"The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Leviticus 19:28,
"Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the Lord."
I don't care for tattoos. I don't have one and I'm not particularly given to the pop-culture practices that come and go anyway. I also don't have rings or pins or posts or whatever hanging on various parts of my body either. We have enough lemmings amongst us without me contributing.
I suspect we have all seen what some might consider to be the more "tasteful" variety of tattoos as well as the horrific and garish. What I have found odd is that some who would be considered otherwise very attractive marking themselves all up - and not doing their appearance any favors. As one celebrity has said, "You wouldn't put bumper stickers on a Bently, would you?" when asked if she had one.
You might think Leviticus 19:28 would be a great passage to start a biblical movement against tattoos. However, I would be wrong to base an argument against the popular tattoo of our day on this verse. This verse is not about having a military unit tattooed on an arm (or whatever). It is about idolatry.
Here is an observation found at http://www.vanishingtattoo.com/tattoos_culture_leviticus.htm:
"It is widely believed among Biblical scholars that Leviticus 19:28 refers to an ancient practice in the Middle East of people cutting themselves and rubbing in ash when in a period of mourning after an individual had died. It was a sign of respect for the dead and a symbol of respect and reverence and a sense of profound loss for the newly departed; and it is surmised that the ash that was rubbed into the self-inflicted wounds came from the actual funeral pyres that were used to cremate the bodies. In essence, people were literally carrying with them a reminder of the recently deceased in the form of tattoos created by ash being rubbed into shallow wounds cut or slashed into the body, usually the forearms. This rite would have been part of a culturally accepted process of grieving."
Specifically, the law that the Lord gave his people here concerned pagan religious rituals of the peoples that Israel was to destroy as they took possession of the promised land - a tidbit I picked up years ago in studying the background of this prohibition.
And... that is my point. I can't begin to count the many ways I might find myself in error (and have done so!) if I failed to take advantage of the many good volumes on the history, culture, geography, etc. background materials on the Bible available today. Sometimes it makes a difference in how a passage is perceived after understanding the historical and cultural context in which it is found.
Here is an interesting tattoo question: "On his [Jesus Christ's] robe and on his thigh he has this name written: King of kings and Lord of lords." Revelation 19:16. Let's just say on his robe his ID is embroidered. On his thigh... is that a tattoo?
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
"Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the Lord."
I don't care for tattoos. I don't have one and I'm not particularly given to the pop-culture practices that come and go anyway. I also don't have rings or pins or posts or whatever hanging on various parts of my body either. We have enough lemmings amongst us without me contributing.
I suspect we have all seen what some might consider to be the more "tasteful" variety of tattoos as well as the horrific and garish. What I have found odd is that some who would be considered otherwise very attractive marking themselves all up - and not doing their appearance any favors. As one celebrity has said, "You wouldn't put bumper stickers on a Bently, would you?" when asked if she had one.
You might think Leviticus 19:28 would be a great passage to start a biblical movement against tattoos. However, I would be wrong to base an argument against the popular tattoo of our day on this verse. This verse is not about having a military unit tattooed on an arm (or whatever). It is about idolatry.
Here is an observation found at http://www.vanishingtattoo.com/tattoos_culture_leviticus.htm:
"It is widely believed among Biblical scholars that Leviticus 19:28 refers to an ancient practice in the Middle East of people cutting themselves and rubbing in ash when in a period of mourning after an individual had died. It was a sign of respect for the dead and a symbol of respect and reverence and a sense of profound loss for the newly departed; and it is surmised that the ash that was rubbed into the self-inflicted wounds came from the actual funeral pyres that were used to cremate the bodies. In essence, people were literally carrying with them a reminder of the recently deceased in the form of tattoos created by ash being rubbed into shallow wounds cut or slashed into the body, usually the forearms. This rite would have been part of a culturally accepted process of grieving."
Specifically, the law that the Lord gave his people here concerned pagan religious rituals of the peoples that Israel was to destroy as they took possession of the promised land - a tidbit I picked up years ago in studying the background of this prohibition.
And... that is my point. I can't begin to count the many ways I might find myself in error (and have done so!) if I failed to take advantage of the many good volumes on the history, culture, geography, etc. background materials on the Bible available today. Sometimes it makes a difference in how a passage is perceived after understanding the historical and cultural context in which it is found.
Here is an interesting tattoo question: "On his [Jesus Christ's] robe and on his thigh he has this name written: King of kings and Lord of lords." Revelation 19:16. Let's just say on his robe his ID is embroidered. On his thigh... is that a tattoo?
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
No comments:
Post a Comment