0 Comments
Leviticus Chapter 11
This chapter gives rules about the animals that are clean and unclean and therefore may be used as food or are prohibited to be used as food. Israel was God’s chosen people. They were not like the rest of the world and God wanted them to stand out. Part of their distinction was in the food they ate or more properly in the food they didn’t eat. Land animals that couldn’t be used as food were those with cloven hooves or those who chew cud. If an animal had both these characteristics it was considered clean. So, for example cattle which has both the cloven hoof and chews cud could be food, but the camel which doesn’t have a cloven hoof but does chew cud was not clean. Of water animals the rule was simple only fishes with scales and fins could be eaten. The Lord gave a list of birds to be considered unclean rather than characteristics. Verses 13-19 list them. “the bearded vulture, the black vulture, 14 the kite, the falcon of any kind, 15 every raven of any kind, 16 the ostrich, the nighthawk, the sea gull, the hawk of any kind, 17 the little owl, the cormorant, the short-eared owl, 18 the barn owl, the tawny owl, the carrion vulture, 19 the stork, the heron of any kind, the hoopoe, and the bat.” When it comes to insects, all except those with jointed legs above their feet such as locust and grasshoppers were prohibited. Also forbidden were a list of swarming animals such as rats and mice and lizards and geckos. God told Aaron and Moses that the animals that were considered unclean should be deemed detestable. Israel should detest or loathe the idea of becoming unclean, like the rest of the world instead of remaining pure like the Lord. Even touching the carcass of an unclean animal or touching an object that had touched such a carcass was unclean. These rules were strict and whoever became unclean would remain so until the day ended at evening. They had to wash the objects or clothing that had become unclean. God distinguished the clean animals from the unclean. When we look at the list of banned animals we can see many of them live off the dead, many eat carrion or otherwise carry disease with them. But God doesn’t give a reason for their unclean status. He only gave a reason why His children should remain pure. God distinguishes His people from the world as well. Verses 44-45 read, “For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that crawls on the ground.45 For I am the Lord who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.” The Law was what separated Israel from the gentiles. Under the New Covenant we are given freedom from the Law and we are set apart because God has made us holy. We are characterized and recognized by our love and pursuit of godliness rather than by our endeavor to keep the law. Jesus had broken the entire law down to two commandments. He told us if we kept those we would keep the heart of the law. Matthew 22:37-40 says, “And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” This was not new. God wanted His children to be set apart from the world. But He never wanted rituals. He wanted a relationship. He wanted to His children to truly be His children and Himself to be their God. Hosea 6:6 says, “For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.” Jesus quoted that scripture to the Pharisees in Matthew 9:13 and Matthew 12:7. Israel had become obsessed with the Law instead of the God who gave them the Law. They had left Him out of their religion. We are supposed to stand out from the world. We are holy! We are royal. We are a peculiar people. In John chapter 13 Jesus gave a new commandment. He says our difference should be obvious. John 13:34-35 reads, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” Believer, is it clear that you are not like the world? You have the holy name of Christ and His nature. Are you peculiar? Does the world look at you and think you’re odd for the love you demonstrate? Is your love of God so apparent that you are weird? We are no longer bound by the law to be holy. We are bound by love, by blood, and by grace to our Father, our Redeemer, and our Comforter. We are clean where we once were unclean. Nothing can make us unclean again. Nothing. Leviticus Chapter 10 Verses 8-20
The Lord’s priests have a high calling over their lives. They are God’s representatives to the people. Under the New Covenant, with Jesus our Messiah as our High Priest each of His followers is a priest, anointed for God’s purposes. In verses 8-11 God explains part of the priestly mission to Aaron. “And the Lord spoke to Aaron, saying, 9 “Drink no wine or strong drink, you or your sons with you, when you go into the tent of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations. 10 You are to distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean, 11 and you are to teach the people of Israel all the statutes that the Lord has spoken to them by Moses.” They were to take their vocation seriously. They were to remember that the tent of meeting was a clean place and that the sanctuary was holy. It was not a place for revelry. It was a place for celebrating the Lord. Priests have an obligation to demonstrate to others the difference between holy and common. They have a responsibility to teach people who God is and what He has commanded. Under the Old Covenant that meant teaching Israel the more than 600 laws, statutes, and requirements of the Law. Under the New Covenant that means that we have a burden to tell the world that their Father loves and wants them, that Jesus died and rose again to forgive them and make a way for them to have a relationship with God, and that The Holy Spirit