back to indexWed Bible Study - Lesson 18 (Review)
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After today, obviously, we don't have regular Bible study for about seven weeks, and hopefully 00:00:09.640 |
you guys will be able to still at least have some kind of contact with your small group 00:00:13.480 |
during that time and make use of the time that we have. 00:00:18.120 |
Because normally we only take about a two to three week break, but this time because 00:00:21.840 |
we have retreat, praise and prayer, and something else in between, that's part of the reason 00:00:37.880 |
Today is the last day for the Bible study, so there's special snacks prepared. 00:00:42.360 |
So what's going to happen is after that, usually you'll have your small group and then you'll 00:00:45.800 |
get into your small, after you're done with small group, there's some snacks prepared. 00:00:50.100 |
But today's snack is meant for you to take with you. 00:00:54.360 |
So there's going to be some kimbap, ramen, and it's better than normal snacks. 00:01:00.280 |
And so you want to grab, wherever it is that you're going to have small groups, just grab 00:01:03.600 |
it, take it on your plate and take it into the rooms or wherever you go. 00:01:09.080 |
And then Pastor Mark is actually going to give an announcement afterwards because we're 00:01:12.800 |
going to ask people to sign up for Bible study for next session. 00:01:18.200 |
So I know there's some of you who are planning to go to the home Bible study, and so we wanted 00:01:22.700 |
to get a heads up on that to see how many of you guys are going to go to that and then 00:01:26.440 |
how many are actually going to stay here so that we can organize our small groups way 00:01:30.800 |
ahead of time instead of waiting until about a week or two before. 00:01:34.620 |
And so Pastor Mark is actually going to come back up here later after I'm done, and he'll 00:01:38.280 |
give you instructions on how to fill that out and for small groups as well. 00:01:42.280 |
All right, let me pray for us and then we'll jump right in. 00:01:43.640 |
Heavenly Father, we just want to thank you for the study of the book of Leviticus and 00:01:55.100 |
just so many things that are in there that some that we understand, some things like 00:02:03.820 |
We know, Father God, that every part of it has meaning and ultimately points to something 00:02:10.500 |
We thank you for the things that we are able to glean and how it pictures who you are and 00:02:19.900 |
I pray, Father God, that you would bless the time that we have for review and especially 00:02:24.380 |
the time of discussion that we may be open and honest and as iron sharpening iron that 00:02:35.060 |
Okay, so I'm not going to go into anything too deep because obviously it's 17 chapters 00:02:40.080 |
and we're just going to give you an overall arching view of the book of Leviticus. 00:02:48.860 |
So you don't have handouts, so if you came in, I just want you guys to kind of just have 00:02:55.300 |
a big picture view so that next time somebody says book of Leviticus, chapter 13, right? 00:03:12.060 |
So that's my goal today is just kind of give you an overarching view. 00:03:14.820 |
So all of this is going to be obviously review. 00:03:17.140 |
The study of Leviticus is vital understanding to full gospel message. 00:03:22.260 |
There's so many intricate details of the gospel that you have probably been missing and hopefully 00:03:28.820 |
that through the study that the cross itself has become a bit more clear. 00:03:34.660 |
And again, this is my third time going through Leviticus. 00:03:37.940 |
First time I was taught, second time I taught it years ago, but I gave a sermon on it and 00:03:43.540 |
then the third time going through it, that's really trying to come through the meaning 00:03:47.380 |
And I feel like the next time I go through, I'll know what to highlight and what not to 00:03:56.820 |
And it has made the cross, even this third time, made the cross that much more valuable 00:04:02.860 |
because we see the work behind every intricate detail what God was doing in the tabernacle. 00:04:10.580 |
Leviticus is a study of a shadow of the gospel that is ultimately fulfilled in Christ as 00:04:17.140 |
So it was ultimately to point to the reality that was going to be found in Christ. 00:04:23.260 |
So obviously you can study about the gospel and who Jesus is and salvation just by studying 00:04:28.740 |
the New Testament, but studying the background behind it, hundreds of years that God has 00:04:35.380 |
embedded into the culture of Israelites was meant to prepare them for the cross. 00:04:41.220 |
So the benefit of being a Jew, like Jesus says, that the Jews have the truth, and the 00:04:46.260 |
