The peh Factor
“Seeking balance in a polarized world”
As I continue this journey of writing about Bible passages that have shaped my life and move on from the Ten Commandments, I must confess that Leviticus does not provide much material about which to write. Composed during the 2nd year of the exodus from Egypt it contains a ‘fleshing out’ of what the functional nature of the Ten Commandments, especially for a nomadic people. (I did have an OBGYN doctor shared in a Bible study on Leviticus shared the wisdom for nomadic circumstances of women going through their menstrual cycle.)
This being said, there is one passage of significance in this Bible book, Leviticus 19:18:
You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.
As I mentioned last blog, Jesus said quoted this verse as the 2nd Great commandment. So, in the midst of all the rules and regulations laid out in Leviticus, if you approach them as an enforcer and not a lover you are missing the point and not following Jesus.
The Book of Numbers, like Leviticus, has not provided much inspiration for me. It loosely covers years three to thirty-nine of the Exodus. There are many interesting stories, stories that shaped the future of the fledgling Israelite nation. There were two census’ and the story of the spies going into the ‘Promises Land’ and their report terrorizing those ancient nomads. There was Moses’ disobedience to God’s directive because he was angry at the ever-complaining people, a disobedience that kept him from entering the Promised Land and there was the groundwork laid for Joshua’s succession of Moses. In the midst of it all, comes a wonderful passage in chapter 6 that does impact me. Verses 22-27 read,
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 23 Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus
you shall bless the Israelites: You shall say to them,
The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.
So they shall put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.
As Christians in the Reformed Tradition following the work of Martin Luther and John Calvin, we believe in what is called “The Priesthood of All Believers.” In the Protestant Reformation this emphasized that each person had direct access to God through Jesus. Believers did not have to go through one of the designated saints or a Catholic priest to enter God’s presence. It also emphasizes the role of the priest which is to stand between God whom we love and the people whom God loves. As such we are called to bring God to the people (in word and deed) and bring the people to God (through prayer, evangelism and service).
It is within the role as a priest that this benediction carries a great weight. I need the blessing of the Lord. I need the Lord’s presence to keep me. I desire and need the face of the Lord to shine upon me and the graciousness of the Lord extended to me. I need to know that the Lord is watching over me and is giving me his blessing. These words that have become a common blessing at the end of a church service are words that were and are meant to breath into us power and life. May it be so.
It is in Deuteronomy that I find passages that have impacted me that I feel I need to share. This book was the last written by Moses. It is the last book of the Torah, the key writings of Israel. Probably written in the last 6 months to year of the Exodus, it is a summary of all the God had said and done. Many scholars believe it was written in a similar fashion as to the Hittite suzerainty treaties of the time, a formula used when a greater power (God) establishes a covenant relationship with a lesser power (Israel). This similarity provides some veracity for scholars to affirm the text being written at the time of Moses and not as a later addition to the Torah.
Because Deuteronomy condenses 40 years of God’s activity with Moses and the Israelites, we could spend a great deal of time dissecting many of its passages. I will not go into that depth. I am simply going to highlight a few of the passages that rise to the surface in my own thoughts over the following blogs.
The first passage that has touched me is found in Chapter 6:4-9. It is called the Shema and reads:
Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. 6 Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. 7 Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. 8 Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, 9 and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
These words are what is written in every Mezuzah you see on the doorpost of a Jewish home (verse 9). These are also the words that Jesus quoted as the first and greatest commandment mentioned previously.
This being said, the first passage that impacts me is the one written above. However, it is not its being the first and greatest commandment that impacts me. Nor is it the physical manifestation of the commandment that impacts me. I have no Mezuzah on the doorposts of my home although having one might not be a bad idea. It is the implementation of this command within relationships that is most challenging.
As I look at my children, now 43, 37 and 35 I wonder how effective I was in revealing the love of the Lord in my life. Of the four, only one is actively involved within a church community. I know the others fall into the “spiritual but not religious” category, but did they see my love for the Lord during the years growing up or did they see other loves as being more dominant There have been times when we have talked about the Lord and about the scriptures, but, I have not wanted to be “preachy” since that is what they saw from me for their years growing up as I entered the pulpit 45 Sundays per year. Has this sent mixed messages?
Now, I recognize that as adults, they have full say over their spiritual life, development and practice. I note that this passage says nothing about methodology, denomination, religion, etc. It only speaks about loving God first and foremost with everything I am. Have I done that? Have I shown that? Could I have done better?
As I look back over 47 years of being a pastor, of having loved, cared for and provided guidance to so many people I wonder if I succeeded or failed. I sense some of the successes I have accomplished. I see clearly the mistakes I have made. Did people see my love of the Lord in all I did? I trust so.
Has the implementation of this command within these and other relationships been successful? My answer is direct and simple: I could have done better. I had and I have much growth to accomplish in this area. There have been times my humanity has won out over my spirituality. This passage provides a great goal for my life to this day. It keeps challenging me and driving me back to a central belief I hold dear from the New Testament. Romans 3:21-25a tells me/us:
21 But now, apart from law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets, 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, 23 since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; 24 they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith.
My rightness with God is based on God’s grace not my works. I have and will always “fall short of the glory of God.” Because of what Jesus accomplished my love for God is based on gratitude and my hope is that the gratitude for God’s grace with bleed through me and be demonstrated to all those around me.
How about you? Where do you fall on the scale of loving God with all you are and sharing that with the world around you?
Much to think about.
Paul
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