LEVITICUS

The following comments are from Navigator's and Quiet Time Diary journals. One verse will be entered, then the comment, then the date.

1:3    If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer it, a male without defect; he shall offer it at the doorway of the tent of meeting, that he may be accepted before the LORD.

    God is perfect. During the sacrificial period, He only wanted animals that were "without defect" to be sacrificed in worship. If it was anything else it wouldn't be a "sacrifice!" This was to prepare the way for His sending His sinless Son to be sacrificed for the sins of the world - which would end the need for sacrificing animals. (DRM 10/16/08)

1:10    If the offering is a burnt offering from the flock, he is to offer a male without defect. 

    This is another of many clues that our sacrifice, Jesus Christ, had to be a man without defect to be the atonement for all of mankind's sins. 
    This male without defect requirement was used for both the cows and the sheep in this chapter.
    I'm sure that the meaning for this chapter was not understood when it was written, but NOW it makes more sense! (DRM 1/28/88)

3:17    "This is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live: You must not eat any fat or any blood."

    Certainly I understand not eating blood. . . I couldn't do that anyway! The surprise (?) is not eating fat. This probably refers to animal fat which I usually avoid.
    If vegetable fat was the intention, then a problem exists as many foods have vegetable fat. (DRM 1/29/88)

4:2, 3    "Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, 'If a person sins unintentionally in any of the things which the LORD has commanded not to be done, and commits any of them, ³if the anointed priest sins so as to bring guilt on the people, then let him offer to the LORD a bull without defect as a sin offering for the sin he has committed.

    It's true, I admit it. I try not to sin, but sin unintentionally. If I don't know that I'm sinning, I don't confess that sin to the Lord Jesus=God.
    Unintentional sin is not something I think about - thus this verse is a reminder that no matter how I try to be "good," I still sin.
    In the Old Testament, the priest has sin offerings for all types of sins. today we have Jesus to confess our sins to with no intermediary.
    My solution to unintentional sin today? Pray for the Holy Spirit's conviction or, better yet, depend of Jesus'/God's grace who died for ALL our sin. (DRM 2/8/14)

    Grace is getting what we do not deserve.
    Mercy is not receiving what we do deserve. —( from Our Daily Bread, 2/8/14)

4:26b    In this way the priest will make atonement for the man's sin, and he will be forgiven.

    This whole chapter deals with sin offerings and the sacrifices that were necessary to forgive sins. Thank God that He sent His Son, Jesus Christ to be the perfect atonement for our sins! (DRM 1/31/88)

5:1    Now if a person sins after he hears a public adjuration to testify when he is a witness, whether he has seen or otherwise known, if he does not tell it, then he will bear his guilt.

    This verse makes me think of the process of conviction of sin. While the Holy Spirit wasn't present in Old Testament times, conviction came by other ways. In this verse it seems to come via public adjuration, or voice, like a judge calling a witness - where we are asked to tell what we know of the offense. Today God=Jesus wants us to repent of our sins - to Him - to keep ourselves spiritually clean. (DRM 10/16/08)

5:16    He must make restitution for what he has failed to do in regard to the holy things, add a fifth of the value to that and give it all to the priest, who will make atonement for him with the ram. . . 

    This verse refers to guilt offerings. I am surprised that (if I understand this correctly) this is in the Bible. Why would I give restitution to the priest - now I understand - on HOLY things only. (DRM 2/1/88)

6:13    The fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously; it must not go out. 

    The offerings continue in this chapter of Leviticus. An interesting thought would be that, as in the fire, we know that God is always with us. He will not die and His light will  never go out. (DRM 2/2/88)

7:23    "Say to the Israelites: 'Do not eat any of the fat of cattle, sheep or goats'.

    With my concern about my personal health, perhaps I should think about this verse some more. I also know that Jesus said that no food was impure. (DRM 2/4/88)

8:12    He poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron's head and anointed him to consecrate him.

    When Jesus was alive - on earth - a woman poured oil on Him also. This was just before He died on the cross for me. Was this verse a prophecy? (DRM 2/5/88)

9:23    Moses and Aaron then went into the Tent of Meeting. When they came out, they blessed the people; and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. 

