The Old Testament: Deuteronomy II – All That Blood on the Ground

Posted on March 21, 2013 by virgowriter

I didn’t do too much playing in the mud when I was a kid.  I avoided finger painting.  Eating messy foods with my fingers? No thanks.  I avoid water rides at amusement parks because I hate walking around wet. But I don’t patrol the house with a bottle 409 every day either (or any day, really).  I don’t wince when I shake someone’s hand, worried about where it’s been. I do appreciate a clean kitchen and bathroom, however, in part because of what’s involved when I’m in there. This makes sense.

For these reasons I appreciated all the thought that went into the rules that dictate the Israelite’s ideas about cleanliness and uncleanliness in Genesis through Deuteronomy.  Some go a little overboard (as I’ve previously mentioned in other posts), but, given the sanitary conditions of society in general, I would have been just as vigilant back then too.

But some of the rules in Deuteronomy backtrack on this commitment to cleanliness

The Israelites are told to pour the blood of animals on the ground (12:16, 15:23).  It’s hard not to envision the parallel between this practice and the one gangster rappers used, spilling their 40s on the sidewalk for their dead hommies.  But here, I was worried about how sanitary this practice was.  For people obsessed with cleanliness, this seems like a really bad idea. (Actually it seems like a bad idea in ANY context.) If you’re going to break one of God’s rules, this seems like the one. Elsewhere, there is discussion of how to clean unclean things—women menstruating, semen stained clothing—yet here there is no mention of how to handle the blood once it’s on the floor.  Leave it there?  Wait an hour and mop it up?

The ideas and details in the rest of Deuteronomy make more sense, however.  For example, an enviable concern for neighbors (15:8), the caring of slaves on the run (23:15-16), as well as with those less fortunate, with the practice of the “Sabbath year.”  This rule mandates that every seven years debts are to be forgiven, slaves to be freed (unless, of course, said slave is happy and has no interest in being freed—15:14). In addition, if you are forced to loan money to someone, you may not take as collateral something that would compromise that person’s ability to earn a living. Other specific instructions on looking out for the poor abound (24:10-22).

Nature lovers will also appreciate how rules in place in Deuteronomy call for the protection of fruit producing trees.  Sure, the point is that they provide necessary food; still, the fact that they have the forethought to pay attention to nature is impressive.

Out of all of this interesting thought, one minor point managed to stand about the rest: the rise of the transvestite.  Mentioned quickly, a law prohibited this practice (22:5).  Maybe some guys wanted an ancient form of high heels to wear so that they could avoid all the animal blood on the ground?

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The Old Testament: Deuteronomy I: The Israelite’s Cliffs Notes

Posted on March 18, 2013 by virgowriter

What English student doesn’t know about Cliffs Notes (or its cousin Spark Notes)?  These mini-“study guides” distill a work of literature to its important elements, like major plot lines and character summaries. Slacker students (or people who hate reading), love them.  Forget reading the assigned novel; dive into these yellow and black books and learn enough to pass the test or perhaps write a serviceable (though incredibly average) essay. These aren’t the best avenue to take when getting an A in a class (or learning all that you can/should) is your goal. They also drive teachers crazy, in part because they know what is left out.

I may have used one or two in my pre-college career.  I didn’t like some of the books assigned in high school. Maybe I was just lazy.  Cliffs Notes helped me pass a few tests but learned little.  I also missed out on building key reading skills, which returned to bite me in college.  I may have learned what happened, but skipping the manner in which things unfolded or the nuisances of why something happened compromised my ability to understand all I should have.

Deuteronomy is God’s version of Cliffs Notes for the Israelite tribes, who about to enter the Promised Land.  And like Cliffs Notes, this section of the Bible sticks to the big picture events and themes, eschewing the nuisances that provided context (and depth) for the events.

