365 Reflections

Everyone cherry-picks the Bible. That is, everyone picks what they want and rejects what they don't like. If there is a chapter in the Bible that stands as exhibit "A" for those who would use the Bible against itself it is Leviticus 19. Consider the following directives: Leviticus 19:19 (ESV) “You shall keep my statutes. You shall not let your cattle breed with a different kind. You shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor shall you wear a garment of cloth made of two kinds of material. Leviticus 19:27 (ESV) You shall not round off the hair on your temples or mar the edges of your beard. Leviticus 19:23 (ESV) “When you come into the land and plant any kind of tree for food, then you shall regard its fruit as forbidden. Three years it shall be forbidden to you; it must not be eaten. And of course, 21st Century Evangelical Christianity's most favorite-to-ignore passage: Leviticus 19:28 (ESV) You shall not make any cuts on your body for the

Leviticus 18:1–5 (ESV) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, I am the Lord your God. 3 You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived, and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you. You shall not walk in their statutes. 4 You shall follow my rules and keep my statutes and walk in them. I am the Lord your God. 5 You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules; if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the Lord . The Lord is about to list the sexual laws for Israel in Leviticus 18. How the chapter opens and closes is important. God makes it clear that these rules lead to their life. Breaking these rules will lead to expulsion from the land and God even stipulates that sexual immorality is what defiled both the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan, where Israel is going to take possession.  Throughout these laws there is a close tie in to the "land".

Leviticus 17:10–11 (ESV) 10 “If any one of the house of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn among them 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 for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life. This command to not eat blood clearly illustrates that God has designated blood sacrifice as the means of atonement for sin. God has established that blood flowing from a body in death is the sign by which a person has access into His presence again. It was to be made clear for Israel, they were not to assume that blood was for immediate and physical benefit. Think of this in an ancient world context removed from the scientific data we have available to us today. Blood may have looked nourishing and immediate. Where as meat had to be butchered and cooked, blood could have simply been boil

Israel had a problem in Leviticus. It seems they were not at all completely sanctified to God and His worship. Even after all he had done for them, they still worshipped false gods. They will continue this throughout the time of Joshua and Judges. It is a sad reality in Israel's history... Here in Leviticus 17 God lays down some interesting instructions concerning sacrifices. Leviticus 17:3–4 (ESV) If any one of the house of Israel kills an ox or a lamb or a goat in the camp, or kills it outside the camp, 4 and does not bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting to offer it as a gift to the LORD in front of the tabernacle of the LORD, bloodguilt shall be imputed to that man. He has shed blood, and that man shall be cut off from among his people. There is to be no killing of animals outside the camp. God's people are to bring their animals to the tent of meeting where God dwells and offer the gift first to the Lord and enjoy it in fellowship with the priests.  L

Only a cleansed and pure High Priest can purify the tabernacle and it's furnishings. Leviticus 16 is describing the day of Atonement, one of the most sacred days of the year for Israel. On this day the High Priest, temple and its altars are purified for the new year of operation in the worship practices of the nation. The Temple was bound to get dirty. All year long it would receive sinners and their blood sacrifices. Israelites would come to God for forgiveness and offer an appropriate sacrifice for sins. That meant one thing, the temple, even though a place for sinners to meet with God would become ritually unclean more and more over time during the year. Every sacrifice offered was offered by someone who needed cleansing. They may have left cleansed but they walked in dirty. All this called for a day of Atonement. All the sins that came into that temple had to be expunged in a symbolic ritual with blood sacrifices and other practices by ONE man - the High Priest of Israel.

