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• Almost done with Leviticus…you can do it!!

The connection of these instructions is to show that they were to worship and serve Him every day of the year, not just on appointed days. The daily burning of the lamps and the showbread represented the daily sanctification of the people to their God.  These “lamps,” which were “on the pure gold lampstand” in the holy place, burned “continually” throughout the night, and the priests refilled them daily.

How beautiful is it that each piece of furniture represents Christ and the layout foreshadows the Cross?

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Blasphemer out to death:: This was like a ball out of left field.  I mean,  we are sitting here reading about Atonement and Sacrifices, and then all of a sudden BAM we are stoning a Blasphemer.  Blasphemy means:” a speaking ill, impious speech, slander,” to speak evil of.”  This event was a warning to the people of the seriousness of sanctification, just as the death of Nadab and Abihu was a similar warning to the priests. The “Name” referred to as “Yahweh,” the name by which God manifested.

The legal principle of limiting retaliation to retribution  (an eye for an eye) is called the “law of retaliation”.  In ancient Near Eastern culture, people commonly took excessive revenge.  God limited the amount of retaliation that His people could take. Before the Mosaic Law, “the code of Hammurabi”, the property was often considered more important than people; property offenses such as theft were capital crimes.  In Israelite law, sins against the family and religion were most serious.

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Chapter 25 concludes the laws that God gave the Israelites on Mt. Sinai. God owned both the Israelites and the land He was giving them. God taught them that He had authority over their space as well as their time and their lives. The land they were to possess belonged to God, just as they did. Therefore they were to deal with it as He specified. The laws in this chapter, which deal with the Sabbatical and Jubilee Years, focus on the restoration of the land to fruitfulness after periods of use. These laws,  are positive, designed for the welfare of the Israelites. In fact, all of God’s laws are for the welfare of His people

Sabbatical Year: As God ordered the people to rest every seventh day, so He ordered them to let the land rest every seventh year. By resting, the people renewed their strength and rejuvenated their productivity in His service. Just like a Sabbath day.

Did the Israelites abide by the law of the Sabbatical year?  Nope!   So God did it for them.  If you have read through the Old Testament before, you know what is coming…they will be given the Promised Land….and it will also be taken away from them (The Captivity).   (If you have no idea what I am talking about it is OK…you will).  What happens to the Promised Land?

2 Chronicles 36:20.  He carried into exile to Babylon the remnant, who escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and his successors until the kingdom of Persia came to power. ²¹ The land enjoyed its sabbath rests; all the time of its desolation it rested, until the seventy years were completed in fulfillment of the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah.

They were taken out of the land for 70 years…making up for ALL the Sabbath Year commandments the Israelites had ignored. 

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The Year of Jubilee (such a fun word to say “Jubilee”)-   The word “jubilee”—literally, “ram’s horn” in Hebrew—is defined as the sabbatical year after seven cycles of seven years (49 years). The fiftieth year was to be a time of celebration and rejoicing for the Israelites. The ram’s horn was blown on the tenth day of the seventh month to start the fiftieth year of universal redemption

.The Year of the Jubilee involved a year of release from indebtedness and all types of bondage.  All prisoners and captives were set free, all slaves were released, all debts were forgiven, and all property was returned to its original owners.  One of the benefits of the Jubilee was that both the land and the people were able to rest.

The Jubilee presents a beautiful picture of the New Testament themes of redemption and forgiveness. Christ is the Redeemer who came to set free those who are slaves and prisoners to sin

“When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, ¹⁴ having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross”. -Colossians 2:13

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Tomorrow is our LAST day in Leviticus.  You made it! 😁

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Chapter 22 continued from 21 (why do they do that??)

