FEBRUARY 8 & 9 (WEEK-END) LEVITICUS 21-23

Leviticus 21-23

We are misreading Leviticus 21-22 if we imagine God to be prejudiced against priests with disabilities and deformities (Leviticus 21:17-20). No, all of these “qualifiers” for those who serve in the temple are there for the same reason as the “qualifiers” for acceptable sacrifices toward the end of Leviticus 22. And what reason is that? Both the priests and the sacrifices are to be pictures of the perfection and holiness of God! Listen to Leviticus 21:8, “Regard [priests] as holy, because they offer up the food of your God. Consider them holy, because I am holy.”

Every time a priest offered up a lamb in sacrifice to God, both were to be a close to perfect as possible. We know, of course, that they weren’t perfect, that our perfect Sacrifice and our perfect Priest were One and the Same: Our Lord Jesus Christ. And Jesus’ perfection means perfection for us. The writer of Hebrews says: “By one sacrifice, he [Jesus] has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.” (Hebrews 10:14)

Leviticus 23 re-introduces the Sabbath and several of the Feasts. One NEW Feast makes its first Bible appearance here: The Feast of Trumpets, today called Rosh Hashanah or Jewish New Year. Trumpet blasts mark this day, as it will mark the day of Christ’s return!

Until Monday,
Pastor Gary

FEBRUARY 7 LEVITICUS 18-20

Leviticus 18-20

On this day, in 1929, my dad, Frank Dominic Motta, was born. Happy birthday, Dad! My dad was the silent, strong and sturdy sort. My brother and I cherish his pride in us and in our service to the Lord. But we cherish most his love and faithfulness to mom.

And so, in honor of my dad, here are some father thoughts from these “law chapters” in Leviticus:

We know from the BIG TEN, that it is God’s design and desire that we should honor our father and mother. These chapters give us a number of ways to carry out this great command.

• You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father… (Leviticus 18:7) This is near the beginning of a long list of close relatives (and others) with whom one should not have sexual relations. But I cannot help thinking of how Ham blabbed his father, Noah’s, nakedness, and how Shem and Japheth covered Noah’s nakedness. I uncover my father’s nakedness when I act like Ham and spread the word concerning my father’s sins.

• You shall rise up before the grayheaded… (Leviticus 19:32) The reason is simple. To rise up in the presence of the elderly (think, father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, too!), is to notice them. And to notice them is to honor them! Try standing up when your father walks in sometime. I wonder what kind of look you’ll get.

• Anyone who curses his father or mother shall surely be put to death. (Leviticus 20:9) Sounds harsh, I know; and few parents—throughout the history of God’s people—have ever carried it out. Nevertheless, the command is there for a reason. Because we are warned not to dishonor our parents with our words, so we know how we can honor them: with our words! When was the last time you spoke about your dad? Did your words honor him?

The heartbeat and focus of all these laws surrounding relationships is simple: love. Here is where “Love your neighbor as yourself” is found (Leviticus 19:18). And your dad is your neighbor!

Until tomorrow,
Pastor Gary

FEBRUARY 6 LEVITICUS 16-17

Leviticus 16-17

Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is perhaps the highest, holiest single day of the year in the Jewish calendar. As the Jewish scholar, Jonathan Sacks, once said,

Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is the holy of holies of Jewish time. It is that rarest of phenomena, a Jewish festival without food. Instead it is a day of fasting and prayer, introspection and self-judgment when, collectively and repeatedly, we confess our sins and pray to be written into God’s Book of Life.

When God instituted this special day in Leviticus, it included these special features:

• A once-a-year atonement visit to the Holy of Holies where the Ark of the Covenant was kept by the High Priest.
• A strange double offering: two goats, separated by lot, one for a sacrifice of atonement, the other presented alive to the Lord as the “scapegoat.”
• At a special moment in the day’s proceedings, Aaron was to lay hands on the scapegoat, confess the sins of the people over it, and send the animal out into the wilderness, a vivid picture of carrying our sins as far from us “as the east is from the west.” (Psalm 103:12)

The whole point of the day is to sort out the sin, confess it and find forgiveness and cleansing. And Leviticus 17 teaches us why animal sacrifices, and the blood rituals connected with them, were necessary for this. One phrase: For the life of the flesh is in the blood.

