Living Cleanly in an Unclean World Leviticus 11-15

Themes:Place of Leviticus

The Grace of Leviticus

The Embrace of Leviticus - living daily life in the presence of the Holy One

Israel’s Relationship with the Holy One

Israel is Redeemed

Tabernacle of Holy Glory constructedSacrifices and Priests Instituted

Worshipping in the Beauty of Holiness –

the reason for Leviticus Worship includes all of life

The Progress of Understanding Holiness

Genesis 2 times Exodus : ground is holy -

mainly tabernacle and priesthood 45x Leviticus: 150 times

In a discussion about swarming things food…I am the Lord therefore sanctify yourselves and you be holy for I am holy. 11:44-45

Wonder why we are so quick to remove context?

The Resounding “Sanity” of the Army

“It is self-evident…that the most important question that can possibly occupy the mind of man – how much like God can we be – how near God can we come on earth preparatory to our being perfectly like Him.”

C. BoothAddresses on Holiness I

Overview of the Book

The Way to the Holy One The Way of HolinessWay to God Walk with GodRemoving Defilement Undefiling BehaviorCuring Unholiness Preventing UnholinessPast Future

Offerings Priests Purity Atone People Priests Feasts Bless/Curse

1-7 8-10 11-15 16 17-20 21-22 23-25 26-27

The Aim of the Gospel

“I take the Gospel to be aiming not at merely saving but restoring us. If it were merely to save me without restoring me, what would it do for me? As a moral agent, if the Gospel has failed to PUT ME RIGHT it will fail eternally to make me happy.”

C. BoothAggressive

Christianity

A “Basic” Structure

1. Sacrifice 1-7 Worship2. Priesthood 8-10 Mediators3. Cleanness 11-15 Daily Life4. Atonement 165. Holy Living 17-27

Background for the “strange” chapters

Israel formed by the grace of the Holy OneHis desire, purpose, offer and demand:

Be holy as I am Holy!The covenant covered all of lifeAn agreement that every aspect of life be

brought under His definition of holinessCalled to learn, obey and show the

difference bet. holy and unholy/clean and unclean (10:10-11)

Cleanness: Lev. 11-15

11:1-47 Uncleanness from animals

12:1-8 Uncleanness from childbirth

13:1-14:57 Uncleanness from “leprosy”

15:1-33 Uncleanness from bodily discharges

Some guidance

Nothing is Scripture is ‘dispensable’ The details are important to God“Scripture is not there for rules, it is there for

your benefit.” Amy Reardon Different world – ancient, before the Cross Patience of God to train our rebellious hearts Nothing in our lives is beyond the loving

concern of the Holy One (even what may seem to us amoral or not ethically important)

Cf. Peter and Vision in Joppa

Never forget the pagan world

‘clean’ gods benefit me – ‘unclean’ hurt me

Yahweh has to re-instruct the mind (400 yrs)

Nearly every animal and insect = gods

Every sexual act and birth = tied to magic

Drinking blood part of orgiastic worship

All created “mysteries” life, sex, death, food were perverted.

No focus on the moral whatsoever

Emphases in 11-15

God speaks through Moses to Aaron:

11:1, 13:1, 14:33Terms: profane, common, abomination, defile,

sanctify and holyUnclean = 100 times in these chapters Clean = 74 times in book

Sin as Uncleanness

We tend to seclude sin from rest of life

In OT sin is nearly a ‘thing’ it is so real:infects the spiritual, physical, material,relational

Awareness of a deep impurity (heart)that produces every act of sin History, religion, life of Israel

“Only a comprehensive sacrifice can cleanse”

Holiness and Sin – an absolute requirement for Him and Us

The Holy One meets His own need: Sacrifice

Death requires a sacrificeJustice must have a satisfaction

The Son takes His Own Judgment upon Himself

The Holy One meets our need: CovenantOnly way to live - in total abandonment

It is totally the Lord’s – we have no share in it

Sin Offering (Purification) 4:1-5:13, 6:24-30, 8:14-17, 16:3-22

Distinctive: prominence of blood – varying for offense and offender

Burning the carcass outside the camp

Emphasis – repentance for sins – but,

mainly unwitting (unintentional) But more, there is a need to purify

the place where the Holy One can meet us and our sin

The focus is primarily on the blood on altars, veil, and even, mercy seat

Meaning of the Sin OfferingSin = Hattah “missing the mark

Main offering for all types of sin – restores by atonement and forgiveness.

