We are in chapter ten of Leviticus with our word for today. יָטַב go well with, please, be agreeable, be pleasing, be good, to do well. It is used 117 times in the Old Testament. We find our word used in the sense of doing good in someone’s eyes. A great example of this is when the eastern tribes build an altar of witness but are misunderstood by the other tribes. Joshua 22:30-33 When Phinehas the priest and the chiefs of the congregation, the heads of the families of Israel who were with him, heard the words that the people of Reuben and the people of Gad and the people of Manasseh spoke, וַיִּיטַ֖בit was good in their eyes. And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said to the people of Reuben and the people of Gad and the people of Manasseh, “Today we know that the Lord is in our midst, because you have not committed this breach of faith against the Lord. Now you have delivered the people of Israel from the hand of the Lord.” Then Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, and the chiefs, returned from the people of Reuben and the people of Gad in the land of Gilead to the land of Canaan, to the people of Israel, and brought back word to them. And the report וַיִּיטַ֣בwas good in the eyes of the people of Israel. And the people of Israel blessed God and spoke no more of making war against them to destroy the land where the people of Reuben and the people of Gad were settled. The people of Reuben and the people of Gad called the altar Witness, “For,” they said, “it is a witness between us that the Lord is God.” This is how our word is used in our chapter today. Leviticus 10:19-20 And Aaron said to Moses, “Behold, today they have offered their sin offering and their burnt offering before the Lord, and yet such things as these have happened to me! If I had eaten the sin offering today, would the Lord הַיִּיטַ֖ב בְּעֵינֵ֥י [we have the word for eye which is not translated and our word so literally eye pleasing or good to the eyes] have approved?” And when Moses heard that, וַיִּיטַ֖ב בְּעֵינָֽיו [we have the same two words together eye pleasing] he approved. This is the context of Aaron just losing his two sons because of their disobedience to God. Because he was grieving he declared that surely YWHW would understand why he didn’t eat the sacrifice as they usually do. And Moses agrees with this reasoning and honors his grief. In this life we deal with loss. God gives us painful emotions as sort of a pressure release value to move us from hurting to healing if we allow ourselves to feel and take those feelings of loss to God in prayer. We see God himself cry when he felt the pain of loss from his friends. John 11:33, 35-36, 38 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled … Jesus wept. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” … Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. This is amazing in that Jesus knew he was going to raise Lazarus from the dead but he didn’t let that stop him from honoring his friend’s grief by entering into it with them. The Bible reminds us of the value of grieving what we lose. Ecclesiastes 7:2 It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart. Ecclesiastes 3:1, 4 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven … a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance. I’ll close with these great words of Jesus that show God honoring our grief and working in it. Matthew 5:4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Matthew 11:28-29 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
