Daily Old Testament and Early Christian Writings: Leviticus 18 and Justin Martyr's First Apology 61-63

Leviticus 18 – Chapters 18-26 are known as the “Holiness Code.” The Schocken Bible editor points out that beyond the “heightened moments” of perception that make human beings feel linked to the “primal powers of existence,” the Jews also longed for a perfection and completeness in behavior “in all areas of life, personal and communal (593).

The people are warned NOT to conform to the customs of the people among whom they are settling. “You must not imitate their way of life. You must obey all my regulations and be careful to obey my decrees, for I am the Lord your God. If you obey my decrees and my regulations, you will find life through them” (18:3-5).

Among the many rules are the following:

“You must never have sexual relations with a close relative” (18:6). Close relatives here include your mother, any of your father’s wives, your sister or half sister, your granddaughter, your stepsister, your aunt, your daughter-in-law or sister-in-law. You should have no sex with both a woman and her daughter or granddaughter (18:17-18).

No sex with menstruating women (18:19). It is kind of interesting that the “holiness rules” seem to be addressed only to the men. I guess women were expected to extrapolate from their rules, the rules they should follow.

“Do not permit any of your children to be offered as a sacrifice to Molech, for you must not bring shame on the name of your God” (18:21). Canaanite youth were sacrificed in this way - first killed then immolated.

“Do not practice homosexuality, having sex with another man as with a woman. It is a detestable sin” (18:22).

And there must be no sex with animals. Here there is a specific rule for women as well.

“So obey my instructions, and do not defile yourselves by committing any of these detestable practices that were committed by the people who lived in the land before you” (18:30).

Early Christian Writers

Justin Martyr (100-165 AD) – First Apology

Christian Baptism

61 – So how do Christians dedicate themselves to God once they’ve been made new? They “undertake to . . . live according (to what they’ve been taught]”; they pray and fast for the remission of the sins in their lives that are past; then they “receive the washing with water” [baptism]. “For Christ also said, ‘Except ye be born again, ye shall not enter into the Kingdom of heaven.’” They try to put away evil doings from their souls and do good things: care for the orphans and widows.

As to why this rite of baptism is so central, “we have learned from the apostles [that] since at our birth we were born without our own knowledge or choice, by our parents coming together, and were brought up in bad habits and wicked training; in order that we may not remain the children of necessity and of ignorance, but may become the children of choice and knowledge, and may obtain in the water the remission of sins formerly committed, there is pronounced over him who chooses to be born again, and has repented of his sins, the name of God the Father and Lord of the universe. . . the name of Jesus Christ, who was crucified under Pontius Pilate, and the name of the Holy Ghost, who through the prophets foretold all things about Jesus, he who is illuminated is washed.”

Its Imitation by Demons

62 – The devils “having heart this washing published by the prophet” have imitated these rites as well. They also make people wash themselves before they enter shrines where their images are set up. And they ask them to remove their shoes. This Justin Martyr also believes is something copied from the teachings of Moses. The removal of shoes is from the story of Moses approaching the fire, “mighty power from Christ,” in the bush.

How God Appeared to Moses

63 – He tells how even the Jews themselves accept the accusation of Isaiah the prophet that they do not “know” God. The Spirit of prophesy in Moses said, “’The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib; but Israel doth not know Me, and My people do not understand.’”

And Jesus too said, “’No one knoweth the Father, but the Son; nor the Son, but the Father, and they to whom the Son revealeth Him.’” (citing Matthew 11:27).

“[S]o much is written for the sake of proving that Jesus the Christ is the Son of God and His Apostle, being of old the Word, and appearing sometimes in the form of fire, and sometimes in the likeness of angels; but now, by the will of God, having become man for the human race, He endured all the sufferings which the devils instigated the senseless Jews to inflict upon Him.”

Daily Bible Reading: Amos 3 and John 3:1-21

Amos 3 – The prophet here addresses all of the tribes of Israel, those whom God has “chosen” on the earth to love in a special way. “You alone, of all the families of earth, have I acknowledged; therefore it is for all your sins that I mean to punish you” (3:2). 

