The Meaning Of Life

https://biblehub.com/nkjv/leviticus/26.htm

We finish up the Book of Leviticus, which contained various commands and ordinances from God. And in these last two chapters, God relates more of the blessings He will bestow on those who are faithful to Him.

We discussed various health laws pertaining to clean and unclean things, and while some of these may seem petty, there is nothing in the Bible that is petty; we may not understand why they are in there, but trust me, they are there for a reason. God knows best, and sometimes He’s like a parent saying “Because I said so!”

And while so many look at the Bible as just a bunch of rules that we have to follow from a tyrannical God, and as such, just like a child they ignore those rules, do not forget that God also discloses the blessing He will bestow on us, or the blessings we will naturally realize, if we follow his rules.

And I say this again, many of us are faithful to our spouse, not because it is against the rules to cheat, or not because we are afraid of getting caught, we are faithful to our spouse because we love them and don’t want to hurt them. The same is for following God’s rules, we should follow them because we love Him and don’t want to hurt Him.

Lastly, let me talk about tithing. In the Old Testament, God gave the responsibility of caring for the Tabernacle and for ministering to the people. They did not get an inheritance in the territories of Israel, aside from a place to live and some farm ground, so they could not be farmers and shepherds. As such, God gave them sacrifices for their survival, such as a portion of the sacrifices, and grain, and bread.

And that is the purpose of tithe today. If you’ll notice that a tenth of your harvest and a tenth of your flock went to the Levites through God. And that is the purpose of tithing today; we don’t have flocks and herds or crops, so we give a tenth of our income to the church to pay the wages of our Pastors and associate pastors. And if you recall, the Bible talks about the “first born”, it doesn’t say give a tenth of the flock that is remaining after you’ve killed for food or sold for a profit. The tenth comes right off the top.

Some of these rules have to be taken with some common sense. For example, a dead body is considered unclean and we should not touch them. But it is difficult for a doctor, or medical examiner, or mortician to do their jobs without touching the body, so common sense has to be used. Then again, many of these rules simply say that if you don’t follow them, you will be “unclean” until evening, which means you’re not to do anything like visiting the Tabernacle while you are “unclean”. It also says that you should wash your clothing and wash your body, then at evening (the start of a new day), you will be clean again.

Again, there is a purpose for each of these rules; they aren’t simply for the Hebrews or the Israelites, they are health rules for everyone. The Jews have the same body we do, and what hurts them hurts us as well.