wants to indwell them, transform them, and make them new. It means we must live as examples of holiness, not with affected piety, but with unity with our Father, our Savior, and our Peace, the King of kings. We are not common, we are noble, royal, and holy. 1 Peter 2:9-10 reminds us, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” Royal Priest, Holy Child of God Almighty, you are not common. You are not ordinary. You once were in the dark, but now you are in the light and you are able to proclaim his excellence and the brilliance of life in Him. There are so many wandering lost in the dark, who have no idea who they are in Christ. You Noble Servant of the Most High can reveal the truth to them, shine a light, and lead them to the Lord who loves them. Priests have the onus to mediate atonement for sin between God and the people. Moses spoke to Aaron and his surviving sons to remind them to eat the meat and grain of the offerings given to them out of the sacrifices. While we do not have sacrifices today, we do take the bread and wine as a reminder and confirmation of Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice. We receive the Lord’s provision, equipment, and Word. Taking The Lord’s Supper often is a special privilege and obligation. Each time we eat the bread, we consider His body broken for us bearing our sin. Every time we drink the wine, we contemplate His blood spilled for us, cleansing us and forgiving our sin. We realize we are no longer sinners, commonplace people of the dark, and children of wrath. Now we are holy noble children of Light. Taking The Lord’s Supper is not something done lightly. Moses exhorted Aaron and asked why he and his sons had not eaten the goat of the sin offering as they were obligated to for atonement of the people. Aaron answered him in verses 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 have approved?” 20 And when Moses heard that, he approved.” Aaron, in obedience to God was not publicly or officially mourning his sons, but that didn’t change the fact that he had lost them and was grieving in his heart. He knew that this issue was something he and his other sons must deal with before they could properly eat the meat of the atonement offering. Our sins do not negate our calling as priests, we are completely forgiven. But once realized, sins, especially sins of heart and attitude must be dealt with before we eat the bread and drink the wine of Jesus’ perfect offering to us. 1 Corinthians 11:27-32 says, “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord.28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died 31 But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.” Believer, you are not ordinary, you are extraordinary. You are holy, royal, and chosen. You shouldn’t look or act like you did when you didn’t know who you were, when you were blind to you calling, and living in your unforgiven sin. Call yourself by a new name, Prince, Priest, and Precious. Leviticus Chapter 10 Verses 1-7
Two of Aaron’s sons and priests to The Lord Nadab and Abihu decided to give an offering to God. But it wasn’t an offering the Lord had prescribed. It was something they felt they wanted to do and so they did it. Verse 1 describes it. “Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them.” From the outside there seems nothing wrong with them worshipping God in this manner. But God didn’t give them authority to worship Him in that way. Their act was not one of worshipping the Lord but one of idolatry, where they lifted themselves up to God’s level to create a ritual. Their act glorified them not God. Their act had no good purpose. And everything God does has reason and purpose. Verse 2 describes what happened next. “And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord.” I can’t imagine the depth of grief Aaron had to feel when he saw what had happened to his sons. They had acted rashly and selfishly in front of all the people and now they were dead. Losing one child has to be horrific, losing two multiplies that loss tenfold. But Aaron loved his Lord. He trusted his Lord. He had learned his own lesson about idolatry when he allowed himself to be coerced into making the golden calf, when he betrayed The Lord for the people. But Moses spoke to Aaron. Verse 3 reads, “Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.’” And Aaron held his peace.” Holding one’s peace doesn’t simply mean not speaking up against something. It means making the choice to withdraw objections and arguments and accept the situation. For Aaron it meant He chose to let his faith in God be his comfort and calm and to let God be his Peace and Comfort. He didn’t mourn for his sons because he trusted His Lord. Moses called two cousins of Nadab and Abihu, Mishael and Elzaphan to carry their remains out of the camp, he cautioned them not to mourn for the men. Moses told them they were anointed by the Lord and since their calling was higher, if they sinned by mourning the men instead of obeying The Lord they would incur His wrath and die. The Lord’s blessings, His anointing, and His calling separate us from the common man. He exalts us to be holy. And He expects us to live up to that distinction. He gave Mishael and Elzaphan the honor of doing an important work for Him. Carrying burned corpses may not seem like much an honor, but it was. It came with an anointing from God. He selected these men. Their service allowed Aaron and his other sons to remain clean and continue serving God without interruption. At this time after seeing this awesome work of God, Israel needed her priests ministrations. No job, when done for Our Lord God Almighty is