Bible Study:
Introduction
Good day to all, we continue with Leviticus Chapter 19. When reading the Bible from now on, let us cultivate a habit: train yourselves to summarise the theme of each chapter. We have a peculiar habit among us: a fondness for listening to sermons. Why is this habit strange? Because listening eventually turns one into a sermon connoisseur. Why is enjoying sermons a bad habit? Because it leads to passive reception.
There are many forms of passive reception, but those who passively receive information become dull. Only those who actively receive become intelligent. Many media encourage passive reception. The first is television. After its invention, adults and children alike stare blankly at the TV for two to three hours. Afterwards, if you ask them, What did you see? they know nothing, having merely watched for two to three hours. People become dull when they receive information in this way.
In the old days, there was no TV, no mobile phones, no iPads, and no dramas. What did people do? They invented many things. For example, in Northeast China, winter was a time for hibernation. What is hibernation? It means holing up indoors because the bitter cold outside is unbearable. People would heat up the kang (a heated brick bed) and hibernate inside. Without radio, TV, or mobile phones, there was only one thing to do: chat idly.
Don't underestimate idle chatting. If you are good at it, you can achieve great things. The people of Northeast China chatted their way into creating Northeast comedy skits. Many people, from the Central Plains to the South, enjoy the Northeast comedy skits on the Spring Festival Gala. The people of Northeast China hibernated their way into creating Northeast Errenzhuan (a form of local folk opera) and storytelling. Storytelling is best done by the people of Northeast China. In those days, there was no TV, but there was initiative. People actively created things. Regardless of whether what was created was edifying, people found it enjoyable. To this day, the people of Northeast China love to talk. How did they develop this skill? Through hibernation.
We Are to Live Holy Lives
How did we get here while discussing Leviticus? I do not want everyone to listen passively. Some may ask, Then why do you broadcast sermons all day? I simply do not want everyone to only watch TV or scroll through Douyin (TikTok in China) without knowing what they have gained. It is better to listen to sermons. But the problem is, it is useless to be passive, no matter what you listen to. Bible study is also useless if done passively. Some may think, Reading the Bible every day must lead to a very holy life. But that is not the case. If you study the Bible passively, you will become a Pharisee. Prolonged passivity is a very, very serious problem.
So, how do we read the Bible actively today? We read it not for others, but for ourselves. We must discern how what is said in the Bible relates to us. There are countless connections. Chapter 19 covers many diverse topics, so we must actively seek out the chapter's main theme. This is how we become active. It becomes even more active if we relate the chapter to ourselves. And it becomes even more active if we put what we learn into practice!
How do we find the theme of this chapter? If you listen to this chapter, you will notice the repeated phrase, I am the LORD your God. If you read aloud, you will find that the most repeated phrase is I am the LORD, I am the LORD your God. This immediately reveals the theme.
This corresponds with the opening verses of the chapter: You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy (Leviticus 19:2). The theme of this chapter is in this opening statement. Explaining it in various ways leads to the different points written below. Understanding is achieved in this way.
If we cannot find the theme, we are like someone lost, disoriented as if struck by a blow, unable to find our direction. Before navigation systems, people looked for the Big Dipper to find their direction, knowing which way they were heading. When we read the phrase, You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy, the theme is immediately clear. If you want to shorten this statement, it becomes You shall be holy. Further modified, it becomes We are to be holy. A slight adjustment gives us We are to live holy lives. All these themes work. But this is the method for finding the theme.
The third verse of the opening chapter states: Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and you shall keep my Sabbaths; I am the LORD your God. Wasn't it just mentioned that I am the LORD your God? Why does it come again in the third verse? This is an interesting point to ponder. Honoring parents is the first condition, and keeping the Sabbath is the second. God interestingly puts honoring parents and keeping the Sabbath together. In fact, God is our Heavenly Father. We immediately say, To live a holy life is to honor our parents.
The LORD Is Our God; We Should Listen to Him and Honor Our Parents
Let me digress slightly: What does the phrase The LORD is our God really mean? We will look at honoring parents later. Because the LORD is our God, we should honor our parents? Because He is our God, we should live holy lives?
Deeply examining this matter reveals that it means God is everything to us! People who have worshipped idols for a long time never regard the idols as everything to them. Instead, they hope the idols will follow their wishes, granting whatever they ask for, viewing the idols as beneficent. The LORD God is our God. He is everything to us. We live and are born for Him.
That is, everything we live for relies on our God. If the LORD is our God, we lack nothing in life because we have God. God provides everything for us, and we offer a little back to honor our parents. God is pleased with us, and because God is pleased, we give back. The meaning of The LORD is our God is that He is everything to us, and we are to live for Him. This is what it means for the LORD to be our God!