Re-establishes relationship broken by sin

Place of Atonement, Yahweh’s dwelling place must be ‘sanctified’ by blood

(12:8, 14:19, 15:31, 16:19) defilement dealt with or immediate death

(cf. sons of Aaron)Burnt Offering = Atoned Sin Offering

= Purified

Guilt Offering (Trespass,Reparation)5:1-10, 6:1-7, 7:1-6

Distinctive: cleansing/ repentance with a stress on restitution present – so a specific kind of sin offering

Emphasizes penalties for ‘thoughtlessness’

Compensation for forgetting vows, tithes, making false promises.

Is 53 “He made himself an offering for sin!”

He compensates for my sin

Why so bloody?

We are devastated by sin! Every part of us is affected: body and spirit

Sin is horrendous, gory, decimating In order to deal with it we must see what

it produces and what it cost for us to be delivered from it.

The loss of life could only be remedied by the offering of life.

Solution must fully meet the Problem Not one “theological” verse – just action

Bramwell Booth on our need

“ You can’t make a man clean by

washing his shirt.”

The “pictures” of our redemption

Burnt = Personal Someone dies for me Cereal = Physical All my things purely His

Purification = Medical Someone ‘disinfects’ me

Reparation = Commercial My debt is paidJn. 12:38; Rom. 10:16; Matt 8:17; I Pet. 2:22, 24-

25;

Zaccheus : repays “fourfoldMatt 5:23-24 ‘first be reconciled, then offer gift’

Peace Offering 3:1-17, 7:11-34

Like burnt and cereal it is an “aroma pleasing to the Lord” 3:5, 16

Unlike burnt: only part burned - (fat, kidneys, liver), part to priests, at end part eaten by worshippers as a communal meal in the tabernacle precincts probably a festive, covenant meal

Given as a person was led (7:12ff - 3 reasons)

For: praise, making vows and petitions

Meaning of the Peace Offering

Emphasis: shared fellowship Shalem - peace, could also mean

‘complete’ and thus final offering or more probably, the “concluding sacrifice” which indicated the worshipper was totally pleasing to the Lord

Never mentioned in NT but ideas are there:

Declaring God’s merciesWillingness to obey the law

The Shadows and The Reality(The Hospitable Heart of God?)

Sacrifices One True Sacrifice

Five Facets of Nearness: He gives, provides, atones, accepts, On that basis (and no other)

Burnt: Unreserved GratitudeCereal: Ungrasping StewardshipSin: Unlimited SubstitutionGuilt: Unimpeded RestorationPeace: Unhindered Communion

He is the Better Sacrifice Heb. 9:23 Where we have been ‘stuck’ for 500

years The Legal over the

Familial/Transformational The Positional AND the Real

For AND In Us Heb 9:9, 9:14, 10:2, 10:22, 13:18

Having our conscience purified requires

an infusion of His nature an impartation of His character

a continual dependence of mutual love

Intriguing Context for Lev 11-15

Nadab and Abihu = “strange fire” 10:1-7 “He sends the fire, we don’t” A. MillerThey produced something apart from grace

10:10-11 Told the priest’s purpose10:12-20 Ithamar and Eleazar’s “unwitting

disobedience

Volitional ‘rebellion’ and Mistake in judgment

Dual Nature of Sin

Inadvertent and VolitionalUnwilling and WillingUnintentional and Intentional

High-Handed Sin (Num 15) – no sacrifice in the OT for that

Holy Blood and Holy Fire!

Way into the Presence of the Holy One

Living in His Presence How to bring everything in life to Him

What it means to be actually holy

Daily Passionate Love for GodAn Absolute, Complete and Abundant Salvation

What is acceptable to God?

He tells us!Only that which falls within clear

categories can be sacrificed or eatenOnly that which is ‘fit’ or pure is

acceptableCrossing divine boundaries is

forbiddenPreserving the purity of the natural

orderDisorder symbolizes sin – de-creation

is sin(animals not clearly in

species=unclean)

Wholeness and Uncleanness

Holy Unholy Health Unhealthy Pure Impure

Almost all are non-moral Diet (11) Mystery of Birth (12) Bodily infirmities (13) Skin diseases

and disorders (14) Infections/fungus Bodily discharges (15)

A concluding verse on purity

15:31 Nearly all of these laws address

normal and unavoidable events in life: childbirth, disease, emissions.

Allowing His holiness into all of my life heightens my awareness of anything that might be ‘diseased’ in my moral life

Orsborn on our reconciliation

“Into this hopeless reckoning comes Christ, the Reconciler, compensating for our inadequacy, building again our wasted reserves, repairs the moral damage, restores self-respect, adjusts life’s values to God…Never hold yourself cheap.”