Finding Inspiration in Unexpected Places

Is any body else out there tired of winter and snow? This is that time of the year, that it is easy to grow weary. During the month of February, we have seen more cloudy (and snowy) days than sunny ones (at least in Ohio). The novelty of listening to school cancelations/delays and being outside shoveling the driveway wore off some time ago. At least this year we have the Winter Olympics for a distraction from the cold days and the dreary gray skies. Can anybody say half-pipe?

For those of us who are reading through the Bible this calendar year, the month of February can be a challenging time period to persevere in our daily reading. The reading plan that I am following for this year, has a ten day stretch of daily Bible readings from the book of Leviticus. Leviticus is the third book of the Bible and can be the metaphorical equivalent of a snow drift that the Bible reader gets stuck. Following the fascinating history of the people of God in the book of Genesis (the story of Adam, Eve, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Jacob, and Joseph) and the inspiration of God’s deliverance of the Israelites from Egyptian Slavery in the book of Exodus; we can get easily get bogged down with the readings found in Leviticus.

Leviticus is the portion of the Bible that records the specific instructions that were given to Moses and his brother Aaron (who were from the Jewish tribe of Levi). Aaron and his descendants were to serve as the Jewish Priests and are sometimes called the Levitical Priests (thus the name of the book). The theme of the book is found in the following instructions from God to Moses and Aaron, “For I am the Lord your God. You must consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. … For I, the Lord, am the one who brought you up from the land of Egypt, that I might be your God. Therefore, you must be holy because I am holy” (Leviticus 11:44-45 NLT).

Once the reader understands the theme of holiness in the book of Leviticus, then the detailed directions throughout the book make a lot more sense. It is obvious that the Lord wants believers to give careful attention to their worship of Him. A worship that leads the individual to draw near to a Holy God, and to be inspired to live an obedient life that is described as holy (or distinct).

Corresponding Bible Reading: Leviticus 11:1-13:46