The Torah Series - Leviticus

Some of you are visiting and you are going to be behind because I started giving this series uh on the Torah three three messages ago. Four me. It's been a while. First one was an introduction. Then we talked about we w we went through uh Genesis, then we went through Exodus. Now we're going to be on Leviticus.

But just so that they don't we don't want to leave them at the train station. The whole purpose has been to explore this reality that God's plan has what we call in literature an arc. It's it's how his plan unfolds from its beginning all the way through to its end through a series of movements.

And so we call that the ark of God's plan. I've been calling it the ark of God's plan. You won't find arc of God's plan in your Bible, but it's how I'm describing God's plan. So what what I wanted to do was walk through the first five books, the Torah, the law, called the penetuk in the Greek, which means five scrolls. I wanted to walk through these to show you that God's plan, which we see in the beginning pages of our Bible, Genesis chapter 1, carries through a series of movements all the way through Revelation chapter 22. And from the beginning to

the very end, it's the same. God wants to dwell with his creation. That's the whole point. And it unfolds in what I've been calling a series of movements. You can call it acts if you want to or you can call it uh uh you know if there's another term that you prefer musical term or something like that you can do that movement I think is a musical term or something like that.

So anyway I wanted to look at how that unfolds then through these first five books of the Bible. Part of my motivation was to simply help us to understand that that that they're written in a in a particular way and they unfold for us in a particular way that if we took a step back and looked at them each as a whole, we could see the movements through it.

Like stepping back from the forest from being up close to the trees so that you could see the forest. And so this is what the adventure has been over the last or the previous three messages was to begin to explore this idea of how does God's plan to dwell with his creation unfold for us where we left off in the book of Exodus.

I will turn over there to Exodus. I'm going to I'm going to turn over here to Exodus chapter 40. Yeah. And uh for you notetakers, I'm going to I'm going to read 34. So here's the thing. When I did the the the Exodus uh review, I had it in my notes to read the final portion of it and then I must have got real excited. I didn't read it.

So I probably just explained it. But I wanted us to read in the pages of our Bible, where do we leave Exodus at? Because we start in Genesis where God is in a place he has created called the Garden of Eden. It's his place. It's where he walks. It's where he is seen by Adam and Eve. It's where he talks to Adam and Eve.

It's where the tree of life is. God is dwelling with his creation from the beginning. After the flood, there is no more Garden of Eden that we can identify. And God changes. if if I can use that word. He moves from the relationship he had with Adam and Eve to forming a relationship with a man named Abraham. And from and through Abraham and his descendants, a nation would be born.

And God would establish again a relationship with this people that we call Israel. He found them in Egypt. We've just gone through this, which is why I wanted to do this series around the days of unleven bread, because we're covering the very books of Moses. God finds Israel in Egypt in slavery. He leads them out of Egypt and he leads them to somewhere.

Well, in this case, he leads them to Mount Si. And at that mountain, a wedding proposal. Let's note that just briefly. This is going to be Exodus 19. Exodus 19:es 5 and 6. He says in verse 5, "Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to me above all people, for all the earth is mine, and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

" These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel. That's the proposal in the in God's own words. This is a marriage proposal. Israel answers all that you have said we will do. That is their I do. And so we have what the Bible describes as a wedding covenant between God and Israel, a marriage covenant. Now this is just God establishing himself as having a relationship with this people.

Now a unique people on all the face of the earth. No people, no nation has God as their God. They have every other god that isn't a god as their god. Only Israel had the true god as their god. And he wants to dwell with them. And in order to do that, he has them build a tabernacle, a temporary structure that could be moved as he leads them towards the promised land.

In the midst of that tabernacle is the holy of holies, his place. And when we get to the end of Exodus 40 and verse 34, it says, "Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle, and Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting because the cloud rested above it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

" This is where we leave Exodus. God taking up residence in his new home among his people. This is the movements of the ark. God wanting to dwell with his people. What had happened previous to this? Moses is up on the mountain. He's receiving two tables of stone. He's writing the book of the covenant himself of all the other commands that God has given.

