Devotion and Redemption

Leviticus 27:1-34 

    1 Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When a man consecrates by a vow certain persons to the Lord, according to your valuation, 3 if your valuation is of a male from twenty years old up to sixty years old, then your valuation shall be fifty shekels of silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary. 4 If it is a female, then your valuation shall be thirty shekels; 5 and if from five years old up to twenty years old, then your valuation for a male shall be twenty shekels, and for a female ten shekels; 6 and if from a month old up to five years old, then your valuation for a male shall be five shekels of silver, and for a female your valuation shall be three shekels of silver; 7 and if from sixty years old and above, if it is a male, then your valuation shall be fifteen shekels, and for a female ten shekels. 8 “But if he is too poor to pay your valuation, then he shall present himself before the priest, and the priest shall set a value for him; according to the ability of him who vowed, the priest shall value him.
    9 “If it is an animal that men may bring as an offering to the Lord, all that anyone gives to the Lord shall be holy. 10 He shall not substitute it or exchange it, good for bad or bad for good; and if he at all exchanges animal for animal, then both it and the one exchanged for it shall be holy. 11 If it is an unclean animal which they do not offer as a sacrifice to the Lord, then he shall present the animal before the priest; 12 and the priest shall set a value for it, whether it is good or bad; as you, the priest, value it, so it shall be. 13 But if he wants at all to redeem it, then he must add one-fifth to your valuation.
    14 “And when a man dedicates his house to be holy to the Lord, then the priest shall set a value for it, whether it is good or bad; as the priest values it, so it shall stand. 15 If he who dedicated it wants to redeem his house, then he must add one-fifth of the money of your valuation to it, and it shall be his.
    16 “If a man dedicates to the Lord part of a field of his possession, then your valuation shall be according to the seed for it. A homer of barley seed shall be valued at fifty shekels of silver. 17 If he dedicates his field from the Year of Jubilee, according to your valuation it shall stand. 18 But if he dedicates his field after the Jubilee, then the priest shall reckon to him the money due according to the years that remain till the Year of Jubilee, and it shall be deducted from your valuation. 19 And if he who dedicates the field ever wishes to redeem it, then he must add one-fifth of the money of your valuation to it, and it shall belong to him. 20 But if he does not want to redeem the field, or if he has sold the field to another man, it shall not be redeemed anymore; 21 but the field, when it is released in the Jubilee, shall be holy to the Lord, as a devoted field; it shall be the possession of the priest.
    22 “And if a man dedicates to the Lord a field which he has bought, which is not the field of his possession, 23 then the priest shall reckon to him the worth of your valuation, up to the Year of Jubilee, and he shall give your valuation on that day as a holy offering to the Lord. 24 In the Year of Jubilee the field shall return to him from whom it was bought, to the one who owned the land as a possession. 25 And all your valuations shall be according to the shekel of the sanctuary: twenty gerahs to the shekel.
    26 “But the firstborn of the animals, which should be the Lord's firstborn, no man shall dedicate; whether it is an ox or sheep, it is the Lord's. 27 And if it is an unclean animal, then he shall redeem it according to your valuation, and shall add one-fifth to it; or if it is not redeemed, then it shall be sold according to your valuation.
    28 ‘Nevertheless no devoted offering that a man may devote to the Lord of all that he has, both man and beast, or the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed; every devoted offering is most holy to the Lord. 29 No person under the ban, who may become doomed to destruction among men, shall be redeemed, but shall surely be put to death. 30 And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord's. It is holy to the Lord. 31 If a man wants at all to redeem any of his tithes, he shall add one-fifth to it. 32 And concerning the tithe of the herd or the flock, of whatever passes under the rod, the tenth one shall be holy to the Lord. 33 He shall not inquire whether it is good or bad, nor shall he exchange it; and if he exchanges it at all, then both it and the one exchanged for it shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.’ ”
    34 These are the commandments which the Lord commanded Moses for the children of Israel on Mount Sinai.

Everything offered as a devotion to the Lord is His, and is therefore holy.  Whatever was given control and ownership to God, whether persons, lands, animals, and tithes - these all were dedicated to Him as commanded through Moses.  We can see from these that the firstborn is His, which is completed in His Son Jesus the Christ.  He is set apart and sets us apart as living sacrifices which are to be wholly devoted to our Lord in both body and soul.  We have been bought at such a price, and are now eternally redeemed as His holy possessions and better yet, His children!  Each day and all we possess comes from and must be offered back to Him daily.  We have become priests and minister ourselves as living sacrifices (Revelation 5:10, Romans 12:1, 1 Peter 2:5).  This is true devotion and redemption. 

