Leviticus 18:20

Leviticus 18:20 says, Moreover thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbour’s wife, to defile thyself with her.  God now told men once again to not commit adultery with their neighbor's wife, because it would defile them.  We know that Jesus went on to include a man's thoughts in this warning.  Even looking on a woman with lust in one's heat made a man guilty of adultery.  Verse twenty-one adds, And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.  This was a warning against giving their children up to false gods.  Some interpret it as meaning actually sacrificing their children to this false god Molech, who was associated with the sun and some interpret it as meaning to have them pass through fire to show their devotion.  Either way, doing so as part of God's chosen people would profane God's name.  We must be careful today that we do not do anything that would allow false gods into our lives if we are followers of Christ.  Verse twenty-two continues, Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.  This is a warning against homosexuality between two men, but the same is true for two women as well.  Verse twenty-three states, Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion.  It would seem to me that this would have not been necessary to say, but unfortunately people do these things.  Verse twenty-four adds, Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you:  God again warned the people of Israel to not do any of these things just listed, even if all the people around them did.  We cannot be guided by the things that other people may do, but we must be guided by the word of God under the leadership of the Holy Spirit. Verse twenty-five continues, And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants.  God said the actions of people could lead to the land itself being defiled.  Verse twenty-six declares, Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations; neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you:  God said that the people of Israel were not to commit any of these abominations, whether they were born into the nation if Israel are were a stranger who had come to sojourn there.  We, as followers of Christ, are called to live by God's word today and to not allow any corrupt thing to become a part of our lives.  Verse twenty-seven adds, (For all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before you, and the land is defiled;)  God said the people of the land before them had done all these things and that the land was defiled.  We today cannot expect God to bless us individually or as a nation if we allow these things into our lives.  Verse twenty-eight continues, That the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that were before you.  I believe that the spewing out of the nations refers to God allowing the people of Israel to defeat them and claim the land.  If the people of Israel did not remain faithful to God, they could suffer the same fate at the hands of other people.  It was their relationship to God that made the people of Israel different.  Verse twenty-nine says, For whosoever shall commit any of these abominations, even the souls that commit them shall be cut off from among their people.  God warned that anyone who committed any of these acts would be cut off from the people of God, and this remains true today.  Christ fulfilled the law by keeping it totally, but He did not do away with God's laws.  Verse thirty adds, Therefore shall ye keep mine ordinance, that ye commit not any one of these abominable customs, which were committed before you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein: I am the LORD your God.  The people of Israel were to keep the laws of God so that they did not defile themselves before God, for the simple reason that He is God.  Unless we accept the fact that God alone is God, and that there are no other gods, then the rest of this does not matter to us.  We must first accept God through our faith in Jesus Christ, then we must follow God's guidance through the leadership of the Holy Spirit.

Leviticus 18:1

Leviticus 18:1 says, And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,  Verse two adds, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, I am the LORD your God.  The first thing that God told Moses to do was to remind them that He was their God.  Before we can obey God today, we must first acknowledge that He is our God.  This is not true because of who we are or where we were born, but because of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  Verse three continues, After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do: neither shall ye walk in their ordinances.  God told Moses to tell the people of Israel that as they weren't to follow the ways of the Egyptians while they were there but were to follow God, neither were they to follow the ways of the people of Canaan.  Verse four states, Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein: I am the LORD your God.  God said that they were to keep His ordinances and walk in them.  In this case, the people of Israel were to create their own country and establish their own laws.  We today as followers of Christ must first follow God's laws, though we are told to be obedient to the government unless doing so conflicts with God's law.  Verse five adds, Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the LORD.  This was not an option; just as obeying God's law today is not an option for Christians.  We must live by God's law first.  The next several verses deal with God's law concerning incest, and there is little to add, so I will simply list them.  Verse six states, None of you shall approach to any that is near of kin to him, to uncover their nakedness: I am the LORD.  Verse seven adds, The nakedness of thy father, or the nakedness of thy mother, shalt thou not uncover: she is thy mother; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.  Verse eight continues, The nakedness of thy father’s wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy father’s nakedness.  Verse nine says, The nakedness of thy sister, the daughter of thy father, or daughter of thy mother, whether she be born at home, or born abroad, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover.  This would have seemed to include half-sisters and maybe even what we would call stepsisters.  Verse ten adds, The nakedness of thy son’s daughter, or of thy daughter’s daughter, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover: for theirs is thine own nakedness.  This would be grandchildren.  Verse eleven continues, The nakedness of thy father’s wife’s daughter, begotten of thy father, she is thy sister, thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.  Again, I believe this would be a half-sister, who God said would be the same as any of the man's sisters.  Verse twelve states, Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father’s sister: she is thy father’s near kinswoman.  This would have been an aunt.  Verse thirteen adds, Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother’s sister: for she is thy mother’s near kinswoman.  This also would have been an aunt on the mother's side.  Verse fourteen continues, Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father’s brother, thou shalt not approach to his wife: she is thine aunt.  Verse fifteen says, Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy daughter in law: she is thy son’s wife; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.  Verse sixteen adds, Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy brother’s wife: it is thy brother’s nakedness.  Verse seventeen continues, Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter, neither shalt thou take her son’s daughter, or her daughter’s daughter, to uncover her nakedness; for they are her near kinswomen: it is wickedness.  Verse eighteen states, Neither shalt thou take a wife to her sister, to vex her, to uncover her nakedness, beside the other in her life time.  This was a law against polygamy, especially when it concerned two sisters.  Of course, in God's law, marriage was always to be between one man and one woman.  Verse nineteen adds, Also thou shalt not approach unto a woman to uncover her nakedness, as long as she is put apart for her uncleanness.  That was God's law then, and I believe that it still applies today.

