Hi everyone! I have good news! Tomorrow is our last day studying Leviticus. We're one book closer to going back to a narrative style that is much easier to read and listen to. But there is still beauty in Leviticus, especially for those of us whom are interested in civic law. (Spoiler alert: All Methodists are ;) ) It gives us both positives and negatives of lifting up the Bible as the ideal figurehead of a culture to follow. Today's reading is one that I particularly like and am quite proud of. Tomorrows? Not so much. Let's dive on it and see what I mean!
Scripture to Read
Audio Bible
Questions to Consider
What does this scripture teach me about God?
What does this scripture teach me about humanity?
What about this scripture speaks to me today? Why is that?
Would Jesus say amen to this?
- My Thoughts -
Ah, finally Leviticus and I are seeing eye to eye. Something I have brought up a handful of times now is the question of "what must have been going on to inspire these rules?" That question remains true for todays reading. I suspect that the community was in an economic crisis not entirely unlike what we are going through right now. I love the idea of the year of jubilee that resets everything. All debts paid off, all slaves go free, all houses are returned to their families. Something like this seems prevent monopolies from happening, least the way I read it. I've been taking a lot of interest in the anti-trust developments of congress from the likes of Amazon, Facebook, Google, and Apple and congress trying to find appropriate ways ot limit their powers without infringing on their private business. What everyone is realizing is just how POWERFUL these 4 companies are and how much data they have on everyone in the world. Could something like this exist in a world where biblical economics were thing? Could the mega wealthy ever become a thing in they were reset every 50 years? Further, consider all of the good we could provide for people of Generation Y and Generation Z who are severely in debt coming out of school. I can speak for this community as I graduated seminary with 100k of student debts to become a pastor. We may not have slavery in the traditional sense, but over 1 trillion dollars of debts certainly makes the Department of Education feel like an overlord. I wish we spent more time on sermons talking about Biblical economics. It's a massive aspect of the Bible that we often overlook for stories that speak more to morality and values rather than the ethics it can teach us about commerce and it's relation to God.
Today I am grateful for the words of Leviticus. They give me hope that God creatively finds way to provide for the poor and oppressed even in convoluted human economic systems.
Prayer:
Teach me yours ways, Lord. Teach me your ways. Help me love one another. Live with one another. Teach me your ways, Lord.
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