“Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.” (Psalm 33:20-22 ESV)
St. Paul's Church, Rome NY
Where We Stand
===Aaron has been ordained and set apart as the high priest and he has performed numerous sacrifices in order to consecrate the Tabernacle and himself.
===Nadab and Abihu took it upon themselves to ignore the holiness laws and made freestyle offerings to Yahweh that he did not accept. Nadab and Abihu were instantly barbecued.
===Just when you thought that there might be some plot line that would continue the wilderness narrative we finish chapter 10 (Nadab and Abihu get smoked) and turn to chapter 11 only to discover that it is not a continuation of the story but is instead more instruction.
===Nadab and Abihu took it upon themselves to ignore the holiness laws and made freestyle offerings to Yahweh that he did not accept. Nadab and Abihu were instantly barbecued.
===Just when you thought that there might be some plot line that would continue the wilderness narrative we finish chapter 10 (Nadab and Abihu get smoked) and turn to chapter 11 only to discover that it is not a continuation of the story but is instead more instruction.
Overview of Chapters 11-15
Holiness Code
===Let’s first point out that Leviticus is the book about priests and actually what is being set down here is the holiness code- not a rigid set of laws.
===The code that we’ve seen thus far includes such instruction as, “do not curse your parents”, and “do not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk” continues in Leviticus 11 which provides the basic framework for Kosher dietary restrictions.
===Because of these Kosher restrictions there are six words that any Jew would dread to hear:
===“Happy Hanukkah, I brought the bacon!” But the question remains, where did these restrictions come from?
===You may hear people attempt to explain where the dietary restrictions came from but the basic answer is there is no reason other than Yahweh said so.
===In Jewish literature no attempt is made to bring these laws nearer to human understanding. It was feared that much defining would endanger the observance of them, and all were satisfied that “they are things the use of which the Torah forbids" although they were not capable of explanation.
===Basically, Moses told the people not to eat the pork and because God told him to say that, it was all the explanation they needed.
===Let’s first point out that Leviticus is the book about priests and actually what is being set down here is the holiness code- not a rigid set of laws.
===The code that we’ve seen thus far includes such instruction as, “do not curse your parents”, and “do not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk” continues in Leviticus 11 which provides the basic framework for Kosher dietary restrictions.
===Because of these Kosher restrictions there are six words that any Jew would dread to hear:
===“Happy Hanukkah, I brought the bacon!” But the question remains, where did these restrictions come from?
===You may hear people attempt to explain where the dietary restrictions came from but the basic answer is there is no reason other than Yahweh said so.
===In Jewish literature no attempt is made to bring these laws nearer to human understanding. It was feared that much defining would endanger the observance of them, and all were satisfied that “they are things the use of which the Torah forbids" although they were not capable of explanation.
===Basically, Moses told the people not to eat the pork and because God told him to say that, it was all the explanation they needed.
Childbirth and Leprosy
===The very brief chapter 12 talks about how long a woman remains unclean after giving birth. Being unclean means that a Jew cannot enter the Tabernacle.
===Chapter 13 talks about leprosy. When the Bible talks about Leprosy it is a broad category that covers all kinds of skin diseases. Anyone with a leprous disease was unclean and therefore could not enter the Tabernacle.
===I’m pretty sure that you wouldn’t want to go into a confined space with someone who had a contagious skin disease and more than likely that’s what this was trying to prevent
Chapter's 14 & 15
.===There was a way for someone with leprosy to become ceremonially clean again. There was a ritual that involved making sacrifices and having a priest cleanse you.
===After the leper was cleansed everything that they touched had to be cleansed, the leper had to shave their heads, and their houses needed to be cleansed as well.
===Chapter 15 deals with bodily discharges and how anyone with a discharge is unclean. A summary for why all of these laws existed is given here:
===“Thus you shall keep the people of Israel separate from their uncleanness, lest they die in their uncleanness by defiling my tabernacle that is in their midst.” (Lev 15:31)
===Chapter 13 talks about leprosy. When the Bible talks about Leprosy it is a broad category that covers all kinds of skin diseases. Anyone with a leprous disease was unclean and therefore could not enter the Tabernacle.
===I’m pretty sure that you wouldn’t want to go into a confined space with someone who had a contagious skin disease and more than likely that’s what this was trying to prevent
Chapter's 14 & 15
.===There was a way for someone with leprosy to become ceremonially clean again. There was a ritual that involved making sacrifices and having a priest cleanse you.
===After the leper was cleansed everything that they touched had to be cleansed, the leper had to shave their heads, and their houses needed to be cleansed as well.
===Chapter 15 deals with bodily discharges and how anyone with a discharge is unclean. A summary for why all of these laws existed is given here:
===“Thus you shall keep the people of Israel separate from their uncleanness, lest they die in their uncleanness by defiling my tabernacle that is in their midst.” (Lev 15:31)
Leviticus 16
The Day of Atonement
===The day of atonement (or Yom Kippur in Hebrew) is the one day of the year that the high priest performs a special ritual to cleanse all of the Hebrew people of the sins they committed during the past year.
===A college professor of mine described the difference between Yom Kippur and Jesus Christ this way: Jesus Christ sacrificed once for all and never again. Yom Kippur is once a year, every year.
===To start Yom Kippur the high priest would wash in the Tabernacle tub before changing into special clothes worn only on Yom Kippur. The priest would then sacrifice a bull for his own sins and sprinkle some of the blood on the Ark of the Covenant.
===The priest would then come back in the courtyard and 2 goats would be chosen.
===1 goat was sacrificed and its blood would be sprinkled inside the Holy of Holies.
===After sacrificing the first goat Aaron would lay his hand on the second goat’s head, transfer all the sins of the people of Israel to that goat, and then the second goat would be set free to bear all of the sins of the people as a substitutionary sacrifice. The priest would bathe again after this.
===The second goat was given a special name: the scapegoat.
===After this the priest would take the animals of the sin offerings and burn their bodies as burnt sacrifices
===The day of atonement (or Yom Kippur in Hebrew) is the one day of the year that the high priest performs a special ritual to cleanse all of the Hebrew people of the sins they committed during the past year.
===A college professor of mine described the difference between Yom Kippur and Jesus Christ this way: Jesus Christ sacrificed once for all and never again. Yom Kippur is once a year, every year.
===To start Yom Kippur the high priest would wash in the Tabernacle tub before changing into special clothes worn only on Yom Kippur. The priest would then sacrifice a bull for his own sins and sprinkle some of the blood on the Ark of the Covenant.
===The priest would then come back in the courtyard and 2 goats would be chosen.
===1 goat was sacrificed and its blood would be sprinkled inside the Holy of Holies.
===After sacrificing the first goat Aaron would lay his hand on the second goat’s head, transfer all the sins of the people of Israel to that goat, and then the second goat would be set free to bear all of the sins of the people as a substitutionary sacrifice. The priest would bathe again after this.
===The second goat was given a special name: the scapegoat.
===After this the priest would take the animals of the sin offerings and burn their bodies as burnt sacrifices