benefit of being a Jew was this was embedded into their psyche. 00:04:49.780 |
It was embedded into their family gatherings, it was embedded into their meals, and so all 00:04:56.160 |
So as New Testament believers, our understanding of the gospel, we're basically jumping in 00:05:04.300 |
Let's say the book is 20 chapters, we jumped in in chapter 10 or 11 or 12, and then we're 00:05:11.020 |
trying to figure out the story from looking at this end. 00:05:14.840 |
So the benefit of studying the book of Leviticus, it gives us what led up to the cross. 00:05:21.080 |
And every detail in the book of Leviticus, and a lot of the stuff that we probably even 00:05:24.720 |
missed going through it this time, a lot of this stuff ultimately points to something 00:05:30.360 |
very specific that we know about the cross in the New Testament. 00:05:35.520 |
So what is the benefit of studying the shadows before seeing the reality? 00:06:02.760 |
Okay, so again, it builds anticipation, where clearly, how much of this did the Israelites 00:06:15.920 |
How much of it's going to be fulfilled in Christ? 00:06:17.640 |
But all of it, every single thing that they did, as time went by, it was building anticipation. 00:06:27.880 |
So every time he gave, he kind of gave a prophecy to the prophets, whether it's Hosea or Jemiah, 00:06:35.400 |
And the scripture talks about how in Peter, that the prophets were speaking and they were 00:06:40.960 |
eagerly looking into this to see who was going to come. 00:06:44.840 |
So Leviticus was kind of giving the foundation, and then Christ, the revelation that they 00:06:52.380 |
And as the revelation started increasing, it was pretty clear that the Messiah was going 00:06:56.560 |
to come and he was going to suffer for the sins of mankind. 00:07:00.720 |
So Leviticus is not the beginning of redemptive history, but Leviticus is the clear identification 00:07:11.000 |
Prior to the book of Leviticus is the problem. 00:07:14.400 |
We have the fall, we have the increase of sins, we have idolatry, we have Israel rebelling, 00:07:23.240 |
And so prior to the Leviticus, it was setting up why they needed the sacrifice. 00:07:29.320 |
So Leviticus was a clear demonstration of the answer for this sin up to this point. 00:07:42.780 |
It's one thing for somebody to tell you what happens, another thing for you to picture 00:07:49.400 |
If you ever teach children, whether we do it in Sunday school or at school, you would 00:07:53.960 |
teach a lesson and then what do you do after the lesson? 00:08:00.360 |
Because through the craft, you're implementing the things that you've learned because it 00:08:07.760 |
It's one thing to talk about love, it's another thing to actually go and practice this. 00:08:12.220 |
So the atonement that was going to come in the name of Christ was not just taught, it 00:08:22.960 |
We know clearly that nothing that they did in the Old Testament actually atoned for sins 00:08:28.080 |
because the blood of animals doesn't have that kind of power. 00:08:31.040 |
Ultimately, every single thing that they did was a role playing to wait for Christ to come. 00:08:38.880 |
So the purpose of the book of Leviticus and everything that Israelites did was to build 00:08:44.120 |
anticipation and then when the reality came, it would become more real to them. 00:08:50.480 |
Thirdly, it kept the reality of mystery until the right time to fully reveal it. 00:08:57.080 |
He didn't come and he said, "Jesus is going to look like this and he's going to come, 00:09:00.000 |
he's going to live 30 years," and he didn't reveal him that way. 00:09:03.840 |
He just kind of put pieces together, again, to build anticipation, to make it more clear, 00:09:11.200 |
but ultimately to reveal him at the proper time so that when he is revealed, if you study 00:09:16.800 |
the shadow clearly, you will clearly see that Jesus is the only one that can fit this shadow. 00:09:26.000 |
Some of you guys are average height, average build, average weight, so a lot of your shadows 00:09:37.760 |
So there are certain shadows that you can study. 00:09:39.720 |
It's like the only person that can actually fit that shadow is Jesus. 00:09:44.920 |
And the more you understand the shadow, the more you understand how Jesus fulfilled all 00:09:52.060 |
Every part of Leviticus ultimately points out something about Christ and something about 00:10:03.920 |
If you remember, Exodus concluded with the tabernacle being constructed. 00:10:11.000 |
And then the glory of the Lord fills it and that's how Exodus ends, if you remember. 00:10:15.800 |
And then the book of Leviticus begins with the Lord speaking to Moses from the Tent of 00:10:21.640 |
