Session 2B: Leviticus to Deuteronomy OBJECTIVES: By the end of this session participants should be able to: 1) Articulate the overview of the book of Leviticus together with important lessons learnt. 2) Articulate the overview of the book of Numbers together with important lessons learnt. 3) Articulate the overview of the book of Deuteronomy together with important lessons learnt. 1) LEVITICUS a) Purpose & Key Verse (1) consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy (Lev 11:44-45). b) Relationship to Genesis & Exodus i) In Genesis man was and Israel was ; ii) in Exodus, Israel was and a nation was ; iii) in Leviticus the nation was and a priesthood was to the service of God. c) Outline i) Ch 1-17: HOLY _ - outlines the requisite procedures for worshipping Yahweh. ii) Ch 17-27 HOLY - prescribes how to practically exercise holiness in one s daily life. d) What we can learn from Leviticus i) Holiness (1) Consecrate yourselves and be holy, for I am holy (Lev. 11:44-45; 19:2; 20:7, 26). (2) It means that God alone is holy intrinsically. God not only saves the people from captivity, and grants them a new land, he also desires to produce in them a pattern of living that is worthy of followers of a holy God. (3) The word holiness essentially conveys the notion of separation. (4) In this sense the Israelites were specifically instructed to stand apart from the nations around them in terms of (a) Sexual relations (Lev. 18; Deut 23:17-18) (b) Loving one s neighbor (19:18) (c) Child sacrifice (20:1-5) (d) Divination and sorcery (20:6; Deut 18:10-12) (e) Observation of certain feasts (23) (f) Keeping the Sabbath (25) ii) Sacrifice (1) Premise: the principle of life is represented in the blood (Lev. 17:11). Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin (Heb 9:22) Session 2B: Leviticus to Deuteronomy (February 14, 2015) Page 1 of 7
(2) 5 basic sacrifices and offerings: (a) Burnt offering (can be compulsory on behalf of nation generally, or voluntary on personal basis): consecration (b) Meal/grain/cereal offering (voluntary: response to God s goodness): service (c) Peace/Fellowship offering (voluntary: response to God s goodness): fellowship (d) Sin offering (compulsory for individual s sin): atonement (e) Guilt offering (compulsory for individual s sin accompanied by restitution.): recompense iii) The Priesthood (1) Before the Sinai Covenant, the patriarchs as heads of the family usually performed the priestly role of building altars and presenting burnt offerings and drink offering s to the Lord on behalf of his family (Gen 22:13; 35:14) (2) Prior to Aaron and his sons ordination, Moses served as the priest for the nation in worship. Moses built an altar at the foot of Mount Sinai and sent young Israelite men to present burn offerings and fellowship offerings (Ex 24:4-5) (3) The duties of the priests include: (a) Supervision of the tabernacle (b) Supervision of the Levites (Num 3:32; 4:16) (c) Officiated the various sacrifices (d) Determine if certain people were healed and clean (e) Superintend cleansing rituals (Lev 13:23, 28; 14:2-3; Deut 24:8) (f) Teaching the law (Lev 10:11, Mal 2:7) (g) Decide on questions concerning the law (Deut 17:8-11) (h) Go out to war with the ark of covenant (Num 31:6) (i) Blew the trumpets for signal for battles (Num 10:8; Josh 6:4-5) iv) Atonement (1) The atonement covers three areas: (a) The High priest himself (16:6, 11, 17, 24): mentioned for himself 7 times (b) The sanctuary (16:16, 18, 19, 20, 33): Application: Judgment begins at God s house, The temple does need to be cleansed (c) The people (2) On the Day of Atonement, celebrated once every year on the tenth day of the seventh month (September to October), the High Priest sprinkled blood on the atonement cover in the Most Holy Place because of the sin of the people (16:15). (3) Careless entrance into the Holy of Holies can cause the