Numbers 18-22

I know there was quite a bit happening in today's reading with all the traveling through other lands and everything and Battles BC approaching. But man, all I can focus on is the fact that Aaron got axed!

"Aaron?!" you say.

"Aaron!" I say.

I see one of those musical montage's in my head. Moses, Aaron, God as a cloud....running through a field of manna....giggling, the God cloud hiding behind a tree and Moses and Aaron sneaking up on it and then everyone just laughs and laughs...Like the last episode of Seinfeld....."Time of your Life" playing.....

I finally figured out what happened to make God take out Aaron, thanks to Wikipedia. God told Moses and Aaron to SPEAK to the rock and tell it to give water. They instead HIT IT with there staff?! That is just too much, I think.

I feel so bad for poor Moses. That was is brother! I feel like Aaron understood a bit of what Moses was going through. He was surly the only one who DID understand. Now Moses has no one to share his struggle with. Did Moses then worry "what about ME?! what if I accidentally bring a lamb and not a ram, maybe the rhyming words confuse me"

I'm the person you see at a funeral, laughing. I always laugh when I'm really sad, or nervous. I say that because I don't want you to mistake my humor; I'm really bothered by this.

I don't get this one. Aaron tried. Aaron was there with Moses from the beginning. Is EVERYONE so expendable? This is one argument I can't see both sides of.

Like I said, there was some pretty good action in these chapters also. But I couldn't focus, i just kept going back to Aaron...

Oh yeah and there was a talking donkey....that in my mind was "donkey" from Shrek and spoke like Eddie Murphy

Leviticus 14-18

Let me start of by saying....Let's all close out eyes for just a moment and try with all of our God given might, to imagine what it must have smelled like around that alter of theirs.

blood+ burnt flesh+ middle eastern heat= ?

As I began my readings this morning I at first was greeted with a big giant YAWN....more with the leapers? really?

Burn this, shave that, wash yourself...yadda, yadda, yadda

But then ladies and gentlemen we get to the good stuff....bodies oozing discharge. Discharge of all kinds...on chairs, in beds, on saddles...

So it would seem when a man discharges semen on a woman, they must wash and burn and sin offer? Be it in bed, a chair, or even a saddle.

It would also seem that when a woman has her period she mush wash and burn and sin offer.

Not only must the sex partners or the grumpy, bloated woman wash, burn and sin offer, but so must anyone who touches them.

Therefore are we to conclude that sex (doesn't specify between a married or unmarried couple) and having your period are both sins in which atonement needs to be made?

I get that they are both unclean, who doesn't want a long hot shower after either of these, but I don't get why go so far as to say we need to atone for them. They are both natural and needed for procreation?

We hear a gain from Aaron who sorta gets told he better tremble a bit when entering the Holy of Holies. And we read about all the sacrifices he must make because his sons were such nimrods. Lots of blood, burning, and washing...

Then more stuff about killing animals. You kill something to eat, first you must bring it to the tent and offer it to the Lord. He then keeps some of it and gives it as a gift back to you....I'm telling you what, I'm not sure I would have made it through all of this. I don't know how these people had any time to discharge semen? Its a wonder they didn't die out all together.

Alas, we get to the big one Chapter 18. Again though I'm not totally sure they needed all the sex rules. Maybe that's what He was doing. Like how you try to keep your teenagers involved, keep them busy, so they don't have time to get into trouble.

We learn you don't have sex with your father (sadly too late for Lot's girls), your mother, your aunt, uncle, cousins, your sister, brother, sister in law, brother in law, neighbors wife, sisters, a mother and her daughter....

You shall not have sex with a woman on her period, you shall not sacrifice your children to the fire god (not sure where that came from?) and at last, the one we all know and love.......a man shall not lay with a man as he would a woman...

So....basically the way I see it, having sex with a woman on her period, sacrificing your kids to the fire god and gay sex are one in the same. Not only that but how many people throughout history have married their cousins?

I'm not trying to be a smart wild ass, I'm just trying to see the difference. Again, we have held on to very few of theses Old Testament rules....so why this one?