Bible Study - Holy - Honoring God's Holiness - Leviticus 5 and 6 - April 14, 2013

Bible Study – Holy – Honoring God’s Holiness – April 14, 2013

This is lesson two in our series entitled “Holy God, Holy People.”

Our scripture is Leviticus 5:1-19; 6:1-7.

When you read all that was associated with obeying the laws and commands, it is clear that GOD’S desire is for HIS chosen people to be honest and forthright before HIM and treat their fellow humans as HE would. What does that mean? We can only touch that answer lightly. It means to have the mind of GOD through an intimate, personal relationship with HIM. It means to treat others as we would treat ourselves who are under the authority of GOD. It means to hate the sin but love the sinner.

In this scripture, GOD is giving Moses HIS commands regarding the law. It reveals GOD’S understanding of the human heart and nature. It reveals the need for HIS chosen/Christians to maintain a healthy relationship between HIM and fellow humans. Once we discover something that compromises that relationship, we need to do something about it. Before CHRIST, GOD’S chosen confessed their sins, sacrificed animals to seek forgiveness for their sin and made restitution. Since the passion of CHRIST, Christians confess their sins to GOD and immediately take action to make amends and restore relationships as needed and led by the Holy Spirit.  

Following the law was straight forward but man made it complicated. The scripture reveals the expectations of GOD toward HIS chosen toward HIM and HIS expectations of HIS chosen toward others. Before CHRIST, GOD expected those who worshipped HIM to critique their actions or inactions in light of the Spirit and objective of the law and commands. That has not changed since JESUS gave HIS life for sin, was resurrected and ascended into heaven.

When we reject, dishonor HIM and/or mistreat others, it is still sin. Christians must confess their sins, repent (which means to stop doing it). GOD’S part is to forgive those who confess, cleanse and restore (1 John 1:9). True Christians are covered by GOD’S Grace because they have been made righteous through the shed blood of CHRIST. With this freedom comes the responsibility to be accountable to GOD, not to mistreat others but to treat others as GOD would.

GOD’S desire is for HIS chosen to worship HIM in Spirit and truth. The law reveals the letter of the law but there is also the Spirit and the intent of the law. It is one thing to obey the written law but quite another to obey the Spirit and intent of the law. That is why all people need CHRIST as their Savior. Whereas no human can measure up to GOD’S expectations, the shed blood of CHRIST cleanses all who place their faith in HIM from all sin - past, present and future. No, it is not a get-out-of-jail free card because Christians are accountable to GOD for their actions and suffer the consequences when they are disobedient. Christians NEVER lose their salvation but the Bible is clear that GOD chastises those HE loves. Just as we discipline our children, so does GOD.

Satan uses un-confessed sin in the lives of Christians to defeat them and prevent them from obediently serving GOD. GOD honors obedience with rewards which will be stored in the heavenly treasury where nothing can devalue their worth. The words of JESUS were recorded in Matthew 6:19-21:

19 Do not r Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon. gather and heap up and store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust and worm consume and destroy, and where thieves break through and steal.
20 But s Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon. gather and heap up and store for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust nor worm consume and destroy, and where thieves do not break through and steal;
21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Our scripture for this lesson is all about the attitude of the heart. There are sins of commission and omission, as well as, sins which are unintentional/negligent and intentional. Sin is still sin whether in the Old Testament days or the New Testament days. That is why all people need CHRIST as their Savior but that is a decision every person makes for him or herself. I believe there are exceptions for the fetus, children and certain others.

The book of Leviticus was written by Moses. It is clear that GOD is Holy and must be treated with honor and respect. Through CHRIST, Christians can approach GOD boldly, directly, into HIS very throne room and even call HIM Daddy. Leviticus deals mostly with commands and is considered by some as a guide for priests. But it is also a guide for GOD’S chosen and those seeking a relationship with GOD. But if you recall in last week’s lesson, GOD’S desire is for HIS chosen is for them to be priests. GOD considers all Christians to be priests and as such are GOD’S representatives upon earth to all who do not know JESUS as their Savior and to minister to each other. GOD considered HIS chosen to be Holy and as such they are to remain pure and Holy.

Praise to our LORD, a Christian’s Holiness is secured by the shed blood of CHRIST but that does not mean that Christians are not to examine their lives in relationship to GOD’S commands. The indwelling Holy Spirit examines the intentions and attitudes of the hearts of all Christians when they earnestly seek to obediently serve GOD. Christians are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. All Christians are sinners saved by grace.

The basic chapter outline for the book of Leviticus is:

Chapters 1-7 – Deal with Sacrifices

Chapters 8-10 – Priests

Chapters 11-16 – Clean and unclean things

Chapters 17-27 – Practical Holiness

Our scripture reveals some of GOD’S commands which society obeys today regarding cleanliness and what our faith in CHRIST does for all true Christians that the law cannot.

