Reading the Bible Through

Deuteronomy 23 - 25   Why was all this emasculation going on? So weird from today's cultural world.  23:7 says not to despise an Egyptian because the Israelites had resided as foreigners in Egypt. Yet, the Egyptians had made them slaves and order their sons be killed. To my human way of thinking, despising the Egyptians would be a given.  Here we see the protection of an slave seeking refuge from their master.  I love the leaving of various foods for the fatherless, the foreigner and the widow. Sounds like a social program with responsibilities The duty of the brother-in-law. Yuck! in my opinion. Very different culturally.  If somebody was attacking my man, I might think it worth it to have my hand cut off in order to stop the fight. Probably my modern day cultural thinking. 

Leviticus 14 - 16   This passage continues with rituals, many of which are just plain gross by today's standards: killing animals and then doing things with the blood. I have been thinking about rituals and the meaning behind them. We need both. For me, much of the meaning behind the rituals are lost, but I do glimpse the holy sanctity of God.