Leviticus 20 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence   This chapter addresses a number of heinous sins in the sight of the Lord including: child sacrifice, fortune telling, cursing one’s parents, adultery, incest, homosexuality and bestiality.  The punishment for such sins in ancient Israel was severe indeed.  Those who transgressed God’s holy law in any of these ways were to bear their iniquity and to be cut off from God’s people.  In some cases they were to…

Leviticus 19 by Pastor David Groendyk   You may have found this chapter an unexpectedly interesting read today. By my count, I see quite explicitly at least nine of the Ten Commandments (vv. 3, 4, 11, 12, 16, 17, 20, 29) (the only exception being the tenth commandment—do not covet—which you can find implicitly throughout this whole chapter). This chapter also contains part of Jesus’ famous summary of the law: “You shall love your neighbor…

Leviticus 18 Devotional by Pastor Mark Hudson 1-5       Exhortation to avoid heathen customs 6-18     Unions regarded as incestuous 19-23   Canaanite customs (sexual) to avoid 24-30   Warning of the consequences of neglecting these rules             This chapter loosely resembles the covenant-treaty form (see Ex 20) 2          Preamble: “I am the Lord Your God” 3          Historical Perspective: “Egypt, where you have been living.” 4          Basic Stipulation: “Do my laws.” 5          Blessings: “He will enjoy life.” 6-23     Detailed…

Leviticus 17 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence              In the Presbyterian Church we seek to follow the regulative principle of worship, which, simply put, states that we ought only to do in worship what God commands and requires of us.  We do not have the freedom to worship God in any way we please.  God has revealed not only who He is, but how He is to be worshipped, thus any innovation on our part…

Leviticus 16 by Pastor David Groendyk   This is the most central chapter in the book of Leviticus. It describes the Day of Atonement. Once a year, the high priest would enter into the Most Holy Place in the tabernacle and then offer a few sacrifices that would make atonement for all of Israel’s sin over the course of that year (v. 34). The crux of this yearly ritual is the two goats (v. 8),…

Leviticus 15 Devotional by Pastor Mark Hudson                 1              Introduction 2-18       Male Discharge                 2-12       Long term                 13-15                     cleansed by sacrifice                 16-17     Transient                 18                           and intercourse 19-30     Female Discharge                 19-23     Transient                 24                           and intercourse                 25-27     Long term                 28-30                     cleansed by sacrifice 31           Purpose of Law 32-33     Summary               It could be that the structure of this passage (chiasm – like an X) points us to the middle section. …

Leviticus 14 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence            Yesterday we learned about the laws of leprosy in determining whether or not a particular skin infection or eruption had risen to the level of making an Israelite unclean in the eyes of God.  Uncleanness did not necessarily imply that a particular sin was involved, but it always symbolized the need for purification and reconciliation with a holy God in order to enter into His presence.  We…

Leviticus 13 by Pastor David Groendyk As we continue in Leviticus through various cleanliness laws, the next two chapters discuss the disease of leprosy. Chapter 13 gives general rules for handling lepers while chapter 14 gives the rules for actually being cleansed from leprosy. The term “leprosy” used in these chapters included many different kinds of skin diseases, not just what we understand today as modern leprosy. The priests of God in ancient days were…

Leviticus 12 Devotional by Pastor Mark Hudson   1                              Introduction 2-5                          Uncleanness following birth                                 2-4          of a boy                                 5              of a girl 6-7a                       Sacrifice after birth 7b                           Summary 8                              Additional Provision for the poor                 We are in the section of uncleanness and its treatment according to the outline suggested by Wenham.  Here is see how long a woman is unclean after childbirth, and what she must do during this time.  Here is…

Leviticus 11 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence                   Clean and unclean animals were one way to distinguish between holy and unholy people in Old Testament Israel.  In this chapter, we see the beginning of a very strict diet code that was imposed upon the Israelites to set them apart from the surrounding nations and to help the Israelites themselves to see that they were in constant need of cleansing in a fallen world. Every creature…

