LEVITICUS 20-272012 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Leviticus 20-27

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2012.

Leviticus chapter 20. We'll be looking at chapters 20 through 27 this week as we continue our journey through the Bible in three years and we're finishing up the book of Leviticus tonight which is exciting because we get to move on to a different book and I was joking with Mario earlier today. You get so excited to finish Leviticus and then you turn the page and you realize oh now I'm in numbers and

And, you know, there's some challenging seasons ahead. You know, we went through Leviticus. God had great things there for us. And he has great things for us in numbers too. But you do got to do a little bit of digging, a little bit of work. And so I want to encourage you to continue to be faithful, even if you don't always get it, even if it doesn't always make sense to you, to be faithful to go with us chapter by chapter, day by day, as we're reading through the Bible over the next three years.

Well, as we look at the book of Leviticus, we're looking at a book that is written to the Levites. It's a book that was written to the priesthood and it was giving them all of the details that they needed to perform their ministry as priests and to make sure that the work was accomplished the way that God wanted to, that the congregation was established.

And so that was the job of the Levites to educate the people of the ways of the Lord, to perform the sacrifices, to take care of the tabernacle. And so we've been looking at all of these things that pertain to the Levites.

Moses wrote this book during the time in the wilderness, and it's looking again primarily at the priestly ministry and the things that they were responsible for.

Now, if you remember the sons of Jacob, he had 12 sons, but Joseph, when he was in Egypt, had two sons. And so Jacob claimed both of those sons for himself. And so it ends up being 13 sons of Jacob, or Jacob is also known as Israel, 13 sons of Israel, or 13 tribes of Israel.

Now we always refer to the 12 tribes of Israel because of this split with Manasseh and Ephraim being adopted by Israel. And when you look at the land, as we'll see in coming weeks, the land being divided up between the 12 tribes, the reason why it's the 12 tribes that are mentioned and not the 13 tribes...

is because the tribe of Levi was handled separately and differently because the tribe of Levi is the tribe that God has given the responsibility to tend to, to take care of, and perform all of the services surrounding the tabernacle.

And so God says, Levi, your descendants, you don't get an inheritance in the land. I'm your inheritance and your service to me is your reward or is your inheritance as far as the tribes go. And so we're looking at the tribe of Levi because it's of the tribe of Levi that all the Levites were who served the tabernacle. And then also the priests were descendants of Levi, specifically descendants of Aaron.

and they were the ones who performed the priestly duties for the nation of Israel. Well, on our timeline, we have looked at the book of Genesis, and we covered a lot of territory in Genesis. We started out, of course, with Adam and Eve. We went through Noah with the flood. We got to see the Tower of Babel, and then God calling Abraham and establishing him as a nation and promising him great things, along with Israel.

his sons Isaac and Jacob. And then we've continued on through Joseph as we got to see the family move to the land of Egypt. Then they're in bondage in Egypt after a new pharaoh rises to power. And so they're in bondage to Egypt for some time. And then God sends Moses. And now we're in the book of Exodus.

And there in Exodus, Moses led out the children of Israel into the wilderness and took them to Mount Sinai where they camped before the Lord. And God gave them the law and began to establish the nation and the religious things that they were to follow. And then on into Leviticus...

As far as the timeline is concerned, I'll scoot ahead a little bit here. As they're in the wilderness in Leviticus, it picks up right about a year after they left Egypt. The tabernacle has just been set up and now they've begun the priestly ministry and they're beginning to put into practice all of the things that God had instructed them.

And so the book of Leviticus takes place or is written within about this one month time period following the setup of the tabernacle and the beginning of the priestly ministry.

Now as we head into Numbers, we'll be carrying on from here as it's immediately after this that now they take a census of Israel. They celebrate the second Passover and they head out into the wilderness to head towards the promised land. And we'll be looking at that in the book of Numbers.

Well, the geography of the book of Leviticus is quite simple. We have the land of Egypt, which is where the nation of Israel was for some time, and they developed into a nation during that time in Egypt. Then Moses led them out, crossed the Red Sea to Mount Sinai, and there at Mount Sinai, all of this has been taking place, the book of Exodus and Leviticus that we've been studying.

They're going to be heading towards Canaan, which is the land that God promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It's the land of Israel today. And so they're headed that way, but they're not quite there yet. And it's going to take them a little bit of time to get there, as we'll see in the coming chapters.

Well, that brings us up to now we're ready to jump into the chapters that we read this week. And so we begin with Leviticus chapter 20. And verse 26 is the key verse. It says, 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. God declares to the nation of Israel, you shall be holy to me.

The word holy means to be set apart, to be devoted to, completely dedicated to something. And God says that something is to be me, that you're to be set apart completely for me. You're my people. I'm your God. He says, I'm holy. I'm set apart. I'm devoted to you. And I've separated you from the peoples that you should be mine.

Now one of the things that I love about the book of Leviticus and one of the reasons why I believe it's so important for us, even though we're not under the old covenant as they were at that time, there's a new covenant in Christ.

But it's important to have these established foundations that we understand the distinction between holy and unholy. And what God desires and requires is that we be set apart unto Him. And there is a big difference between what is holy and what is unholy. There's a big difference between what God desires and what He does not want for us or does not want us to be participating in in our lives.

And these things help us to establish that foundation to recognize even though we're under the covenant of grace that we must not continue on in the things that

Well, God hates and he despises and that must require judgment. And so we must turn away from sin and we see that very clearly throughout the book of Leviticus. And specifically here in chapter 20 of Leviticus, we see the penalties for breaking God's laws. And so God says...

