Archives for February 2014

one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering, along with a grain offering. And the priest shall make atonement before the LORD for him who is being cleansed. Leviticus 14:31 (ESV)

Thank God we no longer have to go through all of this, Jesus came and fulfilled all of this for us by dying for our sins on the cross and rising from the dead then ascending to heaven to be our High Priest. Jesus makes atonement for us through his sacrifice on the cross.

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?” John 8:31–33 (ESV)

The evidence (Staying in God’s word) and reward (knowing the truth, being free) of true discipleship.

Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. John 8:34–35 (ESV)

In the modern world we often talk about and exalt “free will” when in fact in sin our will is bound (not free) to a slave master which is sin itself. The act of sin actively enslaves.

Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. John 8:42 (ESV)

It was the Father that sent the Son. Jesus submitted to the Father’s plan from before the world began.

Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.” John 8:47 (ESV)

Unless we are chosen by God we can not understand Gods word or the teaching of Jesus. No amount of convincing will work without the work of the Holy Spirit. We believe the Bible not because we are wise or were convinced but because God adopted us and made us his children.

Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” John 8:58 (ESV)

Jesus bold claim to be God incarnate. The “I AM” is one of the most sacred names of God.

And if she cannot afford a lamb, then she shall take two turtledoves or two pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering. And the priest shall make atonement for her, and she shall be clean.” Leviticus 12:8 (ESV)

Mary the mother of Jesus was obedient to this command and brought this version of the offering to be cleansed after Jesus was born, this show that the family Jesus was born into was not wealthy

and the priest shall examine the diseased area on the skin of his body. And if the hair in the diseased area has turned white and the disease appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, it is a case of leprous disease. When the priest has examined him, he shall pronounce him unclean. Leviticus 13:3 (ESV)

Leprosy was a horrible disease and can be symbolic of sin which is is a disease of the heart (deeper than the skin)

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12 (ESV)

Jesus makes a bold and unique declaration to be the light of the world. This would have stirred up imagery in the ears of those listening (along with his earlier allusions using mana and living water) to the manifest presence and Glory of God seen in the wilderness and tabernacle. This is Jesus second I Am statement, revealing himself as the incarnate Word.

They said to him therefore, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” John 8:19 (ESV)

Religions that supposedly honour God but dishonour Jesus, prove themselves to be false

This is the law of the burnt offering, of the grain offering, of the sin offering, of the guilt offering, of the ordination offering, and of the peace offering, Leviticus 7:37 (ESV)

At the close of this section in Leviticus we get a summary of all 6 types of sacrifice described, all of which pointed forward to Jesus. This whole section (chapter 1-7) serves to remind us that worship in the church and our lives must be done in order and holiness.

And he killed it, and Moses took some of its blood and put it on the lobe of Aaron’s right ear and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot. Leviticus 8:23 (ESV)

We need the blood of Jesus on our ears so we always hear (listen) to the voice of God, hands to carry out (work) Gods commands and the feet to walk (act, behave) in holiness.

And Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting, and when they came out they blessed the people, and the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people. Leviticus 9:23 (ESV)

Gods glory was revealed as a stamp of approval for the newly built tabernacle, sacrifice system and most of all Arron as a mediator and his sons as priests. This again prefigures Jesus who is our high priest, who in entering his ministry after his sacrifice, revealed to us the glory of God’s indwelling presence on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was given.

Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the LORD has said: ‘Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.’ ” And Aaron held his peace. Leviticus 10:3 (ESV)

Ministry should not be undertaken or done lightly, God is holy and must be ministered to in holiness. Strange fire can represent anything we bring before The Lord which is itself not holy or just a cloak for our sinful attitude etc

You are to distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean, and you are to teach the people of Israel all the statutes that the LORD has spoken to them by Moses.” Leviticus 10:10–11 (ESV)

As believers we too have been called to be priests, so we are called to be holy, this means we need to clearly distinguish between that which is holy and not, this discernment comes from Godds word and his Holy Spirit. We are also called to teach by our lifestyle and words. We are set apron to minister to God but also to be a witness.

The officers answered, “No one ever spoke like this man!” John 7:46 (ESV)

Even the temple soldiers (These were not like the roman soldiers, they were actually chosen from the levites and so had religious training, which means the teaching of Jesus would have impacted them all the more) had to recognise the unparalleled wisdom of Jesus. Jesus is the Word incarnate, no one will ever compare to him in wisdom or speech. Even today many recognise the wisdom of Jesus but do not submit to him which is itself not wise. As CS Lewis said he can not just be a good teacher, the things Jesus said means he can only be a liar, a lunatic or LORD.

or anything about which he has sworn falsely, he shall restore it in full and shall add a fifth to it, and give it to him to whom it belongs on the day he realizes his guilt. Leviticus 6:5 (ESV)

This section show that God wants us to not only deal with sins with him (vertically) but to also deal with the sins in relation to those around us who we may have sinned against (horizontal)

On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ” John 7:37–38 (ESV)

Jesus offers us living water for our great thirst for life. He is the only one who can satisfy our thirst. The living water is the Holy Spirit. Are you thirst? we should not temporarily quench our thirst with sin, only Jesus eternally quenches our thirst by the Holy Spirit.

“Speak to the people of Israel, saying, If anyone sins unintentionally in any of the LORD’s commandments about things not to be done, and does any one of them, Leviticus 4:2 (ESV)

This entire section is all about the purification for sin. This is not for intentional defiant sin (transgression) but for the inadvertent type of sin where we “miss the mark”. In our frailty and ignorance we fall short often but God does not ignore our sin, they are still an offence and need to be cleansed. No other section of the bible speaks about this type of sin more than this chapter. The emphasis applied to all levels of society and scenarios show the pervasiveness of sin and God’s determination to deal with it. Jesus fulfils all the sin offerings for all the people by his death on the cross. When we sin we now have an advocate with the father 1 John 2:1

when the sin which they have committed becomes known, the assembly shall offer a bull from the herd for a sin offering and bring it in front of the tent of meeting. Leviticus 4:14 (ESV)

Man is so bound in sin that we often sin without realising we have until later. We should pray for our nation that a realisation of our sins comes and with it repentance

Thus shall he do with the bull. As he did with the bull of the sin offering, so shall he do with this. And the priest shall make atonement for them, and they shall be forgiven. Leviticus 4:20 (ESV)

Jesus is our High Priest and makes atonement for us with his won blood

when he realizes his guilt in any of these and confesses the sin he has committed, Leviticus 5:5 (ESV)

We must avoid generalising sin, some specific sins are used here to illustrate the individual nature of each offence and our responsibility as much as is possible to confess our actual sin to the Lord. When we confess our sins to the Lord as our High Priest he forgives and cleanses us 1 John 1:9

It is a guilt offering; he has indeed incurred guilt before the LORD.” Leviticus 5:19 (ESV)

When we sin we are not guilty before Satan even through he is our accuser, however we are guilty before God because our sins are an offence to God. Guilt and conviction from the Holy Spirit are healthy when felt in light of God’s grace and mercy for actual sin. Jesus bore our guilt on the cross.