Preview Mode Links will not work in preview mode

Mar 1, 2022

LEVITICUS 15-16:
Yesterday in Leviticus 14 we heard about sacrifices following the healing of skin diseases and after getting rid of the diseased infection in a house. Note that the infection in a house is probably more serious than mildew, which is the word used in some translations. Did you happen to notice in that chapter Who is said to cause such infections? (14:33) Chapter 15 is about defiling bodily discharges.

Chapter 16 is about the Day of Atonement, and the chapter contains a translation problem in the word or name ‘azazel’. If you are interested in finding out more about ‘azazel’, check out the footnote in the NET at Leviticus 16:8. The truth is that we don’t know what ‘azazel’ means, and little linguistic clues saying “the word might be related to” another word can never provide certain answers. We don’t even know if it was a name. So in a case like this, I think it is better to translate the term in a generic way, rather than being too specific.

PSALM 18:
Psalm 18 reveals David’s intimacy with God. Even though he frequently refers to himself, we see that God— and not himself, is the center of his spiritual life.

LUKE 12a:
The religious experts and Pharisees remembered the stinging rebukes that Jesus gave them in Luke chapter 11. When they were trying to trap Jesus in Luke 20, they even tried to butter Him up by saying, “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach correctly, and show no partiality, but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.”

These days, the whole concept of ‘truth’ has fallen on bad times. Now everyone gets to create their own truth— that is, until your truth conflicts with my truth. Then your truth is wrong and my truth is right. So these days we are being trained to show partiality to everyone. If you speak out, you might offend someone. But, just think, following Jesus’ example, it is often more loving to not show that kind of blind ‘partiality’ and to help people realize that there really is something called ‘the truth’, and where it can be found.