We've been looking at the laws over the past couple of weeks. There's different laws that he's given out regarding different things. And now he's specifying, okay, when this law is broken, here's the penalty. When this law is broken, this is the penalty. And so what God is doing is establishing the nation here at Mount Sinai.

Remember, they weren't a nation before. There was no government system. There was no political system. There was no justice system. They were just a family that continued to grow, but they were in the land of Egypt. And so now God is putting some parameters, some structure to this congregation and establishing this nation, the government, the legal system, how things are to be dealt with, how sin is to be dealt with within the congregation, and so on and so forth. And so

And so he's establishing the structure for this nation. Now, as we look at these things, it is important to understand that these are instructions as far as them establishing the nation. These were not instructions for individuals to carry out, and that's true even today. It was the right way to establish a nation that was devoted to God. And

And so if the United States wanted to be devoted to the Lord, this would be great material to study because these are the things that would need to be established to be devoted to the Lord. These are God's laws for the nation. Well, as we look at this, the penalties for breaking God's law are, well, they're serious. This is not stuff to be, you know, trifle with. It's to be taken seriously. He says if...

someone offers their child to Molech that the penalty was to be death. Now, Molech was a god that the surrounding nations worshipped, and they would heat up this idol, and they would put their babies on the idol, and the baby would burn to death there on the idol, and they would sacrifice it to this god. And so, God says, you're not to be doing that. Now,

As we've looked at these things, we've often noted and understood, well, why does this even need to be said? I mean, who would think of these things? But the reality is, this is what was happening in the world around them. This is what was happening with the nations that they were going into the land of Canaan. They were practicing this. Not only that, but we also see later on in Israel's history, they do practice these things and offer their children to this false god.

And so God says, you're not to do that. Anybody who does that, the penalty is death. But they're to be executed for practicing this. I like what Weersbe had to say about this. He said,

I think it's important to consider, as he points this out, that, you know, we don't necessarily offer our children on idols that are heated up, but you do have the issue of abortion that is an important thing to consider. But then you also have the issue of, you know, the neglect of children. Children aren't being raised up in the ways of the Lord because the parents are pursuing these other gods in their lives. And so, you know, it's, although it seems like a weird practice to us,

to offer a child to Molech. It still continues on today in different forms. Well, going on, the cursing of the father and mother, that was also the death penalty. You can cross-reference that in Deuteronomy chapter 21, verse 18 through 21, where Moses explains, it's not that, hey, your kid back...

to you. So all of a sudden, you know, you just put him to death. No, you take him to the area where the judgments were to be made, where the elders would hear the case, and then all of the men would stone the child if they were indeed doing this. And so it wasn't just a way for parents to, you know, carry out their wrath upon their kids, but it was a serious thing that you were not to be rebellious and to curse your father and mother. Okay.

If you were to commit adultery, the death penalty was for both parties, him and her. The same with incest, homosexuality, and bestiality. The penalty was death. There were certain cases where they were to be cut off from Israel. For example, if a man lies with a woman in her impurity or in her monthly cycle, they were to be cut off.

He also reminds them to distinguish between clean and unclean animals. We already saw that earlier in Leviticus. And then if anybody consults a medium or the medium itself, that medium is to be put to death. And so anybody who is, you know, claiming to have some contact with the spirit world or anything like that, that's not to be tolerated. They're to be put to death immediately. And through this, God is protecting his people from the deception and the demonic influence that that brings along.

Now, maybe some of these to us seem a little bit harsh, but it is accurate to reality. And that's what's hard for us to understand sometimes. Paul tells us in Romans chapter 6 verse 23 that the wages of sin is death. But we forget that. We think, well, there's grace and, you know, I sin and things happen and, you know, I didn't really...

feel any punishment. There was no penalty. It seems like I got away with it. I mean, other people are sinning and they're getting away with it. And we disconnect the sin from the death. But God was ensuring that the people would understand, no, sin brings death. Because that is the reality. And you may not see the results, but the reality is, when you and I sin, it causes damage. And we may be convinced that

It doesn't cause any damage, you know, and we often hear people say, well, you know, it only hurts me, or it doesn't hurt anybody else, or I'm the only one involved, or I have control. There's all kinds of things that people say, but the reality is disobedience to God always results in death and destruction, and it always brings damage to yourself and to others around you. And so they were able to see that

played out in front of them as they were obedient to God and putting to death those who were practicing the wicked things that God declared that they should not practice.

As I was looking at this chapter, I thought, you know, it would be really interesting. Here we are in 2012. Let's see someone run for president with this platform. You know, we're going to establish God's laws and we're going to follow what he says. And I just cannot see that happening. Verse 22 here in chapter 20 says, you shall therefore keep all my statutes and all my judgments and perform them that the land where I'm bringing you to dwell may not vomit you out.

And so God is saying to them, listen, your sin affects not just the people around you, not just yourself, but the land that I'm bringing you into. He goes on to say, the people that are there in the land right now, they're practicing these things. The land is vomiting them out.

And so I'm bringing you in. But if you practice these things, the land will vomit you out as well. The land will be defiled. And so there is a reality to sin, the death that it brings, and there is a necessity of dealing with sin so that the land is not defiled, so that that sin does not continue to grow and the corruption spread.

Well, chapter 21 of Leviticus starts in verse 1. It's a key verse. It says, Here in chapter 21, we have some instruction for the priests.