The prophet’s call comes from God. It cannot be resisted and the prophet must proclaim what God has conveyed to him. “Therefore, the Lord Yahweh says this: An enemy [Assyria] is going to invade the country, your power will be brought low, your palaces looted. Yahweh says this: Like a shepherd rescuing a couple of legs or a bit of an ear from the lion’s mouth, so will these sons of Israel be rescued, who now loll in Samaria on the corner-pillows of their divans” (3:12). The altars of Bethel will be brought down; the houses of the rich destroyed.

John 3:1-21 - Nicodemus, a Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin, comes to Jesus secretly, under cover of darkness because he recognizes that the signs Jesus performs shows that he is from God.  Jesus tells him he will never see God’s “kingdom” unless he is “born from above” (3:3). People must be spiritually “born” to see spiritual things. Jesus continues his discussion with Nicodemus.  Even though Nicodemus is a Pharisee, a teacher and a leader of his people he cannot understand what Jesus means when he talks of being born of the Spirit.  And these are “earthly things,”—being born again—Jesus says.  Then Jesus tell him how he (Jesus) must be “lifted up,” like the serpent on Moses’ staff, “that whoever believes in him may have eternal life” (3:14-15).  I sympathize with Nicodemus.  Who can understand these things?

Jesus’ dialogue with Nicodemus continues –“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life” (3:16). John uses the term “world” in two very different ways in his gospel.  Here it is the “world” of God’s care—his creation. Later it will be “the world” of man’s creation, a tempting but shallow prize that keeps man from God.

Jesus tells Nicodemus that he has come not to condemn us but to save us. “And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil” (3:19).

Daily Bible Reading: Wisdom 9 and 1 Peter 1

Wisdom 9 – Here Solomon pleads with the Lord to grant him Wisdom: “‘God of our ancestors, Lord of mercy who by your word have made all things, and in your wisdom have fitted man to rule the creatures that have come from you, to govern the world in holiness and justice and in honesty of soul to wield authority, grant me Wisdom, consort of your throne, and do not reject me from the number of your children” (9:1-4).

We – like Solomon – are “feeble . . . with little time to live, with small understanding of justice and the laws” (9:5). How can we order human society, manage our presence on this earth with all the demands we bring, all the problems we are so good at multiplying? It is so interesting how the author sees Wisdom as a “consort” – cohabiting heaven, the realm of the spirit, with the Source of All. Wisdom – the Logos – Christ: interesting to see these three as somehow ONE.

“With you is Wisdom, she who knows your works, she who was present when you made the world” (9:9). “Dispatch her from the holy heavens, send her forth from your throne of glory to help me and to toil with me and teach me what is pleasing to you, since she knows and understands everything” (9:10).

He asks for her so he may govern God’s people justly. I like this: “The reasonings of mortals are unsure and our intentions unstable; for a perishable body presses down the soul, and this tent of clay weights down the teeming mind. It is hard enough for us to work out what is on earth, laborious to know what lies within our reach; who, then, can discover what is in the heavens? (9:14-16) Our only hope is to be blessed with Wisdom, God’s “holy spirit from above” (9:17). 

1 Peter 1 – Peter writes this letter to the churches of Asia Minor, “living among foreigners in the Dispersion of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia” (1:1)

He sends his blessing on those who have been given a “new birth” as sons of God “by raising Jesus Christ from the dead” (1:3). Though they may be “plagued by all sorts of trials” (1:6) for a time, they will eventually have praise, glory and honor before God. Unlike the apostles, who knew Jesus in the flesh, they “did not see him, yet [they] love him” and are “filled with a joy so glorious that it cannot be described” (1:8).

Peter calls the salvation he describes as one foretold by the prophets. “Remember, the ransom that was paid to free you from the useless way of life your ancestors handed down was not paid in anything corruptible, either in silver nor gold, but in the precious blood of a lamb without spot or stain, namely Christ; who, though known since before the world was made, has been revealed only in our time, the end of the ages, for your sake” (1:18-19).

He urges them to let their love for each other be real and from the heart—your new birth was not from any mortal seed but from the everlasting word of the living and eternal God. All flesh is grass and its glory like the wild flower’s. The grass withers, the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever What is this word? It is the Good News that has been brought to you” (1:23-25).

