One Year Bible reading - Update

I believe that I mentioned earlier that I began a One Year Bible reading plan the first of the year. This morning, I want to reflect a bit on the Old Testament portion. Keep in mind, I am not a theologian, a biblical scholar or any sort of authority on the subject. I'll admit, that I haven't even done any independent research on what I am about to say. These are simply MY thoughts.

I am now a couple of chapters into Leviticus. How many of you have read Leviticus? From the intro in the NLT version that I am reading, it is essentially the "Priest's Manual" for the Levites.

The books I have read so far, Genesis, Exodus and Leviticus have all been written by Moses. One observation I have made is how the "style" has changed. What I mean specifically is the level of repetition has increased as we move along.

In the book of Genesis, Moses tells God's story of creation. Genesis is essentially the historical accounting of the beginning and a description of the lineage of the human race. Very little repetition.

Exodus, is largely autobiographical. It covers the bulk of Moses' live and focuses on how God saves the Hebrew people from Pharaoh and leads them out of Egypt. We start to see some repetition here. Indirectly, in how God deals with Pharaoh and his instruction to Moses for doing so. We really start to see it a the end of the chapter, when God is providing Moses with plans for the tabernacle.

By the time we get to Leviticus, we are into full "Lather, Rinse, Repeat" mode! The reason for various offerings and the manner in which they are done is described in detail... over an over. Why is that?

Historians tell us that written language was rare in ancient times. Most stories were spoken from one person to another. Apparently they were spoken in considerable detail and with minimal variation or embellishment. Back then, when it came to history class, students were good listeners with equally good memories. If you think about Genesis, some of that had to be reveal or inspired to Moses. There is no way that the story of creation or the Garden of Eden could be passed down from generation to generation. But certainly, everything from Noah on was probably "known" to Moses by historical "retelling."

So, if folks could remember a "good story" why all of the repetition in some and not others? I suppose in today's times we would attribute the repetition to some aged infirmity. I don't know the amount of time between the three books, but certainly, by the time that Leviticus was written, Moses was an old man. Do you think that he repeated himself because he forgot what he said? Remember, is was in the parchment days... He didn't just do Ctrl-C, Ctrl-V to move his words around.

Perhaps it was something really important! Perhaps God REALLY wanted to deal with this Sin issue. The reason that the Priests, the Tabernacle and the offerings were necessary in the first place. Maybe there was nothing more important to God than to try and redeem His people, who through their own free will had chosen to leave Him.

I don't think that God intended Leviticus to be a cure for insomnia. I really do think that he wanted us to understand that the wages of sin are death! In this case it was the substitutionary death of various animals, depending on the sin. I know many people gloss over the book of Leviticus but I would encourage you to "dig in." Read each and every word. Let it sink in. Understand WHY all of this was necessary. Imagine all of the BLOOD (I will try to cover that tomorrow). Leviticus is in the Bible for a reason...