All Those Rules and Regulations Speaks to Depravity

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective

Even a quick scan through the book of Leviticus proves just how much sacrifices and offerings played a part in the life of the nation of Israel. It becomes overwhelming to see the many sacrifices, offerings, and feasts that were required of the Lord by the people of Israel. Just as importantly though is the fact that God had to be extremely specific with the people of Israel. One can only wonder why they had to be taught what was right and what was wrong in God’s eyes. One would think it would be obvious, but clearly, it wasn’t. It was due to the fact that the first generation of Israelites had been held captive in Egypt as slaves. As such, through osmosis they learned Egyptian ways and their morality, which wasn’t morality at all.

Previously, we touched on the significance and amount of sacrifices and offerings highlighted in the first few chapters of Leviticus. The more you read Leviticus, the more overwhelmed you can become at the sheer number of offerings that were supposed to be observed annually with more observed every seven years and then also during the 50th year (Jubilee). It quickly becomes apparent that sin costs a great deal of money. People had to own their own herds of sheep or cattle to be able to keep up with things. In some cases, seven lambs were required to fulfill the sacrificial obligation. Is it any wonder that by the time Jesus appeared on the scene in the New Testament, He rightly called those charlatan salespeople in the Temple court “thieves” because they had created a situation that made it even more untenable for the average Israelite to be able to afford to worship God.

But let’s say a person could observe all the proper sacrifices and offerings required. The next question is could they do it with a proper mindset and heart directed toward God, or would it be too easy for things to fall into a system of simply doing things because it was required and that was it? For too many, it likely became numbing.

But as if this was not enough, God had to clearly spell out how to live before Him mirroring the morality that He required. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. We know that salvation came to individual Israelites the exact same way it comes to us today: through faith. Without faith, it was and is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). That chapter – the Hall of Faith – proves that those in the Old Testament were justified by their faith and their faith was evident by their works. They did not earn their salvation because of what they did. Their actions proved the faith they held in their heart. It is the exact same thing for us today. Anyone who claims to be saved will naturally evidence that faith in how they live. It won’t be perfect, but there should definitely be something that tends to verify their new life in Christ. Their manner of speech, the character of their life, the way they live – all of these things will attest to the fact that salvation has come to them.

A person who claims to be saved but never changes their lifestyle, their conversation, their desires, is seen as someone who is quite possibly a hypocrite because there is nothing that substantiates their claims of being a Christian. This is why it is perfectly legitimate to critique a person’s lifestyle – their words and actions – to see whether their claims live up to reality. If not, then something is clearly wrong and we should mark them and possibly avoid them. Paul has strict words for Titus that puts him in the position of silencing those who appear to stand against Christianity. All pastors and church leaders should take Paul’s words very seriously.

But following the intense instruction regarding the sacrifices, the offerings, and the festivals to be observed by the nation of Israel, Leviticus 17 starts to explain to a much greater degree the morality that God expected His people to adopt and live. Starting with Leviticus 17:10, God, through Moses, tells Israel that they are to avoid eating blood. The blood should be drained from the dead animal.

Today, this is overdone by some who believe that eating a piece of steak better be cooked thoroughly so that there is not a hint of raw blood in it. The point of God’s dictates here is that the surrounding nations often simply drank raw blood during their idolatrous practices. In other words, drinking of blood was part of the religious rituals for the heathen. It was placed in a goblet or bowl and the worshiper would simply drink or sip it straight. This has nothing to do with cooking meat. When animals are butchered to be eaten, the blood is normally drained away. Some blood remains and cooking it kills anything left in it. It doesn’t have to be cooked well-done in order for this to occur. The prohibition was against simply drinking blood as part of a ritual religious expression.

Sadly, drinking blood is still part of some religious observances today. In fact, the more recent “Spirit Cooking” trend is a case in point. I won’t go into the disgusting details, but many celebrities and politicians have participated in these “Spirit Cooking” parties and what they partake of is absolutely disgusting. Feel free to look it up on your own if you care to, but be warned, it will not be easy to “unlearn” once you see it.

God forbid eating of the blood because He said life is in the blood.

11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life. 12 Therefore I have said to the people of Israel, No person among you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger who sojourns among you eat blood. (Leviticus 17:10-12 ESV)

The blood of slain animals in the sacrificial process was to be used as a means of atonement. The priests were to sprinkle the blood on the altar. The High Priest was to put some blood on his ear lobe and big right toe as he entered and approached the Mercy Seat, where more blood would be sprinkled liberally. Most of the blood would be poured out at the base of the altar. Since life is in the blood, blood poured out in this way represented the sacrificial death of some animal (or Jesus ultimately), who gave up its life to cover (or remove, as in the case of Jesus), the sin of the penitent person.

