Weird World

Day 22: Leviticus 16-19; Psalms 85-90; Luke 16-18

I belong to a tradition that focuses on the love of God, not the wrath of God.  We celebrate life in the grace of God, The Father's love poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.  We enjoy peace, joy and love in our relationship with God through Jesus Christ.  We tend not to make threats about hell.  We encourage obedience to Christ through uplifting its benefits in a life giving relationship with God.  We don't use scare tactics to manipulate people into submission to God's order.

But today's readings are wrought with WARNING!

Leviticus 16 tells about the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur.  It is a high and holy day for Jews.  They celebrate God's mercy through forgiveness for their sins over the past year.  In the days when tabernacle and temple stood, blood sacrifices were made.  A scapegoat was forced out into the wilderness to carry their sins away from the presence of God and His new cleansed community.

The LORD said to Moses: "Tell your brother Aaron that he may not come whenever he wants into the holy place behind the veil in front of the mercy seat on the ark or else he will die, because I appear in the cloud above the mercy seat." (Lev. 16:2)


The warning about God's holiness is meant to protect Aaron and the Israelites from profaning the holy dwelling of God.  God is the God of fire and dense cloud on the mountain. He will be acknowledged and revered as holy. He will not be treated with contempt as if He were just another common thing at our disposal.  God is holy (totally other) and the Israelites (and we Christians) are called to be holy (set apart as a people all together different).

Azazel - Goat Demon - Banished One

This is a weird world that the desert people lived in.  It was a world of desolate places with desolate spirit-beings or demons who had fallen from heaven's graces and ruled the earth bringing all manner of sin, violence, lust and discord.  The original Hebrew says one of two goats is for "azazel." (Lev. 16:10).  Azazel literally means "sent away or departed from God."  According to later Jewish writings (1 and 3 Enoch and Talmudic texts), Azazel was the chief angel who lead a rebellion of 200 angels against God in heaven.  They were cast out and banished to the earth where they carry on their rebellious ways and teach men to do the same. Azazel taught war and weapons making, gold and fine jewelry making and cosmetic to beautify the feminine body and arouse lust and vanity.

The language almost sounds like the goat is a gift to Azazel as if the offering of the scapegoat is to a goat-demon (Lev. 17:7). Apparently it was the practice of desert peoples to sacrifice to goat-headed or goat-like deities, something not alien to pagan and satanic art even of today.  While images here are more akin to the goat-like way in which this demon was understood, brutish and selfish as goats can be amongst themselves, other imagery of Azazel (or the cult of Azazel) are more feminine and pornographic in nature celebrating sexual lust as the mark of this cult and its spiritual worship.

What a weird world we live in!  Perhaps we are not as far removed from the pagan practices and aspirations as the desert people of the ancient Middle East.  We live in a different kind of wasteland, a moral desert.

It is exactly this kind of thing that God calls His people out of and to become separate.  I saw a brief documentary on HBO while flipping channels in which a comment was made that pornography has become mainstream in America. It is no longer taboo. They estimate over 50 percent of households consume at one level or another some kind of pornographic imagery.  Appealing to our baser senses, we worship at the altar of an old goat calling us to all manner of filth.

The holiness code of the book of Leviticus forbids drinking blood (vampirism in underground clubs in major cities in the US and Europe), incest (sex with family and close relatives), homosexuality (same gender sex), bestiality (sex with animals).  These were the practices of the Egyptians and the people inhabiting Canaan.  The Israelites were called to be separate and not follow these practices as a sign that they belong to Yahweh who is holy, righteous and true.

A beautiful prayer is written in Psalm 85:8-12:

I will listen to what God will say;
    surely the LORD will declare peace
    to His people, His godly ones,
    and not let them go back to foolish ways. 

His salvation is very near those who fear Him,
    so that glory may dwell in our land.

Faithful love and truth will join together;
    righteousness and peace will embrace. 

Truth will spring up from the earth,
    and righteousness will look down from heaven. 

Also, the LORD will provide what is good,
    and our land will yield its crops.

It is a prayer for God's goodness to restore a wayward nation.  There is also an acknowledgement in Psalm 89 and 90 that God does not bless a nation that has broken covenant and served other gods (or passions).  Ultimately the land cries out for relief from the people who are defiling it.  The land vomits out the inhabitants because of their sins. The land of milk and honey, the promised land of God's blessing and inheritance, has become a desolate place because God gave them over to their passions and to their false gods. Their enemies overtook them and the great city of Zion was destroyed.

We celebrate the "Big Apple," the city that never sleeps; Las Vegas or LA or New Orleans as cities where things are happening.  But the people of God hope in a city where God is its light (Rev. 21:23-24).

Jesus warned that the Day of the Son of Man (traditionally called the Day of the Lord or Judgement Day), will come on those who are too busy with eating, drinking and marrying and sex (the pleasures of mortal life) to honor God.  They will be taken unaware.  And that Day will come on everyone. Nobody will be exempt. Everyone will suddenly realize what is going down.  The party is over and the reality of begin "sent away from God" into the utter darkness with Azazel is realized.   Jesus warned that those who are rich now will suffer hunger as they cry out in torment (Lk 16:16:23-24).

But those who hunger now will be fed.  Justice will finally come to those who never knew justice in this life.  I wonder if a man rose from the dead if it would draw the attention of our wayward weird world long enough to awaken them to see the destructive path they are on (Lk. 16:31).

Lord, thank You for awakening my soul to honor the Holy One. Help me to become more and more Yours, to be set apart 100% for Your purposes.  And I pray for mercy on the weird world so fallen from Your goodness.  Save us from ourselves.  In Jesus' name, Amen.