Showing posts with label Leviticus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Leviticus. Show all posts

Wednesday 14 November 2018

There Was No Other Good Enough ...

Leviticus 14:1-57
We read here of our need of cleansing and of the sacrifice of a lamb as a way of removing our guilt and bringing us into peace with God (Leviticus 14:21). Spiritually, we are “poor.” What we have to bring to God is not “that much.” It is not enough to provide for our cleansing. What we need has been provided for us – “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). Our Lord Jesus Christ has done for us what we could never do for ourselves – “There was no other good enough to pay the price of sin. He only could unlock the gate of heaven and let us in.” All glory to God!

Travelling Towards God's Future

“a sin offering … an atonement … clean” (Leviticus 12:8).
We read the words of the book of Leviticus. We feel like we’re out of our depth. We don’t really know what to make all of this. We read about ” a sin offering.” We read about “an atonement.”We read about being made “clean.” We read all of this, and the light begins to shine. It’s the light of Jesus, our Saviour. We think of Him. We think of His death upon the Cross. We know that He died for us. We know that He loves us – and we rejoice in His love. Do we need to understand all that there is in the book of Leviticus? No! We catch a glimpse of Jesus – and His “sin offering.” Our hearts are filled with joy, as we think of His “atonement.” This a new beginning for us – “the blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).  It’s a new beginning. We’re set free from our past. We’re set free for God’s future.
What is God’s future? What great plan does He have for us? – This is what He says to us, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians; I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with heads held high” (Leviticus 26:13).
What God has done for us in the past is not all that He will do for us. We must never forget what He has done for us in the past. the Exodus from Egypt was a great event. It was an event of salvation. The death of our Saviour was an even greater event. this is the event of our salvation. without His death for us, we could never be saved. he took our place. He died our death. He took our sin upon Himself. He died that we might have life – the new life of those who have received the forgiveness of their sins, the eternal life which will be filled with joy forevermore. Following our entry into this new life and before our entry into God’s everlasting Kingdom, there is a journey that each of us must make. It will be a different journey for each of us. We must make our own journey. My journey will not be your journey. Your journey will not be my journey. In my journey, I am not alone. In your journey, you are not alone. The Lord is with you. The Lord is with me.
What kind of journey will it be? It will be a hard road. How hard? In what way will it be hard? No-one really knows. We know that there will be “enemies” – but we know that the Lord has given us his promise: “When they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them … I am the Lord their God” (Leviticus 26:44).
What a great promise this is! We have many enemies – but there is one enemy who is more determined than all of the rest of them, put together. Our great enemy is Satan. God’s Word teaches us that Satan is a determined enemy. It also teaches us that he’s a defeated enemy. we look at Satan – and we look at Jesus. We see what Satan is trying to do to us. We look at what Jesus has done for us. At the Cross, we learn that Jesus has succeeded – and we learn that Satan has failed. Jesus has triumphed over Satan. Can we doubt that Jesus’ victory over Satan will be a complete victory? Can we doubt that Satan’s defeat will be a total defeat? At the Cross, we catch a glimpse of the final victory. In our hearts, we know that God’s Word is true: “Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57).

New Life!

Leviticus 17:1-18:30
Through the shed blood of Christ, we have peace with God and eternal life (Leviticus 17:11; Romans 5:1-2,8-10). We have received new life in Christ. Now, we are to leave our sinful past behind us. We are to live a new life as those who belong to Christ (Leviticus 18:1-5; Romans 6:12-14; Romans 12:1-2).

Moral Living - Grounded In Spiritual Worship

Leviticus 19:1-37
Again and again, we read the words, “I am the Lord your God”, or, more simply, “I am the Lord” (Leviticus 19:3-4,10,12,14,16,18,25,28,30-32,34,36-37). The whole point of this is that our moral practice is grounded in our spiritual worship (Romans 12:1).

Redemption And Holiness

Leviticus 22:1-23:44
Our careful obedience to God’s Word is not to be a purely legalistic thing. We must never forget that God is the God of redemption. Our holiness is grounded in Him: He is holy, and He sets us apart as holy (Leviticus 22:31-33). Holy living involves both worship and service. We are to worship God (Leviticus 23:1-4), but we must not forget the “poor people” (Leviticus 23:22).

Redeemed By The Lord, Let Us Serve Him.