Consequences of Sin

Leviticus 26:27-46

    27 “And after all this, if you do not obey Me, but walk contrary to Me, 28 then I also will walk contrary to you in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins.  29 You shall eat the flesh of your sons, and you shall eat the flesh of your daughters.  30 I will destroy your high places, cut down your incense altars, and cast your carcasses on the lifeless forms of your idols; and My soul shall abhor you.  31 I will lay your cities waste and bring your sanctuaries to desolation, and I will not smell the fragrance of your sweet aromas.  32 I will bring the land to desolation, and your enemies who dwell in it shall be astonished at it.  33 I will scatter you among the nations and draw out a sword after you; your land shall be desolate and your cities waste.  34 Then the land shall enjoy its sabbaths as long as it lies desolate and you are in your enemies’ land; then the land shall rest and enjoy its sabbaths.  35 As long as it lies desolate it shall rest—for the time it did not rest on your sabbaths when you dwelt in it.
    36 “And as for those of you who are left, I will send faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; the sound of a shaken leaf shall cause them to flee; they shall flee as though fleeing from a sword, and they shall fall when no one pursues.  37 They shall stumble over one another, as it were before a sword, when no one pursues; and you shall have no power to stand before your enemies.  38 You shall perish among the nations, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up.  39 And those of you who are left shall waste away in their iniquity in your enemies’ lands; also in their fathers’ iniquities, which are with them, they shall waste away.
    40 ‘But if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers, with their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, and that they also have walked contrary to Me, 41 and that I also have walked contrary to them and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if their uncircumcised hearts are humbled, and they accept their guilt—42 then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and My covenant with Isaac and My covenant with Abraham I will remember; I will remember the land. 43 The land also shall be left empty by them, and will enjoy its sabbaths while it lies desolate without them; they will accept their guilt, because they despised My judgments and because their soul abhorred My statutes.
    44 Yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, nor shall I abhor them, to utterly destroy them and break My covenant with them; for I am the Lord their God.  45 But for their sake I will remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God: I am the Lord.’ ”
    46 These are the statutes and judgments and laws which the Lord made between Himself and the children of Israel on Mount Sinai by the hand of Moses.

The recompense for disobedience is further spelled out by God to His people.  If they live in opposition to God and His clear commands, His righteous intent for His people, then He will walk in fury towards them in return.  His wrath on sin is as real then as it is now; He is the Lord who does not change and will judge in the end.  Destruction and scattering were promised Israel for constant and willful disregard of His holiness and direction, which may also tear apart our current church bodies and denominations if our corporate willful sin is left unheeded.  Though many of these warnings here are specific to Israel, there are many principles in scripture’s later examples of disobedient rebellion which we can learn from.  What are His people told?  To confess the sin and unfaithfulness to our God, humbling ourselves and turning back to follow Him instead of running sin’s course away from our Lord and Master.  Grace never gives license to continue in disobedience without repentance or consequences.  We accept our guilt and dwell on His new covenant in Christ and His atoning blood of absolution and atonement. He has delivered us from the bondage of sin that we might be able to obey and follow Christ by His enabling Spirit who loves in His people now.  He never leaves nor forsakes us, based on His work and sealed agreement (covenant) for our eternal security of mercy and grace! 

Blessing and Recompense

Leviticus 26:1-26 

1 “You shall not make idols for yourselves; neither a carved image nor a sacred pillar shall you rear up for yourselves; nor shall you set up an engraved stone in your land, to bow down to it; for I am the Lord your God. 2 You shall keep My Sabbaths and reverence My sanctuary: I am the Lord.
    3 “If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments, and perform them, 4 then I will give you rain in its season, the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.  5 Your threshing shall last till the time of vintage, and the vintage shall last till the time of sowing; you shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely.  6 I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none will make you afraid; I will rid the land of evil beasts, and the sword will not go through your land.  7 You will chase your enemies, and they shall fall by the sword before you.  8 Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight; your enemies shall fall by the sword before you.
    9 “For I will look on you favorably and make you fruitful, multiply you and confirm My covenant with you.  10 You shall eat the old harvest, and clear out the old because of the new. 11 I will set My tabernacle among you, and My soul shall not abhor you. 12 I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people. 13 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves; I have broken the bands of your yoke and made you walk upright.
    14 “But if you do not obey Me, and do not observe all these commandments, 15 and if you despise My statutes, or if your soul abhors My judgments, so that you do not perform all My commandments, but break My covenant, 16 I also will do this to you: I will even appoint terror over you, wasting disease and fever which shall consume the eyes and cause sorrow of heart.  And you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.  17 I will set My face against you, and you shall be defeated by your enemies.  Those who hate you shall reign over you, and you shall flee when no one pursues you.
    18 “And after all this, if you do not obey Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.  19 I will break the pride of your power; I will make your heavens like iron and your earth like bronze.  20 And your strength shall be spent in vain; for your land shall not yield its produce, nor shall the trees of the land yield their fruit.
    21 “Then, if you walk contrary to Me, and are not willing to obey Me, I will bring on you seven times more plagues, according to your sins.  22 I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, destroy your livestock, and make you few in number; and your highways shall be desolate.
    23 “And if by these things you are not reformed by Me, but walk contrary to Me, 24 then I also will walk contrary to you, and I will punish you yet seven times for your sins.  25 And I will bring a sword against you that will execute the vengeance of the covenant; when you are gathered together within your cities I will send pestilence among you; and you shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy.  26 When I have cut off your supply of bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall bring back your bread by weight, and you shall eat and not be satisfied.

