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Bible Study WELCOME TO A STUDY OF THE BOOK OF LEVITICUS

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Karl

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Hello all, we would like to invite you to join us in an adventure as we travel across the Sinai Peninsula, we will be walking with Abraham’s descendents as they journey towards their Promised Land, it’s my hope we will become involved with them, as if we are there in the camp, that we can enter in to their feelings, emotions and experiences,

For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. Rom 15:4

With the goal of learning from what Our Lord was teaching them, building up our hope and with a better understanding of how to worship our Heavenly Father in Spirit and Truth.

So all are welcome to join with us, questions, comments and thoughts are welcome, as usual, …as we allow the Holy Spirit to do His work of teaching us all things from His Word. 1 John 2:27



Let’s start off with an introduction to the book, Leviticus literally means, pertaining to the Levites, the Levites were the sons of Levi that were dedicated and consecrated to serving the Lord in the Tabernacle. They were the ones that took care of the business of the Tabernacle; we could consider them like maintenance men today.

Then there was Aaron, from the tribe of Levi, who was the High Priest and his sons became the priests of the Tabernacle carrying out the actual work of the sacrifices the people brought to offer to the Lord. A priest is someone who represents the people to God and represents God to the people. So in this book we will learn how the priests represented the people in the sacrifice ministry to the Lord in the Tabernacle to better understand our ministry as a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ 1 Pet 2:5 then after being in the presence of God we can minister to the people through the Gospel of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

In the book of Genesis we learn of sin and the following condemnation that fell on all of humanity, the book of Exodus teaches us about the Redemption the Lord has provided for us through His Passover Lamb, the blood of His Son Jesus Christ placed on their doors which speaks of the Cross and our Passover Lamb crucified on Calvary, ...in Leviticus we will learn about separation and consecration, one of the main topics or themes of the book is HOLINESS, we are to be a holy people, consecrated to be different than those that live around us, over and over, many, many times we will find the word Holy used throughout this book.

Leviticus is also considered a bloody book and because of that many tend to not want to read it, but blood is another key theme throughout the book as it relates to holiness and consecration, we have been washed by the blood and we will see how the types and illustrations used in this book prefigure what Jesus has done for us. The blood speaks of how awful and terrible sin is and because of sin there has to be a sacrifice, the killing of an innocent victim and the shedding of blood,

For the wages of sin is death. Rom 6:23


…without shedding of blood is no remission (of sin). Heb 9:22


We must always remember, sin demands a sacrifice, the shedding of blood; …sin is deadly serious and causes death in those who sin. This is displayed most graphically for us in the book as sinners bring their sacrifice to the Tabernacle, place their hands on the head of the victim/sacrifice and then slit its throat, we, living in the Church Age, have been spared the agony and horror of what it meant to select and inspect a sacrificial animal for days to make certain there was not any blemish, hand feed the animal, wash it to make certain there wasn’t any spot, that it was clean, then have to lead it to the Tabernacle knowing what would be required of us.

Then would come the death of the animal, death is always the result of sin, and that death is manifested in our lives as; the death of happiness and joy, the death of peace, death of a relationship with God, all of those being in our spiritual lives and resulting then in the death of things in our physical lives, health, friendships, business, marriages, families, …sin destroys and in this book we will learn of how all of these sacrifices will ultimately speak to us of our blessed Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who freely offered Himself up as a sacrifice for our sins, both individually and corporately for humanity on a bloody Cross outside of Jerusalem, why, because He loves us and wants to restore what sin has destroyed in our spiritual lives, happiness, joy, peace and communion/fellowship with God 1 John 1:3 and ultimately restoration in our physical lives.

While the book of Leviticus shows us the deadly results of sin, praise the Lord it also shows us the grace of God,

…where sin abounds, grace abounds much more. Rom 5:20

Over and over we will read where God says, “I will forgive you of your sins and iniquities,” the doctrine of forgiveness is also a reoccurring theme in the book, we will read many times God pronouncing, “it shall be forgiven, it shall be forgiven,” but each and every sin has a price to pay, …there is a cost to forgiveness and that is the shedding of blood of an innocent victim.