Leviticus 25:1-55
This chapter is full of the Lord’s instructions concerning the Jubilee to be celebrated by Israel. Why was it so important for Israel to hear and obey the Word of the Lord? – “The Israelites belong to Me as servants. They are My servants. I brought them out of Egypt. I am the Lord” (Leviticus 25:55). This is still the foundation of our call to obedience. The Lord, who calls us to obedience, has first called us to belong to Him through redemption. He has redeemed us. We belong to Him. We will serve Him.

Blessing

Leviticus 26:1-46
There is blessing for those who learn to obey the Lord (Leviticus 26:3-13). There is judgment for those who persist in sinning against the Lord (Leviticus 26:14-33). The opportunity of blessing remains even for those who are in despair and are wasting away because of sin (Leviticus 26:36,39) – God says, “I will remember My promise” (Leviticus 26:42). Those who have sinned against the Lord “must accept their guilt.” This is the way of coming to know the blessing of the Lord who says, “I will not reject them of look at them with disgust” (Leviticus 26:43).

Sunday 11 November 2018

Holiness - By Grace

The life of holiness is not an expression of our own moral virtue. It is an expression of the holy character of God being reproduced in us: ‘I am the Lord who sanctify you’ (Leviticus 20:8). God wants us for Himself – This is why we must not live the world’s way: ‘I the Lord am … holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine’ (Leviticus 20:26). God has a great purpose for us: ‘You shall inherit their land… I will give it to you, a land flowing with milk and honey’ (Leviticus 20:24).  ‘The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly… in Christ Jesus’ (1 Timothy 1:14). This is the pathway to holiness: ‘By grace you have been saved through faith… for good works’ (Ephesians 2:8-10).

Tuesday 30 October 2018

Leviticus: A Call To Worship

On reading the book of Leviticus, we are struck by the strangeness of it all. It all seems so different from anything we have ever known. Are we, then, to conclude that we have nothing in common with those who worshipped the God of Israel in these far-off Old Testament times? Are we to abandon the Old Testament, especially the most difficult parts, as a waste of time?

Many people have done exactly that. They hardly ever read the Bible. When they do read the Bible, they restrict themselves to a few favourite passages. The treasures of art, architecture, music and literature are not discovered by the casual observer. It is precisely the same with the treasures of God’s Word. We must not settle for the passing glance. If we are to find treasure, we must dig for it. We must dig deep.

When we dig deep in the book of Leviticus, we will discover spiritual principles for today’s Church. There are things, in Leviticus, which are very different from life in the Christian Church today. Nevertheless, there are spiritual principles which remain constant. The underlying message of Leviticus is still relevant to us.

If we want to learn about worshipping God, we can learn a great deal from the book of Leviticus. Here are four key features of true worship:

(i) glory – ‘the glory of the Lord will appear to you’ (9:6);

(ii) cleansing – ‘he shall be clean (14:20);

(iii) thanksgiving – ‘a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Lord’ (22:29);

(iv) holiness – ‘you shall hold a holy convocation’ (23:36).

(i) ‘The glory of the Lord will appear to you.’ Can there be anything more wonderful than this? The glory of the Lord has appeared among men and women. In our sinful world, the glory of the Lord has appeared. This is not merely an event from many centuries ago. It is an event which continues to happen. Jesus Christ is Emmanuel, God with us. The glory of God has been revealed in Christ. The Old Testament revelation of God’s glory cannot compare with the fullness of glory revealed in Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the Saviour of sinners. The glory of God continues to shine brightly wherever Jesus Christ is worshipped as the Son of God and the Saviour of sinners. May the glory of the Lord appear to us. May the glory of Jesus Christ shine brightly as we gather together to worship Him. May His glory fill our lives.

(ii) ‘He shall be clean.’ Why did the Old Testament priests bring blood offerings to God? They brought these offerings so that there might be cleansing for guilty sinners. Is this not what we need today? – Cleansing from sin. Our lives have been stained by sin. We are guilty before God. What can we do? We can come to the Lord and seek His cleansing? In the Old Testament period, there was an elaborate system of sacrifices for the forgiveness of sin and the removal of guilt. Now that Christ has come and died for our sins, this complicated system of sacrifices is no longer required. We are now able to come to God the Father through Christ who died for us – ‘The blood of Jesus, His Son, cleanses us from all sin’ (1 John 1:7). ‘Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?’ – This is the question that God puts to each one of us.

