1 00:00:14,139 --> 00:00:17,300 Welcome to the Lansdale Life Church Podcast. 2 00:00:18,260 --> 00:00:24,059 If you're seeking a closer relationship with Jesus Christ, this podcast is for you. 3 00:00:24,059 --> 00:00:26,579 Thank you for joining us today. 4 00:00:37,320 --> 00:00:46,100 Welcome everyone to our Wednesday night study and we are creeping up on the end 5 00:00:46,100 --> 00:00:50,780 of Leviticus, not quite there yet, but we're getting there. A few more chapters 6 00:00:51,439 --> 00:00:59,200 and we'll be heading on to the next segment. So we are on Leviticus 22 tonight. 7 00:00:59,600 --> 00:01:05,400 How about if we have a word of prayer to open things up? Ask God's blessing over us. 8 00:01:08,420 --> 00:01:12,959 Lord, we just pause after our day, whatever our day was today, 9 00:01:13,280 --> 00:01:18,260 whether it was work or leisure or around the home or whatever it was, God. 10 00:01:18,260 --> 00:01:23,060 We just pause after that and we give you thanks for this day, Lord, 11 00:01:23,219 --> 00:01:27,700 and we turn our hearts and minds towards you tonight, God. 12 00:01:28,719 --> 00:01:34,280 And we pray for your spirit here among us, Lord, that you would give us wisdom and discernment 13 00:01:34,280 --> 00:01:39,879 in your word, God. Give us a better understanding of you through your word, God. 14 00:01:40,659 --> 00:01:44,859 We pray your Holy Spirit be here with us, God, in our conversation, Lord, 15 00:01:44,859 --> 00:01:49,099 and with us that your presence just settle here amongst us, God. 16 00:01:49,239 --> 00:01:52,140 We pray for those who can be here tonight, Lord. 17 00:01:52,359 --> 00:01:56,299 Those who are at home tonight, we pray, God, your favor and blessing on them. 18 00:01:56,579 --> 00:01:58,019 In Jesus' name, amen. 19 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:03,439 All right. So Leviticus 22. 20 00:02:05,800 --> 00:02:11,900 And this chapter focuses on, and there's been a lot of this in Leviticus, 21 00:02:11,900 --> 00:02:16,120 which has been exciting to read about, the holiness and purity 22 00:02:16,120 --> 00:02:20,939 required of priests and of the offerings. 23 00:02:21,719 --> 00:02:26,620 So it emphasizes both priests and the offering that they must be free 24 00:02:26,620 --> 00:02:32,199 from defilement or imperfection, just a reflection, really, 25 00:02:32,319 --> 00:02:34,479 of the holiness and purity of God. 26 00:02:34,900 --> 00:02:39,580 And this chapter just continues to build on this theme 27 00:02:39,580 --> 00:02:43,699 throughout Leviticus, of reverence towards God, 28 00:02:43,900 --> 00:02:48,000 the importance of approaching him with that reverence 29 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:53,439 and the honor and respect that's due, due him. 30 00:02:53,599 --> 00:02:58,300 So what I'm going to do here tonight is I've got this broken down 31 00:02:58,300 --> 00:03:00,680 into three sections. 32 00:03:01,259 --> 00:03:05,840 Let me, before I go any further, let me find Leviticus here. 33 00:03:08,259 --> 00:03:10,259 In my handy Bible. 34 00:03:15,159 --> 00:03:16,319 Should have had that right. 35 00:03:16,759 --> 00:03:18,379 22, here we go. 36 00:03:20,240 --> 00:03:23,840 All right. So what I'm going to do is I'm going to read through, 37 00:03:24,280 --> 00:03:27,759 I have four sections of Leviticus that I've identified. 38 00:03:27,960 --> 00:03:31,639 Now I'm just going to read through it and I'm going to go over this highlight. 39 00:03:32,159 --> 00:03:35,819 And then what I'd like to do is I would like to look at this 40 00:03:35,819 --> 00:03:37,659 from two perspectives. 41 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:42,599 One, I would like to look at it from the Israelites 42 00:03:42,599 --> 00:03:47,259 or the Jewish cultural or traditional perspective, 43 00:03:47,539 --> 00:03:51,060 how they would have seen these various laws. 44 00:03:51,340 --> 00:03:56,039 And then I'd like to take a shot at looking it through the eyes of Jesus, 45 00:03:56,340 --> 00:03:58,319 how he saw that. 46 00:03:58,740 --> 00:04:03,240 So let's start with one through nine. 47 00:04:03,240 --> 00:04:07,939 And this is all about the priestly purity. 48 00:04:09,259 --> 00:04:11,319 So the Lord spoke to Moses, 49 00:04:11,860 --> 00:04:15,360 tell Aaron and his sons that they must deal respectfully 50 00:04:15,360 --> 00:04:18,899 with the holy offerings of the Israelites, 51 00:04:19,819 --> 00:04:21,959 which they consecrate to me, 52 00:04:22,740 --> 00:04:25,660 so that they do not profane my holy name. 53 00:04:26,079 --> 00:04:27,019 I am the Lord. 54 00:04:27,720 --> 00:04:29,240 Say to them throughout your generations, 55 00:04:29,560 --> 00:04:34,980 if any man from all your descendants approaches the holy offerings, 56 00:04:35,699 --> 00:04:40,220 which the Israelites consecrate to the Lord while he is impure, 57 00:04:40,759 --> 00:04:44,339 that person must be cut off from before me. 58 00:04:44,600 --> 00:04:45,639 I am the Lord. 59 00:04:46,399 --> 00:04:51,420 No man from the descendants of Aaron who is diseased 60 00:04:51,420 --> 00:04:57,240 or has a discharge may eat the holy offerings until they become clean. 61 00:04:57,240 --> 00:05:02,779 The one who touches anything made unclean by contact with a dead person 62 00:05:02,779 --> 00:05:06,100 or a man who has a seminal emission 63 00:05:06,100 --> 00:05:12,360 or a man who touches the swarming thing by which he becomes unclean 64 00:05:12,360 --> 00:05:16,240 or touches a person by which he becomes unclean. 65 00:05:16,399 --> 00:05:18,860 Whatever that person's impurity, 66 00:05:19,420 --> 00:05:24,379 the person who touches any of these will be unclean until evening 67 00:05:24,379 --> 00:05:30,399 and must not eat from the holy offerings unless he has bathed his body in water. 