Leviticus wrap up

First, what did we not see in Leviticus: Heaven, Hell, eternal punishment or reward, demons, devils, miracles, Satan, any mention or hint of a messaiah or son of God,

What did we learn about Yahweh:
-He favors the Israelites over all other people and the Levites over all other Israelites.
-He approves of slavery, unless it involves Israelites
-He is extraordinarily obsessed with ceremonial cleanness and the number seven.
-He is loves animal sacrifices, gifts of food that he will never eat, and money that he will never use.
-He is ruthless and unbending in his punishments for disobedience, not considering circumstances.
-He seems unaware of simple preventative measures for mold, how to keep land fertile, how to treat wounds, and other things an omniscient God should know.
-He places a lower value on females than males.
-He lives in an inner area of the tabernacle tent, hovering over the arc, between the cherubim's wings..
-He is only to be visited once a year, on the day of atonement,  by the high priest.
-All the info about him and his laws was supposedly given to Aaron and the people by Moses.

We also learned that there was unrest in the camp. Some people made their own sacrifices to other gods out in the fields. Some even blasphemed Yahweh. It was made quite clear that doing your own thing could have dire consequences, namely death or excommunication. Execution  included stoning and burning. Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, used the wrong kind of incense and were blasted out of existance by God.

All that aside, what we see is an extraordinary amount of control over the personal lives and possessions of others given to the priestly class. This is a true theocracy. Certainly no one today wants that.

One thing to remember is that these laws were supposedly  created over three thousand years ago for the Israelites as a nation, living in the "promised land." Nowhere do these passages imply that any other people living in any other place are expected to abide by them, least of all  in modern America. To expect otherwise is delusional.

Other legal codes predate this Mosaic law by several hundreds of years and use some of the same terminology, such as the code of Hammurabi. They are also better attested to in the archaeological record, being found on very ancient clay tablets and stones. The mosaic law can not be proven to be anywhere near as old as it claims to be.

There is no concrete evidence for any of the specific events in this book. It does not claim to be written by Moses or to be the word of God.

Edited 10/25/15