Leviticus reading plan thoughts!!

Leviticus 19:26-28 NKJV

The One Year Chronological Bible

Every year for the past three years I have decided to read the bible daily.  The first year I read chronologically, last year was old testament, new testament,  a psalm and a proverb.  This year I went back to chronologically.  That is the way I like best.  I get to see how stories line up,  although,  have you tried to read chronology? Different people put the bible in different order.  It all works,  you get it a little different depending on which plan you follow! This years plan has been different from two years ago! 

Today,  I was reading (I am a little behind) in Leviticus and a couple things struck me.  The first thing was in Leviticus 17:11" for it is by the blood that makes atonement for the soul". I must admit I stopped and retread that.  God being the trustworthy God He is takes all the old testament and uses every book to point to His Son, Jesus Christ!  No one else!  No other God!  He is telling Moses then He has a plan a much better plan.  Could you imagine for just a few minutes what our world would look like if we had to give all the sacrifices these people did.  Could you image the stink? There would be no condos,  no apartments, no studios,  no nothing but farms to keep the animals.  Could you image the drainage needed for the blood,  the entrails  (I love that)! I mean really!  Could you think for a moment, could you visualize what that would look like today? I thank God for His Son. While we were still sinners God had this perfect plan that included this beautiful world we live in where people can live in condos and apartments and not have to worry about having a bull, turtle doves, goats and all the other animals we would need to sacrifice! 

So then I kept reading and God tells Moses to tell the people in Leviticus 18 & 19 all this stuff.  Then verses 26-28 jumped out at me.  I see as a population we agree and mostly hold up the rest,  but 26 -28. What?  No blood in meat? Shaving of the sides of hair?  Changing the shape of the beard? Then cuttings and tattoos?  What exactly is the difference between cutting and tattooing? When you get a tattoo it has to heal, there is a scab that forms that to me is a kind of cutting.  Please don't think I am against all this.  I think why is it that for the most part we would all agree on all the other stuff but this part we do all these things.  Some very devote Christ followers do these things!  When did this become okay? When did the Christ followers say I agree with all that the bible says but this?  I know Christ came to fulfill the law and we have freedom in Christ.  I do!  Am I alone that we still see all the other things Moses spoke about wrong but these couple of verses?  Does this strike anyone else but me in this weird kinda way?  I know we eat the swine, and other hoofed animals that is written in the old testament not to eat.  Then again I ask when did that become okay to eat? 

I also will say that cutting in the sense of cutting for pain is bad. Yes I agree and we do not go to fortune tellers for the future. We do not practice seeking omens. I also see where others have said this is all in witch craft and God is talking about biting the heads off animals and all that crazy stuff. And maybe that is what He is talking about I find it funny that nothing else is taken to mean something totally different. I may be really off and that is fine with me. There are many things that hit me a little strange. Then I wonder are we changing what it says to fit what we are doing or what we want to do? After all God does end every point with these special words - I AM THE LORD.!!!!! 

The things that make you go hummm! I just have to wonder!  Yes,  many things in the old testament I am so thankful we do not follow and yet some I wonder when it became okay to do!