68 00:05:31,160 --> 00:05:34,220 When the sun goes down, he will be clean, 69 00:05:34,519 --> 00:05:39,120 and afterward he may eat from the holy offerings because they are his food. 70 00:05:39,959 --> 00:05:43,920 He must not eat an animal that has died of natural causes 71 00:05:43,920 --> 00:05:49,860 or an animal that has been torn by beast, thus become unclean, 72 00:05:49,860 --> 00:05:51,459 thus become unclean by it. 73 00:05:51,920 --> 00:05:52,920 I am the Lord. 74 00:05:52,920 --> 00:06:00,079 They must keep my charge so that they do not incur sin on account of it 75 00:06:00,079 --> 00:06:03,519 and therefore die because they profane it. 76 00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:06,560 I am the Lord who sanctifies them. 77 00:06:07,060 --> 00:06:09,920 So there were some things in there that we've been talking about 78 00:06:09,920 --> 00:06:13,500 in the previous chapters as to what is unclean 79 00:06:13,500 --> 00:06:18,399 and what is not unclean and how to become pure from these things. 80 00:06:18,399 --> 00:06:19,980 So he's just kind of highlighting them. 81 00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:22,439 We're not going to go into all the detail of that again. 82 00:06:22,740 --> 00:06:26,319 But this section is basically about priestly purity 83 00:06:26,319 --> 00:06:31,939 and the priests are cautions not to handle sacred offerings 84 00:06:31,939 --> 00:06:33,740 if they are ceremony unclean. 85 00:06:34,480 --> 00:06:39,420 So doing so it says you will profane God's holy name, 86 00:06:40,720 --> 00:06:45,500 reinforcing the idea that we must serve 87 00:06:46,500 --> 00:06:49,139 in this spiritual purity. 88 00:06:49,819 --> 00:06:52,279 He gets into these specifics. 89 00:06:52,800 --> 00:06:57,720 So that section is all about cautioning the priests 90 00:06:57,720 --> 00:06:58,459 of what they're doing. 91 00:06:58,819 --> 00:07:03,819 The next section, 10-16, talks about restrictions 92 00:07:03,819 --> 00:07:07,819 on who may actually eat these offerings. 93 00:07:08,779 --> 00:07:14,459 So starting at 10, no lay person may eat anything holy. 94 00:07:14,459 --> 00:07:19,360 Neither a priest's lodger nor a hired laborer 95 00:07:19,360 --> 00:07:20,720 may eat anything holy, 96 00:07:21,199 --> 00:07:24,740 but if a priest buys a person with his own money, 97 00:07:24,899 --> 00:07:27,660 that person may eat the holy offerings 98 00:07:27,660 --> 00:07:32,779 and those born in the priest's own house may eat his food. 99 00:07:33,339 --> 00:07:36,399 If a priest's daughter marries a lay person, 100 00:07:36,839 --> 00:07:40,519 she may not eat the holy contribution offerings, 101 00:07:40,519 --> 00:07:44,579 but if a priest's daughter is a widow or divorced 102 00:07:44,579 --> 00:07:51,180 and has no children so that she returns to live 103 00:07:51,180 --> 00:07:54,560 in her father's house, as in her youth, 104 00:07:54,819 --> 00:07:57,259 she may eat from her father's food, 105 00:07:57,279 --> 00:08:00,139 but no lay person may eat it. 106 00:08:01,720 --> 00:08:05,060 If a man eats a holy offering by mistake, 107 00:08:05,500 --> 00:08:08,040 he must add a fifth to it 108 00:08:08,040 --> 00:08:11,519 and give the holy offering to the priests. 109 00:08:12,120 --> 00:08:15,100 They must not profane the holy offerings 110 00:08:15,100 --> 00:08:18,180 which the Israelites contribute to the Lord, 111 00:08:18,759 --> 00:08:22,759 and so calls them to incur a penalty for guilt 112 00:08:22,759 --> 00:08:25,319 when they eat their holy offerings 113 00:08:25,319 --> 00:08:28,279 for I am the Lord who sanctifies them. 114 00:08:29,000 --> 00:08:32,659 So it really comes down to only the priests 115 00:08:33,659 --> 00:08:38,559 and their household could eat from these sacred offerings. 116 00:08:38,899 --> 00:08:41,960 So no outsiders that came in could eat. 117 00:08:42,539 --> 00:08:45,340 There was all kinds of exclusions in there 118 00:08:45,340 --> 00:08:48,460 and they really kind of underscored this idea 119 00:08:48,460 --> 00:08:54,519 of the sacredness of what is given over to God. 120 00:08:54,940 --> 00:08:57,120 And it doesn't really get into this, 121 00:08:57,220 --> 00:08:59,000 but it talks about this in some areas. 122 00:09:02,540 --> 00:09:04,820 Some of these offerings that came in 123 00:09:04,820 --> 00:09:07,019 really kind of worked as part of the compensation 124 00:09:07,019 --> 00:09:11,000 for the priests, providing for them 125 00:09:11,600 --> 00:09:13,379 and the food for their household. 126 00:09:13,559 --> 00:09:16,159 So God's being very, very specific here. 127 00:09:16,700 --> 00:09:18,360 So let's move on real quick. 128 00:09:18,500 --> 00:09:19,980 I'm going to move through this first section 129 00:09:19,980 --> 00:09:22,360 relatively quick because we've got a lot to cover 130 00:09:22,360 --> 00:09:23,960 under these things. 131 00:09:23,960 --> 00:09:30,460 So 17 through 30 talks about the unblemished offering. 132 00:09:32,080 --> 00:09:34,360 So the Lord spoke to Moses, 133 00:09:34,960 --> 00:09:38,179 speak to Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites 134 00:09:38,179 --> 00:09:42,340 and tell them when any man from the house of Israel 135 00:09:42,340 --> 00:09:46,620 or from the foreigners in Israel present 136 00:09:46,620 --> 00:09:51,519 presents his offerings for any of the votive 137 00:09:51,519 --> 00:09:56,100 or free will offerings which they present to the Lord 138 00:09:56,100 --> 00:10:00,320 as burnt offerings, if it is to be acceptable 139 00:10:00,320 --> 00:10:03,759 for your benefit, it must be flawless, 140 00:10:04,559 --> 00:10:08,679 a flawless male from the cattle, sheep, or goats. 141 00:10:09,600 --> 00:10:12,799 You must not present anything that has a flaw 142 00:10:13,519 --> 00:10:16,320 because it will not be acceptable for your benefit. 143 00:10:16,840 --> 00:10:20,179 If a man presents a peace offering sacrifice 144 00:10:20,179 --> 00:10:24,379 to the Lord for a special vote of offering 145 00:10:24,379 --> 00:10:28,799 or for a free will offering from the herd 146 00:10:28,799 --> 00:10:33,500 or the flock, it must be flawless to be acceptable. 147 00:10:33,879 --> 00:10:35,639 It must have no flaw. 148 00:10:36,399 --> 00:10:37,600 Double emphasis there. 149 00:10:38,460 --> 00:10:40,379 You must not present to the Lord 150 00:10:40,379 --> 00:10:43,320 something blind or with a broken bone 151 00:10:43,320 --> 00:10:47,059 or mutilated or with a running sore 152 00:10:47,059 --> 00:10:51,720 or with festering eruption or with feverish rash. 153 00:10:51,980 --> 00:10:55,460 You must not give any of these as a gift 154 00:10:55,460 --> 00:10:57,799 on the altar to the Lord. 155 00:10:58,879 --> 00:11:03,519 As for an ox or a sheep with a limb too long 156 00:11:03,519 --> 00:11:08,100 or stunted, you may present it as a free will offering 157 00:11:08,100 --> 00:11:12,279 but it will not be acceptable for a votive offering. 