(iv) ‘A sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Lord’. When we have been cleansed by the Lord, we are to give thanks to Him. In Luke 17:11-19, we read of ten lepers who were cleansed by Jesus. Only ‘one of them … praised God and gave thanks’ (vs. 15-16). Jesus said, ‘Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine?’ (v. 17). Jesus Christ has died for us so that our sins might be forgiven. Why do we, so often, take Him for granted? Why are we so slow to offer to Him our praise and thanksgiving? He calls us to remember Him, yet we, so easily, forget Him.

* ‘O happy day that fixed my choice’ – Is your choice fixed on Jesus?

* ‘When Jesus washed my sins away, He taught me how to watch and pray.’ – Do you want to learn to pray? ‘Lord, teach us to pray.’

* ‘High heaven that heard the solemn vow, that vow renewed shall daily hear’ – ‘All the congregation drew near and stood before the Lord’ (9:5). Will you stand before Him and renew your vows to Him? This is ‘the sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Lord.’

(iv) ‘You shall hold a holy convocation.’ We are to ‘worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.’ The holiness for which God is looking for is holiness of life which is rooted in holiness of heart. What a difference there is between the false ‘holiness’ of the Pharisees and true Christ-centred holiness of heart and life. God is calling us to seek holiness. There can be no true happiness without holiness.

Some More Notes On Leviticus

Leviticus 1:1-3:17
We may note the frequent recurrence of the phrase, ‘a soothing aroma to the Lord’ (1:9, 13, 17: 2:2, 9, 12; 3:5, 16). The presence of the Lord is ‘like a fragrance that fills the air.’ Not all people welcome the presence of the Lord. To some, it is ‘the aroma of Christ’, ‘a life-giving fragrance.’ To others, it is ‘a deadly fragrance’ (2 Corinthians 2:14-16). We are to pray that our life – in every part – will be pleasing to the Lord. We are to pray that our life will bring glory to Him. This will involve our worship in the holy place. It will also involve our living for the Lord in the many and varied situations of everyday life.

Leviticus 4:1-35
The word, ‘blood’, appears often here. We may note, in particular, the phrase – in verse 25 – ‘the blood of the offering for sin.’ In the final verse, we see why ‘the blood of the offering for sin’ was shed – ‘forgiveness’ and ‘peace with the Lord.’ Reading about this, our thoughts turn towards Jesus Christ, our Saviour, who died that we might be forgiven. Out of love for us, He gave Himself for our sins so that we might have peace with God (Romans 5:8, 1).

Leviticus 5:1-7:38
In the description of different offerings, we catch a glimpse of our need and Christ’s salvation. There is ‘the offering for sin’ (5:6), ‘the guilt offering’ (6:6), ‘the fellowship offering’ (6:12), ‘the fellowship offering’ (6:12), ‘the fellowship offering of thanksgiving’ (7:15), ‘the contribution offering’ (7:34) and ‘the ordination offering’ (7:37). There is teaching here which helps us to understand our Christian experience. Christ died for our sins to remove our guilt and bring us into fellowship with God. Grateful to Him, we give ourselves to Him, confident that He has ordained that we should bear fruit for Him (1 Peter 1:3:18; John 15:16). All of this arises from the Old Testament details – the burnt offering, the grain offering’ (7:37). We must always look beyond these Old Testament sacrifices to our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Leviticus 8:1-9:24
Aaron was anointed with ‘the anointing oil’, set apart or ‘dedicated’ to the Lord for ‘holy duties’ (8:12, 30). Anointed by the Lord and dedicated to the Lord, ‘Aaron and his sons did everything the Lord commanded through Moses’ (8:36). Concerning the Lord’s commands, Moses said, ‘the Lord has commanded you to offer these sacrifices so that you may see the Lord’s glory’ (9:6). Together with Moses, Aaron was obedient to God, bringing the blessing of God to the people – ‘Then the Lord’s glory appeared to all the people’ (9:23). The principles of God’s blessing are still the same. We need the anointing of the Holy Spirit. He calls us to obedience. This is the way of receiving God’s blessing. This is the way in which the glory of God comes down upon the people of God. We receive God’s blessing when the Holy Spirit comes down upon us in His mighty power.
Leviticus 10:1-11:47
It is vital that we know ‘the difference between what is holy and what is unholy’ (10:10). God calls us to ‘be holy’. He calls us to ‘live holy lives’ (11:44). This is the central point we must see in all the unfamiliar details of ancient Jewish worship. This is the ‘permanent law’ (10:9, 15). This is the teaching which must be passed on to ‘generations to come.’

