-We apologize for the poor sound quality of this recording. If you find it unlistenable, please read the provided transcript.---In today's world, vows are relics of the past. The fate of marriage vows is a good example. The fact that half of all American marriages end in divorce demonstrates that we do not take our vows very seriously.--What was a vow in biblical times-----In making a vow, a person demonstrated his love for the Lord's worship, or his thankfulness for an answer to prayer by earnestly resolving to dedicate something or someone as a gift to the Lord -Hannah- or to deny himself certain pleasures -the Nazirite - Num. 6-, or to present a certain offering -Lev. 6-6-.---Dt 23-21-23 makes it clear that vows were optional, but if they were made, they must be kept -cf. Num. 30-2-15---The principle of Leviticus 27 is that if you wish to redeem your vow, then you must pay a higher price than the value of the thing that you vowed.--Leviticus 27 applies this principle to humanity, to the land, and to all the produce of the land. In other words, all of creation is in view.--In the end we will see that God had vowed to save his people. Therefore he must offer something of greater value than humanity.- -God had vowed to redeem creation. Therefore he must offer something of greater value than all creation-

Jesus is King.--We live in a culture shaped by democracy - our Constitution says that the highest authority is -we, the people.---So it's not surprising that our culture has tried to make religion more democratic as well. But the religion of the Bible is uncompromisingly monarchical. Jesus is King. We are not.--That point should provide a great deal of help in our prayer life. Jesus is King. I am not.--Therefore, what I think about what needs to happen is not all that important. What Jesus thinks is what matters. After all, he's the king---Last time we looked at Psalm 20. In Psalm 20 we prayed that God would save the King. We will be saved only if God saves the king.--Now in Psalm 21, we thank God that he saves the king - because now the king can protect us-

Every other section of the book of Leviticus starts with some sort of clear marker. Over and over we have heard the phrase, -The LORD spoke to Moses.- In fact, that phrase occurs at least 37 times in the book of Leviticus - almost in every instance, it is setting up a new section.--Chapter 26 has no such marker.--What does that mean----It means that we need to read chapters 25-26 together. All that we have seen about the Jubilee year - the importance of the return to the Land in the 50th year - and the redemption of the Land and of the Seed - and of God's people not being slaves - all of this is prelude to the blessings and curses of chapter 26...

In Psalm 20, we pray for the king, because we know that our only hope is if God saves the king- If God hears him and answers him - then we are saved as well---And if you think about it, that is exactly true in Jesus.--In John 18-19, Jesus acknowledges that he is a king - but -my kingdom is not of this world- - or -not from this world.---Jesus is the Son of David. He is the King of Psalm 20. It is only if God hears Jesus that we can be saved.- -Pilate thinks that he is just annoying the priests by writing -King of the Jews.--But then they say -we have no king but Caesar--- -And in so doing, they reject the message of Psalm 20 - our only hope is if God saves the king- Only if God hears him and answers him can we be saved-

Christians talk a lot about -redemption.- We are -redeemed- by the blood of the lamb- Leviticus 25 is where we learn what redemption means.--To redeem is to buy something back. We still use the term to talk about buying something back. You can -redeem- a coupon or a gift card - and investors use it in a variety of ways.--In Hebrew there are two words that are often translated -redeem.- The other word is more closely related to the idea of -ransom- or -rescue.- To redeem -ga'al in Hebrew- expresses not just a financial transaction, but also a personal relation. Redemption -ge'ulla- is properly done by a kinsman - one who stands in close relation to you.--Think about Boaz redeeming Ruth -and really, Naomi-. Boaz became their redeemer.--Redemption is both an economic activity and a personal activity.--We saw this morning in Psalm 19, that the LORD is my rock and my redeemer. And truly - with respect to our salvation - the Lord Jesus Christ is the only redeemer of God's elect---But just as Leviticus 25 speaks of -redemption- in more -earthly- ways, so also today, we should not be afraid to use the term in an analogical way as well---If Christ redeemed us from our sins with his precious blood - then we should be willing to -redeem- others. Obviously we cannot redeem them from sin- But when they are in distress, we can redeem them from lesser troubles...

In the evening we are going through Leviticus, exploring how the Law of God applies today in Jesus Christ.--The heart of Leviticus is about Israel being united in the person of the High Priest who enters the Holy of Holies and bears all Israel into God's presence---And we've been seeing how Book One of the Psalter teaches Israel to see Themselves -in David- in a very similar way.--This is why we sing Psalm 19 in Christ. And Psalm 19 teaches us to sing this way by giving the direction at the beginning----To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.-

The Sabbath is not just a weekly principle. It is a principle that structures all time.--In Leviticus 25 the Sabbath is applied not only to weeks, but also to years, and indeed to weeks of years. The seventh day is the weekly day of rest. The seventh month is the annual month of rest. The seventh year is sabbatical year of rest. But the 49th year is NOT the Jubilee.--The Jubilee is the 50th year - the year after the seventh seven. In other words, the Jubilee is the ultimate Sabbath, but it occurs on an eighth year - the first year of the new creation.--The seventh day, month, and year is about endings. The end of the week, the end of the harvest, the cycle of harvests. But the Jubilee - the 50th year - is about new beginnings...

-A Psalm of David, the servant of the LORD, who addressed the words of this song to the LORD on the day when the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul.---Psalm 18 is almost identical to 2 Samuel 22. Indeed, the title is taken from 2 Samuel 22-1. It is an interesting description. David, after all, had many enemies - and many of them came long after King Saul. Since the song is placed in 2 Samuel 22 - at the end of David's reign - it takes the form a retrospective - a reflection on God's faithfulness to David--And, indeed, this is emphatically David's story. God's love for David was shown in that when David was in trouble, God rent the heavens, smoke came from his nostrils, fire from his mouth -think of God as the heavenly dragon coming to rescue his people from their foes----When David was in trouble God moved heaven and earth - laying bare the foundations of the world - in order to deliver his chosen servant...

Besides its central focus on the Day of Atonement, there are two -events- in the book of Leviticus- The ordination of the priests with the death of Nadab and Abihu in chapters 9-10, and the blasphemy of the unnamed man in chapter 24 - which is linked with the oil and the bread.--There are two sections to this chapter. The first part deals with matters specifically focused on the tabernacle worship. The final section deals with the violation of God's holy name by a nameless man...

Psalm 17 helps us to give voice to the frustration and agony of life -in a world where the innocent often suffer - where we frequently experience the pain that comes from other people sinning against us.--If you read Psalm 17 without Jesus, you might be tempted to think, -I alone am innocent - everyone else around me is an idiot----But if you read Psalm 17 with Jesus, then you must see him first as the innocent one - the one who suffered because of what you did-