158 00:11:12,779 --> 00:11:15,480 You must not present to the Lord 159 00:11:15,480 --> 00:11:19,340 something with testicles that are bruised, 160 00:11:19,720 --> 00:11:21,639 crushed, torn, or cut off. 161 00:11:22,179 --> 00:11:25,259 You must not do this in your land. 162 00:11:25,659 --> 00:11:28,539 Even from the foreigner, you must not present 163 00:11:28,539 --> 00:11:33,240 the food of your God from such animals as these 164 00:11:33,240 --> 00:11:35,379 for they are ruined and flawed. 165 00:11:35,840 --> 00:11:38,639 They will not be acceptable for your benefit. 166 00:11:40,019 --> 00:11:44,139 The Lord spoke to Moses 167 00:11:44,139 --> 00:11:47,559 when an ox, lamb, or goat is born. 168 00:11:48,059 --> 00:11:51,340 It must be under the care of its mother seven days 169 00:11:51,340 --> 00:11:53,919 but from the eighth day onward 170 00:11:53,919 --> 00:11:57,279 it will be acceptable as an offering gift to the Lord. 171 00:11:57,820 --> 00:12:00,059 You must not slaughter an ox or a sheep 172 00:12:00,059 --> 00:12:03,200 and it's young on the same day. 173 00:12:03,740 --> 00:12:06,899 When you sacrifice a Thanksgiving offering to the Lord 174 00:12:06,899 --> 00:12:10,340 you must sacrifice it so that it is acceptable 175 00:12:10,340 --> 00:12:12,179 for your benefit. 176 00:12:13,960 --> 00:12:16,480 On the very day it must be eaten 177 00:12:16,480 --> 00:12:20,879 you must not leave any parts of it over until morning. 178 00:12:21,200 --> 00:12:22,159 I am the Lord. 179 00:12:22,960 --> 00:12:27,379 So basically God is commanding that these offerings 180 00:12:27,379 --> 00:12:29,460 have to be perfect. 181 00:12:30,580 --> 00:12:33,899 So you're not going and picking out the ones 182 00:12:33,899 --> 00:12:38,259 that are kind of lame and not serving your purpose 183 00:12:38,259 --> 00:12:40,860 but you're getting the best. 184 00:12:40,860 --> 00:12:43,259 It reflects God's holiness 185 00:12:43,259 --> 00:12:48,419 and this idea of the standard of giving the best 186 00:12:48,419 --> 00:12:51,240 and giving the first fruits 187 00:12:51,240 --> 00:12:53,320 which the Bible has talked about. 188 00:12:53,840 --> 00:12:56,059 So no leftovers, 189 00:12:56,700 --> 00:13:01,360 no, okay well this animal served its purpose 190 00:13:01,360 --> 00:13:04,120 or this one is this, it's got to be the best 191 00:13:04,120 --> 00:13:10,519 and that's a mindset that was just born into the Israelites 192 00:13:10,519 --> 00:13:13,600 and I think it's something too for us to think about 193 00:13:13,600 --> 00:13:17,000 and keep near to our hearts in our lives 194 00:13:17,519 --> 00:13:20,279 that first fruit, that best of best 195 00:13:20,279 --> 00:13:23,159 whether it's our time, our talent or our treasure. 196 00:13:24,559 --> 00:13:26,100 So let's wrap this up here. 197 00:13:28,000 --> 00:13:30,659 This last section 31 to 33 198 00:13:31,519 --> 00:13:34,879 talks about reverence for God's name. 199 00:13:36,279 --> 00:13:39,860 You must be sure to do my commandments. 200 00:13:41,059 --> 00:13:42,000 I am the Lord. 201 00:13:42,259 --> 00:13:44,700 You must not profane my holy name 202 00:13:44,700 --> 00:13:49,740 and I will be sanctified in the midst of the Israelites. 203 00:13:50,120 --> 00:13:53,059 I am the Lord who sanctifies you, 204 00:13:53,500 --> 00:13:56,519 the one who brought you out of the land of Egypt 205 00:13:56,519 --> 00:13:57,879 to be your God. 206 00:13:58,259 --> 00:13:59,399 I am the Lord. 207 00:14:00,019 --> 00:14:02,720 So the chapter really concludes with 208 00:14:02,720 --> 00:14:06,220 this call to obey God's commands, 209 00:14:06,480 --> 00:14:09,139 not to profane his name 210 00:14:09,139 --> 00:14:12,000 and a reminder to the Israelites 211 00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:14,480 this is where I brought you from 212 00:14:14,480 --> 00:14:18,519 and the God's identity is just tied 213 00:14:18,519 --> 00:14:20,899 and intermittent with this holiness, 214 00:14:21,279 --> 00:14:22,679 this worship, this obedience 215 00:14:22,679 --> 00:14:25,399 and the fact that the Israelites 216 00:14:25,399 --> 00:14:27,639 are set apart 217 00:14:27,639 --> 00:14:30,720 and this is something that has stayed 218 00:14:30,940 --> 00:14:33,820 with the Jewish culture to this day 219 00:14:33,820 --> 00:14:36,500 that they are set apart for God 220 00:14:36,500 --> 00:14:37,759 that they are different 221 00:14:38,639 --> 00:14:42,299 and God is just continually reminding of that. 222 00:14:42,820 --> 00:14:45,519 So now that's the whole chapter. 223 00:14:45,820 --> 00:14:47,639 So let's take a look at this 224 00:14:47,639 --> 00:14:51,500 from the Israelite cultural 225 00:14:51,500 --> 00:14:54,019 or Jewish traditional perspective 226 00:14:54,019 --> 00:14:56,639 as to how they would have viewed this. 227 00:14:57,000 --> 00:14:59,659 There are some really, really deep insights 228 00:14:59,659 --> 00:15:03,759 into the Israelite's worship tradition 229 00:15:03,759 --> 00:15:06,559 and their theological mindset 230 00:15:06,559 --> 00:15:10,220 when it comes to the reverence of God. 231 00:15:10,899 --> 00:15:13,539 In the broader context of Torah 232 00:15:13,539 --> 00:15:15,480 which we're still in 233 00:15:16,659 --> 00:15:19,059 this chapter really emphasizes 234 00:15:19,659 --> 00:15:20,960 that holiness 235 00:15:21,659 --> 00:15:23,799 and we've read about this before 236 00:15:23,799 --> 00:15:27,600 holiness is not just a personal thing 237 00:15:28,659 --> 00:15:30,720 to the Israelites or to the Jews. 238 00:15:30,899 --> 00:15:32,860 Chris and I were just talking a little bit about this 239 00:15:33,600 --> 00:15:36,120 yesterday, but it's a communal thing. 