Good Saturday Morning readers (if you are reading this on the day it is posted). Welcome to my February 15th bible study. Today is the day after Valentine’s day, which is a time normally associated with love and romance. I’ve been reflecting on what those things mean to me and praying about it with Jesus. Today I just wanted to share my personal insights based on the reading I read this morning. I found this reading through the use of Tarot. If you want a tutorial about how I find the specific passages, you will find it in some of my other blogs. Without further adieu, let’s talk about what was read and how it personally impacts my life.
Leviticus 8: 10-18
“Then Moses took the anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle and everything in it, and so consecrated them. 11 He sprinkled some of the oil on the altar seven times, anointing the altar and all its utensils and the basin with its stand, to consecrate them. 12 He poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head and anointed him to consecrate him. 13 Then he brought Aaron’s sons forward, put tunics on them, tied sashes around them and fastened caps on them, as the Lord commanded Moses.
14 He then presented the bull for the sin offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head. 15 Moses slaughtered the bull and took some of the blood, and with his finger he put it on all the horns of the altar to purify the altar. He poured out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. So he consecrated it to make atonement for it. 16 Moses also took all the fat around the internal organs, the long lobe of the liver, and both kidneys and their fat, and burned it on the altar. 17 But the bull with its hide and its flesh and its intestines he burned up outside the camp, as the Lord commanded Moses.
18 He then presented the ram for the burnt offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head.”
What does this mean?
I know that this is a gorey and otherwise more gruesome part of the Bible. It depicts the story of Moses anointing Aaron and his sons into priesthood. I am of the belief that the Bible is a product of its time and is meant to be taken as parables and metaphor. In this particular passage, Moses presented a bull for the sin offering. Then he uses the contents of the bull for the ritual with various acts. Let’s unpack this in relation to my life.
Death (It’s not what you think)
My artistic rendition of the “death” card in tarot (2025).
For people who are not familiar with tarot or come from a beginners understanding of this long-held divination strategy, the ‘death’ card is incredibly misunderstood. Death does not mean literally dying. It entails the parts of our life journey where we have to let go of previous attachments, situations, so-called “dreams”, or views of life before.
I got engaged to be married to my fiance 45 days ago on New Year’s. New Year’s Eve is the last day of a new year and the beginning of a new one. I literally and metaphorically transitioned from a bachelorette to a soon-to-be wife on that day. And it’s stirred a lot of emotions in me tied to some outdated beliefs and long-held resentments I had before I met my now fiance.
How people shape your life
My fiance and his family took me under their wings and home with open arms about three years ago. I became part of a family where I belonged.
Over three years ago I was in a completely different headspace. I was a graduate from Portland State University going through a lot of complicated emotions with controversial messages on how to achieve happiness through those emotions. All the while I was living by myself and trying to fill a void in my heart through relationships. For years before this, I was in a close friendship I had to let go of due to a betrayal of my trust and boundaries. My father was trying to build a relationship with me after being gone for a decade due to his situation at the time. And I was fighting a lot of issues with my body and how I was seen in the world.
I was given advice from a lot of leftist and otherwise so-called “loving” liberals that gave me advice such as “cut off your family” and “change yourself”.
In my heart I knew I loved my family and I was okay with the body I was given, but I felt stuck and couldn’t see a way out.
Then I met Seth
A picture of Seth and I on the night we got engaged
Then one night working the night shift at a motel in Seaside, I found Seth while trying to find some other night owls to talk to online. I really connected with the name Seth, as it was the third son of Adam and Eve and in some interpretations, the reincarnation of the chosen one from God to avenge Abel after he was killed by Cain. To me, the name Seth meant breaking free from wrongdoing and leading onto a path towards Christ. And that’s exactly what ended up happening.
The most ironic thing about it is, my Seth does not go to church or read the bible. He wouldn’t label himself under any specific religion. But he approached me with all the acceptance, patience, tolerance, and unconditional love that Jesus would give somebody like me. And that further restored my faith that God is there…and that God works even in people who don’t actively read scripture or attend church.
Seth saw me as beautiful even when I didn’t feel like it. Seth saw me as worthy even when I didn’t feel it. We came from very different perspectives and lives but ultimately he saw a light in me that I was struggling to see in myself.
So I saw God shortly after that.
8 months into dating, Seth and I moved into the upstairs loft at his Nana’s house. Upon moving in I was immediately welcomed as a family member and treated no differently from the rest. Then I started having afternoon dates with Seth’s mom to discuss life. I won’t go into all the details of what was talked about but Seth’s family taught me other lessons: Patience, Tolerance, Forgiveness, Learning to establish boundaries, communication strategies, and learning to identify and work through anxiety and depression.
And it showed in every aspect of my life. My family bonds strengthened tenfold, my ability to be comfortable with different kinds of people grew, and I smiled and waved every single day I woke up and looked at myself in the mirror.
In Conclusion…
A family of republican-leaning, not-Christian, and generally reserved people came into my life and showed me the same kindness, patience, tolerance, and forgiveness that Jesus would have taught. When you look at this story in relation to the story in Leviticus, I took it as a sign that I was washing away the previous ‘sins’ I committed in my life during the shut-in phase of my life and evolved into a young woman that’s about to be somebody’s wife. I’m cleaning my act together and burning the bridges that no longer serve me, and instead going into a life closer to God. Through this blog, I’m essentially doing the modern equivalent of the offering and hopefully spreading the right words that Jesus needs to teach now.
I believe there’s a lot of lost souls like me that could benefit from the kindness and patience Jesus taught. Especially in today’s very confused and chaos-driven society we’re going towards.
Syd Weldon 
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