Wow. You mean it?
You must not… You must not…
and if you do, ….put to death, …put to death.
In the Bible, there are lots of these kinds of statements. Far too many of them in the Old Testament, but New Testatment probably as many it’s just that the Old Testament ones are more blunt. Have a look at some pages in the book of Leviticus in the Old Testament.
Have a read through Leviticus chapters 19 to 26.
It’s way too much to read. Maybe just flip through the pages.
The headings will give you some idea. Wow, do people study or preach this often?
From the Old Testament to the New, there seems to be some sense of growth. God’s message is getting through. People are heeding warning to lead a good life where the benchmark is that it is acceptable to God. As humans, we like setting standards for others, by doing that we impress on others how good we are because we meet the standard, and how just not that perfect the other people are – they can’t meet the standard.
You must not. You must not use this bridge after 11pm. You must not key in your security key for your credit card in everybody’s view. You must not leave your office webcam on all the time. You must not use the stairs.
God’s standard is different. His is nothing to do with him, but it’s all for us to lead a life that is at the basic level healthy – instructions about food and its preparation. Then there is relationship in the community and how to thrive together socially, recognising the need of the earth and cultive to its blossoming, and unravel heartbeat of nature to learn we are still far away from the fullness of truth of God.
Sometimes it’s far more important giving the “you must not” than saying the reasons. You are way too young to even stand properly, you will roll down the stairs. The cam will broadcast you and the rest of the office and it’s just not good to show everyone and what we say all the time.
The other day, I was told whatever you do, only use this side of the office. I know what this means and it’s not something my colleague needs to explain to me. It’s not a ‘you must not’, but technically it is. The consequence will be huge if otherwise.
As you read Leviticus, the fact that it was written “a long time ago” is a factor to take into account.
For a start, we now have the Bible, and preachers / pastors / priests who explain the teaching in the Bible to us. They don’t replace God. Secondly, they had runners to communicate messages rather than the more modern stuff that we have today, 5G, motion sensors to say the least. But there is still a message.
While we might say do not use the webcam all day, in those days, it might be that the community leaders gather at a well or under a tree to receive the word of God from the prophet, and the well or tree is named due to the significance of that event. God spoke then. He speaks today.