Leviticus 10 by Pastor David Groendyk   The story of Nadab and Abihu is a tragic contrast to what we read in chapter 9. Whereas Aaron’s offering was accepted by God, Nadab and Abihu’s was not. A fly-by summary of this chapter is that Nadab and Abihu offer a bad sacrifice to God and are killed (vv. 1–3), Moses commands Aaron and his family not to mourn (vv. 4–7), God reaffirms Aaron’s role as priest…

Leviticus 9 Devotional by Pastor Mark Hudson   “Regulations explaining which sacrifices ought to be offered form the subject matter of Lev. 1-7.  But there was still no order of priests to carry out the ministry of atonement.  Chs. 8-10 tell how the priesthood was instituted and the first sacrifices offered.”  Wenham p 130.  One should reread Exodus 29 for an earlier explanation of the ordination of the priests.  This is a week long process. …

Leviticus 8 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence                   The purification requirements for the priests who would serve in the Lord’s tabernacle were considerable.  First, they had to be washed by Moses before they could put on their holy garments.  Then they had to be anointed with oil in consecration to God.  Afterwards, they needed to lay their hands on the bull of the sin offering while Moses cut its throat and spilled its blood and…

Leviticus 7 by Pastor David Groendyk   This is the last chapter that explicitly deals with the regular sacrifices for Israel. As Pastor Mark pointed out, the same five sacrifices in chapters 1–5 are being reiterated in chapters 6–7. The first time through, the instructions were mainly directed at the whole congregation; the second time through, the instructions are mainly directed at the priests. In our chapter, the guilt offering (vv. 1–10; from 5:14–6:7) and…

Leviticus 6 Devotional by Pastor Mark Hudson                   If you have been reading the first few chapters, this chapter may feel like déjà vu all over again (quoting Yogi Bera).  `I just read about these sacrifices.  Why is the author covering the same content?’  If you look at verse 8, you will notice something.  6:8 is the start of a new section.  This begins with, “ The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 9 “Command…

Leviticus 5 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence            It is not often that I have run into a professing Christian who believes that he or she no longer sins, although I have come across a few of them during my course of ministry.  It is not that they think that they have never done anything wrong, but because they now have the Spirit of God within them and have the desire to live in righteousness…

Leviticus 4 by Pastor David Groendyk   This next type of sacrifice is called the “sin offering”, sometimes referred to as the “purification offering”. The first thing to notice in this chapter is the way that it talks about sin. The sin offering is provided for those who sin “unintentionally” (vv. 2, 13, 22, 27). We can sin without realizing it! That may come as a surprise to some of you, but, given the testimony…

Leviticus 3 Devotional by Pastor Mary Hudson                                 In terms of OT books being quoted directly in the NT, Leviticus ranks . . . number 6 ahead of proverbs and Jeremiah for instance.  And yet to many of us, Leviticus is one of our least favorite books to read.  In fact, the name almost sounds like a disease.  “I don’t feel well.  I think I have Leviticus.”  Yet, this book is quoted in the New…

Leviticus 2 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence            In the Old Testament temple sacrifices, the grain offering always accompanied the whole burnt offering that is described in the previous chapter.  It was offered unto God immediately after the burnt offering had propitiated or appeased the wrath of God against Israel due to their sin.  Unlike the burnt offering, the grain offering was not to be associated with sin at all.  Instead, it was an offering…

Leviticus 1 Devotional by Pastor David Groendyk   Leviticus is probably not at the top of many Christians’ favorite-book-of-the-Bible list, but it is a rich book to read and study. The majority of the book deals with laws pertaining to sacrifices, ceremonies, the priesthood, and how to be ritually “clean”. While most of those things don’t immediately apply to Christians now, the overall theme of the book does. Dr. Michael McKelvey lays out why it…

I Thessalonians 5 Devotional by Pastor Mark Hudson How do you evaluate when someone understands something?  For different things there are different evaluation tools.  In seminary, the atmosphere is very academic.  I actually enjoyed seminary but thought it was interesting that while some were preparing for PhD work, most of us were preparing for ministry in a local church setting.  Does an A on a paper mean you will be a good pastor?  Or does…