Blessings for obedience and recompense for disobedience are spelled out here to God’s people.  It begins with having no other gods or idols, the first commandment of devotion to their Lord and Deliverer who brought them out of the bondage of Egypt, symbolizing the snares of sin and the discontent after deliverance.  They were to rest in Him and their works to contemplate His work on their behalf, and then reciprocate in thankful following of His will and word.  They were promised His provision and victory over their enemies as they followed after the Lord, being fruitful and fed as God walked among them after delivering them; their enslaving bonds had been broken and they could walk upright as free and loved.  Ah, but the warnings of recompense for disobedience were also spelled out.  If they did not follow in obedience to all they were commanded or if they did not like what they were told by God and broke the covenant which He made with them in His mercy and grace, then He would bring terror and defeat.  They would have all taken away and not be fruitful or even provided for, but would find sorrow of soul and fear of their enemies pursuing them.  God would turn His face from them because of their sin (Isaiah 59:2) and they would be running scared.  Even this was to bring them to turn back, to repent and be restored; if they refused, then they would be punished seven times more, perfectly.  Further disobedience in refusing to follow the steps laid out would bring unfruitfulness, disease, attacks, and more for breaking His covenant.  They would be delivered into the enemy’s hand (1 Timothy 1:20) until they turned back to the Lord.  We also find that the sin of rebellion, disobedience, brings God’s correction to call us back to following Christ when we wander off, and we know He wants our full worship and loyalty for our good and His glory.  Let us follow. 

Permanent and Temporary Enslavement

Leviticus 25:39-55 

    39 “And if one of your brethren who dwells by you becomes poor, and sells himself to you, you shall not compel him to serve as a slave. 40 As a hired servant and a sojourner he shall be with you, and shall serve you until the Year of Jubilee. 41 And then he shall depart from you—he and his children with him—and shall return to his own family. He shall return to the possession of his fathers. 42 For they are My servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves. 43 You shall not rule over him with rigor, but you shall fear your God. 44 And as for your male and female slaves whom you may have—from the nations that are around you, from them you may buy male and female slaves. 45 Moreover you may buy the children of the strangers who dwell among you, and their families who are with you, which they beget in your land; and they shall become your property. 46 And you may take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them as a possession; they shall be your permanent slaves. But regarding your brethren, the children of Israel, you shall not rule over one another with rigor.
    47 “Now if a sojourner or stranger close to you becomes rich, and one of your brethren who dwells by him becomes poor, and sells himself to the stranger or sojourner close to you, or to a member of the stranger's family, 48 after he is sold he may be redeemed again. One of his brothers may redeem him; 49 or his uncle or his uncle's son may redeem him; or anyone who is near of kin to him in his family may redeem him; or if he is able he may redeem himself. 50 Thus he shall reckon with him who bought him: The price of his release shall be according to the number of years, from the year that he was sold to him until the Year of Jubilee; it shall be according to the time of a hired servant for him. 51 If there are still many years remaining, according to them he shall repay the price of his redemption from the money with which he was bought. 52 And if there remain but a few years until the Year of Jubilee, then he shall reckon with him, and according to his years he shall repay him the price of his redemption. 53 He shall be with him as a yearly hired servant, and he shall not rule with rigor over him in your sight. 54 And if he is not redeemed in these years, then he shall be released in the Year of Jubilee—he and his children with him. 55 For the children of Israel are servants to Me; they are My servants whom I brought out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.

These are difficult issues concerning willing slaves and those bought from foreign lands of the people Israel was to conquer and possess their lands.  It is easier to understand those from among God’s people who find themselves poor and without any other recourse than to enter indentured servitude.  It is harder to grasp owning slaves from the other nations, even if they were commanded by God to be driven out and conquered.  The hired servants were to be set free in the fiftieth year of Jubilee, which could be a long time if servitude was entered into just after a year of Jubilee.  However, those bought and sold from the other nations became inheritable property.  This is not as horrific as the scourge of African slavery, which was cruel and inhuman in all aspects, yet it still was not God’s original plan apart from fallen mankind.  Those indentured slaves of God’s people could be redeemed if they did not want to wait for the fifty-year cycle of the Jubilee, but those from other peoples had to be given freedom.  Who do we most resemble?  On one hand, as His people we are willing slaves to Him forever, and on the other hand, before we are reconciled to God in Christ we are permanently enslaved to the sin of our fallen nature.  We know it is sinful to call modern slavery as if it were the same thing as in these times of Moses, and should never condone or excuse such slavery.  On a purely spiritual level, however, we ourselves are such slaves, beaten and mistreated by our adversary as we rebel in servitude to sin.  Ah, but in Christ we are free from being slaves of sin and, having been bought by the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ, become Bondservants (willing slaves) to our Lord (Romans 6:16-22).  Our slavery turns from a horrific unwilling servitude to a joyful and willful service to our Lord and Master of all creation!  This permanent willing enslavement is so much better than the temporary unwilling bondage we have been set free from (John 8:36).

