Leviticus 23:23-44 - Rest, Atonement, and Dwelling in Deliverance

Leviticus 23:23-44

The Feast of Trumpets (Numbers 29:1–6)

23 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 24 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a sabbath-rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. 25 You shall do no customary work on it; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD.’”

The Day of Atonement. (Numbers 29:7–11)

26 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 27 “Also the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement. It shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire to the LORD. 28 And you shall do no work on that same day, for it is the Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before the LORD your God. 29 For any person who is not afflicted in soul on that same day shall be cut off from his people. 30 And any person who does any work on that same day, that person I will destroy from among his people. 31 You shall do no manner of work; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. 32 It shall be to you a sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall afflict your souls; on the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening, you shall celebrate your sabbath.”

The Feast of Tabernacles (Numbers 29:12–40; Deuteronomy 16:13–17)

33 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 34 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days to the LORD. 35 On the first day there shall be a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work on it. 36 For seven days you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD. On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation, and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD. It is a sacred assembly, and you shall do no customary work on it.

37 These are the feasts of the LORD which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire to the LORD, a burnt offering and a grain offering, a sacrifice and drink offerings, everything on its day— 38 besides the Sabbaths of the LORD, besides your gifts, besides all your vows, and besides all your freewill offerings which you give to the LORD.

39 ‘Also on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruit of the land, you shall keep the feast of the LORD for seven days; on the first day there shall be a sabbath-rest, and on the eighth day a sabbath-rest. 40 And you shall take for yourselves on the first day the fruit of beautiful trees, branches of palm trees, the boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days. 41 You shall keep it as a feast to the LORD for seven days in the year. It shall be a statute forever in your generations. You shall celebrate it in the seventh month. 42 You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All who are native Israelites shall dwell in booths, 43 that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.’”

44 So Moses declared to the children of Israel the feasts of the LORD.

In the seventh month there was much to reflect on and celebrate.  The people had holy remembrances of their deliverance from bondage as they found rest in the LORD and His work of Atonement for their souls.  We now see how these pointed to our ultimate salvation of deliverance from the bondage of sin symbolized in the rigor of Egypt’s enslavement by the atoning work of the Lamb of God who is our eternal Sabbath rest from our striving to earn salvation through our ineffective works (Romans 3:20, 23) and finding rest in His work (Romans 6:23, Hebrews 4:9-10) for us to dwell in at peace with God (Romans 5:1) and found now dwelling in Christ forevermore.  We now memorialize our rest and atonement in fellowship with the Lord in the sign of baptism as acceptance to receive Him (John 1:12, Matthew 20:23, Romans 6:4, Colossians 2:12, Titus 3:5, 1 Peter 3:21) and then celebrating our atonement in the sharing of His body and lifeblood in the Lord’s Supper as the ultimate Passover meal (Luke 22:15, 1 Corinthians 11:24-25, 26) of deliverance from sin’s penalty.  All these original reflections were memorialized in rituals of remembrance passed on through the generations until they were given fuller meaning in the work of the Christ Jesus that we might find atonement for our sins in His work that we may rest from our works of striving to be accepted in the Beloved (Ephesians 1:6) and dwell in these temporal tents as sojourners (1 Peter 1:1-2, 2:11, Hebrews 11:13, 16) and pilgrims in this life’s journey until we arrive in resurrected bodies to live with Him forever (Job 19:25-27, Revelation 21:3) in eternal (John 14:2-3) habitations.  May we therefore reflect on these memorial feasts of celebrating God’s work for us in their fullness found in the work and person of Jesus Christ our Lord upon whom we feed.  He is our atoning sabbath rest of deliverance from bondage in whom we now dwell (Psalm 16:11, Ezekiel 37:26-27, Luke 13:16, 19:9) forevermore. 

Leviticus 23:1-22 - Celebration and Rest

Leviticus 23:1-22

Feasts of the LORD

1 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘The feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts.

The Sabbath

3 ‘Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work on it; it is the Sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings.

The Passover and Unleavened Bread (Numbers 28:16–25)

4 These are the feasts of the LORD, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times. 5 On the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight is the LORD’s Passover. 6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the LORD; seven days you must eat unleavened bread. 7 On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no customary work on it. 8 But you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD for seven days. The seventh day shall be a holy convocation; you shall do no customary work on it.’”

The Feast of Firstfruits

9 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 10 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: When you come into the land which I give to you, and reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest. 11 He shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted on your behalf; on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. 12 And you shall offer on that day, when you wave the sheaf, a male lamb of the first year, without blemish, as a burnt offering to the LORD. 13 Its grain offering shall be two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, an offering made by fire to the LORD, for a sweet aroma; and its drink offering shall be of wine, one-fourth of a hin. 14 You shall eat neither bread nor parched grain nor fresh grain until the same day that you have brought an offering to your God; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

The Feast of Weeks (Exodus 34:22; Numbers 28:26–31; Deuteronomy 16:9, 10)

15 ‘And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed. 16 Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the LORD. 17 You shall bring from your dwellings two wave loaves of two-tenths of an ephah. They shall be of fine flour; they shall be baked with leaven. They are the firstfruits to the LORD. 18 And you shall offer with the bread seven lambs of the first year, without blemish, one young bull, and two rams. They shall be as a burnt offering to the LORD, with their grain offering and their drink offerings, an offering made by fire for a sweet aroma to the LORD. 19 Then you shall sacrifice one kid of the goats as a sin offering, and two male lambs of the first year as a sacrifice of a peace offering. 20 The priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits as a wave offering before the LORD, with the two lambs. They shall be holy to the LORD for the priest. 21 And you shall proclaim on the same day that it is a holy convocation to you. You shall do no customary work on it. It shall be a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.