So if you look at the outline of the Old Testament, prior to Exodus is a story of Israel's sin, 00:10:32.480 |
Exodus is the beginning of the establishment of Israel, and through Israel, God was going 00:10:38.860 |
So Exodus begins with the establishment of Israel and it ends with pointing to the tabernacle. 00:10:46.620 |
So Leviticus is the actual implementation of God's redemptive plan that's starting to 00:10:58.160 |
At the end of Exodus, he's preparing to come and dwell among his people. 00:11:02.560 |
But he can't do that until there is atonement that takes place. 00:11:06.160 |
So a tabernacle is established and God is speaking from the tabernacle, but they can't 00:11:14.680 |
He's in their midst, but they can't come to the tabernacle because it hasn't been established. 00:11:18.200 |
So Leviticus is preparation for God's glory to come. 00:11:25.520 |
In fact, the word for Leviticus in Hebrew literally means "he called." 00:11:30.680 |
So he's at the tabernacle and he's calling people to come to him. 00:11:34.560 |
So everything that you were doing in the book of Leviticus, chapter 1 through 27, is so 00:11:38.520 |
that God's holy presence can be in the midst of his people. 00:11:45.840 |
And the title of the book, Leviticus, is appropriate considering most of the content of the book 00:11:50.600 |
is about the rules and regulations given to the Levitical order of worship. 00:11:57.520 |
When we have service every Sunday, we have a routine that we have. 00:12:01.920 |
We have the praise team come and they would have opening praise and then they would pray. 00:12:09.840 |
So when you hear the music going, you would begin to come in, settle down, prepare, and 00:12:14.440 |
then once you guys settle down, and then he would pray, and then we would enter into our 00:12:19.520 |
So Leviticus is a call to worship, to come, draw near to God, to give worship to him. 00:12:26.400 |
But the teaching, basically the book of Leviticus teaches is, God's calling you to worship, 00:12:32.000 |
but a sinner whose sins have been atoned for cannot draw near to God to worship. 00:12:41.320 |
But the problem is, our very existence, the reason why God created us was for the purpose 00:12:53.560 |
When mankind rebelled against God, we no longer were able to glorify God, to give worship 00:12:59.560 |
So Leviticus is reestablishing what was broken in the book of Genesis. 00:13:03.720 |
So he's calling people to himself to establish that connection of worship, the creator and 00:13:09.640 |
But the only way that this is going to happen is by shedding of blood, by atonement. 00:13:17.560 |
Is God's call to worship and preparation, and then the necessary things that needs to 00:13:23.000 |
take place in order to bridge the gap between the holy God and sinful people. 00:13:30.960 |
The outline of the book, as I told you, is in the kiastic form. 00:13:35.240 |
And I asked you guys to try to memorize that outline. 00:13:39.360 |
And so I'm going to give you a couple minutes. 00:13:41.560 |
I know some of you guys have memorized it, and some of you guys did not. 00:13:45.040 |
And even if you didn't, you can kind of encourage each other, because it is a simple outline, 00:13:50.960 |
And it will make a world of difference of how much you're going to be able to retain 00:14:05.960 |
What I'm going to ask you to do is take a couple minutes and review that with your partner, 00:14:11.460 |
with somebody sitting next to you, and see if you can at least... 00:14:15.420 |
It's pretty easy, because if you get the first three, four lines, you can get the second 00:14:21.160 |
But what I want you to know is the chapters that are attached to that, chapter one through 00:14:25.680 |
seven, chapter eight through ten, eleven through fifteen, chapter sixteen, seventeen and on. 00:14:37.500 |
I want you guys to pair up with somebody just for a minute or two, and try to memorize it 00:16:55.520 |
Okay, laws of cleanness and uncleanness, and what are the chapters? 00:17:00.520 |
Seven through fifteen, and so the center of the chiasm? 00:17:31.520 |
Okay, and then twenty-six, twenty-seven is basically the conclusion. 00:17:38.520 |
But as simple as it is, it'll help you when we're studying to know where we are 00:17:44.520 |
and what that builds toward and what it's doing, okay? 00:17:48.520 |
So hopefully next time we jump into it, you wouldn't have forgotten. 00:17:51.520 |
We'll review it one more time so that as we're studying, 00:17:53.520 |
when we say chapter fourteen, you know where we are, right? 00:17:57.520 |
So if I said what's in chapter--you might not know all the specifics, 00:18:03.520 |
Like I'm going to say that on Sunday, assuming all of you know, right? 00:18:07.520 |
