Levitucus

I once volunteered to be part of a group at our church to read the entire Bible, cover to cover, in sequence, out loud, in our new sanctuary.  We were assigned 30 minute slots to run 24 hours around the clock until we finished.  Lucky me.  I won a 2 a.m. slot on a Saturday night.  But, the middle of the night assignment was not nearly the most joyful part of this effort.  Rather, in addition to rolling down to Seattle in the middle of a Saturday night, I also did so to read Leviticus for 30 minutes. I honestly do not recall whether I finished the reading in street clothes or pajamas.  But, since no one was around to observe except my Heavenly Father Himself, I think either set of clothing worked out OK.

The Book of Leviticus was written by Moses and includes procedural law at a level of detail that has been scientifically proven to make the eyes of believers fall out of their heads while reading it.  To say that it is detail oriented is to say that the sky is blue.  To say that the language is dense and a certain cure for insomnia for all those reading it ... is very close to Biblical truth.

But, aside from the semi-infinite litany of text that endeavors to micromanage the behavior of the often errant Israelites, Leviticus has since been parsed into a Sometimes, Sometimes Not book... and that bothers me more than its dry and dense language.  Sometimes, rules contained within the verses of Leviticus are honored and Sometimes, they are not. The most often used distinction between the Sometimes and Sometimes Not camps appears to be whether a rule found in Leviticus was culturally derived or spiritually derived.   Although history, theology, and scientific knowledge are a great foundation for drawing a line between the two camps, there always remains some uncertainty as to whether the lines we draw are true ones.

For example, Leviticus says both that a woman is unclean during her period (and therefore, a great deal more than usual must be thrown in the washing machine during her monthly time) and that if a man has sexual relations with a man, (as he does with a woman), it is abominable and they both shall be put to death.  Western culture has clearly tossed the former set of verses and often retained the latter set. While I understand that other parts of the Bible may support the wrongness of homosexual behavior, I believe we have no right to dive into black and white thinking with regard to Leviticus.  At best, Leviticus gives us something to think about in terms of seeking out Truth.  And if we fundamentally continue to ignore Leviticus Sometimes and Sometimes not, we need to stay humble about using Leviticus as a weapon or an argument in seeking or stating Truth.

At best, Leviticus provides possible evidence for Truth.  At worst, it can lead us into black and white thinking that leads astray from The Golden Rule (So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you -- Matthew 7:12).

So, as I curl up with my husband in the same bed during that time of the month, without overloading the washing machine, it is always a reminder to me to stay prayerful and humble and to accept uncertainty rather than sandblast it into black and white corners of my limited understanding of God's design for His people.

And, finally, it saddens me immensely when those I know and those whom I talk with on these challenging issues assume that if I am uncertain, I must be on the other side of the argument.

I simply don't know the answers.  I don't know the whole Truth.  I admit it.