A Model of Purity
Leviticus and the Messiah • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Leviticus 18:1-5
In our first lesson, we focused on the “calling” of Leviticus. Meaning, literally, “God called...”. We discussed the different appearances of the term throughout the book and connected it to our own universal call to the Gospel.
In our second, we took a detailed look at the Burnt Offering, and what it meant for the Israelites and that it was the shadow of Christ’s sacrifice.
In our third, we considered the Holy Days of Israel, especially the Year of Jubilee, and the significance of such things in light of the NT.
In this lesson, we want to consider the lessons we can get from Leviticus in terms of purity. We might reject this outright. After all, we are no longer under the Law, right? We have been freed of it through the blood of Jesus (Colossians 2:13-14). However, God is still God, and understanding what He hates informs us about what our life should consist of. But someone says, “we get all that from the NT”. Do you know why Beastiality is wrong? How about mistreating your wife? We don’t know these things without the book of Leviticus, because it reveals God’s explicit attitude about these sins. Thus, while we no longer live under Moses’ Law, we use the Law to inform us more about the nature of God. This is authorized in Rom 15:1-6.
Phillip Owens: “Leviticus answers how an unholy people can acceptably approach an infinitely holy God then remain in fellowship with Him.”
2 major divisions of Leviticus:
1) To approach God, you must sacrifice. (ch. 1-17)
2) To maintain fellowship with God, continuing sanctification through holiness is needed. (ch. 18-27)
Sacrificial Laws in order to approach the LORD (1-17).
Laws for offerings, 1-7.
Laws for the priests (consecration of priests into office), 8-10.
Laws relating to purity, 11-15, culminating in the Laws for national atonement, 16-17.
Sanctification Laws Directed toward Holiness needed to be in fellowship with the LORD (18-27).
Laws for sanctification of the people, 18-20.
Laws for sanctification of priests, 21-22.
Laws for sanctification in worship, 23-24.
Laws for sanctification in the land, 25-26.
Laws for sanctification through vows, 27
The Context of Leviticus
The Context of Leviticus
Chronology of Leviticus
God’s people have been freed from harsh slavery in Egypt. Baptized in the Red Sea, made a nation by God, they came to Sinai in the 3rd month of the 1st year after they left Egypt. (Ex. 19:1)
In the third month after the children of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on the same day, they came to the Wilderness of Sinai.
In the 1st day of the 1st month of the 2nd year after they left Egypt, they built the tabernacle. This is the end of the book of Exodus. (Ex. 40:17)
And it came to pass in the first month of the second year, on the first day of the month, that the tabernacle was raised up.
The book of Numbers begins in the 1st day of the 2nd month of the same year. (Num 1:1)
Now the Lord spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai, in the tabernacle of meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying:
This leaves a gap of a month. This month is when Leviticus takes place. Lev 8:33-36
And you shall not go outside the door of the tabernacle of meeting for seven days, until the days of your consecration are ended. For seven days he shall consecrate you. As he has done this day, so the Lord has commanded to do, to make atonement for you. Therefore you shall stay at the door of the tabernacle of meeting day and night for seven days, and keep the charge of the Lord, so that you may not die; for so I have been commanded.” So Aaron and his sons did all the things that the Lord had commanded by the hand of Moses.
Narratives of Leviticus
Only two historical sections.
Nadab and Abihu (9-10)
The Blasphemer (24:10-23)
The rest are laws God gives to Moses to give to Israel.
For Purity laws, etc. we will be focusing more on chapters 11-15, 18.
God Expected Israel to be Holy. (11-15)
God Expected Israel to be Holy. (11-15)
These laws are not dealing with matters of sin.
A woman giving birth, or discharges from the body, or touching animals, was a normal part of life, and that is so today as well.
Yet, if the people neglected these commands, they would indeed be sinning against God.
The purpose is for them to distinguish between the unclean and the clean. Lev 11:47
to distinguish between the unclean and the clean, and between the animal that may be eaten and the animal that may not be eaten.’ ”
The principle at hand was that Israel was called to be holy, and any unclean thing they touched led to their own uncleanness. Num. 5:1-4 ; Deut. 23:14
And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: “Command the children of Israel that they put out of the camp every leper, everyone who has a discharge, and whoever becomes defiled by a corpse. You shall put out both male and female; you shall put them outside the camp, that they may not defile their camps in the midst of which I dwell.” And the children of Israel did so, and put them outside the camp; as the Lord spoke to Moses, so the children of Israel did.
For the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you and give your enemies over to you; therefore your camp shall be holy, that He may see no unclean thing among you, and turn away from you.
Health was not the reason these commands were given.
The side benefit of many of these laws were increased health and far lower instances of disease and sickness, which served to bolster their population if followed faithfully.
Yet, we must remember that health was not the reason God gave these commands. They were meant to signify the difference of Israel in being a holy, separate, set apart people.
The physical diseases, imperfections, etc. were symbolic of sin, which defiles the heart and makes it unclean. Thus, Israel was commanded to obey these laws in order to purify themselves ritualistically.
