LEVITICUS 18


     We will begin this lesson in Leviticus 7:28  "And the LORD spake
unto Moses, saying,"

     When we see this statement made by the LORD, we know we begin a
new train of thought. Remember, LORD, here means Jehovah.

     Leviticus 7:29 "Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, He
that offereth the sacrifice of his peace offerings unto the LORD shall
bring his oblation unto the LORD of the sacrifice of his peace
offerings."

     As I have said so many times, we must see a message for
Christians in this, if we are to benefit by studying these offerings.
We mentioned this before, but it bears repeating again. The only peace
any of us have is the peace that Jesus brings us. Jesus is THE KING OF
PEACE. He is our peace. Ephesians 2:14 "For he is our peace, who hath
made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition
[between us];" The He, in this Scripture, is Jesus.  We are saved by
grace and nothing else, but those who are truly saved want to work for
God. There are 3 Scriptures in James I would like to quote here in
regards to this. James 2:18 "Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and
I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew
thee my faith by my works." James 2:20 "But wilt thou know, O vain
man, that faith without works is dead?" James 2:26 "For as the body
without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also."

     Leviticus 7:30 "His own hands shall bring the offerings of the
LORD made by fire, the fat with the breast, it shall he bring, that
the breast may be waved [for] a wave offering before the LORD."

     One thing we must remember in this and all other offerings; this
has to be a deliberate act of the offerer. Just as each person, coming
to Christ, has to desire to come to the Lord. The Lord Jesus does not
just save everyone, the person being saved has to desire to be saved.
I believe that is what is intended above, when it says {His own
hands}. Salvation is individual. Salvation is for whosoever will.
We have to desire salvation to receive it. God will not overrule our
will and save us. Salvation comes to those who turn their will over to
God's will. We must be willing to be saved. There is something man has
to do to be saved. In an act of our own will, we must believe in Jesus
Christ as our Saviour. Acts 16:31 "And they said, Believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house."  When the
offering was waved before the LORD, even though it was not burned up,
it was first offered to God. Things Christians give to the church,
even though it pays the preacher's salary, are offerings to God.

     Leviticus 7:31 "And the priest shall burn the fat upon the altar:
but the breast shall be Aaron's and his sons'."

     We see in this that it is not wrong for the servants of God to
live of the gifts brought to God. God has His portion, but the
ministers, also, may partake of the gifts of God.  I Corinthians 9:13
" Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live [of
the things] of the temple? and they which wait at the altar are
partakers with the altar?" I Corinthians 9:14 "Even so hath the Lord
ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel."

     Leviticus 7:32 "And the right shoulder shall ye give unto the
priest [for] an heave offering of the sacrifices of your peace
offerings."

     The priest was to have the best offering, after it was heaved
{dedicated} to God. The right side was always the best blessing. The
heave offering was waved from side to side while being lifted up and
down. Even though this was not burned as a sweet savour, this heaving
showed that it was offered to God.

     Leviticus 7:33 "He among the sons of Aaron, that offereth the
blood of the peace offerings, and the fat, shall have the right
shoulder for [his] part."

     In this offering, the best was given to the priest who offered
the blood of this offering. The word that was translated shoulder,
here, means to run. On an animal all four legs are used to run, so it
could have been any of them. It really does not matter which leg it
was. It does matter that it was from the right side, which was the
better of the blessings. It would have been an honor to offer the
blood, and probably meant that it was the son who was directly in line
to be the high priest after his father.

     Leviticus 7:34 "For the wave breast and the heave shoulder have I
taken of the children of Israel from off the sacrifices of their peace
offerings, and have given them unto Aaron the priest and unto his sons
by a statute for ever from among the children of Israel."

     The priests were a family who had no inheritance in the land.
They were to live of the things of God. They were to be a separated
people who depended entirely upon the Lord. The tribe of Levi actually
took the place of the first born in each family. This offering that
was theirs was for ever. If you look at their counterpart in our
society today, they would be the ministers.

     Leviticus 7:35  "This [is the portion] of the anointing of Aaron,
and of the anointing of his sons, out of the offerings of the LORD
made by fire, in the day [when] he presented them to minister unto the
LORD in the priest's office;"

     Aaron and his sons did not choose this job for themselves, but
were called of God for this purpose. Ministers could take a lesson
from this today. If God did not call you to the ministry, you should
not preach. No one should choose the ministry for a profession. The
only way God will accept you as a minister is, if He called you.
Ministry is a calling, not a profession.

     Leviticus 7:36 "Which the LORD commanded to be given them of the
children of Israel, in the day that he anointed them, [by] a statute
for ever throughout their generations."

     To try to preach without the anointing of God, would be a
disaster. My own personal belief is that God sets persons aside for
His ministry from their birth. Sometimes a person may be a long time
in answering the call, but it is there from birth. It seems as if God
protects those He has called with a special protection all of their
life.

     Leviticus 7:37 "This [is] the law of the burnt offering, of the
meat offering, and of the sin offering, and of the trespass offering,
and of the consecrations, and of the sacrifice of the peace
offerings;"

     We see from this that, God provides for those in His service by
the unique way of sharing in the gifts offered to Him. These offerings
are for man to be able to fellowship with holy God. As we said at the
beginning of chapter 7, all the offerings and the consecrations and
the sacrifices are fulfilled for the Christian by our Lord Jesus
Christ.

     Leviticus 7:38 "Which the LORD commanded Moses in mount Sinai, in
the day that he commanded the children of Israel to offer their
oblations unto the LORD, in the wilderness of Sinai."

     We see these laws were given to Moses at Mount Sinai.  They were
to be kept forever by God's people. Physical Israel kept these in the
physical. Spiritual Israel {Christians} keep all of these when they
accept Jesus as the final fulfillment of them all. Jesus fulfilled the
law when He gave His body on the cross as our substitution. Thank God,
His sacrifice was sufficient for all time for all who will believe.
How can you neglect so great a gift? Accept Jesus as your Saviour and
Lord today. Christians have a hope that the rest of the world does not
have. We have the hope of the resurrection.



















                             Questions 18

1.  Where is the only real peace found?
2.  Why should a Christian study about these offerings?
3.  Ephesians chapter 2 verse 14 tells us what?
4.  What are we Christians saved by, and nothing else?
5.  Quote James chapter 2 verse 18.
6.  Faith without works is _____.
7.  The body without the spirit is dead, so faith without ______ is
    dead also.
8.  What does the statement {his own hands} say to us?
9.  Who is salvation offered to?
10. What must we do to be saved?
11. What did the waving of the offering indicate?
12. What lesson can we learn from 1 Corinthians chapter 9 verses 13
    and 14?
13. Why was the right shoulder mentioned specifically?
14. Describe how the heave offering was made?
15. What did the heaving of this offering show?
16. Who was the best of the offering given to?
17. What does the word shoulder literally translate?
18. Which of the sons was probably the one who offered the blood?
19. What were the priests and their families to live of?
20. The tribe of Levi actually took the place of whom?
21. Who would be the counterpart of these priests today?
22. Who decided Aaron and his sons would be priests?
23. What lesson could modern ministers take from this?
24. Who should choose the ministry for a profession?
25. Ministry is a _______, not a ___________.
26. To try to preach without the _________, would be a disaster.
27. What purpose did these offerings have?
28. How do the Christians fulfill these offerings and consecrations?
29. Where did Moses receive these instructions?
30. Compare physical Israel and spiritual Israel in all of these
    offerings.