22 When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field when you reap, nor shall you gather any gleaning from your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the stranger: I am the LORD your God.’”

These holy feasts were celebrations for God’s honor and worship to His glory, not mere mandated requirements to earn His favor.  The first half of this chapter tells us this and then explains the sabbath rest as another equally-important holy convocation or sacred assembly of the people of God.  The first holy gathering is to celebrate the passing over by God in Egypt when the firstborn of their oppressors was stopped for the children of Israel by the blood of a lamb guarding the entrance to their dwellings, which covering was later fulfilled in Christ as the eternal Lamb of God who covers the entrance to our hearts and souls with His own sacrificial lifeblood for never-ending deliverance from judgment (John 5:24) and spiritual death and its bondage.  This Sabbath of the LORD was to be celebrated “in all your dwellings.”  We therefore rejoice in our deliverance, our salvation in the atoning lifeblood of our Passover Lamb, in all these dwellings where He now lives.  The feast of unleavened bread was to eat of bread without any yeast to soften it as sin softens and fills our lives if we allow it to spread from heart and mind to the body and vice verse.  Our works are therefore to not be relied on to save us nor are we to allow them to introduce sin into us when we attempt to work to save ourselves instead of relying on Christ’s work on the cross and out of the grave to justify (Romans 2:25-26) us.  We rest in the work of our Sabbath Lamb who earned our salvation and then live to imitate Him in holy living of willing obedience to work out the sanctification of our salvation (Philippians 2:12-13), not attempting to work our way to heaven as some erroneously teach even now.  The feast celebrating the first fruits of God’s provision were to thank Him for His provision for the body just as we also are thankful for the provision for our souls (Romans 8:23) with the hope of eternal life demonstrated by the resurrection of Jesus Christ as a prelude to our own resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:20, 23) in Him after we die and join Him.  The feast celebrated for the weeks remembered God’s provision after the harvest following a set time after the rest in the LORD and offered back to God from all He provided to them.  We also offer all we have and are back to Him continually as living sacrifices (Romans 12:1) to worship in thanksgiving of Jesus Christ and His work to deliver us and give us true and lasting (Hebrews 4:1, 9-10) rest from our works to celebrate His. 

Leviticus 22:17-33 - Acceptable Offering

Leviticus 22:17-33

Offerings Accepted and Not Accepted

17 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 18 “Speak to Aaron and his sons, and to all the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘Whatever man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers in Israel, who offers his sacrifice for any of his vows or for any of his freewill offerings, which they offer to the LORD as a burnt offering— 19 you shall offer of your own free will a male without blemish from the cattle, from the sheep, or from the goats. 20 Whatever has a defect, you shall not offer, for it shall not be acceptable on your behalf. 21 And whoever offers a sacrifice of a peace offering to the LORD, to fulfill his vow, or a freewill offering from the cattle or the sheep, it must be perfect to be accepted; there shall be no defect in it. 22 Those that are blind or broken or maimed, or have an ulcer or eczema or scabs, you shall not offer to the LORD, nor make an offering by fire of them on the altar to the LORD. 23 Either a bull or a lamb that has any limb too long or too short you may offer as a freewill offering, but for a vow it shall not be accepted.

24 ‘You shall not offer to the LORD what is bruised or crushed, or torn or cut; nor shall you make any offering of them in your land. 25 Nor from a foreigner’s hand shall you offer any of these as the bread of your God, because their corruption is in them, and defects are in them. They shall not be accepted on your behalf.’”

26 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 27 “When a bull or a sheep or a goat is born, it shall be seven days with its mother; and from the eighth day and thereafter it shall be accepted as an offering made by fire to the LORD. 28 Whether it is a cow or ewe, do not kill both her and her young on the same day. 29 And when you offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the LORD, offer it of your own free will. 30 On the same day it shall be eaten; you shall leave none of it until morning: I am the LORD.

31 “Therefore you shall keep My commandments, and perform them: I am the LORD. 32 You shall not profane My holy name, but I will be hallowed among the children of Israel. I am the LORD who sanctifies you, 33 who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the LORD.”