Redemption

Leviticus 25:23-38
23 “The land shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine; for you are strangers and sojourners with Me. 24 And in all the land of your possession you shall grant redemption of the land.
    25 “If one of your brethren becomes poor, and has sold some of his possession, and if his redeeming relative comes to redeem it, then he may redeem what his brother sold. 26 Or if the man has no one to redeem it, but he himself becomes able to redeem it, 27 then let him count the years since its sale, and restore the remainder to the man to whom he sold it, that he may return to his possession. 28 But if he is not able to have it restored to himself, then what was sold shall remain in the hand of him who bought it until the Year of Jubilee; and in the Jubilee it shall be released, and he shall return to his possession.
    29 “If a man sells a house in a walled city, then he may redeem it within a whole year after it is sold; within a full year he may redeem it. 30 But if it is not redeemed within the space of a full year, then the house in the walled city shall belong permanently to him who bought it, throughout his generations. It shall not be released in the Jubilee. 31 However the houses of villages which have no wall around them shall be counted as the fields of the country. They may be redeemed, and they shall be released in the Jubilee. 32 Nevertheless the cities of the Levites, and the houses in the cities of their possession, the Levites may redeem at any time. 33 And if a man purchases a house from the Levites, then the house that was sold in the city of his possession shall be released in the Jubilee; for the houses in the cities of the Levites are their possession among the children of Israel. 34 But the field of the common-land of their cities may not be sold, for it is their perpetual possession.
    35 “If one of your brethren becomes poor, and falls into poverty among you, then you shall help him, like a stranger or a sojourner, that he may live with you. 36 Take no usury or interest from him; but fear your God, that your brother may live with you. 37 You shall not lend him your money for usury, nor lend him your food at a profit. 38 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God.

Various laws of buying back what was sold, especially due to falling into need due to poverty, are addressed here.  First of all, the land could not be permanently sold because it was God’s which He had given into His people’s hands.  As for possessions sold, family members could buy the things back, redeeming those items.  The person selling could also redeem the articles, but could also wait until the Year of Jubilee when all would be redeemed and returned anyway. There were separate laws for houses within a city’s walls and for those outside in the country, as well as for those of the Levite priests who had perpetual ownership of their lands.  This went further with those becoming poor, however, for they were to be helped and taken in to live as if helping a stranger or wanderer passing through.  The fear of God was to keep them from charging interest by even lending food at a profit; they were to care for each other.  This kind of redemption was for material things, but consider how much more our Lord redeems the spiritual!  We ought then to also be willing to freely share and meet needs when there are true needs among us.  Above all else, we are to redeem the time give us in these evil days (Ephesians 5:16, Colossians 4:5). 

Seven Times Seven

Leviticus 25:1-22 

1 And the Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When you come into the land which I give you, then the land shall keep a sabbath to the Lord. 3 Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard, and gather its fruit; 4 but in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a sabbath to the Lord. You shall neither sow your field nor prune your vineyard. 5 What grows of its own accord of your harvest you shall not reap, nor gather the grapes of your untended vine, for it is a year of rest for the land. 6 And the sabbath produce of the land shall be food for you: for you, your male and female servants, your hired man, and the stranger who dwells with you, 7 for your livestock and the beasts that are in your land—all its produce shall be for food.
    8 “And you shall count seven sabbaths of years for yourself, seven times seven years; and the time of the seven sabbaths of years shall be to you forty-nine years. 9 Then you shall cause the trumpet of the Jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement you shall make the trumpet to sound throughout all your land. 10 And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee for you; and each of you shall return to his possession, and each of you shall return to his family. 11 That fiftieth year shall be a Jubilee to you; in it you shall neither sow nor reap what grows of its own accord, nor gather the grapes of your untended vine. 12 For it is the Jubilee; it shall be holy to you; you shall eat its produce from the field.
    13 “In this Year of Jubilee, each of you shall return to his possession. 14 And if you sell anything to your neighbor or buy from your neighbor's hand, you shall not oppress one another. 15 According to the number of years after the Jubilee you shall buy from your neighbor, and according to the number of years of crops he shall sell to you. 16 According to the multitude of years you shall increase its price, and according to the fewer number of years you shall diminish its price; for he sells to you according to the number of the years of the crops. 17 Therefore you shall not oppress one another, but you shall fear your God; for I am the Lord your God.
    18 “So you shall observe My statutes and keep My judgments, and perform them; and you will dwell in the land in safety. 19 Then the land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill, and dwell there in safety.  20 “And if you say, “What shall we eat in the seventh year, since we shall not sow nor gather in our produce?” 21 Then I will command My blessing on you in the sixth year, and it will bring forth produce enough for three years. 22 And you shall sow in the eighth year, and eat old produce until the ninth year; until its produce comes in, you shall eat of the old harvest.

For several reasons God had His people rest the land every seven years.  One was to honor God’s work in creation when He gave an example of rest, and another was for the land itself to lay fallow for continued growing of crops by replenishment of soil nutrients.  Both reasons were for their good and God’s glory.  The sabbath was made for man as Jesus would later state plainly (Mark 2:27).  It was not to be a burdensome chore to keep, but a thankful display and understanding of God’s work on their behalf for their good.  This brings Him glory.  Here there was another level to this celebration, a special recurring event of seven times seven years.  This Jubilee would allow them to rest from farming completely, eating for three years from the sixth of seven by His provision.  It was a lesson to trust and rest in the Lord to meet the needs and to therefore treat others fairly and with the same grace as was given them.  We do not need to wait forty nine years to do this, but can lean on (Proverbs 3:5-6) His wisdom and provision every day in Christ.  These things were given for our example. 

