Dear Church Family,

Hope you are looking forward to Resurrection Sunday! We would love for you to bring a friend or two or three! Praying for the Gospel to be planted in good soil. I loved this article by Chad Bird:

What Biblical Chapter Is at the Center of the Torah?

The opening five books or scrolls of the Bible are known as the Torah (“teaching”) or the Pentateuch (“five books”). Both in length and theme, there is a discernible pattern between the five. And there also appears to be a central chapter. The first and last books, Genesis and Deuteronomy, are about beginnings and endings. Genesis documents the beginning of the world, humanity, and the family of Abraham. Deuteronomy takes place at the end of the wilderness wanderings and right before a new beginning: the re-entrance of Abraham’s family into the promised land, which they left at the end of Genesis. Both books also conclude with the death of a patriarch: Jacob in Genesis and Moses in Deuteronomy. The second and fourth books, Exodus and Numbers, are about the same length. Exodus is 16,713 Hebrew words long and Numbers is 16,413 words long. In both books, we find Israel wandering in the wilderness, and dealing with plagues, rebellion, and various enemies. These themes link the second and fourth books. Right in the center of these five books, and the shortest of the five, is Leviticus. Scholars describe the structure of Leviticus in different ways, but many highlight the 36 or 37 divine speeches in the book. And what is at the very center of these speeches? The Day of Atonement in Leviticus 16. Leviticus scholar *John Kleinig calls it “a speech that is central to the message of the entire book.” And *Michael Morales writes that “the Day of Atonement in Leviticus 16 [is] the book’s literary centre.” Since Leviticus is the central book of the Torah, and the Day of Atonement is the center of Leviticus, then—to quote Morales again—this holy day “becomes the literary and thematic centre of the Pentateuch.” Isn’t that perfectly fitting? The chapter that most graphically foreshadows the day of Christ’s crucifixion, when he himself enters with his own blood into the Holy of Holies, that is the central chapter of the Torah. Keeping first things first, keeping central things central, God has been doing that since the beginning. Atonement, cleansing, forgiveness, and access to our Lord by means of sacrifice: that is the very heart of the Torah. That is the very heart of the Scriptures themselves, for Christ crucified and risen for you is the very heart of the Scriptures. *John Kleinig, the Concordia Commentary on Leviticus. *Michael Morales, Who Shall Ascend the Mountain of the Lord?

Press on,

Mark