Which brings us to the major theme of this book, the sacrifice of Christ, all of these sacrifices are types, an illustration of Christ that will give us a better understanding of Jesus, which hopefully will cause us to better know and appreciate Him, which when fully understood will cause us to want to grow and mature in our walk with Jesus, to allow the Holy Spirit to do His work of conforming us into the image of Jesus. Rom 8:29

It is our hope, as we learn from and through this study, we will, from our hearts, spontaneously break forth in praise and adoration for our Lord, …Worthy is the Lamb who was slain!


Let’s bow our hearts in a word of prayer,

Father, as we read and study this book, the book of Leviticus, we ask in the name of your Son Jesus, that You would speak to all who are reading and studying with us, You know each and every heart that is following this study, You know each and every need of those hearts, we pray Father that you would minister to all of these needs in the special way that only You can, …Praise you Jesus!


Lev 1:1 And the LORD called unto Moses, and spake unto him out of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying

The Children of Israel had supplied all that was needed to build the Tabernacle, the Holy Spirit had given wisdom and craftsmanship to all those that would be a part of building it, the day came when it was finished and the camp observed the Lord descend on the Tent and ultimately, hidden from eyesight, the Mercy Seat where His kâbôd, His Shekinah Glory rested, or more properly, dwelt.

I can imagine the excitement and anticipation in the camp, what did it mean; they had been led by a Cloud during the day and a Pillar of Fire by night, but this was new, this was different, …then the whole camp heard the Voice of the Lord call out from inside the Tabernacle telling Moses to speak to the people.

VS 2. Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man of you bring an offering unto the LORD, ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd, and of the flock.

If any man, that meant it was voluntary, were to bring or wanted to bring an offering, it was to be an animal, they had already given of their material and physical possessions as offerings, this was something new, …I wonder if the offering of their possessions might have been out of gratitude because of how the Lord had delivered them from the Egyptians through the Red Sea, had provided them with water and food thus far, …but an animal, what could that mean…


In our next study we will be studying the first of five offerings, the Burnt Offering, so may I please ask you read chapter one of Leviticus so that it will be fresh in your mind.

Comments, additions, thoughts are welcomed,

Tomorrow’s study, Leviticus 1

Lord bless you all.
 
This looks like a study that I am very excited to learn anew. May our Lord put a fresh anointing on your spirit to give new insight into the Book of Leviticus.
 
here we go
skate-smiley.gif
 
I am looking forward to learning much from you Karl, as well as others here. Thanks for sharing your studies!
 
In the interest of trying to keep the study to three or four pages we are not going to copy the entire chapter, that would just make it too long, so we are trusting everyone has read the chapter and will be familiar with the text to follow along.

As we have already stated, theses five offerings point to, are an illustration of, a type of the ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ and the BURNT OFFERING is an illustration of His TOTAL DEDICATION to His ministry.

VS 3. ...he shall offer it of his own voluntary will

We note that it must be voluntary, he shall offer it of his own voluntary will, just as Jesus voluntarily went to the Cross, …we see Him in the Garden, sweating great drops of Blood, He said, “Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.” And it was possible for the cup to be removed; the story of His Transfiguration proves it, but yet for my sake, for your sakes He chose to go to Calvary, to voluntarily lay down His life for us.

VS 3. …at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD.
VS 4. And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.


If one chose to bring a bullock from the herd it was to be offered at the door or entrance of the Tabernacle, that would be between the entrance and the Bronze Alter in our plan (see next post) and he was to lay his hand on it’s head, slit it’s throat and the Priests would gather the blood and sprinkle it on the alter, and we read, “and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.

The best way I have found to understand the Hebrew word kâphar (which means to cover and for us spiritually; to expiate or condone, to placate or cancel,) for atonement is to separate it in it’s syllables, …at-one-ment, they were at-one-ment symbolically with the bullock, when placing the hand on it’s head and the offering, when done properly, according to the way God required it, made the one offering at-one with God.

We see the animal was to be skinned, and the skin was the property of the Priests Lev 7:8 (more on that when we get there) and butchered into sizable pieces to be laid on the Alter, this immediately brings to mind the scourging Jesus suffered, Josephus records for us that after 20 lashes on His back side there wasn’t any skin left, so the soldiers turned Him around and the scourging continued with 19 more lashes on His front side, …His body was so torn and mutilated that He no longer resembled a human, but rather a piece of raw meat which explains Isa 53:2, 3 and why we will hide our faces, when we see Him for the first time in Heaven Rev 5:6, …but that goes beyond the scope of this study.