Therefore, we cannot worship the LORD God like we worship idols. He is our God, the Lord of all creation. Everything we have should be dedicated to pleasing Him alone. Everyone should honor their parents and keep God's Sabbath. Honoring parents requires deep thought. From my past observations, a person's relationship with their parents represents many things. For example, people always have reasons when their relationship with their parents is not good. Some even go to extremes, saying, My father doesn't like me; my father hates me; my mother doesn't like me either. Every time I call them, we argue, and I feel terrible. Why is this so? What fills a person's heart comes out of their mouth.
When interacting with people, my motivation for service is not there. Why do I serve these people in this way? Because I love our God and serve according to His will. I am cautious about doing things based on my personal preferences. How can someone who doesn't love their parents love me? If they have a bad relationship with their parents, who raised them with great care, and can still find fault, how will I not be found fault with, since I haven't done as much for them as their parents have? Take a careful look at what fills people's hearts.
I am often moved by how many people find reasons to absolve themselves of all blame. If a person has a bad relationship with their parents, the root cause is selfishness, caring only about their own feelings. Or, the person's parents also care only about their own feelings. How can they get along well if both sides are like this? Even if parents have selfish tendencies, they cannot not love their children. Even tigers do not eat their cubs, let alone humans.
Some may say their parents are not like that, giving plenty of reasons. Relationships are built through interaction. How can a person be healthy if they do not honor their parents? Living on earth with a bad relationship with one's parents is the height of selfishness. Finding fault with parents to the point of being critical means having one's own interpretation of everything. Perhaps parents do have flaws, but they did one thing right: they raised you from infancy with great care. You might say you were raised by your grandmother, but you still spent nine months in your mother's womb, didn't you? The nutrients your mother ate went into your body, didn't they?
That is, we must learn how to see things. Having a talent for fault-finding is useless. We must learn to deal with our own faults. If you say your parents have flaws, what is the problem? I often see our brothers and sisters' parents giving them money to buy houses. Others say their parents didn't do that. See, bad relationships actually reflect shadows of our parents, which we inherit with us. We ourselves are actually very similar to them.
For example, during the pandemic, one of our sisters' mother sent her masks and Lianhua Qingwen (a Chinese medicine). Our sister was angry and complained, Why are my parents so foolish? I scolded her. At first, she was not convinced. I handled the matter skillfully. It was quite a battle, but I finally changed her view. However, other issues have not been resolved. If you do not want to listen, that is fine. To put it bluntly, I serve her as if I were serving God!
Some healthy brothers and sisters may not understand why I spend so much time serving her. Why don't you serve me? What kind of thinking is that? Should I serve you according to your wishes? Those who are weak need more time to be served! Those who only care about themselves are foolish. This Sunday, I will talk to everyone about selfishness and foolishness. Selfishness leads to foolishness. If you cannot even manage your relationship with your parents, how can you manage a relationship with anyone else? Frankly, I can manage a good relationship with anyone. If I have a good relationship with you, it is not because of you, but because of me.
A sister with a tendency towards mental illness or depression stayed with me for a month and had no issues because I manage relationships well. Because I serve her as if I were serving God. According to my own preferences, I would want to stay as far away from these people as possible. However, because I am serving God, I cannot follow my own desires. The LORD is my God, and I must serve according to God's will. I manage a good relationship with everyone because I follow God's will.
This sister worked for me, and I assigned her to the office. There was another sister in the office who previously had depression. These two sisters were together, and because it was cold, they argued over whether to turn on the air conditioner, to the point where they were almost becoming mentally ill, each only caring about their own feelings and not considering the other's feelings. What I am saying is that interacting with parents is a good litmus test of whether we can have selfless love. Parents may have different ways of showing love, and some may simply want you to provide for them in the future. This is normal. Shouldn't we offer them some comfort?
We should be holy. Does honoring our parents make us holy? Honoring our parents is what we should do most because the LORD God is our God. God is holy and impartial. God never wants anything from us, but only wants to give to us. Our God is holy, meaning He is completely selfless and has absolutely no selfish motives. To emulate God, we must adjust our relationships with others, most importantly by not caring so much about ourselves. Others may not even care about you, yet you start thinking they don't like you, easily falling into selfishness.
Do not find examples of when you are not selfish. You are bound to be selfish in a hundred things, but God is never selfish in anything. I like to share practical examples to remind our brothers and sisters to know that selfishness attracts demons the most. For example, one of our sisters whose daughter was facing extreme challenges in life, with mortgages, credit card debts, and owing hundreds of thousands of dollars, said, I'm not going to deal with her issues! Hearing this, I knew this sister was very selfish. Have I treated you like that? You're not even my daughter! Am I not treating you well enough, so why can't you treat your daughter the same? People can be so muddled!