240 00:15:38,240 --> 00:15:40,320 It really is about 241 00:15:43,620 --> 00:15:44,899 their community, 242 00:15:45,179 --> 00:15:47,779 even the whole of Israel 243 00:15:47,779 --> 00:15:49,460 like the things that they did 244 00:15:50,500 --> 00:15:51,879 and didn't do 245 00:15:51,879 --> 00:15:53,659 impacted the community 246 00:15:53,659 --> 00:15:56,159 not just the individual 247 00:15:56,159 --> 00:15:57,820 and they really saw it that way 248 00:15:57,820 --> 00:15:59,620 and that was kind of a weight 249 00:15:59,620 --> 00:16:01,620 that they carried with them. 250 00:16:01,759 --> 00:16:02,700 It's not just me. 251 00:16:03,299 --> 00:16:07,039 We're kind of all in this together. 252 00:16:09,640 --> 00:16:11,639 So the first thing is 253 00:16:14,779 --> 00:16:16,480 holiness to the Jews 254 00:16:17,140 --> 00:16:18,259 is contagious. 255 00:16:19,820 --> 00:16:21,759 So when you're holy 256 00:16:21,759 --> 00:16:23,860 and you're just kind of living that life 257 00:16:23,860 --> 00:16:25,820 for them it was something that 258 00:16:25,820 --> 00:16:28,600 everyone kind of participated in 259 00:16:28,600 --> 00:16:31,000 and called on, but so is 260 00:16:31,000 --> 00:16:32,820 defilement or sin. 261 00:16:33,220 --> 00:16:34,600 They're both contagious 262 00:16:34,600 --> 00:16:36,679 in their own ways. 263 00:16:36,779 --> 00:16:38,220 When you're with a group of people 264 00:16:38,220 --> 00:16:40,100 that are just following hard 265 00:16:40,860 --> 00:16:42,019 after God, it's like, 266 00:16:42,139 --> 00:16:45,179 man, we are in this together. 267 00:16:45,860 --> 00:16:47,019 And it's just awesome 268 00:16:47,019 --> 00:16:48,500 and we're doing this thing 269 00:16:48,500 --> 00:16:50,340 but I've seen the same thing 270 00:16:50,340 --> 00:16:52,000 happen with sin. 271 00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:54,460 So in ancient Israel, 272 00:16:55,279 --> 00:16:57,059 holiness was not something 273 00:16:57,059 --> 00:16:58,720 that was taken for granted. 274 00:16:59,899 --> 00:17:02,779 It was protected and preserved 275 00:17:02,779 --> 00:17:04,619 and it was approached with 276 00:17:04,619 --> 00:17:06,200 this intentionality. 277 00:17:06,299 --> 00:17:07,759 As you can see how we've read through 278 00:17:07,759 --> 00:17:10,440 Exodus and Leviticus, 279 00:17:10,700 --> 00:17:12,960 this attention to detail 280 00:17:12,960 --> 00:17:15,119 and the things and the systems 281 00:17:15,119 --> 00:17:16,720 that were in place 282 00:17:16,720 --> 00:17:19,539 that was such intentionality behind it. 283 00:17:19,539 --> 00:17:22,220 And this chapter just sets 284 00:17:22,220 --> 00:17:24,240 these very clear boundaries 285 00:17:24,240 --> 00:17:26,359 and identifies very clearly 286 00:17:26,359 --> 00:17:29,619 the risk that's associated with it. 287 00:17:30,019 --> 00:17:31,579 Bringing guilt not just 288 00:17:31,579 --> 00:17:33,839 upon themselves but upon 289 00:17:33,839 --> 00:17:36,160 the community as a whole. 290 00:17:36,460 --> 00:17:38,380 So they took this approach to God 291 00:17:38,380 --> 00:17:40,240 like super serious 292 00:17:40,240 --> 00:17:43,099 and the word of God 293 00:17:43,099 --> 00:17:45,299 and everything was just, 294 00:17:45,579 --> 00:17:48,460 it was ingrained in their kids 295 00:17:48,460 --> 00:17:50,339 from when they were so small, 296 00:17:50,640 --> 00:17:51,440 kind of growing up, 297 00:17:51,619 --> 00:17:54,039 they were taught all of this stuff. 298 00:17:54,380 --> 00:17:57,480 I remember reading a story 299 00:17:57,480 --> 00:18:00,460 about the Jews when they were 300 00:18:01,000 --> 00:18:01,799 in captivity. 301 00:18:02,420 --> 00:18:02,960 So if you think, 302 00:18:03,640 --> 00:18:05,319 this Leviticus was coming 303 00:18:05,319 --> 00:18:08,680 forth about 1400 years 304 00:18:10,159 --> 00:18:11,900 before the time of Jesus 305 00:18:12,460 --> 00:18:15,420 and they came into captivity 306 00:18:15,420 --> 00:18:17,099 with Babylon 307 00:18:17,099 --> 00:18:22,299 at around 586 BC. 308 00:18:23,319 --> 00:18:25,839 And I was listening to this 309 00:18:25,839 --> 00:18:27,420 rabbi teacher talk 310 00:18:27,980 --> 00:18:28,619 and he said, 311 00:18:28,759 --> 00:18:34,900 this was most of their laws 312 00:18:34,900 --> 00:18:35,900 and how they wrote 313 00:18:35,900 --> 00:18:36,740 and the scriptures 314 00:18:36,740 --> 00:18:37,740 and all these things. 315 00:18:37,920 --> 00:18:40,200 Most of it was oral tradition. 316 00:18:41,579 --> 00:18:43,420 And these rabbis 317 00:18:43,420 --> 00:18:45,200 as they were in captivity, 318 00:18:46,119 --> 00:18:46,559 they said, 319 00:18:46,660 --> 00:18:48,759 we got away from God 320 00:18:48,759 --> 00:18:49,880 and His holiness 321 00:18:49,880 --> 00:18:51,799 and we got away from 322 00:18:51,799 --> 00:18:54,000 the word of God 323 00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:55,759 and we can never let that happen again 324 00:18:55,759 --> 00:18:56,819 and that's when they started 325 00:18:58,400 --> 00:18:59,859 having the scribes 326 00:18:59,859 --> 00:19:01,880 kind of write all of this stuff down 327 00:19:01,880 --> 00:19:03,660 and they kind of went into this idea 328 00:19:03,660 --> 00:19:05,440 we have to get back 329 00:19:05,440 --> 00:19:06,740 to this teaching 330 00:19:06,740 --> 00:19:08,779 and we have to really take this holiness 331 00:19:08,779 --> 00:19:10,579 like super serious 332 00:19:10,579 --> 00:19:11,619 like we used to 333 00:19:11,619 --> 00:19:14,039 because that's why we're here now 334 00:19:14,039 --> 00:19:15,660 because we got away from it. 335 00:19:15,720 --> 00:19:17,200 So all of those years 336 00:19:17,200 --> 00:19:18,799 this idea of this holiness 337 00:19:18,799 --> 00:19:22,319 was like super, super serious to them 338 00:19:22,319 --> 00:19:25,819 and they had it in their hearts. 339 00:19:26,059 --> 00:19:27,799 Worship wasn't a casual thing. 340 00:19:28,460 --> 00:19:30,119 Sometimes I approach worship 341 00:19:30,119 --> 00:19:31,279 kind of just flippantly 342 00:19:31,279 --> 00:19:32,359 just come in 343 00:19:32,359 --> 00:19:35,099 and just kind of start worship 344 00:19:35,099 --> 00:19:37,519 and I don't prepare my heart 345 00:19:37,519 --> 00:19:39,920 and I don't think deeply about it 346 00:19:39,920 --> 00:19:41,920 but when you think about being 347 00:19:41,920 --> 00:19:43,180 in the presence of God 348 00:19:43,920 --> 00:19:45,700 the way Leviticus presents it 349 00:19:45,700 --> 00:19:47,700 it's a holy thing. 