Blasphemy, Curse and be Cursed

Leviticus 24:10-23
10 Now the son of an Israelite woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the children of Israel; and this Israelite woman's son and a man of Israel fought each other in the camp. 11 And the Israelite woman's son blasphemed the name of the Lord and cursed; and so they brought him to Moses. (His mother's name was Shelomith the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.) 12 Then they put him in custody, that the mind of the Lord might be shown to them.
    13 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 14 “Take outside the camp him who has cursed; then let all who heard him lay their hands on his head, and let all the congregation stone him.  15 “Then you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘Whoever curses his God shall bear his sin. 16 And whoever blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall certainly stone him, the stranger as well as him who is born in the land. When he blasphemes the name of the Lord, he shall be put to death.
    17 “Whoever kills any man shall surely be put to death. 18 Whoever kills an animal shall make it good, animal for animal.  19 ‘If a man causes disfigurement of his neighbor, as he has done, so shall it be done to him— 20 fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; as he has caused disfigurement of a man, so shall it be done to him. 21 And whoever kills an animal shall restore it; but whoever kills a man shall be put to death. 22 You shall have the same law for the stranger and for one from your own country; for I am the Lord your God.’ ”
    23 Then Moses spoke to the children of Israel; and they took outside the camp him who had cursed, and stoned him with stones. So the children of Israel did as the Lord commanded Moses.

Cursing God by maligning His name and character shows we think little of Him but hate, which is the opposite of glorifying His name and person.  Here we see that God sought to teach this reverent awe by immediate punishment, while often now He waits for the final judgement (Romans 1:28-32) if they do not repent.  This boy blasphemed the Lord and was taken outside the camp (away from the holy place of worship) and stoned to death, with the warning to those not of His people that they are also held accountable.  Then death is pronounced as a penalty for murder, and restitution for other crimes spelled out as a way to compensate the loss of another by sinful actions.  This is the basis of our laws in the past few centuries in the western world as well, with the laws applying equally to all perpetrators.  The Israelites carried out the punishment which God passed, but in the end it will be no government which upholds God’s laws in the end, but has committed all judgement to the Son (John 5:22, Jude 1:15).  Today’s governments and rulers are not theocratic as Israel was, and only imperfectly enforce justice, but God’s will be both severe and merciful (Romans 11:22).  We therefore had best be reconciled to the Father through the Lord Jesus Christ to endure true justice for eternity by His justifying righteousness, or face the full requirements of the Law apart from His grace.  Otherwise we refuse to give Him glory as we curse Him and are cursed in our disobedience of unbelief (John 6:29). 

Perpetual Service of Light and Bread

Leviticus 24:1-9 

1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 “Command the children of Israel that they bring to you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to make the lamps burn continually. 3 Outside the veil of the Testimony, in the tabernacle of meeting, Aaron shall be in charge of it from evening until morning before the Lord continually; it shall be a statute forever in your generations. 4 He shall be in charge of the lamps on the pure gold lampstand before the Lord continually.
    5 “And you shall take fine flour and bake twelve cakes with it. Two-tenths of an ephah shall be in each cake. 6 You shall set them in two rows, six in a row, on the pure gold table before the Lord. 7 And you shall put pure frankincense on each row, that it may be on the bread for a memorial, an offering made by fire to the Lord. 8 Every Sabbath he shall set it in order before the Lord continually, being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant. 9 And it shall be for Aaron and his sons, and they shall eat it in a holy place; for it is most holy to him from the offerings of the Lord made by fire, by a perpetual statute.”

The priests were to always keep up the tabernacle temple of worship to honor God.  They were to ensure the light always shone by constantly keeping the oil in the lamps.  They were also to ensure that the showbread was set before the Lord as a memorial to remind them He is their sustenance.  These ministries were to be perpetually done by the Aaronic priesthood through the generations.  The word perpetual here is עוֹלָם ‘ôlâm, meaning eternal or from all time and to all time, yet certainly this does not mean that these earthly priests would be doing this forever.  The temple was destroyed in 70 AD and there were times in Israel’s past when the temple was abandoned as well.  What then, is the command without fulfillment?  No, it is fulfilled by the heavenly High Priest, Jesus Christ!  He lives and ministers forever (Hebrews 10:11-12) by His one eternal and perpetual sacrifice, and so ministers Himself as the light of men and the bread from heaven (John 1:4, 6:48).  The priesthood of Aaron and their ministry came to and end, being imperfect, but His reign and ministry never end.  Amen. . 

Temporary Dwellings

Leviticus 23:33-44 

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.

Once a year Israel was to remember when they were delivered from the bondage of Egypt, symbolic of sin’s oppressive rule over them, by living in the kind of temporary huts they threw together while making their way to the country of promise.  They were told to remember by seven days of holy gathering together as a people to celebrate and reflect together on God’s Grace to set them free with a future hope of the promise.  This remembrance was filled with sacrifices and rest from their works, and inaugurated with palm branches, similar to when Jesus triumphantly entered Jerusalem (a kind of spiritual Egypt, Revelation 11:8) with rejoicing.  We also celebrate our deliverance from the bondage of sin by our Savior’s sacrifice and rejoice as we remember the gospel of His great work.  Blessed is He who came in His name to rescue us from sin’s bondage and penalty!  We celebrate these things in the Lord’s Supper while anticipating His return as we travel in our temporary dwellings (1 Corinthians 3:16) and consider both our deliverance as well as our future country of promise (Hebrews 11:16). 