    In this chapter Aaron made several sacrifices to God, by killing many animals. The purpose seems to be to get the glory of the Lord to appear. Thank God we do not need sacrifices now, as Christ was the perfect sacrifice for all our sins. (DRM 2/6/88)

10:17,19    Why didn't you eat the sin offering? ¹⁹. . . Today they sacrificed their sin offering, but such things as this have happened to me. . . 

    Moses asked why they didn't eat the sin offering, and Aaron, his son said that (Aaron's) sons did not eat the offering as they also had sins to repent for. This shows me that ALL have sins, no matter WHO they are. (DRM 2/7/88)

11:22, 23    Of these you may eat any kind of locust, katydid, cricket, or grasshopper, but all other winged creatures that have four legs you are to detest. 

    Chapter 11 goes through the lists of clean and unclean foods. These two verses are a little different to me only because I don't think I would like to eat these insects - which are clean food. (DRM 2/8/88)

13:40, 41    When a man has lost his hair and is bald, he is clean. ⁴¹If he has lost his hair from the front of his scalp and has a bald forehead, he is clean. 

    I am still amazed at the "new" passages in the Bible that I never read before. Since I am slowly balding, it is encouraging to know that I will still be "clean" in Old Testament laws. (DRM 2/9/88)

14:54, 55, 56    These are the regulations for any infectious skin disease, for an itch, ⁵⁵for mildew in clothing or in a house, ⁵⁶and for a swelling, a rash or a bright spot, . . . 

    More laws and regulations that God gave to Moses. A Rabbi told me: sacrifices (etc.) ended in 70 A.D. in Jerusalem. That's interesting - but when will they trust in Jesus? (DRM 2/10/88)

16:21    Then Aaron shall lay both of his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the sons of Israel and all their transgressions in regard to all their sins; and he shall lay them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who stands in readiness.

    This is the explanation of the term scapegoat. All of Israel's sins were placed on the head of this goat an the goat was allowed to escape into the desert. (DRM 2/11/88)

16:22    The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to a solitary land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness.

    The symbolism of the scapegoat is rarely mentioned in our Christian worship. I think it is more clearly referred to in Jewish worship at least once a year, but they wouldn't see that the scapegoat was a representation of giving all their/our sins to Jesus so they can be taken away.
    In this verse, the term "solitary land" is mentioned. I'm guessing this would represent Israel, whereas when Jesus took our sins, He took them for the whole world.
    Thank you Jesus for taking away our sins. Like the goat, Jesus is alive. (DRM 5/31/15)

17:11    For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement.

    All of my life I have had a lot of "respect" for blood - even as a child I feared for the blood as I cut myself. Perhaps it was my feeling that, like this verse, it was a part of my life. God gave Jesus as our atonement, thus He covers our (my) sins with His blood. Thank you, Jesus. (DRM 10/17/08)

18:29    Everyone who does any of these detestable things - such persons must be cut off from their people.

    This chapter described how not to have sex with your relatives or your neighbor's wife or another man.
    Certainly I agree that those acts should not be done and are detestable things - rapidly growing in today's world. 
    Perhaps more people will realize that the results of doing these things can be fatal - physically and spiritually. (DRM 9/13/87)

19:11    You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another.

    This part of Leviticus consists of a series of laws that aren't a part of the Ten Commandments, or are they just reworded?
    As I read them, I said to myself, "am I guilty of this one?" Our goal should be not to break these laws, as that would be sin.
    If others break these laws (e.g. lie to one another) we are to forgive them. That has been a challenge for me - but time seems to put all things in perspective. (DRM 10/27/11)

19:12    Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God. I am the Lord. 

    Sometimes I say things which I think are totally harmless, and later find out just what I said and how it was taken. I must continue to work to end "Gee!" (DRM 2/12/88)

19:14    You shall not curse a deaf man, nor place a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall revere your God; I am the LORD.

    People do this - they think it's a practical joke - but it's cruel and heartless to the blind or deaf person involved.
    This is like morals - what is "right" is what God wants from each of us. He put a conscience in each of us - even if we aren't believers - and that tells us right from wrong.
    It's hard to explain the difference between having a conscience and having the Holy Spirit within us . . . perhaps it relates to how we are directed by this 'still small voice.' (DRM 11/14/13)

19:15    You shall do no injustice in judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor nor defer to the great, but you are to judge your neighbor fairly.