insignificant. No task or service He assigns is without blessings. He could have chosen anyone. He chose Mishael and Elzaphan. He chose you! He equipped Mishael and Elzaphan and He equips you. Perhaps He chose you to take the trash out. That may seem unimportant even trivial, but it isn’t. No! When you take out the garbage, the pastor is free to counsel the grieving widow. You had a part in God’s work in her life because you obeyed and collected the trash and carried it to the dumpster. The Lord gave Nadab and Abihu a job too. Their calling was extraordinary. They were among the few who could act as God’s intermediaries and carefully carry out his words to bring and maintain peace with His children. But they took it upon themselves to make more of their job than God asked. They glorified themselves instead of God. What if The Lord calls you to sing a song for the congregation and you decide to sing ten songs instead? The song He asked you to sing would have been a conduit for the congregation to commune with Him, the concert becomes an accolade for you. No longer is the assembly worshipping God, now they are admiring you. We are all called to Love the Lord, Our God with our whole being, our hearts, minds, souls, and strength. We glorify the Lord, we lift up others to Him. He already lifted us, we don’t have to exalt ourselves. Do whatever we do for the Lord completely. Leave our own exultation out of it. Colossians 3:23-24 reads, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” Leviticus Chapters 8 and 9
Before Aaron and his sons could serve as priests in service to God and Israel they had to be ordained. They had to be bound for their intended office and title and given the priests’ authority in The Lord. Ordaining them and consecrating them or separating them for a holy purpose took more than just one sacrifice. First, they were ceremoniously clothed. Chapter 8 verses 5-9 describe the clothes they wore for their ordination. “And Moses said to the congregation, “This is the thing that the Lord has commanded to be done.” 6 And Moses brought Aaron and his sons and washed them with water. 7 And he put the coat on him and tied the sash around his waist and clothed him with the robe and put the ephod on him and tied the skillfully woven band of the ephod around him, binding it to him with the band. 8 And he placed the breastpiece on him, and in the breastpiece he put the Urim and the Thummim. 9 And he set the turban on his head, and on the turban, in front, he set the golden plate, the holy crown, as the Lord commanded Moses.” The priests had to be washed first. They had to be clean before they put on the garments God commanded for them. The ephod was a garment especially for the priests, it was made of blue, purple, and scarlet fine linen and embroidered with gold thread. It set the priest apart, it indicated that he was performing a sacred duty, and it put the responsibility of all of Israel on his shoulders. The ephod and its belt are described in Exodus 28:4-14. “4 These are the garments that they shall make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a coat of checker work, a turban, and a sash. They shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons to serve me as priests. 5 They shall receive gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen.
The breastpiece was a squared inlaid with twelve precious stones, one representing each tribe. It was attached with gold rings, gold cord and blue lace and it was fit and attached with the band of the ephod. Israel was precious to God. He loved them and He made the way for them to be able to express their love of Him through the priests and the offerings. The turban the priests wore indicted the nobility of the office, submission to The Lord as King, and authority to serve Him. Once dressed properly and after all the altar and all the objects were consecrated with oil, the sacrifices began. First the sin offering, as repentance for the sins the priest committed. Then the burnt offering for atonement of the priest. Then the ordination sacrifice for sanctification of the priest. For seven days, Aaron and his sons remained in the tent of meeting at its entrance. And each day of those seven days the sacrifices were offered. On the eighth day Aaron and his sons were called out of the tent and offered a sin offering and an ordination offering. Then they served the people who offered their burnt offering for atonement followed by a peace offering and a grain offering. Aaron and his sons did all these things, one by one exactly as The Lord has prescribed for each offering. Chapter 9 verses 22-24 read, “Then Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them, and he came down from offering the sin offering and the burnt offering and the peace offerings. 23 And Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting, and when they came out they blessed the people, and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. 