The laws for the priests are there in verses 1 through 9. And then some more strict laws for the high priest in verses 10 through 15. And then the standard that was required to be a priest in verses 16 through 24. So here God's giving instruction for them in how to carry out their priesthood and how they're to behave. So the priests, he says, were not to be defiled for the dead except for close relatives. So

To be unclean would be the result of coming in contact with or being in the same room with a dead body. And so God says, look, you're a priest to me. You're devoted to me. You're not to become defiled by being in contact with a dead body unless it's a close relative. So it's your sister. It's your mom. It's your, you know,

or daughter, that's a whole different thing and you are allowed to participate in the funeral services for that. But anybody else, hey, you're devoted to the Lord, you're not allowed to participate in that. Also, they were not to shave their head or their beard. They were not to marry a harlot or a divorced woman. So there was requirements on who they could marry. And then also requirements on their children and if the daughter of a priest was

plays the harlot and is involved in immorality, then God declares that she must be burned. Now, when looking at the high priest there in verses 10 through 15, the standard is a little bit higher. And so as these, the priests and the high priest are the example to the nation of Israel, the standard for them was appropriate that they would be devoted to God. And so they were not to be defiled. The high priest was not to be defiled for any dead. So even if it was the father or the mother or the sister,

they were not to be defiled. They were devoted to God. They had to be faithful to their service to the Lord and the things of the tabernacle. And so God gave them the instruction that they were not to leave the sanctuary. And they also had strict things about marriage, who they could marry. They only could marry a virgin who was of the nation of Israel. So

The priests, on the other hand, they were a little bit lighter standards. But the high priests, they could only marry within the nation of Israel. And so there was this requirement for them. And then we also see the standard to become a priest there in verse 16 through 24, where God says, you can't be lame. You can't have a defect. You can't have, you know, a marred face or a broken foot or hand. I'd be disqualified. But

Those who are of the family that are that way, they can eat the bread, they're considered holy to the Lord, but they cannot serve in the actual priesthood. And so there's these standards that God sets for the Levites as they are involved in serving the Lord. Chapter 22, verse 2.

Speak to Aaron and his sons that they separate themselves from the holy things of the children of Israel and that they do not profane my holy name by what they dedicate to me. I am the Lord. Here in chapter 22, we are continuing this instruction to the priests. We saw how they were to keep themselves holy. And here we see how they're not to defile themselves regarding the holy offerings.

Now, you might remember we've talked about the sacrifices that were brought to the tabernacle that were offered to the Lord. There was a couple that they were not allowed to partake of, but most of the sacrifices were actually provision for the priests and for the Levites.

And so as the grains being offered to the Lord, they get to partake of it. As different animals are being offered to the Lord, they get to partake of it. And those things that were offered to the Lord, these are holy offerings. And there was requirements or standards that God set for how those are to be treated.

So he says, do not approach anything holy while you're unclean. So if you had come in contact with a dead body and you were a priest, well, then you couldn't partake of the holy offerings until you'd gone through the ritual to become clean once again.

No outsider. So someone outside of the family of the priesthood was not allowed to eat the holy offerings. It was devoted to the priests and their families. The priest's daughter may eat of the sacrifices, may eat of the holy offerings, but

But if she's married to an outsider, once she's married, she's under a different household. She's not allowed to partake of the offerings anymore. And again, you see that God is just separating it. That's what holy means. It means to be separate or set apart. And so it was devoted to the things of the Lord and the specific things that he had instructed regarding it.

Also, there's a penalty. If the holy offering is eaten by accident, unintentionally, then that offering is to be restored plus one-fifth or 20%. So, you know, someone, you had your friend over, they didn't realize it was a holy offering, they ate it, then they would have to restore it or pay it back plus 20%.

And so again, we're seeing the difference between and the separation between holy and unholy and understanding that God has standards, that there is a reality to what is right and what is wrong. And God expects us. He lays down the instructions so that we can be holy and devoted to the Lord and not continue to partake in the things that are not of him.

Well, we also see the standards for offerings here in chapter 22 and verses 17 through 33. And so God says, when you, as a member of the nation of Israel, bring an animal to the Lord, that you're not to bring animals that have defects.

So, you know, you have this one calf that, you know, is lame or has this issue and it's not going to be good for anything. So might as well offer it to the Lord. God says, no, you can't do that. You can't offer any animals that have defects. They have to be in perfect condition in order to offer it to the Lord. He also has an age requirement, has to be older than eight days old.

You're not to kill an animal and its mother on the same day. And God reiterates here also in chapter 22 that you're to offer these sacrifices of your own free will. These are not, you know, that you have this burden that you're forced. It's this obligation that you can complain and gripe about. You're to do it willingly and of your choice.

I always remember this story and I'm sure you've heard it told before, but there was the farmer, you know, who had this calf or had this cow and the cow gave birth to twins and the farmer was so excited because they weren't expecting twins. And so he told his wife,

wow, the cow gave birth to twins. And so I think with this extra blessing, we will raise them, but we'll offer one to the Lord and one will be given to the Lord and given to his work. And then the rest, you know, we'll keep for ourselves. The other one we'll keep for ourselves. And so the wife is like, okay, well, which one are we going to give? He said, I don't know. We'll just, you know, feed them and take care of them. And then at the appropriate time, then we'll offer it to the Lord. We'll give it to the Lord.

And so, you know, a couple months pass and they're raising the calves. And then the farmer walks in one day.

And he's really sad. He's upset. And his wife says, oh, what's wrong? And he looked at her and he said, oh, man, the Lord's calf died today. And he decided, well, it died. It must have been the Lord's. So I got to keep the other one. And that's kind of how we can be sometimes. And that's why God puts these standards that you have to have the right kind of offering before the Lord. In the book of Malachi chapter 1...

Malachi is speaking on behalf of God and he says, hey, you guys are handling the sacrifices all wrong.

