Leviticus: A Sweet Aroma

5/4/11…Oh Father, I write these words to You. The times I drift away are the times I feel most disconnected. I sometimes wonder why the selfishness in me keeps me away from You. I sometimes wonder why the thoughts of this world keep me preoccupied from You. Just a few months ago You revealed such wonderful truths to me from Your Word and these truths energized me. I never knew the old dusty book of Exodus could reveal such depth. But then once again, my human frailty distracted me. This time with sickness. Not just once, but twice and all of a sudden I found myself drifting. I sometimes wonder if Satan afflicts me in order to keep me away from You or is this a test given by You to discern my resolve? What I do know is this. After attending a worship service for the first time in weeks and returning to Your Word these last three days has me thirsting once again for You. You are the only one who can bring peace, contentment, and joy in my soul. There is a yearning to follow and to strive for truth in You. I cannot escape it, no matter how often I drift. Now once again I come home from work and I am eager to open Your Word. I turn the pages of Leviticus, and like a child, I discover the wonder of these words…

 

Leviticus 1:17 It is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord.

 

Ephesians 5:1-2 Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering, and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling aroma.

 

Leviticus, another old dusty book near the beginning of the Bible. A book steeped in tediousness if one chooses to read every word. And yet once again, as in Exodus, I find opening the old dusty book of Leviticus offers a fresh connection I never realized before. I ask my Father to open my eyes. I read the first seven chapters, and the words, “a sweet aroma” jump off the pages. Over and over these words come up as Moses dictates protocol of offerings and sacrifices. All end with the words, a sweet aroma.

 

Then my mind or maybe my Father directs my mind to Ephesians 5:1-2, a passage my dear friend Pam gave to me a long time ago in a land far away. And years later, alas I connect the words from the New to the Old Testament.

 

Indeed, Leviticus…a sweet aroma.

This post dedicated to my dear sister in Christ, Pam.

Exodus and Tediousness

3/8/11…I just finished reading Exodus. I pray my Father may enlighten me if He wills. Minutes later, as I seek to ponder the words written in this book by Moses, I make note of the following themes;

            A cry out by the people of God and the birth of Moses
            The consuming plagues
            The subsequent exodus
            The creation of the Ten Commandments atop Mt. Sinai
            The building of the Tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant

The last theme peaks my interest. I realize half the book of Exodus describes the precise instructions regarding the building of the Tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant. This precision was so intense I found myself reading through these passages quickly because of the tediousness. But wait. Let me pause. Let me reflect on why the descriptions are so tedious. What I soon realize is a good portion of the tediousness is written by Moses and he is directly quoting Your words Father.

So what does this mean? What might You be saying Father? If I stop and take more than a moment to reflect, there is a great opportunity to learn more of who You are. After all, direct quotes attributed to You should cause me to pause and ask You humbly for deeper enlightenment. Oh, how exciting it is to have this opportunity. Indeed, how often do I really get this opportunity? So I start. I first ask myself what words come to my mind throughout Your exhaustive quotations in Exodus. These are the words coming into my mind, and I wonder if You are speaking to me;

            Exactness

            Attention to detail
            Consequences
            Artistic beauty
            Creating

As I ponder these words, I am struck by how these words not only apply to the Tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant, but also in how You created nature. “Exactness” is written all over your creation. Equally so is “attention to detail.” It is so clear how life and nature are so interwoven even down to the micro-organisms. I also marvel at how “consequences” seem to occur in nature when the laws are compromised. In a sense, adjustments occur in nature to bring back balance. There is an exactness here and an attention to detail that is indeed hard to deny. And furthermore Father, how can anyone deny the “artistic beauty” all around us from the smallest daisy by the roadside to the balds of Carver Gap? Artistic beauty surrounds us everywhere we look. Indeed I see beauty in my wife every day. Last of all, the word “creating” comes to mind. Of course. All around us creating is going on, day in and day out. Nature creates. Man creates. Creating is constantly occurring around our globe at every hour and every minute. It permeates us and it permeates nature everywhere. I feel I am understating the breadth of this revelation. Beyond our globe, I think of the universe. At any given second, there may not be a number to contain the amount of creating going on within God’s universe. It is constant.

…

Now what does this say about me Father? Does this mean I was created in the same way; with exactness, with attention to detail, with consequences when I deviate from the path, with beauty, and with an innate sense to create?

Somehow the tediousness of Exodus does not seem so tedious anymore. Instead…the words seem so beautiful to me.