Category: Leviticus

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Leviticus 26 – 27

God may seem mean to basically coerce His people into doing things His way. He certainly knows how to make life miserable, doesn’t He? But He doesn’t use that misery to punish His people; rather, His intent is to compel them turn back to Him. His unwillingness that anyone should perish makes what appears to be meanness actually kindness.

God is good, but Satan doesn’t want us to believe that so he twists the truth and tries to deceive us into believing the lie. Many times we do believe it! God’s past dealings with His people are our reminders of the truth.

Perhaps right now God is bringing trials into your life to call you back to Him. Are you going to accept Satan’s lies and be hostile toward God for the difficulty, or are you going to turn to Him and be restored to peaceful relationship?

Of course, not every trial we suffer is because we need to be brought back to Him. He alone knows the reasons we suffer. Certainly our sufferings should always be accepted as God’s calls on our hearts to draw Him closer to Himself, whether in confession and repentance, or for strength and comfort. Let Him use your suffering for your good in greater intimacy with Him, rather than be duped by Satan!

Chapter 27 speaks mostly about redeeming – buying back – something one rashly devoted to God in religious zeal. It happens! Sometimes we allow our feelings to carry us farther than is reasonable, and we have to face that reality. Isn’t God good to understand the weaknesses of His people and provide for them?

Note that what was dedicated to God could be bought back, but what was devoted couldn’t. What was dedicated was promised to God. What was devoted to God was set aside for Him, forfeited. The sense was that the item was destroyed to its owner, a doomed object.

Think about the nature of our salvation. It is meant to be a covenant relationship between us and God: He gives us eternal life and we give Him our lives. We devote our lives to Him. Jesus used the idea of taking up a cross, which is a symbol of death. Paul used the term “living sacrifices.” We are dead to self. Is that how you see your life, or are you still living it for yourself? Do you see your covenant with God the same way He sees it?

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Leviticus 24 – 25

It may seem harsh that one who cursed God would be killed as punishment. However, recall that God is merciful to give us a way out of sin’s punishment at all; He doesn’t have to extend mercy for any violation of the Law. That He doesn’t extend mercy for violating this requirement should signal to us that it is very important to Him.

You may not curse Him, but do you consider Him less than how He presents Himself in Scripture? That demonstrates a lack of reverence for Him like the cursing demonstrated. Since God has preserved this account for us we need to use the opportunity the story gives us to assess our own condition.

The Law’s provisions for Sabbath and Year of Jubilee teach that the land and the wealth it produced did not belong to the people but to God. He has reasons for His requirements that are beyond our ability to comprehend, but we can discern why these requirements make sense despite the world’s calling them crazy. His people’s observance of them would curb materialistic values and build their trust in God. How do these principles apply to you? Do you demonstrate devotion for Him in the way you carry them out?

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Leviticus 19 – 20

These chapters are in the thick of what we think of when we think of the Law. Admittedly they don’t offer the most devotional reading, but let us understand what their significance is. Obviously, no law can cover every instance. Further, God doesn’t intend that His law be nothing more than items on a checklist that we can check off and consider our relationship good. Does that speak of devotion, of love, to you? If you need help answering that question, think about how you would like for your dearest love relationships to boil down to a checklist for your loved ones to follow. When they have all the items on the list done, they expect you to be satisfied; would you be?

The requirements in the Law gave principles by which God’s people would know how to please Him. In the Old Testament these were required by the covenant Israel had with God. Jesus came to fulfill the Law, and the New Testament teaches that we are no longer under the Law. However, if we love God we will want to please Him. If we love Him we will actively seek to please Him. We will want to understand the principles God puts before us in these requirements, and what that shows us about how we can better please Him. Think about what each requirement means, what it reveals of God’s heart, and how that principle applies to you today.

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Leviticus 16 – 18

On the heels of demonstrating His willingness to concern Himself with the baser aspects of our lives, God now reminds us that He is far above us, and we can come to Him only as He allows us. In the Old Testament access to God was severely limited: only the High Priest could come into God’s presence, only one day a year, and only under the conditions God specified. This was dangerous duty for the High Priest. If he failed to follow exactly the procedures for their atonement, God would strike Him dead as Nadab and Abihu had been suddenly stricken, and the nation’s sins would not be atoned for.