So if I, "Yeah, you know, on this special day in Leviticus 16, what day is it?" 00:18:15.520 |
Like all the sacrifices that was fulfilled in Christ, where is that? 00:18:26.520 |
Remember how God ordained the priests and he prepared them 00:18:37.520 |
The laws of the leprosy and how that points to the sins of mankind 00:18:42.520 |
and the devastation, like what area of Leviticus is that in? 00:18:53.520 |
It's in that section, so you might not remember the specifics, 00:19:00.520 |
So if you have at least that working knowledge, 00:19:03.520 |
so when we talk about Leviticus and a specific law, 00:19:06.520 |
or when you're reading through the New Testament 00:19:08.520 |
and the Pharisees are like, "Why is Jesus doing that?" 00:19:11.520 |
And you remember, our members studying this in Leviticus, 00:19:14.520 |
you don't have to flip through chapter 1 through 27. 00:19:17.520 |
You'll know where to go to. It's in this area. 00:19:19.520 |
So if you know that, when you're memorizing something, 00:19:30.520 |
and it's kind of like all this information in 27 chapters, 00:19:36.520 |
But if you can remember the larger structure, like that chapter, 00:19:41.520 |
you'll be surprised how much of that chapter will come to your head 00:19:45.520 |
if you can break it down that way. Do you understand what I'm saying? 00:19:50.520 |
You should study the New Testament that way too. 00:19:55.520 |
and you know the broad outline, and I say what's in chapter 1, 00:19:59.520 |
if you studied it and know the outline like that, 00:20:02.520 |
you'll know the content of it a little bit better. 00:20:09.520 |
but you know the general content that's contained in that chapter. 00:20:13.520 |
So when you're studying through the New Testament, 00:20:15.520 |
get in the habit of memorizing the outline as you're studying it. 00:20:20.520 |
Then when you do that, again, I guarantee it'll help you 00:20:23.520 |
to remember the content of that a lot better. 00:21:12.520 |
The two major -- so remember the Chiastic Forum, 00:21:14.520 |
you had the first part of it, chapter 1 through 16 and 17, 00:21:20.520 |
It mirrors each other with the center at the Day of Atonement, 00:21:23.520 |
but the distinction between the first and the second, 00:21:26.520 |
chapter 1 through 15 is about priestly holiness, 00:21:33.520 |
is about practical holiness in the community, in the camp. 00:21:37.520 |
Not every single chapter, not every single commandment 00:21:44.520 |
chapter 1 through 15 is about the cleanliness 00:21:51.520 |
where chapter 17 and on is a cleanliness in the camp of Israel 00:22:01.520 |
the emphasis on the specifics are a little bit different, 00:22:09.520 |
So again, as we talked about, Leviticus chapter 1 through 7, 00:22:12.520 |
this is a general picture of what the tabernacle would have looked like. 00:22:25.520 |
but is this the size of maybe two football fields? 00:22:37.520 |
I actually saw a replica of this at Saddleback 00:22:40.520 |
because they had a company that came in and actually set one up, 00:22:47.520 |
I would say the length of it was probably from that wall 00:22:50.520 |
to maybe about right here, like the long length of it, 00:22:53.520 |
and then the width of it, probably from the bottom of the stage 00:23:00.520 |
And they followed the measurements that was given in Leviticus and in Exodus. 00:23:07.520 |
So imagine if all those sacrifices are being made in that small space, 00:23:11.520 |
morning and night, what that place would have looked like, 00:23:16.520 |
So it was really a bloody scene, right, and animals being killed. 00:23:25.520 |
what was the main part of the burnt offering? 00:23:32.520 |
but what was the main meaning of the burnt offering? 00:23:40.520 |
General atonement, right, general atonement for sins. 00:23:44.520 |
So that was the sacrifice that was given the most frequently, 00:23:51.520 |
In fact, when they came to give other sacrifices, 00:23:53.520 |
it needed to be coupled oftentimes with the burnt offering 00:23:56.520 |
because their sins needed to be atoned for to even bring the other offerings. 00:24:01.520 |
So oftentimes the burnt offering was what was being offered morning and night time 00:24:09.520 |
So the general atonement, the burnt offering, points to what? 00:24:13.520 |
Justification, right, which was fulfilled in Christ, 00:24:23.520 |
because when they offered this, nothing was touched. 00:24:39.520 |
So that's where they would bring their tithes, 00:24:44.520 |
and it was sort of to acknowledge the lordship of God over their life. 00:24:50.520 |
So oftentimes they would use the grain offering also as a Thanksgiving offering. 00:24:54.520 |
