FEBRUARY 24
Leviticus
15:1-16:28
This is the
chapter that we've all been waiting for…not. But hey, it does make you wonder a
little, why we have it in the Bible. God is the one who told Moses to tell this
to the people. There is a message in all of this. One message was for the
nation, having to do with their view of their need before God. These things
taught them what was holy and what was common, and what was clean and what was
unclean. All of their lives and disciplines would have daily reminders of how
they stood before God. For us as disciples, the other message is that even
though these "rules" don't apply to us, God still wants us to have a
mindset that there is to be holiness in how we live before the Lord and that
holiness is to be valued. There is a "cleanness" that is important
that we should seek to maintain in our behavior and attitudes as we honor God.
This mindset has nothing to do with "works" or earning God's love,
but it has to do with having a sober attitude toward where we live, and a
grateful attitude toward whom we serve.
One of the
challenges today is to think of why chapter 15 comes before chapter 16
topically. I think it has to do with the fact that chapter 15 deals with very
regular parts of life and ceremonial cleanness, that is, readiness to worship
at the tabernacle. Chapter 16 has to do with the national Day of Atonement. If
you understand the importance of chapter 16, chapter 15 is letting people know
that before that day or any of the important days of worship, (the Passover,
for example) they needed to plan their lives accordingly so they would be
ceremonially clean and able to worship at the tabernacle. This reminds me of
what God told Moses to tell the people when they were about to come before the
mountain and make the Mosaic Covenant in Exodus 19:15. Apparently this command
didn't have anything to do with cooties.
Leviticus 15
This chapter
follows a pattern: Man who is sick, man who is not sick, woman who is not sick,
woman who is sick. In the case of both sick people, after they were well, they
were to go to the tent and make an offering of devotion and an offering for the
cleansing of sin. This is easy for them to do now, since they are living around
the tabernacle, but later when they are in the land, this will mean taking a
road trip (depending when they lived) to either Gilgal, then Shiloh,
then Nod and finally Jerusalem. That would require obedience, but most
importantly, gratefulness to God for their cure. I wonder if they ever obeyed
this once they were in the land and the tabernacle was harder to get to? In the
case of the well people, their normal bodily functions only made them
"unclean." The passage of time and bathing made them clean again.
Vs. 1-12 These
general rules seem to apply to anyone who has any emission. Notice that it
means that if it involves intercourse, both people are unclean and the sheets
have to be washed.
Vs. 13-15 This
emission could have been due to disease or infection, but it is definitely
sickness. One recurring thing in this section will be the seven days of
cleansing followed by sacrifice. There is one suggestion I read that linked
this to gonorrhea. Who knows? This meant that this person was a perpetual
hazard to people who wanted to be ceremonially clean. Also, when this person
was cured, they would have to travel to the tabernacle, wherever it was, and
offer sacrifices for their cleansing. I wonder if they did?
As disciples,
what is interesting to me is our response after we have recovered from
something. We don't have to give an offering of devotion and an offering of
cleansing and forgiveness. We offer up (if at all) a quick prayer, and we thank
God that we can eat bratwurst again. Even though doctors and antibiotics are
involved, we need to remember that only God can cure. We should be grateful. This
is what Israel was learning.
Vs. 16-18 Does
this surprise you? Since this involved the normal functions of life, it was
cleansed by water and a person didn't need a sacrifice or a trip to Jerusalem.
If it had required a trip and a sacrifice, that would have really kept the
population down.
The first part
has to do with a wet-dream or masturbation. I get that. Any emission of semen
made a man unclean until the evening. The second part has to do with making
love, being one flesh. This is something good and, being mentioned here, was
obviously in the context of marriage. This is something good and commanded and
invented by God. So, why the uncleanness? I think it is because of touching the
semen. I think God is making a point, not because of it being "yucky,"
but because of it being special in some sense. As part of the reproductive
process there is an aspect of the transfer of life, the transfer of sin, the
fact that there is a divinely ordained miracle involved and maybe that in this
miracle there is a measure of tragedy because of what is transferred along with
the life.
