However, our appreciation for holiness will be reflected in the purity of our actions and attitude.

Transcription

1 Explore the Bible Lesson Preview May 23, 2010 "Stay Away from Perverted Practices" Background: Leviticus 17:1-22:33 Lesson: Leviticus 18:1-5, 20-26; 20:6-8 Motivation: God's holiness is reflected by an abhorrence of sin. Our ultimate holiness comes only from the shed blood of Jesus. However, our appreciation for holiness will be reflected in the purity of our actions and attitude. Examination: I. Obeying Important Restrictions (17:1-16) "... it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul." Believer's Study Bible, p. 171: 17 :11 "This verse is one of the key verses of Leviticus. It is a part of that scarlet thread that runs through the whole of sacred Scripture. The principle of blood atonement is God's divinely ordained remedy for the problem of sin. The Scriptures insist that atonement for sin is not possible apart from the shedding of blood (Heb. 9:22). The Biblical emphasis upon the blood of the sacrifice, and ultimately of Christ, is indicative of the giving of the life of an innocent victim to atone for the guilty. The blood poured out emphasized the sacrificial nature of the death, together with its efficacious significance." 1 / 14

2 Several applications of this chapter bear on our conduct today: A. Authority "This is the thing which the Lord has commanded..." (1) A careful reading of this chapter reveals that the command to slay animals at the tabernacle (rather than in the field) extended to animals killed for food as well as sacrificial animals. The restrictive nature of this command was liberalized when the Israelites actually settled in permanent homes (Deut. 12:15, 20, 21). God was establishing His principle of authority. He makes the rules for living, not just at worship time, but for every aspect of our lives. (John 14:6; Gal. 2:20; Rom. 5:10) 1. Historically - The Israelites were prone to relapsing into the worship of Egyptian idols, (Deut. 18:9-14) especially the goat god that required a goat sacrifice. The word for demons in verse 7 is literally " hairy ones " referring to this goat deity. 2. Symbolically - Pagan worship practices viewed the sacrificed animal as being dedicated to the idol. We see this conflict in Paul's day in the Corinthian church (I Cor. 8:1-13). By bringing the animal to be slain to the tabernacle, there could be no question of pagan idol worship. 3. Practically - Although this seems like a tremendous burden to bring every evening's main course to the tabernacle, it was more symbolic than actual. Remembe r in Numbers 11:4 the people cried out for flesh to eat and God sent quail. On their wilderness sojourn, bulls, sheep and goats were very scarce and would probably have been kept alive for breeding, milk, fleece and sacrifices rather than killed for a meal. 2 / 14

3 Therefore, any Israelite seen killing a valuable animal apart from the tabernacle was probably offering a pagan sacrifice and was worthy of the harsh punishment (4). B. Accountability "bring it to the door of the tabernacle of meeting to offer an offering to the Lord " (4) We've said before that Exodus describes the process of getting God's children out of Egypt and Leviticus describes the process of getting Egypt out of God's children. To that end, God set up accountability structures to help prevent relapse into pagan practices. Bringing animals to slay to the tabernacle is a prime example of an accountability tool to guard against the encroachment of idol worship. With the prominence of the men's movement in the last decade, accountability has been used with greater frequency; many men in our church meet weekly with accountability groups in which they are openly accountable to God and each other for their behavior. In areas of temptation, we need to become accountable to God and to others we trust. C. Appreciation "For it is the life of all flesh. Its blood sustains its life... You shall not eat the blood of any flesh, for the life of all flesh is in it's blood " (14) Compare this ancient teaching of God with the relatively modern philosophy of "blood letting" as a healing practice. Doctors routinely applied leeches to drain off "excess blood" as late as the beginning of the twentieth century. The "unscientific" Bible wins out over "modern science" when the final data is revealed! The greater truth of this passage involves the sanctity of life. Blood was treated as holy because blood represents life. When Christ shed His blood, He gave His life. 3 / 14