When something happened, they would bring this offering to God 00:24:57.520 |
as an act of acknowledging that God's the one who gave it to them, 00:25:01.520 |
and also their tithes would be given in the grain offering. 00:25:16.520 |
They shared it, they actually had a peace, time of peace, right? 00:25:23.520 |
After they offered it, that was an offering where they offered it up to God, 00:25:26.520 |
and a portion of that, the good portion of it, 00:25:29.520 |
they kept and then they had a picnic with the priest. 00:25:32.520 |
So this signified peace with God establishes peace with one another. 00:25:38.520 |
So you can kind of see, without even me pointing to parts of the Bible, 00:25:42.520 |
you can kind of see all of this being spoken of in the New Testament. 00:25:46.520 |
Peace offering, peace with God establishes peace with mankind. 00:25:56.520 |
Sin offering was the offering that they gave for the purpose of anointing, 00:26:07.520 |
Do you remember all the holy, clean, and unclean things that we were taught? 00:26:13.520 |
In order to remedy that, what two offerings were to be given? 00:26:19.520 |
Because a burnt offering had to be given to atone for sins, 00:26:22.520 |
peace offering had to be given for the cleansing. 00:26:28.520 |
So sin offering was for general cleansing, right? 00:26:34.520 |
If you became defiled, you touched something holy, 00:26:40.520 |
sin offering was what was given, along with the burnt offering. 00:26:48.520 |
Guilt offering is when you sinned and you defiled someone else's property. 00:26:55.520 |
So you touched it and then basically the animal or whatever it was got defiled, 00:27:00.520 |
and as a result of that, they could no longer use that. 00:27:09.520 |
Not only did you have to atone for your mistake or your sin, 00:27:12.520 |
you had to actually compensate because there was damage done to someone else's property. 00:27:23.520 |
These five offerings are embedded into the nation of Israel and in their psyche, 00:27:28.520 |
and even though they may not mention burnt offering, peace offering, 00:27:31.520 |
because it was such a huge part of Israel's history, 00:27:34.520 |
you'll see it in the language in the New Testament. 00:27:43.520 |
I think the closest thing that I could think of in our culture, like Christmas, 00:27:50.520 |
or something that anybody who grew up in the United States would know, 00:27:54.520 |
unless you came from North Korea or something. 00:27:58.520 |
if we mentioned December 25th or Christmas Eve or giving of gifts 00:28:09.520 |
It would be a shock if somebody said, "Oh, what are we going to do on Christmas Eve?" 00:28:16.520 |
Eggnog, singing caroling, Christmas lights, Christmas trees, Christmas songs. 00:28:24.520 |
Basically, these are things that anybody who was born and raised in the United States 00:28:34.520 |
These five offerings in the nation of Israel was embedded into their culture. 00:28:40.520 |
So you'll see in the New Testament, it bleeds into their language. 00:28:44.520 |
When they talk about things, when they're having conversations, 00:28:48.520 |
it sounds random, but you'll be able to trace some of this stuff 00:28:56.520 |
It'll help you to understand the New Testament better if you know these sacrifices. 00:29:00.520 |
It's not just these, but because these are the five major ones. 00:29:07.520 |
This is just a picture of how God organized the nation of Israel out in the desert. 00:29:16.520 |
and then the four separate groups of priests that surrounded them, 00:29:20.520 |
and then the 12 tribes were spaced in equal distance. 00:29:25.520 |
So every time God would call them up to move, 00:29:29.520 |
one tribe would get up in the front, the next one would go, 00:29:35.520 |
Then when they settled down, they would always settle down in that camp, 00:29:40.520 |
The purpose of that is, at the center of it is what? 00:29:50.520 |
If that tabernacle, and it's not huge, it's a small, tiny place, 00:29:55.520 |
in comparison to a million people out in the desert, 00:30:00.520 |
So when they were burning the sacrifices and the animals were being slaughtered, 00:30:06.520 |
this was probably a daily scene in the nation of Israel. 00:30:13.520 |
Animals being slaughtered all the time, day and night. 00:30:17.520 |
All of that ultimately pointed to need for atonement. 00:30:21.520 |
So in order for God's presence to be with the nation of Israel, 00:30:25.520 |
again, any Israelite who was born and raised during this time, 00:30:29.520 |
before the temple was built, during this time, 00:30:31.520 |
probably heard the animals being slaughtered, 00:30:35.520 |
probably smelled the barbecue of the animals being burned. 00:30:40.520 |