And while he's doing that, what are the people doing? Scripture describes them as rising up to play. Aaron somehow receives all of the gold, crafts the mold for a calf, and yet somehow it just popped out of the fire. They set up a false god within 40 days of becoming in a relationship with God. And so God immediately has to deal with the problem.

What is the problem? How does God who is righteous, who is holy, dwell amongst a people who sin? He's got to resolve that. We know what the objective is. We've been following that the ark of that objective. God to dwell with his people. But there is a problem and that is what if the people sin? How can a righteous God dwell amongst a sinful people without destroying them? That's what leads us to the book of Leviticus.

This is where God resolves that issue. The book of Leviticus unfolds for us in five movements. Okay. The first immediately God begins to deal with the problem of access. How do the people have access to the God when they have sinned? Well, it says right away verse one of chapter 1, now the Lord called Moses and spoke to him from the tabernacle of meeting, saying, "Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, when any one of you brings an offering to the Lord, you shall bring your offering of the livestock and of the herd and of the

flock. If his offering is a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish. He shall offer it of his own free will at the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the Lord. Then he shall put his hand on the head of the burnt offering and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him.

H how do we in the church vernacular? How do we usually break the word atonement down? Throughout all the history I've been in the church, I always remember at onement atonement becoming one with God. Sacrifice will be the means which the people will have at their disposal for reconciliation for separating themselves from God by sinning.

Here God will accept from them a burnt sacrifice, a free will offering for their sins as an atonement. This is access laying on of hands. So you notice that we read that they lay their hand on it demonstrates ownership. It was going to die for me. and it will be accepted to make atonement. So God gives a clear process then that's to be followed.

And so the first seven chapters go into great detail over a variety of different kinds of sacrifices and offerings because you're going to find peace offerings and you're going to find grain offerings and you're going to find other sacrifices all within these first seven chapters. Let's turn over to Leviticus chapter 4 and notice something here.

Well, let's see. Hold on. Before I jump to that one, I'm going to jump to uh Leviticus 3 first. Let's just note here a variety of different ones. And I'm not going to cover them all. There's no time in one sermon to do that. It says here in verse one of chapter 3, when his offering is a sacrifice of a peace offering, if he offers it of the herd, whether male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before the Lord.

And he shall lay his hand on the head of his offering and kill it at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. and Aaron's sons, the priests, shall shall sprinkle the blood all around the altar. Let's notice verse chapter 4:es 27 and 28. Chapter 4:es 27 and 28. If any one of the common people sins unintentionally by doing something against any of the commandments of the Lord, and anything which ought not to be done and is guilty, or if his sin which he has committed comes to his knowledge, then he shall bring as his offering a kid of the goats, a female without blemish, for his

sin which he has committed. And he shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and kill the sin offering at the place of the burnt offering, which we just read is at the door of the tabernacle. Then the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger, put it on the horns of the altar and the uh the altar of burnt offering and pour all the remaining blood at the base of the altar.

So this is what the first seven chapters give us. Access to God by means of sacrifice or offering. And notice here verse 31 of chapter 4. It says he shall remove its fat as fat is removed from the sacrifice of the peace offering and the priest shall burn it on the altar for a sweet aroma to the Lord.

So the priest shall make atonement for him and it shall be forgiven him. So the priest is all of a sudden given a role and we're seeing this name. Previously it was the sons of Aaron, but we don't really have them defined at that point. Now we start to see that there's a role definition being given to us here or a term for a role. We still don't yet understand that role, but it will be made clear to us in this book.

But understand that blood is required. Let's go over here to Leviticus chapter 17. Blood is required for sin. As Leviticus 17 11 makes plain, for the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls. For it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.

Why do we need a sacrifice? And it's blood spilled. The priest takes that blood and puts it or sprinkles it on the altar or pours it on the altar. And now we know why it is the means of atonement. The blood is the means of atonement. So this first movement establishes access to God for a people who sin so that they would not be destroyed by God.