Rest, Reflection, and Repentance

Leviticus 23:23-32
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.’ ”
    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.”

After the celebration feasts of worship, we find God telling Moses to teach the people about rest, reflection, and repentance in further times of remembrance.  The rest in the festival of trumpets heralds forth a holy time to stop their works to remember God’s work in their deliverance from bondage and faithful keeping on their journey to the place promised them to come.  The reflection continues with repentance of sin on a Day of Atonement.  They were to to sacrifice for atonement to appease God’s wrath on their sin, but also to afflict themselves by considering the offense toward Him and afflicting themselves in godly repentance to turn from it and towards their Lord.  They were to not do any work to make it right, but rest in God and His atoning work, just as we rest in the forever atoning sacrifice of Christ as our eternal atonement.  We rest in His work, not attempting to justify ourselves or find redemption in our own efforts; Jesus Christ is our sabbath rest (Hebrews 4:9-10).  We do not work to gain merit and earn atonement for our sins, but lean securely in His everlasting arms of grace and mercy by His sacrifice and work. 

Feasts of Sabbath, Passover, Firstfruits, and Weeks

Leviticus 23:1-22
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.
    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.
    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.’ ”
    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.
    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 were the feasts of holy celebration and worship which God commanded for His people to remember and honor Him.  The Feasts of Sabbath, Passover, Firstfruits, and Weeks are described here as set times to develop holy habits in specific ways to test their obedience and honor of the one they were to celebrate in worship for all He did for them.  These were to be times of reflection, remembrance, and trust in their Lord and God.  We see the shadow here of true worship in spirit and truth which are in Christ’s person and work.  For we are to learn good habits out of willing and thankful hearts which still require ways to develop godly and holy habits.  We have the remembrance of the Lord’s Supper and the consecration of baptism to identify as His, redeemed in Christ’s righteousness and following to become holy in our daily sanctification of conformity to Christ.  While we are not under the law of regulations to please God by salvation through the merit of our works, we do develop good habits from the heart as a way to follow Him by His word as enabled by His Spirit living in us.  These remind us that He is the Lord our God and of our Lord God and our devotion to Him which is developed through godly and holy habits of remembrance.  

The Perfect Acceptable Sacrifice

Leviticus 22:17-33 

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.”

Only the best is to be offered to God.  In the animal sacrificial system here, the offerings for vows, peace, sin, and free will all had to be the best one had; this perfect offering was never completely perfect, but the sacrifice of and by Jesus Christ was perfect in every way.  The imperfections of animal sacrifices which could be seen were not honoring or acceptable to God, nor were those from outsiders.  Every offering also had to be willingly given, not forced out of compulsion.  We are now willing living sacrifices to our Lord, and should give our best back to Him out of willing hearts of desire and not because we have to.  We give thanks and freely give our lives to Him who sacrificed all for us.  We now obey His commands, knowing they are for His glory and our good as well.  He has brought us not out of bondage from Egypt, but from eternal enslavement to sin.  We are therefore no longer under sin’s reigning power (though not free from its presence in our nature until we are glorified with Him in the end), and reflecting on this position should drive us to be ever more self-sacrificing and God-honoring in all we live for.  This is why it is difficult for us as living sacrifices to stay on the altar when the flames come near, but we are called to trust as Isaac with Abraham (Genesis 22:2, 14, 16-18, Hebrews 11:17-19).  These things are written for our example to live by faith with hope because of our perfect and acceptable sacrifice whom God provided for us. 

Holiness in Service

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.’ ”

More requirements for holiness of the priest and the sacrificial offerings continue here from the previous chapter.  The priests are to keep seaport from the holy offerings because they are not themselves holy according to God’s standards.  What the people dedicate to the Lord were not to be defiled by unclean hands.  The priests were to be as holy as possible, not deformed or permanently sick as in the case of lepers.  They were to keep themselves clean, or seek cleansing before ministry, just as we are to seek forgiveness from our Lord when we sin; if we continue in unrepentant sin, we are not to minister without cleansing by Christ’s forgiveness first (often requiring reconciliation with others as well - Matthew 5:23-24).  The Lord is the one who sanctifies, who makes us clean!  The offerings themselves are holy which serve God, which is why the Lord’s Supper is not for anyone but His people, which parallel is seen here.  Our righteousness is Christ’s, not our own, but we are to pursue righteousness if we are to be pleasing to Christ (Hebrews 12:14). This then defines Holiness in Service, both in who we are and how we minister the gospel.

High Priestly Requisites

Leviticus 21:1-24 

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 of the holy God had to conduct themselves in a way honoring the Lord according to the guidelines set by Him through Moses.  Who he married, the things he had to avoid doing, the things he should be doing, these all mattered to minister as His representatives.  He is holy, so they must be also in all things.  He had to be perfectly whole, not disfigured or crippled, as any defect represented imperfection in the one who would atone for sins as an intermediary.  We now know this points to the necessity of the God-man Jesus Christ who alone is perfect as both man and God, and so was able to make the eternal and perfect sacrifice for our atonement and ongoing intercession.  When God our Father sees us in our imperfections of sin, He now gazes on Christ and His perfect righteousness as the sacrifice done but one time for all eternity. 