The concept of atonement is central to Scripture. Sin must be made right before God because He is just and because His holiness will not allow sin in His presence. If we are to enjoy relationship with Him, the sin must be paid for and cleansed. The method God has provided to do both is with blood – a life for a life -, and it’s called atonement. Atonement is cleansing for sin so that we can be made right with God and enjoy the intimacy with Him for which we were created. The animal sacrifices described in Leviticus 1 through 7, the sin and guilt offerings, were for unintentional sins; the rituals observed on the Day of Atonement were the only provision God made for all sin, intentional and otherwise.

We don’t have to have a priest accomplish this ritual for us every year because Jesus accomplished it for us once and for all on the cross. God preserved for us the commands regarding the Day of Atonement rituals for the same reason He preserved the descriptions of the other rituals: to help us understand the work that Messiah has done for us. Why not spend some time reflecting on what your Savior has done for you as revealed in the Old Testament object lesson of the Day of Atonement?

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Leviticus 11 – 15

Being unclean was not a measure of one’s character or personal value; it excluded one from participating in worship. One became unclean in ways that were beyond his control and in everyday living. Skin diseases and bodily discharges are unlovely consequences of living in a fallen world. God will not allow such contamination, brought into the world as a consequence of sin, to come into His presence. That seems reasonable, doesn’t it? He wasn’t the one who sinned, so why should He have to suffer contamination from the Fall?

God’s having the conversation about uncleanness was unpleasant and perhaps embarrassing, but how precious that He would rather deal with that ugly reality than turn His back on contaminated mankind. As funny as it seems, the talk about sores and discharges should help us understand how much God loves us.

This talk about uncleanness should lead us to recognize that we New Testament people of God are also contaminated by living in this fallen world, sometimes through no fault of our own. We need to be on our guard against that which can contaminate us. How would one do that effectively, do you think? We should also not be surprised or discouraged when we need to seek cleansing because we have become contaminated by living in a sin-cursed world.

But the idea of contamination and cleansing should also remind us of what a wonderful work Jesus did for us: He offers all we need for full restoration of relationship with God in His one awful sacrifice. I suspect that all of the requirements listed for cleansing and making atonement teach about Messiah’s work to effect our salvation, and that is why the record is preserved for us. It might offer a worthwhile study.

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Leviticus 8 – 10

In our culture we generally don’t appreciate ceremony, but hopefully we can accept that other cultures have different values and so do appreciate it. God may have used ceremony because it spoke to the people: the ceremony here was for the purpose of setting the priests apart, and likely was performed to instill in the people an understanding that the high priest was due their respect and submission.  The elements of the ceremony seem strange to us, but God doubtless had a purpose in mind for each. Since we are called priests (I Peter 2:5, 9), understanding the significance of every rite in this ceremony might be valuable to us.

Although Aaron and his sons did everything just as the Lord had commanded Moses, God struck them when they offered strange incense before Him. Their previous record didn’t save them from the consequences of their actions in offering what God didn’t authorize. Was it an act of rebellion? Testing God? A mistake? An attempt to honor God with the very best of their own creativity? Whatever it was, God saw their offering as dishonoring to Him. Whether or not they intended to do so didn’t matter; it dishonored Him. Does God seem harsh to you in this?

Given that God calls Himself good, what does this teach you about God? What lesson does this teach for people who draw near to God? It’s worth thinking about, because if He did this, it’s conceivable that He will one day say to those who also thought they could do whatever they felt like doing, or felt too special to suffer God’s stated consequences, or were ignorant about God’s requirements,  or preferred to be creative in approaching God, “I never knew you. Away from me.” We cannot presume on God’s mercy. C.S. Lewis was correct in saying of his allegorical lion/king/God character, “He’s not a time lion.” (The Last Battle)

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Leviticus 1 – 7

Some of the choices the sovereign creator God almighty makes are difficult for us to understand. As the One offended by sin and as sovereign God, He has the right to define what the payment for sin should be. We are fortunate that He provided a payment for sin; without it we would be doomed to eternal punishment for our sin. His choice for the method of payment for sin doesn’t mean that He is bloodthirsty or uncaring of innocent animals. Rather, it teaches us what a horrible and costly thing our sin is.

For a homeschool assignment my daughter Emma had to write a description of what sacrificing an animal as laid out in Leviticus would be like. Perhaps I’m just a proud homeschool mom, but I feel moved by her description. She gave me permission to share it here.

