Verse/Verse Bible Podcast

The departure from Sinai is even closer, but God takes further time to organize and clarify His law for His people. In this span of chapters, we learn about the Nazarite Vow, Israel's communication trumpets, and the mode of God's leading.

Now that the Israelites are ready to enter into the land of Canaan, God shows them how the law He's established functions. In this passage, God numbers the able-bodied men for Israelites military and God divides the responsibilities of the tabernacle amongst the sons of Levi.

This final sermon in Leviticus speaks on the agricultural Sabbath and the year of Jubilee and the treatment of slaves. The penultimate chapter of Leviticus prophesies over the nation of Israel and what they can expect if they obey and/or disobey the law. The book closes with the consequences of vows unto the Lord.

This portion of Leviticus begins with the personal interactions a priest has in his normal life and continues into outlining the Hebrew calendar's appointed feasts. We see that the ministry of Jesus' life signposts according with this prophetic calendar in fulfillment. The final chapter of our evening declines once more with a blaspheming of the LORD's name and the consequences thereof. We are reminded that the gracious work of the Lord is consistently meant with the failure of mankind.

God's holiness burns into our lives like an uncontainable forest fire; it touches upon every aspect of our existence. Whether it's our personal relationships, the economy, or the civility of our society, God's holiness affects these corners of our lives with profound consequence. Ultimately, this is all built upon who God is and what He's done. Living by God's character restores to Him the very opportunity to be the God over the planet, the creatures, and humanity itself.

The qualifications of the clean and the unclean are relatively foreign to us, but we see in this passage how God's order places the focus of life in a world in the midst of decay. God's redemption is a work where heavenly and holy life is cast into the midst of the dying.

When looking into the Levitical diet, we can often wonder how this is relevant at all. Is it merely hygienic? Is it merely discriminatory? Is is entirely arbitrary altogether? Ultimately, we see that the division of the clean/unclean and holy/unholy reminds us of the reverence of God Himself. In Christ, we see that God is not paintable, but His very holiness is what is contagious.

This week we close the Sacrificial ordinances and continue into the narrative of dedicating and inducting the Tabernacle and Priesthood into operation. Despite several preparatory procedures, tragic failures ensue. In these incidents, we see that Aaron has grown in the Lord and God has prepared him to serve the nation of Israel as their High Priest.

We proceed through the offerings this week. We delve into the the details of the Sin offering, the Guilt offering, and the Recompense offering. We ultimately see that rituals can't cover over our sins if our hearts aren't changed.

Leviticus opens with an index of the various offerings one can give to the LORD. This week, we look at the free will offerings, which consist of the Burnt (Ascension) Offering, the Grain (Gift) Offering, and the Peace (Fellowship) Offering. We see in these ordinances that the posture a worshipper must have before the LORD is costly, genuine, humble, and joyful. This is as true today as it was in the days of the Levitical Priesthood.