Consequences of Sin

Leviticus 20:1-27 

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.’ ”

After the sins are described in the previous chapters, now the consequences of judgement are given to both put the fear of God before His people in His holiness, as well as to leave them without excuse if they seek sin over Him.  Having another god meant death.  Seeking the occult for guidance instead of God’s word meant death.  Disrespect to parents and sexual immorality brought death, along with the sexual sins of perversion and abominable acts clearly spelled out.  The people were instead reminded to do all God gave them in writing to obey, but He wanted them to hate sin and obey from the heart and not out of fear of consequences to death.  He was teaching holiness, being set apart from misusing the good of His creation and order for selfish and evil sinful self-serving desires.  We are to be holy because He is holy above all other reasons, following our Lord and not another.  This is still His word and will, but now we have Him living in us to enable the desire and give us the strength of ability (Philippians 2:13) to say no to sin each day that we might be conformed to the image of Jesus the Christ (Romans 8:29, 12:2).  We who are in Christ have the confidence that He works in us as we say no to sin, that we might become more like Him. 

Living by the Word to Please God

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 commanding guidelines were given here to cover many areas of living a holy life to God.  From practical farming to not seeking guidance for life from the occult practices of telling the future, which deny God’s leading and sovereign rule over His people, these things were written down.  Marking up our bodies for the dead, selling daughters into prostitution, and following other worldly practices opposed to God’s word and will would only breed more wickedness, so the warnings were clearly given.  Honoring God and His work means not practicing nor seeking advice from the dead in seances as Saul did (1 Samuel 28:11, 16-20).  God’s people are to follow and seek the Lord and His guidance from His word, which is why these and many other things are written for our learning (Romans 15:4).  Dealing with older people in respect and fear of God, treating others with hospitality and love, just dealings with others - all these are to fulfill the two greatest commandments to love God and man.  Obedience to Christ through trusting faith is fulfilling God’s work (John 6:29), and should lead to following these and other commands with overflowing desire to please Him in return for our reconciling salvation.  We can now obey from willing and thankful hearts. 

Laws to Honor God in Holiness

Leviticus 19:1-22 

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.

This chapter covers many specific commands on how to live rightly before both God and man.  It begins with the command to be holy, doing as God would do in word and deed.  This means keeping the commandments such as honoring parents and having no other idol gods.  Sacrifices are to be done God’s way because He is holy.  Consideration of the poor is covered, telling and living truthfully and not slandering for gain or revenge, treating disabled with dignity (love) in the fear of God, being fair and impartial to rich and poor, and not gossiping or wanting others dead in hate or spite.  This means loving our neighbor, not seeking vengeance and yet also confronting their sin for correction and reconciliation with God.  We are not to hold grudges, not seek to get back when wronged, but instead keep God’s word.  Sin must be confessed and atonement accepted in all trespasses of these commands we break.  He will forgive!  This is true and even clearer in Christ, for we see the heart of all God said before to Love Him above all, and to love each other without condition or malice from our hearts.  We are therefore to honor God in holiness.  

Obedience, Morality, and Conscience

Leviticus 18:19-30

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.’ ”

After God made moral boundaries clear by His standards of right and wrong in sexual relationships, He now goes further to prohibit what He calls abominable intimate acts outside of the Creator’s design.  Intimate relations when a woman is menstruating are prohibited due to the impurity of the blood, committing adultery with a married person (neighbor, close by or in the general sense), and serving false gods to the point even of killing your children.  Also abhorrent to God but ever more pursued by today’s culture (as well as in Moses’ time) are homosexuality and bestiality.  These twist God’s good design into a repulsive abomination of His creation’s misuse in His eyes.  God names this ‘perversion.’  So should we, or we are showing that we are also against God and His word.  The world dirties itself with these things, but we are called out of those to live for God’s glory and pleasure, not running after our own fleeting pleasure of sin (Hebrews 11:25).  These are among the reasons why there is a divine judgement on the world, not just the perverse and sinful acts, but the underlying disobedience to His word and will contained in it.  We are called to live by His every word (Matthew 4:4, Deuteronomy 8:3, 6), keeping this word by not living contrary to the clear commands of His holy pleasure.  This mindset grates against the world, flesh, and devil, but is essential to life and godliness in Christ.  As it is written, the Lord knows His people, and everyone who names the name of Christ must depart from sin (2 Timothy 2:19) to be pleasing to Him.  These things are not negotiable nor optional nor to be reasoned away to serve our own misaligned desires.  Morality is defined by God and our consciences bear witness to these things if we do not ignore or argue against His word (Romans 1:20, 24, 26-27, 32).  This certainly does not make us judges of those who are not His who do such things, for all such judgement belongs to the Lord whose word they oppose; we are only to correct and warn those who are in Christ and pursue such disobedience (Romans 2:1-3).  It is a matter of obedience, morality, and conscience in what we do with our bodies and thoughts, either in holy application of His word or in willful disregard.  

Intimate Morality

Leviticus 18:1-18 

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.