They were offering the blind as a sacrifice. They were offering the lame and the sick. And he says, is this not evil? He says, would you offer this to your governors? And yet you're offering it to God. And so there's this standard that offerings that are offered to the Lord, they must be free will offerings. You must give them willingly, but also they must be good quality. Not just the leftovers, not just the things that are useless, but that you give to the Lord the things that are the best.

Well, now we head into chapter 23. Verse 2 is the key verse. It says, Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, The feasts of the Lord which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are my feasts.

So God is now in chapter 23 listing out the feasts that he's appointed for the nation of Israel. The calendar that they had had these specific feasts upon it. You know, we might have these holidays like Memorial Day and Labor Day. This was their calendar. These were their feasts, their holidays that were devoted to the Lord.

And so the feasts of the Lord are there, and we see the Sabbath there in verse 3. Once again, he reminds them that seventh day, Saturday, is to be devoted to the Lord. You're not to do any work on it. And then he goes down and lists all the other feasts and gives all of the details about them. Now, we're not going to go through all of the details, but here's a quick chart to kind of give a snapshot for these annual feasts.

So regarding their calendar, their new year, spiritually, their spiritual calendar began with the month of Nisan, which is our March, late March or early April. And so the first holiday, the first feast of the year was the Passover feast, which was on the 14th of Nisan.

Now, I put this year's dates for us to kind of get a picture for where those holidays or these feasts would fall. And so this year, it happened to fall upon April 7th, which was Saturday, the day before we celebrated Easter. And the Passover was one day long. And the purpose of the Passover was to remember how God delivered them

In Egypt, as the firstborns of Israel were spared, but all the firstborns of the land of Egypt were killed. And you can look at Exodus chapter 12 for all of the background to that.

Well, the next feast was the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which began the next day. It was the 15th of Nisan, and that would be April 8th for us, which was also Easter Sunday. This part would be seven days long, and so altogether it'd be about eight days. The purpose of the unleavened bread was to remember their escape from Egypt and

And God explains that in Exodus chapter 3, that they're to participate in this. And when their kids ask them why, then they're to remind them of how God led them out. And it's the Feast of Unleavened Bread because they didn't have time to cook the bread and leaven the bread and let it rise. And so they went out in haste. And that's why they ate unleavened bread as they were exiting Egypt. And so they would then every year celebrate this feast.

And eat no leavened bread. It would all be unleavened. And that would be the reminder for them of how God brought them out of and caused them to escape from Egypt. Well, then the next feast on the calendar would be the Feast of First Fruits. Now, this would happen, I don't have a specific day there. It would happen in the month of Nisan. There's not a specific day because it would happen the day after the Sabbath that followed Passover. Okay?

Do you follow that? It gets a little bit tricky. But the Feast of Firstfruits, let's say Passover was on a Thursday, and then that Saturday would be the Sabbath, so the Feast of Firstfruits would be that Sunday. So we have the Passover, then we have the Sabbath, and then the Sunday.

the Sunday following the Sabbath that follows Passover would be the first fruits. And so for us this year, that would happen on April 8th and it would be just one day long. And the purpose of this was to offer the first sheaf to the Lord. There would be, you know, they'd clip off a sheaf of their crop and they would bring it to the Lord as, you know, kind of in faith, like, you know, Lord, we're devoting it to you and there's much more that you're going to be blessing us with.

What's interesting about this, I'll get into in a few moments. All right, the next one though is the Feast of Weeks. The Feast of Weeks is also known as the Feast of Harvest, and this would take place in the month of Sivan. This also doesn't have a date because it was dependent upon when Passover fell, and so it was...

seven Sabbaths after Passover plus one day. So 50 days after Passover is the way that it would be calculated. So for us this year, it would fall on May 27th, would be the Feast of Weeks. It would be one day and it was to offer the first fruits to the Lord. By that time, much of the crop had actually been growing and growing

harvested and so a portion of it would be offered to the Lord and so they would offer a new grain offering there was lambs and rams and different sacrifices that God required as burnt offerings and sin offerings and peace offerings and then also a sabbath rest that was a part of this feast for the Lord

Well, then you have the Feast of Trumpets. The Feast of Trumpets has a definite date. It would be the first day of Tishri, which would be the seventh month for the nation of Israel. And it corresponds to our September slash October. This year it would fall on September 17th.

And it would be one day long. The Feast of Trumpets is interesting because, you know, with Passover, I could say, look at Exodus chapter 12. You have the background there. Unleavened bread. Look at Exodus 13. And God gives all the instruction, the background. The Feast of Trumpets has no instruction, no background, anything.

It's just here. In fact, this is the first time we hear about it. We hear about it one more time in the book of Numbers, but really God gives no instruction regarding it and telling them what it's for. And so I put that it's a mystery. It's not revealed. God didn't tell us what that particular day was about. Now there are some traditions that developed with the Jewish people regarding that, but it's not based upon something that God revealed through his word.

Well, then you have the Day of Atonement. That was on the 10th of Tishri, and that would be September 26th this year. And that was one day long, and the purpose of it was to atone for Israel's sins. We talked about the Day of Atonement last week as we looked at chapter 16 of Leviticus. And then the final feast of the year was the Feast of Tabernacles. This is also known as the Feast of Ingathering.

It would be the 15th day of Tishri, which corresponds with October 1st for us this year, and it would be eight days long. It was really a time of rest, and they would be remembering God's provision in the wilderness as they dwelt in these tabernacles or booths, these tents for this year.

the time of this feast. And this was one that they were required to go to Jerusalem or to where the tabernacle was. And so they would go there, they would dwell in tents, and they would remember how God provided for them while they were wandering in the wilderness.