 

Daily Bible Reading: 1 Kings 7 and Ephesians 4

1 Kings 7 – It takes 13 years for Solomon’s palace to be completed. In it there was a Hall of Pillars, a Hall of the Throne and a Hall of Justice.  The daughter of the Pharaoh, one of his wives, has her own house the size of one of these halls.

                 

Huram, the craftsman who helps Solomon with this palace, is son of a widow from the tribe of Naphtali, who married a man of Tyre.  He knew how to work in bronze and was “full of skill, intelligence, and knowledge in working bronze” (7:14) He did the bronze work on Solomon’s house.  Among the things made was a “molten sea” that stood on twelve oxen, 3 facing in each direction and holding 2000 baths (a measure of volume). The text describes in some detail all the bronze-work Huram did for Solomon—stands with lions, oxen, basins, pots, decorative work, etc.

Ephesians 4 - Paul begs us “to lead a life worthy of the calling to which [we] have been called” (4:1). We should bear with each other with humility and gentleness, making an effort to be in unity with each other in the Spirit.  We all have different measures and different gifts—some for prophecy, some for pastoring and teaching. 

If we are rooted and grounded in love, this is what our lives will then look like.  And this is what the Church will look like. We will not just talk about gentleness and love and then excuse ourselves by pleading the prevalence of sin in us and in the world.  We can no longer “plead up sin” and excuse ourselves from the necessity of living transformed lives.  We must bear the fruits of faith in our lives. The old self must be put away and the new, restored man, put on.

The Old Testament quote Paul uses in verse 8 (Psalm 68:18) is confusing because the translation Paul had is not what we now use. The reading refers to a conqueror going up to the heights and receiving men as booty of war. Paul says the one who ascended,  “made captivity itself a captive; he gave gifts to his people.” Like Paul we all have a gift, a service to offer the world as members of His Body. And we must “strive” for unity among believers so that we are true to the calling we have to be of “one Lord, one faith, one baptism.  Within that unity though there will be different strengths and ministries reflected in the body of believers.  Some will be given leadership, some prophesy, some pastoral abilities, some the ability to teach.  But like the different members that make up a body, we all in our different ministries must try to be connected with the head, Christ, who will bring unity and coordination to the body.

No other two specific callings -- the call to be reborn into the Spirit, which Christ has given us, and the call to maintain unity among those who belong to Christ -- have been more neglected by us in the modern world.  We have whole philosophies and systems to defend our disobedience to these callings.  For the first, we “plead up sin” as Fox said shamefully.  We refuse to accept the redemption offered by our Lord and instead build theories of why we cannot do what we are plainly told we should and could do with Christ’s help.  This is a “fallen world” we argue.  We cannot be truly renewed in this life because of original sin.  And I think we allow ourselves to fall into this kind of thinking because of a mistake in our understanding of what the fall was all about. 

When we read the story so as to make ourselves believe that mortality came into the world because of our original parents’ sin, and we see that mortality is still part of the equation, we naturally assume that since the resurrection will only occur at the end of time, we have no present expectation of redemption from the effects of the fall.  But if we accept that mortality was simply part of the design of nature in God’s creation and part of the limitation we have as creation, we are freer to see that the important consequence of the fall was not the coming of mortality per se but the entry into a condition of “spiritual death” that deprived us of our true selves. 

God created us to “be,” to “live” in His image, to be close to Him and intimate with His voice.  Our harmony together and our deepest happiness lies in coming into our true natures, and we have fallen terribly and tragically away from that.  

Christ’s redemption brings us the power to begin again, to be rooted and grounded in love, to be secure in the presence and lordship of God.  Now it is perhaps true that laziness, over-confidence or outright disobedience can remove us from that salvation even after it is experienced by us.  But we are dealing with the dimension of eternity and our nature strives against its own redemption to a certain degree, so we are always moving in and out, some more than others, some less.  But this is different from pleading as a matter of doctrine or principle that we must accept our place outside the garden, outside the Promised Land, outside the Kingdom of Heaven.  Our true place is “in” that place of God’s presence, and it is the whole point of Christ’s coming and redemptive work that we should come in and sup with him in that eternal dimension.