LEVITICUS. Windows into the Heart of God

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1 LEVITICUS Windows into the Heart of God

3 LEVITICUS Windows into the Heart of God

4 By any measure, Leviticus 19 is one of the world's greatest ethical charters. Those who question the value of the rest of Leviticus see value here. Derek Tidball

5 Leviticus 19: Tour of Holiness The chapter provides a rapid panoramic tour of what it means to be holy. Allen Ross

6 The Road to Holiness "You shall be holy, for I, YHWH your God, am holy. Thus opens chapter 19, directing the people of Israel to model themselves after their God and to aspire to holiness. What does it take to imitate a deity in holiness? The rest of chapter 19 sets the people of Israel on the road to holiness. Rabbi Jacob Milgrom

7 Ten Commandments: Leviticus 19 Exodus 20 Leviticus 19 Commandment 20:3 20:4-6 20:7 20: :12 20:13 20:14 20:15 20:16 20:17 19:4 19:4 19:12 19:3b 19:3a 19:16b 19:20, 29 19:11a 19:16a 19:18 No other gods No idols No violation of God s name Keep the Sabbath Honor mother and father No murder No adultery No stealing No false testimony No coveting

8 The Lord said to Moses, Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy. Each of you must respect your mother and father, and you must observe my Sabbaths. I am the Lord your God. Do not turn to idols or make metal gods for yourselves. I am the Lord your God. When you sacrifice a fellowship offering to the Lord, sacrifice it in such a way that it will be accepted on your behalf. It shall be eaten on the day you sacrifice it or on the next day; anything left over until the third day must be burned up. If any of it is eaten on the third day, it is impure and will not be accepted. Whoever eats it will be held responsible because they have desecrated what is holy to the Lord; they must be cut off from their people. When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the Lord your God. Do not steal. Do not lie. Do not deceive one another. Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God. I am the Lord. Do not defraud or rob your neighbor. Do not hold back the wages of a hired worker overnight. Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but fear your God. I am the Lord. Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly. Do not go about spreading slander among your people. Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor s life. I am the Lord. Do not hate a fellow Israelite in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in their guilt. Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord. Keep my decrees. Do not mate different kinds of animals. Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed. Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material. If a man sleeps with a female slave who is promised to another man but who has not been ransomed or given her freedom, there must be due punishment. Yet they are not to be put to death, because she had not been freed. The man, however, must bring a ram to the entrance to the tent of meeting for a guilt offering to the Lord. With the ram of the guilt offering the priest is to make atonement for him before the Lord for the sin he has committed, and his sin will be forgiven. When you enter the land and plant any kind of fruit tree, regard its fruit as forbidden. For three years you are to consider it forbidden; it must not be eaten. In the fourth year all its fruit will be holy, an offering of praise to the Lord. But in the fifth year you may eat its fruit. In this way your harvest will be increased. I am the Lord your God. Do not eat any meat with the blood still in it. Do not practice divination or seek omens. Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard. Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the Lord. Do not degrade your daughter by making her a prostitute, or the land will turn to prostitution and be filled with wickedness. Observe my Sabbaths and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am the Lord. Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God. Stand up in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the Lord. When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God. Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight or quantity. Use honest scales and honest weights, an honest ephah and an honest hin. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt. Keep all my decrees and all my laws and follow them. I am the Lord.