As part of this feast, there would be daily offerings that were required. The first day and the last day of the feast were Sabbath days and several other things that were going on as well. And again, God is making sure that they remember what he did for them in bringing them out of Egypt and providing for them in the wilderness.

And so these feasts, you can kind of see they're grouped together because Passover, unleavened bread, first fruits, they're all kind of happening right around the same time frame. The Feast of Weeks happens, you know, seven weeks later. And then Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and Tabernacles, they all happen within just a couple weeks of each other. And so they're kind of grouped together and spread out throughout the year. The first month and the seventh month, so there's about six months in between,

And so these are the feasts that they were required to observe and participate in as a nation. Well, as we look at these, there's some interesting things to consider for Israel and for the things that they were commanded to practice. But there's also some prophetic significance that I want to just touch on real briefly and then we'll move along. But as we look at these, we can easily understand that some of these feasts have been fulfilled prophetically

already. It's already taken place. For example, Passover. Jesus was crucified during Passover. He's referred to as our Passover lamb. And so it's not a stretch to understand that Passover really foretells and foreshadows. It's prophetic of Jesus and his death upon the cross for us. You also have the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

And as part of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, there was this part that they were to go throughout all their house and make sure all the leaven was removed.

Leaven being a picture, a reminder of sin. We see this cleansing from sin, this getting out all of the sin, which of course took place as Christ died upon the cross for us. And so we have this fulfillment of the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the forgiveness of sin, which was accomplished for us by Christ upon the cross. Then you have firstfruits. And firstfruits, I think, it's amazing to me because

It never really clicked in my head until I was studying it this week and reading the portions this week as we're going through the Bible in three years. So, remember, the Feast of Firstfruits would happen the day after the Sabbath that followed Passover. So again, Passover is on Thursday, let's say, because it falls on different days every year, but let's say Thursday.

That fell on a Thursday. Then two days later would be Saturday. That would be the Sabbath. And then the next day would be Sunday, and it would be the Feast of Firstfruits. And they would offer this first sheaf before the Lord. Now, what just blew my mind as I was looking at this this week, and I'm sure, you know, maybe you've already seen this and known this, but it just never clicked for me. All of a sudden, a light bulb went on, is when Jesus was crucified during Passover,

buried and you have there the feast of unleavened bread, then when he rose again on that Sunday, that would have been the day of the feast of firstfruits. And so he resurrected on the day that they were celebrating the feast of firstfruits.

Which is also especially interesting because Paul says in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 verse 20, he says, but now Christ is risen from the dead and has become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

And all of a sudden I was like, hey, God knew what he was doing. He lined it all up. Crucified during Passover, risen during firstfruits, and he is the firstfruits of the resurrection in that those who believe in him will also be resurrected in like manner as we talked about on Sunday.

And so he's the first of many resurrections to come. He's the first fruits in the same way that they would offer the first fruits of much more crop to come, of much more harvest to come. So amazing how God tied all these things together. Well, then you also see the Feast of Weeks. Now you're probably familiar with that one because the Feast of Weeks is also known as Pentecost. And what happened at the Feast of Pentecost? Well, it's in Acts chapter 2,

In verse 1 it says, When the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place, and the Holy Spirit comes upon them. And the church is established in the power of the Holy Spirit there in Acts chapter 2 on the day of Pentecost. It was the beginning of the church. And so you can see these feasts definitely have some prophetic significance in that these major events in God's plan happen on the same day that these feasts were celebrated. Well,

These were the early feasts in the year, and then there were the later feasts in the year. These feasts that we've looked at so far, Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, Weeks, we can see very clearly these are all fulfilled already in the first coming of Christ. The last three feasts of the year, these would be feasts that are not yet fulfilled as we consider what prophetic significance they may have. So the Feast of Trumpets.

I thought it was interesting. It's a mystery. It's not revealed. God doesn't say really what this feast is about. I wonder if it's prophetic of the rapture of the church. Now, I'm not saying it will happen on this day. I think that's taking it too far because God says you don't know the day or the hour. But it is interesting that the first feast of the fall feasts was the Feast of Trumpets. It was, well, significant or what made it significant was the blowing of trumpets and

That's all that God says. You're to blow the trumpets throughout the day. And we see in the book of 1 Corinthians chapter 15, Paul says, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised incorruptible and we shall be changed. Talking about the rapture of the church. He also mentions that same type of thought in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. And so the feast of trumpets...

may very well refer to or be prophetic of the rapture of the church that is yet to take place. Then if you follow that same line of thought, the day of atonement was a day that they were to afflict their souls. Remember that? He says, look, don't be happy. You're to afflict your soul that day. It's to be a day where you are solemn for your sin.

This possibly corresponds with the tribulation period, the seven years of tribulation where the wrath of God is being poured out. And what's the wrath of God being poured out for? Because of sin. And it will not be a time of feasting and celebration, but it will be a time of afflicting the soul because of the sin and the wrath that is being poured out. And then finally you have the Feast of Tabernacles. That was to remember God's provision in the wilderness, but prophetically,

It refers to the second coming of Jesus and the establishing of his kingdom, the millennial kingdom, the thousand-year reign of Christ. The millennium is talked about all throughout the scriptures, but in the book of Ezekiel, it's specifically referred to that they're going to celebrate in the millennium this feast, the Feast of Tabernacles. It doesn't specify any of the other feasts, but the Feast of Tabernacles is going to be celebrated during that thousand-year reign of Christ.