Offering Burnt Offerings

            I am going to show God sorrow for my sin and how dedicated I am to Him. First I must find a young bull, sheep, or goat without defect. As I look for a lamb I see my favorite, so I walk over to it. It nuzzles my hand looking for a treat or two. I whisper to him that I don’t have anything today, still he nuzzles me. His wool feels clumpy and soft like a silk blanket. Then I present my sheep at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, and he looks up at me, bleating as if to say, “Please don’t choose me.” I tie my sheep’s legs together, and I put it on the altar of burnt offering. I can feel it squirming, trying to get out as I lay my hand on it. He looks up at me with pitiful eyes like he is trying to say to me, “Are you really going to do this to me? I thought you liked me!” When I slaughter him I start to cry. I can still taste my salty tears. I feel him go limp. As the priests sprinkle the blood I can smell the blood of my lamb that had to be killed because of me! I skin it and cut it into pieces, and wash the inner parts and legs. As I skin my favorite lamb I feel the skin that I used to spend a lot of time petting and grooming. I see the nose that used to be sticking in my hand looking for food. I smell the meat burning that used to be my favorite lamb. Sin is a very gruesome thing, isn’t it?

LambGoatCalf

 

Since we don’t have to kill animals to pay for our sin, we may lack an understanding of the awfulness of our sin. Since Jesus was the one to sacrifice for our sin and not we ourselves, we may be tempted to take our sin and its payment lightly. Can you ask God to give you a true understanding of your sin?

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Day 53 — Leviticus 26 – 27

Note the progression God says may happen in his people if they don’t obey the Law: they do not obey, and He brings consequences. They act with hostility toward Him in the suffering of the consequences He brings upon them, and don’t obey then, either. They have blown their second chance, being further driven from Him in their trials.

His goal in sending the difficulties was not to punish, but to turn them back to Him. If they failed to turn, He wouldn’t give up on them, but continue to try to get them to turn. How would God do that? Think about it: how does God get the attention of disobedient people? How many effective means of getting their attention does He have? How easy is it for God get your attention?

Often in the trials brought to us by God in an attempt to turn us around, we see God as mean to bring such trials. Understand that He is not a mean God, but a loving God! He could leave us alone; instead He pursues us. It is a lie of Satan that the trials are an indication of a mean character. How sad it must make God that His loving actions are misinterpreted thus.

God would continue trying to get their attention by sending difficulties, until their land and all they built and valued would be destroyed, and they would be scattered, no longer a nation, for His soul would abhor them. They would “rot.” It’s inconceivable that, given that warning, the people and their leaders would ever let their disobedience go anywhere near that far. However, history records that, crazily, they did. Look at what sin has done to them, and learn, for we are just as capable of taking the same path. The reminder in today’s reading is as compelling an opportunity for our reflection as it should have been for them.

Humbling themselves before Him and confessing their sin would turn around the spiraling catastrophes. Humility and confession. Knowing that sin has a hardening effect on us, why not just plan to stay humble by searching oneself regularly and confessing sin?

God took seriously a person’s vow to dedicate something to Him. He expected them to fulfill their vows; however, He gave them a way out of a vow later regretted. That way out required them to pay 120% of the value. There were some things that could not be redeemed thus: first-born animals (recall that they were set apart as God’s after He had saved the Israelites’ firstborn on the first Passover) and anything that God declared to be “banned” as war booty. The latter is the explanation for that startling requirement in verse 27:29. Can you relate any of these requirements or prohibitions to the work Messiah has done for us?

So we have finished reading another book of the Law, one of the most dreaded and least loved; and I, at least, have gained much from it. I hope you have, too. Once again, if we can gain insights from Leviticus, we need not dread any of the books of the Bible. Congratulate yourself for sticking with the Bible reading thus far and making it through some difficult reading!

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Day 52 — Leviticus 24 – 25

Does death seem like a harsh punishment for cursing God? Let us understand how serious an affront that behavior is to God. How much cursing do you suppose was heard among the people after that lesson?

The weekly Sabbath of rest for the people, the seventh year Sabbath of rest for the land, and the Year of Jubilee are startling distinguishing marks of God’s Old Testament people. Those practices seemed like foolishness! They had multiple purposes:

  • training the people to rely on God’s provision rather than their own efforts;
  • increasing their faith in God;
  • giving them, their working animals, and the land a rest;
  • giving them an opportunity to take care of other matters besides cultivating and harvesting, such as maintenance;
  • teaching them that there are more important things than accruing wealth;
  • caring for the needs of the poor;
  • preserving inheritance; and
  • distinguishing them from other peoples and building their unity and identity as a people.

