LEVITICUS 13


     We will begin this lesson in Leviticus 6:1 "And the LORD spake
unto Moses, saying,"

     We notice, from this brief statement, that the LORD {JEHOVAH} was
the one giving the instructions. Even though Moses wrote the book of
Leviticus, he did not speak of himself as me in the above verse,
because he did not want any doubt to arise, who this message was given
to.

     Leviticus 6:2 "If a soul sin, and commit a trespass against the
LORD, and lie unto his neighbour in that which was delivered him to
keep, or in fellowship, or in a thing taken away by violence, or hath
deceived his neighbour;" Leviticus 6:3 "Or have found that which was
lost, and lieth concerning it, and sweareth falsely; in any of all
these that a man doeth, sinning therein:" Leviticus 6:4 "Then it shall
be, because he hath sinned, and is guilty, that he shall restore that
which he took violently away, or the thing which he hath deceitfully
gotten, or that which was delivered him to keep, or the lost thing
which he found,"

     These offences have to do with moral sins against one's neighbor,
or friend. These sins would not be ceremonial sins against God. Jesus
reminded us of the seriousness of these trespasses in the following
verses. Matthew 5:23 "Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar,
and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;"
Matthew 5:24 "Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way;
first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift."
The thing that stands out clearly in these verses, is the need to make
the offense right with the person you offended, before you come to
offer in the tabernacle. Soul means a breathing creature. This is used
so that there would be no question whether all would be subject. A
female can trespass against her neighbor the same as a male. You can
read a more detailed explanation in Exodus chapter 22 verses 7 through
13 on this subject. {when teaching this lesson, turn there and read
the explanation}. These verses go into detail about the things that
you are taking care of for someone else. We read a more detailed
explanation of things we find, and what we are to do with them in the
next 3 verses. Deuteronomy 22:1 "Thou shalt not see thy brother's ox
or his sheep go astray, and hide thyself from them: thou shalt in any
case bring them again unto thy brother." Deuteronomy 22:2 "And if thy
brother [be] not nigh unto thee, or if thou know him not, then thou
shalt bring it unto thine own house, and it shall be with thee until
thy brother seek after it, and thou shalt restore it to him again."
Deuteronomy 22:3 "In like manner shalt thou do with his ass; and so
shalt thou do with his raiment; and with all lost thing of thy
brother's, which he hath lost, and thou hast found, shalt thou do
likewise: thou mayest not hide thyself."  We must see in this that
anything thy brother has lost should be returned to him, even if it is
a billfold full of money. Jesus taught that we are not to swear at
all, but to swear a lie would be doubly serious. In all of this, we
are to make amends to the person we offended, before God will accept
the trespass offering. God will not overlook this trespass. We must go
to the person offended and make it right, and then go to the
tabernacle and offer our offering.

     Leviticus 6:5 "Or all that about which he hath sworn falsely; he
shall even restore it in the principal, and shall add the fifth part
more thereto, [and] give it unto him to whom it appertaineth, in the
day of his trespass offering."

     You can see, here, that not only must the person repay, but must
add 20% more for the trouble they caused their neighbor. After all
this is done, then they can go to the tabernacle and make a trespass
offering, to make this right with God.

     Leviticus 6:6 "And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the
LORD, a ram without blemish out of the flock, with thy estimation, for
a trespass offering, unto the priest:" Leviticus 6:7 "And the priest
shall make an atonement for him before the LORD: and it shall be
forgiven him for any thing of all that he hath done in trespassing
therein."

     You can easily see how expensive this trespass can be. Not only
would the person have to give 20% extra to the one he offended, but
would be required to bring an offering to the tabernacle, also. It is
much better, and in fact, less expensive to just go ahead and do the
right thing at first and not have to do all of this. The best promise
in all of this is, it shall be forgiven him. This reminds me of people
who cheat on their income tax. When you are caught, you have to pay a
penalty above the tax owed. Why not just do right at first and save
all the hassle?

     We will jump away from this train of thought now and get into the
law of the offerings. Leviticus 6:8  "And the LORD spake unto Moses,
saying,"

     It seems that every time we begin a new thing, Moses reminds us
that God gave him these rules for the people. These laws are divine
in nature. Every one of them served a purpose. At the time these laws
were given, Israel did not have a king. God was their King.

     Leviticus 6:9 "Command Aaron and his sons, saying, This [is] the
law of the burnt offering: It [is] the burnt offering, because of the
burning upon the altar all night unto the morning, and the fire of the
altar shall be burning in it."

