The Christ Church Wednesday Bible Study Group is studying of the Old Testament book of Leviticus. The key to the book of Leviticus is found in verses 45 and 46 of chapter 11.
Leviticus 11:44-45 NIV I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. Do not make yourselves unclean by any creature that moves along the ground. I am the Lord, who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy.
These are the notes to session 8.
From birth to burial, the Jews had to submit every aspect of their daily lives to the authority of God’s law. Whether it was selecting their food, preparing their food, caring for a mother and new baby, diagnosing a disease, or disposing of waste, nothing was left to chance in the camp of Israel lest someone be defiled. In order to maintain ceremonial purity, each Jew had to obey God’s law in several areas of life.
For an audio recording of the session click the YouTube link at the end of the notes.
Lord, please open our eyes to the truth of your word. I pray for wisdom as we prepare to read your word, I pray for clarity, and discernment as we apply your word to our hearts. Let your word change us. I pray the truth we find in your word will transform our hearts and minds to follow more after you. Amen.
Leviticus 11:44-45 NIV I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. Do not make yourselves unclean by any creature that moves along the ground. I am the Lord, who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy.
Only Holiness Leads to Happiness
Our magazines and TV screens are filled with stories of the rich, the beautiful and the strong. Our culture places these things on a pedestal and many of us aspire to achieve them. There is nothing wrong with these things – but they certainly don’t always lead to happiness.
The French philosopher, Blaise Pascal, spoke of three orders of greatness. Riches, beauty and strength fall into his first category of superficial ‘physical greatness’.
Above this is a higher, second level of greatness. It is the greatness of genius, science and art. The greatness of the art of Michelangelo or the music of Bach or the brilliance of Albert Einstein – these stand way above superficial physical greatness.
However, according to Pascal there is a third kind of greatness – the order of holiness. (And there is an almost infinite qualitative difference between the second and the third categories.) The fact that a holy person is strong or weak, rich or poor, highly intelligent or illiterate, does not add or subtract anything because that person’s greatness is on a different and almost infinitely superior plane. It is open to every one of us to achieve true greatness in the order of holiness.
The word ‘holy’ (hallowed, holiest, holiness) appears over 500 times in the Bible. God is holy. He gives you his Holy Spirit to sanctify you, and you are called to share in his holiness.
The word ‘saints’ means ‘holy ones’. In the New Testament it is applied to all Christians. You are ‘called to be holy’ (1 Corinthians 1:2). Holiness is a gift you receive when you put your trust in Jesus, receive his righteousness and the gift of the Holy Spirit. Seek to live out a holy life in grateful response to God’s gift, through the imitation of Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit. Ultimately, only holiness leads to happiness.
TOUCHING (11:24–43)
The emphasis in this next section is on avoiding the defilement caused by touching certain dead creatures, both clean and unclean. If a Jew happened upon the carcass of even a clean animal, he knew it was defiled because the blood hadn’t been properly drained out nor had the meat been protected from contamination.
Leviticus 17:13-14 NIV “ ‘Any Israelite or any foreigner residing among you who hunts any animal or bird that may be eaten must drain out the blood and cover it with earth, because the life of every creature is its blood. That is why I have said to the Israelites, “You must not eat the blood of any creature, because the life of every creature is its blood; anyone who eats it must be cut off.”
Judges 14:5-9 NIV Samson went down to Timnah together with his father and mother. As they approached the vineyards of Timnah, suddenly a young lion came roaring toward him. The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him so that he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as he might have torn a young goat. But he told neither his father nor his mother what he had done. Then he went down and talked with the woman, and he liked her. Some time later, when he went back to marry her, he turned aside to look at the lion’s carcass, and in it he saw a swarm of bees and some honey. He scooped out the honey with his hands and ate as he went along. When he rejoined his parents, he gave them some, and they too ate it. But he did not tell them that he had taken the honey from the lion’s carcass.
When Samson ate the honey from the carcass of the lion, he defiled himself. No matter how sweet the honey was, it was unclean in God’s sight; this made Samson unclean.
People who became defiled from touching a carcass were considered unclean until the end of the day.
Leviticus 11:24-25 NIV “ ‘You will make yourselves unclean by these; whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean till evening. Whoever picks up one of their carcasses must wash their clothes, and they will be unclean till evening.
They had to wash themselves and their clothes and couldn’t enter the camp until sunset. This kept them from spreading to others any contamination they might have picked up from touching the dead animal.
If a dead creature fell into a clay pot the pot was smashed. Anything touched by the carcass was unclean and had to be either washed or destroyed.
These small creatures could die and be so concealed that a person would not know the carcass was there before they had touched it and become defiled. Or the corpse might fall into a container or on fabric, and this would make the item unclean. Jewish women were very careful in their housekeeping lest anything be present that would make the inhabitants unclean.
It’s easy to see hygienic reasons behind these regulations, and no doubt obeying them helped the Jews avoid sickness. But the main reason for these laws was to teach the people to appreciate cleanliness and shun whatever was unclean.
