Monday - Leviticus 18 - The Naked Truth

Babies are born naked. God made Adam and Eve naked. Jesus hung on the cross naked (John 19:23). Nuptial nakedness is approved of God (Hebrews 13:4 & all of the Song of Solomon). Everything is naked in the eyes of God (Hebrews 4:13). God commanded Isaiah to preach naked for 3 years (Isaiah 20:2-4). Yet, with all of the aforementioned nakedness, clearly it is a problematic bane under most circumstances.

To be clear, this chapter is not about voyeurism, exhibitionism, naturism or pornography - although those things would certainly be included by implication.  The phrase "uncover the nakedness" was obviously a relatively couth way for the AV translators to communicate God's word concerning the illicit carnal activities that   dominated Egypt and Canaan in the days of Moses (Leviticus 18:3, 24 & 27).  Still, in the midst of the archaic tone of Leviticus 18, the horror of sin is still unmistakable.  So, here it is in brief form...

Incest was both defined and condemned in verses 6-18. In addition to incest, relations during menstruation were forbidden. Also, adultery, homosexuality, bestiality (and, by extension, all such perversions and pollutions of God's holy procreative order) were capital offenses (Leviticus 18:29). And, to show just how abominable and appalling these reprobate customs were in His sight, He listed ritualistic infanticide right in the middle of the mix to emphasize His utter disdain for such filth. God condemns ANY deviation from His ordained plan concerning the proper expression of our sexuality (that is, within a societally recognized lifelong monogamous heterosexual relationship - Matthew 5:28 and Deuteronomy 5:21). 

Saturday - Leviticus 17 - Blood

God was blocking off a problem by issuing this injunction.  See, there was a habit of occultist devotion that the Israelites had evidently picked up over the generations in Egypt. The evil practice was associated with eating meat (a practice very rare during the Exodus and wilderness wandering; see Numbers 11:4) - they ate mostly manna. But when they did kill animals for food God required them to sanctify their meat at the door of the Tabernacle so that they would not be tempted to kill it before the devil's imps (Leviticus 17:7).

When Able was killed, God said it was his blood that cried out for justice (Genesis 4:10). When God instituted human government by authorizing capital punishment it was the blood of victims that He used to justify the measure (Genesis 9:5). It was a blood plague that commenced the ten Egyptian persuasions (Exodus 7:20).  It was blood that was used to preserve the Hebrews when the angel of death was slaying all of the eldest Egyptians (Exodus 12:13). It was blood that dominated the Tabernacle system of worship. And, to skip way ahead, it was blood that sealed the New Covenant for us; Christ's blood (I Peter 1:18-19).   No wonder the apostles maintained this OT directive even after the illumination of grace (Acts 15:20 and 29; 21:25).

Friday - Leviticus 16 - Yom Kippur

The Day of Atonement really shouldn't be thought of as a happy day. It was a very important day and the result of that day was precious, but the event was a solemn one. It was a day set aside for serious introspection & repentance (Leviticus 16:29 & 31).

The annual day of atoning was necessary because of two things: the holiness of God and the sinfulness of men. Both of those realities were seen clearly in the divine execution of Nadab and Abihu (Leviticus 10:1-2 and 16:1). Even "well meaning" religious activities are rejected by God when those activities are self-righteous efforts rather than simple faith-filled responses to His will. So, while many sacrifices were offered daily throughout the whole year, there was one day that was set aside for a general sacrifice for all sins of all people for the whole year. On the 10^th day of the month, the high priest was to go into the Holy of Holies to atone for his own sins and then for the sins of the people. This ritual was highly typical. There were many activities during the Day of Atonement that pointed to the day when the Great High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ, would offer Himself for the sins of all men for all time.

Each year as Aaron stood behind the Ark of the Covenant and sprinkled the blood upon the lid, the presence of God was manifested there in a cloud.  Now, unlike the Messiah, Aaron had to offer the blood of a young bull to atone for his own sin prior to offering the blood of the sacrificial goat for the all of the sins of the people (Leviticus 16:16, 30 and 34). Of course, Jesus had no sin of His own, so He simply "became sin" on the cross and offered Himself for us.

The most outstanding part of the day's ritual was the handling of the two goats. By chance (Ruth 2:3 and Ecclesiastes 9:11) one goat was selected to be killed as a sin offering and the other was left to be set free in the wilderness.  Both goats represented the ugliness that made the day necessary in the first place.

