LEVITICUS 45


     We will begin this lesson in Leviticus 19:1 "And the LORD spake
unto Moses, saying," Leviticus 19:2 "Speak unto all the congregation
of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I
the LORD your God [am] holy."

     The first thing we need to notice, here, is that this is not just
for the ministerial staff. This message is for the whole congregation.
Again, God does not want this misunderstood, so He tells Moses to
directly tell the congregation, instead of it going through the usual
channels. The word that was translated holy here is qadows , and it
means sacred [ceremonially or morally]. When it is used as a noun, it
sometimes is translated God, angel, saint. From all of this, we can
see that the word holy means above sin. Righteous is a similar word
with an entirely different meaning. Righteous, in the Old Testament,
means just or lawful. In the New Testament, righteous means innocent.
The way we attain righteousness is by receiving the righteousness of
Christ. When we accept Him as our Saviour, He puts His robe of
righteousness on us. This puts us in right standing with God. To walk
holy is an entirely different thing. This means after we receive our
righteousness, we walk above sin. We walk in holiness. God is holy, if
we are trying to be like Him, we must walk holy lives, too.

     Leviticus 19:3  "Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his
father, and keep my sabbaths: I [am] the LORD your God."

     The fear that is mentioned here, has to do with respect. The
Strongs says it means to revere.  This means then, to hold your Mother
and Father in great respect. The keeping of the sabbath has a
two-fold purpose. One is to have one day a week to worship God with no
distractions. The other purpose for sabbath was so that man would
rest one day in seven. Jesus explained the second reason in the
following Scripture. Mark 2:27 "And he said unto them, The sabbath was
made for man, and not man for the sabbath:"  Over and over again God
tells these people that He is the LORD their God.

     Leviticus 19:4  "Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves
molten gods: I [am] the LORD your God."

     These people have just been delivered from Egypt, where many gods
were worshipped. God brought them out with a mighty hand, after He had
discredited the false gods of Egypt. The land they are about to go
into also worships false gods. God does not want them to fall into the
worship of these false gods. He reminds them, again, here, who He is
by saying, {I am the LORD your God}. We must remember that just a very
short time earlier, they had made a golden calf to worship while Moses
was gone to get the 10 Commandments. God destroyed this molten calf.
He reminds them not to make this mistake again. The word [elilim]
which was translated idols here, means nothings. That is a correct
statement since an idol has no power.

     Leviticus 19:5  "And if ye offer a sacrifice of peace offerings
unto the LORD, ye shall offer it at your own will."

     We studied in a previous lesson about the peace offering. The
peace offering shadows the grace that is provided all who believe.
Just as salvation is of our own free will, this peace offering was of
their own free will. The peace offering really shows our fellowship
with God. This possibly has to do, also, with the freewill offering
which is actually a peace offering itself.

     Leviticus 19:6 "It shall be eaten the same day ye offer it, and
on the morrow: and if ought remain until the third day, it shall be
burnt in the fire."

     The peace offering that could be eaten on the second day as well
as the first, was the freewill offering. Even though the person is
allowed to eat of this offering two days, it is not to be taken
lightly. Remember, this symbolizes the peace which the Lord Jesus
brings to all who will accept Him as Saviour and LORD.

     Leviticus 19:7 "And if it be eaten at all on the third day, it
[is] abominable; it shall not be accepted." Leviticus 19:8 "Therefore
[every one] that eateth it shall bear his iniquity, because he hath
profaned the hallowed thing of the LORD: and that soul shall be cut
off from among his people."

     Since this symbolizes the peace that the Lord Jesus brings each
of us, it must be treated with great respect and value. To just let it
lay around a third day would show great disrespect. The burning of it
on the third day would at least make a sweet savour to God. I believe
communion elements are like this. Since the bread and the fruit of the
vine represent the body and the blood of Jesus, they should be treated
with great respect. They should be totally consumed, or burned in the
fire. They should not be held over for another time.

     Leviticus 19:9  "And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou
shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou
gather the gleanings of thy harvest."  Leviticus 19:10 "And thou shalt
not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather [every] grape of thy
vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I [am] the
LORD your God."