This is the people God wants to dwell with. His people, his chosen people. Movement number two, Leviticus chapters 8-10. So that's 89 and 10 show us the second movement of the ark of the book of Leviticus. So we have the offerings established. So the next thing define is for God to define who carries out the work.

We've already seen sons of Aaron and seen and read the term priests. But what does that mean? Well, one thing's for sure. It's not a role that the individual got to choose. God defined the role and he picked who's going to fill it. So God set apart specific men that we're going to see. He gives them defined responsibilities and he establishes the process by which they enter into that service.

So here we are in Leviticus chapter 8. The first verses it says, "And the Lord spoke to Moses saying, take Aaron and his sons with him and the garments, the anointing oil, a bull as the sin offering, two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread. and gather all the congregation together at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. Interesting, isn't it? Where they meet is at the door of the tabernacle, God's dwelling place.

And this is where God is going to establish the priesthood of the Levites. Now, the garments that they are given are not ordinary clothing. The passage will go on to describe what these garments look like. For example, let's keep going here. Verse 5 says, "And Moses said to the congregation," now notice this is important also.

God did not do this in secret. He called the assembly of the congregation to bear witness that Aaron and his sons are to be the priesthood. They are ordained by God to this role. Verse 5 says, "And Moses said to the congregation, this is what the Lord commanded to be done. Then Moses brought Aaron and his sons and washed them with water.

And he put the tunic on him, girded him with the sash, clothed him with the robe, and put the ephod on him. And he girded him with the intricately woven band of the ephod, and with it tied the ephod on him, and he put the breastplate on him, and he put the urum and the thumb in the breastplate, and he put the turban on his head.

Also on the turban on its front he put the golden plate, the holy crown, as the Lord had commanded Moses. And Moses took the anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it and consecrated them. So here we see that they're given outfits, if you will. I'm a guy. I hate that idea. I know women do it.

That's what you say. You got a new outfit. No guy says that. I challenge you. No guy ever says I got a new outfit. But anyway, it's a garment. It's a wardrobe. He has a wardrobe. And each piece was placed in order, setting the priests apart naturally for the work of the tabernacle. So their role is assigned from the start.

The priest's service begins by being placed into that role according to God's clear instructions. Now that ordination continues with offerings that are specific to each priest's role. Blood is applied to Aaron and his sons in a deliberate way. marking the ear, the hand, and the foot. Let's note that. So Moses took the anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle.

He sprinkled some of it on the altar seven times, anointed the altar and its utensils and the labor in its base. And he poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron's head and anointed him to consecrate him. Verse 14, it says, "And he brought the bull for the sin offering. Then Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the bull for the sin offering.

" We've seen that repeated, haven't we? Over and again, that same process of taking ownership then. And Moses killed it. Then he took the blood. He put some on the horns of the altar all around with his finger and purified the altar. And he poured the blood at the base of the altar and consecrated it to make atonement for it.

Then he took all the fat, the fatty lobe, handled all the rest of that, the bowl. Hang on, let's get down here because I want to skip ahead. Verse 23. So Moses killed the offering. And it says here, "Also he took some of its blood and put it on the tip of Aaron's right ear, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.

" Then he brought Aaron's sons, and Moses put some of the blood on the tips of their right ears, on their thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet. Sounds very strange, but there's meaning in this. What do we do with our ears? We hear. They would be listening, obeying instructions given to them. What do we do with our hands? We do with our hands.

It's the illustration of the work that they have to do. What do we do with our feet? We walk. We move. Symbolizes obedience. And so here we have God through Moses sanctifying them and setting them apart for their roles by this very obvious gesture. The thing about this to me, maybe it's a just to me thing is God is so careful in setting up the priesthood, meticulous in explaining what he wants done, the job itself.

Everything that they're supposed to do, they are told with clarity. This is what you do. And yet in these same chapters, we have the story of Nadab and Abaiu. Why do you think that is I want to make sure and read that read this to you because I think it's really important. So we're over here in uh Leviticus chapter 10.

This is the first verses. It says, "Then Naab and Abaiu, verse one of chapter 10, sons of Aaron, each took in his sensor and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them." We don't even need to know what what that means. Like, I couldn't explain to you what profane fire is except that it's not what God commanded them to do.