Leviticus 16 is the climatic moment - the day of Atonement. This would be the day Israel's national sins would be remitted, cleansed, and taken away through a long and arduous process performed MOSTLY by one man - the High Priest of Israel. The first facet of the procedure we should note is the high priests change of clothes. Leviticus 16:3–4 (ESV)   But in this way Aaron shall come into the Holy Place: with a bull from the herd for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. 4 He shall put on the holy linen coat and shall have the linen undergarment on his body, and he shall tie the linen sash around his waist, and wear the linen turban; these are the holy garments. He shall bathe his body in water and then put them on. The High Priest had two outfits. One of glory as he bore the names of Israel on his heart and the holiness of God in front of the nation. These garments made the Priest look glorious and powerful, a representation of God to man. The second set of garmen

Leviticus 15 would cause anyone fits to see why it matters but it does in so many ways. It is about the bodily discharge of both males and females as well as sexual intercourse in relation to worship and faith. We MUST understand the original context in which these laws are handed down. We must also understand the purpose of God in using these regulations to preserve for Himself an ancient people who are still around to this day. First the strange laws: Leviticus 15:1–2 (ESV) The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When any man has a discharge from his body, his discharge is unclean. Leviticus 15:10 (ESV) And whoever touches anything that was under him shall be unclean until the evening. And whoever carries such things shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and be unclean until the evening. Leviticus 15:16 (ESV) “If a man has an emission of semen, he shall bathe his whole body in water and be unclean until t

Leviticus 14:14–17 (ESV) The priest shall take some of the blood of the guilt offering, and the priest shall put it on the lobe of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot. 15 Then the priest shall take some of the log of oil and pour it into the palm of his own left hand 16 and dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand and sprinkle some oil with his finger seven times before the LORD. 17 And some of the oil that remains in his hand the priest shall put on the lobe of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot, on top of the blood of the guilt offering. This is the anointing that is applied to the cleansed leper after the priest inspects and finds him healed. he is earlier in the chapter prescribed to wash, saved, and then be presented before the Lord by the priest. It is a picture of the saving atoning work of Christ on

Leviticus 13 deals with the identification of leprous skin diseases and how the priest's role concerns identifying and appropriately relegating the diseased person to their sad state. However, Leviticus 14 deals with the cleansing of the leper. If Leviticus 13 presents a picture of sin and how it cuts us off from others, removes us from the presence of God and runs deeper than our skin, Leviticus 14 shows us what salvation looks like. Our salvation is illustrated in the sacrifice, cleansing and identification of a cleansed leper. First, there is a sacrifice of a bird, then a live bird dipped with hyssop into the dead bird's blood is used to sprinkle the mixture on the leper. Leviticus 14:5–7 (ESV) And the priest shall command them to kill one of the birds in an earthenware vessel over fresh water. 6 He shall take the live bird with the cedarwood and the scarlet yarn and the hyssop, and dip them and the live bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the fresh water.

Ok. Leviticus 13 is a mind bender. Here's a sample: Leviticus 13:24–28 (ESV) “Or, when the body has a burn on its skin and the raw flesh of the burn becomes a spot, reddish-white or white, 25 the priest shall examine it, and if the hair in the spot has turned white and it appears deeper than the skin, then it is a leprous disease. It has broken out in the burn, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is a case of leprous disease. 26 But if the priest examines it and there is no white hair in the spot and it is no deeper than the skin, but has faded, the priest shall shut him up seven days, 27 and the priest shall examine him the seventh day. If it is spreading in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is a case of leprous disease. 28 But if the spot remains in one place and does not spread in the skin, but has faded, it is a swelling from the burn, and the priest shall pronounce him clean, for it is the scar of the burn. Now, if you don't feel b

Leviticus 12:1–5 (ESV) The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, If a woman conceives and bears a male child, then she shall be unclean seven days. As at the time of her menstruation, she shall be unclean. 3 And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. 4 Then she shall continue for thirty-three days in the blood of her purifying. She shall not touch anything holy, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying are completed. 5 But if she bears a female child, then she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her menstruation. And she shall continue in the blood of her purifying for sixty-six days. Sin comes from without and within. That is the lesson here in Leviticus 12. Where chapter 11 deals primarily with those things outside of man that pollute him or bring contamination, so too there are things (normal things) that come out of us that will pollute us before God. How does God communicate this to His people?