Day 35: Leviticus 16-18

(The previous post continued the theme from chapters 11-16 which covered sanitation: leprosy and the bodily issues of men and women.)

(Chapter 16 concluded the theme from chapters 11-16 which covered sanitation.)

Leviticus 16

(This chapter covered the Day of Atonement.)

¹ And Jehovah spake unto Moses, after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before Jehovah, and died;
² and Jehovah said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the veil, before the mercy-seat which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy-seat.

(God told Moses to talk to Aaron concerning how Aaron should not come into the Holy Place other than at a specific time.)

(Verses 3-5: What Aaron needed to bring with him when he did go into the Holy Place.)

³ Herewith shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bullock for a sin-offering, and a ram for a burnt-offering.
⁴ He shall put on the holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and shall be girded with the linen girdle, and with the linen mitre shall he be attired: they are the holy garments; and he shall bathe his flesh in water, and put them on.
⁵ And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two he-goats for a sin-offering, and one ram for a burnt-offering.

(God explained Aaron's preparation: blood from a bull for Aaron's sin, holy covering, Aaron washed in water, two goats and a ram for the congregation.)

(Verses 6-10: Casting lots to choose between two goats.)

⁶ And Aaron shall present the bullock of the sin-offering, which is for himself, and make atonement for himself, and for his house.
⁷ And he shall take the two goats, and set them before Jehovah at the door of the tent of meeting.
⁸ And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for Jehovah, and the other lot for Azazel.
⁹ And Aaron shall present the goat upon which the lot fell for Jehovah, and offer him for a sin-offering.
¹⁰ But the goat, on which the lot fell for Azazel, shall be set alive before Jehovah, to make atonement for him, to send him away for Azazel into the wilderness.

(The details for the lots cast for the goats: one was sacrificed and one escaped, hence the term "scapegoat.")

(Verses 11-14: the bull for the sin offering.)

¹¹ And Aaron shall present the bullock of the sin-offering, which is for himself, and shall make atonement for himself, and for his house, and shall kill the bullock of the sin-offering which is for himself:
¹² and he shall take a censer full of coals of fire from off the altar before Jehovah, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the veil:
¹³ and he shall put the incense upon the fire before Jehovah, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy-seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not:
¹⁴ and he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy-seat on the east; and before the mercy-seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times.

(The details for the bull for the sin offering: Aaron used this bull to cover his sins. The mercy-seat was the lid of the Ark which was in the Holy Place and where God said He would appear in Verse 2. This was the occasion that people talk about one person going into the Holy of Holies by themselves on behalf of everyone. He was humble (v. 4), spotless (v. 11), alone (v. 11-14), and emerged victorious, just like Jesus.)

(Verses 15-19: the goat selected for the sacrifice was offered to make atonement for the tabernacle.)

¹⁵ Then shall he kill the goat of the sin-offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the veil, and do with his blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy-seat, and before the mercy-seat:
¹⁶ and he shall make atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleannesses of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions, even all their sins: and so shall he do for the tent of meeting, that dwelleth with them in the midst of their uncleannesses.
¹⁷ And there shall be no man in the tent of meeting when he goeth in to make atonement in the holy place, until he come out, and have made atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all the assembly of Israel.
¹⁸ And he shall go out unto the altar that is before Jehovah, and make atonement for it, and shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about.
¹⁹ And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleannesses of the children of Israel.

(Verses 20-22: the release of the scapegoat.)

²⁰ And when he hath made an end of atoning for the holy place, and the tent of meeting, and the altar, he shall present the live goat:
²¹ and Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, even all their sins; and he shall put them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a man that is in readiness into the wilderness:
²² and the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a solitary land: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.

(Details of the scapegoat: the sin was put on the goat and then the goat carried the sin away from the camp.)

(Verses 23-28: Completion of the sacrifices.)

²³ And Aaron shall come into the tent of meeting, and shall put off the linen garments, which he put on when he went into the holy place, and shall leave them there:
²⁴ and he shall bathe his flesh in water in a holy place, and put on his garments, and come forth, and offer his burnt-offering and the burnt-offering of the people, and make atonement for himself and for the people.
²⁵ And the fat of the sin-offering shall he burn upon the altar.
²⁶ And he that letteth go the goat for Azazel shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp.
²⁷ And the bullock of the sin-offering, and the goat of the sin-offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy place, shall be carried forth without the camp; and they shall burn in the fire their skins, and their flesh, and their dung.
²⁸ And he that burneth them shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp.