Another thing
that is interesting is that the whole reason to be ceremonially clean was to be
wholly ready for God and to be able to receive His blessing. The
"cleanness" was symbolic of total devotion and separation to God.
There were times when God demanded that the people were to be clean, and He
gave the command in Exodus 19:15, Be
ready for the third day; do not go near a woman. As already mentioned, it
probably wasn't because women have cooties, it was because husband and wife
were to appear before Him, "clean," devoted, fully focused on Him and
separated to Him. The NT version of this is 1 Corinthians 7:5, Do not deprive one another, except perhaps
by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but
then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack
of self-control.
Now this is not
the case with us at all, but just think of the logistical ramifications there
would be in our lives if we knew we couldn't go to church if we had done
something the night before. It would keep our actions in the forefront of our
thinking and planning. We would have to think, "Ok if I do that after 9 p.m.,
it will go into the next day so I'll be disqualified. So we'll have to do that
earlier so we'll be cleansed by evening.
Since the real
focus is being cleansed to stand before God, you would always be thinking about
the events before you and your actions. In a positive way, it would keep your
connection with God always at the top of your thinking and planning. I'm glad
we don't have those laws, but I would probably benefit, as a disciple, from
that kind of thinking.
Vs. 19-24 I
just have a few notes here.
First, the
reason for the longer time of cleansing here was because of the blood. Blood
has a special character in the Bible, because Leviticus 17:11 says, For the life of the flesh is in the blood…
Also, the blood after menstruation is "dead."
Second,
"menstrual impurity" doesn't really appear in the Hebrew. The word is
either "menstruation" or "separation," but it seems that
the word "impurity" was added to the range of meaning because of this
context, that is, menstruation causing ceremonial uncleanness. This is one
place where you want to go with the KJV or NKJV. There is nothing impure about
the process, and impurity isn't necessary to the translation. Yucky might work,
but not impurity.
In v. 24, there
is the case of a husband unwittingly making love to his wife at the beginning
of her period. Since he touches the blood, he too is unclean for seven days. In
Leviticus 18:19, husbands will be commanded to leave their wives alone during
the wife's "separation," or "menstruation."
As said before,
these commands are object lessons for the nation of Israel, not for anyone
else. God is weaving the regard for His holiness, and their separation to Him,
into the daily fabric of all they do.
Without being
legalistic or rigid, it is good for us as disciples, to have a high regard for
God's holiness and our lives as being separated to Him. As we live for Christ
every day, following Him in the harvest, Christ becomes woven into all we do.
Vs. 25-30 This
is a sickness, and therefore the healing was followed up by sacrifice. This is
the woman we just read about with the issue of blood in Mark 5:25.
Vs. 31-33 I
made this its own section because of v. 31, explaining the purpose of these
laws. The real focus was that the people should know they needed to be
separated unto God, coming to Him with a sense of holiness and purity. God
allowed exceptions; for example, in Mark 5:25, the Son of God allowed Himself
to be approached and touched by an "unclean" woman.
Leviticus
16:1-28
This chapter
describes the Day of Atonement in October. The priest could only enter the Most
Holy Place one time a year. Just as an exercise in Bible study, go slowly
though the chapter and try to list the order of events.
Vs. 1-5 Aaron
and his sons were only to go beyond the veil into the Most Holy Place once a
year on the Day of Atonement. God says it is because of the mercy seat and His
glory being in that place. What is emphasized here is that Aaron could only
come in with the blood of the sacrifices and, first, as a sinner needing
forgiveness and serving the people. It isn't until v. 23 that Aaron wears the
high priest's clothing.
Vs. 6-10 This
explains what the animals are for. That second goat is very significant in the
symbolism that God is building into Israel, and it has something to do with us
and our understanding of Jesus.
Vs. 11-14 This
is Aaron's sacrifice for his own sins. Notice that the censer had to be filled
with holy fire from the altar of sacrifice. Also it is significant that the
entire place had to be smoked up. If that represents prayer, I'll bet we don't
pray enough. Hebrews refers to what we're reading here, especially Hebrews 9.
