Again in today's reading, sins of omission or unintentional sins are
mentioned. A sin is a sin whether intentional or unintentional.
Two
passages of Scripture, one in the Old Testament and one in the New
Testament, seem to have a connection. The one in Leviticus lists one of
the many regulations concerning another person's property.
Lev 6:2-4
"If
anyone sins and is unfaithful to the LORD by deceiving his neighbor
about something entrusted to him or left in his care or stolen, or if
he cheats him, or if he finds lost property and lies about it, or if
he swears falsely, or if he commits any such sin that people may
do--when he thus sins and becomes guilty, he must return what he has
stolen or taken by extortion, or what was entrusted to him, or the
lost property he found,
Matt 13:44
"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden
in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy
went and sold all he had and bought that field.
The passage in
Matthew is a parable that Jesus told. At initial reading it appears
to be a good thing that the man found a treasure hidden in a field and
was so overjoyed that he sold all he had and bought the field. But if
we read this passage in light of the previous one in the Old
Testament, it appears as if the man who found the treasure is actually
doing a bad thing. First of all the treasure wasn't his to begin with
and secondly, he hid it again to keep someone else from finding it.
Most of the parables go much deeper if we really dig.
Lev 24 mentions that the lamps must be burning continually. A light is constantly burning. Also, there is always to be bread. Hmm...what spiritual connections can we make here?
God
makes provisions for bringing the imperfect as offerings when it is a
freewill offering. Freewill offerings are just that over and above the
required offerings.
God gives Moses this beautiful blessing for the Israelites. What a great way to start the day!
Num 6:24-26
"The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon
you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give
you peace."
No comments:
Post a Comment