***It would be wise to follow what God says even if it’s only for a reason of physical comfort, commerce or any other theory that’s been advanced.***
Let us go through Lev 19 and see what the Lord says there and let us examine ourselves to see if we have paid attention to these edicts:
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“When you sacrifice your peace offering to the LORD, if you wish it to be acceptable,
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it must be eaten on the very day of your sacrifice or on the following day. Whatever is left over until the third day shall be burned up in the fire.
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If any of it is eaten on the third day, the sacrifice will be unacceptable as refuse;
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whoever eats of it then shall pay the penalty for having profaned what is sacred to the LORD. Such a one shall be cut off from his people.
Freezing doesn’t count, right?
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“When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not be so thorough that you reap the field to its very edge, nor shall you glean the stray ears of grain.
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Likewise, you shall not pick your vineyard bare, nor gather up the grapes that have fallen. These things you shall leave for the poor and the alien. I, the LORD, am your God.
All you farmers; how much do you leave for the poor and alien as they pass through your fields?
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“Keep my statutes: do not breed any of your domestic animals with others of a different species; do not sow a field of yours with two different kinds of seed; and do not put on a garment woven with two different kinds of thread.
Whooo. All those who bred mules are gonna die horribly right? Mixing seeds in a field will get you Pharaoh’s fate? And polyester/cotton blends will put you in the lake of fire?
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2 “If a man has carnal relations with a female slave who has already been living with another man but has not yet been redeemed or given her freedom, they shall be punished but not put to death, because she is not free.
Get out your slaves! Just remember to screw your own slave, and leave the slaves of others alone.
3 “When you come into the land and plant any fruit tree there, first look upon its fruit as if it were uncircumcised. For three years, while its fruit remains uncircumcised, it may not be eaten.
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In the fourth year, however, all of its fruit shall be sacred to the LORD as a thanksgiving feast to him.
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Not until the fifth year may you eat its fruit. Thus it will continue its yield for you. I, the LORD, am your God.
Anybody, but anybody practice this? Come on Doug, if you plant a fruit tree, do you let the first three years fall to the ground, sacrifice the fourth year’s fruits to God and then munch down thereafter?
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“Do not eat meat with the blood still in it. Do not practice divination or soothsaying.
I am going to hell - my steaks are all medium rare. I don’t even read horoscopes though, do you?
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4 Do not clip your hair at the temples, nor trim the edges of your beard.
I get a regular haircut and wear a goatee. Am I damned?
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Do not lacerate your bodies for the dead, and do not tattoo yourselves. I am the LORD.
I’m off the hook here. I have no ink and no more holes in me than I was born with. You tattooed in any way?
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“Do not go to mediums or consult fortune-tellers, for you will be defiled by them. I, the LORD, am your God.
No fortune tellers here - I don’t even have a Magic 8-ball.
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“Stand up in the presence of the aged, and show respect for the old; thus shall you fear your God. I am the LORD.
You do this all the time?
Here is the context of God. How do you measure up?
That being said we all fail horribly at living up to a Godly standard. But as you know Christ died so we could be forgiven our sins. But why NOT let the spirit of Christ live through us and try to live up to these things that you listed? What's the harm in respecting the aged? What's the harm in not getting a tattoo or a piercing? What's the harm in donating food to the poor??
I'm not going to question the wisdom of the Lord.