Leviticus 21–23

We're going to do our best tonight to get through 3 chapters. The first 2 that we're going to deal with here, chapters 21 and 22, are chapters that speak specifically to the priests. And so these are instructional chapters, as we go through these. So we're going to go through them fairly rapidly. There's probably not a ton that we're going to bring out, but chapter 21 begins saying,

What you see here is that God is giving an exception to the sons of Aaron to attend to a close family member if that family member were to pass away. And He goes on to say,

We talked about this last week. These were things that the pagan priests did. He says,

In other words, set apart.

Yikes. And now we're going to move on. You'll notice that in verse 10, it says,

Now these directives are uniquely applicable to the high priest as opposed to the previous remarks that were made for his sons. Now, it says here that

And those were common expressions of grief and sorrow. And it says,

Unlike his sons who were allowed to attend to the deaths of close family members, the high priest could not while he's ministering, he cannot. He has the holy garments on. He has the anointing oil upon him and he is not to attend to the dead of any. And it says,

Now you got to remember, the high priest is a picture of Jesus and that's one of the reasons these statements are being made concerning the high priest. It goes on to say in verse 13,

In other words, he just simply shall take the wife, choose a woman who has not been married before, never been with a man before. It says,

Now, again, I want to point out that the high priest is a picture. The high priest is a picture of Jesus. And he is not to take a wife who has been defiled. You know who the wife of Jesus is, right? That's us. It's the body of Christ. And although men sometimes find it a little strange to refer to yourself as a bride or a wife, we are the bride of Christ, regardless of gender, and we are pure in His eyes. There is no defilement in the eyes of the Lord for the bride of the Lord. In like manner, the high priest was not to take a woman who had been defiled, so interesting picture. Now, beginning with verse 16, through the end of the chapter, the Lord is going to give some instructions for who is disqualified for serving as a priest. And this had to be given because there hadn't been any instructions related to this previously. It says, “And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 17 “Speak to Aaron, saying, None of your offspring throughout their generations who has a blemish may approach to offer the bread of his God.” Now, the Lord is going to go on here in the following verses, and He's going to talk about the blemishes that would disqualify an individual, a man from serving as high priest. But again, the reason the priest must be without defect is because he represents Jesus. And Jesus is our sinless high priest so that's what's going on here. And that's why we read verse 18.

Again, because he represents the sinless Messiah.

24 So Moses spoke to Aaron and to his sons and to all the people of Israel.” Chapter 22. This now continues specific directives for the high priest and his sons. It says, “And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to Aaron and his sons so that they abstain from the holy things of the people of Israel, which they dedicate to me, so that they do not profane my holy name: I am the LORD.” The issue that's being addressed here in this first couple of verses and will continue in this chapter, is related to misusing the sacrificial offerings that have been given by the people. And He'll say that in, in greater clarity as we go on. But the Lord is going to explain how they might possibly profane those things in the following verses.

“3 Say to them, ‘If any one of all your offspring throughout your generations approaches the holy things that the people of Israel dedicate to the LORD, (listen) while he has an uncleanness, (in other words, one of the things that was previously mentioned) that person shall be cut off from my presence: I am the LORD.” It's saying here that if the priest or one of his sons goes before the Lord to offer a sacrifice, but he himself is unclean, then that's a real problem. Verse 4 says,

Verse 10,

I'm going to start at verse 14 again.

Verse 17.

So two chapters specifically given over to these issues related to the instructions to the priests about what is and isn't acceptable and so forth. Chapter 23 is where we are going to get into the feasts of Israel so we're going to learn a little bit about them. And it starts by saying,

I know we probably don't use the word, convocations very much. I don't, we don't, when our family gets together, we don't call it a convocation, but it is just a formal gathering of people. And that's simply what it means. So He says they're at the end of verse 2, “they are my appointed feasts.” And so He says there that they are holy. They're a gathering of the people of Israel.