9 The Lord said to Moses, Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy. Each of you must respect your mother and father, and you must observe my Sabbaths. I am the Lord your God. Do not turn to idols or make metal gods for yourselves. I am the Lord your God. When you sacrifice a fellowship offering to the Lord, sacrifice it in such a way that it will be accepted on your behalf. It shall be eaten on the day you sacrifice it or on the next day; anything left over until the third day must be burned up. If any of it is eaten on the third day, it is impure and will not be accepted. Whoever eats it will be held responsible because they have desecrated what is holy to the Lord; they must be cut off from their people. When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the Lord your God. Do not steal. Do not lie. Do not deceive one another. Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God. I am the Lord. Do not defraud or rob your neighbor. Do not hold back the wages of a hired worker overnight. Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but fear your God. I am the Lord. Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly. Do not go about spreading slander among your people. Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor s life. I am the Lord. Do not hate a fellow Israelite in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in their guilt. Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord. Keep my decrees. Do not mate different kinds of animals. Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed. Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material. If a man sleeps with a female slave who is promised to another man but who has not been ransomed or given her freedom, there must be due punishment. Yet they are not to be put to death, because she had not been freed. The man, however, must bring a ram to the entrance to the tent of meeting for a guilt offering to the Lord. With the ram of the guilt offering the priest is to make atonement for him before the Lord for the sin he has committed, and his sin will be forgiven. When you enter the land and plant any kind of fruit tree, regard its fruit as forbidden. For three years you are to consider it forbidden; it must not be eaten. In the fourth year all its fruit will be holy, an offering of praise to the Lord. But in the fifth year you may eat its fruit. In this way your harvest will be increased. I am the Lord your God. Do not eat any meat with the blood still in it. Do not practice divination or seek omens. Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard. Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the Lord. Do not degrade your daughter by making her a prostitute, or the land will turn to prostitution and be filled with wickedness. Observe my Sabbaths and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am the Lord. Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God. Stand up in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the Lord. When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God. Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight or quantity. Use honest scales and honest weights, an honest ephah and an honest hin. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt. Keep all my decrees and all my laws and follow them. I am the Lord.

10 Leviticus 19 The Letter of the Law (19:1-18) Love the LORD (19:1-10) Love Your Neighbor (19:11-18) The Spirit of the Law (19:19-37) Make Distinctions like the LORD (19:19-31) Love Your Neighbor (19:32-37)

11 Love the LORD Your God Holiness means keeping His commands. Leviticus 19:1-10

12 A Call to Holy Living The LORD said to Moses, Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy. Leviticus 19:1-2

13 Holy: God Is Unique and Set Apart Holy ( קד ו ש) The Hebrew idea of holiness is more about being set.(צ דק) apart and different than being righteous God is incomparable and like no other. God is set apart and unique. A place can be holy (set apart), as well as objects, times, and even people or a nation.

14 Holiness was never some abstract, etherial quality which was remote from the real world. It was always a quality that can be translated into practical daily living and measured by what could be seen on earth. Derek Tidball

15 A Call to Holy Living You must be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy (cf. 11:44-45; 20:26) could be described as the motto of Leviticus. Gordon Wenham

Holiness is thus attained not by flight from the world, nor by monk-like renunciation of human responsibilities, but

16 A Call to Holy Living Holiness is not so much an abstract or mystic idea, as a regular principle in the everyday lives of men and women. Holiness is thus attained not by flight from the world, nor by monk-like renunciation of human responsibilities, but by the spirit in which we fulfill the obligations of life in its simplest and commonest details: in this way by doing justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly with our God is everyday life transfigured. Rabbi Joseph Hertz

17 The Lord s holy people are graciously invited to live holy lives in His presence.

coupled with the demand that the Israelites shall exemplify

18 Leviticus: Windows into the Heart of God The unifying theme of the book is the insistent emphasis upon God s holiness, coupled with the demand that the Israelites shall exemplify this spiritual attribute in their own lives. R.K. Harrison

19 Leviticus: Windows into the Heart of God The main concerns of the book as well as of the Bible as a whole are how God s people were supposed to order their lives now that the holy God dwelled with them and how they could maintain a relationship with him so that they could enter his presence and worship him. Allen Ross

20 Application: Be Holy Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: Be holy, because I am holy. 1 Peter 1:13-16

21 Things to Honor Each of you must respect your mother and father, and you must observe my Sabbaths. I am the LORD your God. Leviticus 19:3

22 Things to Reject Do not turn to idols or make metal gods for yourselves. I am the LORD your God. Leviticus 19:4

23 Things to Remember When you sacrifice a fellowship offering to the Lord, sacrifice it in such a way that it will be accepted on your behalf. It shall be eaten on the day you sacrifice it or on the next day; anything left over until the third day must be burned up. If any of it is eaten on the third day, it is impure and will not be accepted. Whoever eats it will be held responsible because they have desecrated what is holy to the Lord; they must be cut off from their people. Leviticus 19:5-8

24 Things to Remember When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the LORD your God. Leviticus 19:9-10

25 Generosity: A Man with Large Corners Here, then, was one of the most specific tests of spirituality: care for those less fortunate. Allen Ross

of the Mosaic covenant: (1) idolatry, (2) social injustice,

26 Generosity: A Man with Large Corners The prophetic books consistently repeat three specific sins that are a violation of the Mosaic covenant: (1) idolatry, (2) social injustice, and (3) reliance on ritual to cover the idolatry and injustice. Danny Hays