350 00:19:48,940 --> 00:19:50,279 Now we have differences 351 00:19:50,279 --> 00:19:52,000 we're cleansed by the blood Jesus 352 00:19:52,000 --> 00:19:54,460 a little bit of a difference thing 353 00:19:54,460 --> 00:19:57,019 but the reverence of that to me 354 00:19:57,019 --> 00:19:59,920 is something that really, really caught me. 355 00:20:01,240 --> 00:20:03,940 Second thing, only the worthy 356 00:20:05,059 --> 00:20:06,960 may serve and partake 357 00:20:06,960 --> 00:20:08,799 ones that were set apart 358 00:20:09,940 --> 00:20:11,960 specifically the priests. 359 00:20:12,500 --> 00:20:14,319 So God sets limits on 360 00:20:14,319 --> 00:20:15,640 who can eat the offering 361 00:20:15,640 --> 00:20:17,579 the priests and their household 362 00:20:17,579 --> 00:20:18,319 not the ass. 363 00:20:18,519 --> 00:20:20,579 This preserved the sanctity 364 00:20:20,579 --> 00:20:22,380 of the sacrifices 365 00:20:22,380 --> 00:20:24,220 and reinforces this idea. 366 00:20:24,579 --> 00:20:27,180 Hey, the priests are in this special role 367 00:20:27,799 --> 00:20:31,680 and their role is to guide us 368 00:20:31,680 --> 00:20:35,619 and this idea of access 369 00:20:35,619 --> 00:20:39,079 to God through the temple 370 00:20:39,079 --> 00:20:41,900 through what the priests are sustaining. 371 00:20:43,280 --> 00:20:48,160 It was something when you think about 372 00:20:48,160 --> 00:20:50,059 it's easy to 373 00:20:50,059 --> 00:20:53,299 I've said this many times as we're going through these 374 00:20:53,299 --> 00:20:55,339 it's easy to look at these things 375 00:20:55,339 --> 00:20:58,400 and say, wow, this is just too much. 376 00:20:58,720 --> 00:20:59,779 It's just too much. 377 00:20:59,900 --> 00:21:00,620 All this process 378 00:21:01,299 --> 00:21:02,620 and all of this sacrifice 379 00:21:03,220 --> 00:21:04,759 and all this I can do this 380 00:21:04,759 --> 00:21:06,500 and I can't do that. 381 00:21:08,299 --> 00:21:10,700 But at the end of the day 382 00:21:12,019 --> 00:21:14,859 worship has to cost us something, doesn't it? 383 00:21:15,279 --> 00:21:16,160 Even us today, 384 00:21:16,579 --> 00:21:19,500 worship has to cost us something 385 00:21:20,859 --> 00:21:23,339 or we're not really giving up 386 00:21:23,339 --> 00:21:25,420 our full worship to God 387 00:21:25,420 --> 00:21:27,779 and that's how the Jews looked at this. 388 00:21:28,779 --> 00:21:30,119 And you talked to some, 389 00:21:30,220 --> 00:21:31,779 I've talked to Orthodox Jews 390 00:21:33,000 --> 00:21:34,319 present-day friends 391 00:21:34,319 --> 00:21:36,779 and I said, man, isn't it? 392 00:21:37,380 --> 00:21:39,200 Don't you hate doing this 393 00:21:39,200 --> 00:21:41,819 and not eating this and not doing that? 394 00:21:42,259 --> 00:21:45,240 And he said this, his name was milk wine stock 395 00:21:45,240 --> 00:21:47,579 and he said, no, no I don't. 396 00:21:48,559 --> 00:21:51,920 This is my offering to God. 397 00:21:52,500 --> 00:21:54,619 This is what I give him. 398 00:21:55,319 --> 00:21:57,980 I don't look at it as, you know, 399 00:21:58,240 --> 00:22:00,279 hurdle for me or something that's, 400 00:22:00,279 --> 00:22:01,980 you know, I gotta do this again. 401 00:22:02,440 --> 00:22:04,180 He said, I look at it with joy in my heart 402 00:22:04,180 --> 00:22:07,380 to say I can give this thing to God. 403 00:22:07,799 --> 00:22:10,099 That really touched me when he said that. 404 00:22:11,059 --> 00:22:13,440 So, number three, 405 00:22:14,420 --> 00:22:17,140 God deserves the best, not the leftovers. 406 00:22:17,440 --> 00:22:18,799 So the animals offered, 407 00:22:19,299 --> 00:22:20,700 they had to be perfect. 408 00:22:21,299 --> 00:22:22,940 God demands excellence 409 00:22:22,940 --> 00:22:25,059 in worship and perfection. 410 00:22:25,940 --> 00:22:28,000 So in Jewish mindset, 411 00:22:28,880 --> 00:22:30,940 there's this word called Kavad, 412 00:22:31,279 --> 00:22:32,619 which means honor. 413 00:22:33,259 --> 00:22:36,099 You know, and God is worthy of the finest 414 00:22:36,099 --> 00:22:38,400 to honor God, just like you would honor 415 00:22:39,000 --> 00:22:41,759 anyone of royalty or any of that. 416 00:22:42,140 --> 00:22:43,299 You know, you look up to someone and say, 417 00:22:43,359 --> 00:22:46,140 wow, look at them and the space that they're in, 418 00:22:46,200 --> 00:22:47,680 but God is so much beyond us. 419 00:22:47,740 --> 00:22:51,019 This idea of Kavad and honoring them 420 00:22:51,019 --> 00:22:56,119 was something that was sacred to them. 421 00:22:57,420 --> 00:22:59,140 Not what's convenient, 422 00:22:59,619 --> 00:23:01,200 not what's expendable, 423 00:23:01,480 --> 00:23:04,019 not what there's excess of, 424 00:23:04,700 --> 00:23:07,039 but the first, the finest. 425 00:23:07,940 --> 00:23:11,240 So sad sacrifices were this expression, 426 00:23:11,819 --> 00:23:14,019 you know, to God of purity. 427 00:23:15,359 --> 00:23:18,240 Number four, the priests were guardians 428 00:23:18,240 --> 00:23:20,519 of the sacred order. 429 00:23:20,900 --> 00:23:23,039 So the priests were not just 430 00:23:23,039 --> 00:23:25,359 these ritual performers. 431 00:23:25,359 --> 00:23:27,980 I mean, they weren't just, you know, 432 00:23:29,220 --> 00:23:32,660 the people around the temple 433 00:23:32,660 --> 00:23:36,259 that were here to just execute these things. 434 00:23:36,799 --> 00:23:40,799 They were mediators of holiness, 435 00:23:40,920 --> 00:23:44,680 and they were guides to this access 436 00:23:44,680 --> 00:23:46,700 to God that he was providing. 437 00:23:46,880 --> 00:23:48,980 Because remember, this is all about God 438 00:23:48,980 --> 00:23:52,019 wanting to be with his people 439 00:23:52,019 --> 00:23:54,339 and providing access. 440 00:23:54,920 --> 00:23:57,539 And the priest's role was to guide 441 00:23:57,539 --> 00:23:59,720 the people through this. 442 00:24:00,019 --> 00:24:04,160 And this was a weighty role for the priests. 443 00:24:05,920 --> 00:24:10,079 It was not something that they took lightly. 444 00:24:10,740 --> 00:24:12,819 So the role of leadership and worship 445 00:24:12,819 --> 00:24:15,180 was not about status, 446 00:24:15,920 --> 00:24:20,420 but responsibility to preserve 447 00:24:20,420 --> 00:24:24,140 this spiritual integrity as a nation. 