And so it speaks of the harvest being completed. As you read there in Leviticus chapter 23, it talks about that. The harvest is done. It's a time of rest. And of course, that thousand year reign of Christ, the harvest will be completed and it will be a time of righteousness, a time of peace, a time of rest as Christ rules and reigns upon the earth. So amazing things that God has built in

Some of this is speculation. Again, the ones that are fulfilled, we don't really have to worry about that. That's not speculation. It happened the way that God intended it for it to happen. The trumpets, the day of atonement, the tabernacles, you know, it's just piecing together what we know of the Lord and what he's declared and what his prophetic plan is. But it's amazing how it all fits together and very well could be what God intended regarding these feasts to point to the things that are yet to come.

All right, well, let's move on to chapter 24 of Leviticus. Verse 23 is the key verse. It says, then Moses spoke to the children of Israel and they took outside the camp him who had cursed and stoned him with stones. So the children of Israel did as the Lord commanded Moses.

Here in the first part of chapter 24, we have God's instruction regarding the tabernacle lamps. And so the high priest was to make sure the lamps were taken care of, that they were kept lit. If you remember, here's a diagram real quick of the tabernacle.

So inside the tabernacle where only the priest could go was the lampstand. And so they would go and they would tend to the lamps and make sure that continued to be lit. They would have to trim the wicks. They'd have to, you know, make sure there was plenty of oil so that it would continue to burn and provide light within the sanctuary.

Also there in verses 5 through 9 of chapter 24, you have the bread for the tabernacle. And so the bread was put on the table of showbread just across from the lampstand. And so every week, a fresh set of bread would be put out, 12 loaves of bread. And then the previous week's bread would be given to the priests and they would be able to partake of it.

But then also here in chapter 24, we see the penalty for blasphemy there in verses 10 through 23. There's this fight that breaks out that one of the guys involved is half-dead

Jew. His mom is an Israelite, but his father was an Egyptian. And so in the process of this fight, he blasphemes the name of the Lord. He uses God's name as a curse. And so the people decide, or not decide, but they go to Moses. Well, what should we do? This man blasphemed the name of the Lord. Moses seeks the Lord.

And God says the penalty is death for blaspheming his name. And so there in verse 23, you see that they carried it out. They fulfilled what God instructed and they put him to death for this sin.

I thought it was interesting looking at this blasphemy that, you know, a fight is not a valid excuse. It wasn't that, you know, he was just cruising along and he decided, you know, I think I want to blaspheme today. And so then he did. No, he was in the middle of a fight. And in the middle of the fight, in the midst of the fight, then he blasphemes in this way. Then this blasphemy comes out of his mouth.

You might be a little bit familiar with that. I'm not sure. But in the midst of a heated argument, a battle, there's this violence going on. Then this blasphemy, these curses come out. And it's amazing that, you know, that's not allowed. It's not an excuse. It's not. Sometimes we do that, right? It's like, I wouldn't talk this way. I wouldn't behave this way except for, you know, what you did or you brought it out of me. But God's saying, no, no, no.

That's not a good reason. That's not an excuse. That doesn't give you the right to behave that way. The requirement is still the same, whether you just walked along and decided to blaspheme or you were in the midst of a fight and you blasphemed. Also, it's important to see that God points out that the same requirement is for foreigners. So what was required of the nation of Israel regarding God's laws was also required of whatever foreigners decided to live amongst the nation of Israel.

So there wasn't, you know, different standards depending on where you were from or what background you had or if you have Irish blood or, you know, that Mexican stubbornness or, you know, whatever. There wasn't different requirements depending on your heritage. It was the same. It was the same for those who were dwelling with the nation of Israel. Chapter 25, before I get myself in more trouble. Verse 18. Verse 18.

So you shall observe my statutes and keep my judgments and perform them and you will dwell in the land in safety. Here in chapter 25, we have some more instruction for the nation in how they are to walk with the Lord and be obedient and really take steps of faith and obedience to what he has said. So we find the Sabbath year instruction in verses 1 through 7. This is a pretty radical thought. The nation of Israel...

was to keep the Sabbath. That was six days they were to work. On the seventh day, they were to rest and do no work. Well, God also instructed them regarding a Sabbath year. It's the same principle. Six years they were to work.

But the seventh year, they were not to work the land. And so they were not to sow. They were not to plow. They weren't to do those things to work the land. They were just to let it go and whatever grew, grew. And they were not to harvest it in the sense of packing it up for themselves and trying to sell it. They were not to work for the seventh year. So they were not to sow. They weren't to prune. They weren't to gather. It was the Sabbath year.

Now, Israel never followed this. They never were obedient to God in this. But this is what God instructed them to do. And because they never followed this, it's mentioned as one of the reasons why they're in captivity. Remember when Babylon comes later on and conquers them and takes them all captive and leaves the land desolate? God declares that 70 years that the land is desolate is because of the Sabbath years that they did not keep.

And so all of the Sabbath years that they missed, that they disobeyed God, all added up to 70 years. And God said, okay, well, you're not going to keep the Sabbath year. I'm going to take you out of the land. And this land is going to enjoy its 70 years of rest that you deprived it of, even though I commanded you not to. And you can look at that a little bit more in detail in the book of 2 Chronicles, specifically chapter 36.

Well, another step of faith that they were to take was referred to as the year of Jubilee. And the instruction is verses 8 through 17. So the year of Jubilee is a very important part of their calendar as well. And it was to happen every 50th year. So every seventh year is a Sabbath year. Count seven Sabbath years. That would be 49 years. So there would be the Sabbath year.

And then the 50th year, so there'd be a Sabbath year, the 49th year, and then the 50th year would be the year of Jubilee, which would also be another Sabbath year. So every 50 years, there'd be two years back to back that was to be a Sabbath year that was to be devoted to the Lord and have this special instruction regarding it. And they were to sound the trumpet on the day of atonement. And then all possessions were to be returned to their original owner. Servants were to be released.