Which of these values might God want to deepen in you as you are confronted with this practical and startling requirement for His Old Testament people?

Does it offend you that the Law given by God seems to sanction slavery? God is acknowledging yet another horrifying fact of life in this sin-cursed world. His requirements also gave humane guidelines for the practice, which if followed make slavery look nothing like what it did in our nation’s history. In that culture, desperately needy people found slavery an alternative preferable to starving. God’s provision made it sort of a bankruptcy protection for people who had fallen on bad times. Given the guidelines of the Law, slavery is a more attractive option than debtor’s prison or other alternatives societies have devised. Isn’t God good to give those guidelines?

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Day 51 — Leviticus 22 – 23

Does it seem unfair to you that God excluded men with deformities from the priesthood, as we read in yesterday’s chapters? We can perhaps understand that animals with defects were not acceptable sacrifices; but to discriminate against a handicapped man, especially for something that was not his fault, seems cruel to us. Is God cruel and unfair? The whole counsel of Scripture tells us that He is not; so what can you understand from His restrictions against men with deformities?

The observance of God-given holidays was part of their covenant requirements. Each has a significance for us New Testament people of God as well. The holidays are, in chronological order:

  • The first three holy days were celebrated together. When the day would come that God would designate a place to build a temple, they would be celebrated in a single pilgrimage.
    • First month/day 1 – Passover. We have looked at this already at the institution of the Passover after the Exodus. It is celebrated at about the same time as Easter, which is easy for us to remember because Jesus was crucified during the Passover celebration. The connection to us is obvious, but no less profound for it: Jesus is our Passover Lamb.
    • First month/day 15, for 7 days – Feast of Unleavened Bread. No laborious work was to be done on the first and seventh days. Throughout the seven days, special offerings were made to God and they had to eat unleavened bread to commemorate the Exodus. Note that Jesus used leaven to signify sin. Today Jews will do their spring cleaning in preparation for this feast, to make sure that no yeast is in their homes. Do you get the significance for us?
    • First harvest of grain (April) – Firstfruits. They had to offer to God the very first of their harvest of grain, which would be the choicest of the harvest. They were permitted to eat none of the new harvest until this offering was brought to the priest. This connection isn’t so obvious. It’s that Jesus if the “first fruits” of those of us who will rise from the dead; its significance is hope.
  • 50 days after the Firstfruits offering (June) – Feast of Weeks. A celebration of the harvest, where they offered bread and animal sacrifices, held a “holy convocation” (solemn assembly) and were permitted to do no laborious work. It was to be celebrated as a pilgrimage. In the New Testament this was called Pentecost, and it brought Jews from all over the world to Jerusalem to witness the first infilling of the Holy Spirit in the ascended Jesus’ followers. New Testament believers who celebrate Pentecost today are celebrating the giving of the Holy Spirit.
  • Seventh month/day 1 – Feast of Trumpets. They were to rest, blow trumpets as a remembrance, hold a solemn assembly, and offer an animal sacrifice. This day looks forward to Jesus’ Second Coming, which will be accompanied by the sounding of trumpets.
  • Seventh month/day 10 – Day of Atonement. The priest made atonement for the people, the Tabernacle and its articles of worship; they held a solemn assembly; and they were to rest, doing no work of any kind, and reflect and humble themselves and offer animal sacrifices.
  • Seventh month/day 15 for 8 days – Feast of Booths/Feast of Tabernacles. They were to hold solemn assemblies and do no laborious work on the first and eighth days. For all eight days they camped out in booth-like shelters and offered sacrifices to God. This relaxing week represented the end of harvest for all the crops, and recalled the days they lived in the wilderness. It is significant for us as we look forward to the time when we are no longer pilgrims.

These days were given to them for multiple purposes. All of them required rest; almost all of them commemorated God’s provision for them and thus were celebrations of remembrance. Three of them required observance at the Tabernacle and, in the future, the Temple in Jerusalem, which would require them to gather as a nation, enhancing unity and a strong sense of identify as a people. If these were important for God’s people then, are they any less important now? Does understanding His requirements prompt you to consider your own holiday observances?

I provide the outline here as a reference for you, because God will reiterate the required holy days again in the Law, and describe them more fully. They are important for us because each has significance for us as well as for God’s Old Testament people, either because they help us understand what Messiah has done for us, or another truth relating to our salvation. You can reflect on that significance based on what you know about them.