Deuteronomy unfolds like Moses’ fireside chat.  His purpose: remind the Israelites of what they’ve endured these past forty years—from the end of their captivity in Egypt to their arduous trek through the desert.  Maybe even more significantly, this condensed version of their trials and tribulations serves as the first time (perhaps) some of the young members of tribes have learned of these details.  Having been too young to have experienced these events first hand, they will hopefully grasp their importance.

And like a teacher working with students who are only familiar with the Cliffs Notes version of a novel, Moses is weary. This lesson isn’t falling short. God knows they will screw themselves too (31:16).

With his last chance to make his case, Moses knows that if they don’t understand and commit to maintaining the values and ideals he has instilled in them, God will destroy them.  You’d think that all that these people have been through would have left a big impression, but since almost everyone that fled Egypt died in the desert, the experiences of the previous generations just aren’t real enough to have an impact.  What would it have taken for them to appreciate what sacrifices have been made thus far?  Maybe they just needed more information.

Still, maybe God was being too harsh on them.  People disobey things all the time.  Parents tell their children not to do something and they do it anyway.  Teachers assign texts and expect students to read them.  Some take the short cuts—seeking things like Cliff Notes—but this doesn’t make them bad students, it just means they don’t get as good of grades as the ones who do take the time.  You can’t have an entire class of A students nor can you expect to.

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The Old Testament: Numbers IV – Towns of Refuge

Posted on March 16, 2013 by virgowriter

As a server, I, along with most of the staff, worked with someone who I didn’t think was particularly bright.  This other employee, who was about my age, didn’t know any of the cultural references with which my generation would be familiar—icons like John Lennon, Picasso, and Shamu.  There might have been (unfortunately) a joke or two at this server’s expense over the years.

One day I was writing something and needed a particular word spelled.  I was pretty sure the word began with a ph but it didn’t look right. I asked another server, who also didn’t know.  We came up with a number of possible versions—none looked right (and since this was the 90s, we didn’t have a phone to check). The server whose name and gender I have withheld was standing at the computer and did an eye roll. Without a moment’s hesitation, this server spelled it for us: F-A-C-E-T-I-O-U-S. Walking away, this server gave a head shake that suggested we were both idiots.  I looked at the other server and we both had the same response: that couldn’t possibly be correct, could it?

I’d been wrong about my co-worker and it only took that one moment of intelligence to change my impression.

I had a similar experience with Numbers: The majority of Numbers is fraught with contradictions and brutal moments, but then the end arrives, and with it an impressive amount of progressive thinking.

Throughout Numbers, the tribes of Israel have been wandering the desert, inching closer and closer to their destination. They have one more hurdle to cross: the river Jordan.  Before taking that step and entering the Promised Land, Moses reminds the tribes of a series of laws and celebration schedules (including the intriguing idea of land redistribution every fifty years mentioned in Leviticus). But what really stands out in this section is the idea of Towns of Refuge.

Thus far, the Bible paints a violent picture of society during this era. This is typically handled in black and white terms—you killed someone, you die, etc. Here though, for the first time, context matters.

When someone killed someone else, he or she fled to one of these Towns of Refuge, which served as a neutral zone until cooler heads prevailed concerning the alleged crime.  This concept shows how the people understood a distinction between murder (on purpose) and manslaughter (by accident).  Even further, until all the facts of a situation could be determined in a trial (complete with multiple witnesses, not just one), the person was safe within the town limits.

Since apparently retribution was a big deal (the whole eye-for-an-eye issue), this system indicates a pretty advanced sense of right and wrong—look, circumstances matter; things are not always black and white.   When it seemed that no matter what was being said or why throughout much of the Old Testament thus far, this section shows that circumstances mattered.  People were being really smart—and humane—about something happening (especially involving something as serious as the loss of life).

Finishing Numbers left me with a sense that there is a very human, caring heart beating within these stories.

Up Next: Deuteronomy.  I’m trying not to picture an adult wearing cat makeup and dressed in tights when wondering what’s in store for me.

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