Greetings Bible Adventurists,
There are a couple of things in our recent readings that pop out at me every time I read through this part of the Bible. The first is the detail in the instructions God gives Moses. I mean make that thing this long, burn this fat on the altar but the skin outside the camp, check if the hair is white. Does God really expect us to pay that much attention to these little details? I first notice this with the instructions for the tabernacle. What really doesn’t get much attention is that despite all the parts made by different people, the tabernacle all goes together the first time. Despite the “measure twice and cut once” rule, my household projects usually require multiple attempts and trips to Home Depot. The Tabernacle pieces all fit. That shouldn’t really surprise us when you consider that God designed the infinitely large universe and built it with infinitely small subatomic particles…and they all fit. Our planet has been dubbed a “Goldilocks planet” because everything like the amount of light and heat from the sun, the level of gravity, the amount of water and oxygen are all at exactly the right level to sustain human life. It all fits. It’s no wonder to me that since He created us with such detail that He demands we pay attention to detail in how we deal with Him and conduct our lives.
The second thing I notice are the rules for the Sabbath Year and the Jubilee Year. These rules obviously can’t be followed until after the Hebrews occupy the Promised Land, but there is no record of them ever being observed. We see in Leviticus 26 God telling us of the great things He has planned for us, but warns (or because He knows us, laments) that if we can’t follow His simple rules bad things will happen. Simple, compassionate justice. One of those rules is the Sabbath year in which no one is to plant crops, but trust that God will provide. It’s the same idea as only taking one portion of manna, trusting the ‘daily bread’ will be there tomorrow. Wow! I ask you to take a few minutes and consider if your faith is strong enough to not plant (or quit your job) for a year. Then there is the Jubilee year. That’s a double Sabbath year every 50 years. The second year of not planting isn’t even the hard part. In the Jubilee all (Israelite) slaves are to be set free, and all purchased land must be given back to the family of the original owner (God’s inheritance). Here God establishes personal property rights but reminds us that we are just pilgrims. This keeps any one Israelite family from becoming wealthy or powerful enough to set themselves in charge and challenge God for leadership of His people. It is really a protection from ourselves. Ironically, He tells us in Lev 26:42 that if the Sabbath year isn’t kept, He will vacate the land until the land enjoys its Sabbaths. “Spoiler alert”: this is a foreshadow for the exile. We will look back on this as we read that part later this summer.
Thanks for reading along with me. I’m interested in what things have stood out to you. I hope you are enjoying the adventure.
Tom