Years ago at Church, our pastor told a story about a woman who had an old frozen turkey in her freezer.  She called the 800 number on the package and asked the company if the turkey was still safe to eat.  The company said it was safe to eat but probably wouldn’t taste great anymore being freezer burned.  So she donated it to a food bank for less fortunate people (in her heart she was doing something good).    I remember sitting in church crushed when I heard this.  I was the characteristic of the woman.  When a tragedy happens locally and we are asked to help out, I would go through my “gently used” items that I did not wear anymore.  What??  God gave us His son as a sacrifice! and I am giving back to God my ‘goodwill’ pile?  I am not telling you this to beat you up, but I wanted to share how the Holy Spirit uses books like Leviticus to remind me that we are to present our very best in the name of the Lord (in everything we do).

Chapter 23:  Here are 3 visuals.  Pick the one that fits your brain. 😂

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The Israelites observed a lunar year, which contains 354 days. Lunar months have 29 and 30 days alternately, and begin with the appearance of the “new moon.”

Sabbath: a weekly observance (“appointed time”), in contrast to the other “convocations” that occurred only once a year. The Israelites did not assemble around the tabernacle but observed the day in their own tent.

Mark 2:27-28  ^“Then he said to them, the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. ²⁸ So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

Passover and Unleavened Bread:  Verse 4 introduces the annual “appointed times”.  The Sabbath could be observed anywhere,  even at home. Three special occasions required attendance at the sanctuary for participation.  Passover: commemorated God’s deliverance of Israel from Egyptian slavery. (Exodus 12)  Jesus died as the Lamb ON Passover Day.  That is AMAZING! Passover was one of the three feasts that all the adult males in Israel had to attend, along with the feasts of Pentecost and Tabernacles.  These three feasts remind us of the death of Christ, the resurrection of Christ, and the return of Christ.

Unleavened Bread: The day after the Passover marked the beginning of the seven-day “Feast of Unleavened Bread”.

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If you have read a Gospel book ( I never make an assumption…there was a time I would have said “Uhh nope”.  But picture in your head the Feast of the Passover.  Large crowds.  As they all assemble from nations, Jesus dies on the Cross in front of a multitude of people.   THEN because of the 7 day Feast of the Unleavened Bread, they will STILL be in town for the resurrection.  God has it ALL planned out (for His Glory)

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Offering the first fruits: The day following Passover’s Sabbath was a time to give the first fruits of the harvest to God. The idea was to dedicate the first ripened stalks of grain to God, in anticipation of a greater harvest to come.  Firstfruits Patricia…not your goodwill pile!

The Festival if Weeks: This festival had several names: “Harvest,” “Weeks”, “Firstfruits,” and “Pentecost”. Fifty days after Passover, namely: the day after the end of the seventh week. “Pentecost” means “fiftieth” day. This “feast” was a thanksgiving festival, and it lasted one day. The people offered God their “first fruits” of the spring harvest, as a thanks offering for His provision of their physical and spiritual needs.  PLEASE see how awesome God is.  So in this difficult book of Leviticus are some of the coolest gems!!  God put a festival on the calendar that required “public assembly” so many people from all over the world (for first-time readers know that after being exiled out of their land God scatters His people…with a purpose) would be required to gather SO THAT 50 days after the Passover people from many countries would be gathered to witness the pouring out of the Holy Spirit and then return to their homes and spread the Good News!!

Drop Mic!! 🎤

Before we go any further…are you seeing the 7’s.   This whole book was filled with them, even the various laws were grouped by 7 or 7×2 or 7×3.. BUT this one is too cool not to point out. During the seventh month of Israel’s religious calendar, three “holy convocations” took place. Not only was the seventh day special (v. 3), but so were the seventh week (vv. 15-22), the seventh month, the seventh year (25:1-7), and the forty-ninth (seven times seven) year (25:8-55).

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The festival of Trumpets: The Feast of Trumpets began on the first day (at the new moon) of the seventh month. It is also called Rosh Hashanah, which means “Head of the Year,” because it marks the beginning of the Jewish civil calendar. During this celebration, no kind of work was to be performed, but burnt offerings and a sin offering were to be brought before the Lord.   The blowing of the trumpets on the first day of the month heralded a solemn time of preparation for the Day of Atonement; this preparation time was called “Ten Days of Repentance” or the “Days of Awe.”

Day of Atonement.  We covered this, but if you are jumping in go back to Ch 16.  But take a look at the charts and see how this is will be fulfilled. This day will be the Second Coming of Christ.

 The Festival of Tabernacles: During this convocation, the Israelites’ looked back to the land of their slavery, and forward to the Promised Land of blessing. Its other names were the “Feast of Booths” and the “Feast of Ingathering”.   The Jewish people call it Sukkot. The people built booths out of branches, and lived under these for the duration of this eight-day festival, as a reminder of their life in the wilderness.  It was the only festival in which God commanded the Israelites to “rejoice,” and it revolved around the harvest of grapes and other agriculture. God designed this feast primarily as a time of anticipation, not just reflection. Similarly, our worship as Christians should include the element of anticipation, as we look forward to entering into all of what God has promised us in the future.  (Look at your chart)

Spoiler Alert:  You would think they would obverse these Festivals right??  If you have the time,  read Nehemiah 8.  

The cliff notes are:

• Nehemiah has the Book of the Law in his hands. 
• He reads this chapter to the Israelites. 
• The WEEP because it was new news to them! 
• Nehemiah 8:17- The whole company that had returned from exile built temporary shelters and lived in them. From the days of Joshua son of Nun until that day, the Israelites had not celebrated it like this. And their joy was very great.
• ☹️

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Leviticus does not mention the “Feast of Purim”, which the Jewish people added to their calendar later (Esther) and the  “Feast of Dedication” (Hanukkah).  I cannot wait to talk about those!

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“You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.” 

As you begin to read I think you might say “Hey, these all fit into one of the 10 commandments”.

The first and last sections deal with a person’s relationship to God ( 3-8, 32-36), and the second and fourth with one’s relationship with others (9-18, 30- 31). The central section deals with man’s relationship to himself (19-29).  I once took a study on ” chiastics” to find patterns like this and it wasn’t for me (I never went past the first class,  I would rather be getting cavities filled) Did I just say that out loud?

As I read them in my Bible I tried to mark which of the 10 commandments it matched with. 

All of chapter 19 is important, and if this is your first time reading the Bible, look forward to your second time…because you will see things like 19:9 about leaving the edge of your field and say “Ohhhh that’s what Ruth was doing!”  HOWEVER, which command in all of Chapter 19 was the one most quoted by Jesus? (If your Bible has cross-references in the margin, you should see it immediately.  Write your guess in the comments.

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Let’s talk about the elephant in the room.

If you are looking for a black and white answer on whether it is ok to get a tattoo, you are not going to get one from me.  That’s your decision.   I find it funny that very few Americans read a Bible BUT most of us know a scripture in Leviticus.  People’s take on it varies:

• We are not under the law anymore, we’re under grace.
• This passage speaks of an ancient pagan Egyptian practice and not to modern tattooing practices.
• It’s okay if your tattoo honors the Lord, etc.

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If this is your first read-through take note of the end of the first section, it will explain WHY these commands are stated.  I know you read some of them and said “They need to be told not to do that??  I thought it was obvious!

Chapter 20:²² “‘Keep all my decrees and laws and follow them, so that the land where I am bringing you to live may not vomit you out. ²³ You must not live according to the customs of the nations I am going to drive out before you. Because they did all these things, I abhorred them. ²⁴ But I said to you, “You will possess their land; I will give it to you as an inheritance, a land flowing with milk and honey.” I am the Lord your God, who has set you apart from the nations.

If this is a repeat read through did you notice how many of these the Israelites will ignore??  I was reading it and thinking…yup they ignored that one too!  SMH!  Wait…I ignore some of them as well…not the gross ones though. I promise.

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Chapter 21 (continued tomorrow into Chapter 22) Rules for Priests:

These chapters tell us what the priest:

• must not do
• must not be
• must not offer

More importantly, they are to be set apart, Holy.  They are to properly represent God.  Always look for Jesus on every page.  Jesus completely fulfills all of the Tabernacle rituals so that we, as believers become His Priesthood.

1 Peter 2:

⁴ As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— ⁵ you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house  to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

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It’s weird how sometimes the more free time we have, we actually get behind.  Hashtag true story.  If you are behind, I made this for you:

If you get confused because you skipped a book you can refer to the printables. I added some today under ‘Leviticus’.

 

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• CLICK HERE FOR A VIDEO OF LEVITICUS 16 read with a video for visual

In Geneses 3 we began talking about Atonement.  The covering of sin only God makes through a substitute, a sacrifice.  God appointed a yearly sacrifice to cleanse all the sins and impurities, not covered by the other sacrifices, that the Israelites committed ignorantly.    Stop where you are and read Hebrews 9.  Click here if you are not near a Bible.

How do people read the New Testament without the Old Testament??

The Day of Atonement took place six months after the Passover. These two festivals were half a year apart.   As for modern-day applications for Jewish people, it is called Yom Kippur.  For Christians, it is one of the 3 Feasts not fulfilled yet.

Moses received instructions regarding the Day of Atonement, immediately after the judgment of Nadab and Abihu.  The high priest had to make elaborate preparations for entering the Holy of Holies, by cleansing himself both spiritually and physically. The offerings he made were a bull as a “sin offering” and a ram as a “burnt offering,” both to cover his own sins (He is a foreshadow of our High Priest-Jesus, but until then we all need atonement, even the High Priest)

If you watched the video at the top you may have picked up on the garments.  Did you expect him to be wearing this?

On the Day of Atonement, the High Priest wore white linen, like the servants of the day wore.  Why?  He comes as a servant!   (Mark 10:⁴⁵ For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”)

Then he “cast lots” (like rolling dice so the Lord made the decision, not the priest) to decide which of the “two goats” would die as a sin offering for the people, and which one would be sent as “the scapegoat” (the guilt of the sin) into the wilderness.  The sacrificed goat perished and the scapegoat took away the impurities and sins to the wilderness. The sacrificed goat is a picture of Jesus, the scapegoat frees us from the guilt of our sins.

(Now the only problem was that this goat sometimes wandered back into the Israelites’ camp, which nobody wanted to see because it was like having their sins come back on them. Supposedly, the person who led the goat into the wilderness often took the goat to a cliff and pushed it off. —the guilt never showed up again. 😂

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Leviticus Chapters 17—26 is called the Holiness Code.

“Be Holy because I am Holy”

“Holy is stated 52 times.  This section begins with people sacrificing to “goat idols,” which is similar to the golden calf incident in Exod. 32. The high priest was responsible for the golden calf apostasy, but the Israelites were personally responsible for the goat idol worship here.

The “goat idol” was a “god” that the Egyptians and other ancient Near Easterners worshiped. It was supposedly responsible for the fertility of the people, their herds, and their crops.  I am not going to go into details but people wonder why it specifically states not to have sex with animals…these were pagan rituals they brought with them from Egypt and existed in Canaan where they are headed.  These poor goats!

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“Blood” is life.

Since God forbade “eating blood” way before the Law given to Moses (Genesis 9:4), people today should also refrain from eating it (I am not talking about Outback Steakhouse).  In Moses day, the pagans superstitiously linked blood consumption with acquiring divine powers (who saw the “eating of the heart” episode on G.O.T.?)  Same concept.

The faithful worshiper of the living God must preserve the
sanctity of sacrificial blood, recognizing that life (signified by
blood) belongs to God.”

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CHAPTER 18. Chapter 18 has bookends.

 Begins with:  1-5  The Lord said to Moses, ² “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘I am the Lord your God. ³ You must not do as they do in Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices. ⁴ You must obey my laws and be careful to follow my decrees. I am the Lord your God. ⁵ Keep my decrees and laws, for the person who obeys them will live by them. I am the Lord.

Ends with: 30: Keep my requirements and do not follow any of the detestable customs that were practiced before you came and do not defile yourselves with them. I am the Lord your God.’”

The Israelites moved from one idolatrous county and are heading to the next.  The culture of these nations was worldly desires as well as idol worship.  Speaking of, is anyone watching this season of American Idol?  So much talent this year!

I don’t think you will need help understanding most of these commands but I want to point out one. And NO I am not going to make any jokes about the state of Kentucky forgot to read chapter 18 😂

I know we read of these in shock like 18:23 BUT know that all of these adulterous acts were done when this was said…and unfortunately will be repeated.

18:21 the Molek or Molech (depending on your version).  Moloch was a statue with the head of a bull and arms out-stretched as a representation of him receiving the children being sacrificed. “Molech was a Canaanite god (actually translated ‘king’, often represented by a bronze image with a bull’s head and outstretched arms. The idol was usually hollow, and workers would build a fire in it.   The statue would get red hot from the fire.  When the arms changed colors from the heat (red), the pagans would lay their infant on the arms as an offering to their gods.  We have also uncovered documents that they would just put the baby into the fire (like a hot furnace)

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As we get deeper into the Bible, we can put  Baal, Ashtoreth, and Molech all in the same category.  I am often amazed that even as pagans we are are built with an innate natural instinct to know deep inside us that “someone” must be sacrificed…sad they missed this one for a Jesus.

2 chapters.

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• Click here to listen to the song I sang after reading this.

If you don’t feel like reading this post (it is long), let me put the conclusion at the top:

What is that passage talking about? God is Holy. He is the all-knowing, all-present, creator of the Universe.  Those who are covered in sin, who are contaminated by the fall, cannot enjoy fellowship with God without repentance and being declared clean (not sinless). They cannot enjoy the blessing of the presence of God, and so, what has to happen? They have to be declared clean. By who? 😁

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Matthew 8- “When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. A man with leprosy  came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”  Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy. Then Jesus said to him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

We need to consider a few things when we read:

• This tabernacle is portable.  Why? Because it is the blueprint for the Temple, where God will dwell.  Canaan (The Promise Land) is the destination on the GPS (pillar of fire and the cloud will navigate that).  This is a pagan land, (like a modern-day High School 😂)  filled with pagan rituals that include blood, sacrifices,  and sex.  God will need to set His people apart.
• Leprosy and other skin diseases were often synonyms for Sin.  From the surface of the skin (rashes), to our deepest self (discharge that leaks out).  It will all be seen by the High Priest.
• Hygiene- still related to sin.  It can be contagious! Who you keep close will either contaminate you or you will infect them.  You can make an application to these chapters.
• The cleaning of items in the house.  What is the contaminate in your home that breeds sin?
  

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Now the geeky part of the blog:

I am including chapter 13 in this post since I really didn’t address it yesterday, but self-reflect for your own application.  This section of Leviticus talks about  four things:

1. symptoms
2. the priestly inspection
3. the basis of the priest’s diagnosis
4. the diagnosis itself and the consequences

The priest had the responsibility of distinguishing between the clean and the unclean, plus they had to teach the people the difference.  Leprosy as representing sin resulted in the leper’s separation both from God and from other people. In many respects, leprosy and sin were similar in both their character and consequences.

The priests were the public health officers, but they served in their priestly capacity.  Israel was a holy nation, and even her cleansing from sickness was done with a religious ceremony. Sickness was symbolic of sin, and even now it should not be forgotten that sickness and death are part of God’s curse on the sin of Adam.

Jesus meets them AS the sinner.  Then who makes the sacrifice, clothes them,  and washes them clean? The PRIEST. (Jesus)

Listen, I know this was a hard read but there are some really cool details.  Let’s break down one part so you can see how it all comes together: Ch 14-

• ³ The priest is to go outside the camp and examine them. (meets them as the sinner)
• scarlet yarn and hyssop be brought for the person to be cleansed.
  • The scarlet thread you get by now…but why Hyssop?  It was symbolic of the Passover (the blood was applied with Hyssop the night death would pass over them)
    • • Exodus 23 ²¹ Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go at once and select the animals for your families and slaughter the Passover lamb. ²² Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the doorframe. None of you shall go out of the door of your house until morning. ²³ When the Lord goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down.
• ⁷ Seven times he shall sprinkle the one to be cleansed of the defiling disease, and then pronounce them clean. (Seven means completely)
• ⁸ “The person to be cleansed must wash their clothes, shave off all their hair and bathe with water; then they will be ceremonially clean.
  • • Ephesians 4:²² You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; ²³ to be made new in the attitude of your minds; ²⁴ and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
• After this they may come into the camp…They must wash their clothes and bathe themselves with water, and they will be clean.
  • • Galatians 3: ²⁶ So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, ²⁷ for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

Ready??  This is so cool!

• ¹⁰ “On the eighth day….grain offering, and one log of oil. 
• ¹² “Then the priest is to take one of the male lambs and offer it as a guilt offering… as a wave offering.
• ¹³ He is to slaughter the lamb in the sanctuary area where the sin offering and the burnt offering are slaughtered. Like the sin offering, the guilt offering belongs to the priest; it is most holy.  (The two required sacrifices)
• ¹⁸ … the priest shall put on the head of the one to be cleansed and make atonement for them before the Lord.
•  ²⁰ …and make atonement for them, and they will be clean.

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If you look at these Chapters from God’s view, you can see He sees the obvious outward sin that even others can see (portrayed by our skin), in our home- mold (the things we watch, see, and participate in) and then the private “no one can see but me sin” (discharge).  If you took the time (if you have the stomach for it 🤮) you would see that some of the bodily discharge cleansings required a sin offering and some did not.  Remember they will be entering a land of pagan worship…some of their rituals will be promiscuous acts with each other as well as with animals.  I kid you not.  You can’t make this stuff up.  There will be infection and STDs.

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For the “Marinated in Jesus for years” reader 😂 : I leave you with this to read: Hebrews 10:19ff

¹⁹ Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have the confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, ²⁰ by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, ²¹ and since we have a great priest over the house of God, ²² let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water…

²⁶ If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, ²⁷ but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. ²⁸ Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. ²⁹ How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?

Close your eyes now and sit quietly.  Click here.

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NOW you know why I said this was the Leviticus graveyard!  But you will finish this book!

Leviticus divides the animal world into three kinds: unclean animals that cannot be eaten; clean animals that can be eaten; clean animals that can be eaten and also serve as animals for sacrifices.

I have researched commentaries and I have found various reasons:

• The reason the Israelites were to regard some animals as unclean, was that the pagans used them in their worship and associated them with their gods.
  • • We are to be set apart from the world. ⁴⁴ I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. Do not make yourselves unclean by any creature that moves along the ground. ⁴⁵ I am the Lord, who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy.
• Some scholars hold the view that the unclean animals were unfit to eat because they carried diseases or were unhealthful.  It amazes me that of course, God would know what would make them sick and what would keep them healthy.  Not sure why that amazes me…He created them.
• There is a symbolic view. This view sees the behavior and habits of the clean animals as illustrating how the Israelites were to behave. The unclean animals represented sinful people.

One article I read stated:

“Although God did not reveal the specific reasons some animals may be eaten and others must be avoided, we can make generalized conclusions based on the animals included in the two categories.  In listing the animals that should not be eaten, God forbids the consumption of scavengers and carrion eaters, which devour other animals for their food.

Animals such as pigs, bears, vultures, and raptors can eat (and thrive) on decaying flesh. Predatory animals such as wolves, lions, leopards, and cheetahs most often prey on the weakest (and at times the diseased) in animal herds.

When it comes to sea creatures, bottom dwellers such as lobsters and crabs scavenge for dead animals on the seafloor. Shellfish such as oysters, clams, and mussels similarly consume decaying organic matter that sinks to the seafloor, including sewage.

A common denominator of many of the animals God designates as unclean is that they routinely eat flesh that would sicken or kill human beings. When we eat such animals we partake of a food chain that includes things harmful to people.” 

Because God is holy, He required that His people make distinctions that separated them from unclean things.  This would account for the laws that required separation—morally, ethically, and even symbolically—from anything associated with pagan life and worship.

So what about today??  The NT teaches that the OT food laws are no longer binding on the Christian.  (Acts 11, but you need Acts 10 to get the full picture)

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Ch 12: Childbirth (only 8 verse chapter): So let’s clarify: there is moral uncleanness and ritual uncleanness.  Childbirth obviously falls into the second.  Childbirth was not fully understood, but there were so many “theories” that went with a woman’s ability to make a child.  Even though it was regarded as a miracle from God, the blood after childbirth was “magical” in pagan rituals (I can see this as an episode in Game of Thrones! Jaxon don’t watch that!), but also, the Israelites blood was symbolic of death and a menstrual cycle is no different.  There is also an aspect of hygiene for the woman as well as the camp.

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Chapter 13: Just when you thought the reading was tough we move to 59 verses regarding skin diseases!  If God dedicated 59 verses to it, it must be important.  Wait……nooooooo…….I peeked at tomorrow’s read.  Oh my stars. We will tackle more skin tomorrow.  Just get through this!  Because we are about to turn a corner into the “Standard” for Living a Holy Life and you are going to hang on every word and I am going to try to filter my humor the best I can. 😂

I will say: How awesome is God than in such ancient times He gives them the knowledge of medical testing, diagnosis, and cures.  Truly amazing for these times.

• First set of tests for skin disease vv. 2-8
• Second set of tests for skin disease vv. 9-17
• Third set of tests for skin disease in scars vv. 18-23
• Fourth set of tests for skin disease in burns vv. 24-28
• Fifth set of tests for skin disease in scalp or beard vv. 29-37
• A skin disease that is clean vv. 38-39
• Baldness and skin disease vv. 40-44
• Treatment of those diagnosed as unclean vv. 45-46
• Diagnosis and treatment of skin disease in clothing vv. 47-58
• Summary v. 59

This blog was dedicated to my loving husband. Lev 13:40-

“A man who has lost his hair and is bald is clean.  If he has lost his hair from the front of his scalp and has a bald forehead, he is clean”

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Read Leviticus from God’s perspective NOT ours!

Chapter 8:

The consecration ceremonies involved many of the sacrifices just described. The priesthood constituted the fulfillment of God’s commands recorded in Exodus 28—29 and 40. Almost every verse in chapter 8 is a quotation given in Exodus 29. Chapter 9 restates less detailed summaries of the laws in Leviticus 1—7.   If you have time go back and look for the pattern:  Underline the phrase:

 “as the Lord commanded him” occurs 16 times in this read!

Until now, Israel followed the custom common in the ancient Near East that the father of a family functioned as the priest for his family (we saw this at the beginning of Job, and through the Patriarchs). The Levites as a tribe now assumed this role for the families of Israel, under the leadership of Aaron and his sons. The nation as a whole lost the privilege of being a “kingdom of priests” at Mt. Sinai when they worshiped the golden calf. The main function of the priests in Israel was to guard and protect the holiness of God.

God specified certain garments for Aaron that distinguished him from everyone else.

 

The “anointing” of the tabernacle and the priests signified their sanctification, whereby God set them apart for holy purposes.

The number seven is referenced in the ritual.  Seven is the Covenant number meaning “complete” beginning with the seven days of creation.  The consecration/ordination lasted “seven days.” During this time, the priests were not to leave the tabernacle courtyard for 7 days and nights. Their role during their seven-day ordination was that of worshipers rather than priests.