It plainly says that. So, I'll just take the take its word for it. Whatever they did, it wasn't what God had commanded them to do. So fire went out from the Lord in verse two and devoured them and they died before the Lord. Now Moses says to Aaron, "This is what the Lord spoke, saying, by those who come near me, I must be regarded as holy and before all the people I must be glorified.

" This is the God. Israel is the only nation on the planet who has a relationship directly with the God. He gives them very clear instructions as his people who had entered into a covenant with him that through this priesthood his covenant would be administered to them. That is a very serious role to God. How do we know that? Because when Naab and Abaiu failed in their duties, he struck them dead immediately.

It was not a secret in Israel. What happened? And this just tells us God was very serious about setting himself aside. He wants to dwell with his people. He gave the means of that through sacrifice to be able to do that. He gave duties to a priesthood to enable that process. His expectation is that they do it the way he said, not the way they want to, not the way they might prefer to, exactly as he said.

That's the lesson for us. It's easy for us to look at them and say, "Look, these guys are what, 30 years old?" Most likely for many of us, that's that's young. When you get like over 50, 30 starts looking real young. The thing is, and I I want to comment on this because somebody asked in Olympia about this because it's it's kind of off-putting from a human perspective, young men who just seemingly did something wrong and and the penalty is death.

But if you look at it from God's perspective, there are two resurrections. They made a choice. It doesn't mean that their choice was eternal. God simply took them out of the running for the first resurrection and put them into the second resurrection. And we look at a 30-year-old and say their life was cut short. So much in front of them.

And yet we see that this second resurrection is described as a baby at a hundred years old. They'll have a full life. So to God, this was dealing with something that had to be dealt with the moment it had to be dealt with. But their future is still in front of them when they're resurrected in the second resurrection. God hasn't forgotten about them.

He didn't abuse them or neglect them or just punish them for no good reason. Everything he does moves him further along and us along with him on that ark. God wants to dwell with his people. So this second movement then establishes how the tabernacle is to function. The work gets assigned to the priesthood.

The process is clearly defined. They know what they're supposed to do. God has dealt with having a cavalier attitude towards his instructions. That's pretty clear now. And so now they're ready to to follow on. They're ready to move forward with more instructions now that they know that what God has asked for has to be carried out exactly as he asked for it.

Now we have movement number three which is chapters 11-1 15. Chapters 11-1 15. They establish what purity and cleanliness in the camp requires. This camp where God's tabernacle resides must be pure and clean. And God sets about instructions giving instructions that make that so. So verses, we're in chapter 11 verses 44 and 45.

God tells us after he has given instructions on what can be eaten and what cannot. He tells us why. You know, it's easy for us today to say something about clean and unclean foods as maybe it was important for their diet. I I remember years ago uh the subject of eating unclean animals, a lot of focus seem to to swirl around the idea that it's unhealthy for us, that you can get sick.

And certainly that has happened to people. But by and large, you don't read in the newspaper of people dying every day from eating shellfish or eating pork, bacon. They do it. It's not about whether or not it's healthy for the body. I believe it is. I believe that's part of why God said to do it. But he tells us plainly what he wanted and what the reasoning was for clean and unclean animal designations.

He says here in verses 44- 45, for I am the Lord your God. You shall therefore consecrate yourselves, and you shall be holy, for I am holy. Neither shall you defile yourselves with any creeping thing that creeps on the earth, for I am the Lord who brings you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.

Clean food is about holiness. That's it. Holiness to be like God. This is what he asks for. This is what he wants from us in our obedience. And of course 40 verse 47 simply tells us again that that's the context to distinguish between the unclean and the clean, between the animal that may be eaten and the animal that may not be eaten.

And now we see the direct connection in its context about holiness and the animal that you eat and defilement for eating the ones you are commanded not to eat. Defilement, the exact opposite of purity. And God wants his people to be pure. After that, things like childirth, skin disease, bodily discharges, all of those sorts of things which defile a person as the scripture says are also dealt with.