24 And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the pieces of fat on the altar, and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.” Aaron and his sons had been blessed by God. The seven days they spent separated from Israel in the tent of meeting were not spent playing tiddlywinks. They spent the time with The Lord in prayer and making the offerings. They were faced each day with the gore their sin caused, with the blood required for compensation to make them priests. When they were called out on the eighth day they didn’t accept laud from the people, they served the people. They blessed the people. And God honored them and Israel by The priests starting with Aaron and his sons and continuing through the Levitical line were set apart from the people, destined for a sacred purpose, and trained for that purpose. They were necessary for Israel to commune with the Lord. Only an ordained priest could perform the duties required to allow for peace with God. Under the New Covenant, Jesus is our High Priest and we, His followers are priests. Jesus’ one perfect sacrifice was enough to forgive our sins, atone for our sinfulness, and ordain us for His service. We as His priests can’t keep His blessings to ourselves. We have the responsibility to tell others about the saving grace of Christ. Their names are on God’s heart and so they are on ours. We are called, sanctified, and consecrated to show God’s glory to the lost and broken. Aaron and his sons left the tent and glorified The Lord. So must we. Leviticus Chapter 7 Verses 22-27
Because the peace offering resulted in a meal for Israel, and offerings such as the guilt offering resulted in meals for the priests, The Lord had to establish laws regarding those meals. We read yesterday that no unclean person could take part in the meal, it was a holy act. Eating the food of the offering was taking part with God in celebrating His relationship with the partakers. The word communion doesn’t really mean eating crackers and juice once a week. It means sharing unity with one another, celebrating the most intimate of relationships, a spiritual union. When we take the Lord’s Supper that is what we are doing, celebrating our spiritual oneness with God and with the body of Christ. In the Old Covenant the Lord’s meal was one of meat and bread after a sacrifice had been made, and God had restrictions based on the sacredness of that meal. Verses 22-25 concern one of these rules. “The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 23 “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, You shall eat no fat, of ox or sheep or goat. 24 The fat of an animal that dies of itself and the fat of one that is torn by beasts may be put to any other use, but on no account shall you eat it. 25 For every person who eats of the fat of an animal of which a food offering may be made to the Lord shall be cut off from his people.” The Lord didn’t restrict all fat, just eating the fat of the animals that were acceptable sacrifices, sheep, goats, oxen, or cattle. Although they could use the fat of those animals that were not killed by their hands for other uses, they couldn’t eat it. The fat of those animals was for The Lord’s pleasure, burning it in the offering was an aroma pleasing to Him. Although fat in meat has been demonized as unhealthy, research shows that it is not bad for us. It is appropriate to choose lean meats if one needs to increase protein and decrease calories but other than that there is no health reason to cut saturated fat from the diet. In fact the fat in meat is good for us. It is categorized as Omega-7 fat and can help maintain healthy cholesterol levels. That doesn’t mean go to town and eat all the steaks your heart desires. A healthy portion of meat is 3-4 oz about the size of the palm of your hand. Fat adds flavor to meat. In general fat adds flavor to most foods. Fat is a necessary ingredient in many foods. When we buy a low-fat version of food, the fat taken out has been replaced with sugar or fake fats that are not good for the body. Are you asking yourself why did Donna just deviate into this strange lesson on fat? The answer is so you could understand that although we have demonized fat in today’s world it is a good and desirable component in our food (in moderation). But The Lord restricted Israel’s fat from certain meats. Why? The meal from those meats was special, some like the peace offering meal were sacred. The fat from those meats were for Him. Denying oneself the richness that the fat offered honored The Lord and showed faith in Him to be the giver of joy, unity, provisions, and life. God also said that no blood was to be eaten, ever. Not just the blood of sacrificial animals but all blood was off limits to His children. Blood is the life force of any animal or human. Blood gives life and carries with it the symbol of atonement and forgiveness. There is no forgiveness of sin without blood. During any sacrifice of an animal, the blood was splashed on the altar and door of the meeting place for atonement. Verses 26-27 say, “Moreover, you shall eat no blood whatever, whether of fowl or of animal, in any of your dwelling places. 27 Whoever eats any blood, that person shall be cut off from his people.” Later in Chapter 17 of Leviticus The Lord explains more about the prohibition of eating blood. Verses 11-12 of that chapter read, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life. 12 Therefore I have said to the people of Israel, No person among you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger who sojourns among you eat blood.” The restriction against eating blood still stands today. Although the many rules that were meant to make following the law easier do not apply to Christians. Even the important symbols of the Old Covenant such as circumcision and kosher eating no longer pertain to us, eating blood, idolatry, and sexual immorality do. Acts 15:8-11 read, “And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, 9 and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith. 10 Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? 11 But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.” And verses 19-20 read, “Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, 20 but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood.” From as far back as Noah before Moses and before Israel, eating blood was prohibited. We do not abstain from blood because it is part of the Law. We abstain from blood out of respect for life, out of respect for the Giver of Life, and out of respect for Jesus’ sacrifice of His life for which gave us new life. We are already forgiven for sin. We don’t think of refraining from blood as a rule to follow, but as an act of loving The LORD and His creation. Loving God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength means that that love is manifested in tangible ways. Abstaining from blood is one of the ways we exhibit our love, and stand out from the world. Leviticus Chapter 6 Verse 8 – Chapter 7 Verses 1-18