If they were anywhere near the camp, they probably saw a bloody scene everywhere, 00:30:45.520 |
Because remember, God told them to bring them to the entrance of the tabernacle, 00:30:48.520 |
and they were to put their hands and then slaughter the animals there 00:30:57.520 |
So if you were an Israelite that lived in this period, 00:31:00.520 |
you would have heard them, you would have smelled them, 00:31:06.520 |
And all of this pointed to if the Holy God needs to be in your camp, 00:31:14.520 |
And all of this ultimately to point to Christ. 00:31:18.520 |
It's supposed to be blood, but it just looks like mud. 00:31:26.520 |
So that's, again, a bloody scene of the sacrifice. 00:31:31.520 |
Chapter 8 and 9 is talking about the anointing, preparation for the priest. 00:31:36.520 |
So we talked about those chapters contain about how they were ordained, 00:31:40.520 |
how was Aaron prepared for the service, how were his sons prepared for the office, 00:31:50.520 |
So when they were going to go to work, they had to put on special clothes. 00:32:07.520 |
They weren't supposed to just casually come in like anybody else. 00:32:13.520 |
And even when they were taking the trash out of the camp, 00:32:16.520 |
they had to put on a special uniform because this was not meant to be just a common thing. 00:32:21.520 |
So all of that, even the way that the priests prepared themselves, 00:32:24.520 |
they had to constantly remind them that this was sacred. 00:32:28.520 |
And then even in the anointing, they gave the burnt offering, 00:32:32.520 |
and then they gave the sin offering to prepare them, to anoint them, 00:32:35.520 |
to cleanse them in order for them to even participate in it. 00:32:38.520 |
And that's where we get the idea of ordination. 00:32:45.520 |
we get our teaching from this period where there's a separation from common and uncommon, 00:32:51.520 |
at least in the thinking, so that somebody doesn't enter into ministry just kind of casually walking in. 00:32:58.520 |
That there's something sacred about what we're doing, the church needs to recognize that. 00:33:05.520 |
So after they prepare is when the first sacrifice takes place. 00:33:10.520 |
All the teaching, all the intricate details, all the warnings that God gave, 00:33:15.520 |
that if you approach me without this, what was going to happen to them? 00:33:20.520 |
They would die, and there was a constant warning to them. 00:33:35.520 |
"Nedab and Nebihu," the two sons, the first sacrifice ever given, the two sons of Aaron, 00:33:40.520 |
the fire comes in and consumes them and they die, right? 00:33:45.520 |
And what was the reason given why they were punished that way? 00:33:57.520 |
Basically, it just says they didn't follow the rules, right? 00:34:02.520 |
They didn't follow, we don't know exactly what it was. 00:34:07.520 |
It seemed like they were following rules, because it doesn't describe exactly what they did. 00:34:12.520 |
But the point was not about specifically what they did. 00:34:15.520 |
The main point was they didn't follow the rule. 00:34:18.520 |
Even if it was something small, when God said not to pour the blood onto the ground, 00:34:25.520 |
And I think in God's wisdom, he left it ambiguous on purpose, 00:34:29.520 |
because any sin, anything done that went against what God told them 00:34:36.520 |
would have caused them to die, because God's presence would have killed them. 00:34:44.520 |
And then Aaron is sitting there and he's silent, because he's seen this before. 00:34:49.520 |
When he offered up, remember, when he offered up the golden calf, 00:34:53.520 |
God comes in and then his presence just wipes them out because of their sin, right? 00:34:58.520 |
So Aaron is very familiar with the wrath of God. 00:35:03.520 |
Remember the passage says he was just silent? 00:35:05.520 |
And then God says, "I will show myself," what? 00:35:09.520 |
"Holy." In other words, if you don't recognize me as holy when I come, 00:35:18.520 |
So imagine the whole purpose of the book of Leviticus is to prepare them for worship, 00:35:27.520 |
But the very first act of actually coming, they die. 00:35:41.520 |
If we don't recognize the holiness of God, and part of the reason why there is this practice 00:35:46.520 |
or understanding of cheap grace, that we understand the love of God 00:35:49.520 |
and the mercy of God and grace of God without understanding the wrath of God, 00:35:57.520 |
It just sounds like a mistake or something that we shouldn't do. 00:36:01.520 |
But when we don't recognize who he is and the wrath of God, 00:36:05.520 |
even when we receive grace, it's cheap grace. 00:36:10.520 |
Trust me, I don't think the Leviticus, the people who lived during this period 00:36:15.520 |