The LORD made it clear to the people through Moses that offerings made through their free will had to be as perfect as possible, without any defects, or they would not be worthy of acceptance.  This is the core of the gospel begun then that demonstrates only a perfect offering could appease God and cover our sins in the atoning work of God’s only Son as our Passover Lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7) to take away the sins of all who come to Him in the world.  Any freely-given offering then that was not perfect was accepted, but not to satisfy any vow they offered it for.  Like, any offering but Christ cannot satisfy the vow of a life offered to the Lord with any lasting benefit.  Only by His offering can we have a vow for salvation that covers our sin by the covenant sealed by His Spirit (Ephesians 1:13-14) and received by faith in His offering of Himself as our perfect Lamb and eternal High Priest.  There is no defect in the divine offering as there is in every one of our own by our attempts at good but imperfect works we offer to save ourselves and appease Him.  We are to keep this commandment that beloved and receives (John 1:12, 5:24) the perfect offering by God’s own hand of His divine Son to cover our sins with an eternal atonement that never ends or can be revoked.  This makes and keep His name holy among His people.  He delivers us as Israel through the Red Sea out of a bondage to sin only hinted at by the servitude in Egypt.  He is the LORD who alone sanctifies us, making us holy in the righteousness of Jesus Christ and in no other.  He is our God and Lord over us (Acts 2:47) who saves!  He is our acceptable offering. 

Leviticus 22:1-16 - The LORD Makes us Holy

Leviticus 22:1-16

1 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to Aaron and his sons, that they separate themselves from the holy things of the children of Israel, and that they do not profane My holy name by what they dedicate to Me: I am the LORD. 3 Say to them: ‘Whoever of all your descendants throughout your generations, who goes near the holy things which the children of Israel dedicate to the LORD, while he has uncleanness upon him, that person shall be cut off from My presence: I am the LORD.

4 ‘Whatever man of the descendants of Aaron, who is a leper or has a discharge, shall not eat the holy offerings until he is clean. And whoever touches anything made unclean by a corpse, or a man who has had an emission of semen, 5 or whoever touches any creeping thing by which he would be made unclean, or any person by whom he would become unclean, whatever his uncleanness may be— 6 the person who has touched any such thing shall be unclean until evening, and shall not eat the holy offerings unless he washes his body with water. 7 And when the sun goes down he shall be clean; and afterward he may eat the holy offerings, because it is his food. 8 Whatever dies naturally or is torn by beasts he shall not eat, to defile himself with it: I am the LORD.

9 ‘They shall therefore keep My ordinance, lest they bear sin for it and die thereby, if they profane it: I the LORD sanctify them.

10 No outsider shall eat the holy offering; one who dwells with the priest, or a hired servant, shall not eat the holy thing. 11 But if the priest buys a person with his money, he may eat it; and one who is born in his house may eat his food. 12 If the priest’s daughter is married to an outsider, she may not eat of the holy offerings. 13 But if the priest’s daughter is a widow or divorced, and has no child, and has returned to her father’s house as in her youth, she may eat her father’s food; but no outsider shall eat it.

14 ‘And if a man eats the holy offering unintentionally, then he shall restore a holy offering to the priest, and add one-fifth to it. 15 They shall not profane the holy offerings of the children of Israel, which they offer to the LORD, 16 or allow them to bear the guilt of trespass when they eat their holy offerings; for I the LORD sanctify them.’”

The multitude of laws given to acceptably worship and sacrifice to the LORD are continued to be laid out here, but in the end it is clearly stated that it is the LORD who sanctifies, who reckons us holy in His sight.  This imputed righteousness is the core message of the gospel of grace in Christ Jesus, that while we are expected to live holy lives, we cannot ever be perfect in holiness (Romans 3:20, 23) apart from God’s work to make us righteous in His estimation by counting it as if it was true (Romans 6:7-8, 10) by being accepted into the righteousness (Romans 3:25-26) of Christ alone.  We are therefore called to flee sin and exercise our to righteousness and holiness in body and soul by choosing to put off sinful attitudes and actions while relying on the enabling power of His Spirit in us to do the work we aim ourselves to do in willing obedience.  The people of God in this passage were prohibited from these sins such as approaching the holy worship while continuing in sinful ways.  We are also commanded to turn from such willful wickedness that we may worship in a clear conscience of confessed sin that we strive to mortify in ourselves.  It is through confession (1 John 1:9) of sin and our subsequent forgiveness under the atoning work of Jesus Christ that we can serve in worship (Romans 12:1-2) through this transformation of our ongoing sanctification.  We are to keep His word and not profane His Name by our continued sin therefore, as it is repeated twice here, “I the LORD sanctify them.”  This is seen further in Ephesians 5:26, 1 Thessalonians 5:23, and Hebrews 13:12 that we might grasp His work of ongoing grace in our walk with Him as Jesus makes us holy or sanctified in Christ and His righteous work.  The Lord makes us holy.  May we then offer ourselves as living sacrifices of willing obedience to put off sinful attitudes and put on Christ (Romans 13:14) in this journey of sanctifying worship with our bodies and souls.  Amen.

Leviticus 21:1-24 - Our Priestly Conduct

Leviticus 21:1-24

Regulations for Conduct of Priests (cf. Ezekiel 44:15–31)

1 And the LORD said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: None shall defile himself for the dead among his people, 2 except for his relatives who are nearest to him: his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, and his brother; 3 also his virgin sister who is near to him, who has had no husband, for her he may defile himself. 4 Otherwise he shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself.