These verses describe the priests’ duties and privileges regarding the various offerings we’ve learned about so far in Leviticus. The Lord had specific requirements for how the sacrifice would burn and what was done with the remnants of the animal, flour, and oil of the offering. The burnt offering was a burning of the entire animal for the atonement of each person made yearly for the general state of sin they lived under. The priest had to ensure that the animal burnt until only ashes remained. That meant he had to keep the fire burning continually. He couldn’t allow the fire to go out and be relit. He then had to carry the ashes to a clean place. Verses 10-11 of chapter 6 read, “And the priest shall put on his linen garment and put his linen undergarment on his body, and he shall take up the ashes to which the fire has reduced the burnt offering on the altar and put them beside the altar. 11 Then he shall take off his garments and put on other garments and carry the ashes outside the camp to a clean place.” The animal had taken on the sins of the offeror. In giving it over to The Lord in death and fire, the price was being paid. But once it was burned, ashes still remained. But when The Lord forgives sin, He forgives completely. They are erased from His record. So the priest had the responsibility of removing the ashes, the vestiges of sin to a clean place. He even had to change his clothes so that the traces of sin would not sully him. The priest had been sanctified by The Lord. He was very careful about remaining clean. When we are forgiven, it is a total forgiveness. God doesn’t hold onto our sin anymore. He chooses not to remember it. When He looks at us, He doesn’t see the sin, He sees His righteous child, His precious beloved. So why do we choose to hold onto our sins? Why do we look at ourselves and see the wrongs we’ve done? Why do we look at other people and see how they’ve hurt us or how short they are of perfection? God doesn’t see His children like that. If we have God’s heart we should look at His children with God’s vision. All the other offerings had parts that didn’t get burned on the altar. The grain offering, sin offering, and guilt offering all gave meat, flour or cakes to the priest. This was his privilege and provision for ministering to the people and serving God. Chapter 6 verses 16-18 describe the grain offering and the priests’ privilege and obligation. “And the rest of it Aaron and his sons shall eat. It shall be eaten unleavened in a holy place. In the court of the tent of meeting they shall eat it. 17 It shall not be baked with leaven. I have given it as their portion of my food offerings. It is a thing most holy, like the sin offering and the guilt offering. 18 Every male among the children of Aaron may eat of it, as decreed forever throughout your generations, from the Lord's food offerings. Whatever touches them shall become holy.” The flour and cakes had been given to The Lord. By that distinction and merit, the food became consecrated. The bread couldn’t be ruined with leaven, which nearly always represents sin in the scripture. The priests were consecrated as well. The eating of this food was not a casual thing but a sanctified act of worship. The place they ate, the table, the plates all became sacred in this act of worship that only the priests were allowed to participate in doing. The sin offering and guilt offering gave the priests meat when after the blood, fat, kidneys, and liver were burned. The priests had to eat the meat like the bread of the grain offering as an act of worship in the tent of meeting. It had to be eaten the same day, with some allowed the second day, but none could be eaten on the third day, that had to be burned not as an offering but to ensure that no one would eat what was now unclean. Jesus rose from the dead on the third day. He didn’t linger about to decay, He conquered death and sin absolutely and finally. Today we who belong to Christ are all priests, we are all consecrated to God’s service, and we are holy to God. We eat The Lord’s Supper or Love Feast as an act of worship. The bread and wine represent Jesus’ body and blood, broken and poured out for us. Taking the Love Feast doesn’t make us holy, it reminds us that we are holy. We have the honor of remembering Christ’s sacrifice for us. Only believers have the license to do this holy act. Under the old covenant the priest that ate the sacred meat, breads, and cakes had to be clean. He had to deal with any uncleanness before he was allowed to eat the meal in the tent of meeting. If he didn’t do so, if he took that honor lightly and didn’t consider his own iniquitousness God would cut him off. When dealing with the peace offering, which was the offering which resulted in a fellowship meal for the people, the same rule applied. People had to deal with their uncleanness before they could touch the meal. Chapter 7 verses 19-21 read, “Flesh that touches any unclean thing shall not be eaten. It shall be burned up with fire. All who are clean may eat flesh, 20 but the person who eats of the flesh of the sacrifice of the Lord's peace offerings while an uncleanness is on him, that person shall be cut off from his people. 