448 00:24:24,500 --> 00:24:26,440 Now, later, we're going to read 449 00:24:26,440 --> 00:24:29,720 that it eventually did become about status, 450 00:24:29,799 --> 00:24:30,839 but we're not there yet. 451 00:24:32,039 --> 00:24:35,799 So, and last, worship was a whole community. 452 00:24:36,079 --> 00:24:38,519 It was a covenant-based act, 453 00:24:38,579 --> 00:24:40,380 and we talked just a little bit about this, 454 00:24:40,819 --> 00:24:44,319 but the entire community or nation 455 00:24:44,319 --> 00:24:48,619 really benefited or suffered 456 00:24:49,880 --> 00:24:53,779 on how faithful this system was upheld. 457 00:24:54,400 --> 00:24:56,980 So improper offerings or mishandling 458 00:24:56,980 --> 00:25:00,519 of these rituals could defile 459 00:25:00,519 --> 00:25:03,400 the entire sacrificial process 460 00:25:03,400 --> 00:25:06,859 and bring shame on the person and the community. 461 00:25:07,339 --> 00:25:11,640 So worship to them, to the early Jews, 462 00:25:11,859 --> 00:25:14,519 it was not just this vertical thing 463 00:25:14,519 --> 00:25:17,059 between the individual and God, 464 00:25:17,059 --> 00:25:20,799 but a deeply communal, covenantal thing. 465 00:25:21,400 --> 00:25:23,380 So everything that Israel did 466 00:25:23,380 --> 00:25:26,359 reflected the character of God. 467 00:25:26,680 --> 00:25:30,099 So that's kind of looking at this chapter 468 00:25:30,099 --> 00:25:31,559 and this grouping of scripture 469 00:25:31,559 --> 00:25:34,380 from a Jewish cultural perspective 470 00:25:34,380 --> 00:25:36,579 and how they would have seen it. 471 00:25:36,819 --> 00:25:39,960 So let's take a look at how Jesus looked at this. 472 00:25:40,220 --> 00:25:42,859 So by the time Jesus, you know, 473 00:25:43,140 --> 00:25:44,039 it was time it would have been 474 00:25:44,039 --> 00:25:46,480 roughly 1400 years later, you know. 475 00:25:46,940 --> 00:25:48,559 And the religious leaders, 476 00:25:48,900 --> 00:25:52,640 particularly the Sadducees and the Sanhedrin, 477 00:25:53,079 --> 00:25:56,660 had developed this new system over the years, 478 00:25:56,839 --> 00:26:00,279 which really just emptied out, 479 00:26:00,700 --> 00:26:05,220 you know, what God was doing here in Leviticus. 480 00:26:05,380 --> 00:26:08,880 It just hollowed out the principles 481 00:26:08,880 --> 00:26:13,420 of sacrifice and purity and holiness 482 00:26:13,420 --> 00:26:16,480 and just turned it into this mess. 483 00:26:16,920 --> 00:26:18,339 And we're going to talk about that. 484 00:26:18,640 --> 00:26:24,140 So external ritual took precedence 485 00:26:24,140 --> 00:26:26,599 over the internal reality 486 00:26:27,700 --> 00:26:29,759 in the time Jesus was there. 487 00:26:29,940 --> 00:26:32,059 So the religious rulers, 488 00:26:32,740 --> 00:26:34,160 they were known, 489 00:26:34,680 --> 00:26:38,359 they were known for their strict observance to the law. 490 00:26:39,840 --> 00:26:42,660 They had added over the years 491 00:26:42,660 --> 00:26:46,400 thousands and thousands and thousands 492 00:26:46,400 --> 00:26:48,119 and thousands of laws 493 00:26:48,119 --> 00:26:52,019 around what God had done in the beginning. 494 00:26:52,180 --> 00:26:54,180 I forget the numbers, but it's like somewhere, 495 00:26:54,660 --> 00:26:56,640 I think there's somewhere around 496 00:26:56,640 --> 00:27:02,119 600 and some odd laws in Torah. 497 00:27:03,220 --> 00:27:05,160 I'm not that right, 498 00:27:05,160 --> 00:27:07,579 it can somewhere 600, 499 00:27:09,220 --> 00:27:11,200 613 laws in Torah. 500 00:27:11,819 --> 00:27:12,599 So think about this. 501 00:27:13,559 --> 00:27:16,039 These were the laws. 502 00:27:16,240 --> 00:27:17,720 This is what they were following. 503 00:27:18,619 --> 00:27:21,599 So what the Jews did over time, 504 00:27:22,059 --> 00:27:24,400 this didn't happen right away in Leviticus. 505 00:27:24,559 --> 00:27:26,240 I mean, this happened over, you know, 506 00:27:26,380 --> 00:27:27,859 hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years. 507 00:27:28,380 --> 00:27:31,640 They built fences around that. 508 00:27:32,920 --> 00:27:34,599 1,000 more laws, 509 00:27:34,859 --> 00:27:36,940 1,000 more, 1,000 more, 510 00:27:37,259 --> 00:27:39,279 grouping of like 3,000 laws. 511 00:27:39,839 --> 00:27:42,440 And then another grouping of 2, 512 00:27:42,599 --> 00:27:45,059 3,000 more laws. 513 00:27:45,619 --> 00:27:49,640 So they had upwards of 5 to 6,000 514 00:27:50,279 --> 00:27:51,700 additional laws 515 00:27:51,700 --> 00:27:55,140 that surrounded this 613 516 00:27:56,839 --> 00:27:58,160 laws in Torah. 517 00:27:58,160 --> 00:28:01,200 So they had built this structure 518 00:28:03,379 --> 00:28:06,960 that God never intended for it to be there. 519 00:28:07,140 --> 00:28:08,819 I always say this, I say, you know, 520 00:28:08,900 --> 00:28:10,599 God gives us a good thing 521 00:28:10,599 --> 00:28:12,740 and then man has just this way of rowing it. 522 00:28:12,880 --> 00:28:14,920 You know, it's just like this, you know, 523 00:28:16,359 --> 00:28:17,519 it's just what we do. 524 00:28:18,140 --> 00:28:20,119 I hate to say it, but, you know, 525 00:28:20,259 --> 00:28:22,380 man just has this way of 526 00:28:23,919 --> 00:28:26,380 taking these good things and just doing it. 527 00:28:26,380 --> 00:28:29,500 So they had added these layers and layers of law 528 00:28:29,500 --> 00:28:31,579 and oral tradition 529 00:28:31,579 --> 00:28:34,160 that became in their minds 530 00:28:34,160 --> 00:28:36,200 and what they were teaching to the people 531 00:28:36,200 --> 00:28:39,960 equal or even above the laws 532 00:28:39,960 --> 00:28:42,200 that were in Scripture and in practice. 533 00:28:42,460 --> 00:28:45,440 They emphasized ceremonial purity 534 00:28:45,440 --> 00:28:47,059 like washing of hands 535 00:28:47,059 --> 00:28:48,980 and avoiding contact with sinners 536 00:28:48,980 --> 00:28:51,380 while neglecting the heart, 537 00:28:51,960 --> 00:28:54,539 the heart of the command. 