Leviticus 23 The Ecclesiastical Calendar

Leviticus 23:1-2 The Lord appointed these festivals, which they are to proclaim as sacred assemblies. This implies a synergy of celebration with holy observances.

Leviticus 23:3 Keep the Sabbath. The fourth commandment. (Exodus 20:8-11) Take a day off every week and rest! (Genesis 2:2-3) Celebrate that the Lord has provided so generously that you can prosper without working all the time.

Leviticus 23:4-8 Passover originated during the Exodus, marking the date that the Jews left Egypt. Since they were in a hurry, they did not have time to put yeast in their bread, hence it is also the feast of unleavened bread. (Exodus 12:14-20). It begins on the fourteenth day of the first month (Nisan). Nisan begins the Jewish calendar (in the Pentateuch), on the first day after the new moon closest to the vernal equinox. The relationship between the lunar and solar calendars, apart from any religious significance, and their history over the millennia in various cultures is fascinating.

  Passover also is mentioned as the day on which the Last Supper was celebrated. (Matthew 26:17, Mark 14:12, Luke 22:1, John 13:1) In every respect, the Passover was consummated during the Last Supper as Jesus identified the bread with His body (Matthew 26:26), and it was truly not leavened by sin. (Hebrews 9:14) The disciples ate the unleavened bread, as Jesus’ body would shortly become the means of their deliverance from the Egypt of sin. Although the temple guard wasn’t as numerous or fearsome as the Egyptian army, they did come to arrest Jesus. 

Leviticus 23:9-14 Offering the wave offering of the first-fruits of the land before partaking of them indicates the necessity of showing our allegiance to Christ in order to receive forgiveness of and deliverance from sin. This takes many forms today. In some circles, saying the sinners’ prayer, in others it is baptism, in others it is public testimony. The simplest text simply says whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. (Romans 10:13)  

Leviticus 23:15-21 The feast of weeks, which begins the day after seven weeks has passed (the fiftieth day), is designated for offering first-fruits from the new grain to the Lord. This lasting ordinance was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1) They were to bring both a wave offering, a burnt offering, and a drink offering to the Lord. 

On Pentecost when the disciples were gathered in the upper room, there was the sound of a rushing, mighty wind and the appearance of tongues of fire, and the disciples began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them. (Acts 2:1-4) The story is well-known, but Peter cited the prophet Joel and the Psalms rather than the Law. (Acts 2:17-21, 25-28,34-35) The disciples were the first-fruits of the New Testament, believers who had become sons and daughters of God through faith in Jesus. 

Leviticus 23:22 Leave the gleanings for the poor and alien. (19:9)

Leviticus 23:23-25 Rosh Hashanah, the feast of trumpets, is the first day of the  seventh month, Tishrei. This prefigures the angels’ blowing trumpets as described in the New Testament, to announce the return of Jesus and the gathering of His people. (Matthew 24:31, 1 Thessalonians 4:16) This is observed annually in Israel with the blowing of the shofars in anticipation of that great day. Many believe this fulfillment will fall on Rosh Hashanah. 

Leviticus 23:26-32 The day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, is nine days later, on the tenth of Tishrei. It is to be observed as a Sabbath rest, with an assembly and presentation of food offerings to the Lord.  This was described in considerable detail earlier. (Leviticus 16) It points to Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice. (Hebrews 9:23-28) The timing in the ecclesiastical calendar is a bit of a mystery since we observe Good Friday before Easter, the day after the Passover Seder. It is unclear to me why this falls in the seventh month of the Jewish calendar.

Leviticus 23:33-43 Succoth, the feast of tabernacles, begins five days later on the 15th of Tishrei, lasting for a week. An assembly is held on the first and eighth days. Branches from different types of trees are taken before the Lord. They are to live in temporary shelters, to remind the Israelites of living in tents in the desert during the Exodus. Perhaps this is a picture of being caught up in the air to be with the Lord after the angels’ trumpet blasts announce His return. (1 Thessalonians 4:17) On that day, we will shed our temporary earthly bodies for the glorified bodies He will give us. 