You know, there's a there's a whole chapter here that deals with leprosy. We're in chapter 13. My the heading of it is the law concerning leprosy. You know who does the investigations of leprosy? They didn't have doctors then. They had priests. It was the job of the priests to do the examination. Verse three, the priest shall examine the soar on the skin of the body.

And if the hair on the soar is turned white and the soar appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, it is a lepros. Then the priest shall examine him and pronounce him unclean. Verse four says, "But if the bright spot is white on the skin of his body and does not appear to be deeper than the skin and its hair is not turned white, then the priest shall isolate the one who has been who has the sore for seven days and then he will be examined again.

" And it is the priest that does that. You know, we talk about roles and responsibilities of the first fruits when Christ returns. And naturally, your mind asks the question, well, what what are we going to be doing? A good place to start is to read the book of Leviticus to see what God had the priests doing. They're not just serving in the tabernacle.

Here we have a very good example of them being the doctors who isolate the person who is sick with leprosy. That person is removed from the camp. The unclean person is removed from the camp where God's dwelling place is. He wants that place to be clean and pure. And so if there's anything that defiles a person, that person has to be outside the camp.

Repeatedly throughout these scriptures, you see that that is the requirement. God wants his place pure and clean. Verse 46, we're still in chapter 13. Verse 46 says, "He shall be unclean." This is still dealing with leprosy. "All the days he has the soar, he shall be unclean. He is unclean, and he shall dwell alone.

and his dwelling shall be outside the camp. What camp? The camp where God's tabernacle is. The camp of Israel where he dwells with his people. So, a clear pattern exists here of what God wants as you read through. And as I I think I've mentioned in the other messages, it's impossible for me to read these with you in real time.

all the scriptures that are relevant on every single of these movements. You have to read them on your own. But I think the context of movements helps you to understand and frame this book. So the book makes more sense understanding how it flows, why it's written the way that it is. You see this logical pattern of these movements one upon the other in a natural progression.

Let's look over here in chapter 15:31. It just kind of concludes this movement here. It says, "Thus you shall separate the children of Israel." We're in 15 chapter chapter 15:31. "Thus you shall separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness, lest they die in their uncleanness when they defile my tabernacle that is among them.

" It could not be more clear what God is wanting. to dwell with his people. Movement number four, it gets its own chapter, chapter 16. It's all about the day of atonement. Becoming at one with God. This is the only place where we see how the day of atonement was to be kept under the old covenant. In this chapter, we have a high priest.

The high priest stands in the shoes of Jesus Christ. Okay? The spiritual connection for chapter 16 is Christ's atoning work. Okay? So that's where we begin in our understanding. I'm just going to summarize this for you because frankly I think it's more enjoyable than reading it to you.

So I'll just explain what happens. The high priest has to give an atonement for himself. Why? Because he's a sinner. Jesus Christ was pure and perfect, sinless. So the high priest has to be absolved of his sins through sacrifice. The atoning of sin is in the blood as we read. Okay? And so he does this work. Then he gives an atonement for the people.

Then along this process, two goats are presented. The live goat is sacrificed. The high priest lays his hands on the head of the live goat and he confesses on it all the sins of Israel. That goat is then killed. That goat represents Jesus Christ also, but it is his sacrifice that it represents. So as Jesus Christ died for our sins, so this goat dies for the sins of the people.

That's very clear when you read through chapter 16. But you need to be able to make this connection. There's another goat. It's called a zazil. Okay? That word is only used in Leviticus chapter 16. It's not used anywhere else. Some have tried to say, "Well, that goat also is Christ because the sins of the people are put on it as well.

" The answer is no. Jesus Christ died. That first goat is dead already. In fact, the whole atonement ceremony is over with when that goat is killed. Now the live goat or the only goat that's left, the aazle is brought to him. He confesses on that goat all the sins of the people again. Why? And this is critical in our understanding.

It isn't because those those sins are being atoned through this second goat. They're already atoned for. That goat represents Satan. That goat gets all the blame that it deserves. That Satan deserves for what? For his culpability in our sins. He doesn't get the blame for our sins. We carry the weight of our own sins.

