365 Reflections

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? ...

Leviticus 11:46–47 (ESV)   This is the law about beast and bird and every living creature that moves through the waters and every creature that swarms on the ground, 47 to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean and between the living creature that may be eaten and the living creature that may not be eaten. As is mentioned in the previous post, the laws of distinction for Israel's diet was instructive in nature to remind them of their special status before God, not necessarily a code for proper health.  Israel was to be a people of distinction among the nations. They are in history as well. Today the are still distinct in that most of the world is divided about their status as a sovereign nation. To this day God's electing choice of Israel has split the world in half.  Now when Christ comes these distinctions of diet are no longer in effect. The passage where we first realize this comes from the Gospel of Mark... Mark 7:14–23 (ESV) And he called...