Recognize Guilt Before GOD

GOD introduced blood sacrifice for sin offerings in Leviticus 4. Sin is a serious matter and costs. It cost relationships, as well as, costs the life of a near perfect living animal by shedding its blood to atone for sin. We will see that GOD made a provision for those who could not afford an animal to sacrifice to allow them to make a grain offering. Sin cost the life of GOD’S only Son JESUS. GOD gave the laws, commands and requirements the Israelites were to follow to Moses. GOD considered a violation of HIS laws and commands sin. Forgiveness for unintentional or negligent sin is given in Leviticus but there is no forgiveness for intentional or open rejection of the things of GOD.

In fact, the person who openly defies GOD would not approach HIM for forgiveness. This is true for the New Testament. The New Testament defines such blatant defiance of GOD as the unpardonable sin. A person who has committed the unpardonable sin will not seek GOD for forgiveness because his/her heart is hard toward the things of GOD. If a person worries about having committed the unpardonable sin, he/she has NOT! If they had committed the unpardonable sin, they would not be concerned or worried.

The point we need to keep in mind is that sin costs. It costs our relationship with GOD, with others and in Old Testament days, the life of an animal. Ultimately sin cost the life of GOD’S only Son, JESUS.

Our first scripture, beginning with verse 1, deals with a person or persons having information about a matter, which could materially impact the outcome, either in favor of or against it and withholding it.

Verses 2-3 deal with the potential for a person to come in contact with a disease and potentially spread it or become ill. GOD knew how disease spreads and HE established commands to prevent it and identify the source in order to preserve HIS chosen.

Verses 4-5 focus on what a person says, which can be interpreted as an oath. The person speaking may not realize at the time that he/she was making an oath or commitment but realized it later. He/she was to confess it to GOD. The remaining verses in this section deal with restitution.

Let’s read Leviticus 5:1-13:

Cases Requiring Sin Offerings

1 “When someone sins in any of these ways: If he has seen, heard, or known about something he has witnessed, and did not respond to a public call to testify, he is responsible for his sin. 2 Or if someone touches anything •unclean—a carcass of an unclean wild animal, or unclean livestock, or an unclean swarming creature—without being aware of it, he is unclean and •guilty. 3 Or if he touches human uncleanness—any uncleanness by which one can become defiled—without being aware of it, but later recognizes it, he is guilty. 4 Or if someone swears rashly to do what is good or evil—concerning anything a person may speak rashly in an oath—without being aware of it, but later recognizes it, he incurs guilt in such an instance. 5 If someone incurs guilt in one of these cases, he is to confess he has committed that sin. 6 He must bring his restitution for the sin he has committed to the Lord: a female lamb or goat from the flock as a •sin offering. In this way the priest will make •atonement on his behalf for his sin. 7 “But if he cannot afford an animal from the flock, then he may bring to the Lord two turtledoves or two young pigeons as restitution for his sin—one as a sin offering and the other as a •burnt offering. 8 He is to bring them to the priest, who will first present the one for the sin offering. He must twist its head at the back of the neck without severing it. 9 Then he will sprinkle some of the blood of the sin offering on the side of the altar, while the rest of the blood is to be drained out at the base of the altar; it is a sin offering. 10 He must prepare the second bird as a burnt offering according to the regulation. In this way the priest will make atonement on his behalf for the sin he has committed, and he will be forgiven. 11 “But if he cannot afford two turtledoves or two young pigeons, he may bring two quarts of fine flour as an offering for his sin. He must not put olive oil or frankincense on it, for it is a sin offering. 12 He is to bring it to the priest, who will take a handful from it as its memorial portion and burn it on the altar along with the fire offerings to the Lord; it is a sin offering. 13 In this way the priest will make atonement on his behalf concerning the sin he has committed in any of these cases, and he will be forgiven. The rest will belong to the priest, like the •grain offering.”

GOD is Holy and HIS desire is for HIS children to have the desire to be as Holy as HE is. It is impossible in our own strength to be Holy but in CHRIST Christians are perfect but our hearts and minds need to be renewed. That is the work of the Holy Spirit. We still need to build the right relationship with HIM and learn to trust HIM in all things.

Seek Restoration with GOD

Let’s read Leviticus 5:14-19: The Restitution Offering

14 Then the Lord spoke to Moses: 15 “If someone offends by sinning unintentionally in regard to any of the Lord’s holy things, he must bring his •restitution offering to the Lord: an unblemished ram from the flock (based on your assessment of its value in silver •shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel) as a restitution offering. 16 He must make restitution for his sin regarding any holy thing, adding a fifth of its value to it, and give it to the priest. Then the priest will make atonement on his behalf with the ram of the restitution offering, and he will be forgiven. 17 “If someone sins and without knowing it violates any of the Lord’s commands concerning anything prohibited, he bears the consequences of his guilt. 18 He must bring an unblemished ram from the flock according to your assessment of its value as a restitution offering to the priest. Then the priest will make atonement on his behalf for the error he has committed unintentionally, and he will be forgiven. 19 It is a restitution offering; he is indeed guilty before the Lord.”