VS 7. And the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire upon the altar, and lay the wood in order upon the fire:

The fire was on the Alter, next the wood would be placed on the fire and then the offering would be arranged on the Alter so that it would be totally consumed by the fire, …fire in Scripture is a type of Divine Wrath, this speaks to us of the Wrath of God poured out on His Son as He hung on the wood of the Cross at Calvary.

VS 9. But his inwards and his legs shall he wash in water: and the priest shall burn all on the altar, to be a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.

Next we see something interesting, the innards and the legs were to be washed in water, that is very symbolical for us, that shows us inside of Jesus, even though being 100% a human Man was pure and clean, He didn’t have a wicked and deceitful heart Jer 17:9, …because of His daily washing in the water of the Word Eph 5:26 and we remember the legs had already been skinned so that talks about His walk, He said He always does His Father’s work, …no hidden agendas of His own will in His ministry.

When this offering was done correctly, as required by God, we then read it was a sweet savour unto the Lord, the meaning of the word sweet is rest and comes from a root that means to calm down, …the meaning of the word savour is odor and it comes from a root word that means to breathe, so if we put it all together it means God was breathing heavily about the sin committed, but the offering caused Him to slow down His breathing, to calm down, to be at rest, …remember what was the point of the offering, …atonement, the sinner was now at-one with God, …now the sinner could slow down his breathing, become calm, rest, be at peace with God (which we can logically assume he had lost, hence him bringing the offering).

We have finished studying the bullock as a offering, the first of the animals God has authorized as a BURNT OFFERING; we see how it is an example of the TOTAL DEDICATION of Jesus to His ministry of salvation for us, …lots to chew on here, huh?

We hope this quick study will cause all following to dig deeper into the Word, to find and bring to light many more of the hidden nuggets in this text.

Such as:
… what would compel someone to bring an offering?
…why was the bullock offered at the entrance?
…who actually skinned the offering, the one offering or the priests?
...was the fire already lit on the Alter, what is it's symbolically meaning for mankind?
and many more.


Comments, additions, thoughts are welcomed,

Tomorrow’s study, Leviticus 1, hopefully the last two types of animals.

Lord bless you all.
 
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Here is a plan of the Tabernacle, I have to post it here because the site said my post with it included was to long.

tabernacle-complex-diagram-1800x1166x300.jpg


We can use it to better understand where the offerings were being preformed.
 
Very good Karl! I have always wondered why God was so pleased with the aroma or savour of an animal slain and burned on the altar.
 
Really good study, Karl. It was very informative. Interesting about the skinned legs, and as Chopper pointed out about the aroma. Thanks again!
 
Thank you Chopper and Jesse for the kind words, that stokes me hearing you learned from the study.

Ya nailed it reba, glad you said it, I didn't want to come off sounding irreverent, but that's what the sacrifices are, a BBQ, and there is one coming up where we eat with the Lord, ...that's what caused me to really become interested in studying Leviticus at first, :blush ...I love BBQ! :drool
 
Because we love the Lord it is not irreverent... :yes...

Looking at the ugly side of sacrifice the killing the blood etc.. puts strong thoughts of His Cross in my mind... how creepy our Lord looked as if our sins showed... All the animal sacrifices from the garden forward were a shadow /picture of the ONE real Sacrifice the one to end them all the one with real atonement. the one
Heb 10:1 For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.
Heb 10:2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins.
Heb 10:3 But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year.
Heb 10:4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.
Heb 10:5 Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:
Heb 10:6 In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure.
Heb 10:7 Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.
Heb 10:8 Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law;
Heb 10:9 Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.

IMO the Cross of Christ is the center of all history
 
Lev 1:10 And if his offering be of the flocks, namely, of the sheep, or of the goats, for a burnt sacrifice; he shall bring it a male without blemish.
11 And he shall kill it on the side of the altar northward before the LORD: and the priests, Aaron's sons, shall sprinkle his blood round about upon the altar.
12 And he shall cut it into his pieces, with his head and his fat: and the priest shall lay them in order on the wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar:
13 But he shall wash the inwards and the legs with water: and the priest shall bring it all, and burn it upon the altar: it is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.
14 And if the burnt sacrifice for his offering to the LORD be of fowls, then he shall bring his offering of turtledoves, or of young pigeons.
15 And the priest shall bring it unto the altar, and wring off his head, and burn it on the altar; and the blood thereof shall be wrung out at the side of the altar:
16 And he shall pluck away his crop with his feathers, and cast it beside the altar on the east part, by the place of the ashes:
17 And he shall cleave it with the wings thereof, but shall not divide it asunder: and the priest shall burn it upon the altar, upon the wood that is upon the fire: it is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.


