Every Law a Lesson
One way to understand Leviticus is to consider that every law is meant to teach the Israelites something important.
So, when you read a law, ask, “What is the underlying lesson here?”
In some of the readings from yesterday there were lots of instructions about not mixing things—fibers, materials, animals, etc. Why? Well, if you read carefully, you learn that the things associated with the tabernacle—the materials, the fabrics, even the high priest’s clothing—were all made of mixed materials. So, by forbidding the mixing of things by ordinary Israelites, the Lord was teaching them the importance of the tabernacle space and that it was meant to be different from everyday life.
In today’s reading, there are lots of regulations about the priesthood. Here is the general idea:
The Lord is the source of beauty, light, and life;
Things that are imperfect or impure or injured are marked by death and decay and are signs of the result of sin;
So, things that are imperfect or impure or injured were not supposed to be part of priestly life.
Priests were meant to be set apart—“holy”—and the Lord gave these regulations to that end.