     The very first thing that we must see in this, is the fact that
this was not just a suggestion of what they might do, but was a
commandment of God. On the burnt offering they were not to let the
fire go out at all, but were to keep it burning until the offering was
completely burned up. Aaron and his sons were to wear their
linen garments while this offering was being made. This was a very
holy offering, and they were to be attired properly while it burned.
If you need to read again about the lamb being offered every evening,
it can be found in Exodus chapter 29 beginning with verse 38.
Remember, the burnt offering was to be totally burned up, except for
the hide which was given to the priest. Remember, the burnt offering
showed that the individual had turned themselves over completely to
God. My favorite saying that says the same thing is: Make Jesus Christ
your Lord and not just your Saviour. Total commitment to God is all He
will settle for. He does not want 50% of you, He wants all of you.

     Leviticus 6:10 "And the priest shall put on his linen garment,
and his linen breeches shall he put upon his flesh, and take up the
ashes which the fire hath consumed with the burnt offering on the
altar, and he shall put them beside the altar."

     Notice the linen garment. To handle the things of God, the priest
should be free from sin. The linen garment indicates freedom from sin.
This linen garment was not worn outside the tabernacle. The linen
garment was not to be contaminated with the world. We have discussed
it before, but the plain linen garment was worn when the priest was
representing the people to God. The fancy garment with the jewels on
the breastplate was worn when the high priest was representing God to
the people. No flesh at all was to be showing on the priest, and that
is why the linen breeches were worn.

     Leviticus 6:11 "And he shall put off his garments, and put on
other garments, and carry forth the ashes without the camp unto a
clean place."

     The priest is to never wear the ceremonial clothes outside the
tabernacle. He would change his clothes to street clothes before he
left the tabernacle. The ashes would be carried without the camp. This
burnt offering had been totally consumed, and the remains carried out
of the camp. Jesus paid it all outside the city wall for us.

     Leviticus 6:12 "And the fire upon the altar shall be burning in
it; it shall not be put out: and the priest shall burn wood on it
every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order upon it; and he
shall burn thereon the fat of the peace offerings."

     This altar was to have wood on it burning continuously, because
there would be an offering on the wood every morning and every night.
Each time before the offering was to be made, the priest laid fresh
wood sufficient to burn the entire animal.

     Leviticus 6:13 "The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it
shall never go out."

     This fire was to burn continuously. It was never to go out. God
wants us to worship Him forever after, when we once commit our lives
to Him. We must not let our fire go out either. The walk with God must
be a daily walk. In fact, it must be a never ending walk. The best way
to stay in right standing with God, is to go to Him in prayer at least
2 times a day. Christianity is a walk through life with Jesus.



                             Questions 13

1.  Who spoke unto Moses to give these instructions?
2.  Why did Moses not say me when referring to himself?
3.  In chapter 6 verse 2, what is the sinner called?
4.  Name several ways a person could sin in lying to a neighbor.
5.  What kind of swearing is spoken of in verse 3?
6.  What was required of the sinner to do, if he was guilty of a
    trespass against his neighbor?
7.  Are the sins spoken of here moral sins or ceremonial sins?
8.  Explain the difference in a moral sin and a ceremonial sin.
9.  In Matthew chapter 5 verse 24, what does Jesus tell us to do
    before we bring an offering to God in the temple?
10. What is the clear lesson taught in this?
11. What is the definition of soul in these verses?
12. Why was the word soul used instead of man?
13. Where, in Exodus, can we find more on taking care of someone
    else's property?
14. Where do we find a more detailed explanation about things we find,
    and what we are to do with them, than here in Leviticus?
15. What should we do, if we find a billfold full of money?
16. To swear a ___ would be doubly serious.
17. What should we do first, before we go to God, if we have done
    wrong against our neighbor?
18. What % of interest should be paid when you cheat your neighbor?
19. What should be brought to the temple for a trespass offering?
20. Who should he present the offering to?
21. What must be the condition of the ram?
22. What is the best promise made to the offender in all of this?
23. What does Moses remind us of every time we change to a different
    subject?
24. These laws are ______ in nature.
25. Who was Israel's King?
26. What one word, in Leviticus chapter 6 verse 9, lets us know this
    was not an option with the priests and high priest?
27. When were the all linen garments worn by the priest?
28. When did the priest wear the garment with the breastplate of
    stones on it?
29. What was the only part of the burnt offering which was not burned
    up?
30. When the ashes were taken out of the camp, what did the priest
    wear?
31. How often did the priest put wood on the altar?
32. Our walk with God must be a _____ walk.