21 And if anyone touches an unclean thing, whether human uncleanness or an unclean beast or any unclean detestable creature, and then eats some flesh from the sacrifice of the Lord's peace offerings, that person shall be cut off from his people.” Even though all our sins, past, present, and future are forgiven we are still people of flesh who sin a hundred times a day. We are imperfect and dirty, even though The Lord sees us as righteous. He made us righteous. But taking The Lord’s Supper when we are right smack in the middle of hating a brother, instigating division among the church, or causing someone to sin has serious consequences. We are not supposed to take it lightly. It is not a snack of crackers and juice, it is the remembrance of our redemption by Christ’s broken body and cleansing blood. In 1 Corinthians 11:23-32 Paul says, “For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. 27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord.28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. 31 But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.” Believer, you are holy. You are precious. You are separated from the world by your priesthood. It is an honor, a special distinction and a great privilege that you can take The Lord’s Supper. It doesn’t make you holy. It is you that makes the act, the bread, the wine, and even the cup and plate holy. The act doesn’t forgive sins. It celebrates your sanctification in Christ. It is an act of worship that only the redeemed may carry out. Don’t forget the specialness of it. Never treat it lightly. It is a gift from The Lord to you, Royal Priest. Leviticus Chapter 6 Verses 1-7
The first section of chapter 6 continues laws concerning the guilt or sin offering. The sin discussed here is stealing from one’s neighbor. Verses 1-3 read, “The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “If anyone sins and commits a breach of faith against the Lord by deceiving his neighbor in a matter of deposit or security, or through robbery, or if he has oppressed his neighbor 3 or has found something lost and lied about it, swearing falsely—in any of all the things that people do and sin thereby—“ Notice that stealing in any fashion, making money unfairly, keeping a found object, deceit resulting in profit, and outright stealing is called a breach of faith against the Lord. Hurting one’s neighbor is a sin against the Lord, not just the person hurt. And making profit from that injury is a betrayal of faith in God. Doing something like that says the person cares more for money than God, it says he doesn’t trust the Lord enough to allow Him to be God in his life, and shows that the person has no respect for God’s creation. Because the sin described in verses 2 and 3 cause damage, reparation has to be made to the injured party before the sinner can make his offering to the Lord. Verses 4-5 read, “if he has sinned and has realized his guilt and will restore what he took by robbery or what he got by oppression or the deposit that was committed to him or the lost thing that he found 5 or anything about which he has sworn falsely, he shall restore it in full and shall add a fifth to it, and give it to him to whom it belongs on the day he realizes his guilt.” True repentance requires remorse and returning what was stolen, repairing what was broken, and restoring what was injured. But notice there is still sacrifice involved in the act of contrition. The sinner not only has to give back what was stolen or gained, but has to add a fifth to it. If he stole $100.00 he has to return $120.00. And he has to do it immediately the day he realizes his guilt. It is only after he has reconciled with his neighbor that he can go reconcile with the Lord. Verses 6-7 say, “And he shall bring to the priest as his compensation to the Lord a ram without blemish out of the flock, or its equivalent for a guilt offering. 7 And the priest shall make atonement for him before the Lord, and he shall be forgiven for any of the things that one may do and thereby become guilty.” God is always ready to forgive the repentant soul. Real repentance requires action. If our sin hurt another person we can’t just ignore it, call ourselves forgiven and go on. We can’t have peace with God if we are divided by hostilities created by our sin with people around us. It is true that in Christ, we are already forgiven for every wrong, but the Lord still requires us to be united in peace and love with one another before we worship Him. In Matthew 5:23-24 Jesus said, “So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift” If we have done something to make our brother angry with us, we have not only hurt them, but we may cause them to sin. That is doubly dreadful of us. Even if we haven’t done anything wrong, but our brother is still holding something against us, we need to make peace with him before we offer a gift to God, worship Him, or take the Lord’s Supper. The anger our brother has against us may cause him to sin, and we do not want to be a stumbling block to anyone. What does it hurt us to submit to one another? Our pride can always handle being cut down. Pride is the foundation for so much sin. We can be humble and submit to our brothers and sisters. We can be the peacemakers. We can’t worship God with a pure heart if we don’t have unity with the Body of Christ. The two great commandments are linked together. We cannot do one without doing the other. We can’t love the Lord with our entire being, soul, mind, heart, and strength if we do not love our neighbors. God wants us to love what He loves and want what He wants. He loves our neighbor deeply. He expects us to love our neighbor as well. Leviticus Chapter 4