5 They shall not make any bald place on their heads, nor shall they shave the edges of their beards nor make any cuttings in their flesh. 6 They shall be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God, for they offer the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and the bread of their God; therefore they shall be holy. 7 They shall not take a wife who is a harlot or a defiled woman, nor shall they take a woman divorced from her husband; for the priest is holy to his God. 8 Therefore you shall consecrate him, for he offers the bread of your God. He shall be holy to you, for I the LORD, who sanctify you, am holy. 9 The daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by playing the harlot, she profanes her father. She shall be burned with fire.

10 ’He who is the high priest among his brethren, on whose head the anointing oil was poured and who is consecrated to wear the garments, shall not uncover his head nor tear his clothes; 11 nor shall he go near any dead body, nor defile himself for his father or his mother; 12 nor shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am the LORD. 13 And he shall take a wife in her virginity. 14 A widow or a divorced woman or a defiled woman or a harlot—these he shall not marry; but he shall take a virgin of his own people as wife. 15 Nor shall he profane his posterity among his people, for I the LORD sanctify him.’”

16 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 17 “Speak to Aaron, saying: ‘No man of your descendants in succeeding generations, who has any defect, may approach to offer the bread of his God. 18 For any man who has a defect shall not approach: a man blind or lame, who has a marred face or any limb too long, 19 a man who has a broken foot or broken hand, 20 or is a hunchback or a dwarf, or a man who has a defect in his eye, or eczema or scab, or is a eunuch. 21 No man of the descendants of Aaron the priest, who has a defect, shall come near to offer the offerings made by fire to the LORD. He has a defect; he shall not come near to offer the bread of his God. 22 He may eat the bread of his God, both the most holy and the holy; 23 only he shall not go near the veil or approach the altar, because he has a defect, lest he profane My sanctuaries; for I the LORD sanctify them.’”

24 And Moses told it to Aaron and his sons, and to all the children of Israel.

Priests were called to serve the LORD in the beauty of holiness (1 Chronicles 16:29, Psalm 96:9) and not defile himself in any way.  They were to keep themselves ceremonially and spiritually clean from sin to not profane God’s name.  This meant a faithful marriage with a faithful wife of good character as well, with a lifestyle of devotion to God of all his family members to avoid defaming the holy name of God whom he served.  This went so far as to require the priests not to marry a divorced woman and certainly not one who lived immorally before their marriage and to keep their daughters from gross immorality also.  The consecration of the oil on the priests was a reminder that they carried the blessing and anointing of the LORD as His representatives and ministers, which applies in similar ways to we who are called saints (Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:2) and priests (Revelation 1:6, 5:10) to our Lord Jesus Christ today.  We are called to be holy also in body and soul (1 Peter 1:15-16) to walk and serve as worthy servants of the Most-High God in the temples of these bodies (1 Corinthians 6:19) and in the congregation among one another in Christ.  Our conduct must not defame the name of our Lord Jesus Christ or the Father whose Spirit lives within each of us, called to be saints and priests to serve our Lord God in this grace in which we now stand.  We must therefore confess and turn from sin as we ask forgiveness and restoration from Him that we might not dishonor (2 Timothy 2:19, 20-21, Colossians 3:23-24) that holy name in which we are called.  We are granted full access to the Lord’s throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16) to serve in holiness through constant confession of sin to Him for forgiveness and not living in ongoing sins as we put them to death by the help of His Spirit in us (Romans 8:12-14) within.  This is how we keep ourselves unspotted (James 1:27, Romans 12:2) from the world to serve as we are called at the altar of grace in holiness.  This is our priestly conduct in Jesus Christ. 

Leviticus 20:1-27 - Consequences of Idolatry and Immorality Sins

Leviticus 20:1-27

Penalties for Breaking the Law

1 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Again, you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘Whoever of the children of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell in Israel, who gives any of his descendants to Molech, he shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone him with stones. 3 I will set My face against that man, and will cut him off from his people, because he has given some of his descendants to Molech, to defile My sanctuary and profane My holy name. 4 And if the people of the land should in any way hide their eyes from the man, when he gives some of his descendants to Molech, and they do not kill him, 5 then I will set My face against that man and against his family; and I will cut him off from his people, and all who prostitute themselves with him to commit harlotry with Molech.

6 ‘And the person who turns to mediums and familiar spirits, to prostitute himself with them, I will set My face against that person and cut him off from his people. 7 Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am the LORD your God. 8 And you shall keep My statutes, and perform them: I am the LORD who sanctifies you.

9 ‘For everyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death. He has cursed his father or his mother. His blood shall be upon him.

10 The man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, he who commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress, shall surely be put to death. 11 The man who lies with his father’s wife has uncovered his father’s nakedness; both of them shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them. 12 If a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death. They have committed perversion. Their blood shall be upon them. 13 If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them. 14 If a man marries a woman and her mother, it is wickedness. They shall be burned with fire, both he and they, that there may be no wickedness among you. 15 If a man mates with an animal, he shall surely be put to death, and you shall kill the animal. 16 If a woman approaches any animal and mates with it, you shall kill the woman and the animal. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood is upon them.

