My Daily Bible Study - Leviticus (2)

[Frances]

Leviticus 21

What does the text say? - The Lord said that a priest must not be contaminated by death; the only exceptions are his closest relatives - his parents, his son or daughter, his brother or virgin sister, but not those only related to him by marriage. Priests must not shave their heads, trim their beards, or cut their bodies. Priests must be different from other folk and never bring shame on God’s Name. No priest may marry a divorcee or a prostitute – if a priest’s daughter is a prostitute she must be burned to death. The High Priest must always comb his hair and never tear his clothing, or go near any dead body even that of his mother or father, and he may only marry a virgin from his own clan. None of Aaron’s descendants who has a bodily imperfection may minister in the Temple, though he may eat the priest’s portion of the offerings.

Application? – Christ gave His life for the Church to make her holy, cleansed by God’s Word, to present her to Himself, holy and without blemish. (Eph. 6:26-27) Have I repented and accepted His Sacrifice to pay the penalty for my Sin? Do I submit every area of my life to Jesus Christ?

[Frances]

Leviticus 22

What does the text say? - The Lord said if any of Aaron’s descendants contaminates what His people offer to Him by their own impurity they will be cut off from Him. None of Aaron’s descendants who is a leper, or has a discharge or emission of semen, or touches a corpse, or anything specified that would make him unclean may not eat holy offerings until after he has washed and the sun has set. All animals offered to the Lord must be perfect in every way or they will not be accepted. No unauthorised person may eat sacred offerings brought to the Lord.

Application? – Is anything I offer the Lord blemished in any way? I must be very careful how I apply Scripture to each situation to ensure I do not expand, or detract, from what is written to include, or exclude, anyone.

Note:- I’ve met someone who’d had polio as a child and was subsequently told by a JW that as her body was imperfect she was unacceptable to God!!! Fortunately she knew both God and His Word well enough to happily declare them wrong, but what if she hadn’t?

[Frances]

Leviticus 23

What does the text say? – The Feasts of the Lord are:-
Sabbath – each 7th day
Passover – 14th of the first month.
Firstfruits – beginning of harvest.
Weeks – 50 days later.
Trumpets – First day of 7th month.
Atonement – 10th of 7th month.
Tabernacles – 15th of 7th month for 7 days.

Application? – apart from free-will offerings to the Lord’s work, do I keep one day each week especially to worship Him? Do I celebrate Easter for what Jesus accomplished when He offered Himself as my Passover lamb, (Ex.12;1-28)? Or do I just consider it a time for fun? Do I give the Lord the right to my income? Do I give a portion to His Work? Do I ensure others know of the Lord, His Gifts, and His Power? Have I accepted Jesus’ offer of Salvation? Do I regard my holiday as a time for me just to have fun or a time to be with, and Glorify, the Lord?

[Frances]

Leviticus 24

What does the text say? – The people were commanded to take Aaron pure pressed olive oil to keep the lamps at the Tabernacle burning continuously; and also given instructions for the bread of the tabernacle to be renewed each Sabbath. The penalty for blasphemy is death by the hands of the whole congregation. The same penalty shall befall anyone committing murder. Anyone who kills an animal shall reimburse the owner with a similar replacement. If a man injures anyone a similar injury must be inflicted on him eg. a fracture for a fracture, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, death if a person is killed.

Application? – Do I ensure the Light of Christ burns brightly, and constantly, in my heart and neighbourhood? Do I contribute towards the needs of the clergy each week? Do I play my part in ensuring the Name of the Lord is Glorified? Would I always be happy to receive the same treatment I give others? Would I be wise to always treat others with kindness and compassion in future?

[Frances]

Leviticus 25

What does the text say? – The Lord said that in their Promised Land every 7th year His people must not prune, sow or harvest; He will ensure the harvest every 6th year is sufficient for their 7th year needs. Every 50 years will be a Jubilee when everyone may return to their ancestral land. The land, bought or sold, is a leasehold agreement only and returns to the original family in the 50th year, and must be priced accordingly. The land belongs to the Lord. The security of the people depends on their obedience to Him. If anyone sells either his land or himself a close relative has the right to redeem him (buy him back). Houses in walled cities may be redeemed within a year, or become the new owner’s permanent property; houses in other places may be redeemed at any time and must be returned to the original owner in the Jubilee year, as must a man who sold himself – he must be released with his children. The descendants of Israel (Jacob) are God’s servants and must not treat each other severely.

