Logo

 

Banner Image:   Baptist-Times-banner-2000x370-
Template Mode:   Baptist Times
Icon
    Post     Tweet


Need help with Leviticus?
 

Baptist minister and tutor Helen Paynter introduces a new, short video series on one of the trickiest books in the Bible




A member of my family (I’m not going to say who, in case they don’t manage it) declared their intention to read through the Bible in 2022. This set me thinking about how many people start the year with that aim, but somehow can’t make it through some of the tough Old Testament books. One of the toughest, I think, is Leviticus.

Genesis is pretty exciting and fast-moving in the main, with all its stories of dirty dealings in the family of the patriarchs. Exodus has all those familiar stories at the beginning, and although they might get a bit bogged down in tabernacle-building towards the end, the reader generally has a head of steam that can see them through. But then, they will hit Leviticus.

By now it is probably February, the first flush of determination might have ebbed away. And Leviticus is – we can’t deny it – a bit abstruse. Why would your average modern Christian want to read about the details of ancient sacrifices and uncleanness laws? Isn’t it just too obscure and archaic to be relevant? Isn’t it – frankly – boring?

Well, I’d say no, but I guess as someone who spends much of my life studying the Old Testament, that makes me a bit weird, by definition.

But as someone who spends a fair bit of my life studying the Old Testament, it occurred to me that I might have something to offer people who are working their way through Leviticus. I might be able to help.

In the first lockdown in 2020, I took it into my head to produce a series of videos – I called them a ‘Bible Tour’ – covering every book in the Bible. Well, I needed something to keep me out of mischief! I was delighted that a number of people seemed to find them helpful, and so I thought I might try to build on this.

This is a much more modest undertaking. What I’ve made is a short series of short videos on Leviticus, broken into its main sections. That means, depending on your reading plan, you’d need one of the videos every two or three days. I’ve kept the videos short because reading through the Bible is a major undertaking in itself, and I’m not looking to add to anyone’s burden. Of course, they’re by no means offering a thorough study of any section of the book – I’m just aiming to point out one or two things that I think are exciting about the chapters in question.

I have two aims: to try to help people discover the wonderful ways in which Leviticus helps us to understand the gospels better; and to try to coach readers through this tricky book so they don’t give up on their Bible read-through.

All that, of course, reflects one of the greatest passions of my life – to see God’s word continue to speak in power today, as it always has.

Yes, even Leviticus. 
 

 

The Revd Dr Helen Paynter is Tutor in Biblical Studies and Coordinator of Theological Education, and Director of the Centre for the Study of Bible and Violence, Bristol Baptist College.

Access her series on Leviticus here



 

 
 




Do you have a view? Share your thoughts via our letters' page

 
 
 

 

 
 

 


 
Baptist Times, 03/02/2022
    Post     Tweet
Sharing the Christian story with your local schools
A presentation that has seen hundreds of thousands of pupils learn more about the Christian faith at Christmas and Easter marks its 30th anniversary next year – and it is hoped even more churches and schools could be involved
‘It will help you encounter Jesus in new and deeper ways’
Mosaic Creative has announced the release of a new book and audiobook of biblical monologues for churches called Following the Son by Jackie Mouradian
Different types of small church
The Small Church Connexion team is testing out different categories of small church, from a new plant to one that is choosing to close. These are imprecise categories which need to be fleshed out, but can help us strengthen the resource we offer
My journey to becoming a national hockey umpire
Interview with Annette Golding, a Baptist church member who became a Level 3 hockey umpire in 2022
‘Enabling people to be deeply human in safety’
Sanctuary Mental Health Ministries equips the church to support mental health and wellbeing. Baptist minister Shaun Lambert spoke with its UK Director Corin Pilling
Is generosity the new evangelism?
A generous life has the power to change lives today, writes Wendy Pawsey, head of giving for the Evangelical Alliance, and author of Generous with a Capital G, part of the 2024 Big Church Read
     The Baptist Times 
    Posted: 11/09/2024
    Posted: 05/02/2024
    Posted: 16/12/2023
    Posted: 15/12/2023
    Posted: 06/12/2023
    Posted: 27/11/2023
    Posted: 01/11/2023