And before we get into the actual feasts of the Lord begins by reiterating the Jewish Sabbath regulations in verse 3 by saying, “Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. (again, a holy convocation or gathering. And He says) You shall do no work. It is a Sabbath to the LORD in all your dwelling places. We've made the point many times that the reason they were not to work was a picture of what was to come. The Sabbath is a picture of resting in the finished work of Jesus on the cross. And by the way, the Sabbath was the only holy day in all of Israel that was weekly. The only one that was weekly. Here we go with the appointed feasts. Verse 4, “These are the appointed feasts of the LORD, the holy convocations, which you shall proclaim at the time appointed for them.” And first we begin with Passover. “5 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight, is the LORD's Passover. 6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the (in other words, the very next day, and that is to the) LORD; for seven days you shall (only) eat unleavened bread.” And I put the word only in there because that's an important element of that particular feast. So the evening of the 14th day of the very first month of their year, the Jews would observe the Passover and eat the Passover meal. And that was a commemoration of God's deliverance of the people of Israel from their bondage in Egypt. And you'll remember they called it Passover because the angel of the Lord came to Israel, came to Egypt and slew the firstborn son in every home. But during that terrible evening, when he saw the blood of the sacrificial lamb on the doorpost of certain homes, he would pass over those homes and there would be no curse and no death. So we have the Passover meal, but then the very next day, the 15th day of the first month would mark the start of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And when you're reading through the New Testament, many times they will simply refer to Passover as the Feast of Unleavened Bread, or they'll call the entire celebration Passover. Although technically Passover was just really one evening, and then the Feast of Unleavened Bread was the next 7 days. But the names were used interchangeably. They were obviously both connected to the whole issue of God's deliverance of the people of Israel.

But while the Passover specifically illustrated God setting them free, the Feast of Unleavened Bread was not about them being set free from bondage in Egypt. It was a precursor to the idea of being set free from the bondage of sin. Because you'll remember that what they were supposed to do, was they were supposed to not eat any bread that had been made with leaven because leaven is a picture of what? It's a picture of sin. And therefore the whole picture here is that while they were for one week to put away all leaven from their homes, God was giving them a picture of once you've come out of bondage to slavery, you are to put away sin. And that's what the Feast of Unleavened Bread pictured in the life of Israel. And it is such a beautiful picture, frankly for today as well. Because when we come to Christ and we make Him our Savior, we are set free from the bondage to sin and death. In other words, our bondage to the curse of sin is overturned when we come to Christ. But now that you've come to Christ, now what? Now what? Now we are to go on and live in that freedom. In other words, you've been set free. Now live in it. Now walk in it. Make it a part of your life. It is possible to be set free and to go back into slavery. You guys know that, right? Even as a believer, even as a believer. I get so many communications from people who have come to the cross and made Jesus their Savior, and been set free from their bondage to sin and death. And then they write me because they are so destroyed by the fact that they've walked back into sin and they've become slaves all over again. You might say, well, pastor Paul, is it really possible for a born again believer to walk back into slavery to become a slave again? Oh yeah. That's why the apostle Paul wrote what he did to the Galatians. Let me show you this on the screen. He says, Galatians 5:1 (NIV)

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. (in other words, it's so that you might walk in freedom that you are set free. So he says) Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

So is it possible to go back into slavery? Yes, it is. So what are we doing messing around with sin and going back and living in that sort of an environment once again? It's very possible. So this is, what Paul says in Galatians is the exact same thing that God is saying to the people of Israel between Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Passover, you've been set free. The Feast of Unleavened Bread, now walk it out. Now live in it. Put sin away. Let it not be in your lives. All right. Finishing the instructions on the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Verse 7, it says, “On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; (in other words, they're to come together as a gathering of people, and he says) you shall not do any ordinary work. 8 But you shall present a food offering to the LORD for seven days. On the seventh day is a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work.” So you see, they have a Sabbath on both ends of that seven day period. All right. Now the Feast of Firstfruits comes up next. “9 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 10 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land that I give you and reap its harvest, you shall bring the sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest, 11 and he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, so that you may be accepted. On the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. 12 And on the day when you wave the sheaf, you shall offer a male lamb a year old without blemish as a burnt offering to the LORD. 13 And the grain offering with it shall be two tenths of an ephah of fine flour (now, an ephah came to today, it's about 22 liters. You can figure out, I suppose, what two tenths of that is. It was to be) mixed with oil, a food offering to the LORD with a pleasing aroma, and the drink offering with it shall be of wine, a fourth of a hin.” Which is about a quart, because a hin was around a gallon. They were to bring a quart of wine along with it. And he says in verse 14, “And you shall eat neither bread nor grain parched or fresh until this same day, until you have brought the offering of your God: it is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.” In other words, don't eat because you're bringing, you bring the firstfruits first, and then you can eat. Right? So this was the first harvest of the year and the first harvest of the year in this whole celebration of the Feast of firstfruits was meant to remind God's people that a larger harvest was coming. But you see what the firstfruits pictures for us, or the way it's fulfilled in Jesus, is that it pictures the resurrection of Christ because He is the firstfruits. And He is also a reminder of the larger harvest, firstfruits, or if you will, the resurrection that is to come. Paul talks about that in Corinthians up on the screen. 1 Corinthians 15, verse 20.