Leviticus 17:11

Leviticus 17:11 says, For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.  Moses was told why the people of Israel were not to eat the blood of an animal.  Life was in the blood and was used on the altar to make atonement for the sins of the people.  Jesus Christ shed His life blood on ther cross of Calvary to make atonement for our sins, and it is the only way to make atonement.  Verse twelve adds, Therefore I said unto the children of Israel, No soul of you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger that sojourneth among you eat blood.  This command of God's to not eat the blood of the animal applied to all the people of Israel and anyone who sojourned with them who were not born a part of the nation.  No one today is born into the family of God.  Even then, those who were born into the nation of Israel were really a part of God's people by faith in Him and acceptance of the covenant relationship that they had with Him.  We today are a part of the family of God because of our acceptance of and faith in Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord.  Verse thirteen continues, And whatsoever man there be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, which hunteth and catcheth any beast or fowl that may be eaten; he shall even pour out the blood thereof, and cover it with dust. Any animal that anyone killed to eat, whether by a natural born person of Israel or a stranger who sojourned with them, was to drain the blood of the animal and cover the blood with dust.  Verse fourteen states, For it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for the life thereof: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh: for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof: whosoever eateth it shall be cut off.  God again told Moses that the life was in the blood, and that anyone who ate the blood was to be cut off from the nation of Israel.  Today, everlasting life is in the shed blood of Jesus Christ, and anyone who is not washed in His blood will be cut off from the family of God.  Verse fifteen adds, And every soul that eateth that which died of itself, or that which was torn with beasts, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger, he shall both wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even: then shall he be clean.  Anyone ate an animal that had died naturally or been killed by by another animal was to wash his or her clothes, bathe, and be considered unclean until evening.  Verse sixteen concludes, But if he wash them not, nor bathe his flesh; then he shall bear his iniquity.  If the person did not wash his or her clothes, then the person was to bear the iniquity of the sin.  Unless we are bathed in the blood of Christ today, we will bear the iniquity of our sins, and this will result in an everlasting separation from God.

Leviticus 17:1

Leviticus 17:1 says,  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,  Verse two adds, Speak unto Aaron, and unto his sons, and unto all the children of Israel, and say unto them; This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded, saying,  This once again tells us that this is God's word, spoken to Moses, to give to the people of Israel.  When we speak to people about God today, we need to make sure that it is His word that we are speaking.  Verse three continues, What man soever there be of the house of Israel, that killeth an ox, or lamb, or goat, in the camp, or that killeth it out of the camp,  Verse four concludes, And bringeth it not unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to offer an offering unto the LORD before the tabernacle of the LORD; blood shall be imputed unto that man; he hath shed blood; and that man shall be cut off from among his people:  I believe this refers to killing of one of these animals, an ox, lamb or goat, animals of sacrifice, away from the altar.  The person who did kill one of these animals was to bring it to the door of the tabernacle for an offering to God.  Matthew Henry says that after the offering that the rest of the animal was to be returned to the one offering it to be eaten as a peace offering.  He also says that some believe this was only to apply while they were in the wilderness, but since verse seven says this was a statute forever that this doesn't really seem likely.  Anyway, a person who did not bring such an animal to the priest was to be cutoff from the rest of the people.  Verse five states, To the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices, which they offer in the open field, even that they may bring them unto the LORD, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, unto the priest, and offer them for peace offerings unto the LORD.  This verse seems to imply that this referred to an animal that was sacrificed somewhere other than at the altar and by the priest.  Our sacrifices today must be presented in accordance with God's word.  I don't believe that we can just arbitrarily sacrifice something and claim that we did it for God without first ensuring that it is what He wants us to do.  Verse six adds, And the priest shall sprinkle the blood upon the altar of the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and burn the fat for a sweet savour unto the LORD.  The priest was to offer the sacrifice to God when the animal was brought to him, just as Jesus, our High Priest, offers the sacrifice for our sins today.  We cannot just offer a sacrifice on our own terms, but must come to God through the blood of Christ.  Verse seven continues, And they shall no more offer their sacrifices unto devils, after whom they have gone a whoring. This shall be a statute for ever unto them throughout their generations. The people were to no longer offer their sacrifices to devils. which would be anything other than God, and this would be a statute forever, as already stated.  We today need to be careful that we do not start sacrificing the things that God has blessed us with to false gods.  Verse eight says, And thou shalt say unto them, Whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers which sojourn among you, that offereth a burnt offering or sacrifice,  Verse nine concludes, And bringeth it not unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to offer it unto the LORD; even that man shall be cut off from among his people. This law was to apply to the people of Israel as well as to those who had begun to live, or sojourn, with them.  Anyone offering a burnt offering without doing so through the priest was to be cutoff from the people.  We today must be just as serious about our relationship with God, which is only possible by accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior and then allowing Him to be the Lord of our life.

