Tag Archive | lessons from Leviticus

Leviticus 21 – Set apart as Holy

May18

Good afternoon y’all. Today we are studying Leviticus 21.

Be blessed 🙂

Reading through the chapter, it dawned on me that holiness is not a choice, it’s a command from God. It’s what we have been called into as Christians; and it’s essential if we truly want to serve God in spirit and in truth.

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“They must be set apart as holy to their God and must never bring shame on the name of God. (Leviticus 21:6a NLT)

God’s desire is for us to be sanctified and set apart for His use. He told the priests that they are to be set apart and holy for Him and they mustn’t do anything to bring shame or dishonor to His name.

This applies to us as well.1 Peter 2:9 tells us “But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light”. (NLT)

We are priests as well and God’s will for us is to be holy and set apart for His use. 1 Thessalonians 4:3 confirms this –
“God’s will is for you to be holy….”(NLT)

We mustn’t indulge in anything that will contaminate us or bring shame to the name of God. Our lives should portray Jesus in everything we say and do. There shouldn’t be any form of ambiguity that would make people question God or make them dishonor Him, based on the way we live our lives.

“No one who has a defect qualifies, whether he is blind, lame, disfigured, deformed, or has a broken foot or arm, or is hunchbacked or dwarfed, or has a defective eye, or skin sores or scabs, or damaged testicles. No descendant of Aaron who has a defect may approach the altar to present special gifts to the lord . Since he has a defect, he may not approach the altar to offer food to his God. However, he may eat from the food offered to God, including the holy offerings and the most holy offerings”. (Leviticus 21:18-22 NLT)

The priests had to be without defect. Any that had defect wasn’t allowed to minister. Though God still included them by ensuring they get to share in the meals reserved for the priests.

Thanks to Jesus, now we can all come in including those of us with physical defects. We are all included in Christ. We can boldly approach the throne of grace. Hallelujah!!!

“….You must consider them holy because I, the lord , am holy, and I make you holy”. (Leviticus 21:8b NLT)

“…I am the lord who makes them holy.” (Leviticus 21:23 NLT)

We need to understand holiness is not something we can achieve on our own.  God said to the priests; ‘I make you holy’.  This tells me we need God’s help to live a holy life. We need to yield and work in agreement with His Spirit so we can daily live a life that is holy and pleasing before Him.

Holiness should be what we long for every second, minute, hour, day of our lives.

Prayer:
Dear God thank You for the privilege to know You. Please help us live holy and not do anything that will bring shame or dishonor to Your Name. Help us get rid of the sins that contaminate us and give us grace to yield fully to Your Spirit at all times. Thank You dear Lord. In Jesus’ Name we’ve prayed. Amen.

***With God all things are possible***

Leviticus 16 – The perfect atonement

May11

Good evening y’all. Happy Monday 🙂

Today we are studying Leviticus 16. Reading through the chapter gave me a deeper appreciation for Jesus and the price He came to pay in order for us to have a relationship with the Father.

Be blessed 🙂

I found a few similarities between what God asked of them in today’s chapter and what Jesus did for us.

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1) They had to use blood of animals to atone for their sins. The priest first, for himself, and then for the rest of the congregation –  Jesus didn’t have to atone for His own sins as He is the perfect High Priest. His blood brought us a new covenant without limitations 🙂
“He is the kind of high priest we need because he is holy and blameless, unstained by sin. He has been set apart from sinners and has been given the highest place of honor in heaven. 27 Unlike those other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices every day. They did this for their own sins first and then for the sins of the people. But Jesus did this once for all when he offered himself as the sacrifice for the people’s sins” (Heb 7: 26 -27 NLT)

2) The priests couldn’t go into the tent where God dwelt whenever they wanted. They didn’t have easy/free access to God. Jesus’ death on the cross has made it possible for us to have access to God whenever we want.

“And so, dear brothers, now we may walk right into the very Holy of Holies, where God is, because of the blood of Jesus. This is the fresh, new, life-giving way that Christ has opened up for us by tearing the curtain—his human body—to let us into the holy presence of God” (Heb 10: 19 -20 TLB)

3) The sacrifice had to be at a set time every year but Jesus paid it once and for all and removed the need for yearly atonement.

“The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship” (Heb 10: 1 NLT)
“But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand. (Heb 10:12 NLT)

Hebrews chapter 9 gives us a good summary of this chapter.

“7 But only the high priest ever entered the Most Holy Place, and only once a year. And he always offered blood for his own sins and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. 8 By these regulations the Holy Spirit revealed that the entrance to the Most Holy Place was not freely open as long as the Tabernacle[d] and the system it represented were still in use.
9 This is an illustration pointing to the present time. For the gifts and sacrifices that the priests offer are not able to cleanse the consciences of the people who bring them. 10 For that old system deals only with food and drink and various cleansing ceremonies—physical regulations that were in effect only until a better system could be established.
11 So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come. He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world. 12 With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever.
13 Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer could cleanse people’s bodies from ceremonial impurity. 14 Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. 15 That is why he is the one who mediates a new covenant between God and people, so that all who are called can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them. For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant.
24 For Christ did not enter into a holy place made with human hands, which was only a copy of the true one in heaven. He entered into heaven itself to appear now before God on our behalf. 25 And he did not enter heaven to offer himself again and again, like the high priest here on earth who enters the Most Holy Place year after year with the blood of an animal. 26 If that had been necessary, Christ would have had to die again and again, ever since the world began. But now, once for all time, he has appeared at the end of the age to remove sin by his own death as a sacrifice.” (Heb 9: 7 -15, 24 – 26 NLT)

Prayer:
Dear Lord, we thank You for today. We thank You for loving us enough to send Your only Son to die for us. Thank You for the blood He shed so we can now come boldly before Your throne. Help us to daily live for You and in obedience to Your word.Thank You Lord. In Jesus’ Name we’ve prayed. Amen.

***With God all things are possible***