4 The sanctity of human life has given way in many quarters to pragmatic utilitarianism, thus the debates concerning abortion, euthanasia and infanticide. God bestows life and, except in narrowly defined categories, it is His to take away. II. Avoiding Pagan Practices (18:1-30) A. Purity as Obedience "You shall observe My judgments and keep My ordinances to walk in them; I am the Lord your God..." (4) God didn't want His children to look back " According to the doings of the land of Egypt " or look forward " according to the doings of the land of Canaan "; He wanted them to look to Him for their standard of behavior. Herein is a key principle: we do not allow our culture to shape us; we are to shape our culture according to God's revelation. B. Purity in Relationships "None of you shall approach anyone who is near of kin to him to uncover his nakedness " (6) Sex ual intercourse was forbidden with father (7), mother (7), father's wife(8), sister (9), step-child (9), grandchild (10), step-sister (11), aunt (12-13), uncle (14), daughter-in-law (15), sister-in-law (16) mother and daughter (bigamy 17), and sisters (bigamy 18). Some of these were a guard against genetic inbreeding; however, the in-law relationships were clearly prohibited in order to guard the sanctity of marriage. While some of these prohibitions seem ludicrous, remember that daily network talk shows wink, laugh and celebrate just such bizarre immorality. (Heb. 13:4) C. Purity in Marriage "Moreover you shall not lie carnally with your neighbor's wife, to defile yourself with her " (20) This precept was originally given by God as the seventh commandment regarding adultery (Ex. 20:14). 4 / 14

5 Jesus expanded the interpretation to include its intent "...whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart " (Matt. 5:28). In Mark 7:21 Jesus spoke to His disciples concerning purity and defilement: " For from within, out of the heart of a man, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications...all these evil things come from within and defile a man " Notice the progression:, temptation, lust, sin, death (James 1:14-15). Adultery causes great damage to one of society's fundamental structure; of even greater concern to a Christian is the damage that is done to one's fellowship with God. D. Purity in Devotion "... you shall not let any of your descendants pass through the fire to Molech " (21) Offering one's child as a human sacrifice was thought to be the ultimate act of devotion to an idol. Such an act was an abomination to God (Lev. 20:2; Deut. 12:31; I Kings 11:7; 2 Kings 16:3; Jer. 7:31). We would consider it unthinkable in modern society. However, when does abortion become a child sacrifice to the gods of convenience, choice and comfort. God must certainly look on our nation with disfavor as we lead the world in this unsavory category. E. Purity in Sexual Orientation - Explore the Bible Commentary, Fall, 1999: p. 45: "God identified homosexuality as a male having relations with a male as one lies with a female. The same would be true of women having sexual relations with women (Rom. 1:26). God spoke of homosexuality as an abomination 5 / 14

6 , that is, a wicked lifestyle to be abhorred and detested. The Bible does not picture homosexuality as a justifiable third sex but as an unnatural relationship rooted in a society that has rejected God (Rom. 1:21-32). However, homosexuality can be forgiven. Some of the Corinthian believers had been redeemed from a homosexual lifestyle (I Cor. 6:9-11). Such behavior is to be resisted as one would resist fornication, adultery, or any other sexual temptation. God also prohibited bestiality, that is, for a man or a woman to have intercourse with any animal' (Lev. 18:23). The root idea of the word translated perversion' means to mingle,' to mix,' to confuse.' Bestiality is condemned as a violation of the divine order of nature." F. Reasons to Remain Pure 1. Impurity Brings Judgment "For the land is defiled; therefore I visit the punishment of its iniquity upon it, and the land vomits out its inhabitants " The laws of sowing and reaping are in effect (Gal. 6:7). America has reaped an awful consequence of the "sexual revolution" in terms of broken homes, sexually transmitted diseases including aids, and the epidemic of aborted children. While many of these are presently incurable, they are all 100% preventable. 2. Impurity Brings Separation "whoever commits any of these abominations... shall be cut off from among their people " (29) Sexu al sin promotes alienation and separation. 6 / 14