Leviticus 23:44 Moses announced the ecclesiastical calendar to the Israelites. This is somewhat different, and much more systematic than our modern calendar. We celebrate Christmas as the birth of Jesus, which has no corresponding observance in Leviticus 23. Easter is of course the third day after Good Friday, celebration of Jesus’ resurrection. Many churches observe Pentecost, celebrating the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. We do not typically observe the holy days of the seventh month, most likely because they haven’t been fulfilled yet. The modern liturgical calendar has a season for every week, including Advent, Epiphany, Lent, and so on. The important point of Leviticus 23 is that all holy days point to Jesus. It is sad when the commercialization of Christmas overwhelms references to Jesus’ birth. Such crass worldliness was not unknown in Moses’ day, hence the warnings in this chapter.

The church has struggled with descending into cold formalism throughout its history. Whether this is the result of activity by the world, the flesh, or the devil has varied. Formal religion has its place in retaining a structure of godliness in these eras of coldness, but every generation needs a fresh fire of personal relationship with Jesus kindled anew. We need the whole gospel as expounded in all of the Bible, and we need the direct intervention of the Holy Spirit to apply these truths to our lives and thusly experience God’s presence. Others have written at length about the specifics of this process. We must simply remember that the whole of the Christian life includes doctrinal truth, personal experience with God, and the consequent implications for eschewing sin, relating to others, generosity to the poor, sharing the gospel, and so forth. Structure is part of this, but only part.

Leviticus 21-22 More Rules for Us

Leviticus 21 The Behavior of Priests

Leviticus 21 In giving instructions for the Levitical priests lives and conduct, Moses is pointing towards the New Testament priesthood of believers. (1 Peter 2:9, Revelation 1:6, 5:10, 20:6) He also paints a picture of Jesus, in His role as our great high priest (Hebrews 4:14, 6:20, 7:24). In this passage, one of the common themes is that we, as priests, must avoid anything that would cast doubt on our loyalty to God, in others’ eyes or our own. Purity of heart enables us to see God and Christ in this life. It is ultimately what enables us to act as intermediaries between God and man, revealing His purity in human form (as Jesus did), and bringing the stuff of life in this world to His holiness. 

Leviticus 21:1-8 Priests must avoid anything that will make them ceremonially unclean. In the New Testament God cleanses what the Israelites deemed unclean. (Acts 10:28, Romans 14:14), but Christians must still reject idolatry (2 Corinthians 6:17). Presenting food offerings to the Lord is now transcendently celebrating the Lord’s supper. We must not do it in an unworthy fashion, but correctly discern the body of Christ.  (1 Corinthians 11:27-32) 

Leviticus 21:9 We must not disgrace the Lord, for example by sexual immorality. (1 Corinthians 6:18-19)

Leviticus 21:10 A priest must show due respect in appearance, specifically in hair and clothing. (1 Corinthians 11:2-16)

Leviticus 21:11-12 A priest must not become ceremonially unclean by contact with a dead body. When Jesus raised Lazarus, He didn’t touch him, but went to see his body to speak life into him.  (John 11:43-44)

Leviticus 21:7,13-15 A priest may only marry a virgin from among his own people. Believers should not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. (2 Corinthians 6:14) 

Leviticus 21:16-23 Only a person without physical defect can be a priest. The blood of Christ cleanses our conscience from acts that lead to death. Our heart that must be free from defect in order to serve God.  (Hebrews 9:14)  

Leviticus 21:24 Although these instructions are for priests, Moses told them to all Israel so they would understand God’s standards. The epistles to the Corinthians and the Hebrews were written so that both Jewish and gentile believers would understand what Jesus calls us to. Peter and John also agreed, writing to believers scattered abroad and to those experiencing the apocalyptic unveiling of the last days.

Leviticus 22 More rules for priests

In reading some of these rules, it is very hard to understand either natural or spiritual backgrounds or implications. They seem like arbitrary rules. One theme does come through -  these rules pertain to every aspect of life. God is interested in every dimension of our existence, and has plans for us in all of them. We must give what is best to God in all things.

• Leviticus 22:3 Ceremonial behavior, i.e., public rites not to be contaminated by personal wrongs. (No pun intended.)
• Leviticus 22:4 Bodily infections & health.
• Leviticus 22:5-8 Vermin likely to carry disease are like disgusting habits.
• Leviticus 22:10-11 Provision for and dignity of slaves.
• Leviticus 22:12-13 Marriage and divorce.
• Leviticus 22:14-16 Making mistakes, like mistakenly taking other peoples’ stuff.
• Leviticus 22:17-25 Moral defects. We can’t approach God in good conscience if we tolerate known internal sins.
• Leviticus 22:26-28 Motherhood and babies. Childbirth is bringing new life into the world and must be respected.
• Leviticus 22:29-30 Don’t eat old food. The Old Testament was nourishing, but we need to move beyond the elementary teachings to solid food, life in the Holy Spirit. (Hebrews 6:2)

Leviticus 22:9 warns about the consequences of treating the things of the Lord with contempt. It is a capital offense, in an eternal sense.