17 ‘If a man takes his sister, his father’s daughter or his mother’s daughter, and sees her nakedness and she sees his nakedness, it is a wicked thing. And they shall be cut off in the sight of their people. He has uncovered his sister’s nakedness. He shall bear his guilt. 18 If a man lies with a woman during her sickness and uncovers her nakedness, he has exposed her flow, and she has uncovered the flow of her blood. Both of them shall be cut off from their people.

19 ‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister nor of your father’s sister, for that would uncover his near of kin. They shall bear their guilt. 20 If a man lies with his uncle’s wife, he has uncovered his uncle’s nakedness. They shall bear their sin; they shall die childless. 21 If a man takes his brother’s wife, it is an unclean thing. He has uncovered his brother’s nakedness. They shall be childless.

22 ‘You shall therefore keep all My statutes and all My judgments, and perform them, that the land where I am bringing you to dwell may not vomit you out. 23 And you shall not walk in the statutes of the nation which I am casting out before you; for they commit all these things, and therefore I abhor them. 24 But I have said to you, “You shall inherit their land, and I will give it to you to possess, a land flowing with milk and honey.” I am the LORD your God, who has separated you from the peoples. 25 You shall therefore distinguish between clean animals and unclean, between unclean birds and clean, and you shall not make yourselves abominable by beast or by bird, or by any kind of living thing that creeps on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean. 26 And you shall be holy to Me, for I the LORD am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine.

27 A man or a woman who is a medium, or who has familiar spirits, shall surely be put to death; they shall stone them with stones. Their blood shall be upon them.’”

The penalties of various Law-breaking sins are explained here.  Prostituting themselves with false gods and lifeless idols resulted in God turning away His face from them as not His children, cut off and away from the promises and protection.  That is like someone today trying to serve Christ and other gods of unbiblical teachings such as Buddhists or Jehovah Witnesses or Mormons or Muslims.  They do not worship the same God and are so separated from the Lord’s kingdom unless they repent and forsake them.  God is not mocked by false ecumenism.  Likewise, those who consorted with mediums were also selling themselves for hire in spiritual adultery by trying to speak with the dead or read the future by any means other than God’s word and Spirit.  Therefore, those claiming Christ today have no part in astrology, seances, or witchcraft of any sort without deeply offending the Lord and bringing their salvation into question if not repented of.  The short admonition not to curse one’s parents also met with such a swift and harsh response from the LORD because they defied God’s authority given to them for their children.  Various types of sexual immorality are also condemned for the same reason of defying God’s design, desire, and commands of authority to be holy. They included adultery, adultery within the family, homosexuality, bestiality, and incest.  Such gross abominations of immorality equaled the depravity and wickedness of the perversion of the soul and their punishments as consequences if not repented (1 Corinthians 6:9-10) of and stopped (1 Corinthians 6:11).  We see that idolatry and immorality are linked in Romans chapter 1 in greater detail (Romans 1:23, 24-25) as well as those who defy God and are unable to enter His kingdom apart from true repentance that stops the self-centered and self-serving sins of idolatry and immorality set against the nature of creation by God’s design.  Here are the warnings for us as well to do as the Lord tells us to live in His scriptures and not as the fallen world wallowing in sin around us tells us is acceptable and desirable (Genesis 3:6) to make us wise in the world’s eyes of corrupted society set against the Lord.  Those inheriting the kingdom of God therefore are expected to live in holiness and not gross immorality such as adultery and homosexuality of any kind, living in accord to the created order and design instead and desiring what God desires and has told us and not living for the passing pleasures of sin.  He tells us plainly here, “you shall be holy to Me, for I the LORD am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine” just as it is reiterated in 1 Peter 1:15-16 for us to understand the essential nature of His commands and desires for His children and the consequences for the continuing sins of idolatry and immorality.

Leviticus 19:23-37 - Obedience and Practice

Leviticus 19:23-37

23 ‘When you come into the land, and have planted all kinds of trees for food, then you shall count their fruit as uncircumcised. Three years it shall be as uncircumcised to you. It shall not be eaten. 24 But in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, a praise to the LORD. 25 And in the fifth year you may eat its fruit, that it may yield to you its increase: I am the LORD your God.

26 ‘You shall not eat anything with the blood, nor shall you practice divination or soothsaying. 27 You shall not shave around the sides of your head, nor shall you disfigure the edges of your beard. 28 You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you: I am the LORD.

29 Do not prostitute your daughter, to cause her to be a harlot, lest the land fall into harlotry, and the land become full of wickedness.

30 ‘You shall keep My Sabbaths and reverence My sanctuary: I am the LORD.

31 ‘Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.

32 You shall rise before the gray headed and honor the presence of an old man, and fear your God: I am the LORD.

33 ‘And if a stranger dwells with you in your land, you shall not mistreat him. 34 The stranger who dwells among you shall be to you as one born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

35 ‘You shall do no injustice in judgment, in measurement of length, weight, or volume. 36 You shall have honest scales, honest weights, an honest ephah, and an honest hin: I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.