A few verses later in the same chapter of Leviticus, God says animals can be hunted and eaten, but their blood must be poured out onto the earth. Again, it would be impossible to ensure that every drop of the animal’s blood poured out because some would naturally remain in the “meat” (muscles). However, as a measure of obedience, when the animal was being butchered, the blood should spill out onto the earth.

Leviticus 18 deals with the subject of unlawful sexual relations. God opens His statement to Moses with the following:

3 You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived, and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you. You shall not walk in their statutes. 4 You shall follow my rules and keep my statutes and walk in them. I am the Lord your God. 5 You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules; if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the Lord. (Leviticus 17:3-5 ESV)

The people of Israel had lived in Egypt for generations. They had learned by observation the things that the Egyptians routinely did. It was normal behavior for them. God forbid this type of behavior and then broke things down very clearly so that there would be no mistake.

6 “None of you shall approach any one of his close relatives to uncover nakedness. I am the Lord. 7 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father, which is the nakedness of your mother; she is your mother, you shall not uncover her nakedness. 8 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife; it is your father’s nakedness. 9 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your sister, your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether brought up in the family or in another home. 10 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your son’s daughter or of your daughter’s daughter, for their nakedness is your own nakedness. 11 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife’s daughter, brought up in your father’s family, since she is your sister. 12 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s sister; she is your father’s relative. 13 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister, for she is your mother’s relative. 14 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s brother, that is, you shall not approach his wife; she is your aunt. 15 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law; she is your son’s wife, you shall not uncover her nakedness. 16 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother’s wife; it is your brother’s nakedness. 17 You shall not uncover the nakedness of a woman and of her daughter, and you shall not take her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter to uncover her nakedness; they are relatives; it is depravity. 18 And you shall not take a woman as a rival wife to her sister, uncovering her nakedness while her sister is still alive. (Leviticus 17:6-18 ESV)

One would think this would be obvious, but to the Israelites, it wasn’t. They had nothing else to go by except what they had seen routinely practiced in Egypt for hundreds of years. Notice the phrase, “uncover nakedness.” Conservative scholars tell us based on the Hebrew language that this is another way of saying “sexual intercourse.” God is not simply saying, “It is not permissible to see some family member naked.” That’s not the point. The point was that when a person uncovered someone else’s nakedness (helped them remove their clothing), it was done for the purpose of sexual relations, not merely to look at the person who would become naked.

But look at that list of commands. God became extremely specific here. He essentially said the following:

• don’t have sexual relations with close relatives
  • don’t sleep with your mother or father
  • don’t sleep with your step-mother
  • don’t sleep with your sister
  • don’t sleep with your daughter-in-law
  • don’t sleep with your aunt
  • don’t sleep with your uncle
  • don’t sleep with two other women
  • etc.

God refers to this as “depravity.” It is often told to us by evolutionists that life began from a morass of chemicals (they call that “nothing”), and from that and a huge explosion, life began with one-celled creatures. Millions of years later, we are here today. In essence, we “evolved” from simple to complex. This of course goes against the very laws of science, but be that as it may, it seems the reverse is actually true.

When God made Adam and Eve, they were likely the most intelligent human beings to ever live on planet earth. Once sin entered the picture, things started to “devolve” if you will. It wasn’t long before we arrive to Genesis 6 and the calling of Noah with God announcing His plan to destroy humanity. Why? Because everything had become so entirely depraved. God literally started over to forestall things, but of course, the sin nature that caused the problem in the first place still existed with Noah and his family.

We arrive to today realizing that people are simply perverse and stupid. Often animals act more like humans than other humans. That is a sad commentary on society but in many ways it’s true. Why? Because people have set God’s rule aside and adopted their own values based on emotional virtue and political correctness. People today have little problem sleeping around and doing the very things that God warned the Israelites not to do.

In some ways, I feel for the ancient Israelites because God chose them to become a nation thoroughly dedicated to Him and His ways. Ultimately, they couldn’t do it, failing time and time again. There is coming a day however, when God will cull from all Jews, the final remnant which will make up the Israel that takes full possession of the Land during the coming Millennial Kingdom.

I’m not Jewish. I’m not even “spiritually” Jewish as some Christians like to boast. I am a Gentile, connected to Abraham through Christ and because of that I have salvation. The benefits are mighty and I do not have to observe the sacrifices, the offerings, and the feasts giving directly to the nation of Israel. However, because I am in Christ, I am fully obligated to live the morality that He told Israel they must live. There is a huge difference between the ceremonial laws, rules, and regulations and the moral code that God provided.

As Christians, we must live in a way that glorifies God. We must cast aside every sin that enslaves and only in Christ (remaining in fellowship with Him because of the salvation we possess), can this be accomplished.

I hope you are reading His Word daily. I hope you are contemplating it. What does it tell you about God? What does it tell you about His character? Don’t read the Bible to ask, “What’s in this for me?” Read the Bible to ask, “How can I get to know God better?”

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective