The Bible Sampler Quilt book flows from Exodus right into Deuteronomy. It skips over Leviticus and Numbers. But since I’m reading right through God’s word, I’ll not skip those books here in this blog. But first, a photo for you. I love tomato pincushions.

Leviticus – when I read through the law that God gave to His people, I was struck by the fact that they all made complete sense. Of course God knew which foods and behavioral habits would work best for us; He created us! He created all of the foods that fuel our bodies. The rituals He described in great detail were ahead of their time in sanitary procedures. Before people discovered germs, God gave them the tools to avoid them. Instead of viewing Leviticus as a bunch of rigid rules and regulations, I see it as God’s love note to His people so they could live their lives to the fullest. You could call it the “Mind Body Spirit” Handbook from Heaven”. We aren’t required to follow the rituals and requirements of the law, but doing so can only lead to good health. God’s dietary laws are proven by science. It’s true that “food is medicine” and we’d be wise to embrace the wisdom the law gives us.

Leviticus draws a line around God’s chosen people. His covenant, the Law, distinguishes between “them” and “us”. One can’t help but feel slighted.

There’s an Edwin Markham poem that goes like this:

“He drew a circle that shut me out-
Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.
But love and I had the wit to win:
We drew a circle and took him In!”

Here’s the good news. Now we have the New Testament, and with it, the New Covenant, the new Law. When God came down and dwelt among us; He drew a new circle around the entire Earth. Now we are all inside His embrace of love and grace.

Maybe this blog will gather a following. Maybe not. My goal is to chronicle my progress through the Bible and the Bible Sampler Quilt. But today I was thinking about you, my dear readers. If you jump in wherever I am in the process you won’t get the whole story from the very beginning. At first this thought bothered me. I have to have order, and my m.o. is to organize things chronologically. But for you, I have to let it go. We all have our own starting points. (Note to self: The books of the Bible aren’t arranged in chronological order, so who am I to stress its importance here.)

I will, however, encourage you to join me in reading through the Bible. It’s been surprising to compare and contrast my reactions this time through. Age does indeed bring experience, if not wisdom, to the pages. I’m noticing so many things I missed the last time.

Tomorrow we will discuss Numbers! Until then, I leave you with another pincushion of mine.