37 Therefore you shall observe all My statutes and all My judgments, and perform them: I am the LORD.’”

More morality is addressed in the second half of this chapter through obedience to the guiding words of command and in performing them in practice.  This performance is not play acting a part for show to appear righteous as our sin-filled flesh gravitates towards, but a sincere consideration of conviction to love out these things in their place (1 John 3:5-6) in daily practice.  This includes being good stewards of the bounty He provides as seen in the admonition to plant trees and let them grow and get established before eating fruit from them.  Sometimes we need to use this pattern in the work we do and what we receive from the hand of the Lord, allowing time for His work in those things before the harvest.  Various other prohibitions are restated such as not eating the lifeblood of animals and not practicing any dark arts of fortune telling or divining the future by ungodly means that do not trust the Lord nor honor Him as our only God.  Others have no continuing purpose now such as the trimming of beards or cutting marks to other gods on our bodies, though some interpret the cuttings as modern day tattoos.  This is unclear as we have certain liberties in the non-essentials.  But moral law commands against prostitution are still valid, as is resting in God’s work (Hebrews 4:9-10) and showing reverence in worship (Ecclesiastes 5:1-2) while in God’s house (and everywhere else).  Speaking with the dead through mediums is also a prohibition still in effect as much as the eating of blood (Acts 21:25) in any food, not just in old sacrifices.  We are not to be defiled with immoral idolatry of any kind.  We should still honor the older ones and fear God in the honor Jesus deserves and imparts to them and us.  We are not to mistreat strangers in our midst but show loving grace, keeping in mind that the authorities still have the right to enforce immigrant laws in our day; we are called to obey them, yet still show compassion and not contempt for the foreigners as many do among us in these days.  We are still to deal fairly with one another especially in business matters, personal and otherwise.  Above all else, we are to obediently follow God’s words of command from the heart and carry them out in daily practice with a humble heart and willingness to follow the Lord in all we do according to His word and Spirit and not the world around us. 

Leviticus 19:1-22 - Holiness of Morality, Truth, and Conscience

Leviticus 19:1-22

Moral and Ceremonial Laws

1 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them: You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.

3 Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and keep My Sabbaths: I am the LORD your God.

4 Do not turn to idols, nor make for yourselves molded gods: I am the LORD your God.

5 ‘And if you offer a sacrifice of a peace offering to the LORD, you shall offer it of your own free will. 6 It shall be eaten the same day you offer it, and on the next day. And if any remains until the third day, it shall be burned in the fire. 7 And if it is eaten at all on the third day, it is an abomination. It shall not be accepted. 8 Therefore everyone who eats it shall bear his iniquity, because he has profaned the hallowed offering of the LORD; and that person shall be cut off from his people.

9 When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 And you shall not glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather every grape of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger: I am the LORD your God.

11 You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another. 12 And you shall not swear by My name falsely, nor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the LORD.

13 You shall not cheat your neighbor, nor rob him. The wages of him who is hired shall not remain with you all night until morning. 14 You shall not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind, but shall fear your God: I am the LORD.

15 ‘You shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty. In righteousness you shall judge your neighbor. 16 You shall not go about as a talebearer among your people; nor shall you take a stand against the life of your neighbor: I am the LORD.

17 You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him. 18 You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.

19 ‘You shall keep My statutes. You shall not let your livestock breed with another kind. You shall not sow your field with mixed seed. Nor shall a garment of mixed linen and wool come upon you.

20 ‘Whoever lies carnally with a woman who is betrothed to a man as a concubine, and who has not at all been redeemed nor given her freedom, for this there shall be scourging; but they shall not be put to death, because she was not free. 21 And he shall bring his trespass offering to the LORD, to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, a ram as a trespass offering. 22 The priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering before the LORD for his sin which he has committed. And the sin which he has committed shall be forgiven him.

These various laws covered holiness through the lens of morality which pit God above all else, including lifeless idols, as well as telling the truth as a faithful witness keeping from theft and deceit and to live with a good conscience (1 Timothy 1:5, Hebrews 13:18, 1 Peter 3:16) before God and man.  The opening sentence summarizes all these and more, “You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy” as we see repeated in 1 Peter 1:15-16 to love as we are called in Christ with morality in a good conscience as we strive to put sin to death (Romans 8:12-13, 29-30) and pursue our relationship with our Lord and Savior who Him is our pattern to imitate (1 Corinthians 11:1) in conformity to such godliness.  These moral principles of the law are still in effect, unlike the ceremonial laws designed to teach faith and willing obedience only possible by the power and wisdom of God’s indwelling Spirit reading His laws written on our hearts (Jeremiah 31:33, 2 Corinthians 3:3) to follow.  We are still to pursue holiness to see our Lord face to face in all His purity and glory.  In all our dealings we are to do all as unto the Lord (Colossians 3:17, 23-24, 1 Corinthians 10:31-33) in honoring Him and all Jesus has given us, as well as towards one another in honesty, morality, and with a good conscience.  We are to speak and deal honestly with one another and not make false promises as a sworn declaration in the name of the Lord, but simply let our yes and no (James 5:12) speak clearly our intentions to each other.  We are to willingly obey all God has to say in the Bible with joy and not begrudgingly just to check a box of compliance to avoid punishment.  He desires our hearts in our hands and feet so our words express the desire to please Him and honor one another as His fellow children.  We are to be forgiving and not vengeful or holding grudges with justice and mercy and not hate in response to the evil of others to us.  The golden rule to do as we want done to us should keep us on the level track of holiness therefore.  We seek the forgiveness of those we offend and make restitution in peace that our relationship with the Lord is kept by His forgiveness (1 John 1:9) as well.  These words here of holiness in our morality, truthfulness, and keeping a clear conscience with God and man are the lessons of the Lord given to shape us into the image and likeness of Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Leviticus 18:1-30 - Defilement of the Body and Soul