Make Amends with Others Before GOD

Let’s read Leviticus 6:1-7:

1 The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “When someone sins and offends the Lord by deceiving his neighbor in regard to a deposit, a security, or a robbery; or defrauds his neighbor; 3 or finds something lost and lies about it; or swears falsely about any of the sinful things a person may do— 4 once he has sinned and acknowledged his •guilt—he must return what he stole or defrauded, or the deposit entrusted to him, or the lost item he found, 5 or anything else about which he swore falsely. He must make full restitution for it and add a fifth of its value to it. He is to pay it to its owner on the day he acknowledges his guilt. 6 Then he must bring his •restitution offering to the Lord: an unblemished ram from the flock according to your assessment of its value as a restitution offering to the priest. 7 In this way the priest will make •atonement on his behalf before the Lord, and he will be forgiven for anything he may have done to incur guilt.”

As Christians, we must keep in mind that CHRIST shed HIS blood to atone for sin in order for all who place their faith in HIM to be set free from its bondage and consequence death. The law and especially the spirit of the law is still present and in effect as a guide to Christians as well as non-Christians.

One of the most often quoted passages of scripture is Leviticus 19:18:

18 You shall not take revenge or bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.d   (Amplified) Matt. 5:43-46; Rom. 12:17, 19.

GOD is Holy and HIS children are to honor and respect HIS Holiness by also treating their neighbor, meaning their fellow man, as GOD would. GOD equates how HIS chosen treat others as a measure of their love for HIM.

As we read these verses we see that mistreating others is costly. Remember the story of the encounter of Zacchaeus with JESUS as recorded in Luke 19:8. When he met JESUS and accepted HIM as his Savior, he restored more than he had wrongly taken from his fellow people as a tax collector.

Let’s read Luke 19:1-10:

Jesus Visits Zacchaeus 1 He entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 There was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. 3 He was trying to see who Jesus was, but he was not able because of the crowd, since he was a short man. 4 So running ahead, he climbed up a sycamore tree to see Jesus, since He was about to pass that way. 5 When Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down because today I must stay at your house.” 6 So he quickly came down and welcomed Him joyfully. 7 All who saw it began to complain, “He’s gone to lodge with a sinful man!” 8 But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, I’ll give half of my possessions to the poor, Lord! And if I have extorted anything from anyone, I’ll pay back four times as much!”9 “Today salvation has come to this house,” Jesus told him, “because he too is a son of Abraham. 10 For the •Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.”

Leviticus 11:45:

45 For I am Yahweh, who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God, so you must be holy because I am holy.

GOD has brought every true Christian out of the clutches of sin and death to embrace the abundant life through CHRIST. Christians get to heaven by placing their faith in CHRIST.

We must be careful when we read the works aspects of obediently serving GOD. Some people may get the idea that all they have to do is be kind toward others and they will be acceptable to HIM. In other words, they conclude that they do not need CHRIST. By the same token, Christians may get the idea that since they are Christians they do not have to be kind toward their fellow man. CHRIST is ground zero for those who have never asked HIM to forgive them for their sins and to come into their lives. Why do you need CHRIST? The simple answer is that HE paid the price by HIS shed blood to redeem all who place their faith in HIM from eternal death. Just because Christians are GOD’S children does not give them the right to mistreat others. In fact, it makes them responsible to GOD to treat others as GOD would.

That is a tall order and impossible without the power, strength and guidance of the indwelling Holy Spirit.

So, what does faith in CHRIST provide for the Christian?

JESUS stated it in John 5:24: (Do you not want to be judged for you sins?)

24 “I assure you: Anyone who hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal lifec Jn 6:53; 12:25; Ac 13:48; 1Jn 2:25 and will not come under judgment but has passed from death to life.

The Apostle Paul stated it in 2 Corinthians 5:21: (Do you want to be made righteous and acceptable to GOD?)

21 He (GOD) made the One (JESUS) who did not know sinn 1Jn 3:5 to be sino Or be a sin offering for us,p Rm 8:3; Gl 3:13; 1Pt 2:24 so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

When true Christians approach or get closer to GOD, they feel unclean because they are housed in this body of flesh. Christians need to keep in mind that since their sins are covered by the shed blood of CHRIST that GOD sees them as pure, righteous and Holy.

This scripture in Leviticus brings to mind areas in our lives that reveal our true attitude toward GOD and others as we interact with our family, friends, co-workers and especially our spouses.  

GOD’S desire is for HIS children to worship HIM in Spirit and truth and by the same measure interact with our fellow man. As Christians aren’t we glad that we can rejoice in what CHRIST has done for us by fulfilling the letter and Spirit of the law and commands! Blessings!!!