Father, feed Your sheep, open our hearts so that your Truth can go deep into our souls, prepare the soil of our hearts so that the enemy can not take it away, but it would remain and as we ruminate on Your Word it would bring forth fruit, …in the name of Jesus.

VS 10. And if his offering be of the flocks, namely, of the sheep, or of the goats, for a burnt sacrifice; he shall bring it a male without blemish.

We see the Lord’s provision for those that couldn’t afford the price of a bullock, they could bring a lamb or a goat. The requirements were the same; a male without blemish, the only difference in this sacrifice is where the offering was made, on the North of the Alter. Jesus was sacrificed, offered up, crucified on Calvary which was North of the Alter in the Temple, outside of the city of Jerusalem.

Here we see the typology becoming more clear for us, the sinner offering the lamb or goat was to stand on the North of the Alter, place his hand on it’s head and slit its throat, I believe this is just another place of numerous ones, throughout the Word, where we find a typological example of the Gospel, Jesus said, “I am the Way the Truth and the Life, no one can come to the Father but through Me.” John 14:6 For anyone to be saved they must come to Jesus, He is the only Way, they must see and believe the Truth, He was their sacrificial Lamb slaughtered North of the Alter and when the typology becomes real to them, when they place themselves in the place of the one making the offering, when they realize it was their hand that was on the head of the Lamb of God, …in believing and receiving in the offering, they have eternal life.

The lamb or goat was skinned, like the bullock, cut into sizable pieces, the innards and legs were washed, the offering was placed on the fire and totally consumed, and we read it was a sweet savour unto the LORD. Again, atonement had been accomplished, communion with God, in the limited sense they could experience in their conscience, had been reestablished.

VS 14. And if the burnt sacrifice for his offering to the LORD be of fowls, then he shall bring his offering of turtledoves, or of young pigeons.

Maybe a bullock or lamb or goat was too expensive, the Lord made a provision for the poor, doves or young pigeons, notice it’s plural, but without number, there needed to be at least two but there could be more.

For me the Holy Spirit has opened up the doors of His storehouse in the offering of these birds, there is a mother lode here, more so than the previous two.

Let’s start with examining the meanings of the words used for the two birds, the Hebrew word for turtledove is tôr and it’s literal meaning is a dove, but it’s figurative meaning is a term of endearment, that’s not all, it comes from a root word tûr that means to meander about, especially for trade or reconnoitering.

Remember, the BURNT OFFERING reveals Jesus’ TOTAL DEDICATION to His ministry, what a wonderful illustration of Jesus leaving the 99 behind and searching for His beloved lost sinner so as to buy him off of the auction block of sin.

The word used for pigeon is even more illuminating, it’s the word yônâh and it too means dove, here’s what Strong’s says, a dove (apparently from the warmth of their mating), and it comes from a root word yayinmeaning to effervesce; wine (as fermented); by implication intoxication, since Jesus left the 99 to search out the one lost, we have the Holy Spirit drawing the lost one to the Father, awaking them out of their spiritual sleep of death Eph 2:1, wine in the Word is a type for the Holy Spirit, coupled with this bird is so named because of the warmth of their mating, I remember back when I was born again, the Word and the Holy Spirit came together and a new life was conceived 1 Pet 1:23, man I was so warm from the peace and joy I was experiencing, I was glowing, radiating the warmth of Jesus, I talked Jesus nonstop to any who would listen.

We’re not done with this verse, there were to be at least two, that brings to mind the thief on the cross with Jesus who believed, a type of those that would take up their cross and follow Jesus, also there is no limit, which speaks to the multitudes that would pick up their crosses and follow Jesus down through the tunnel of time since Calvary.

VS 15. And the priest shall bring it unto the altar, and wring off his head, and burn it on the altar; and the blood thereof shall be wrung out at the side of the altar:

The wringing off of the head is a brutal act, not many can do it, Jesus was crowned with a crown of thrones, brutally pounded into His skull, and the blood was to be wrung out of the bird, the bird was to be squeezed with pressure to extract the blood, Jesus was wrung out in the Garden, with great drops of blood falling from His forehead.