Leviticus 18:1-30

Laws of Sexual Morality

1 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: I am the LORD your God. 3 According to the doings of the land of Egypt, where you dwelt, you shall not do; and according to the doings of the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you, you shall not do; nor shall you walk in their ordinances. 4 You shall observe My judgments and keep My ordinances, to walk in them: I am the LORD your God. 5 You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, which if a man does, he shall live by them: I am the LORD.

6 ‘None of you shall approach anyone who is near of kin to him, to uncover his nakedness: I am the LORD. 7 The nakedness of your father or the nakedness of your mother you shall not uncover. She is your mother; you shall not uncover her nakedness. 8 The nakedness of your father’s wife you shall not uncover; it is your father’s nakedness. 9 The nakedness of your sister, the daughter of your father, or the daughter of your mother, whether born at home or elsewhere, their nakedness you shall not uncover. 10 The nakedness of your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter, their nakedness you shall not uncover; for theirs is your own nakedness. 11 The nakedness of your father’s wife’s daughter, begotten by your father—she is your sister—you shall not uncover her nakedness. 12 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s sister; she is near of kin to your father. 13 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister, for she is near of kin to your mother. 14 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s brother. You shall not approach his wife; she is your aunt. 15 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law—she is your son’s wife—you shall not uncover her nakedness. 16 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother’s wife; it is your brother’s nakedness. 17 You shall not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter, nor shall you take her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter, to uncover her nakedness. They are near of kin to her. It is wickedness. 18 Nor shall you take a woman as a rival to her sister, to uncover her nakedness while the other is alive.

19 ‘Also you shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness as long as she is in her customary impurity. 20 Moreover you shall not lie carnally with your neighbor’s wife, to defile yourself with her. 21 And you shall not let any of your descendants pass through the fire to Molech, nor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the LORD. 22 You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination. 23 Nor shall you mate with any animal, to defile yourself with it. Nor shall any woman stand before an animal to mate with it. It is perversion.

24 Do not defile yourselves with any of these things; for by all these the nations are defiled, which I am casting out before you. 25 For the land is defiled; therefore I visit the punishment of its iniquity upon it, and the land vomits out its inhabitants. 26 You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations, either any of your own nation or any stranger who dwells among you 27 (for all these abominations the men of the land have done, who were before you, and thus the land is defiled), 28 lest the land vomit you out also when you defile it, as it vomited out the nations that were before you. 29 For whoever commits any of these abominations, the persons who commit them shall be cut off from among their people.

30 ‘Therefore you shall keep My ordinance, so that you do not commit any of these abominable customs which were committed before you, and that you do not defile yourselves by them: I am the LORD your God.’”

Moses gave us God’s word on sexual morality by defining all the sexual immorality of the body that corrupts the very soul.  He covered every aspect of what immorality is and is to be avoided, for it corrupts the design and desire of God for we who are His creations, made to be holy as He is.  He defines what is right by contrasting it with the acceptable sins of the ungodly around us, urging and commanding us not to follow suit in such immoral acts that break His heart and engender His wrath.  Those who defend these things defy Him as they pit the passing pleasures of sin (Hebrews 11:25) before living to please the Lord as we were made to and must do by His right as our Sovereign and Creator.  He pointed out all the various sinful situations and iterations of immoral sexual relationships in family members, defining them as wicked, heinously lewd and desperately wicked.  He also pointed out the same for adultery and idolatry as equally abhorrent to the LORD, along with beastiality and any same-sex sexual perversion (Romans 1:26-27) defined as an abomination that twists God’s creation into self-serving sensuality.  Though some try to pervert God’s words to defend homosexuality because the English word is not in scripture, they miss the obvious definition described here and in other passages which clearly define same sex intimacy as the abominable sexual act no matter what word describes it.  God’s creation is clearly defined as one woman with one man in the union in a physical and devoted relationship with Him as the core tying them together as one flesh (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12) in that covenant relationship.  No other combination or situation is intended or permitted and to attempt to justify such twisting of God’s intended design with useless wrangling over words does not ever change these facts.  All these sexual deviations are just that, perversions or twisting a of God’s perfect design made clear by the consequences of denying and defying the guidelines of His perfect design for our good and His glory.  These sexual deviations only defile the body and soul and separate us from our Sovereign Creator by our willingness to defy Him for the passing pleasures of such sins.  The sinful nations which Israel was surrounded by then were pointed out as a trap of such immorality to be avoided and not imitated or engaged with in doing the same which led to their judgment and defeat to provide the promised land to God’s people instead with righteous living.  We are likewise called to avoid such immoral sexual sins of the world we live in and stay committed in holiness to live as we are designed (1 Corinthians 6:18-19) to avoid displeasing and angering our Holy God and loving Creator by defiling ourselves in such ungodly ways.  As those bought with the lifeblood of God’s Son to save us from these things (1 Corinthians 6:9-10, 11, 20, Colossians 3:5) how can we ever defend or even worse, ourselves continue to practice such sins when we know what we are called to?  May we avoid and not defend defilement of the body and soul in these ways, but honor and obey our Lord ruling lovingly over our lives for our good instead.

