Sambal

I’m trying to develop a habit, and it’s awfully premature to be posting about it on the first day, but what the “heck”, I’ll post anyway. I signed up for one of those “Bible in a Year” sites and set myself up with a daily email reminder.

Let me tell you that February 23rd is not the best day to start on this task. At least, I hope it’s not a typical day. Here’s the reading: we start with the Beatitudes, which is nice, but that means that we’re done with the Beatitudes. That was going to be the high point, I thought. Apparently not.

Then we go on a long and winding journey discussing the ornamentation of the high priest’s ephod. WTF is an ephod, I’d never have known but for this; apparently it’s the high priest’s garb. So after like a page of the ephod, and a long discussion of how there should be a hem around the neckhole of the ephod so it doesn’t fray, and pomegranates (!) and bells all along the skirts thereof. Oh yes; the priests should wear underwear — “from the loins even unto the thighs shall reach.”

Then details of the sacrifice necessary to consecrate the priests. A bullock and two rams, slaughtered, blood sprinkled about, and burned on the altar. There shall be a burnt-offering, and a wave-offering [apparently you pick it up and wave it at Jehovah?] and a heave-offering, which is not, as I thought, what happens when the smell of burning kidneys and liver makes you heave. Because apparently Moses gets to eat part of the heave-offering, and Aaron and his sons get the rest.

And finally, every day, you shall sacrifice on the altar two yearling lambs. That’s a lot of lamb! I had to read the commentary to understand this bit, but duh, Christ.

Then we get back to the snappy stuff - Proverbs 13 has some good stuff in it: