You Can Read the Bible

We’re close to the end of Leviticus and it’s time to take stock of where we’ve been. The book begins with an outline of how offerings are to be given. They are supposed to be pure, the best of the best – a true sacrifice. And they are to be personal; the giver doesn’t drop them off at the door but participates in their presentation to the LORD.

After receiving their instructions, the priests were consecrated for their ministry at the Tabernacle. We watched anxiously as each moment of instruction was acted upon, until Aaron presented the first atonement offering before the LORD, and we waited for the LORD to respond with approval.

Next came an assortment of instructions reflecting God’s insistence that Israel be holy as He is holy – to experience their set-apartness in every facet of life.

We come now to the ways in which days of the week and of the year were to be set apart to the LORD. These break down as follows:

The Sabbath: every seventh day
The Passover: Month 1, Day 14
The Firstfruits: recognizing the beginning of harvest
The Feast of Weeks: some 100 days after Firstfruits
The Feast of Trumpets: Month 7, Day 1
The Day of Atonement: Month 7, Day 10
The Feast of Booths: Month 7, Days 15 to 22

As you listen to the descriptions of each of these and consider their purpose, recall the way the LORD embedded His directions on the night of the Passover with instructions of how to remember what was happening.

Chapter 24 is broken into two parts. First, supply for the Tabernacle’s lamp oil and bread for the priests is accounted for. Next, instructions about restitution and retribution for crimes of personal injury are wrapped in a brief narrative account of a man committing blasphemy.

Note at least two things here. First, we’re not sure how this man misused the name of the LORD, but note that “cursed” can have multiple meanings. Second, note that the famous “eye for an eye” passage in chapter 24 follows another 1-2-3-2-1 chiastic structure, not only repeating the commands but repeating them in such a way as to make them memorable.

Our verse for this week is Romans 5:6: For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.

Leviticus 23 and 24. Now let’s read it!

Leviticus 23 - 24

Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, 'The set feasts of Jehovah, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my set feasts. "'Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation; you shall do no kind of work. It is a Sabbath to Jehovah in all your dwellings. "'These are the set feasts of Jehovah, even holy convocations, which you shall proclaim in their appointed season. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month in the evening, is Jehovah's Passover. On the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread to Jehovah. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. In the first day you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no regular work. But you shall offer an offering made by fire to Jehovah seven days. In the seventh day is a holy convocation. You shall do no regular work.'" Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, 'When you have come into the land which I give to you, and shall reap its harvest, then you shall bring the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest. He shall wave the sheaf before Jehovah, to be accepted for you. On the next day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. On the day when you wave the sheaf, you shall offer a male lamb without defect a year old for a burnt offering to Jehovah. The meal offering with it shall be two tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, an offering made by fire to Jehovah for a pleasant aroma; and the drink offering with it shall be of wine, the fourth part of a hin. You must not eat bread, or roasted grain, or fresh grain, until this same day, until you have brought the offering of your God. This is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. "'You shall count from the next day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed. The next day after the seventh Sabbath you shall count fifty days; and you shall offer a new meal offering to Jehovah. You shall bring out of your habitations two loaves of bread for a wave offering made of two tenths of an ephah of fine flour. They shall be baked with yeast, for first fruits to Jehovah. You shall present with the bread seven lambs without defect a year old, one young bull, and two rams. They shall be a burnt offering to Jehovah, with their meal offering and their drink offerings, even an offering made by fire, of a sweet aroma to Jehovah. You shall offer one male goat for a sin offering, and two male lambs a year old for a sacrifice of peace offerings. The priest shall wave them with the bread of the first fruits for a wave offering before Jehovah, with the two lambs. They shall be holy to Jehovah for the priest. You shall make proclamation on the same day that there shall be a holy convocation to you. You shall do no regular work. This is a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations. "'When you reap the harvest of your land, you must not wholly reap into the corners of your field. You must not gather the gleanings of your harvest. You must leave them for the poor and for the foreigner. I am Jehovah your God.'" Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak to the children of Israel, saying, 'In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, there shall be a solemn rest for you, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. You shall do no regular work. You shall offer an offering made by fire to Jehovah.'" Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, "However on the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement. It shall be a holy convocation to you. You shall afflict yourselves and you shall offer an offering made by fire to Jehovah. You shall do no kind of work in that same day, for it is a day of atonement, to make atonement for you before Jehovah your God. For whoever it is who shall not deny himself in that same day shall be cut off from his people. Whoever does any kind of work in that same day, I will destroy that person from among his people. You shall do no kind of work: it is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. It shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for you, and you shall deny yourselves. In the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening, you shall keep your Sabbath." Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak to the children of Israel, and say, 'On the fifteenth day of this seventh month is the feast of booths for seven days to Jehovah. On the first day shall be a holy convocation. You shall do no regular work. Seven days you shall offer an offering made by fire to Jehovah. On the eighth day shall be a holy convocation to you. You shall offer an offering made by fire to Jehovah. It is a solemn assembly; you shall do no regular work. "'These are the appointed feasts of Jehovah which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire to Jehovah, a burnt offering, a meal offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings, each on its own day-- in addition to the Sabbaths of Jehovah, and in addition to your gifts, and in addition to all your vows, and in addition to all your free will offerings, which you give to Jehovah. "'So on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruits of the land, you shall keep the feast of Jehovah seven days. On the first day shall be a solemn rest, and on the eighth day shall be a solemn rest. You shall take on the first day the fruit of majestic trees, branches of palm trees, and boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before Jehovah your God seven days. You shall keep it as a feast to Jehovah seven days in the year. It is a statute forever throughout your generations. You shall keep it in the seventh month. You shall dwell in temporary shelters for seven days. All who are native-born in Israel shall dwell in temporary shelters, that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in temporary shelters when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. I am Jehovah your God.'" So Moses declared to the children of Israel the appointed feasts of Jehovah. Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, "Command the children of Israel, that they bring to you pure olive oil beaten for the light, to cause a lamp to burn continually. Outside of the veil of the Testimony, in the Tent of Meeting, Aaron shall keep it in order from evening to morning before Jehovah continually. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations. He shall keep in order the lamps on the pure gold lamp stand before Jehovah continually. "You shall take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes of it: two tenths of an ephah shall be in one cake. You shall set them in two rows, six on a row, on the pure gold table before Jehovah. You shall put pure frankincense on each row, that it may be to the bread for a memorial, even an offering made by fire to Jehovah. Every Sabbath day he shall set it in order before Jehovah continually. It is an everlasting covenant on the behalf of the children of Israel. It shall be for Aaron and his sons. They shall eat it in a holy place; for it is most holy to him of the offerings of Jehovah made by fire by a perpetual statute." The son of an Israelite woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the children of Israel; and the son of the Israelite woman and a man of Israel strove together in the camp. The son of the Israelite woman blasphemed the Name, and cursed; and they brought him to Moses. His mother's name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan. They put him in custody until Jehovah's will should be declared to them. Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, "Bring him who cursed out of the camp; and let all who heard him lay their hands on his head, and let all the congregation stone him. You shall speak to the children of Israel, saying, 'Whoever curses his God shall bear his sin. He who blasphemes Jehovah's name, he shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall certainly stone him. The foreigner as well as the native-born shall be put to death when he blasphemes the Name. "'He who strikes any man mortally shall surely be put to death. He who strikes an animal mortally shall make it good, life for life. If anyone injures his neighbor, it shall be done to him as he has done: fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. It shall be done to him as he has injured someone. He who kills an animal shall make it good; and he who kills a man shall be put to death. You shall have one kind of law for the foreigner as well as the native-born; for I am Jehovah your God.'" Moses spoke to the children of Israel; and they brought him who had cursed out of the camp, and stoned him with stones. The children of Israel did as Jehovah commanded Moses.

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