Xihe Dagu (a type of Chinese folk storytelling) talks about the difficulties of the elderly, saying that old age brings many problems. Some of our sisters often act confused, so I made up a song for them: Women are muddled, women are muddled, often mistaking good people for bad. Selfishness is detestable. How can selfishness resemble God? God has set rules for us to honor our parents, not for parents to honor us. Even if parents are very muddled, we must still honor them. Parents would think I am preaching well, but I am also speaking to parents: What is your relationship with your parents like? Your parents may already be gone, but do you not need to reflect? You only think about your children honoring you, but did you think about honoring your own parents?
Do not do what God does not like. Do well what God likes. My mother did not suffer in her old age. She is very blessed in her life. I have a very good relationship with my mother. Whenever we are together, we go to the market to buy groceries arm in arm, taking her out to eat. Sometimes she cooks for me at home. My mother's cooking is delicious, and her dumplings are delicious. My mother works quickly and can prepare a table full of dishes in no time. My mother is fortunate to have me as her son, lacking nothing in money or anything else.
This is interesting. How does one have this blessing? Because my mother is a very filial child. My mother is filial to her parents and treats my maternal grandmother well. If she has a bowl of porridge, her mother also has a bowl of porridge. If she has a pair of pants to wear, her mother also has a pair of pants to wear. In addition, my mother is also very filial to her father-in-law, my paternal grandfather. When my grandfather was ill, my mother would rather go into debt to take care of him, feeding him bite by bite. When people are not well, there is no talk of self-esteem, just constant care.
A child weighs ten pounds, and you have to care for them constantly. That old man was even more difficult to care for, but my mother took care of my grandfather in this way. When did my grandfather die? He died the year before I was born. After my mother saw my grandfather off, she conceived me the following year. Is this not a blessing? The son my mother raised, others would say, Look at the son you raised. Look at the son I raised. Why don't they look at themselves? People always want to look at others, but why don't they look at how my mother honors her parents? Is the level of my mother's filial piety the same as theirs? The sons raised are also different.
Therefore, one should honor their parents so that their days on earth may be long. What is it to be blessed? To be blessed is to be in accordance with God's will, because blessings come from God, and God is the Lord of all creation. If we please Him, will we not receive grace and blessings in His presence? Grace and blessings do not come from others wishing you a happy new year. It is that what you do is protected by God, preventing demons from touching you.
Honour Your Parents, That Your Days May Be Long Upon The Earth
Let us ponder this together. Our God is the Lord of all creation, holy, and therefore we too must be holy. To do this, we must remove selfishness from within us, and our relationship with our parents is a touchstone for this. Why do some people not honour their parents? Is it not often because of money? Honoring parents requires financial resources, and some feel that doing so hinders their ability to earn more. Caring for parents may disrupt one's life, and the unwillingness to be inconvenienced leads to neglecting filial duties. It becomes troublesome. And when you’re done with excuses, you realise how selfish one can be.
Brothers and sisters, consider this carefully: if you cannot honour your parents, you cannot honour God. How can someone who does not honour their parents honour God? If you do not honour the parents who gave you life, raised you, and are visible and tangible, how can you honour the God who is invisible and intangible? Therefore, God says each of you must respect your mother and father and observe my Sabbaths. Does observing the Sabbath relate to honoring parents? To observe the Sabbath but fail to honour parents is to play false with God. And to honour parents but not observe the Sabbath is also to play false with God. This is very meaningful.
Therefore, we must honour our parents, and even more so, we must revere our God, and diligently maintain the relationship we have built with Him. We must ensure good relationships with both our parents and with God. How do we build these relationships? By removing the evil desires and selfishness within us. I dare say, my days on earth will surely be prolonged. This promise of longevity is good. What does it mean to have long days on earth? It refers to the length of your life, how long you will live on this earth.
Recently, a sister wanted to learn comic dialogues, so I gave her a segment called Luo Cheng Tells Fortunes. Luo Cheng was a great general of the Tang Dynasty, one of the most skilled warriors. The first in the Three Kingdoms period was Lu Bu, the first in the Tang Dynasty era was Li Yuanba, Luo Cheng, ranked seventh, was still very formidable, roughly at the level of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. Luo Cheng began studying at seven or eight, mastered martial arts at nine—a person accomplished in both literary and martial arts. At twelve, he attacked Dengzhou, saved his cousin, and became incredibly powerful. Eventually, he helped Li Yuan and his son establish their dynasty, becoming an invincible general. This was a man who could speak eloquently, had martial prowess, and was learned in literature—this was Luo Cheng.