This chapter describes laws for sin offerings. These are different from the burnt offerings of the first chapter. Sin offerings were for unintentional sins committed and were made when the sin came to light, not yearly. Different people had to sacrifice different animals in different ways. There was no choice as in the burnt offerings. If a priest sinned, he had to sacrifice a bull. Verses 4-7 read, “He shall bring the bull to the entrance of the tent of meeting before the Lord and lay his hand on the head of the bull and kill the bull before the Lord. 5 And the anointed priest shall take some of the blood of the bull and bring it into the tent of meeting, 6 and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle part of the blood seven times before the Lord in front of the veil of the sanctuary. 7 And the priest shall put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense before the Lord that is in the tent of meeting, and all the rest of the blood of the bull he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering that is at the entrance of the tent of meeting.” Next the priest had to include the fat and the fatty organs with the offering, but some parts of the animal he had to take out of the camp, completely away from the people and burn separately. Verses 11-12 describe it, “But the skin of the bull and all its flesh, with its head, its legs, its entrails, and its dung— 12 all the rest of the bull—he shall carry outside the camp to a clean place, to the ash heap, and shall burn it up on a fire of wood. On the ash heap it shall be burned up.” Imagine how disgusting and horrible to kill an animal in front of everyone, butcher it just so and then carry the skin, head, legs, entrails and excrement out of the camp with flies buzzing all around, the smell constantly in your nose, and the guts all over you. The priest who shouldn’t be ignorant of the law had to admit that he was, and that because of that ignorance he had sinned. He had to tell everyone, as is the case for each of the situations in Leviticus Chapter 4. The sinner had to admit his sin to everyone as the first step of forgiveness. The act of repentance and sacrifice was done in front of the whole assembly. The priest’s sins were considered the most grievous and his sacrifice had to be carried out by him alone. The next sin described is the unintentional sin committed by the entire congregation. Perhaps everyone was doing something that the Lord had forbidden under the law, when they realized it, they brought a bull from the herd and the elders as representatives for the assembly laid their hands on it as it was killed. And once again the priest was given the duty of carrying the rest of the bull out of the camp. The elders had a responsibility to shepherd the assembly and the priest had an obligation to ensure the group knew and followed the law. So they had to take the fault and burden of the sin. If one of the leaders committed an unintentional sin, then when that sin was brought to light he had to bring a male goat without blemish. This sacrifice is described in verses 22-26. “When a leader sins, doing unintentionally any one of all the things that by the commandments of the Lord his God ought not to be done, and realizes his guilt, 23 or the sin which he has committed is made known to him, he shall bring as his offering a goat, a male without blemish, 24 and shall lay his hand on the head of the goat and kill it in the place where they kill the burnt offering before the Lord; it is a sin offering. 25 Then the priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and pour out the rest of its blood at the base of the altar of burnt offering. 26 And all its fat he shall burn on the altar, like the fat of the sacrifice of peace offerings. So the priest shall make atonement for him for his sin, and he shall be forgiven.” This sacrifice is of a much smaller animal, but still a valuable one. And there is no carrying the remainders of the corpse outside the city. Additionally once the leader has placed his hand on the head of the goat and killed it, it was the priest who then made atonement for the sin of the leader in order for God to forgive him. The priest is always the one who stands in between man and God. The priest spills the blood in order for God to absolve the sin. Next the sacrifice for the common man is described. He could bring either a female goat, or a female lamb to be sacrificed in order for the priest to make atonement and God to forgive him. Unintentional sin happens. Sometimes we are ignorant or we don’t use discernment. Under the law they happened often. There were so many laws to follow that a person couldn’t possibly know and keep each one of them perfectly. But God didn’t require payment of those sins until the person or people became aware of them. Once the sin was realized, God expected public repentance and payment. It wasn’t public so that the person would feel deeper shame. It was open so that everyone could learn from it. If the leader didn’t know that memorializing a passed loved one was a sin, it is likely that many in the community didn’t know it either. Now they would all know it. It also gave them accountability. They could look out for one another and keep an eye out for repeated offenses. Jesus gave up His life to pay for our sins all of them, regardless of when or