Jesus, as our high priest, had no need to offer a sacrifice for Himself since
He was sinless.
Vs. 15-19 The
main purpose of this event was the yearly covering of the sins of Israel.
Before this could happen, Aaron and the tabernacle had to be cleansed. Aaron
needed cleansing from his own sin, and the tabernacle needed cleansing because
of the effects of being surrounded by sinful people. When all these were
cleansed, then payment was made for the people.
Vs. 20-22 One
of the goats, the scapegoat, had the sins of the people placed on it and was
sent into the wilderness to Azazel. Azazel means removal. To get the best take
on this, I'll give you a couple lines from Eaton's Bible Dictionary:
This word
has given rise to many different views. Some Jewish interpreters regard it as
the name of a place some 12 miles east of Jerusalem, in the wilderness. Others
take it to be the name of an evil spirit, or even of Satan. But when we
remember that the two goats together form a type of Christ, on whom the Lord
"laid the iniquity of us all," and examine into the root meaning of
this word (viz., "separation"), the interpretation of those who
regard the one goat as representing the atonement made, and the other, that
"for Azazel," as representing the effect of the great work of
atonement (viz., the complete removal of sin), is certainly to be preferred.
The one goat which was "for Jehovah" was offered as a sin-offering,
by which atonement was made. But the sins must also be visibly banished, and
therefore they were symbolically laid by confession on the other goat, which
was then "sent away for Azazel" into the wilderness.
Vs. 23-28 After
this cleansing of Aaron and the tabernacle, Aaron would put on his high priest's
clothing and be ready to offer other sacrifices for the Day of Atonement.
Notice that everyone that is associated with taking the offerings out, etc., is
required to wash with water.
This is all
pretty cool. God not only forgave, but He gave them a visual aid of removing
their sins. Their sins were loaded on a scapegoat, and they watched the animal
pass out of sight, taking their sins farther and farther away. That is a symbol
of what Jesus did for each of us. Psalm
103:12 - As far as the east is from the west, So far does He remove our
transgressions from us.
Hebrews 10:4
says, For it is impossible for the blood
of bulls and goats to take away sins. It is referring to this event that
only covered their sins for a year. By contrast, the sacrifice of Christ covers
our sin forever. That forgiveness and relationship with God is something good
to take into the harvest as we follow our Lord.
Mark 7:1-23
One of the
things you wonder about is why Jesus was so hard with the Pharisees and
scribes. I don't think we appreciate how dangerous it is to substitute our
traditions for God's Word. I don't think we fully grasp how easy it is to use
the Word to justify anything, including our lack of mission or fruit. And what
gets lost in all of our tweaking of the Bible to conform to our lifestyle is
our understanding of God and living in authentic relationship with Him. Jesus
was God and could understand their hearts and the ramifications of what they
were doing and teaching.
Vs. 1-5 Isn't
it interesting that they went after Jesus on the topic of being ceremonially
clean. These traditions of the elders were not in the Bible. They were rules,
however, that became law for every Jew.
Vs. 6-13 Notice
how Jesus shows them that rather than honoring God, they are fulfilling a prophetic
judgment that God gave through Isaiah.
Honoring father
and mother had a very strong financial component. Honoring meant caring for
them as their age increased and their health declined. A son was to shape his
life accordingly, to prepare for this coming event. "Corban" was a
trick that honored neither God nor family. I wonder if the opposite of
"Corban" was "Nabroc," giving everything meant for God, to
your parents. J
Vs. 14-23 One
note here is that after Jesus taught this in public, humiliating the Pharisees,
it intensified their hatred for Him and He had to leave Judea for a while.
So what is the
real point in all Jesus says about cleansing? It’s interesting that we're
talking about cleansing here and in Leviticus. What really defiles us is
within, that is, sin. Jesus makes this clear. So, what really cleanses us? That
is what the Pharisees and scribes wouldn't and couldn't find, because the
answer wasn't a "what," but a "who." Who cleanses us is He
who forgives us and then sends His Holy Spirit to live in us. Once we know Him,
it is only by living in that close, daily connection in the Word and following
the Spirit, that we can make sure that what comes out of us is honoring to our
Father.
