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Though I’ve always avoided Leviticus, many scholars see the book as the story of a God who moves from outside and above the chosen community to a position within it. No longer does the community have to find God somewhere “up there,” as Moses went up the mountain for the Commandments. Now God has moved in, into their every day lives.
The rules and regulations of their contact with others, of sacrifice to God, of worship together and of respecting strangers among them – all these are ways for God’s people to align their lives more closely with God’s movements among them. Together with God, they become partners in turning their world toward wholeness. Here are just a handful of topics addressed by Leviticus: the life of worship, caring for the poor, welcoming strangers.
Confident that the God who leads us today – the God of love and promise and provision – also led the ancient believers, I’m warming up to Leviticus. As for its confusing, off-putting pieces, I’m content to let them sit outside the puzzle frame until God makes all things whole. And God will.
This message is excerpted from “Warming up to Leviticus” by Jennifer Ginn in the January/February 2023 Gather magazine.