(Verses 29-31: What the people did on the Day of Atonement.)

²⁹ And it shall be a statute for ever unto you: in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and shall do no manner of work, the home-born, or the stranger that sojourneth among you:
³⁰ for on this day shall atonement be made for you, to cleanse you; from all your sins shall ye be clean before Jehovah.
³¹ It is a sabbath of solemn rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls; it is a statute for ever.

(God revealed the date of the Day of Atonement to Moses.)

(Verses 32-34: What the high priest did on the Day of Atonement.)

³² And the priest, who shall be anointed and who shall be consecrated to be priest in his father's stead, shall make the atonement, and shall put on the linen garments, even the holy garments:
³³ and he shall make atonement for the holy sanctuary; and he shall make atonement for the tent of meeting and for the altar; and he shall make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly.
³⁴ And this shall be an everlasting statute unto you, to make atonement for the children of Israel because of all their sins once in the year. And he did as Jehovah commanded Moses.

(The Day of Atonement was also known as "Yom Kippur.")




Leviticus 17

(This chapter covered the sanctity of blood.)

(Verses 1-4: Sacrifice must be at the tabernacle and by the appointed priest.)

¹ And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,
² Speak unto Aaron, and unto his sons, and unto all the children of Israel, and say unto them: This is the thing which Jehovah hath commanded, saying,
³ What man soever there be of the house of Israel, that killeth an ox, or lamb, or goat, in the camp, or that killeth it without the camp,
⁴ and hath not brought it unto the door of the tent of meeting, to offer it as an oblation unto Jehovah before the tabernacle of Jehovah: blood shall be imputed unto that man; he hath shed blood; and that man shall be cut off from among his people:

(Verses 5-9: the right way to bring the sacrifice - to the tabernacle, through the priest.)

⁵ To the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices, which they sacrifice in the open field, even that they may bring them unto Jehovah, unto the door of the tent of meeting, unto the priest, and sacrifice them for sacrifices of peace-offerings unto Jehovah.
⁶ And the priest shall sprinkle the blood upon the altar of Jehovah at the door of the tent of meeting, and burn the fat for a sweet savor unto Jehovah.
⁷ And they shall no more sacrifice their sacrifices unto the he-goats, after which they play the harlot. This shall be a statute forever unto them throughout their generations.

(The KJV used the word "devils" in the place of "he-goats" in verse 7. The Hebrew word for this was sa`iyr which the Strong’s Concordance defined as a "he-goat, buck (1. as sacrificial animal, or 2. sa`iyr, may refer to a demon possessed goat like the swine of Gadara (Matthew 8:30-32).")

⁸ And thou shalt say unto them, Whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among them, that offereth a burnt-offering or sacrifice,
⁹ and bringeth it not unto the door of the tent of meeting, to sacrifice it unto Jehovah; that man shall be cut off from his people.

(Verses 10-12: the prohibition against eating blood was pronounced.)

¹⁰ And whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among them, that eateth any manner of blood, I will set my face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among his people.
¹¹ For the life of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh atonement by reason of the life.

("The life of the flesh is in the blood."; Life was "the ability to repair." The ability to repair is in the blood. Jesus is the Life, our ability to repair, which came from Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice of shedding His blood.)

¹² Therefore I said unto the children of Israel, No soul of you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger that sojourneth among you eat blood.

(Verses 13-16: How to respect God's command regarding blood.)

¹³ And whatsoever man there be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among them, who taketh in hunting any beast or bird that may be eaten; he shall pour out the blood thereof, and cover it with dust.

(The blood of these animals was to be poured out on the earth and covered with dust. Some heathen hunters would leave the blood exposed as an offering to a god. Covering the blood would ensure offerings to this "god" were not happening.)

¹⁴ For as to the life of all flesh, the blood thereof is all one with the life thereof: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh; for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof: whosoever eateth it shall be cut off.

(Acts 15:17-21 recorded that James the Lesser referenced the previous four verses during the council's meeting concerning circumcision.)

¹⁵ And every soul that eateth that which dieth of itself, or that which is torn of beasts, whether he be home-born or a sojourner, he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even: then shall he be clean.
¹⁶ But if he wash them not, nor bathe his flesh, then he shall bear his iniquity.