had a problem with that because their issue was not seeing God as holy 00:36:20.520 |
because that was embedded in what God did every single day. 00:36:24.520 |
They smelled it. They saw it. They touched it. 00:36:36.520 |
You must follow everything I tell you to the letter of the law." 00:36:42.520 |
That's the first thing that happens, chapter Leviticus 10, and it brings fear. 00:36:49.520 |
Something very similar happens in the book of Acts when the second covenant comes. 00:36:54.520 |
The very beginning of the church, what happens? 00:36:57.520 |
Aside from the formation of the church, the Holy Spirit comes down, 00:37:03.520 |
And as the fire dies because they lied to the Holy Spirit. 00:37:09.520 |
They didn't consider the church sacred, and as a result of that, what happened? 00:37:14.520 |
And as a result of them dying, it says, "Fear fell upon the camp, 00:37:18.520 |
and they were afraid to associate with the apostles," 00:37:22.520 |
because the apostles was symbolically the presence of God upon their camp. 00:37:27.520 |
But even though they were afraid to associate with them, what does it say? 00:37:30.520 |
"The Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved." 00:37:34.520 |
Even though they were afraid, it was clear that life is in Christ. 00:37:42.520 |
So there's this dual aspect of coming to Christ where there is joy 00:37:51.520 |
And that's exactly how the Bible describes our relationship with God. 00:37:56.520 |
To rejoice in the Lord and to live out your salvation with what? 00:38:04.520 |
Is it about grace or is it about wrath? It's both. 00:38:07.520 |
The cross points to that God does not sweep sin under the rug. 00:38:16.520 |
At no point does he look at sin and say, "I'm okay with that." 00:38:23.520 |
Otherwise, why would he have done that to his son? 00:38:28.520 |
The only reason why the cross even exists is because God's wrath had to be satisfied, 00:38:33.520 |
and the only one that could have taken that wrath is Christ. 00:38:37.520 |
So the cross of Christ points to his wrath and his mercy at the same time. 00:38:43.520 |
And that's what the tabernacle, the beginning of the tabernacle, pointed to the fact. 00:38:47.520 |
The whole purpose of all of this was God's trying to be gracious with sinful people 00:38:51.520 |
because he didn't need to go through all this drama. 00:38:54.520 |
The only reason why he's going through all this drama is so that they can come to him, 00:38:58.520 |
so that he doesn't have to squash them and kill them. 00:39:03.520 |
Why does he have to go through all this drama of telling them what to do, 00:39:05.520 |
make sacrifices, and then calling them to himself and forgiving their sins? 00:39:12.520 |
So the whole point of all of this is because God's trying to be gracious with sinful people. 00:39:19.520 |
But in that context of him trying to be gracious to them, 00:39:22.520 |
they also need to recognize why they needed his grace, 00:39:30.520 |
So that's something that's embedded into the culture of this tabernacle. 00:39:36.520 |
The first two people who represent man to God, 00:39:39.520 |
they get squashed because they didn't follow the rules. 00:39:44.520 |
Chapter 11, all the way up to 15, deals with what's clean and unclean. 00:39:49.520 |
Chapter 12 deals with the ritual defilement that follows childbirth. 00:39:57.520 |
that one of the biggest things they talk about defilement was having children, 00:40:09.520 |
we think of one of the most sacred times in our life is when a woman bears children. 00:40:18.520 |
And even in rough areas of neighborhoods, if you see a mom with small children, 00:40:23.520 |
everybody all of a sudden becomes gentle and gracious, 00:40:26.520 |
because there's something sacred about that, about a mom and their young children. 00:40:31.520 |
And so in our mind, we think of one of the most sacred periods that people experience 00:40:40.520 |
But in the book of Leviticus, when is she the most defiled? 00:40:46.520 |
So everything related to childbirth, having children, the monthly cycle, 00:41:01.520 |
Remember the book of Genesis talks about that, 00:41:04.520 |
as they increased in number, what also increased? 00:41:09.520 |
The more they increased, the more sin increased on earth. 00:41:13.520 |
So her giving birth, she's not giving birth to innocent little children. 00:41:18.520 |
She's bringing forth more children that needs to be atoned for for sins. 00:41:22.520 |
So remember when she gave birth to a female, she was unclean for how many days? 00:41:40.520 |
So again, all of this is to embed into the culture of Israelites 00:41:48.520 |
Every human being born into this world is deserving of the wrath of God, 00:41:52.520 |