Application? – my security depends on my obedience to the Lord. Jesus Christ has paid to Redeem me, have I accepted His offer? Does my treatment of others who have accepted Jesus’ offer of Salvation too always please Him?

Quote:- the Number 7 (Henry H. Halley)
Every 7th day a Sabbath.
Every 7th year a Sabbath year
Every 7th Sabbath followed by a Jubilee year.
Every 7th month . . . having 3 feasts.
7 weeks between Passover and Pentecost.
Passover Feast lasted 7 days.
At Passover 14 lambs (2x7) were offered daily.
At Tabernacles 14 lambs (2x7) were offered daily and 70 bullocks.
At Pentecost 7 lambs were offered.

[Frances]

Leviticus 26

What does the text say? – The Lord said His people must not bow down to any sort of idol, ‘sacred’ pillar or stone, they must revere His Sanctuary and observe the Sabbath. If His people are obedient to Him their harvests will always be more than sufficient for their needs, they will enjoy peace and easily overpower their enemies. But if His people do not obey Him, and do not keep all His Commandments, but treat His regulations with contempt, He will cause them to fear sickness and enemies who will take their harvests, defeat them, and rule over them. Continuing disobedience to Him will bring disaster in many ways, and He will carry out the curse of the Covenant they have broken. When His people turn back to Him and confess their unfaithfulness and that of their forebears, He will once again be their God and care for them.

Application? – Have I made anything my idol? What, or who, takes precedence in my life? Do I keep one day each week specially for the Lord, in the way He requires of me? Am I always obedient to Him? When I trust Him through each difficulty I enjoy His Peace in my mind. Do I always confess each deviation from His Will as Sin? (or a normal, acceptable, human failing?) My nation will, once again, enjoy prosperity and Peace when the whole nation turns back to God. What am I doing to bring this about?

Quote:- (Rev. David Pawson) “A holy life . . . is how you live from Monday to Saturday and not just what you do on Sunday. God is looking for not just clean people, but holy people. That is a big difference, and until you become a Christian you never think of becoming holy; you just think of being good – and that is not good enough. Those outside the Church may claim they can live lives as good as the lives of those within it, but they are not the holy people God is looking for.

[Frances]

Leviticus 27

What does the text say? – A scale of values to redeem a person dedicated to the Lord. An animal dedicated to the Lord must be valued by the priest and 20% added to redeem it. A field dedicated to the Lord will be valued according to the amount of seed needed to sow it each year, and to redeem it 20% must be added. If the dedicated field is not redeemed but sold, in the Jubilee year it will not return to the original owner but to the priest. The first-born of every clean animal already belongs to the Lord so cannot be dedicated, but the first-born of an unclean animal may be dedicated and redeemed by adding a 20% to it’s valuation. No person doomed to destruction may be redeemed but must be put to death. 10% of the produce of the land, whether grain or fruit, belongs to the Lord, but may be bought back at valuation plus 20%. Every 10th animal in flocks and herds belongs to the Lord and cannot be bought back.

Application? – Do I give 10% of my income (before tax) to the Lord?

Quote:- (Henry H. Halley) “ The tithe was in use long before the time of Moses. Abraham and Jacob paid tithes. Among the Jews the tithe was for the support of the Levites (who) were used in civil government as well as religious services (1Chron. 23). God claimed as His own not only the first-born sons . . and first-born of all flocks and herds, but also the first fruits of the land . . . The lesson: God must come first in life.”

Quote:- (David Pawson)”Leviticus tells us to be holy in every part of our lives. . . God . . applies His holiness to every part of His people’s lives. A Godly life is Godly through and through, or it is not Godly at all. There are two major shifts between the holiness of the old Covenant and the holiness of the New. First, holiness is moved from material to moral things. Being ‘clean’ or ‘unclean’ is no longer a matter of clothes and food, but of clean and unclean morality; it has shifted from the material to the moral. Second, the rewards and punishments have shifted from this life to the next . . . because in the New Testament we have a longer-term view. Given those major shifts, Leviticus gives us insights into those 4 vital things: the Holiness of God, the Sinfulness of man, the Fullness of Christ, and Godliness of life.”

[Frances]

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