The death penalty doesn't apply to Satan for me. It applies for me for my own sins. That goat takes the blame for Satan's part in our sins. The chief instigator of sin is Satan. And so where is he led off to? It says by the hand of a strong man, it is led to the wilderness and it is loosed. Okay, that should take you all the way to Revelation.

Christ returns. He defeats all the armies of Armageddon and Satan is captured and an angel coming down with a chain in his hand binds Satan and casts him into the bottomless pit. This is the exact imagery intended by the Isazel's destiny. It is Satan's future. I just want us to be very clear on this meaning so that twice a year now you will have heard what the day of atonement is actually all about and it is revealed to us in chapter 16 of the book of Leviticus.

Each of these goats has deep meaning and we need to get it right in our understanding. That is the entire that is a summary of my entire movement number four for you today. Why is it here? If we're looking at the plan of God as this ark where he wants to dwell with his people, what could be more important than atonement in that process? It pictures what is our destiny to be atoned and ultimately to be spirit beings in the kingdom of God.

That's why it's here. It shows the way. You know, it's it's a wonderful plan that God reveals to us with our eyes opened to see how all the way back to these first books of the Bible, he's revealing his plan. He's showing us what's going to happen. And here we have this beautiful chapter that's all about atoning, becoming at one with God.

Ultimately that can't be possible as physical beings. It is only possible when we become spirit beings. All right. I've already given you movement number four. You have to read chapter 16 on your own later. The fifth movement. This is chapters 17 now through 27. This is the big wrap-up. What's going to be what are we going to find in these pages? Well, here's where we find where God tells the people how they're going to live together and the benefits if they live together through his blessings and the curses that they will have to endure if they

don't. All of that is found in the chapters between 17 and 27. And again, all of this is about creating a people that God can call holy. Leviticus chapter 19. Leviticus 19, beginning at the first here, it says, "And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them, you shall be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy.

" And notice how he begins from here. Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father and keep my Sabbaths. I am the Lord your God. I just that just strikes me uh profoundly. He we already know there's a commandment to honor your mother and your father. We've gone through that. And here he boldly states it again as a condition of blessing as a nation.

This is his expectation. You will honor your mother and your father and be holy. So again, he connects that with being holy. As he is holy, we are called to be holy through obedience. He also provides instructions for regulating how offerings are handled outside of the formal setting of the earlier chapters.

Let's notice here, let's go back to ch uh Leviticus 17 for a second. Leviticus 17 here in the first part. It says, "And the Lord spoke to Moses, verse one, uh, saying, speak to Aaron and to his sons and to all the children of Israel, and say to them, this is the thing which the Lord has commanded, saying, Whatever man of the house of Israel who kills an ox or lamb or goat in the camp, or who kills it outside the camp, and does not bring it to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, to offer an offering to the Lord before the tabernacle of the Lord,

the guilt of bloodshed shall be imputed to that man. He has shed blood, and that man shall be cut off from among his people, to the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices, which they offer in the open field, that they may bring them to the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of meeting to the priest, and offer them as peace offerings to the Lord.

That's pretty clear language. It's hard to mistake God's intent here. Offerings are at the door. That's where they belong. The priests take the blood and they sprinkle it. That's their job. If we don't follow that process, this is what we need to take away spiritually. If we don't follow the process that God gives to us, he's saying that you are guilty of the blood.

All we have to do is extrapolate spiritually. Well, what does that mean for them? Death. cast out and cut off. You think it's important when God says something like that? Yes, it's important. So, we should take it as important also. And think about how would that apply to me. From here, the instruction moves directly into conduct among the people.

So, he deals with sexual behavior. Uh for example, chapter 18, mine is titled laws of sexual morality. So God sets boundaries and they're not, hey, however you feel about it is okay. Clear boundaries on what you can and cannot do. And he doesn't want us taking this is the thing. It's painful for all of us, but we look around at society which glorifies the very things God says don't do.

