A new want

There are too many things that I would like to say, but I feel like I need to express this simple, yet profound instance that the Lord has been showing me this weekend.

I DESIRED to read Leviticus. 

I read and prayed through the Psalms, I read the gospels more so than anything this weekend, as well as letters in the New testament, but I did not read the old 5 books of the torah.

I’d been reading Exodus and Leviticus before the break, and while I did rush myself through some of it, the desire was there.

I DESIRED to read Leviticus.

I find that while there is hype about books in the bible that emphasize our state as believers after Christ came, the true BEAUTY and MAJESTY of the old testament is there too. Leviticus used to be (in my opinion) the most dry book in the bible, simply because all I saw was its laws and ordinances for the Israelites. But the sheer fact that the majority of the book starts off chapters with what GOD HIMSELF is saying tells me that WOW. THIS IS THE LIVING WORD OF GOD AND TO TAKE THIS ANY LESS THAN ANY OTHER BOOK IS TO STRIP THE MEANING OF “THE WORD OF GOD” TO REFER TO THE BIBLE AS A WHOLE. 

the emphasis of BEING holy because HE is holy is SO prevalent in that book that it teaches me the FEAR of the Lord in light of the laws and ordnances and consequences. The image of holiness as God is YAHWEH is not only a fearsome thing, but greater encouragement to remember to take the Word seriously in the new testament. I counted how many times the phrase “I am YAHWEH” appeared in 3 chapters of Leviticus (22-24), and the count was 12 times. 12 times. in 3 chapters. 

The Israelites were consecrated as God’s people. They still had to face judgement and consequence for their sins. I didn’t even go into how amazing Exodus was. And I can’t even begin to express how Deuteronomy is one of my top 5 favorite books in the bible.