(God explained how to handle blood outside the tabernacle: bleed animal in wild and cover with dust. Eating "road kill" was allowed but made the person unclean.)




Leviticus 18

(This chapter covered laws of sexual morality.)

(Verses 1-5: Introduction to the commands regarding sexual misconduct.)

¹ And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,
² Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, I am Jehovah your God.
³ After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do; neither shall ye walk in their statutes.
⁴ Mine ordinances shall ye do, and my statutes shall ye keep, to walk therein: I am Jehovah your God.
⁵ Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and mine ordinances; which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am Jehovah.

(These misconducts were what the "doings" were in the land of Egypt and Canaan. Paul referenced this verse in Romans 10:5 and Galatians 3:12.)

(Verses 6-9: Incest among immediate family was prohibited.)

⁶ None of you shall approach to any that are near of kin to him, to uncover their nakedness: I am Jehovah.
⁷ The nakedness of thy father, even the nakedness of thy mother, shalt thou not uncover: she is thy mother; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.
⁸ The nakedness of thy father's wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy father's nakedness.
⁹ The nakedness of thy sister, the daughter of thy father, or the daughter of thy mother, whether born at home, or born abroad, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover.

(Verses 10-18: Other applications of the command against incest.)

¹⁰ The nakedness of thy son's daughter, or of thy daughter's daughter, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover: for theirs is thine own nakedness.
¹¹ The nakedness of thy father's wife's daughter, begotten of thy father, she is thy sister, thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.
¹² Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father's sister: she is thy father's near kinswoman.
¹³ Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother's sister: for she is thy mother's near kinswoman.
¹⁴ Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father's brother, thou shalt not approach to his wife: she is thine aunt.
¹⁵ Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy daughter-in-law: she is thy son's wife; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.
¹⁶ Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy brother's wife: it is thy brother's nakedness.
¹⁷ Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter; thou shalt not take her son's daughter, or her daughter's daughter, to uncover her nakedness; they are near kinswomen: it is wickedness.
¹⁸ And thou shalt not take a wife to her sister, to be a rival to her, to uncover her nakedness, besides the other in her life-time.

(Notice, Abram violated v. 9 (Genesis 20:12), Moses' dad violated v.11 (Exodus 6:20), and Judah violated v. 15 (Genesis 38). Jacob violated v. 18 with Leah and Rachel (Genesis 29). However, the Law had not been given at the time of all of these occurrences we saw in the Book of Genesis, so it was not sin. Sin is not the action (what). Sin is the cause (how/why) and the action (what) is the effect. This was why an action could be sin during one dispensation and not sin during another dispensation. For example, after the Law Amnon violated v. 9 with Tamar in 2 Samuel 13.)

(Verses 19-23: Other applications of sexual misconduct.)

¹⁹ And thou shalt not approach unto a woman to uncover her nakedness, as long as she is impure by her uncleanness.

(Sex with women who were menstruating was banned.)

²⁰ And thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbor's wife, to defile thyself with her.

(Adultery was banned.)

²¹ And thou shalt not give any of thy seed to make them pass through the fire to Molech; neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am Jehovah.

(Worshipping Molech was banned. A metal statue of Molech was heated until red-hot and a baby was put in its arms. Drums were beaten to drown out the baby's screams. This was included here because people used Molech to deal with children from unwanted pregnancies.)

²² Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.

(Homosexuality was banned.)

²³ And thou shalt not lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith; neither shall any woman stand before a beast, to lie down thereto: it is confusion.

(Bestiality was banned.)

(Verses 24-30: Summary of the importance of sexual morality.)

²⁴ Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out from before you;
²⁵ And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land vomiteth out her inhabitants.
²⁶ Ye therefore shall keep my statutes and mine ordinances, and shall not do any of these abominations; neither the home-born, nor the stranger that sojourneth among you;
²⁷ (for all these abominations have the men of the land done, that were before you, and the land is defiled);
²⁸ that the land vomit not you out also, when ye defile it, as it vomited out the nation that was before you.
²⁹ For whosoever shall do any of these abominations, even the souls that do them shall be cut off from among their people.
³⁰ Therefore shall ye keep my charge, that ye practise not any of these abominable customs, which were practised before you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein: I am Jehovah your God.

(The acts of sexual immorality defiled people which proved they were not believers and needed to be put away.)

(This post concluded the theme from Chapters 11-16 which covered sanitation. Also, God explained specifics concerning sacrifices and sexual morality.)

Day 36