That is the servants of the nation of Israel, those who were Jewish. They were not to sow or prune or gather, just like the Sabbath year. The land that they had purchased went back to the original owner under certain circumstances. And you can look up the details here in chapter 25. But it was the year of Jubilee. And so all debts would be erased. And it was kind of like just starting over. And this was something that God instructed them to keep. Now,

Since they didn't keep any of the Sabbath years, I think it's safe to understand that they also never actually kept the year of Jubilee, even though God had commanded it and instructed it. There's no evidence that they ever actually obeyed God in keeping the year of Jubilee.

Well, in verses 18 through 22, God promises to provide because this would be a little bit difficult, as you can imagine. Taking a whole year off work, I mean, could you do it? It'd be difficult, right? Well, God says, look, in the sixth year,

I'm going to provide enough to carry you through the Sabbath year. And then the next year, because then the next year they're going to have to be sowing and planting. There's not going to be much crop. And then the following year, then they get to partake of the crop. And so he says, I'm going to provide enough for you in the sixth year. It'll be enough for three years. And so it'll sustain you until the time where you're allowed to harvest the land again. So God promises that the sixth year will produce enough for three years.

Now, if Israel is anything like us, here's what happened. The sixth year came, you know, they were faithful year one, year two, year three, year four, year five, and you know, God was providing for them. And then sixth year, like, whoa, we got like triple the produce this year. Then they thought, I wonder how much we can get next year.

And so instead of keeping the Sabbath year, like God said, then they tried to make more and worked the land again the seventh year. And that just continued on throughout their history. So they never followed this. They never obeyed the Sabbath year, even though God promised to provide.

All right, in verse 23 through 24, we have the property redemption. Again, this is somewhat related to the year of Jubilee. This is the idea that the land that God had given to them was to be kept within the family and it was not to be permanently sold. It was kind of what we maybe would consider leased. And so you would lease your field to somebody and the lease amount would be according to how many years later

were left until the year of Jubilee, but also there was the opportunity to redeem. And so let's say you got poor, you needed the money, so you sold your field or you leased your field. And then Uncle Joe came along after you did that and he said, hey, I've got some money, let's buy that back. And there was the opportunity to redeem the property that had been sold, the land that had been sold. Or if it wasn't redeemed, then it was to be returned at the year of Jubilee.

There was different instructions, though, depending on the type of land and the type of structure that it was. So a house in a city had a one-year cancellation policy. You could cancel within the year. You could get it back and redeem it back. After the year, though, then that house was permanently gone. It was permanently belonged to the new owner.

A house that was in a village, that wasn't a walled city, that was different. That was like land. And so that could be redeemed at any time or at the year of Jubilee, it would revert back to the original owner.

Same thing with the Levites. The Levite could sell their house, but it would also be able to be redeemed or it would be returned at the year of Jubilee. And so there was these instructions that God gave regarding the property that allowed it to continue to be within the family, but it also helped level out the economics of the nation so that there wouldn't be, you know, this massive rich and then the massively poor that, you know,

The process of time would keep them all pretty even as they followed God's instruction. Verse 35 through 38, God gives instruction for dealing with the poor and lending to the poor. They would always have the poor. And so he says you're to help them who are poor. You're not to lend money to them in order to get a profit. And so if you lend money to them, it needs to be without usury or without this profit.

And the same thing with food. You're not to try to, you know, rip them off or make a profit at them who are poor. And then finally, the laws concerning slavery in verses 39 through 55, that when it's an Israelite who is their slave, he says you're to treat them as a servant and not a slave.

And they're only to serve until the year of Jubilee, and then they're to be set free. Slaves, permanent slaves, lifelong slaves, could only be from the surrounding nations. They couldn't be some of the Israelites.

Chapter 26, verse 46 is the key verse. It says, These are the statutes and judgments and laws which the Lord made between himself and the children of Israel on Mount Sinai by the hand of Moses. Here God outlines for them in chapter 26 the results of obeying God and the results of disobeying God. If you follow me, here's the blessings that will follow. If you disobey me, then here's the curses that will follow.

And so God says, if you obey, I'll give you rain. Your land is going to produce. There's going to be peace. I'm going to give you victory in battle to a great degree. He says, five shall chase a thousand. So they're going to be very mighty in battle if they are obedient to the Lord. Now, again, as we look at these things, the context is God is establishing the nation. And so God

Sometimes people take this out of context and say, look, if you obey God, then you're always going to have blessings. You're never going to have problems. You're never going to have troubles. But that's out of context. God is speaking to the nation. I do believe that if we as a nation turn to the Lord and we're obedient to the Lord, that these things would be fulfilled. But there's not a direct one-to-one fulfillment of these things for us individually. There's personal application for sure, things that we do.

learn from this and apply to our lives but it's not God saying you know hey if you obey me you're never going to have problems and we need to make sure that we understand that so this is the instruction for the nation and God says if you as a nation will follow me you're going to be blessed as a nation you're going to be blessed as a whole but if you do not obey the Lord

Well, then there's going to be disease, terror. The enemies will eat their harvest. They will be defeated by their enemies. God says, if you still don't follow me, then I'm going to punish you seven more times for your sins. If you still don't follow me, and that kind of carried on for a little bit, and then finally it was going to be complete devastation upon the nation if they were disobedient to God. And so there was the blessing of walking with God, obeying God, and then the curses of disobeying God.

