Thursday Night Bible Study

Leviticus 19-Leviticus 20 (Click title for audio access)

"The Exercise Of Holiness"  •  10.27.11  •  Thursday Night Bible Study, Calvary Christian Fellowship

Intro.

- Leviticus 19 continues with the Lord's directive toward a moral life that would be proper for His people. Some of what we read may seem like common sense today. It was not common then.

- We have had the benefit of thousands of years of Biblical instruction, even living in a country that was founded on Biblical principles. These Israelis were pioneers.

- They were being prepared by God to walk into a land corrupted in an unprecedented way.

- God's prescription to heal the land from it's corruption is a people who will be like He is. Holy. God's expectation for the people was the expression of holiness and here is how it would work out.

I. Holiness Towards The Lord (19 v.1-8)

II. Holiness Towards Neighbors (19 v.9-22)

III. Holiness Towards Wickedness (19 v.23-20:27)

Text

I. Holiness Towards The Lord (19 v.1-8)

•  Leviticus 19:1-8  :  "And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 'Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and keep My Sabbaths: I am the Lord your God. Do not turn to idols, nor make for yourselves molded gods: I am the Lord your God. And if you offer a sacrifice of a peace offering to the Lord, you shall offer it of your own free will. It shall be eaten the same day you offer it, and on the next day. And if any remains until the third day, it shall be burned in the fire. And if it is eaten at all on the third day, it is an abomination. It shall not be accepted. Therefore everyone who eats it shall bear his iniquity, because he has profaned the hallowed offering of the Lord; and that person shall be cut off from his people.'"  : God will for you. Be holy, because He is holy. Holiness does not refer to sinless perfection. It does not refer to angelic disposition.

- It means that you are set apart, wholly belonging to Him, reserving yourself completely and exclusively for His use! You might say that you want to be holy. Where does God begin to train us?

- Holiness does not begin in public, where the world can see. It begins in the home. It's practiced under your familiy's roof.

- He begins in the home, with the first authority of our lives. He tells the children of Israel that they were to revere their parents, meaning that they were to respect them.

- There is no qualifying statement, ie. "Respect them if you want or if they are respectable."

- When you live under their roof, it's a desire to live peaceably and in an orderly fashion, obeying them. When not under their roof, remain open to them so that they can speak into your life.

- When it comes time to care for them, do so as unto the Lord and with what means you have.

- Second, they were to keep His Sabbaths. The Sabbath was a private matter as well. Don't do work on that day. Hold on and make sure that you obey His command to rest.

- We are not under Sabbath law, but we are to fully rest in Christ for our completed salvation. God put His stamp on this. He is the Lord! Are you at rest in what Christ has done for you?

- God continues by telling them not to turn to idols. Idolatry was rampant in Canaan and a very real temptation. Beware of your heart's desire to turn toward idols. We have to be careful as well.

- Your worship shall not be forced. It must be voluntary, an expression of your love the Lord. Notice that God talks specifically about the peace offering. This was the offering of fellowship.

- Holiness begins with a private walk with God, consistently in fellowship with Him.

- For the people of Israel, they were to literally eat of the fellowship offering or be cut off. You and I have no such offering to literally eat of, but without fellowship, how can we say we have life?

II. Holiness Towards Neighbors (19 v.9-22)

•  Leviticus 19:9-18  :  "When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. And you shall not glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather every grape of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger: I am the Lord your God. You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another. And you shall not swear by My name falsely, nor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the Lord. You shall not cheat your neighbor, nor rob him. The wages of him who is hired shall not remain with you all night until morning. You shall not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind, but shall fear your God: I am the Lord. You shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty. In righteousness you shall judge your neighbor. You shall not go about as a talebearer among your people; nor shall you take a stand against the life of your neighbor: I am the Lord. You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord."  :  Proper worship of the Lord leads to proper treatment of our neighbors. After each of these commands, you'll notice the phrase "I am the Lord your God." That happens 15 times in this chapter!

- God is saying, "What I have just said matters to me. What I have just said is endorsed as My plan for your life." He begins with the treatment of the poor and the stranger.

- God has a heart for those less fortunate than ourselves and He wants us to share in that.

- Israel would not have fields for many years to come, but when they did, they were to reap from every place except for the corners. These were to be left for those who would happen by.

- Notice that they were not instructed to bag the fruit and deliver it. They were to leave the corners unpicked, so that those that were poor could come and gather their own food.

- For those that they would live near, they were to be honest and honorable with one another. Honest in telling the truth to a neighbor and honorable in paying out wages to those who worked.

- Let the day laborer go home with the wages that he had earned that day. Don't withhold it!

- Be careful how you treat the vulnerable. Be fair, not giving partiality to them simply because they are poor, nor on account of their riches. Judge righteously!