This is why for
us as disciples, like the priest, the first order of business is to make sure
we are close to Him, in love with Him, in His Word. It affects how we follow
Him in the harvest, making disciples. This is why it is so important for us to
be reaching out and making disciples, because without Christ, no one has a
chance to be forgiven and to have the power of sin broken in their lives.
Psalm
40:11-17
V. 11 After
that great declaration of yesterday, David states his confidence in the Lord
and in His steadfast love and faithfulness. It looked like David's
trials were over but they weren't. It is interesting to me that God gave David
many small deliverances in all the years he ran from Saul, but He made David
learn slowly, waiting for the day when all would be at peace. That is so much
like how God works with us. He teaches us to depend on Him as we follow in the
harvest, not making our lives easy, but showing us over and over that He is
faithful and that He loves us. I think of Paul in this regard. God didn't heal
Paul, but made His grace sufficient for all of Paul's needs. Paul said that he
gloried in his weakness because when he was weak, he was strong - probably
living on his knees before God like David was.
Vs. 12-15 David
was harassed and being pursued.
Vs. 16-17 My
heart clings to these verses, realizing that in order for me to say these as
David did, I need to walk through those same valleys with God. That's how David
and Paul learned. That's how disciples in the harvest learn, and the reward of
living closely with our Lord is worth it.
Proverbs
10:13-14
Try putting the
parallel parts together. The reason these are in couplets is because of the
parallel ideas that are being woven together. To understand them better or see
them clearer for a devotional or short lesson, sometimes rearranging them helps
focus on the real comparison or contrast being made. Just a suggestion:
On the lips of
him who has understanding, wisdom is found, but the mouth of a fool brings ruin
near.
The wise lay up
knowledge (to guide them?), but a rod is for the back of him who lacks sense
(to guide him?).
If you’re reading along
and don’t have a One Year Bible, click on this link http://www.esvbible.org/devotions/every-day-in-the-word/. If that doesn't work, go to http://www.esvbible.org/devotions/ and click on “Every Day in the Word.”
I'm writing these
comments to and for those who are following a One Year Bible and interested in
growing deeper as a disciple, following Jesus in the harvest. My hope is to see
the growth of a discipleship culture in the church. Groups of 3-4 disciples,
meeting weekly, encouraging each other to follow Christ and work to reach out
and make disciples who make disciples. The Bible itself is the most universal
manual we have and key to our growth and service in Christ. Nothing keeps us
more focused on why we are here or what we are to be doing. My comments are only
meant to provide some explanation of the events or to show the flow of God's
plan of redemption. My comments are in no way exhaustive, but are designed to
keep us focused on Christ and our role in His harvest. My hope is that the
people in these groups will grow in Christ and be willing, after a year, to
find 3 others to meet with and encourage in their growth as disciples,
disciples making disciples in the harvest.
If you would like a
complete description of this model of being and making disciples you can find
it in my book: Simply Disciples*Making Disciples.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B011WJIDQA?*Version*=1&*entries*=0
If you would like a more
descriptive commentary that is still readable and concise, I'd recommend the
Bible Knowledge Commentary. It's keyed to the NIV, so the result is the
commentators are constantly telling you what the Greek or Hebrew is. That never
hurts.
I am not endorsing any
particular One Year Bible; in fact, I read something you don't, die revidierte
Lutherbibel 1984.
Anyone reading along with
us is welcome to do so and is encouraged to take their own notes and make their
own observations. If the comments made do not agree with your particular
tradition or understanding, that's OK. Nothing I've written is meant to
criticize any point of view, but only to express the truth of what God has
written to us, as I understand it. Send comments or feedback to dgkachikis@gmail.com.
If you would like
documents containing an entire month of the Reading Notes, go to https://sites.google.com/site/dlkachikis/reading-notes. You can download these to use on your computer or to
print.
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