why, whether they were sins of commission or omission, great or small. His sacrifice was the ultimate perfect offering, once and for all. While all sin is sin, some people carry more of an obligation than others not to sin. Under the law, the onus was on the priest first, then the leaders and lastly on the rest of the congregation. Under grace believers are all priests. We all have direct access to Holy God. We have His awesome Spirit to guide us, teach us, and mold us. But the world doesn’t have the same obligation. They live under sin. The sins of the lost don’t count against them if they don’t know they are sinning. They still have to pay the final price for their sin. But asking a lost person to stop sinning doesn’t make sense. Making him aware of his sinful state, and telling him about Jesus does make sense. Once he understands he is a sinner, then he can ask Jesus to cover him with His blood. We can bring them The Light, but until then, our sin is counted as greater than theirs. But Jesus, our High Priest made the ultimate sacrifice for us. He atoned and we are completely forgiven once and for all. Still elders, pastors, and teachers face more accountability than others. They are in a position of leadership. As we mature, we should be able to lead people closer to Christ, not teach them to sin. James 3:1 puts it like this, “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.” We no longer live under the law. We do not keep the law in order to be saved and know God. We live righteously as a result of following Christ and the indwelling of His Spirit in us. We love God with all our heart, soul, strength and mind. Because we love Him with our entire being, we love others tangibly. Loving others is how we love God and the supernatural response of our love for God and His love for us. Leviticus Chapter 3
In this chapter The Lord gave Moses His Law regarding peace offerings. A peace offering was one made by the person of his own free will to show God his thankfulness or celebrate the fulfillment of a vow. This offering looks similar to the sin offering but there are differences. Verses 1-2 read, “If his offering is a sacrifice of peace offering, if he offers an animal from the herd, male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before the Lord. 2 And he shall lay his hand on the head of his offering and kill it at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and Aaron's sons the priests shall throw the blood against the sides of the altar. “ Because this offering was not for the atonement of sin but an act of worship, community, and thanksgiving the animal could be male or female. And because this offering was one of free will and one in which the meat would be eaten by the offeror and others, birds were not permitted. Only a portion of the offering was burnt and given to God. Verses 3-5 read, “And from the sacrifice of the peace offering, as a food offering to the Lord, he shall offer the fat covering the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails, 4 and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the long lobe of the liver that he shall remove with the kidneys.5 Then Aaron's sons shall burn it on the altar on top of the burnt offering, which is on the wood on the fire; it is a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord.” The blood of the animal was applied to the altar. The fat was given to God. The rest of the animal was for the fellowship meal. The blood spilled took the place of the sacrifice of the offeror’s blood. The fat made the aroma of the offering pleasing to God. Fat was considered the prime part of the animal, the best part and so the best part was given to God. He also commanded that Israel never eat blood or fat. Forgoing fat was a symbol of obedience to God. Abstaining from blood honored God’s holiness, His redemption, and Jesus Christ who would shed His blood to pay for sins once and for all. Verses 16-17 read, “And the priest shall burn them on the altar as a food offering with a pleasing aroma. All fat is the Lord's. 17 It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations, in all your dwelling places, that you eat neither fat nor blood.” This offering was no less important than the sin offering. It had to be done just so and it still involved blood and cost. The meat that was not burned on the altar was cooked and was served as a meal of fellowship and community. It was a special and happy meal. One which blessed the Lord but also one in which the offeror expected some blessing in return. Today, we do not have to sacrifice animals, spill blood or make bread to worship God. Jesus’ sacrifice was the ultimate offering. In His giving His life for ours, He made the way for us to worship without pretense and continual sacrifices. He removed the barrier between men and Himself. We can speak directly to Him. Our words, deeds, spirits, and minds worship God. We are a living sacrifice because of what Jesus did for us. Does your life reflect your thankfulness to God? Does your life celebrate community with the Lord and with the church? Does your life show that like God, you keep every promise you make? Your mind may say, “Thank you God” or “Praise God” but if your life doesn’t demonstrate it, are you really grateful and joyful? There is intentional action involved in being a living sacrifice. |
Donna CampbellAs I read the Bible every day, I take what God teaches me, what He says, and write it out. I then share that with you. It gives me a deeper understanding of the Word and I hope that it will encourage you as it does me, to put your love and faith into action. Archives
September 2020
Categories
All
|