538 00:28:54,539 --> 00:28:58,839 And that's what Jesus was constantly 539 00:28:59,539 --> 00:29:01,960 correcting the people on 540 00:29:02,539 --> 00:29:05,960 is you are missing the heart of this. 541 00:29:06,480 --> 00:29:09,119 Matthew 23, 25, he says, 542 00:29:09,519 --> 00:29:12,859 you clean the outside of the dish 543 00:29:12,859 --> 00:29:16,680 but the inside, but they are full of greed 544 00:29:16,680 --> 00:29:19,059 and self-indulgence. 545 00:29:19,339 --> 00:29:23,559 23, 27, you are like whitewashed tombs 546 00:29:26,539 --> 00:29:28,839 which look beautiful on the outside 547 00:29:28,839 --> 00:29:31,440 but the inside are full of bones 548 00:29:31,440 --> 00:29:33,359 and of the dead. 549 00:29:33,839 --> 00:29:37,359 That would have been a crushing insult 550 00:29:38,539 --> 00:29:42,039 to the Sadducees and Pharisees and the Sanhedrin. 551 00:29:42,200 --> 00:29:45,519 I mean, the thought of touching, 552 00:29:45,980 --> 00:29:48,920 you know, something dead 553 00:29:49,559 --> 00:29:52,099 was just like, oh, you know, can't do that 554 00:29:52,099 --> 00:29:54,299 because of all this just nonsense. 555 00:29:54,660 --> 00:29:55,759 So he calls them basically 556 00:29:55,759 --> 00:29:59,099 your whitewashed tombs inside. 557 00:29:59,599 --> 00:30:02,819 You're dead and defiled but on the outside 558 00:30:02,819 --> 00:30:07,259 you look just real nice, nice and clean 559 00:30:07,259 --> 00:30:09,940 is basically what he was saying. 560 00:30:10,180 --> 00:30:14,380 So they turned God's call for holiness 561 00:30:14,380 --> 00:30:19,480 and reverence into performance-based religion 562 00:30:19,480 --> 00:30:21,519 focusing on the appearance 563 00:30:21,519 --> 00:30:24,680 rather than the transformation of the hearts. 564 00:30:29,599 --> 00:30:34,839 Next, corrupting the sacrificial system for profit. 565 00:30:35,819 --> 00:30:39,160 So the Sadducees who controlled the temple 566 00:30:39,160 --> 00:30:44,680 and the priesthood were largely this elite class 567 00:30:45,680 --> 00:30:50,440 and they collaborated closely with the Roman authorities. 568 00:30:51,440 --> 00:30:53,240 There's a lot you could read about 569 00:30:53,240 --> 00:30:56,180 the histories of the Sadducees. 570 00:30:56,700 --> 00:31:01,339 They really, throughout years of captivity, 571 00:31:01,960 --> 00:31:04,900 they were just indoctrinated with this 572 00:31:05,680 --> 00:31:08,259 Hellenistic culture and mindset 573 00:31:08,259 --> 00:31:11,880 and what they did is they took this Hellenism 574 00:31:11,880 --> 00:31:15,319 which they liked because of the stuff 575 00:31:15,319 --> 00:31:17,059 that goes along with Hellenism 576 00:31:17,059 --> 00:31:20,680 and they merged it with their Jewish faith 577 00:31:20,680 --> 00:31:23,880 and they brought it together into this mishmash 578 00:31:24,420 --> 00:31:26,880 of things that just don't work together. 579 00:31:27,940 --> 00:31:30,160 But in their hearts they were Hellenistic. 580 00:31:30,660 --> 00:31:32,299 Make no mistake about it. 581 00:31:32,339 --> 00:31:34,779 There's a lot you could research and read there 582 00:31:34,779 --> 00:31:39,099 and it's super interesting to do. 583 00:31:39,099 --> 00:31:43,359 But the temple system had become commercialized. 584 00:31:43,839 --> 00:31:48,940 So people were forced to buy approved animals 585 00:31:48,940 --> 00:31:53,460 at inflated prices and exchange their money 586 00:31:53,460 --> 00:31:55,100 at unfair rates. 587 00:31:55,720 --> 00:31:59,119 So this was just like a system that they developed 588 00:31:59,119 --> 00:32:01,200 to profit themselves. 589 00:32:03,520 --> 00:32:07,579 So we all know the story of Jesus coming in 590 00:32:07,579 --> 00:32:10,779 cleansing the temple, clearing the temple 591 00:32:10,779 --> 00:32:14,460 and he said my house will be called a house of prayer 592 00:32:14,460 --> 00:32:18,359 for all nations but you have made it a den of robbers. 593 00:32:19,180 --> 00:32:23,539 So instead of guarding the sanctity of sacrifices 594 00:32:23,539 --> 00:32:26,359 and leading the people to God, 595 00:32:26,900 --> 00:32:30,240 they turned worship into a business, 596 00:32:31,180 --> 00:32:34,460 exploiting people by it. 597 00:32:36,319 --> 00:32:38,740 My little sidebar is 598 00:32:41,000 --> 00:32:43,299 are we that different as a culture? 599 00:32:44,519 --> 00:32:45,700 It's just that it's no work. 600 00:32:46,119 --> 00:32:46,960 What's that? 601 00:32:47,119 --> 00:32:48,380 It's just that it's no work. 602 00:32:48,599 --> 00:32:54,599 We have monetized every aspect of Christianity. 603 00:32:55,720 --> 00:32:56,559 Monetized it. 604 00:32:57,519 --> 00:33:00,619 We are not that different than this 605 00:33:00,619 --> 00:33:03,099 and it's something we have to guard. 606 00:33:04,100 --> 00:33:05,920 Guard our hearts against 607 00:33:07,100 --> 00:33:11,980 and really try to press through to that purity 608 00:33:11,980 --> 00:33:15,640 and that devotional aspect that God calls us to. 609 00:33:17,220 --> 00:33:21,799 Legalism replaced mercy and justice. 610 00:33:22,440 --> 00:33:25,220 So in their zeal to obey the law, 611 00:33:26,200 --> 00:33:29,680 all of these rules and regulations that they had put 612 00:33:29,680 --> 00:33:34,119 around it, these leaders missed the heart of God. 613 00:33:34,640 --> 00:33:37,759 Jesus said in Matthew 23, 23, 614 00:33:38,299 --> 00:33:41,859 woe to you teachers of the law and Pharisees, 615 00:33:42,039 --> 00:33:42,859 you hypocrites. 616 00:33:43,559 --> 00:33:45,579 You give a tenth of your spices, 617 00:33:46,079 --> 00:33:47,920 mint, dill and cumin, 618 00:33:48,599 --> 00:33:52,720 but you have neglected the more important matters of law. 619 00:33:53,579 --> 00:33:56,579 Justice, mercy and faithfulness. 620 00:33:57,440 --> 00:33:59,900 You should have practiced the latter 621 00:33:59,900 --> 00:34:02,579 without neglecting the former. 622 00:34:03,359 --> 00:34:07,259 So in other words, they had weaponized the law 623 00:34:07,259 --> 00:34:12,539 using it to condemn, exclude and shame 624 00:34:12,539 --> 00:34:17,079 rather than to lead people towards restoration. 