Today's Scripture Reading (September 2, 2023): Ezekiel 48
I have a bit of a salt addiction. I try not to eat it
much, but there are certain foods, like French fries, where I admit I like my
salt. I also joke that I have a salt tooth instead of a sweet tooth. If a
craving grabs me, it is more often for something salty than something sweet.
I think that salt is a fantastic substance. But it
has to be sprinkled onto the food to be enjoyed. You might pool ketchup in one
place and dip the food into it, but a pile of salt is generally useless. But sprinkle
the white crystals onto something you are about to eat, and it has the power to
transform your meal, as long as your blood pressure can take it.
When the nation of Israel was formed, and the land
was divided among the twelve tribes, the tribe of Levi didn't receive an
allotment. The idea seemed to be that the priests and Levites, technically the
priests were also part of the tribe of Levi, would be like salt on our food;
they would be sprinkled out over the tribes, giving the Levites a chance to challenge
the tribes and to remind them that Israel was to be spiritually set apart from
the other nations.
But with this new Israel, that would change. The
tribe of Levi would have an allotment alongside the other tribes and directly
beside the area set apart for the Temple. It should also be noted that the land
set aside for the Temple and the Levites matches the dimensions of the Sacred
District that Ezekiel describes in Ezekiel 45. So, this Holy District might be
these two sections taken together. But whatever the reality might be, the
priest and Levites would live close to the Temple in which they would serve.
And rather than being sprinkled out like salt in Israel, they would find their
place at the heart of the New Israel.
Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 40
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