Leviticus 22:31-33 All types of sin corrupts, pollutes, and poisons what God is doing in and through us.

Leviticus 19-20 Miscellaneous Rules and Punishments

 Leviticus 19 Miscellaneous Rules for Life 

This chapter recaps six of the Ten Commandments with implications of them for specific situations. 

• Leviticus 19:3 Honor your father and mother. (Exodus 20:12) Stand up in the presence of the elderly. (19:32)
• Leviticus 19:3 Observe the Lord’s Sabbaths. (Exodus 20:8-11) When you take possession of the land, allow it to lie fallow for three years, offer the harvest of the fourth year to the Lord. Then in the fifth year you can eat its fruit. (19:23-25)
• Leviticus 19:4 Do not worship idols or metal gods. (Exodus 20:4-5) Do not practice divination or put cuts or tattoos on your body or cut your hair. Do not practice ritual religious prostitution. Do not consult mediums. (19:26-29, 31)
• Leviticus 19:11 Do not steal. (Exodus 20:15) Do not defraud your neighbor. Do not withhold pay for a laborer overnight. (19:11) Do not rob your neighbor. (19:13) Do not use dishonest measures of weight, volume, or size. (19:35-36)
• Leviticus 19:11 Do not lie. (Exodus 20:16) Do not deceive. Do not swear falsely. (19:12) Do not spread slander. (19:16)
• Leviticus 19:16 Do not endanger your neighbor’s life. (Exodus 20:13)

Beyond the Ten Commandments, there are other rules for society that are loosely related to the idea of a society that observes the overarching value articulated in Leviticus 19:18:  Love your neighbor as yourself.

Leviticus 19:1-2 We are to be holy, like YHWH. This is not just about rituals, it is about how we behave in the context of community. The assembly of Israel, the church we are involved in.

Leviticus 19:5-8 While not eating food that has spoiled has clear health implications, when Lazarus had been in the grave for three or four days before Jesus arrived, his sisters knew his body would have started to decay, and would stink. (John 11:39) Nevertheless Jesus restored him to life. When Jesus died, He rose after three days (Luke 24:46). God created decay as a normal mechanism for recycling dead bodies as compost, but this is not the way eternity works. Even in hell, people do not cease to exist. (Mark 9:43-48)

Leviticus 19:9-10 As provision for the destitute, Israelites were required to leave the edges of grain fields unharvested and to not glean every last grape from the vineyard. This provision was not intended to encourage laziness or dependence, because the poor would still have to go and hand-pick these gleanings, likely still a small amount of food, but at least they wouldn’t starve if they put out that effort. Ruth was both poor and a foreigner. (Ruth 2:3) 

Leviticus 19:14-18 A number of specific and general precepts for a just society. These include dealing with aliens, the poor, the disabled, and even our enemies.

• Don’t mock the disabled. I think we try to follow this principle, although every generation needs to be taught it anew. 
• Don’t pervert justice to favor either the powerful or the poor. This is hard because we all have bias based on experience. Regardless of individuals’ behavior, don’t base judgments on class distinctions. 
• Don’t spread slander (implicitly gossip). 
• Don’t do something, or leave some set of conditions that endanger our neighbor’s life. There are some drivers in today’s traffic who brazenly defy this command. Sometimes they reap accordingly. Don’t take that risk. 
• Don’t hate your neighbor by failing to warn them. If they do something wrong, either practically or morally, we should honestly point it out to them, so that we don’t share in their guilt. But on the highway, be very cautious about this. They might be armed with a car.
• Don’t seek revenge. (Matthew 5:38-42)
• Love your neighbor. Jesus quoted this as the second great commandment. (Mark 12:31). But He went further to command us to love our enemies, whether neighbors or not was not. (Matthew 5:43-47) This principle is the foundation for a just society, indeed for the Kingdom of God, who loves His enemies. Is it impractical? In earthly terms, it makes no sense, because it seems to contravene other commands such as justice and holiness. But here we are getting just a hint of how eternity operates, to the extent we can follow all of God’s commands at the same time. Eternal reality is transcendent. We won’t fully get it until we are there. But we can try to observe the golden rule. (Matthew 7:12)

Leviticus 19:19 This is a bit of a mystery. I know of no practical reason to avoid these kinds of mixing. A potential spiritual application: Paul wrote to Timothy that a woman should not adorn herself with  makeup, hairstyles, or elaborate clothing, but with good deeds. (1 Timothy 2:9-10) Perhaps this is a picture of mixing good deeds with common or evil deeds - a believer must not do so.  

