The only true sacrifice, and the only one God will accept, is that of thanksgiving

The most important message I picked up from today’s readings overall is the only true sacrifice, and the only one God will accept, is that of thanksgiving.

My primary takeaway from each of the passages was this:

• Leviticus 9 & 10:  Aaron performs the rituals that they have been preparing for. Yahweh gives Moses more specific rules about what they can eat and what they can’t, rules about uncleanness, and more. 
• Luke 6: Jesus turns the world upside down with his teachings.
• Psalms 50: The only true sacrifice, and the only one God will accept, is that of thanksgiving.
• Proverbs 19: God wants us to be honest, sincere, and grateful in our behavior, taking care of those less fortunate than us. Putting on a show through strict adherence to rituals and laws is not going to fool God.

Every time I get into this part of Leviticus (and for the rest of the book), I am reminded of Joseph Campbell saying to Bill Moyers that the God of the old testament was one of a lot of rules and no mercy. It’s true, and that is the entire point of all of the preparation for the Messiah, who takes away the sins of the world and redeems everyone. That’s the entire point of the story about new wine in new wineskins from the last chapter we read in Luke. It seems that God spent the entire old testament teaching the people that they were incapable of redeeming themselves so they would be able to recognize the one who was to come who could redeem them.

It is also important to remember that Leviticus is not a textbook for daily living. The rituals and rules being described in the book of Leviticus were for a certain people at a certain time in a certain culture, thirty two hundred years ago. Not only are these practices and rules not culturally acceptable today, some of them will get you arrested. Please read this book within the context for which it was created–a long time ago in a land far away. Also keep in mind the foreshadowing and symbolism that is built into the rituals; they are designed to point to the Messiah yet to come, who is Jesus in the new testament.

That is precisely what the book of Luke is all about. In Leviticus, we read all about the rules about what can be eaten and when in the house of God, what rituals should be performed for certain illnesses, and which illnesses made a person so unclean they had to live outside the camp and never among their own people. In Luke 6 we see Jesus explaining to the people who are still abiding by those rules a thousand years later that the rules were not meant to starve the people or ostracize them. He brazenly heals a man right in the middle of the synagogue to demonstrate that the rules were meant to bring people closer to God, not to alienate them. However, the old guard is angered and offended by what he did, rather than seeing it for the miracle it was.

As a result of Jesus’ bold behavior, he continues to accumulate disciples and followers. People hear that he heals people and they line up in droves to be healed. He gives the sermon on the mount, which basically turns the law on its head, saying the first shall be last and the last shall be first. For those who were clearly first in the time Jesus, what he said was highly disturbing.

Jesus goes on to tell people to love their enemies, go the extra mile, turn the other cheek, do good to those who abuse them, and do unto others as they would have done unto them. He tells them not to judge others, because God will judge them by the same measure that they judge others. He tells people to look at their own lives before criticizing others. In a society that is grounded in “an eye for an eye” and retribution as justice, this was a brazen message.

Additionally, Jesus tells the people that their compassion will return to them in greater measure than they gave it out. He asks them to forego worldly treasures in favor of spiritual ones.

Today’s Psalm pulls today’s reading in Luke and Leviticus together by reminding us that everything in the Earth already belongs to God, so why sacrifice animals on the alter? We did not create them; God did. The point of the rituals of sacrifice in the old testament was to offer thanksgiving by giving a tenth of all of our produce, and also offering the first fruits of the harvest. It was a symbolic way to offer thanks to God for all he has given. This is Jesus’ message as well.

Proverbs 19 begins by telling us that it is better to be poor and live an honest life than to be wealthy and a liar, and goes on to say that “Whoever is kind to the poor is lending to Yahweh, who will repay him the kindness done.” (verse 17) The whole chapter is in perfect harmony and synchrony with what Jesus is teaching today in Luke 6. God wants us to be honest, sincere, and grateful in our behavior, taking care of those less fortunate than us. Putting on a show through strict adherence to rituals and laws is not going to fool God.

That’s what I got out of it. What did you get out of the readings today?

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This post is part of the series, “Read the Bible in a Year.”

To see other posts in this series, go to the Chronological Index of Read the Bible in a Year Posts.

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