Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Muslim Reading the Bible: Exodus 13 - Leviticus 20

Peace and Blessing to all,
Wow, it has already been two weeks! How the time passes... I have barely logged into Blogger lately, so it'll take a while to get back to your comments also. I apologize, but things are just not conducive to being able to sit down and write thought out posts and comments. InshaAllah, one day...

I'm sorry to say that I spent most of my reading in the end of Exodus and Leviticus completely bored. I finally got to the point where I just skimmed the making of the Tabernacle, the genealogy, laws of exactly how to sacrifice animals for atonement and other reasons. Frankly, I'm not going to be sacrificing an animal at the Tabernacle any time soon, so I figured it was pretty safe to not commit the "how" to memory.

I see now why Christians talk about being freed from the "law" of the Jews. Man, it is painful to read through it verbatim. Alhamdulilah, I love that Islam is the balance between a law that seems much like just custom without necessarily direct symbolism and meaning and a religion with too little guidance causing the followers to go every which way claiming they have the right way.

Curiosities:

There are female prophets? Exo 15:20
Is Amalek an ethnic group today? Exo 17:14-16
This verse is clear as day about statues and creating images. Why then is this disregarded present day? Exo 20:4
Marking slaves like cattle? Yikes. Exo 21:6
Who acts as the judge for God on this earth? Exo 22:9
Is interest only forbidden for the Jews? And only between themselves? Exo 22:25
What does it mean you give them to God? Exo 22:30
Is this talking about Palestine? Exo 23:30-31
Is this justification for Israel's actions today? Exo 34:24

Is this how the priests stay fed? Lev 7:8-10
Why is the time the mother is unclean double when she has a girl? Lev 12:2-5
Atone for all of Israel? Lev 16:17
What is this day in modern times? Lev 16:29
Who is Molech? Lev 20:2
What does it mean to be cut off from his people? Lev 20:18

I found it interesting that in the Bible, Aaron was said to have made the golden calf. SubhanAllah, I know that the people in the Bible aren't expected to be sinless, but committing shirk (associating partners/idolatry)?!

In Islam, bid'ah (innovation) is considered a serious issue. I found it interesting how God reacted in this story to the innovation they were practicing. Lev 10:1-2

I'm sorry to say it, but some of these rituals remind me of witchcraft practices, like in this account: Lev 13:49-52

I'm into Numbers now, but as usual, I must go and this seems to be enough to digest at one time.

InshaAllah this finds everyone well, until next time!

4 comments:

  1. I see now why Christians talk about being freed from the "law" of the Jews. Man, it is painful to read through it verbatim. Alhamdulilah, I love that Islam is the balance between a law that seems much like just custom without necessarily direct symbolism and meaning and a religion with too little guidance causing the followers to go every which way claiming they have the right way.

    I think that's a matter of perspective, actually. There is much that is beautiful in the Mosaic Law, and it is so complex that just reading/skimming the part of it contained in the Bible will not give you any sort of comprehension of the depth of it. From the outside, Islamic law also seems 'much like just custom without necessarily direct symbolism and meaning'. It also seems very micro-managerial – there is a reason that Islam and Judaism are compared so much as legalistic religions. They both contain very complex religious laws and rules, minutely detailed laws that cover absolutely every action that a person may take in their life. As for Christianity not containing any guidance – the guidance is there. Humans have free will and many choose or are deceived into following incorrect paths. Can't the same be said for all the sects within Islam?

    There are female prophets? Exo 15:20

    Of course. Why wouldn't there be?

    Is Amalek an ethnic group today? Exo 17:14-16

    No.

    This verse is clear as day about statues and creating images. Why then is this disregarded present day? Exo 20:4

    It's not that clear a matter. You can't take a single verse and create law out of it. The whole of the Bible must be taken into account. The verse instructs that we are not to make an idol of any created thing, essentially. But the Bible does not forbid the creation of art to be used in worship or glorifying God. How could it, since God Himself instructs the people to place images of cherubim on the Ark of the Covenant (Ex. 25:18-20). We are not to worship the images (whether they are statues or icons) – that does not mean that they cannot be created and used in worship. I did some more extensive posts on the use of icons in Christianity so I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel here:

    http://littlestepshome.blogspot.com/2009/05/icons.html

    http://littlestepshome.blogspot.com/2009/05/icons-part-deux.html

    http://littlestepshome.blogspot.com/2009/11/b-w-chapter-7-icons-incarnation.html

    Marking slaves like cattle? Yikes. Exo 21:6

    Only for this kind of slavery/servitude, where the slave has been set free and chosen to stay and remain forever. Ordinary slaves wouldn't have been marked in such a fashion.

    Who acts as the judge for God on this earth? Exo 22:9

    At the time, the Jews had Moses and the Elders, the precursors of the Judges.

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  2. Is interest only forbidden for the Jews? And only between themselves? Exo 22:25

    As far as I am aware, interest is not forbidden to the Jews in any way, except as this verse outlines – if you loan money to a 'poor brother'. Then they are not to harass him for repayment or charge him interest.

    What does it mean you give them to God? Exo 22:30

    For the animals, they would be sacrified to God. The firstborn children would be ransomed back from God via sacrifice, though there is tradition of the firstborn children being dedicated to God, serving in the Temple.