Chapter content of 11-15
11 - Clean and Unclean animals
12 - Uncleanness because of childbirth
13-14 - Leprosy
15 - Bodily discharges
We have previously studied the Day of Atonement in this series, so we will not repeat ourselves there. Note previous lessons if you want more. We skip chapter 16-17 and move into 18.
God Expected Israel to be Pure. (18)
God Expected Israel to be Pure. (18)
God’s explicit commands (18:1-5)
Three times in these verses, “I am the LORD”
They were NOT to act according to the deeds of Egypt or Canaan, NOT to walk in their ordinances.
Rather, they were to observe the judgments of God, and keep His ordinances, and walk in them.
If they did these things, they would live by them.
Consider the power of these statements. This is God reminding them to take what He says seriously.
Prohibitions against unlawful relations (18:6-23)
Two more times: “I am the LORD”
Important to note, “uncovering nakedness” in this passage speaks to carnal relations with the person in question. There is an understanding that in the sinful relationships, there is an intentional aspect of being in those relationships.
Note also that sacrificing your children to Molech is included among these wicked relationships.
“From the time of Ahaz children were slain at Jerusalem in the valley of Ben-Hinnom, and then sacrificed by being laid in the heated arms and burned (Ezek. 16:20,21; 20:31; Jer. 32:35; II Kings 23:10)” (Keil).
Many refer to v.22 as the proof that homosexuality is a sin. There is so much more in the Bible concerning this subject! Yet its inclusion here shows us that God considers homosexuality to be just as sinful as incest, or bestiality, which follows the verse after.
We do not get to say which sin is more sinful than the other. Many are trying to say that v.22 is not a sin, but it is just as much a sin as the other relationships described here. Not specifically because of the harm done, but because the LORD said it is so!
Consider v.7-18. The Jew was forbidden to marry their father, their mother, their father’s wife, their sister, their granddaughter, their stepsister, their aunt, their uncle, their sister-in-law, a woman and any of her children or grandchildren, and they were not to make a wife of their wife’s sister as a rival to her.
If you understand that these relationships are wicked and unnatural as the text says, then you have to conclude the same about homosexuality.
Consequences of Disobedience (18:24-30)
The Failures in Leviticus Display the Need for Purity, the Source of which is God.
The Failures in Leviticus Display the Need for Purity, the Source of which is God.
Nadab and Abihu (Lev 9-10)
Everything in ch.9 goes perfectly; everything is faithfully done.
Then in ch.10, everything goes wrong!
Strange fire separated them from God. Their hearts were not inclined to obey Him.
The Blasphemer (Lev 24:10-23; Ex 20:7; Ecc 8:11)
God had already given the principle, yet they needed to consult Him again. Ex. 20:7
“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.
Our attitude and what we say matters immensely before God.
There was a need to do something about this serious problem.
Note Ecc 8:11 in this context.
Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.
God’s law had no possibility of being respected unless there were real and severe consequences. The same is true today.
If the heart of their son had been pure before God, there would be no cause for him to blaspheme.
Applications
Applications
We are no longer under Moses’ Law, yet He is still the LORD!
I realize that “I am the LORD” will not convince the people in these wicked relationships we have discussed.
Our hope and prayer is that the woes and misery caused by such lifestyles will help them look up and seek the LORD who loves every one of us.
Jesus lived and taught that “I am the LORD” is enough. His apostles learned this deeply.
John 12:49-50 - Jesus spoke by the Father’s authority. Thus, “I am the LORD” carries with everything Jesus said.
Matt 10:40 - Those who receive the apostles receive Jesus, and those who receive Jesus receive the Father.
Mark 9:2-13 - Jesus was the One to be focused upon - not Elijah or Moses. Hear Him!
Yes, we are no longer under the Law of Moses, but if the Law of Moses says something is wicked and abominable, it is indeed that way even today!
Our answer to a wicked society must be our own holiness.
If you understand that the relationships in ch.18 are wicked and unnatural as the text says, then you have to conclude the same about homosexuality.
If you somehow exclude homosexuality or any of the various LGBTQ associations, then you are saying something beyond what God has said, and thus are teaching false doctrine.
Our response to this society is NOT to seek human solutions. We can hope and pray that people come to their senses and provide a stable society in which to live, but we must admit that this may not be in our future.
The real solution is for us to further examine our lives and become living sacrifices in much deeper ways.Rom 12:1-2
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
We do this not for our own merit, but in order to live as we have been called! 1 Pet. 1:15-16
but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”
Jesus is able to heal those who have been marred by sin.
Mark 1:40-45 - Jesus, in living in complete compliance to the Law, actually transcended the Law in these ritual cleansing scenarios. He knew unclean and clean, and He was able to touch this man and heal him.
It has medically been proven that a baby can die without the touch of someone. We have a need to touch others, to feel like we are part of this existence.
Remember that you are never so far gone that Jesus cannot heal you! You are never so unclean that Jesus cannot wash you!
We must treasure the word of the LORD!
Many of these things listed as “wicked” or “abominations” in ch. 18 are the only place in the entire Bible that they are listed. Without the book of Leviticus, we might not know what God thinks of such practices.
By His grace, He has revealed Himself to us, and living under the Law of Christ, we can learn about the mind of God from the entirety of scripture, and allow God to change our lives in order to be fit for kingdom service as citizens.