Luo Cheng went to have his fortune told. The best fortune teller at the time was Xu Maogong, who could calculate five hundred years into the past and five hundred years into the future. Emperor Gaozu of Tang relied on skilled civil and military officials to safeguard his empire. The civil officials were exemplified by Xu Maogong's ability to forecast and calculate, while the military strength rested on the heroes of Wagang. Luo Cheng was one of these heroes. One day, while strolling the streets, he felt restless and agitated. So, he had his family prepare a horse to go out of the city for a ride to clear his head.
From afar, Luo Cheng saw a fortune-telling stall. Upon closer inspection, he saw an old Taoist priest who had written on his stall: “If the fortune-telling is inaccurate by even one word, not only will I not charge, but I will also compensate you.” A major fortune-telling costs ten taels, while a minor one costs five taels. I can calculate the stars in the heavens, and the heat and cold on earth. Seeing this, Luo Cheng stepped forward to have his fortune told. The old Taoist asked him to give his birth date and time.
To make a long story short, the old Taoist calculated and accurately recounted Luo Cheng’s life from childhood. Luo Cheng was shocked; he said: “Forget about the past, tell me about my future and lifespan.” Previously, Xu Maogong had predicted Luo Cheng would live to seventy-three, but the old Taoist calculated that Luo Cheng's lifespan was only twenty-three—fifty years shorter. Luo Cheng immediately became furious and said to the old Taoist: “How did a lifespan of seventy-three years turn into twenty-three? If you don't tell me why, I will tear down your stall today!” Luo Cheng was a great general, skilled in leading troops into battle; how could a mere old Taoist deduct fifty years from his lifespan?
The old Taoist looked at Luo Cheng and began to explain: “We have no grievances, so I wouldn't arbitrarily shorten your lifespan by fifty years.” And continued: General, calm yourself, listen to me to explain. What were the five deeds that caused Luo Cheng to lose fifty years of lifespan? The old Taoist answers: First, at the age of eleven, you led troops to conquer the north, killing millions of Tatars. Although the Huns deserved to die, it's a pity that millions of civilians were implicated. Killing civilians shortens one's lifespan, deducting ten years.
Second: You have a cousin, Qin Shubao, in the backyard to teach you the spear and mace skills. He taught you the mace skills whole heartedly, but you did not fully teach the art of the Luo family spear. You withheld three moves of the returning spear, deducting ten years of lifespan. Third: You have a brother, Shan Xiongxin, who knelt in the Jia family building to swear an oath. In Luoyang, he protected Wang Shichong, and you protect the king of Tang in Chang'an. You killed Shan Xiongxin with a returning spear, deducting ten years of lifespan.
Fourth: The King of Tang considers you a hero, so the monarchs are drinking wine in the hall. Hearing the third watch in the bridge tower, you boldly settled down in the dragon bed and phoenix pillows. Occupying the Dragon bed, deducting ten years of lifespan; Fifth: You have twelve wives and concubines, and there is also Hu Jincan in Mengzhou. She treats you with deep affection and righteousness, and you shouldn't have burned Yueyang Tower with hatred. Hu Jincan's death caused her soul to be scattered, and the sad wind came to the underworld. The five Yama Buddhas complained, deducting another ten years of lifespan.” Later, Luo Cheng was pierced by random arrows and died tragically in Huangquan at the age of twenty-three.
According to human reasoning, Luo Cheng was a reincarnation of the White Tiger Star, but he died at the young age of twenty-three because he was selfish, pursuing his own interests in life. We must honour our parents in this world so that we can live longer on earth. The places where we are selfish, bit by bit, you can hide from the sky and cross the sea; you can hide from people, but you can't hide from God. Originally had a lifespan of seventy-three years on earth, but as a result, he died at the age of twenty-three with ten thousand arrows piercing his body.
Conclusion
Today, many people do not live to the age they should have lived. We are not saying that we should greedily cling to life in this world, but that God originally has a wonderful destiny for us, allowing us to live a glorious life in this world. However, if we die prematurely, we should not think that premature death is a good death. We must deal with the selfishness within us. People in the world only care about themselves and harbour petty thoughts, but if deeper troubles arise, the big picture will be ruined.
So our hearts should be bigger. Can we live more generously? Practicing chivalry, living like a hero. Don’t let your brain be like a walnut and your heart like a peanut. Even if your martial arts are like Luo Cheng’s, it won’t be of any use. In the end, it will still become a human tragedy. We must live with an open mind and deal with selfishness.
Next week, we will continue telling the story. We have only covered three verses of Leviticus chapter 19. Please tune in next time to know more. God bless you all!