7 It's difficult if not impossible for a person involved in sexual sin to feel good about corporate worship, intimate Christian fellowship or Biblical teaching. The natural symptom is withdrawal from God's people, God's Word, and God's law. III. Practicing Godly Lifestyles (19:1-20:27) A. Laws On Idolatrous Worship (19:1-8) 1. "You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy" (2) This is the basis for our worship and conduct, to be like Him. (I Peter 1:18; I Cor. 10) 2. "Everyone of you shall revere his mother and his father" (3) In the context of worship there's more here than just parental respect. Generationally, we convey the truth of God to our sons and daughters; they have the responsibility of living it and passing it on. 3. "Keep My Sabbath" (3) The New Testament makes clear that worship is not confined to the seventh day (Rom. 14:5-6; Col. 2:16-17; I Cor. 16:1-2) However, the concept of dedicating a special day to the Lord remains. (I Cor. 6:2) 4. "Do not turn to idols" (4) Some observers of the modern scene see this as the most violated of the Ten Commandments even among Christians. " turn " means to look at. Our society falls down to worship materialism, intellectualism, humanism, and secularism. 7 / 14

8 Christians who would not think of having a graven image in their home devote a significant amount of time and devotion to television at the expense of Bible study, prayer and family devotions. Paul clearly equates covetousness with idolatry (Col. 3:5) 5. "peace offering" (5) "... it is an abomination" The peace offering was voluntary; yet, God directs that if you're going to do it, do it right. J. Vernon McGee comments ( Thru the Bible, vol. 1 p 412): "Too many Christians excuse what they are doing by saying it is just volunteer work. Don't volunteer to do God's work unless you are going to give it everything you have. I'm of the opinion there will be a lot of Christians judged someday because of their laziness. Some folk glory in the fact they took a job. Look, I taught a Sunday School class.' My friend, how many times were you late? How many times did you fail to prepare the lesson? I see Sunday School teachers flipping through the quarterly, trying to find something to say. I think God is going to judge us on that someday. He tells us not to come to Him with a voluntary offering unless we come the right way." (Luke 12:48; James 3:1) B. Laws on Moral Matters (19:9-37) Explore the Bible Commentary, Fall, 1999; p. 46: "Two statements of the Lord concerning Himself run throughout this passage. First, I am the Lord your God.' 8 / 14

9 The second is, I am the Lord.' As God's servants the Israelites were to have compassion toward the poor and the stranger (vv. 9-10), display honesty in relationships (vv ), be kind in the use of power (vv ), practice justice (vv ), love their neighbors (vv ), and uphold the divine order of life (vv ). The Israelites also were to avoid heathen practices (vv ), refuse to make prostitutes of their daughters (v. 29), keep God's Sabbaths and reverence His sanctuary (v. 30), and refuse league with witches and mediums (v. 31). In addition, the Israelites were to show respect for God and the aged (v. 32), be kind toward strangers (vv ), be honest in business practices (vv ), and indeed keep all of God's laws (v. 37)." C. Laws on Capital Offences (20:1-27) The punishment of being "put to death" is all the more severe when seen in the light of the value God puts on life. Offences described in 18 and 19 are outlined with corresponding punishment. The entire chapter is a reminder that the call to holiness is a call to judgment. VI. Appreciating Dedicated Ministers (21:1-22:16) A. Laws on Priest's Behavior (21:1-24) God called His people to be holy. The worship leaders, priests, had to set the example of holiness. We are reminded in the New Testament that all Christians are priests. (I Peter 2:5) B. The Concept of Holiness (22:1-33) 9 / 14

10 1. Separation "speak to Aaron and his sons that they separate themselves from the holy things of the children of Israel " (1) Holiness involves separation. In this instance, it was an admonition to the priests not to treat the things of God as commonplace. Just as the priest must use the laver of cleansing before proceeding into the tabernacle, we must be cleansed of worldly things before proceeding into worship. On the other hand, we don't have the right to drag the temple of the Holy Spirit (I Cor. 6:19) through the filthiness of the world. (2 Cor. 6:16-7:1) 2. Suspension "who goes near the holy things... while he has uncleanness upon him, that person shall be cut off from my presence." (3) In verses 3-9, God clearly spells out what makes a priest unfit for service. What makes us unfit for service? While most people think it's a lack of ability (I can't teach, I can't give, I can't serve) Paul declares " I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me " (Phil. 4:13). It is not the lack of ability or power that disqualifies us from service. Neither is it the presence of sin, for John writes " If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." (I John 1:8). What suspends us from service to God is the lack of a day to day intimate fellowship with Him. This may be caused by rebellion as evidenced by persistent sin (I John 3:6). It may be caused by simple laziness or lack of passion for the things of God. Whatever the reason, a lack of service should be a warning light on the dashboard of our life. When a priest could not enter the tabernacle everyone knew that he had a problem. When we find ourselves suspended from God's service, we also have a problem that must be remedied. (Heb. 12:1; I John 5:16; James 5:16) 10 / 14