The Feast of Firstfruits, a picture of the resurrection of Christ. Next. Then he says, verse 15, “You shall count seven full weeks from the day after the Sabbath, (and that's the day after the Sabbath from the Feast of Firstfruits) from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering. (and) 16 You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath. Then you shall present a grain offering of new grain to the LORD.” All right, we're on the next feast. This is called the Feast of Weeks. In Hebrew, Shavuot. It's also known as Pentecost and it was celebrated 50 days after the Sabbath that was associated with Passover. Now, without really explaining what the Feast of Weeks is about, the Lord is going to go on and give some instructions here, but these are to the priests related to the sacrifices that were to be made at that time. And of course, that's what the Book of Leviticus is all about. He gives, quite a few instructions here saying, “17 You shall bring from your dwelling places two loaves of bread to be waved, made of two tenths of an ephah. They shall be of fine flour, and they shall be baked with leaven, as firstfruits to the LORD. 18 And you shall present with the bread seven lambs a year old without blemish, and one bull from the herd and two rams. They shall be a burnt offering to the LORD, with their grain offering and their drink offerings, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the LORD. 19 And you shall offer one male goat for a sin offering, and two male lambs a year old as a sacrifice of peace offerings. 20 And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits as a wave offering before the LORD, with the two lambs. They shall be holy to the LORD for the priest. 21 And you shall make a proclamation on the same day. You shall hold a holy convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work. It is a statute forever in all your dwelling places throughout your generations.” Now, the very first hint that we really get to what this Feast of Pentecost is all about, at least for the Jews, is in the very next verse, verse 22. Where He says, “And when you reap the harvest of your land,…” Pentecost marked the harvest festival with a focus on giving thanks to God for the beginning of the wheat harvest. This is the latter harvest that was there in Israel. And it was during the Feast of Pentecost, you'll remember that the first Christian harvest was brought in you, remember? It's recorded for us in Acts chapter 2, on the screen with many other words.

…with many other words he bore witness (and that's Peter talking) and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. This is the fulfillment of Pentecost. It's this picture of the ingathering of souls into the kingdom of God. Okay, here are the instructions for Israel during that time of Pentecost. We're still in verse 22. He says, “…you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, nor shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. (we dealt with some of this earlier. He says) You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: (which of course is the person travelling throughout the land. And He says) I am the LORD your God.” Now we come to the feast of trumpets in verse 23. And it says, “And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 24 “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe a day of solemn rest, a memorial proclaimed with blast of trumpets, (notice that) a holy convocation. (and He says) 25 You shall not do any ordinary work, and you shall present a food offering to the LORD.” Stop there for just a moment.

This is where we're dealing with the Feast of Trumpets. It begins on the first day at the new moon of the seventh month. Its name comes from the fact that they were to blow the trumpets. This is also referred to as Rosh Hashanah. And it essentially just means the head of the year, because it marks the beginning of the Jewish civil calendar. And it was during this celebration that they were to have a Sabbath rest. No work was to be performed at all. And yet they were also to offer some burnt offerings and some sin offerings that would be brought before the Lord. The Feast of Trumpets is interesting and important for several different reasons. First of all, it was a commemoration of the completion, the final element of their agricultural year. It was also right before the Day of Atonement. We're going to see that in just a moment. And so this time of the blowing of trumpets heralded a period of days leading up to the Day of Atonement when the people of Israel were to stop, and reflect, and to have a period of time when they would repent in preparation for the day of atonement, which we'll get to next. This is that preparation time. This is that time of preparing the heart to be ready for the coming of the Day of Atonement, which is hugely important. Which frankly, we talked about 2 weeks ago in our study here of Leviticus. It says, “26 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 27 “Now on the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. It shall be for you a time of holy convocation, (again, coming together) and (it says) you shall afflict yourselves (which is a literal rendering, but it means it's going to be a time of fasting, okay) and (he says and) present a food offering to the LORD. 28 And you shall not do any work on that very day, for it is a Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before the LORD your God. 29 For whoever is not afflicted (in other words, who isn’t fasting) on that very day shall be cut off from his people.” The NIV says, “those who do not deny themselves on that day must be cut off.” Verse 30. “And whoever does any work on that very day, that person I will destroy from among his people. 31 You shall not do any work. It is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwelling places. 32 It shall be to you a Sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall afflict yourselves. On the ninth day of the month beginning at evening, from evening to evening shall you keep your Sabbath.”