625 00:34:19,260 --> 00:34:23,840 And I can tell you, I used to do that all the time. 626 00:34:24,940 --> 00:34:27,820 I used to weaponize scripture in a way 627 00:34:27,820 --> 00:34:32,239 that it would just cut people 628 00:34:32,840 --> 00:34:35,539 and just criticize people and say, 629 00:34:35,559 --> 00:34:36,780 you shouldn't be doing it this way. 630 00:34:36,860 --> 00:34:38,619 You should be doing it this way because of this 631 00:34:39,559 --> 00:34:43,179 and just putting it and using it kind of as a weapon 632 00:34:43,179 --> 00:34:46,719 instead of a venue of love 633 00:34:46,719 --> 00:34:50,980 and instead of drawing people in with it, 634 00:34:50,980 --> 00:34:55,840 I would use it to kind of, really kind of divide in a way. 635 00:34:56,179 --> 00:34:57,800 And it was something that God really, 636 00:34:57,920 --> 00:35:01,260 really delivered me from years and years 637 00:35:01,260 --> 00:35:02,639 and years and years ago. 638 00:35:03,199 --> 00:35:05,880 But they had weaponized the law. 639 00:35:07,219 --> 00:35:09,099 Matthew 9, 13 says, 640 00:35:09,380 --> 00:35:11,480 go and learn what this means. 641 00:35:11,820 --> 00:35:16,159 I desire mercy, not sacrifice. 642 00:35:17,159 --> 00:35:22,039 So they had forgotten the purpose of purity and sacrifice. 643 00:35:23,780 --> 00:35:29,039 It was to bring people into relationship with God. 644 00:35:29,360 --> 00:35:33,420 It was to draw people in to God, 645 00:35:33,760 --> 00:35:40,539 not create barriers through social and spiritual hierarchies. 646 00:35:41,199 --> 00:35:42,679 That's not what it was about 647 00:35:42,679 --> 00:35:44,480 and that's not what it's about today. 648 00:35:45,480 --> 00:35:48,320 God wants us to use his word 649 00:35:48,320 --> 00:35:54,059 and to be impacted by the spirit to draw people in, 650 00:35:54,800 --> 00:35:56,559 not create these barriers. 651 00:35:57,519 --> 00:36:01,340 Pride and hypocrisy had replaced humility. 652 00:36:02,420 --> 00:36:06,239 These religious leaders loved the recognition 653 00:36:06,239 --> 00:36:10,480 and the titles and the public displays of righteousness 654 00:36:10,480 --> 00:36:14,420 while ignoring the humility and fear of God 655 00:36:14,420 --> 00:36:16,559 that Leviticus called us to. 656 00:36:17,559 --> 00:36:19,559 Remember we read about Aaron? 657 00:36:20,340 --> 00:36:25,219 They were humbled to be in the position 658 00:36:25,219 --> 00:36:27,780 where they weren't touting that above and saying, 659 00:36:28,199 --> 00:36:30,239 look at me, look at me. 660 00:36:33,860 --> 00:36:39,199 Matthew 23, 5, everything they do is done 661 00:36:39,199 --> 00:36:41,079 for people to see. 662 00:36:42,659 --> 00:36:45,039 They make their philocrities wide 663 00:36:46,200 --> 00:36:50,260 and their tassels on their garments long. 664 00:36:50,840 --> 00:36:54,719 The philocrities with the scriptures that they had 665 00:36:54,719 --> 00:36:59,300 in the boxes that they carried around with them. 666 00:36:59,780 --> 00:37:04,800 Matthew 23, 6, they love the place of honor 667 00:37:04,800 --> 00:37:09,179 at the banquets and the most important seats 668 00:37:09,179 --> 00:37:10,800 in the synagogues. 669 00:37:11,860 --> 00:37:15,420 They loved that, that people would see that 670 00:37:15,420 --> 00:37:18,639 instead of that place of humility. 671 00:37:21,519 --> 00:37:25,420 Holiness that God is talking about in Leviticus 672 00:37:25,420 --> 00:37:27,980 is about this reverence towards God. 673 00:37:29,019 --> 00:37:31,800 And in Jesus' day with the Pharisees 674 00:37:32,099 --> 00:37:34,320 and with the leaders and the religious leaders, 675 00:37:34,679 --> 00:37:38,840 it had become this stage of self-promotion, basically. 676 00:37:46,100 --> 00:37:50,699 So the principles here in Leviticus 22, 677 00:37:51,019 --> 00:37:53,739 honor, holiness, sacrifice and purity 678 00:37:53,739 --> 00:37:56,360 were meant to point the Israelites 679 00:37:56,360 --> 00:38:01,760 to a deep covenantal relationship with God. 680 00:38:03,420 --> 00:38:06,880 But it had gotten twisted into a system of control 681 00:38:06,880 --> 00:38:12,320 and profit and status in the generations to come. 682 00:38:13,320 --> 00:38:18,820 So Jesus never rejected the law. 683 00:38:19,719 --> 00:38:22,760 He participated in all of these festivals. 684 00:38:22,760 --> 00:38:26,639 He said he came to fulfill the law. 685 00:38:26,920 --> 00:38:30,739 What he rejected was this distortion and this intent 686 00:38:30,739 --> 00:38:36,139 and this perversion that the people had brought into the law. 687 00:38:36,659 --> 00:38:41,679 His ministry was all about this radical return 688 00:38:42,799 --> 00:38:48,260 to the true heart of God, the true heart of worship, 689 00:38:48,260 --> 00:38:52,800 mercy, humility, authentic relationship with God. 690 00:38:54,400 --> 00:38:58,079 This chapter, again, like so many chapters in Leviticus 691 00:38:58,079 --> 00:39:03,320 just reminded me about this idea of approaching God 692 00:39:03,320 --> 00:39:08,719 with reverence, intentionality, integrity, humility. 693 00:39:10,780 --> 00:39:15,719 So we don't live under this burden of these, 694 00:39:15,719 --> 00:39:18,219 I shouldn't call it a burden because some of the Jews 695 00:39:18,219 --> 00:39:22,280 didn't call it a burden, but we don't live under that system. 696 00:39:24,079 --> 00:39:28,559 But God still deserves our best, right? 697 00:39:28,719 --> 00:39:33,079 He still deserves the sacrifice that we should bring 698 00:39:33,079 --> 00:39:37,119 from worship and our hearts should honor him 699 00:39:37,119 --> 00:39:40,119 with that purity and that gratitude. 700 00:39:43,000 --> 00:39:45,420 So that's 22. 701 00:39:45,960 --> 00:39:48,920 You guys have your handouts. 702 00:39:49,019 --> 00:39:50,920 I think we probably have enough here 703 00:39:50,920 --> 00:39:56,000 for why don't we break down into two groups 704 00:39:57,180 --> 00:40:00,960 and kind of have that wrestle through some of this stuff. 705 00:40:01,539 --> 00:40:02,420 Sound good? 706 00:40:02,840 --> 00:40:03,900 All right. 707 00:40:10,600 --> 00:40:13,539 Thanks for joining us at Lansdale Life Church 708 00:40:13,539 --> 00:40:16,019 as we praise God and discuss His Word. 709 00:40:16,739 --> 00:40:19,840 Don't forget to join us for Worship Live Sunday mornings 710 00:40:19,840 --> 00:40:22,159 at 10 a.m. Eastern on YouTube. 711 00:40:23,099 --> 00:40:25,320 Be blessed and have a great day.