ON COURSE
[W. E. Thompson]
"That ye may put difference between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean"(Leviticus 10:10).
"Ye shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping thing that creepeth, neither shall ye make yourselves unclean with them, that ye should be defiled thereby. For I am the Lord your God: sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that moved upon the earth. For I am the Lord that brought you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy. This is the law of the beast, and of the fowl, and of every living creature that moveth in the waters, and of every creature that creepeth upon the earth: to make a difference between the unclean and the clean, and between the living thing that may be eaten and the living thing that may not be eaten" (Leviticus 11:43-47).
"And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and all discernment; so that ye may prove the things that differ; that ye may be sincere and void of offense unto the day of Christ; being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are through Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God" (Philippians 1:9-11).
LOST in space could have been the fate of Apollo 13. This small craft, manned by its three occupants in a completely alien environment, depended almost entirely on external forces to which it was related to bring it safely home. Here we saw a massive combination of the knowledge centred in 'Mission Control' and the responsive judgment and actions of those within the craft. The one supreme objective was to keep it on course, which was essential to its safe arrival home.
The drama and suspense were heightened by the possible breakdown in the transmission and receiving of a mass of detail upon which action was to be based. Contact in a number of realms, moral and electronic, was vitally essential to the course being maintained.
Herein lies an important parable for the Church today. We live in a dangerous atmosphere of dishonest enquiring: 'Why should I?' 'Why shouldn't I?' 'What does it matter?' 'Who says [80/81] this is important?', etc. For the Apollo astronauts such an attitude towards 'Mission Control', or to the importance of details -- much of which they might not have understood! -- would have meant a losing of the way and a consequent death in a wilderness of space.
God has provided for us against this. In Exodus He acts; the 'blast off' is by His power alone. He delivers His people by a mighty hand. Against the humanly insuperable, gravitational pull of Egypt they are thrust forth by His power alone. But in Leviticus -- now launched -- God demands . The onus for action shifts to the vessel -- to men in an alien atmosphere destined for the place where they belong. To be kept on course means action based on an external, concentrated source of knowledge and power. 'In Him' -- the Lord Jesus Christ -- 'are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge' (Colossians 2:3).
It is for this reason that the Book of Leviticus, with its massive concern for detail, is vital to the purpose of God. For those who doubt its validity or relevance, we find it quoted forty times in the New Testament. It is a fount of spiritual knowledge and truth. Cowper regarded it thus:
[W. E. Thompson]
"That ye may put difference between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean"(Leviticus 10:10).
"Ye shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping thing that creepeth, neither shall ye make yourselves unclean with them, that ye should be defiled thereby. For I am the Lord your God: sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that moved upon the earth. For I am the Lord that brought you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy. This is the law of the beast, and of the fowl, and of every living creature that moveth in the waters, and of every creature that creepeth upon the earth: to make a difference between the unclean and the clean, and between the living thing that may be eaten and the living thing that may not be eaten" (Leviticus 11:43-47).
"And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and all discernment; so that ye may prove the things that differ; that ye may be sincere and void of offense unto the day of Christ; being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are through Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God" (Philippians 1:9-11).
LOST in space could have been the fate of Apollo 13. This small craft, manned by its three occupants in a completely alien environment, depended almost entirely on external forces to which it was related to bring it safely home. Here we saw a massive combination of the knowledge centred in 'Mission Control' and the responsive judgment and actions of those within the craft. The one supreme objective was to keep it on course, which was essential to its safe arrival home.
The drama and suspense were heightened by the possible breakdown in the transmission and receiving of a mass of detail upon which action was to be based. Contact in a number of realms, moral and electronic, was vitally essential to the course being maintained.
Herein lies an important parable for the Church today. We live in a dangerous atmosphere of dishonest enquiring: 'Why should I?' 'Why shouldn't I?' 'What does it matter?' 'Who says [80/81] this is important?', etc. For the Apollo astronauts such an attitude towards 'Mission Control', or to the importance of details -- much of which they might not have understood! -- would have meant a losing of the way and a consequent death in a wilderness of space.
God has provided for us against this. In Exodus He acts; the 'blast off' is by His power alone. He delivers His people by a mighty hand. Against the humanly insuperable, gravitational pull of Egypt they are thrust forth by His power alone. But in Leviticus -- now launched -- God demands . The onus for action shifts to the vessel -- to men in an alien atmosphere destined for the place where they belong. To be kept on course means action based on an external, concentrated source of knowledge and power. 'In Him' -- the Lord Jesus Christ -- 'are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge' (Colossians 2:3).
It is for this reason that the Book of Leviticus, with its massive concern for detail, is vital to the purpose of God. For those who doubt its validity or relevance, we find it quoted forty times in the New Testament. It is a fount of spiritual knowledge and truth. Cowper regarded it thus:
"Israel in ancient days
Not only had a view
Of Sinai's blaze,
But learned the Gospel too.
The types and figures were a glass
In which they saw the Saviour's face."
A powerful New Testament summary of its content and purpose is found in Philippians 1:9, concentrated in those three key words: 'knowledge ' (external detail), 'discernment' (inward moral choice based on knowledge), 'proving the things that differ' (putting to the test, doing the things judged to be right).
What, then, does Leviticus contain and mean?
(A) A MASSIVE CONCERN FOR DETAIL
Concerning the 'whole man', his spiritual worship and soul salvation: Chapters 1 - 4; his social behaviour and conduct: Chapter 5; his property: Chapter 6; his food: Chapter 11; his health and hygiene: Chapters 13 - 15; his family and progeny: Chapter 18; his security: Chapter 19: and so on, throughout the book.
(B) A DISTINCT RECOGNITION OF PRIORITIES
It begins where all relationships with God begin -- with true worship. This is the governing core of attitude and behaviour. This explains the God of the meticulous -- He is altogether different from His creatures. This explains the vast amount of detailed instruction as to how He is to be approached and worshipped, which relieves man of any ground for his own imagination. All must proceed from God, and this alone is found in Christ who is one fullness of the Godhead bodily, and who alone meets all the Divine requirements. Worship or prayer which disregards the Divine detail is 'strange fire' which is as destructive as the true fire is effective.