Did you notice there in verses 30, 31 and 32, how many times the Lord emphasized the whole issue of not working and even laid out punishment for someone who didn't obey? And the issue there is very clear. This is the Day of Atonement. This is the day when they're forgiven. And so on that day, you don't work. Why don't you work? Because that's a picture of being forgiven by the work that Jesus did on the cross. You don't work. If you work, you're cut off. Isn't that interesting? You think about that. People who are working for their salvation, they're cut off. They're cut off because they're working in their own strength and in their own power to be acceptable to God. And God says right here, if you work during the Day of Atonement, you're going to be cut off. This is a time of resting in the work of God. You can really see that emphasis there. And then finally, we come to the Feast of Booths, also known as the Feast of Tabernacles. Or in Hebrew, Sukkoth, which means booths. Verse 33,

And again, there's no explanation you'll notice given here as for, to the reason for this feast, because that's not really the point. He's going to give it, but this is the Book of Leviticus and the information here is primarily for the priests. But the Feast of Booths, or the Feast of Tabernacles, whichever you care to refer to it as, was an annual feast. Typically occurred in late September potentially through up through mid-October. And it all started 5 days after the Day of Atonement, which corresponded, of course, as you know, with the completion of the of the fall harvest. And now only it was a time when the people of Israel would celebrate God's provision in the harvest that they had just brought in. But it was also a time to remember the Lord's care and guidance during their wilderness wanderings. So really, the Feast of Tabernacles was largely about celebrating God's provision. Here we are at the end of the harvest, we're celebrating the fact that God has provided but we're also going to set up these booths. And the people are actually going to stay in them to remind them that they lived in tents when they were going through the wilderness. And yet, God provided for them. And that's what it goes on to say. Verse 37,

Now, he says,

They're celebrating the provision, the bountiful provision of the Lord.

Now, of these feasts, 3 of them were called the Pilgrim Feasts, and they were referred to that, in that way because it was during those three feasts that all Jewish males living within a certain radius of Jerusalem were commanded to make the trip to Jerusalem to celebrate. And those 3 required feasts were Passover, Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles. And although to the people of Israel, these feasts were connected to their agricultural lives and the ingathering that happened during those times, as well as the historical events in the history of Israel, such as with Passover, they each connect with a critical New Testament theme as well as we've pointed out in the work of Jesus Christ.

Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread symbolize our freedom from the bondage of sin and death and our freedom from sin through the atoning. sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Pentecost, symbolizing the in gathering of the saints, at the coming, and also the coming resurrection. And the Feast of Tabernacles is considered a feast that points toward the establishing of the Lord's coming kingdom upon the earth. That's where we're going to stop tonight. We basically have 4 chapters left and I'm going to decide next week whether or not we're going to cover all 4 of those at once or whether we're going to do 2 chapters next week and 2 chapters in the final week. Stay tuned. There you go. Let's pray. And we're going to give you guys some fellowship time here because the kids are not going to be done for about another 20 minutes. Feel free to hang around and chat with one another. Father, thank You for the Word of God. Thank You for the power of the Word. Thank You for the grace that we see in the Scriptures. Thank You, Lord, for the pictures that are given to us in the Old Testament. All of the types and shadows that point to the work of Jesus and the coming kingdom. We thank You and praise You for bringing light and understanding and revelation to our hearts concerning these things. And we pray that we would continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray, amen. Amen. Have a good rest of your evening.