11 3. Service "No outsider shall eat the holy offering..." (10) Verses describe restrictions on partaking of the food designed to be eaten by the priest and his family. Parts of some sacrifices were dedicated as provision for the priesthood. Table service was not available to anyone who just dropped in to eat. Our principle is that things dedicated to God come under restrictions. There are rules attached to His possessions. V. Making Acceptable Offerings (22:17-33) A. Sacrifice "you shall offer of your own free will a male without blemish from the cattle, from the sheep or from the goats " (19) Restrictions were placed upon votive or freewill offerings. (7-28) One might reason, "I don't have to do this; therefore, anything is better than nothing." Yet, Malachi soundly condemned this thinking " you bring the stolen, the lame and the sick; thus you bring an offering! Should I accept this from your hand?' says the Lord." (Malachi 1:13, cf. 6-16) Since the sacrifice ultimately represented the perfect sacrifice of our Lord Jesus, each animal was to be without blemish. A parallel truth would impact our voluntary sacrifice or service to our Lord. Free-will offerings are not to be the half-hearted leftovers of our life! Only our best is good enough for God. B. Sufficiency "on the same day it shall be eaten; you shall leave none of it until morning " (30) J. Vernon McGee (Thru the Bible, Vol. 1, p. 425): "The offering was to be a freewill offering. 11 / 14

12 This type of offering must represent the Father who gave His Son in love and the Son who came... for the joy that was set before him...' (Heb. 12:2). The offering must be eaten the same day. No opportunity must be allowed for the slightest bit of corruption." C. Sanctification "You shall not profane my Holy name, but I will be hallowed among the children of Israel. I am the Lord who sanctifies you" (32) Salvation is a momentary event; sanctification is a life-long process. We are not sanctified by being born into a Christian family or joining a church. (Gal. 3:3) "Sanctify them by Your truth. Your Word is truth" (John 17:17) "That He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word&qu ot; (Eph. 5:26) "Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely..." (I Thes. 5:23) "Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate " (Heb. 13:72) "But sanctify the Lord God in our hearts..." (I Peter 3:15) 12 / 14

13 Sanctification is the total process of becoming like Jesus, pure, holy, and dedicated to God's service. Application: 1. Blood sacrifice is the scarlet thread through the Bible. (Gen. 3:20-21 through Revelation) 2. God calls us to purity. 3. Holiness is reflected in our conduct. Leader Pack: Item 20: Handout: "Take A Stand" Illustrator: p. 68: "Israel's Understanding of the Land" Notes: **You may access David's Lesson Preview in MP3 format at: Dates: 2010 Dates: 5/ Summit Spring Retreat; 5/23 - Parent Commitment; 5/27 - FBA 8 th Grade Graduation; 5/27 - FBA 4 th Grade Graduation; 5/28 - HCHS Graduation & Reception; 5/30 - Memorial Day Weekend, Normal Schedule with SBS (David Self preaching); 13 / 14

14 6/3-7/8 - MetroLIVE in the City; 6/ Camp 456; 6/13 - New and Pros. Mbr. Orient.; 6/ Global Assoc of Hospitality Prof.; 6/28-7/2 - VBS; 7/4 - July 4 th weekend, 2 a.m. svcs. w/ SBS - no p.m. (Tony Perkins); 7/11 - Lord's Supper in services; 7/ Houston Project; 7/ HUB Rush Week; 7/30 - Family Mission Day; 7/ Spamarama Missions Lock-in. 8/15 - Promotion Sunday. 14 / 14