Leviticus 19:20-22 Dealing with this situation seems like a compromise. It seems tantamount to giving an out for several heinous behaviors. Having sexual relations with a female slave (likely involuntary even if not forced) who is engaged to another man, is not treated as adultery because she has not yet been freed. The punishment is the normal guilt offering. 

Leviticus 19:33-34 The command to treat immigrants as native-born echoes 19:18 with an additional caveat. If your neighbor is foreign-born, they are still God’s children, even gentiles. This seems to fly in the face of the command to exterminate certain tribes when they entered the promised land. But the difference is that when the Jews settled in Canaan, the natives already there weren’t foreign born. They, the Israelites, were the ones born elsewhere (in Egypt, in the desert). The tribes identified for extinction were specifically called out elsewhere, along with the reason for showing no mercy. (Deuteronomy 7:1-5)

In today’s world, we have laws seeking to control and limit immigration, regardless of how ineffective they may be. This passage does not speak to the issue of legal vs. undocumented immigrants. In that day, no such framework existed. The decision on how to treat aliens leads to behaviors, and is born of the essence of agape, or its absence.

Leviticus 19:37 The admonition to keep all of these commands is based on the overarching reality that His name means “I am that I am”. He is the non-contingent creator of all that we know in this universe. Take Him seriously.

Leviticus 20 Appropriate punishments

Leviticus 20 designates punishments for violating the rules given previously. The rules haven’t changed, this just gives the consequences of breaking them. A combination of repetition with motivation for observing them.

• Leviticus 20:1-5 Sacrificing children to Moloch. (18:21) Stone him to death. Cut off his family.
• Leviticus 20:6 Following mediums and spiritists. (19:31) Excommunication.
• Leviticus 20:7-8 Exhortation to follow His decrees.
• Leviticus 20:9 Cursing father or mother. (19:3; Exodus 20:12) Death.
• Leviticus 20:10 Committing adultery. (18:20; Exodus 20:14) Death.
• Leviticus 20:11 Having sex with father’s wife. (18:8) Death.
• Leviticus 20:12 Having sex with daughter-in-law. (18:15) Death.
• Leviticus 20:13 Homosexuality. (18:22) Death.
• Leviticus 20:14 Marrying both a woman and her mother. (18:17) Death.
• Leviticus 20:15-16 Bestiality. (18:23) Death. Kill the animal also. 
• Leviticus 20:17 Marrying sister or half-sister. (18:9) Excommunication.
• Leviticus 20:18 Having sex during a woman’s period. (18:19) Excommunication.
• Leviticus 20:19-20 Having sex with an aunt. (18:12-13) Childlessness.
• Leviticus 20:21 Marrying his sister-in-law. (18:16) Childlessness.

Leviticus 20:22-24 The Lord says to follow all these decrees and laws in order to inherit the land, and do not do what the previous occupants did. Their punishment is exile. If you do what they did, that will be your punishment as well. (18:28)

Leviticus 20:25-26 Harking back to Leviticus 17, the Lord commands a distinction between clean and unclean animals, birds, and creeping things, because He is holy and He has chosen Israel as His.

Leviticus 20:27 Any medium or spiritist is to be put to death. Previously He had prescribed excommunication for anyone turning to them. (20:6) He now commands the death penalty to those who practice it. 

Leviticus 17-18 Holiness in Blood and Sex

 

 Leviticus 17 The Holiness of Blood

Leviticus 17:1-7 Israelites are forbidden to offer the blood of an animal to any other god than YHWH, and in any location other than the Tabernacle. To offer a sacrifice to a goat demon is to be guilty of bloodshed. It is equivalent to prostitution. The person who does so must be cut off from the people. But this duty (monotheistic worship of the one true God) leads to joy.

Leviticus 17:8-9 The same command is true for anyone who offers a burnt offering elsewhere. Cut them off.

Leviticus 17:10-14 Israelites are forbidden from eating blood. This applies also to foreigners who live among the Israelites. Properly respected, blood makes atonement for life. Eating it results in excommunication. When an animal is killed to be eaten, its blood must be drained on the ground and covered with dirt.