    Who is my neighbor? It's not necessarily the person who lives next door, but more like the person who is standing next to you at any time.
    Our neighbor can be poor or rich - who is that person sitting next to you on the bus?
    The point is to treat all people equally - if they are rich or poor. (DRM 10/17/08)

19:19d    Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material.

    I didn't know that was in the Bible! Probably everything that I wear is of blended fabrics. This chapter is completely composed of various laws.
    Fortunately I keep the great majority. The ones that I don't keep, I will have to try to do better on! (DRM 4/12/87) Like the Ten Commandments, the Law in Leviticus was given before Jesus came to die for our sins. We can attempt to keep the Law, but all we have to do is depend on Him to save us from our sins! (DRM 1/15/2004)

19:33, 34    When a stranger resides with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. ³⁴The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt; I am the LORD your God.

    You have a new neighbor; he/she has moved to your country from another country far away. Of all the places they could have chosen, they had a reason to want to live in your country.
    We are to welcome/love all people to our neighborhood, no matter their background. Think of all the history they can tell you about wherever they came from. You will receive new knowledge about their origin and understand more about the world in general.
    The Lord wants us to learn from our differences. Heaven will be filled with people from every country . . . (DRM 2/16/18)

20:10    If there is a man who commits adultery with another man's wife, one who commits adultery with his friends wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.

    With today's society, and this Old Testament law, there would be a lot of deaths today for the breaking of this law.
    While not encouraging adultery, Jesus in John 8:3-11 did not allow a stoning of the woman caught in adultery, knowing that we all sin - and need to repent/forsake sins for forgiveness. (DRM 10/17/08)  

    While this verse was intended for the people of Israel, I personally take this verse as being a personal directive from the Lord to me. (DRM 2/13/88)

21:23    ". . . yet because of his defect, he must not go near the curtain or approach the altar, and so desecrate my sanctuary. . . "

    The Lord is the person quoted here and the Old Testament laws are long and seemingly endless. The thought of not allowing a person who has any defect confuses me. Thank God we don't need all these laws now! (DRM 2/14/88)
    God is perfect, He doesn't want anything but perfection. That is why Jesus HAD to come to die for our sins. (DRM 2/22/2004)

22:22    Those that are blind or fractured or maimed or having a running sore or eczema or scabs, you shall not offer to the LORD, nor make of them an offering by fire on the altar to the LORD.

    This part of Chapter 22 continues the point that only perfect animals are acceptable as a sacrifice to the Lord God. Note in this verse that "fractured" is mentioned. When Jesus was sacrificed for our sins, none of His bones were broken, as He also had to fill the description here to be an acceptable offering to God. What a wonderful gift! (DRM 10/18/08)

22:32    Do not profane my holy name. I must be acknowledged as holy by the Israelites. I am the Lord, who makes you holy. 

    The last part of this verse was mentioned in this chapter three times, I think. The Lord chose us, we didn't choose Him. It was God who chose me to honor Him. Not the other way around! (DRM 2/15/88)

23:10    Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, 'when you enter the land which I am going to give to you and reap its harvest, then you shall bring in the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest. . . ' "

    This quote was given from God to Moses. Since it is currently harvest time, it shows how important it was (is) to God that He receive the first fruits.
    Truly God is the Provider of all of our food - by providing just the right amount of sunshine and rain in summer, so we can have a harvest every autumn. (DRM 10/18/08)

23:18a    Along with the bread you shall present seven one year old lambs without defect, and a bull of the herd and two rams; they are to be a burnt offering to the LORD. . .

    I had an unusual thought when reading this verse - the people had to be "rich" to be able to supply this many cattle - 10 animals - for this feast. I can understand the people with large herds could do this, but what about city dwellers? Other verses have referred to substitutions, but apparently this was God's first choice. For Christians, our substitution is Jesus. (DRM 10/19/08)

23:24    "Say to the Israelites: 'On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of rest, a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts.'