In New Testament language: Our sins earn nothing but death for us, and it takes a death to pay for them. On the Day of Atonement, and, indeed, every day in ancient Israel, this meant the death of animals. But Jesus ended this by giving himself up to death, even death on a cross. Praise His Name!

Until tomorrow,
Pastor Gary

FEBRUARY 5 LEVITICUS 11-15

Leviticus 11-15

I used to make fun of chapters like these in the Bible; they sound like guidelines for amateur doctors. And to some extent, they are. There is a wonderful volume entitled, None of These Diseases, by S. I. McMillen and David Stern (both physicians), which details the health secrets of the Bible. Originally written over 50 years ago, it has been updated for the 21st Century reader. Some of the very things that sound so “strange and interesting” in these and other chapters in the Pentateuch contain God’s pre-medical science and health guidelines for God’s people. Back when I first read it, I found it affirming of God wisdom and watch-care for God’s people.

For example, I do not think that it is a coincidence that scavengers and bottom feeders are listed among the unclean animals in Leviticus 11. God’s wisdom guided them to healthier eating, purification practices and detailed directions for both handling skin conditions and house conditions, like mildew. Having dealt with toxic mold in our previous parsonage, I can appreciate the wisdom in God’s words.

Much of what God prescribed, if followed, helped God’s people to be ahead of their time and very different from the cultures around them!

Tomorrow, we experience the day that really separates the people of God: the “Day of Atonement.”

Until then,
Pastor Gary

FEBRUARY 4 LEVITICUS 8-10

Leviticus 8-10

Here we find one of the saddest, most heart-wrenching passages in the Bible.

In Exodus 29, God describes how to ordain Aaron and his sons as priests. Here in Leviticus 8, they carry out God’s instructions. Great day! Aaron is ordained High Priest; he and his sons are dressed, anointed, atoned for, and invited to eat some of the meat at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. In Leviticus 9, Aaron and his sons begin their ministry. How proud he must have been, serving with his sons.

I’ve often had dreams of serving with my son, Danny, in the local church. I can imagine how Aaron must have felt.

Then, in Leviticus 10, the glorious start, the high hopes, the family ministry, it all explodes into tragic disappointment. Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, took their censers, put fire in them and added incense; and they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord contrary to His command. (Leviticus 10:2) In an instant, they and their unauthorized fire were consumed by the holy fire of a holy God. Two of Aaron’s four sons were dead.

It isn’t hard to feel with him when we read, Aaron remained silent (Leviticus 10:3). Just a bit more of his feelings come out at the end of Leviticus 10.

We are stunned.

Until tomorrow,
Pastor Gary

FEBRUARY 3 LEVITICUS 4-7

Leviticus 4-7

More offerings!

Over the weekend, we were introduced to three voluntary offerings:

• The burnt offering, an animal sacrifice serving as an act of atonement for unintentional sins.
• The grain offering, a voluntary act of worship, saying “thanks” for God’s good provision.
• And the fellowship offering, a voluntary act of worship focusing on the restored fellowship that exists when our sins have been atoned for.

In today’s reading, we discover two more offerings, but these are mandatory:

• The sin offering, an atoning sacrifice made for specific unintentional sins. I love the words at the end of many of the paragraphs in Chapter 4, “And he will be forgiven.” Forgiveness is the goal. And just to help, God gives us some sample sins to peruse in Leviticus 5:1-4.
• The guilt offering is very similar to the sin offering. It, too, is a mandatory atoning sacrifice for unintentional sins for the purpose of finding forgiveness. The one variation is that these sins involve restitution (See Leviticus 5:16). 

God expands on these offerings in Leviticus 6-7, and, in these chapters, we find some interesting “tidbits” (pun intended). First, the altar fire must be kept burning (Leviticus 6:9,13); this perpetual fire represents the continuous appeal to God on behalf of the people! Second, take note of this fact: some of these offerings may be eaten! The offering-giver was encouraged to eat a portion of the fellowship offering. Portions of the fellowship offering and other offerings were to be given to the priests as a kind of compensation. The carnal (pun intended) side of me has always wondered if the tabernacle smelled like barbeque!

Until tomorrow,
Pastor Gary