The dead goat represented the sinner and the scapegoat represented the sin. The punishment that God owed to the people was laid on the sacrificial goat... thereby rolling God's wrath against them back for another year as they waited for the sufficient sacrifice that had been promised (Genesis 3:15, 22:8 and 49:10). Their sins were metaphorically placed on the scapegoat and were thereby taken away. The destination of the scapegoat represented the sea of God's forgetfulness (Micah 7:19). Yom Kippur... the Day of Atonement; without atonement there could be no peace with God - then, or now.

Thursday - Leviticus 15 - Blood Borne Pathogens

Here Moses gave a big spill (pardon the pun) to his people on the uncleanness of body fluids. Under the Levitical law, cleanness was obviously paramount. Both men and women were instructed concerning all sorts of ceremonial uncleanness that resulted from coming into contact with various body fluids. In some cases, this chapter is so explicit that it's uncomfortable even discussing it, yet the code of cleanness was specific and important for the Jews in those days. One thing is for sure, the claim that one way or another the Bible addresses any and every issue that you can possibly imagine is certainly illustrated vividly in this chapter.  And, while we are no longer under those laws, it is interesting to see just how strict the program was back in those days.

Ironically, in the OT men were made ceremonially unclean by coming into contact with certain body fluids, yet our souls are made perfectly clean by the blood of Jesus Christ. Being washed in the blood of Christ (spiritually) removes our uncleanness.  There is no way of being made clean apart from His blood.

Tuesday - Leviticus 14 - Response to Healing

In a continuation from the last chapter, we find now the proper response that was expected from anyone who experienced healing from leprosy (or from some similar problems in a person's body, clothing or house).  The most significant thing about this chapter is the fact that there was an assumption or presupposition that healing was even possible. Leprosy is not typically thought of as a curable ailment. Of course, by application, neither is depravity. Depravity, when rightly evaluated, is an incurable spiritual disease; a birth defect passed down from Adam himself... untreatable by any natural means.  However, with God, all things are possible.

After being healed, a healthy x-leper was to offer a couple of possible combinations of 2 male lambs, 1 female lamb, flour, oil and 2 doves or pigeons (depending on his financial station) which were to serve variously as trespass, sin, meat and burnt offerings. Just like in the ritual that went with the consecration of the priests into service, the extremities of the healthy worshipper was supposed to have been touched with blood from the trespass offering, evidently to demonstrate both that every part of the individual was sinful and that every part was also wholly sanctified. Other rituals accompanied all of this including reverential uses of the oil which (we have previously discussed) represented the gladsome presence of the Spirit of God in all of this.

Monday - Leviticus 13 - Leprosy and Sin

Like leaven, leprosy is used in the Scriptures to illustrate sinfulness. The fermentation process in leavening and the rottenness of leprosy are appropriate representations of sin. Though we might not see things this way, sin is literally grotesque.

Leprosy came in many forms, just like sin. Priests could identify it under the skin, in a scab or as an open wound. Whether it was white, red or dark; a boil or inflammation... whether it was on a man, a woman or in a piece of cloth; on the head, in a beard or wherever else... it was a serious problem. Being a leper would get a person banished from society (Leviticus 13:45-46). The implication by comparison is powerful. Morally, we stand naked and shameful... we are unclean in the eyes of God. We are defiled and are doomed to nothing better than to be rejected and alone. Just find the most repulsive physical human image that you can imagine, and realize that in God's eyes, we all look worse than that spiritually.

Saturday - Leviticus 12 - God Sees Sin

God sees sin even where we see perfection (Isaiah 64:6). When Eve listened to Lucifer she blindly participated in a sequence of events that damned all of creation. And, when God meted out the curse which He had promised, He specifically spoke of the pain in childbirth that would always remind women of the awfulness of Eve's decision. In fact, I Timothy 2:14 says, "The woman being deceived was in the transgression" (which might be the reason behind the doubled period of uncleanness in the case of female babies under the ceremonial law). Again, Psalm 51:5 agrees, "Behold, I was shaped in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me."

Mankind is fit for nothing but destruction (Romans 9:22). Good news though. God loves our pitiful race despite our despicable rottenness (Romans 5:6 & 8). Because of that unfathomable love, the curse was cured by Jesus (I Corinthians 15:22). So, even though many babies die in sin (naturally condemned by the sin nature inherited from their father) as yet unable to make a choice to turn to the Savior, they are covered by the merciful grace and compassion that was demonstrated and justified by the shed blood of Christ. The righteous God who HATES sin also loves sinners (Romans 3:26).