When a sacrifice was made to the Lord, it was a “Heave” offering.   It means to be “lifted up”.  It is to God.  A “Wave” offering was motioned horizontally.  It was a “fellowship” offering usually followed by the eating of the sacrifice.  As Emily said yesterday, the communal aspect of the offerings.   This made me reflect on the 10 Commandments a little more.  The commandments just like the sacrifices reinforce not just how important our relationship to God is but to each other as well.

 

Nadab and Abihu!

The Bible did not explain Nadab and Abihu’s exact offense.  However, the “unauthorized fire” violated God’s will. It may have involved assuming the role of the high priest or an offering contrary to God’s commands ( most likely to included an “incense” offering because it involved the censers)   The incident took place on the eighth day.  The fire that consumed Nadab and Abihu was directly from the Lord.  Notice they were already dead and then fire came out of the presence of the Lord and consumed them! NOW when you look at these genealogies they make sense.

Aaron and his surviving sons were not to demonstrate any dissatisfaction with God’s judgment, but God permitted the people to mourn.  Eleazar and Ithamar replaced their older brothers.  Click here if you want to print the below.

Here are my reflections:

1. As I read this year,  I am going to take a closer look each time someone makes a sacrifice.  What kind is it, why are they doing it, is it a waive or a heave.  I think it will give me another layer of the text this year.
2. Will ANY priest nail it?  We can see already the answer is NO.  No human (priest) is going to hit the mark perfectly.  This will make the book of Hebrews highlighted in my eyes this year.  The ONLY priest that will rock this job will be Jesus.

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Graveyard?  Nope.  Chapter 16 will be the climax of the book.  You can make it…just gonna be a long week 😁.

Feb 13: Lev 1-4
Feb 14: Lev 5-7
Feb 15: Lev 8-10
Feb 16: Lev 11-13
Feb 17: Lev 14-15
Feb 18: Lev 16-18
Feb 19: Lev 19-21
Feb 20: Lev 22-23
Feb 21: Lev 24-25
Feb 22: Lev 26-27

Why did they name the popular denim pants Levi Jeans?  (this is where my brain goes?.

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ljhortonhouse: You said last night you loved yesterday’s read.  Well, I think you will love this one even more.  Happy Valentines Day. ❤️

Guilt Offering: This is also called the trespass offering.  I actually “listened” to today’s read rather than read it.  Why?  Because it was boring (feeling a little guilty about saying that, ha…get it).  So when I listened to it I heard one word repeated: “Restitution”.  This act removed the guilt of certain sins that involved trespassing or “sinning”  against God. The Hebrew word ‘asham, translated as “guilt,” also means “reparation or restitution.” Guilt in the biblical sense is not just a feeling but a condition. There may be known transgressions that bring feelings of guilt, but there is also the condition of guilt before God, caused by sins known or unknown. Sometimes a hardened sinner has few feelings of guilt when he is the most guilty. (I call it rationalizing our sin!)  Ouch.

The trespass or guilt offering demonstrates the seriousness of violations against God (even accidental ones) and against others. An atoning sacrifice has to be made before God, and restitution has to be made to man.

OK, so now this chapter isn’t as boring as I thought.  I have to go make restitution because I am guilty of skimming and I need to reread. 😢

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I got to Chapters 6 and 7:  thought “didn’t we read this already?”  We were reading about how WE offer the sacrifice, this next section is about the priests’ requirements of the offering.  We need to stop and remember that this sacrificial system IS as important as the CROSS for us.  It really is worth taking the time to read it.  The one phrase I want you to go back and underline is:

“Say to Aaron and his sons: ‘These are the regulations for the sin…

Tomorrow you will find out why….😔

Levitical Graveyard…Nope!  You can make it through this book!

• You are going to make it. (Use the “listen to option if you need to)

Feb 13: Lev 1-4
Feb 14: Lev 5-7
Feb 15: Lev 8-10
Feb 16: Lev 11-13
Feb 17: Lev 14-15
Feb 18: Lev 16-18
Feb 19: Lev 19-21
Feb 20: Lev 22-23
Feb 21: Lev 24-25
Feb 22: Lev 26-27