After God made moral boundaries clear by His standards of right and wrong in sexual relationships, He now goes further to prohibit what He calls abominable intimate acts outside of the Creator’s design.  Intimate relations when a woman is menstruating are prohibited due to the impurity of the blood, committing adultery with a married person (neighbor, close by or in the general sense), and serving false gods to the point even of killing your children.  Also abhorrent to God but ever more pursued by today’s culture (as well as in Moses’ time) are homosexuality and bestiality.  These twist God’s good design into a repulsive abomination of His creation’s misuse in His eyes.  God names this ‘perversion.’  So should we, or we are showing that we are also against God and His word.  The world dirties itself with these things, but we are called out of those to live for God’s glory and pleasure, not running after our own fleeting pleasure of sin (Hebrews 11:25).  These are among the reasons why there is a divine judgement on the world, not just the perverse and sinful acts, but the underlying disobedience to His word and will contained in it.  We are called to live by His every word (Matthew 4:4, Deuteronomy 8:3, 6), keeping this word by not living contrary to the clear commands of His holy pleasure.  This mindset grates against the world, flesh, and devil, but is essential to life and godliness in Christ.  As it is written, the Lord knows His people, and everyone who names the name of Christ must depart from sin (2 Timothy 2:19) to be pleasing to Him.  These things are not negotiable nor optional nor to be reasoned away to serve our own misaligned desires.  Morality is defined by God and our consciences bear witness to these things if we do not ignore or argue against His word (Romans 1:20, 24, 26-27, 32).  This certainly does not make us judges of those who are not His who do such things, for all such judgement belongs to the Lord whose word they oppose; we are only to correct and warn those who are in Christ and pursue such disobedience (Romans 2:1-3).    It is a matter of obedience, morality, and conscience in what we do with our bodies and thoughts, either in holy application of His word or in willful disregard. 

Life is in the Blood

Leviticus 17:1-16 

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 passage speaks of honoring God by sacrifice for every animal killed for food or sacrifice. This is giving of thanks before a meal in a sense; this meant that shedding blood is imputed guilt to the one taking the life where thanks and worship to the one true God are missing.  It also meant that sacrifices should not be made apart from God as warned of here, not to another god and not outside the tabernacle’s altar according to the acceptable way of sacrifice to and worship of the only true God.  Furthermore, eating the blood meant eating the life of the sacrifice, which was forbidden then and now (Acts 15:20, 29).  The atonement for our lives is in the blood of Christ alone (which these sacrifices of old pointed to), but even the blood of any animal sacrificed is not allowed, because each life is the Lord’s.  All of this reminds us of the sanctity of life, as well as the only sacrifice which atones for our sin.  Thus we are to worship in the beauty of holiness and trust in God’s atoning sacrifice alone, respecting all life He created, and serving no other God which is the first commandment given. 

Holiness is Essential

Leviticus 16:23-34

23 “Then Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of meeting, shall take off the linen garments which he put on when he went into the Holy Place, and shall leave them there. 24 And he shall wash his body with water in a holy place, put on his garments, come out and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people, and make atonement for himself and for the people. 25 The fat of the sin offering he shall burn on the altar. 26 And he who released the goat as the scapegoat shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp. 27 The bull for the sin offering and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the Holy Place, shall be carried outside the camp. And they shall burn in the fire their skins, their flesh, and their offal. 28 Then he who burns them shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp.
    29 “This shall be a statute forever for you: In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether a native of your own country or a stranger who dwells among you. 30 For on that day the priest shall make atonement for you, to cleanse you, that you may be clean from all your sins before the Lord. 31 It is a sabbath of solemn rest for you, and you shall afflict your souls. It is a statute forever. 32 And the priest, who is anointed and consecrated to minister as priest in his father's place, shall make atonement, and put on the linen clothes, the holy garments; 33 then he shall make atonement for the Holy Sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tabernacle of meeting and for the altar, and he shall make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly. 34 This shall be an everlasting statute for you, to make atonement for the children of Israel, for all their sins, once a year.” And he did as the Lord commanded Moses.

Cleanliness was needed to sacrifice to God for atonement of sin.  This is a picture of holiness, washing away the filth of the uncleanness which is sin.  The priest had to wash before the sacrifices and after burning the other parts of the sacrifices outside the camp of God and His people.  Also, the one leading the scapegoat out into the wilderness afterwards had to cleanse himself when returning before being allowed back in the camp.  Then there was one day a year where a special sabbath was observed, where affliction and atonement met.  This atonement was for the priests and the people, as well as the tabernacle of worship and sacrifice.  All this points to God’s requirement for personal holiness to follow and serve Him in a life of worship; it was never meant merely for special days of occasions only.  We are to be living as sacrifices in worship (Romans 12:1-2) with all willing devotion in lives set apart by His pleasure and good will, which is in holiness.  This is never optional.  Holiness is a result of regeneration (Romans 6:22, 1 Thessalonians 3:13) and a willing pursuit (2 Corinthians 7:1, Ephesians 4:24).  It is what we have been called to as we have been rescued and delivered from His wrath on our sin (1 Thessalonians 4:7).  Hebrews 12:10 says that holiness is what we share in when we suffer with and for Christ.  If we do not run after holiness to God and before man, we are blinded to God (Hebrews 12:14).  If then we desire to please our Savior by following as we are created to be, then holy living is setting ourselves apart for what is in His will, and not living for our own pleasure and personal pursuits.  Christ lived a perfectly holy life which we come ever short of, but the race demands that we pursue this in worship of our Lord (1 Corinthians 9:26, Philippians 3:12-14).