    This would represent July 1st on our calendar. (A special day to me.) This sounds a little similar to July 4th also. I had never heard of the "Feast of Trumpets" before, and wonder what happened to it? (DRM 2/16/88)

23:28, 29    You shall not do any work on this same day, for it is a day of atonement, to make atonement on your behalf before the LORD your God. ²⁹If there is any person who will not humble himself on this same day, he shall be cut off from his people.

    I think of the Day of Atonement as a day of thankfulness that the Lord God provided for His people; Israel. As a Christian, this compares to Jesus' atonement for my sins by His death and resurrection. In v. 29 people were cut off for not accepting the atonement, like people today will be cut off from heaven without accepting Jesus as our substitutionary atonement. (DRM 10/20/08) The Day of Atonement pictures the concealing of sin so that a sinful person (and nation) could approach his Holy God! (Word of Life commentary)

24:20    fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. As he has injured the other, so he is to be injured. 

    A controversial Bible verse, for sure! In Old Testament times, I'm sure that the Lord wanted people to have mutual respect for each other. . . (DRM 2/17/88)

25:4    but during the seventh year the land shall have a Sabbath rest, a sabbath to the LORD, you shall not sow your field nor prune your vineyard.

    Why didn't this work? I think the Israelites were like most of us, as we don't save enough when we have plenty - a full crop - thus can't go a full year with no prior savings. To "skip a year," requires faith that the Lord will supply, thus, if anyone obeyed this rule, then it would only be those who trusted only in God. (DRM 10/21/08) (see v. 21-22)

    This refers to the year of Jubilee - every 50 years. I find the use of the word liberty interesting and how freedom seems to be referred to in this passage. (DRM 2/20/88)

25:30    But if it is not bought back for him within the space of a full year, then the house that is in the walled city passes permanently to its purchaser throughout his generations; it does not revert in the jubilee.

    The "Law of Redemption" allows for a seller of a property to purchase it back (v. 27) at any time. On the year of Jubilee the seller would receive the land back in any case. This verse refers to an exception - the city dwellers - where title is passed permanently.
    This is another example of how God directed how the Israelites should live, and still honor Him. (DRM 10/22/08)

26:3,4    If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments so as to carry them out, ⁴then I shall give you rains in their season, so that the land will yield its produce and the trees of the field will bear their fruit.

    This section shows the heart of God, in that it describes what He will do if the Israelites follow His commands, or what He will do if they don't. The list of benefits is much longer in the first case. Perhaps one reason they stopped following His commands was that they stopped reading them - and forgot the consequences. As believers, we are to read and obey His word. (DRM 10/23/08)

26:5    Indeed, your threshing will last for you until grape gathering, and grape gathering will last until sowing time. You will thus eat your food to the full and live securely in your land.

    I never thought of that! With farming specialties today, we have different people who do farming in the field and different people in the vineyards. Since I was never a farmer, I never realized that different crops are harvested in different months.
    God seems to have thought of everything for our benefit. He cares for us and wants us to worship Him. This is just another reminder of how He has everything in control. (DRM 7/11/12)

26:27, 28    Yet if in spite of this you do not obey Me, but act with hostility against Me, ²⁸then I will act with wrathful hostility against you, and I, even I, will punish you seven times for your sins.

    This whole section refers to the wrath of God for people who wont obey His direction. While originally written for the Israelites, how is it different from today? People have a free will to obey or disobey God. I choose to obey Him and try to live totally for His glory. (DRM 10/24/08)

26:44    Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, nor will I so abhor them as to destroy them, breaking My covenant with them; for I am the LORD their God.

    As it is written here, the Israelites disobeyed the Lord and were scattered to other nations. - Even so the Lord God didn't reject them and kept them as a special people for thousands of years until they came back to the land of Israel in 1948. The Jewish people are still God's chosen people - and what He does with Israel will affect ALL of us. (DRM 10/25/08)

27:28    But nothing that a man owns and devotes to the Lord - whether man or animal or family land - may be sold or redeemed: everything so devoted is most holy to the Lord.

    This was a most difficult verse for me considering my thoughts about selling my second home. I was able to talk to a Christian friend about it and was reminded that Old Testament laws were covered by Galatians 5:18 etc. Selling the cabin to a Christian would still be my priority. (DRM 2/21/88)