LEVITICUS 1

 +Leviticus Intro Genesis answers: How did the Hebrews become a people and get into Egypt? Exodus answers: How did God reveal himself, free the Hebrews from slavery, and establish a nation? Leviticus answers: My Holy God lives with me, so what laws keep me from dying? Numbers answers: Who died and who lived on the way to the Promised Land? Deuteronomy: "Let's recap what we've covered so far and sing some songs." Holiness Intro Two ideas commonly associated with holiness need to be qualified at the outset. First, holiness is often defined as separation, because objects and persons consecrated for use at the sanctuary are removed or set apart from ordinary use. However, separation does not get at the essential meaning of holiness - neither in reference to God, the Holy One, nor in reference to the variety of items described as holy - for it fails to provide any content to the concept of being holy. Second, the ethical and the holy are often so equated that the terms are uses synonymously. In biblical faith this is common because Yahweh, the holy God, is righteous. Consequently, holiness defines the character of biblical ethics. Nevertheless, we need to be aware that holiness encompasses far more than ethical behavior. -JE Hartley, Dictionary of the Old Testament Pentateuch (requoted from Michael S. Heiser) Holiness in the Old Testament: Relationship with the Transcendent.1 No one can explain the phenomena of Israel and the Holy One of Israel adequately without realizing the fundamental distinctive of Yahweh's transcendence.... Separation of the holy from the profane then had as its base the... majesty of God .... That Being was self-sufficient in every respect.... It is apparent that Moses understood this division of reality. He bowed in awe, because an Other had confronted him-One who is not to be manipulated and who desires a relationship prior to any service.... The burning bush holiness... is evident ... in the fire, which is a recurrent theme throughout the history of Israel. Various manifestations of the brightness of the glory of God were constant reminders that the Holy One was in the midst of his people... More than simply a show... the God of Israel appears in ways that indicate his desire to communicate his very nature to his own.... Probably most instructive of all... is the fact that Yahweh is looking for those who are willing to "walk" with him rather than cower in fear alone.... It is illuminating to note that once Yahweh communicates his fundamental nature to Moses, and consequently to a redeemed nation, that the usage of the terms related to holiness explodes. Of over 830 instances of term in all its forms in the Old Testament, nearly 350 occur in the Pentateuch after Genesis. We thus begin to see that the ultimate purpose of God is the production of a people who bear his holy name or character (Exod 19:6 ; Lev 11:44 ). -Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Holy, Holiness Jake's rough definition: holiness is participating in God's presence and power2 Key point: Leviticus teaches that God is different than man. We are made in God's image, unlike pagans who make their gods in their image. Making idols or images of God is forbidden because WE, mankind, are the idols of God. Ritual uncleanness keeps a person out of God's presence, but it may not have a sin component. Leviticus 1 (NIV) The Burnt Offering 1 The LORD called to Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting. He said, 2 "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'When anyone among you brings an offering to the LORD, bring as your offering an animal from either the herd or the flock. 3 "'If the offering is a burnt offering from the herd, you are to offer a male without defect. You must present it at the entrance to the tent of meeting so that it will be acceptable to the LORD3. 4 You are to lay your hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on your behalf to make atonement4 for you. 5 You are to slaughter the young bull5 before the LORD, and then Aaron's sons the priests shall bring the blood and splash it against the sides of the altar6 at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 6 You are to skin the burnt offering and cut it into pieces. 7 The sons of Aaron the priest are to put fire on the altar and arrange wood on the fire. 8 Then Aaron's sons the priests shall arrange the pieces, including the head and the fat, on the wood that is burning on the altar.9 You are to wash the internal organs and the legs with water, and the priest is to burn all of it on the altar. It is a burnt offering, a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the LORD. 10 "'If the offering is a burnt offering from the flock, from either the sheep or the goats, you are to offer a male without defect7. 11 You are to slaughter it at the north side of the altar before the LORD, and Aaron's sons the priests shall splash its blood against the sides of the altar.12 You are to cut it into pieces, and the priest shall arrange them, including the head and the fat, on the wood that is burning on the altar.13 You are to wash the internal organs and the legs with water, and the priest is to bring all of them and burn them on the altar. It is a burnt offering, a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the LORD. 14 "'If the offering to the LORD is a burnt offering of birds, you are to offer a dove or a young pigeon8. 15 The priest shall bring it to the altar, wring off the head and burn it on the altar; its blood shall be drained out on the side of the altar. 16 He is to remove the crop and the feathers and throw them down east of the altar where the ashes are. 17 He shall tear it open by the wings, not dividing it completely, and then the priest shall burn it on the wood that is burning on the altar. It is a burnt offering, a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the LORD.9 1 Transcendent = existing apart from and not subject to the limitations of the material universe. 2 cups, clothes, people, land, angels, mountains, and prostitutes (Tamar) are called "holy"- can a cup sin or not sin??? 3 "Present is at the entrance" is a key point of the passage. Entering the presence of God required an offering-but now "where two or three are gathered in my name I am there" Matt 18:20 4 HOW CAN WE HAVE ATONEMENT IF NO SIN IS MENTIONED??? Atonement does not necessarily include forgiveness, but it can. 5 Bulls were the most expensive livestock, providing lots of the best meat and able to mate with many cows; sacrificing the best bull sacrifices a generation of the best bovines. However, the blood of bulls and goats cannot take away sin (Heb. 10:1-4) 6 Why is the blood applied to the alter, and not the person bringing the sacrifice? Jn 19:34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. 1 Cor. 11:25 "This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." 7 Sheep and goats, while expensive, were less of a sacrifice than the best bull = the middle option 8 A bird is the least expensive offering, and a testimony that God accepts the poor 9 Each level of offering is "pleasing to the Lord" - God is unlike us who are impressed by wealth --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------