    Is this talking about Palestine? Exo 23:30-31

    It is talking about the lands that became ancient Israel. That so happens to be the same land that is Palestine/Israel today, so in that way, yes.

    Is this justification for Israel's actions today? Exo 34:24

    Are you asking if that verse is used as justification by some people? If so, the answer is probably yes. If you're asking does this make the death and bloodshed perpetuated by both sides over there 'okay', the answer would be no.

    Is this how the priests stay fed? Lev 7:8-10

    At the time, yes. In modern times there is no Temple (it was destroyed in 70 CE and there's a mosque on the Temple Mount now) and so there is no priesthood in the same way that it existed in Biblical times – no sacrifices can be made until/unless a third Temple is built. And I doubt that that will ever happen.

    Why is the time the mother is unclean double when she has a girl? Lev 12:2-5

    My understanding of this is that the length of the period of uncleanliness was because the girl herself would eventually begin menstruation, making her ritually unclean at those times.

    Atone for all of Israel? Lev 16:17

    This verse is speaking of the High Priest, who was the only one allowed to enter into the Tabernacle, the Holy of Holies. He performed certain rituals for the entire congregation of Israel. In addition, the High Priest was a type and precursor to Christ.

    What is this day in modern times? Lev 16:29

    Yom Kippur. Because of the lack of synch between the Gregorian calendar and the Jewish calendar it will be on a different day each year. For example, this year it is in October but it's usually some time in September.

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  3. Who is Molech? Lev 20:2

    An ancient pagan god who was associated quite heavily with human (child) sacrifice. So to give your child to Molech was to sacrifice it, literally, to a pagan god.

    What does it mean to be cut off from his people? Lev 20:18

    I believe this means that they are both considered ritually impure and other members of the tribes cannot associate with them until they have been cleansed and expiated their sin.

    I'm sorry to say it, but some of these rituals remind me of witchcraft practices, like in this account: Lev 13:49-52

    I am really trying not to do a tit for tat kind of thing here, because that goes nowhere. But the same can be said for Islamic rituals (or rituals in any religion). A case can (and has) even been made for Islamic rituals being based off of Mohammed having OCD. If you take and compare the seeming obsession with washing in a certain order a certain number of times at certain times of the day, or doing 'this' before you can do 'that' to the behavior of people who suffer from OCD the line up is very obvious. But what difference does that make? If you believe that Mohammed was a prophet and the rituals came directly from God then it doesn't matter that they bear a striking resemblance to what we now understand as a mental illness. The similarity is either a coincidence or evil forces trying to confuse people. The exact same argument can be made for a perceived relationship between Jewish religious ritual and pagan ritual.

    As for the exact reference you make, I don't understand why you would use that as an example. It's actually a pretty good representation of the closest ancient people could come to quarantine of a potentially infected garment.

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  4. How nice to read your notes again! I have been watching my small nephew (6 weeks old tomorrow) more lately and last night it dawned on me why you have trouble sitting at the computer for a long time typing notes. I commend you! :) I always enjoy reading what you have to say. I'm thankful Amber is so thorough in replying to your many queries! I've learned a lot just from reading her replies. I think because she didn't grow up accepting everything as perhaps I did, she looked into more of the particulars that is taking your attention. I always find it interesting to see what exactly captures people's eyes when they read (or see) new things. I guess that's what is fun about going to the zoo or a park with little children and seeing new sights through their eyes!

    Enough with the kid analogies, eh? :)


    Don't worry. I think many people find reading about the dimensions of the Tabernacle and peculiarities of sacrifice not so interesting. I have often thought this way myself, but saw this in new light one day when an author said that to the audience THEN it was likely special. I mean really...can you imagine God Himself giving you step-by-step instructions on how He wanted you to do things? Like God was the general contractor with the blueprints for how to build His Tabernacle and how to atone for sins? I imagine if we thought of it *that way* - as people sitting there hearing God's instructions even if it were given secondhand through God's holy prophet - we'd be more in awe. Genealogies of others doesn't always thrill us, but to the children of Israel, I'm sure those lists of names meant something. It's like people who want to trace their lines back to European royalty or the prophet Muhammad. I guess to them it is a big deal. But I can see - again - how for you and me, eh,it's not that thrilling. I remember when I last read through those chapters, I was more enthralled with some of the names! People really named their children THIS?! :)

    Blood sacrifice to me is so gruesome. I have had to ask myself why would God require it? Then I stopped to ponder one day that perhaps when you realized an innocent lamb was going to be killed due to the sins you committed, you would perhaps feel some of the seriousness of your sins. Not like today in America where we sin so much and glorify it on our TV shows and movies that it's just something to laugh at. But if we saw the seriousness of sin in God's eyes maybe we'd realize how desperately we need a Savior. We can't stop sinning! I can't. Even if I don't commit "the big ones," I often find myself being deceitful, angry at people, unforgiving, harboring bitterness, complaining, gossiping! How can I stand before a pure God with these things in my heart? I can clean up the outside and look like a fine Christian lady who has it altogether, but what is lurking beneath the surface? Would I be happy to see myself as the holy God sees me? How this makes me cry out, "God, be merciful to me a sinner!" I cannot save myself. I wonder if seeing animals sacrificed for my wrongdoings would make me realize more and more how desperately I need the Lord.

    I think Amber answered all your questions in a thorough way so I won't bother trying! Hope you have a good week! Thanks again for taking time to share these notes with us!

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