Thirty-two times in Leviticus 11, you find the word unclean, and ten times you find the word abomination. What God says is unclean must be an abomination in our eyes.
The first step toward disobedience is often “reclassifying” sin and making it look acceptable instead of abominable.
Isaiah 5:20 NIV Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.
For example, God said that the tree in the midst of the garden was off-limits to the man and woman, but Eve “saw that the tree was good for food” and took the fruit. God said that all the spoil of Jericho was under divine restriction and not to be touched by the Jewish soldiers, but Achan revised that classification and took some of the spoil. It cost him his life.
Joshua 7:20-26 NIV Achan replied, “It is true! I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel. This is what I have done: When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.” So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent, and there it was, hidden in his tent, with the silver underneath. They took the things from the tent, brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites and spread them out before the Lord. Then Joshua, together with all Israel, took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the robe, the gold bar, his sons and daughters, his cattle, donkeys and sheep, his tent and all that he had, to the Valley of Achor. Joshua said, “Why have you brought this trouble on us? The Lord will bring trouble on you today.” Then all Israel stoned him, and after they had stoned the rest, they burned them. Over Achan they heaped up a large pile of rocks, which remains to this day. Then the Lord turned from his fierce anger. Therefore that place has been called the Valley of Achor ever since.
Samuel told King Saul to slay all the Amalekites and their flocks and herds, but the king kept Agag alive and kept “the best of the sheep and of the oxen” to give to the Lord
1 Samuel 15:7-9, 15, 22-23 NIV Then Saul attacked the Amalekites all the way from Havilah to Shur, near the eastern border of Egypt. He took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and all his people he totally destroyed with the sword. But Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs—everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed. Saul answered, “The soldiers brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord your God, but we totally destroyed the rest.” But Samuel replied: “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.”
Saul reclassified what God had said was abominable and thought this would make it acceptable, but his folly caused him to lose his kingdom.
DISCERNING (11:44–47)
If the Jewish people were to keep themselves clean and pleasing to the Lord, they had to exercise discernment; this meant knowing God’s Word, respecting it, and obeying it.
Leviticus 11:44-47 NIV I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. Do not make yourselves unclean by any creature that moves along the ground. I am the Lord, who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy. “ ‘These are the regulations concerning animals, birds, every living thing that moves about in the water and every creature that moves along the ground. You must distinguish between the unclean and the clean, between living creatures that may be eaten and those that may not be eaten.’ ”
Fathers and mothers had to teach their children the law and warn them about the things that were unclean.
Deuteronomy 6:1-9 NIV These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you. Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
The priests had to teach the people and remind them of the commandments of the Lord. It was when the nation of Israel neglected the Word of God and refused to obey it that the people began to follow the abominable practices of the heathen nations around them, and this is what led to Israel’s discipline and defeat.
The Jews had to remind themselves every hour of every day that they belonged to Jehovah, the true and living God, and that belonging to the nation of Israel was a high and holy privilege.
Leviticus 11:44-45 NIV I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. Do not make yourselves unclean by any creature that moves along the ground. I am the Lord, who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy.
Ephesians 4:4 NIV There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called;
Obeying God’s will isn’t a burden; it’s a privilege!
Deuteronomy 4:7-8 NIV What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him? And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today?
Jews who knew what God said was clean and unclean, and who exercised constant caution, weren’t likely to touch something unclean and defile themselves. When we “walk as children of light” we won’t stumble either because God’s Word is the light that directs us.
Psalms 119:105 NIV Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.
The Lord reminded His people that it was He who had redeemed them from Egyptian bondage, therefore, they belonged to Him and were obligated to obey His will. Christ has redeemed us, not that we might be free to please ourselves, but that we might be free to serve Him, which is the greatest freedom of all.
Leviticus 11:45 NIV I am the Lord, who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy.
One of the marks of maturity is the ability to make a difference and distinguish between right and wrong. Mature believers can exercise discernment, identify that which is unclean, and avoid it.
Leviticus 11:46-47 NIV “ ‘These are the regulations concerning animals, birds, every living thing that moves about in the water and every creature that moves along the ground. You must distinguish between the unclean and the clean, between living creatures that may be eaten and those that may not be eaten.’ ”
God graciously made provision for the cleansing and restoration of anyone who became defiled. For routine situations of uncleanness, the normal procedure was for people to wash themselves and their clothing and remain outside the camp until evening.
Numbers 19 describes the preparation of special “water of purification” that was kept outside the camp and used for ceremonial cleansing.
Numbers 19:1-10 NIV The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: “This is a requirement of the law that the Lord has commanded: Tell the Israelites to bring you a red heifer without defect or blemish and that has never been under a yoke. Give it to Eleazar the priest; it is to be taken outside the camp and slaughtered in his presence. Then Eleazar the priest is to take some of its blood on his finger and sprinkle it seven times toward the front of the tent of meeting. While he watches, the heifer is to be burned—its hide, flesh, blood and intestines. The priest is to take some cedar wood, hyssop and scarlet wool and throw them onto the burning heifer. After that, the priest must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water. He may then come into the camp, but he will be ceremonially unclean till evening. The man who burns it must also wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he too will be unclean till evening. “A man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and put them in a ceremonially clean place outside the camp. They are to be kept by the Israelite community for use in the water of cleansing; it is for purification from sin. The man who gathers up the ashes of the heifer must also wash his clothes, and he too will be unclean till evening. This will be a lasting ordinance both for the Israelites and for the foreigners residing among them.