Leviticus 12:1-13:59
Again and again, we read the word, ‘clean’. Looking beyond the teaching regarding health, we may recall that ‘the blood of Jesus Christ – God’s Son – cleanses us from all sin’ (1 John 1:7). This is the cleansing everyone needs. No matter how healthy we may be, in our bodies, we are spiritually diseased, because of sin, and we need Christ’s cleansing.

Leviticus 14:1-57
We read here of our need of cleansing and of the sacrifice of a lamb as a way of removing our guilt and bringing us into peace with God (v. 21). Spiritually, we are ‘poor.’ What we have to bring to God is not ‘that much.’ It is not enough to provide for our cleansing. What we need has been provided for us – ‘the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world’ (John 1:29). He has done for us what we could never do for ourselves. ‘There was no other good enough to pay the price of sin. He only could unlock the gate of heaven and let us in.’ ‘To God be the glory! Great things He has done.’

Leviticus 15:1-16:34
Each of us is unclean before God. Each of us needs Christ who gives Himself as ‘a sin offering’ to ‘make atonement’ for us (16:16). Christ is the perfect Saviour who ‘bears all our iniquities’ (16:22). Concerning His great Sacrifice for us, the Word of God says, ‘On this day shall atonement be made for you, to cleanse you; from all your sins you shall be clean before the Lord’ (16:30).

Leviticus 17:1-18:30
Through the shed blood of Christ, we have peace with God and eternal life (17:11; Romans 5:1-2, 8-10). Having received life through Christ, we are to live a new life. We are not to live in the way of the world. We are to live as those who belong to the Lord (18:1-5: Romans 6:12:14; 12:1-21).

Leviticus 19:1-37
Again and again, we read the words, ‘I am the Lord your God’, or more simply, ‘I am the Lord’ (vs. 3, 4, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 25, 28, 30, 31, 32, 34, 36, 37). The whole point of this is that our moral practice is grounded in our spiritual worship (Romans 12:1).

Leviticus 20:1-23:44
Our careful obedience to God’s Word is not to be a purely legalistic thing. We must never forget that God is the God of redemption. Our holiness is grounded in Him. He is holy, and He sets us apart as holy (22:31-33). Holy living involves both worship and service. We are to worship God (23:1-4). We must not forget the ‘poor people’ (23:22).

Leviticus 24:1-23

If our light is to be kept burning continually, we need pure oil (24:2). The emphasis here is on keeping close to God. It is only through closeness to God that our light will be kept burning. In verse 15, we read, ‘Whoever curses his God shall bear his sin.’ This is followed, in verse 16, by some words of explanation of what bearing his sin meant: ‘He who blasphemes the Name shall be put to death.’ As we read these words, our thoughts move to Another who was put to death – the sinless Saviour who bore the sins of many. ‘He died that we might be forgiven. He died to make us good, that we might go at last to heaven, saved by His precious blood.’ Through Him, we are brought close to God. Through Him, we are brought out of darkness and into light.

Leviticus 25:1-55

This chapter is full of the Lord’s instructions concerning the Jubilee to be celebrated by Israel. Why was it so important for Israel to hear and obey the Word of the Lord? – ‘The Israelites belong to Me as servants. They are My servants. I brought them out of Egypt. I am the Lord your God’ (v. 55). This is still the foundation of our call to obedience. The Lord, who calls us to obedience, has first called us to belong to Him through redemption. He has redeemed us. We belong to Him. We will serve Him.

Leviticus 26:1-46

There is blessing for those who learn to obey the Lord (vs. 3-13). There is judgment for those who persist in sinning against the Lord (vs. 14-33). The opportunity of blessing remains even
for those who are in despair and are wasting away because of sin (vs. 36, 39). God says, ‘I will remember My promise’ (v. 42).
Those who have sinned against the Lord ‘must accept their
guilt.’ This is the first step towards coming to know the
blessing of the Lord their God who says, ‘I will not reject them
or look at them with disgust’ (v. 43).

Leviticus 27:1-34
The underlying theme in this final chapter is giving ourselves to the Lord. We are to belong to Him. We are to be dedicated to Him. We are to be set apart for Him. We are to be holy. Such dedication to the Lord is to affect the whole of our life. We
learn this from the variety of details in this chapter. There can be no turning back from following the Lord. Those who turn back do themselves much harm. Through their disobedience to the Lord, they become spiritually dead. Keep up your dedication to the Lord.

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