27 Love Your Neighbor Holiness means genuine love for others. Leviticus 19:11-18

28 Integrity Do not steal. Do not lie. Do not deceive one another. Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God. I am the Lord. Leviticus 19:11-12

29 Respect Do not defraud or rob your neighbor. Do not hold back the wages of a hired worker overnight. Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but fear your God. I am the LORD. Leviticus 19:13-14

30 Justice Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly. Do not go about spreading slander among your people. Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor s life. I am the LORD. Leviticus 19:15-16

31 Love Do not hate a fellow Israelite in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in their guilt. Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD. Leviticus 19:17-18

32 Neighbor: The Good Samaritan But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, And who is my neighbor? Luke 10:29

33 Neighbor: The Good Samaritan Your neighbor is anyone whose need you see, whose need you can meet. Haddon Robinson

34 Love: A Choice for Relationship Love (א ה ב) The Hebrew word for love is far more than mere sentimentality and attraction. To love means to choose to enter into a covenant relationship and remain faithful to that relationship. The attraction does not motivate love; the love motivates the attraction.

35 (א ה ב) Love Love is not caused by any worth or attractiveness in its object, but rather creates worth in its object. P.J.J.S. Els

36 Make Clear Distinctions Holiness means respecting boundaries. Leviticus 19:19-31

37 No Mixed Materials Keep my decrees. Do not mate different kinds of animals. Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed. Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material. Leviticus 19:19

38 No Mixed Materials If a man sleeps with a female slave who is promised to another man but who has not been ransomed or given her freedom, there must be due punishment. Yet they are not to be put to death, because she had not been freed. The man, however, must bring a ram to the entrance to the tent of meeting for a guilt [reparation] offering to the Lord. With the ram of the guilt offering the priest is to make atonement for him before the Lord for the sin he has committed, and his sin will be forgiven. Leviticus 19:20-22

39 No Mixed Materials When you enter the land and plant any kind of fruit tree, regard its fruit as forbidden. For three years you are to consider it forbidden; it must not be eaten. In the fourth year all its fruit will be holy, an offering of praise to the Lord. But in the fifth year you may eat its fruit. In this way your harvest will be increased. I am the LORD your God. Leviticus 19:23-25

40 No Pagan Practices Do not eat any meat with the blood still in it. Do not practice divination or seek omens. Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard. Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD. Leviticus 19:26-28

41 Why should God make a particular hairstyle (27) or the absence of tattoos (28) a sign holiness? The phrase for the dead (28) holds the secret. The trimming of sidelocks of hair, or shaving one's head and of gashing one's body were all associated with the cult of the dead,the worship of ancestors and Baal worship. Derek Tidball

42 No Sexualizing Worship Do not degrade your daughter by making her a prostitute, or the land will turn to prostitution and be filled with wickedness. Observe my Sabbaths and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am the LORD. Leviticus 19:29-30

43 No Divination Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD. Leviticus 19:31

44 Love Your Neighbor Holiness means treating others with respect. Leviticus 19:32-37

45 Respect the Elderly Stand up in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the LORD. Leviticus 19:32

46 Respect Immigrants When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the LORD. Leviticus 19:33-34

47 Respect Merchants Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight or quantity. Use honest scales and honest weights, an honest ephah and an honest hin. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt. Leviticus 19:35-36

48 Respect The LORD Keep all my decrees and all my laws and follow them. I AM THE LORD. Leviticus 19:37

49 These words are addressed to the people of God and primarily have relevance to the way they relate to one another within the Christian community within the wider society. They teach us that holiness has to do with social relationships as well as spiritual devotion. The way we treat God can not be divorced from the way we treat one another. Derek Tidball

50 Leviticus: Windows into the Heart of God God s people demonstrate holiness by loving God and loving others.

51 LEVITICUS Windows into the Heart of God

Be Holy!? Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18

Be Holy!? Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18 February 19, 2017 Diane Christopher Our scripture reading today comes from the Lectionary, a 3-year cycle of scripture readings for each Sunday. Today s reading is from