Bible in a Year - Day 52

Day 46: Leviticus 20 & 21; Matthew 28
Say to the Israelites: ‘Any Israelite or any foreigner residing in Israel who sacrifices any of his children to Molek is to be put to death. The members of the community are to stone him. (Leviticus 20:2)
Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death. Because they have cursed their father or mother, their blood will be on their own head. If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife —with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress are to be put to death. (Leviticus 20:9-10)
 But I said to you, “You will possess their land; I will give it to you as an inheritance, a land flowing with milk and honey.” I am the Lord your God, who has set you apart from the nations. (Leviticus 20:24) 
You are to be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own. (Leviticus 20:26) 
He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. (Matthew 28:6) 
Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” (Matthew 28:10) 
And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. (Matthew 28:20b) 

Bible in a Year - Day 45

Day 41 - Leviticus 10, 11 & 12; Matthew 26:1-19
Leviticus is a difficult book so far. I'm struggling to find evidence of our loving God, though perhaps Leviticus 12 shows His love for women. They are unclean from 33 (after a boy) to 66 (after a girl) days after birth. I do not profess to understand all the clean and unclean laws, but I do wonder if perhaps this law was to allow women the chance to rest, recuperate and bond with their new babies. They would be unable to do anything for anyone else, for fear of making them unclean too, so would be free to sleep, to cuddle, to breastfeed, to settle into motherhood. And while it seems unfair that the period of uncleanliness is longer after giving birth to a girl, perhaps this was to allow an extra time of bonding with a new daughter, who would not have the immediate status and importance of a son, and so might need extra love and attachment.

Bible in a Year - Day 40

Day 40 - Leviticus 7, 8 & 9; Matthew 25:31-46

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ (Matthew 25:40)

I love that our God is so good that He calls us to love Him by loving others, by loving the least of these. God loves the people that society forgets and ignores: the hungry and thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick and the prisoner. I think this includes the unborn child, the homeless, drug addicts and immigrants too. It's about valuing people because they are God's perfect creations, and because He loves us first.

Bible in a Year - Day 39

Day 26 - Exodus 11 & 12; Matthew 18:21-35
‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.’” Then the people bowed down and worshiped. (Exodus 12:27)

The Lord had made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and they gave them what they asked for; so they plundered the Egyptians. (Exodus 12:36)

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive someone who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. (Matthew 18:21-22)

“The servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. (Matthew 18:26-27)

Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ (Matthew 18:33)