The Listener’s Bible Commentary

Backstory and Overview of Numbers  

Numbers continues the story of Israel after the exodus out of Egypt. Israel has camped at Mt Sinai for about a year. God has made a covenant with them and they have agreed to it. They have received God’s instructions and laws and built a sacred royal tent for God. It’s now time to prepare Israel to move to the promised land. 

The book of Numbers covers 40 years and it moves from the first generation of those who came out of Egypt in the exodus to the second generation.

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Leviticus, Holiness, and Using the Commentary for Discipleship | Fall 2026 Update

In this Listener's Commentary update, John talks about: 

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Leviticus 25-27, pt. 2

The topic of chs. 25-27 can be thought of as “holiness in the land.” Israel has been camped at Mt. Sinai for about a year and it is almost time to march out. When they move into the land of promise, settle there, and build houses and have land to farm, what does it look like to live as God’s holy people then and there? That is the big theme of these chapters. 

In this recording, we survey chapters 26-27. Leviticus 26 records the blessings for keeping the covenant and the curses for violating the covenant. Those blessings and curses are all tied to the land. Leviticus concludes in chapter 27 with instructions for worshipping and honoring God with their possessions by means of voluntary vows of people, animals, or property, required offering over to God of animals or people, and tithes. 

And as we wrap up Leviticus, those of us in Christ need to remember that we are the ones who now the same identity and the same calling that Israel did. 

Just like God said of Israel, Peter says “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Pet 2:9). 

And he applies the very words of Leviticus to us in 1 Peter 1:15-16: but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written: “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”  

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Leviticus 25-27, pt. 1  

The topic of chs. 25-27 can be thought of as “holiness in the land.” Israel has been camped at Mt. Sinai for about a year and it's almost time to march out. When they move into the land of promise, settle there, and build houses and have land to farm, what does it look like to live as God’s holy people then and there? That is the big theme of these chapters. 

In this recording, we consider Leviticus 25, which deals with how to treat the land, workers, and deal with debt (the sabbatical year and the year of Jubilee). 

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Leviticus 23-24  

Leviticus 23-24 continues the theme of ritual holiness. We have to be careful not to think of this as “mere rituals that don’t really matter.” Our modern instinctive dislike of rituals in the West prompts us to think like that. But the rituals and instructions of Leviticus 23-24 matter for Israel's overall life as a people distinct and different from the nations -- as God’s holy people, a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. 

So in the whole section of Leviticus 21-24 the main question is, what does it look like to respect the people, places, things, and times that belong to the Lord as holy? And in Leviticus 23-24 one of the main emphases is on time: what will Israel's weekly and annual calendar look like that will set them apart for the Lord?

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Leviticus 21-22  

Leviticus 21-22 provided special instructions for the priests. Leviticus 18-20 were addressed to the entire congregation of Israel and dealt mostly with holiness in everyday life. Since Israel as a whole is set apart for the Lord (=holy) to be a holy nation, chapters 18-20 detailed some of the ways they had to be distinct and different from the nations personally, socially, and ritually. 

But here in Leviticus 21-22 we shift to the priests. Since they are set apart as a special holy class within the nation, these chapters describe some of the ways hey had to be distinct and different from the rest of Israel. 

So these chapters record what might be called "priestly holiness." 

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Special Study: How Do the Laws of Leviticus (and the rest of the Torah) Apply Today?  

Some of the Laws of the Torah seem easy to apply. For example, love your neighbor as yourself is found in Leviticus 19:18. Others feel foreign. The very next verse tells us not to wear a garment woven of two kinds of fabric (Leviticus 19:19). There are plenty of laws that seem strange or even impossible to keep in modern culture. So how do such laws apply today?

In this special study we show why one common approach--breaking the laws into civil, ceremonial, and moral-- isn't the best way to approach such laws. 

Instead we recommend treating the laws as part of God's covenant with Israel and thus no longer our covenant in Christ. We are not under the Law. But at the same time, the Law is still Scripture for us and instructive to us as Paul says in 2 Timothy 3:16-17. 

We end by recommending an approach for applying the values and wisdom of the laws to our life and world today. 

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Leviticus 18-20  

Leviticus 18-20 is usually called "The Holiness Code." It details God's instructions to Israel for holy living in routine matters of everyday life. Holiness mean different, distinct, set apart for God's purposes. If Israel is going to be a holy nation (cf. Exodus 19:6), then they need to be different from the nations around them. They must be holy as God is holy. 

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Why does the Bible say not to eat meat with blood in it? 

Leviticus 17 answers that question by focusing on the sacredness of blood. God gave animal blood for the purpose of atonement. Therefore, now that the tabernacle is operational, the only legitimate sacrifices are those offered at the tabernacle, and all meat must have blood drained from it. 

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Leviticus 16  

Leviticus 16 records the instructions for the Day of Atonement celebration. This annual day of fasting and worship provided atonement for the Tabernacle and for all the sins of Israel. It finds its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus whose death provided full and final cleansing from sin. 

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