This is not an offering so this is not done on the alter in front of the tabernacle.
PURIFYING (12:1–8)
With some kinds of defilement, additional measures were necessary, as in cases of childbirth (Lev. 12) and the presence of infectious sores or diseases (chaps. 13—15).
Leviticus 12:2-8 NIV “Say to the Israelites: ‘A woman who becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son will be ceremonially unclean for seven days, just as she is unclean during her monthly period. On the eighth day the boy is to be circumcised. Then the woman must wait thirty-three days to be purified from her bleeding. She must not touch anything sacred or go to the sanctuary until the days of her purification are over. If she gives birth to a daughter, for two weeks the woman will be unclean, as during her period. Then she must wait sixty-six days to be purified from her bleeding. “ ‘When the days of her purification for a son or daughter are over, she is to bring to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting a year-old lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a dove for a sin offering. He shall offer them before the Lord to make atonement for her, and then she will be ceremonially clean from her flow of blood. “ ‘These are the regulations for the woman who gives birth to a boy or a girl. But if she cannot afford a lamb, she is to bring two doves or two young pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for her, and she will be clean.’ ”
The theme of this chapter is not personal holiness but ritual purification for the mother, without which she could not return to normal life in her home and in the camp.
Therefore, nothing in Leviticus 12 should be interpreted to teach that human sexuality is “dirty,” that pregnancy is defiling, or that babies are impure. God created humans “male and female”, and when God declared His creation to be “very good”, that declaration included sex. In fact he commanded Adam and Eve to “be fruitful, and multiply”
Genesis 1:27-28 NIV So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
In giving birth to a baby, the mother experienced bleeding, and this made her ceremonially unclean.
There are probably matters of health involved in these instructions. Since the mother was considered to some measure “unclean” for forty days after the birth of a son, or eighty days after the birth of a daughter, it meant that she had opportunity for rest and recuperation before returning to her household duties.
Scripture doesn’t explain why twice as much time is assigned to a daughter than to a son. There’s no proof that girl babies are necessarily weaker than boy babies and therefore need a longer time with the mother.
Perhaps God established these regulations primarily for the health of the mother and her bonding to her daughter. The social structure of Israel was decidedly masculine, and sons were more welcome than daughters.
The males were to be circumcised on the eighth day after birth. The Jews weren't the only people that practiced circumcision, but God gave this to Abraham as a special mark of the covenant He had with the people of Israel.
Genesis 17:10-14 NIV This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner—those who are not your offspring. Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”
Each male child became a “child of the covenant” when he was circumcised and named eight days after his birth.
Circumcision also symbolized the “spiritual circumcision” that God wants to perform on the human heart.
Jeremiah 4:4 NIV Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, circumcise your hearts, you people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, or my wrath will flare up and burn like fire because of the evil you have done— burn with no one to quench it.
Unfortunately, the Jewish people ignored the spiritual aspect of the ceremony and considered the physical operation alone a guarantee that the Jews were saved and accepted by God.
Romans 2:25-29 NIV Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised. So then, if those who are not circumcised keep the law’s requirements, will they not be regarded as though they were circumcised? The one who is not circumcised physically and yet obeys the law will condemn you who, even though you have the written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker. A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God.
A similar idea emerged in the early church and had to be strongly refuted.
Acts 15:5, 28-29 NIV Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses.” It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell.
The true believer has experienced an inner spiritual circumcision through the Holy Spirit, the “true circumcision” that changes the heart and imparts new life.
Galatians 6:12-16 NIV Those who want to impress people by means of the flesh are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ. Not even those who are circumcised keep the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your circumcision in the flesh. May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation. Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule—to the Israel of God.
Required Sacrifice
Forty days after the birth of a son, or eighty days after the birth of a daughter, the mother and father were required to go to the sanctuary and offer the sacrifices for the mother’s cleansing; a year-old lamb for a burnt offering and a dove or pigeon for a sin offering. The burnt offering symbolized her dedication to God as she returned to her normal life, and the sin offering took care of the defilement involved in the birth process. It also reminded them that every child, no matter how beautiful or delightful he or she might be, is born in sin and must one day trust the Lord for salvation.
Psalms 51:5 NIV Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
Psalms 58:3 NIV Even from birth the wicked go astray; from the womb they are wayward, spreading lies.
All parents go and present a sacrifice. If they couldn't afford a lamb for the burnt offering God was gracious and made allowances for the poor who couldn’t afford a lamb!
Leviticus 12:8 NIV But if she cannot afford a lamb, she is to bring two doves or two young pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for her, and she will be clean.’ ”
Mary and Joseph took advantage of this provision when they brought Jesus to the temple
Luke 2:22-24 NIV When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”