Leviticus 17:1-16 - Atoning Lifeblood for the Soul

Leviticus 17:1-16

The Sanctity of Blood

1 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to Aaron, to his sons, and to all the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘This is the thing which the LORD has commanded, saying: 3 “Whatever man of the house of Israel who kills an ox or lamb or goat in the camp, or who kills it outside the camp, 4 and does not bring it to the door of the tabernacle of meeting to offer an offering to the LORD before the tabernacle of the LORD, the guilt of bloodshed shall be imputed to that man. He has shed blood; and that man shall be cut off from among his people, 5 to the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices which they offer in the open field, that they may bring them to the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, to the priest, and offer them as peace offerings to the LORD. 6 And the priest shall sprinkle the blood on the altar of the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and burn the fat for a sweet aroma to the LORD. 7 They shall no more offer their sacrifices to demons, after whom they have played the harlot. This shall be a statute forever for them throughout their generations.“‘

8 “Also you shall say to them: ‘Whatever man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice, 9 and does not bring it to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, to offer it to the LORD, that man shall be cut off from among his people.

10 And whatever man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, who eats any blood, I will set My face against that person who eats blood, and will cut him off from among his people. 11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.’ 12 Therefore I said to the children of Israel, ‘No one among you shall eat blood, nor shall any stranger who dwells among you eat blood.’

13 “Whatever man of the children of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, who hunts and catches any animal or bird that may be eaten, he shall pour out its blood and cover it with dust; 14 for it is the life of all flesh. Its blood sustains its life. Therefore I said to the children of Israel, ‘You shall not eat the blood of any flesh, for the life of all flesh is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut off.’

15 “And every person who eats what died naturally or what was torn by beasts, whether he is a native of your own country or a stranger, he shall both wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. Then he shall be clean. 16 But if he does not wash them or bathe his body, then he shall bear his guilt.”

This is the explanation of why the lifeblood of every living creature is not to be consumed by us, but poured out as a sacrifice for the death of the owner and the atonement to cover the sins of the one offering the sacrifice of the dead offering.  All shed blood was to be offered to the LORD and not eaten or the person would be cut off, excommunicated, from the people of God who were to revere life given by the breath of the LORD and offered that extinguished life back only to its Creator.  It was not to be offered to idols nor to be taken to oneself as if stealing the God-given life from another creature for selfish gain.  Yes, the life of each and every living thing is in its blood that sustains its very life and should be returned to the dust of the earth of creation (Genesis 1:30, 2:7, 3:19, Ecclesiastes 3:20-21, 12:7) or offered on the altar of atonement to cover sins of the living.  This leads to the truth that the lifeblood of a perfect sacrifice on the altar of atonement for our sins from our Creator is the only blood shed by Him that is effectual and appropriate at His hand and not our own.  It is also the only blood we can and must partake of (John 6:53-54, 55-56) as offered by Jesus Christ on the cross as our sacrifice for sins and the only life imparted by His lifeblood to us as His creations whom He created out of the dust of the earth and sustains us by that eternal divine blood not of creation but of Himself for our sakes.  His is the only sacrifice and only blood imputing life to us by faith in Him who shed His lifeblood that we might drink His blood and eat His body as we remember as we share in the sacraments or ordinances given to us as His children.  Therefore we partake and remember as 1 Corinthians 11:25-26 instructs us to lift the cup of His lifeblood shed for us on the sacrificial altar of the cross of our sin’s curse (Galatians 3:13), knowing and believing the redemption given by His atonement as our High Priest that does not cut us off from God as we drink His blood, but unites us with Himself in His life given for us to make us one again with our Creator at last as originally created and intended.  This is His atoning lifeblood for the soul as He breathes new life into us by His Spirit (John 3:6-7) by faith in His sacrificial work which is the message of the gospel.  Those who partake in an unworthy way by any other gospel or by any other blood will bear their unforgiving guilt into eternity as unwashed and unclean still, cut off and separate from God’s children.  Have you drunk His blood and eaten His body by faith in His divine person and effective work for your salvation and new life?