Chapter 18:es 4 and 5, he says, "You shall observe my judgments and keep my ordinance to walk in them. I am the Lord your God. You shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, which if a man does, he shall live by them. I am the Lord." That's just a confusing English way of saying that if a man lives this way, his life will be abundant.

He will be right with God. If you just live this way that he has been describing for a man to live. That's what that's essentially what that is saying. Then the scope expands to include daily interaction within the camp, how they treat one another, honesty and business, fairness and judgment, care for the vulnerable, restraint in speech.

It's like not today. Well, only the right kind of speech. If you have wrong speech, you can't say those things. Chapter 19 again, verses 11 and 12, he says in verse 11, he says, "You shall not steal nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another. You shall not swear by my name falsely, nor shall you profane the name of the Lord your God.

I am the Lord." And then, of course, what is what do we find in this same section? Chapter 23, the chapter that mine begins, feasts of the Lord. They're not the feasts of Israel. They're not the feasts of Judah. They're not the feasts of the Jews, of the Hebrews, of the Gentiles, of the church. They're the feasts of the Lord.

He carefully outlines each and every holy convocation. A meeting, a 24-hour period of time set apart in which no work is to be done. And a meeting is to be held. A holy convocation. There are how many listed here? The Sabbath, the first day of unleven bread, the last day of unleven bread, Pentecost, trumpets, atonement, feast of tabernacles, first day, and the eighth day.

All of these are the feasts of the Lord. And every single one of those days is called a holy convocation. So today we celebrate a holy convocation. Last Wednesday, we kept a holy convocation called the last day of unleven bread. As required in the feasts of the Lord, chapter 23. As you move forward, there are other ordinances of God.

For example, there is a land Sabbath. Chapter 25. Chapter 25, for example, says, "And the Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Si, saying, speak to the children of Israel and say to them, when you come into the land which I give you, then the land shall keep a Sabbath to the Lord. Six years you shall sew your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather its fruit.

But in the seventh year shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a Sabbath to the Lord. You shall neither sew your field nor prune your vineyard. We find in here the jubilee, the 50th year of release and so forth. Chapter 26:es 3 and 4 simply says, well, let's read from the beginning. It says, "You shall make no idols for yourself.

" Here in 26:1, "Neither a carved image nor a sacred pillar you shall uh rear up for neither a carved image nor a sacred pillar shall you rear up for yourselves, nor shall you set up an engraved stone in your land to bow down to it. For I am the Lord your God. You shall keep my Sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary. I am the Lord.

" We know what that means now. That is that place where God made a home for himself among the people. Verse three says, "If you walk in my statutes and keep my commandments and perform them, then I will give you rain in its season. The land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. Your threshing shall last till the time of vintage, and the vintage shall last till the time of sewing.

You shall eat your bread to the full and dwell in your land safely. Blessing upon blessing upon blessing follows until God gets to the place where he says now if you don't obey cursing upon cursing upon cursing a patient and loving and merciful God doesn't instantly punish Israel for failure. How do we how do we know that? Read through the book of Judges and remind yourself how many times and how many years go by with the people misbehaving before God punishes them.

And then a long time they're being punished and they get real fed up and they start begging for mercy. That's the cycle of the book of Judges because that's human nature. And unless God gives us his spirit, we're going to do the same thing. He rescues us from ourselves in repeating Israel's legacy in our own lives.

So the fifth movement then gathers everything that has been established and it applies it to daily life. The people are not only approaching God at the tabernacle where God's dwelling is, but they're living in a way that reflects that he is present among them. That's what his intent was. Act like I am your God.

Be holy because I am your God. Be different in this world because I am your God dwelling among you. And no people on the earth could say that except Israel. So this is where Leviticus leaves us. The people have been taught what they're supposed to do. They've been shown. They have a priesthood now that exercises the terms of the covenant that they have agreed to.

They have everything. They have the tabernacle and they have rules to live by. Rules that if they live by them will make them holy, pure and clean before God so that he can dwell amongst his people without destroying them. This is where we leave the book of Exodus or the book of uh Leviticus. What comes next is the book of numbers where we find out how did the people do with these instructions.