- He tells them that they are not to be talebearers, slanderers or gossips against one another. What a good word for us today. Slander is a serious evil to the Lord.

˚ "How can you tell the difference between gossip and legitimate prayer requests? Do you lower your voice? Do you allow yourself to be used as a source?"             Skip Heitzig

- Slander is the beginning, then comes the legal desire for revenge in falsely testifying against him, looking for vengeance, bearing a grudge. None of that is appropriate for God's people.

- He tells them, look to love your neighbor as yourself! Instead of slander, speak the truth of their goodness. Stand beside them and help them when they are in trouble. This is God's heart!

- Now, if you have something against a brother, rebuke him. Tell him, but don't hold it in!

•  Leviticus 19:19  :  "You shall keep My statutes. You shall not let your livestock breed with another kind. You shall not sow your field with mixed seed. Nor shall a garment of mixed linen and wool come upon you."  : God gives them illustrations that will help them to cement the concept of holiness.

- One breed of animal must mate with it's own kind, not with another. The field would have one seed at a time. The garment was to be totally line or totally wool.

- These illustrated the need for holiness among the people of God. They were to be whole, complete, not mixed in any way.

•  Leviticus 19:20-22  :  "Whoever lies carnally with a woman who is betrothed to a man as a concubine, and who has not at all been redeemed nor given her freedom, for this there shall be scourging; but they shall not be put to death, because she was not free. And he shall bring his trespass offering to the Lord, to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, a ram as a trespass offering. The priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering before the Lord for his sin which he has committed. And the sin which he has committed shall be forgiven him."  : Women had very little in the way of rights of equality in ancient times.

- A woman without a family was forced into this type of formal relationship, whereby she belonged to another man in a binding relationship, which would serve to create more children.

- If a man took interest in such a woman, God is saying that this man should be ready to take responsibility for his relations with her, otherwise, face a scourging.

- There would be scourging for both, but the man would be responsible to bring the offering for forgiveness. This was a sin against the man and the woman. He was held responsible in their society.

III. Holiness Towards Wickedness (19 v.23-20:27)

•  Leviticus 19:23-30  :  "When you come into the land, and have planted all kinds of trees for food, then you shall count their fruit as uncircumcised. Three years it shall be as uncircumcised to you. It shall not be eaten. But in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, a praise to the Lord. And in the fifth year you may eat its fruit, that it may yield to you its increase: I am the Lord your God. You shall not eat anything with the blood, nor shall you practice divination or soothsaying. You shall not shave around the sides of your head, nor shall you disfigure the edges of your beard. You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you: I am the Lord. Do not prostitute your daughter, to cause her to be a harlot, lest the land fall into harlotry, and the land become full of wickedness. You shall keep My Sabbaths and reverence My sanctuary: I am the Lord."  :  God decreed that in the first four years of their being in the land, they were to take to planting trees for food, but not take from the land until the 5th year in.

- The land was sick and the fruit was to be considered uncircumcised.

- In the fourth year, that fruit belonged to the Lord. He had brought them out and He was deserving of receiving the first fruits.

- As new inhabitants of the land, they were to remain distinctive, not allowing even the hint of compromise with the world.

- They were not to eat anything that was not properly bled. The life was in the blood and they were to respect that. They were to steer clear of anything having to do with the occult.

- Today, you would not find a person of God seeking to know their future through palm or tarot card readers or through astrological charts.

- They were not to bear marks that would cause confusion, even looking outwardly distinctive!

- In those days, those who were involved in cultic practices shaved in odd ways and cut themselves in odd ways. Tattoos in that day were a sign of cultic practice.

- The principle today is simple: Don't even dress in a mannner that would cause people to wonder about your allegiances lie!

- Some might be tempted to think that this was not that bad. We could check out the palm reader just for fun! God says that this is what made the land full of wickedness!

•  Leviticus 19:31-37  :  "Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God. You shall rise before the gray headed and honor the presence of an old man, and fear your God: I am the Lord. And if a stranger dwells with you in your land, you shall not mistreat him. The stranger who dwells among you shall be to you as one born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God. You shall do no injustice in judgment, in measurement of length, weight, or volume. You shall have honest scales, honest weights, an honest ephah, and an honest hin: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe all My statutes and all My judgments, and perform them: I am the Lord."  :  When the people came into the land, they were to be free from the problems that plagued the Canaanites.

- They were to go away from mediums or arts that considered the dead. They were to be a society of honor for their elders. They were to be built on hospitality toward strangers.

- They were to be honest in all of their dealings. The land was to be one of love for God and for the people that would encounter the land.