Leviticus 16:20

Leviticus 16:20 says, And when he hath made an end of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat:  After the holy place, the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar were reconciled, Aaron was to bring in a live goat.  Verse twenty-one adds. And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness:  Aaron was to place his hands on the head of the goat and confess all the sins of the people, symbolically transferring their sins to the goat.  The goat was to then be sent into the wilderness.  When we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we transfer our sins to Him, and He has already made atonement for them, not just figuratively but literally.  Verse twenty-two continues, And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.  When the goat was let go in the wilderness, it was seen to be carrying all the sins of the people with it.  This was not just a onetime thing, but when we put our faith in Christ as our Savior, it is but a onetime thing, though we may have to come back and ask for forgiveness for sin that we commit after that to keep Him as Lord of our life.  Verse twenty-three declares, And Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall put off the linen garments, which he put on when he went into the holy place, and shall leave them there:  Verse twenty-four adds, And he shall wash his flesh with water in the holy place, and put on his garments, and come forth, and offer his burnt offering, and the burnt offering of the people, and make an atonement for himself, and for the people.  After the scapegoat was let go, Aaron was to wash himself and dress in the priestly garments and offer a burnt offering first for himself then for the people.  When we come together as Christians, we should first make sure that we have confessed our sins to God so that we might be washed clean by the blood of Christ.  Verse twenty-five continues, And the fat of the sin offering shall he burn upon the altar.  The fat of the sin offering was to be burned on the altar.  Verse twenty-six states, And he that let go the goat for the scapegoat shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward come into the camp.  The man who had carried the scape goat into the wilderness was to bathe and wash his clothes, which would at least symbolize removing any trace of sin that might have gotten on him.  Verse twenty-seven adds, And the bullock for the sin offering, and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy place, shall one carry forth without the camp; and they shall burn in the fire their skins, and their flesh, and their dung.  The remains of the bull and goat sacrificed for the sin offering were to be taken outside the camp and burned up completely.  Verse twenty-eight continues, And he that burneth them shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp.  The one who burned the bull and goat was also to wash his clothes and bathe.  Verse twenty-nine declares, And this shall be a statute for ever unto you: that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you:  God set aside a day in which no work was to be done, either by the people of Israel or the stranger in the land.  We are told this was to be a statute forever, but Christ fulfilled all the law concerning the sacrificial system at His death and resurrection, so we don't observe this day today as His followers.  Still, we do gather together in His name and we should always remember what God has done for us by sending His only begotten Son to die for us.  Verse thirty adds, For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the LORD.  On that day, the priest was to make an atonement for them, and as followers of Christ, He has already made atonement for us once and for all time through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross.  Verse thirty-one continues, It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever.  This was to be a sabbath day to them, and they were to examine their soul, or life, to make sure that they confessed all their sins.  Verse thirty-two says, And the priest, whom he shall anoint, and whom he shall consecrate to minister in the priest’s office in his father’s stead, shall make the atonement, and shall put on the linen clothes, even the holy garments:  The priest appointed to serve that day in Aaron's place was to make atonement for them.  Jesus Christ, appointed by the Heavenly Father, makes atonement for all who will put their faith in Him today.  Verse thirty-three adds, And he shall make an atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for the tabernacle of the congregation, and for the altar, and he shall make an atonement for the priests, and for all the people of the congregation.  Verse thirty-four concludes, And this shall be an everlasting statute unto you, to make an atonement for the children of Israel for all their sins once a year. And he did as the LORD commanded Moses.  The priest appointed was to make the sacrifices for the tabernacle, the altar and the congregation and this was an everlasting statute.  As stated, these laws were fulfilled by Jesus Christ and He made the sacrifice that fulfills the law forever.  We only have to accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord to be God's people forevermore.