VS 16. And he shall pluck away his crop with his feathers, and cast it beside the altar on the east part, by the place of the ashes:

The crop is a reference to the innards and the craw of the bird, where the bird swallowed unclean things to grind its food, again a reference to the purity and cleanness of our Lord like the washing of the innards and legs in this offering, feathers is another study that we don’t have time for so I’ll leave that for you to search out, suffice it to say, burning feathers is not a sweet smelling odor to the Lord or anyone else.

They were to be thrown to the East of the Alter, looking at our plan of the Tabernacle we see the East is where the entrance is, the priests would throw them in a pile next to the door to be carried out of the Tabernacle, all of the things that defile out of the presence of the Lord, …like my sins that have been tied up in a sack and thrown into the deepest part of the ocean, never to be remembered by God again, …they are out of His presence for ever.

17 And he shall cleave it with the wings thereof, but shall not divide it asunder: and the priest shall burn it upon the altar, upon the wood that is upon the fire: it is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.

To cleave it with the wings speaks of the outstretched arms of Jesus on the Cross, but shall not divide it asunder is a reference to not one of His bones shall be broken.

Again, a sweet savour unto the LORD, atonement has been accomplished between sinful man and a thrice Holy god

We have come to the end of the BURNT OFFERINGS which through all of them we can see the TOTAL DEDICATION of Jesus in His ministry.

Sorry it’s long, there is just so much here.


Comments, additions, thoughts are welcomed,

Tomorrow’s study, Leviticus 2

Lord bless you all.
 
Karl,
This is fantastic stuff, loving how you are drawing out all the symbolism and comparisons, it's absolutely beautiful, how can it not be, when it was all in the Lord's design.

Maybe there is nothing here, but does anyone think there is any significance in why the Lord wanted the wings to remain attached? My understanding is, they were to make slits, but to keep the wings attached to the body. Why do you think this was the case? There wasn't much meat there to bbq.

Not to run your study adrift, but I can't help to wonder if there is any significance here to Christ.

Thanks.
 
Christ is our High Priest
He is our Sacrifice
He is our atonement ...

Oh my, Reba, I love those three words for Jesus. High Priest, Sacrifice, and Atonement. We are so very rich in Spiritual things, that just your three words for Jesus made my heart smile. When I think of Jesus that way, I can't help think how fortunate you and I are in being called a child of God. Just to think that we were lost, and He found us and became our substitute, O Praise His Name!
 
The tabernacle is a picture of man, God's people, Christ, and heaven.

the courts of the tabernacle is the dwelling of the humanity (made in the image of God)

the holy place is the dwelling of the people of God

Christ is the veil between God and his people

the holiest place is the dwelling of God.

the tabernacle also depicts the incarnation of God the Word.

Hebrews 8:5 (KJV)
5 Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.

No such pattern was given to Solomon or David.

2 Samuel 7:12-13 (KJV)
12 And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.
13 He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever.

was not pointing to Solomon but to:

Zechariah 6:12-13 (KJV)
12 And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD:
13 Even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.

And the temple is not a building but the people of God in whom the Spirit of God indwells.

1 Corinthians 3:16-18 (KJV)
16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.
18 Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.

Problem with the Church today is it suffers from a severe identity crisis from 1500+ year old traditions of men nullifying the Word of God (Mark 7:1-13) we are the temple of God and the holy nation of priests (each and every one of us) the Israel of God. Only then shall we be one as he prayed in his high priestly prayer (John 17) that we be one as he and the Father are one, repeatedly.
 
Here is a plan of the Tabernacle, I have to post it here because the site said my post with it included was to long.

tabernacle-complex-diagram-1800x1166x300.jpg


We can use it to better understand where the offerings were being preformed.

I am the bread of life (table of showbread)
I am the light of the world (seven branched lampstand)
His body was the veil that was rent in twain (on the cross) opening the holiest place to man.

The ark of the covenant is the prophetic depiction of the tomb where his body laid three days and three nights with two angels in attendance

In the passover, the blood on the door post and lintel was prophetic of the recycled timbers from the temple remodeling (under Herod)...

The skins used in the tabernacle symbolized the death of the living rather than the stones of the temple that were never alive.

passover9.jpg


EMPTY_CROSS.jpg
 
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