•  Leviticus 20:1-9  :  "Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 'Again, you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘Whoever of the children of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell in Israel, who gives any of his descendants to Molech, he shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone him with stones. I will set My face against that man, and will cut him off from his people, because he has given some of his descendants to Molech, to defile My sanctuary and profane My holy name. And if the people of the land should in any way hide their eyes from the man, when he gives some of his descendants to Molech, and they do not kill him, then I will set My face against that man and against his family; and I will cut him off from his people, and all who prostitute themselves with him to commit harlotry with Molech. And the person who turns to mediums and familiar spirits, to prostitute himself with them, I will set My face against that person and cut him off from his people. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am the Lord your God. And you shall keep My statutes, and perform them: I am the Lord who sanctifies you. For everyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death. He has cursed his father or his mother. His blood shall be upon him."  :  God speaks severely toward His covenant people regarding the idolatry, especially toward Molech, whose worship demanded human sacrifice.

- To be involved in such a deity would insure that God would rise to defend the sacrificed baby and turn Himself against them. Notice that God's people are also called to responsibility.

- The people are not to hide their eyes from their brother or sister's sins. They were to be held accountable to act in a punitive way toward that person. Death was the sentence.

- How serious does God take idolatry and dishonoring their parents? Death was the sentence!

- God calls them to a holiness that demands responsibility toward what He hates! We are vehicles that God uses to bring about His will on Earth.

•  Leviticus 20:11,12-21 : "The man who lies with his father’s wife has uncovered his father’s nakedness; both of them shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them. If a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death. They have committed perversion. Their blood shall be upon them."  :  As we look at these verses, they represent God's sentence upon what He clearly laid out for us in chapter 18.

- As a result, we'll suffice it to say that in a theocracy, much of what is readily accepted and celebrated in the world in terms of sexual ethics, is condemned and cause for death.

- Lying with a step-mother brings death. Sex with a daughter-in-law: Death!

- Their guilt wiill be theirs to bear. Verse 13, God says homosexuality is worthy of death. Verse 14 tells us that polygamy would be the cause for burning, some believe with a mark of some sort.

- In verse 15, bestiality warranted the death penalty for the man and the animal, as well as verse 16 in the case of the woman. Think this is something ancient?

- Three days ago, in the New York area, a new proposal for sex education currciulum reportedly to include information regarding sex with animals![i] God help us!

- Verse 17 covers the condemnation of sexual relations between siblings. Sex during a woman's period was condemned by God in verse 18.

- A person who would do this was willing to say of God's command, "Who cares what He says?" Someone who is holy is going to say, "I care what He says!"

- Verses 19-21 covers relations with an aunt or a brother's wife. They would not die, but their lines would not continue. They would die without children, a major curse in that day.

•  Leviticus 20:22-27  :  "You shall therefore keep all My statutes and all My judgments, and perform them, that the land where I am bringing you to dwell may not vomit you out. And you shall not walk in the statutes of the nation which I am casting out before you; for they commit all these things, and therefore I abhor them. But I have said to you, 'You shall inherit their land, and I will give it to you to possess, a land flowing with milk and honey.' I am the Lord your God, who has separated you from the peoples. You shall therefore distinguish between clean animals and unclean, between unclean birds and clean, and you shall not make yourselves abominable by beast or by bird, or by any kind of living thing that creeps on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean. And you shall be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine. A man or a woman who is a medium, or who has familiar spirits, shall surely be put to death; they shall stone them with stones. Their blood shall be upon them.’"  :  All of these things that God calls them to do were in direct opposition to that which God hated! God justly hated the sins of the Canaanites.

- He hated their injustice, idolatry, sexual perversion, cruelty. Everything that they did was abominable to Him, therefore, God hated them! But the Israeli's had a chance to turn things around.

- In all that God instructed them, it was for the purpose of keeping them separate and clean. What for? Why is it so important? Consider this: God was destroying a group of nations for their sin.

- It was sin that was chosen, practiced and perfected. The Israelis were just as capable of the same sinful activities. If they went down this road, they also would be wiped out.

- If that happened, God's plan of redemption for the sin of the world would be wiped out with them! The people that were to bring the Messiah into existence, would themselves no longer exist.

- This brings it to our level. We exist to perpetuate that thread of redemption.

- Our lives represent redemptive value, so God would warn us, to be holy, different, so as not to ruin the redemptive plan that He intends to bring from our lives.

Conclusion

- God tells us to be holy, not because it's His preference, but because it's His person! He is holy and we are to reflect His values. It begins at home, in private.

- Are you wholly His when you are alone? Amongst your family? Consider that this week. Are you holy towards those that come into contact with you? Are you fair, honest and loving toward them?

- Are you holy in your attitudes towards that which God deems to be wicked? Does your voting record reflect His values? Do you oppose what He opposes?

- Let it be said of us, that we strive to be holy as He is holy!

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[i] http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/10/24/some-parents-shocked-by-nycs-recommended-sex-ed-curriculum/