A key statement repeated in verses 11, 14, and 15: the life of a creature is in the blood. Our eternal lives are in Jesus, and specifically through His shed blood. (John 6:53-58) This happened literally on the cross. (John 19:34) and sacramentally at the Last Supper and in partaking of  communion (Luke 22:20, 1 Corinthians 11:25).  Physically we know that blood transports fuel to the various parts of the body, and oxygen, to enable life at the cellular level.   This is at such a detailed bio-molecular level that it cannot be mixed between animals. Blood transfusions have only been done safely since about 1940, and there are still risks of disease being transferred.

  What a picture of spiritual life! There are at least three important functions of blood. Blood carries nutrients to individual cells, much like the transmission of the Scriptures through preaching, reading, discussion, that is food for the soul. (Hebrews 5:12) Blood also transports oxygen to individual souls so that they can breathe and the nutrients become fuel for both growth and activity, much as Ruach HaKodesh breathes life into the Word of God we have received. (2 Timothy 3:16) Blood also transports the byproducts of this process at the cellular level away to be eliminated in the digestive tract, as Jesus removes our sins to be remembered no more. (Hebrews 10) 

Leviticus 17:15-16 Almost as an afterthought, anyone eating an animal found dead or torn by wild animals must ceremonially cleanse themselves through bathing and washing their clothes.

Leviticus 18 Sexual Relationships

Leviticus 18:1-5 The people of YHWH are to be different from the Egyptians and the Canaanites. The phrase “I am the Lord” (echoing Exodus 3:14-15) is repeated in 18:1,5,21, & 30. His ways are distinctly different from those of the world. He created humankind to function in a distinct way. Although we all fall short, His blessing comes to those who obey, and there are consequences for disobedience.

Leviticus 18:6-18 Incest is forbidden, and specific types are enumerated in detail. To commit sexual immorality is to put self over God.  They go hand-in-hand down a path towards the end described below. One particular prohibition, that of having sex with a woman and her sister (18:18), was violated by Jacob in marrying both Leah and Rachel. (Genesis 29:23-30) This was orchestrated by Laban, who bore the brunt of God’s displeasure, but also did lead to family tensions that continued through the adult lives of Joseph and Benjamin. 

Leviticus 18:19 A woman experiences pain and uncleanness during her menstrual period. Men should respect her.

Leviticus 18:20 Do not commit adultery. (Exodus 20:14) Frequently repeated, but ignored today.

Leviticus 18:21 Do not offer your children as sacrifices to Moloch. There is a difficulty in understanding Abraham’s offering of Isaac. (Genesis 22:2) In effect, God told Abraham to profane His Name by offering Isaac as a burnt offering. When he was about to commit the act, God intervened to stop him (Genesis 22:12), but all the explanations fall short. Yes, this was a foreshadowing of Jesus being offering His own life, but Jesus did so of His own free will, having prayed through the issue. (Luke 22:42-44) In any event, the warning of consequences of child sacrifice ought to give a chill to anyone who advocates abortion without restriction.  

Leviticus 18:22 Homosexuality is forbidden, and its consequences were repeated in the New Testament. (Romans 1:27)

Leviticus 18:23 Bestiality is also forbidden. 

Leviticus 18:24-28 The response is tied to the Land of Israel. It vomited out the Canaanites who practiced these things, and the same would happen to the Israelites when they did. (2 Chronicles 36:15-21) The land was defiled by these sins, and it reacted as a person would who ingests something gross. It spewed them out forcibly. 

 

Leviticus 18:29-30 Israel’s defense was to cut off any person who practiced these things. Excommunicate them. Execute them. Or else, they would be exiled. 

The immorality of modern society seems overwhelming, to the point where anyone who challenges abortion on demand or rampant homosexuality or limits on sexual relationships is summarily labeled by news and social media, politicians, and influencers as being Neanderthals or prudes. The consequences of this for our society cannot be dismissed. God is not mocked. (Galatians 6:7) Individuals will face either the judgment seat of Christ (to receive mercy) or the Great White Throne of judgment (to receive justice). Society appears to have a longer timeline, but God lives in eternity. Even Sodom and Gomorrah and the Canaanites had ample time to repent, but not unlimited.  (Genesis 14; Genesis 18:20-19:25. Genesis 15:16;  Deuteronomy 9:3-5)