would have you wipe your feet before entering my house, God had the nation make sure they were clean before entering His. It is also much more complicated than this. I would suggest looking into some Jewish sources on the subject. Afterall, they have known God(the father) thousands of years longer than we have.
11/30/10 4:18 PM | Comment Link
Daniel said...
4I also just want to clarify that not the entire book of Leviticus is pertaining only to entering the Temple. I think just the first 16 or 17 chapters. Those are just usually the ones people tend to get freaked out about.
11/30/10 4:24 PM | Comment Link
said...
5You might have mentioned this before, I can’t remember, but A.J. Jacobs wrote an interesting book about living out all the commands of the Bible for a year. He came up against some of these unusual ones, and was often met with some embarrassment.
What is interesting is the inner transformation Jacobs describes in his book. An agnostic, he gained a respect, and even a peace(his words) from following the commands of the Bible.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that if we look at the Bible like a handbook for life, it will be a burden and sometimes crazy, because most of the actual guidelines were provided to the nation of Israel as a way to survive the desert and as a system of government for a people who had never governed.
We should instead view the Bible as a story written by God that points to Him, his Son, and their majestic love for us.
11/30/10 9:18 PM | Comment Link
Candy Saban said...
6I believe that much of the Old Testament scripture that you are referring to was written for a nomadic people, to keep them healthy. I also think that Jesus, in fulfilling the law, declared some previously unclean things to be clean. Through His sacrifice, we are free. Not free to do anything we please though,this freedom is guided by the Holy Spirit within us and each of us is convicted (by the Holy Spirit) about what is right or wrong for us individually –for example: eating meat or not, social drinking or not. God sees our hearts and understands the things that are problems or temptations for us and guides us accordingly.
12/1/10 4:48 AM | Comment Link
said...
7JJ 🙂 Maybe we can rewrite it so that it does! Thou shalt not expect thine husband to purchase anything from Wal-Mart…
12/2/10 7:24 AM | Comment Link
said...
8Love the comments… Nate, I agree that we do see now as in a mirror dimly. And so, there are going to be issues that are simply not going to completely make sense to us. Daniel and Candy, I think your points are well made that there are components of the Old Testament Law that are fulfilled in Christ, and some that deal with issues that were specifically confronting a group of people that God was leading through a specific moment in time. I will be posting tomorrow on the next piece of this discussion, I hope you will all let me know what you think… Peace, Jim
12/2/10 7:31 AM | Comment Link