Today’s Scripture Reading (September
1, 2015): Leviticus 17
Gene Roddenberry
and the dreamers around the various incarnations of the Science Fiction series
Star Trek needed a villain. And one of the earliest villains they found was the
Klingon. The original idea was that these aliens would Oriental-like in
appearance. Often the original series would use white actors whose skin could
be darkened into a deep bronze. In later incarnations of the Klingon, facial
ridges would be added to the look to make them seem even more barbaric. But the
barbarism didn’t stop with just the look. Everything that the Klingon did was designed
to be barbaric to the viewer. They were a warrior race and the concept of
growing old was thought to be a violation of their often archaic code of honor.
They were also a race that did not tolerate physical weakness or imperfection.
Their battle cry was direct – “today is a good day to die.”
And, of course,
even their diet had to be barbaric as well. Their favorite drink was bloodwine.
We are not really sure what bloodwine was made of, but in keeping with the
barbaric image the designers were trying to create for this race, fermented
blood and sugar is probably not a bad guess. And then there was the Klingon gagh,
a delicacy consisting of “serpent worms.” While gagh could be served stewed or
cold, most Klingons liked it served live. The actual taste of gagh was supposed
to be revolting, but apparently the Klingons liked the sensation of the animal’s
death-throe spasms in either their mouths or their stomachs. (I hope you aren’t
reading this over a meal.) For this reason, it made no sense to serve dead gagh
because then all you would have was the foul taste. But this image points us in
a specific direction. As we watch the Klingons live and eat they are supposed
to remind us of some of the more barbaric tribes that have roamed the earth in
history – maybe like the Scythians who supposedly killed their enemies and then
drank their blood out of their own skulls.
It was this
image that the Mosaic Law spoke against. According to the Mosaic Law, Israel
was to set themselves apart from the barbaric tribes that surrounded them, and
one of the ways that they were to accomplish this was by not consuming blood.
Blood was to be precious and dedicated only to God. God gave each person and
animal the lifeblood that coursed through their veins, and when that life was
over, the blood had to be returned to God. When an animal was killed, the blood
of the animal had to be drained as much possible from the before it was
consumed. This was not the way that other cultures lived – but it would be the
way that Israel would live. Those culture which drank the blood of their
enemies and animals alike were often considered to be violent and vicious,
fierce and savage. And while that image might serve them well in war, it was not
the image of a people that depended on the grace of God, and not their own
warlike nature, for survival. A culture dependant on God could only return the
blood to him.
And it was
only a sacrifice of blood that could atone for sin. Ultimately, God would send
his own son to die on a cross, his blood providing the atonement for all of
creation. This act lies at the heart of what might be called the Christian
paradox that is found in so many of the hymns that we sing – only by his blood
can we be declared clean. We stand before God washed by blood that is not ours –
and because of that blood, we are forgiven and our sins have been separated from
us – “as far as the
east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us”
(Psalm 103:12). Full atonement has finally been
made – and it was written in blood.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading:
Leviticus 18
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