I think what Warren Wiersbe says is really appropriate for this. He says, God's covenant included both blessing and chastening, for God will not share his goodness with rebellious children. And sometimes we like to be rebellious children and expect that God should still bless us, but God will not share his goodness with rebellious children. And we need to be obedient. We have to be submitted to him. That is the requirement. Now, all of these results of not obeying God

were actually fulfilled. This wasn't just an idle threat, but it was fulfilled to the letter, exactly the way that God declared later on in Israel's history when they were conquered by Babylon. That all of these things that he mentions here actually took place.

This is what God said, and this is the way that it happened, because Israel was disobedient to God. Now, you might remember back when we're studying through Jeremiah, and we're looking at judgment after judgment after judgment that's announced by the prophet Jeremiah, and we're like, what is with all this judgment? Man, it seems like God is so mean. But now, hopefully, you can see kind of the big picture, the big context, that God declared ahead of time, this is what will happen if you do not follow me,

And the people still chose, and it was clear, they deliberately chose to follow the ways that were not of God, to disobey God.

And so later on, when you and I, as we go through the Bible in three years, when we get to the season where they're experiencing the judgment and we're like, man, this is horrible, all this judgment, this is terrible, we need to remember this is exactly what God declared in advance. It wasn't that they were ignorant. It wasn't that they just didn't know any better. They knew, and yet they still turned away from the Lord. And yet, in the midst of all this pronouncement of judgment, they're

It's amazing how we can clearly see the mercy and grace of God. Did you notice that when we looked through the chapter this week? The mercy and grace of God because verse 14 says, but if you do not obey me and observe all these commandments, and he lists out some results, some devastation that will take place. But then it says in verse 18, and after all this, if you do not obey me. What does that mean? That means God's giving them a chance.

So if you don't obey me, I'm going to step back and I'm going to allow you to experience the devastation of sin. And if you still don't obey me, then I'm going to step back again and allow you to experience more devastation. And then in verse 21, then if you walk contrary to me and are not willing to obey me, and so he says, okay, well, I'll give you a chance. I'll give you another chance.

If you still don't, then I'll give you another chance. I'm still going to step back. There's going to be more devastation. The consequences of their sin is going to be intensifying each time. Every time he says seven more times for your sin, you'll be punished. And yet God's saying, but then if you still don't, then I'll bring the next wave of judgment, of consequences.

Over and over. Verse 23, and if by these things you are not reformed by me, but walk contrary to me, again he says, I'll bring another seven times more judgment for sin. And then verse 27, and after this, if you do not obey me, but walk contrary to me. Over and over. Five times specifically, God says, I'm going to give you chances. I'm going to give you opportunities. In verse 40, he says, but if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers with their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to me,

that they also have walked contrary to me. He goes on to say, I'll forgive them. And so he's giving them opportunity each step of the way. And he's saying, if they confess their iniquity, if they repent, then I'll forgive and I'll heal and I'll do a new work. And so although it is a pronouncement of judgment for disobedience, it's also we can see the great mercy and grace of God as he's giving them these opportunities to turn back to him and the promise that he will forgive if they do.

Now we know in Israel's history, they did not. And they brought it to the end. They experienced the complete devastation that God had promised through the nation of Babylon. Well, finally, in chapter 27, we finish up our chapters for the evening. Verse 28, it says, Nevertheless, no devoted offering that a man may devote to the Lord of all that he has, both man and beast, or the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed. Every devoted offering is most holy to the Lord.

And so here God gives the instruction for offerings of dedication, things that were dedicated to the Lord and said, this is devoted to the Lord. It can only be used for the things of God. And so God gives all the instruction for different types of things that are offered. If it's a person that's offered, if it's an animal that's offered, if it's a house that's offered, a field. He also points out, hey, if it's the firstborn of an animal,

well, that already belongs to me. You can't offer that to me. If it's your tithe, well, that already belongs to me. You can't offer that to me. And so he's giving the instructions for those things that are devoted to the Lord and how that's to be followed. Well, we finish up the book of Leviticus today in our reading. Tomorrow, we start the book of Numbers.

And I want to encourage you again, as I did earlier when we started Leviticus, to keep digging the ditches. Remember from, I think it's 2 Kings, where they were in the wilderness. They were thirsty. They go to the prophet and God says...

Dig some ditches. There's no water. Who wants to dig in the dirt? But that's what they did. They were obedient. And then God filled those ditches with water. In the same way, as we read through Leviticus, as we read through Numbers, some of it might be dry. Some of it might be tedious. But I want to encourage you to be faithful. God will fill it. And there's going to be some great things that he will do through this. But you need to be faithful to dig the ditches so that he can fill it with water and you can be refreshed. Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, thank you for your word. Thank you for, God, just how these things were used to establish your people, your nation, and yet today there's so much here that we can see, Lord, that you want to speak to us. There's so much that's amazing, the prophetic fulfillments of the feast. Oh, it's mind-blowing, God. You really are God. You know the beginning from the end, and you are able to declare things before they take place.

You do orchestrate all things together to accomplish your will and your purposes. And so God, I pray that you would help us to be devoted to you. Lord, that we would be your people, set apart for you. That we would discern between the unholy and the holy. That we would not continue on in sin and continue to go past those warnings and those opportunities to turn back and repent. But God, I pray that you would help us to be responsive.

Lord, that you would call us to repentance and that we would obey. And so God, I pray that you would teach us to follow you. Thank you that you're so gracious and merciful to us that you give us opportunity to turn back and that your promise is that you will forgive, that you'll restore, and that you'll do a marvelous new work. And so God, as we devote ourselves to you once again this evening, we invite you to do that work as we surrender to you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

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