but God is being gracious because he's providing a way for sinners to draw near to him. 00:41:59.520 |
And then remember we talked about the disease of leprosy, 00:42:04.520 |
and disease of leprosy in the Bible clearly points to sin. 00:42:09.520 |
The devastation of sin, the result of sin, the end result of it, 00:42:12.520 |
how they're put outside the camp, how their skin disease affects other people 00:42:17.520 |
so they can't fellowship, they're in isolation, 00:42:20.520 |
and all of that points to the devastation of sin when it comes into mankind. 00:42:25.520 |
So all of this is related to chapter 12 to 15, 00:42:28.520 |
the uncleanness is related to reproduction of sin in mankind. 00:42:34.520 |
And that's what needs to be atoned for, that's what needs to be cleansed. 00:42:40.520 |
So the purity laws identify life's brokenness due to human sinfulness, 00:42:43.520 |
while holiness laws identify sins like sexual immorality. 00:42:50.520 |
So if you remember, Leviticus is identifying clean and unclean, 00:42:58.520 |
Part of it is also to separate them from the Gentiles. 00:43:03.520 |
So if you wanted Israel to stay pure for the purpose of preparing them for the coming of the Messiah, 00:43:09.520 |
God didn't want them to intermarry because he wanted to use the nation of Israel to keep them holy. 00:43:16.520 |
And what does the word "holy" ultimately mean? 00:43:22.520 |
And so that's his way of, if you can't eat together, it forces you to be separate. 00:43:35.520 |
Chapter 13 talks about how to identify leprosy. 00:43:38.520 |
Chapter 14 talks about how to remedy that when you see that leprosy is gone. 00:43:45.520 |
Did he give anything that they did in order to possibly heal leprosy? 00:43:52.520 |
You were completely dependent on the mercy of God. 00:43:55.520 |
So the very first thing that would happen is once they have leprosy, what would happen? 00:44:06.520 |
They have to be sent outside the camp and literally wait for them to dissolve and die. 00:44:11.520 |
Unless they miraculously are healed in some way. 00:44:16.520 |
And then chapter 14 identifies the priest to go and identify a healing had taken place 00:44:25.520 |
And all of this points to the devastation of sin. 00:44:32.520 |
And again, chapter 15 about the uncleanness, about the monthly flow. 00:44:39.520 |
And then the highlight in chapter 16 of the two goats, the day of atonement. 00:44:43.520 |
And you have one goat as sacrificed, representing our sins being atoned for. 00:45:01.520 |
I don't know why it's easy for me to memorize. 00:45:07.520 |
Remember we talked about how there's kind of discussion as to what that represented. 00:45:12.520 |
And somebody sent me a question this week about that. 00:45:18.520 |
Because the second animal was where they placed their hands. 00:45:21.520 |
Remember in normal sacrifices, they would place the hand on the animal to be sacrificed, 00:45:32.520 |
That you deserve that slaughter, but the animal is taking your place, atoning for your sins. 00:45:36.520 |
But in the day of atonement, they put their hands on the scapegoat. 00:45:41.520 |
The first one is slaughtered, representing the atonement for the nation of Israel. 00:45:46.520 |
Second one is taken out into the wilderness and released. 00:45:50.520 |
So one meaning is obviously clear, that our sins are being taken away. 00:45:56.520 |
But is it being taken away to Satan, outside the camp? 00:46:02.520 |
Does it mean that we're being released to go live? 00:46:07.520 |
Personally, I don't think that's the case, because the animal is not sent out to be taken care of and live happily ever after. 00:46:15.520 |
It's assumed that at some point it's going to wander away and be eaten by wild animals, probably. 00:46:21.520 |
So it signifies the sins of Israel being shunned outside the camp. 00:46:31.520 |
If there's one day of atonement for Israel, it was Christmas. 00:46:35.520 |
The most important holiday, the most sacred day, the most holy day. 00:46:42.520 |
So you know how during the day of atonement, Israelites would travel, but during the day of atonement, everybody would stop. 00:46:49.520 |
And they would, everybody, many of them who were faithful, would come into Jerusalem and basically take two to three, to possibly even four weeks off, just to celebrate this day. 00:47:01.520 |
And then we stop at chapter 17, where it ultimately points to the life of, the life is in the blood, and why without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. 00:47:13.520 |
It went a little bit longer than I was hoping for. 00:47:17.520 |
But I'm going to give you the study questions, and Pastor Mark is going to come up and he's going to give a quick announcement.