High Priest to die (16:2) (4) As a sign that God had removed Israel s sin, a scapegoat symbolically carried away the sin of the nation into the desert (16:21) (5) To make the Day of Atonement meaningful to the people in general, all the Israelites had to deny or humble themselves the entire day (16:29; cf 23:26-32) and not do any work. v) Sabbath Rest, Sabbatical Year and Jubilee (1) The Sabbath was a covenant sign between Yahweh and Israel denoting Israel s special relationship with God (Exod. 31:!2-17; cf Lev. 26:2) (2) The command to observe one day in seven as a Sabbath rest to God prefaces the Jewish religious calendar (23:1-3). (3) The Sabbath ordinance reminded Israel that Yahweh was the Creator (cf Exod. 20:8-11). (4) The Sabbath Year is a provision for a Sabbath rest for the land as well (Lev 25:1-7). (5) Practically speaking, the poor and socially disadvantages were the beneficiaries of the sabbatical year, as they could glean the produce of the fallow land (Exod. 23:11). (6) The laws of Deuteronomy expanded the sabbatical program to include the cancellation of debts, generous relief for the poor, and the release of Hebrew slaves (Deut 15:2-18) Session 2B: Leviticus to Deuteronomy (February 14, 2015) Page 2 of 7
2) NUMBERS (7) The sabbatical cycle culminated in the Jubilee, or year of emancipation (Lev 25:8-24). a) Theme and Purpose of the Book i) The consequence of and to a holy God. ii) Though God his people for their disbelief and disobedience; He remained to His Covenant promises. b) Relationship to Other Books i) Genesis, Exodus & Leviticus (1) In Genesis: God a people. (2) In Exodus: He them. (3) In Leviticus: He them. (4) In Numbers: He them. c) 2 Possible Outlines GEOGRAPHY A B At Sinai-a few weeks (1:1-1:1-10:10 At Sinai 10:10) 10:11-12:16 Journey to Kadesh Barnea GENERATIONS The Old Generation(1:1-14) To Moab-about 39 years (10:11-22:1) At Moab-a few months (22:2 36:13) 13:1-20:21 At Kadesh Barnea 20:22-22:1 Journey to Moab 22:2-36:13 At Moab The Tragic Transition (14-25) The New Generation (26-36) d) What we can learn from Numbers i) God s dwelling presence (1) Symbolized by the fiery cloud (a) Provided direction (9:15-23) (b) Provided protection (10:33-36) (c) Provided communication (11:25; 14:10-11) (d) Provided judgment (12:5-10) (2) Requires the land and its people to be holy (35:34) ii) God s holiness iii) God s graciousness and faithfulness iv) God s constancy (1) His character and requirements do not change (23:19) (2) The repetitions and cycles we have recognized in the book seem to emphasize the fact that each generation must confront the unchanging nature and requirements of God and respond with faith. Session 2B: Leviticus to Deuteronomy (February 14, 2015) Page 3 of 7
3) DEUTERONOMY a) Purpose i) The book was designed to remind the Israelites of God s faithfulness and to encourage them to love the Lord with all their hearts. ii) It is intended to formalize the covenant that Israel entered with the Lord at Sinai. iii) It provides an updated version of the treaty. (1) The stipulations addressed the spirit of the law. b) Unique Role in the Pentateuch i) Deuteronomy is a supplementary book to the rest of the Pentateuch and fills a role similar to that of the Gospel of John compared to the synoptic gospel. ii) It fills in missing and gives the spiritual significance of the history found in the other books of Moses. iii) Genesis to Numbers portray God s ways, Deuteronomy reveals God s love: GENESIS TO NUMBERS of Israel s history Divine DEUTERONOMY of Israel s history Divine speaks to Moses speaks to the people c) Outline i) Explanation (1) In this book, Moses moves from a _, to an _, and finally to a look at God s dealings with Israel. ii) Structure (1) The book has been outlined on the basis of 4 speeches of Moses (a) REMEMBERING THE (1-4) 1 st Address (1:1-4:43) These are the words of Moses (b) REVIEWING THE _ (5-26) 2 nd Address (4:44-26:19) This is the law Moses set forth (c) REVEALING THE (27-30) 3 rd Address (27:1-30:20) These are the terms of the covenant (a) BLESSING (31-34) iii) Elements of the Hittite Suzerain-Vassal Treaty (a) Preamble 1:1-5 (b) Historical Prologue 1:6 4:49 (c) Stipulations 5 26 (d) Curses and blessings 27 30 (e) Provisions for temple deposit and periodic reading (i) Altar at Ebal (27) Session 2B: Leviticus to Deuteronomy (February 14, 2015) Page 4 of 7