Leviticus 16:11

Leviticus 16:11 says. And Aaron shall bring the bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and shall make an atonement for himself, and for his house, and shall kill the bullock of the sin offering which is for himself:  Aaron was to bring a bull for a sin offering for himself and his house.  Before Aaron could effectively serve the people as their priest, he had to make sure that he had first asked God to forgive his own sins.  Before we can effectively witness to others today, we need to ask God to forgive our sins.  Though Christ died for all our sins for all time, when we allow sin back into our life, we still need to confess and ask forgiveness.  Verse twelve adds, And he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the LORD, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the vail:  Verse thirteen continues, And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not: Aaron was to also offer an offering of sweet incense to the LORD, so that he would not die.  Unless we offer ourselves to Christ as living sacrifice today, we will die spiritually, being eternally separated from God.  Verse fourteen states, And he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy seat eastward; and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times.  This is just a continuation of how the sacrifice was to be presented.  When we offer any sacrifice to God today, it must be on His terms and not ours.  Verse fifteen adds, Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat:  After Aaron offered a sacrifice for his own sins, then he could offer a sacrifice for the sins of the people.  We cannot offer a sacrifice for anyone else's sins, only Jesus Christ can, but we do need to call others to Christ once we have accepted Him as our Savior and Lord.  Verse sixteen continues, And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, that remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness.  Aaron was to make atonement for the tabernacle because of the sins of the people.  Our bodies are our tabernacle, and Jesus Christ makes atonement for us because of our sins, if we put our faith in Him.  Verse seventeen says, And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when he goeth in to make an atonement in the holy place, until he come out, and have made an atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all the congregation of Israel.  No one was to go into the tabernacle, which represented the presence of God,  until Aaron had offered all the sacrifices.  We today cannot go into the presence of God until we accept the sacrifice of Christ on the cross.  Verse eighteen adds, And he shall go out unto the altar that is before the LORD, and make an atonement for it; and shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about.  Then verse nineteen concludes, And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel.  Aaron had to purify everything associated with the sacrifice before it could be used.  Everything that we have today, as followers of Christ, should be sanctified for God's use and His glory.

Leviticus 16:1

Leviticus 16:1 says, And the LORD spake unto Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered before the LORD, and died;  This would seem to be a look back in time, since the death of Aaron's two sons was before the laws concerning the leprosy and uncleanness were given.  The chronology really doesn't matter, since it all was God's word to Moses whenever it occurred.  Verse two adds, And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the vail before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat.  Moses was to warn Aaron that he was not to come into the holy place without being prepared properly because God would appear before the mercy seat as a cloud.  We should not come to God today without being spiritually prepared, and we certainly should never take God for granted.  Since we as followers of Christ are indwelled by the Holy Spirit, we should realize that we are always in the presence of God and should act according to His word.  Verse three continues, Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bullock for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering.  When Aaron came into the holy place, he was to bring a young bullock for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.   Verse four declares, He shall put on the holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and shall be girded with a linen girdle, and with the garments; therefore shall he wash his flesh in water, and so put them on.  Aaron was to be attired in the holy garments when he went in to make the sacrifice.  We today do not have holy garments, but we should still come into God's presence with reverence.  Again, since we are indwelled with the Holy Spirit, this means the we should always be reverent to God.  Verse five adds, And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering.  Aaron was to take two kid goats and one ram from the people as a sin offering for the people.  Aaron first made a sacrifice for his sins, then he made a sacrifice for the sins of the people.  Before we begin to point out the sins of others, we need to make sure that we have confessed our own sins.  Of course, we cannot make a sacrifice for our own sins, and neither can anyone else, but we must ask for forgiveness from Christ.  Verse six continues, And Aaron shall offer his bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make an atonement for himself, and for his house.  As just stated, Aaron was to first offer a sacrifice to make atonement for his house and himself, just as we must first deal with our own sins.  Verse seven states, And he shall take the two goats, and present them before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.  Then , Aaron was to make the sacrifice for the people of Israel with the animals that they had brought.  Aaron could not just go and get animals to make a sacrifice for the sins of the people, but they had to bring them.  We today cannot offer a sacrifice for our sins, but must simply present our self to Christ as living sacrifice daily.  Verse eight adds, And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat.  Aaron was to cast lots to determine which goat was to be the sacrifice and which was to be the scapegoat.  This was to allow the two to be used under the guidance of God, which the lots represented.  Verse nine continues, And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD’s lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering.  The goat chosen by God to be the sacrifice was to be offered for a sin offering.  God has already chosen the only acceptable sacrifice for our sins today, and that is the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made on the cross.  We simply choose to accept or deny this gift of salvation.  Verse ten concludes, But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness.  The other goat was to be presented to God as a scapegoat, symbolically representing a taking on of the sins of the people and then the goat was to be turned loose in the wilderness.  We have no scapegoat today, but we have something much greater, and that is a Savior Who not figuratively but literally takes on our sins so that we can become a part of God's family.