(ii) Periodic reading ( 31:10-11) (iii) Placing it in ark of Covenant (31:26) (f) Witnesses (i) Heaven and earth (30:19; 31:28; 32:1) (ii) The Song of Moses (32) (cf 31:19) (iii) The Book of the Law (31:26) d) What we can learn from Deuteronomy i) The Shema (6:4-9) 4:29; 10:12; 11:13; 13:3; 26:16; 30:2, 6, 10 (1) God s relationship to His people under the covenant is one of love rather than legalism (4:37; 7:13; 10:15; 23:5; 33:3). (2) For the believer the basic requirement is love for God, and this love is to be the dynamic principle for his life (6:5; 7:8; 10:12; 11:1, 13; 13:3; 19:9; 30:6, 16, 20). (3) Worship of God alone is to be expected of the believer. ii) Law (1) the ancient Israelite for whom there was hardly any greater display of God s grace than that demonstrated in his giving of the law. (2) The law in ANE emphasized order in society, the law of Israel emphasized right behavior in the eyes of God. (3) The Israelites are told not to consider the law burdensome but to consider themselves fortunate to be able to know what God require of them. iii) History as Theology (1) History was not just sequence of events evaluated in terms of cause and effects but it was God in action. (a) History is the evidence of Israel s election: the working out of the statement: (i) I will be your God and you will be my people (b) History does not flow out in random of coincidence or human endeavor. (c) History is revelation and requires a response. (d) The NT emphasizes history as well (Rom 15:4; 1 Cor 10:1-13) 5) SUMMARY OF THE PENTATEUCH Session 2B: Leviticus to Deuteronomy (February 14, 2015) Page 5 of 7
HARAN KADESH BARNEA CANAAN Eden to Egypt (over 2,000 years) MOAB EDEN? Egypt to Sinai (430 years) EGYPT SINAI Moab (1-2 months) Mt. Sinai to Moab (38 years) UR Mt. Sinai (1 year) Session 2B: Leviticus to Deuteronomy (February 14, 2015) Page 6 of 7
1) FEASTS a) Pilgrimage feasts APPENDIX A to Session # 2B: Leviticus-Deuteronomy i) Passover (Feast of Unleavened Bread & First Fruits) (1) Recalls the exodus from Egypt (2) God seen as Sovereign Redeemer (3) REMEMBRANCE ii) Pentecost (1) Also called the Feast of Harvest, and the Feast of Weeks (2) Became known as Pentecost because it was observed on the 50th day after the Sabbath beginning the Passover. (3) Celebration of the Harvest (4) God seen as Provider (5) REAPING iii) Feast of Tabernacles (Feast of Booths or Ingatherings) (1) People lived in booths made of branches and boughs of trees. (2) Recalled the wanderings in the wilderness (3) God seen as faithful (4) REJOICING b) Harvest/Rest Festivals i) Day of Trumpets (New Years day; Rosh ha-shanah) (1) Ceased from all labor (2) Have a sabbath rest (3) REUNION ii) Sabbatical Year (1) To give the land a sabbath rest (2) God seen as compassionate, merciful (3) REST iii) Jubilee (1) God seen as supplier of all things (2) God as Lord and Master of the people and the land (3) RESTORATION c) Post Exilic Holy Days i) Feast of Purim (1) Celebrated on the 13-14 of Adar (February) (2) Celebrated the victory of the Jews over the Persians as depicted in the book of Esther (9) (3) God seen as Protector (4) RESCUE ii) Feast of Dedication (Lights; Hanukkah) (1) Celebrates the dedication of the temple after it was defiled by the Greeks in 164 B.C. (2) Celebrated on the 25th of Kislev (December) (3) REDEDICATION Session 2B: Leviticus to Deuteronomy (February 14, 2015) Page 7 of 7