     God is teaching the importance of having charity toward those
less fortunate than themselves. Over and over in the Scriptures, we
are told to care for the widows and the fatherless. God, also, warns
that we are not to be greedy,, but willing to share what we have been
blessed with. One thing America has going for itself, is that we have
been generous in feeding the hungry peoples of the world. Jesus said
to even feed your enemy. Romans 12:20 "Therefore if thine enemy
hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou
shalt heap coals of fire on his head."  There is no sin in having more
than your neighbor. The sin comes when you see his need and do not try
to help him. I Timothy 6:17 "Charge them that are rich in this world,
that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the
living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;" I Timothy 6:18
"That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to
distribute, willing to communicate;" When you help the poor, you are
doing it as unto God.

     Leviticus 19:11  "Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely,
neither lie one to another."

     When you deal falsely and lie one to another that is a type of
stealing. This is actually in the 10 commandments, but I believe that
God is saying, here, that there are many types of stealing. He, also,
says don"t do any type of stealing at all.

     Leviticus 19:12  "And ye shall not swear by my name falsely,
neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I [am] the LORD."

     Jesus taught on this very thing in the Sermon on the Mount.
Matthew 5:34 "But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven;
for it is God's throne:" Matthew 5:35 "Nor by the earth; for it is his
footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great
King." Matthew 5:36 "Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because
thou canst not make one hair white or black."  Swearing is a serious
thing, but to swear falsely in God's name would be even worse.

     Leviticus 19:13  "Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbour, neither
rob [him]: the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee
all night until the morning."

     We find, here, another type of stealing. Stealing is not just
against God's law, but man's law, as well. Not only is it the right
thing to do not to steal, defraud or rob, but if you do these things,
you could find yourself in jail, as well. The punishment that man
allots for these sins is nothing compared to what God would have in
store for you. When a person works for wages, they expect to be paid.
Matthew 20:2 "And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a
day, he sent them into his vineyard." Matthew 20:9 "And when they came
that [were hired] about the eleventh hour, they received every man a
penny." In this parable of Jesus', the workers were paid exactly what
they agreed to work for, without delay.

     Leviticus 19:14  "Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a
stumblingblock before the blind, but shalt fear thy God: I [am] the
LORD."

     When we see a deaf person or a blind person, we should have mercy
on them. It is only by the grace of God that we are not that blind
person or deaf person. Some believe that things like this are
punishment for sin, but Jesus proved this not to be so in the
following Scriptures. John 9:1 "And as [Jesus] passed by, he saw a man
which was blind from [his] birth." John 9:2 "And his disciples asked
him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he
was born blind?" John 9:3 "Jesus answered, Neither hath this man
sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made
manifest in him."  Do not condemn others, it could be you or your
family who is deaf or blind.
                             Questions 45

1.  Why did God say for His people to be holy?
2.  Are just the leaders of the church to be holy?
3.  What does the word holy mean in this verse?
4.  When the word that was translated holy, here, is used as a noun,
    what are some of the words it is translated to?
5.  What does righteous in the Old Testament mean?
6.  What does righteous mean in the New Testament?
7.  How does the Christian receive righteousness?
8.  How can we walk holy?
9.  In verse 3, God says to fear whom?
10. What does the word fear mean in this particular instance?
11. What is the twofold purpose of the sabbath?
12. Quote Mark chapter 2 verse 27.
13. What did the LORD God say not to turn to, or to make in verse 4?
14. What sort of worship went on in Egypt?
15. What does the word elilim, which was translated idol, mean?
16. The peace offering really shows our __________ with God.
17. The peace offering that could be eaten on the first or second day
    was, also, called what offering?
18. If any of it is left after the second day, what should be done
    with it?
19. What one word is it called, if it is eaten on the third day?
20. What were they to do when reaping the harvest of the land?
21. Who were some of the grapes to be left for?
22. What lesson is God teaching in this?
23. What one thing does America have going for itself spiritually?
24. What did Jesus tell us to do, if our enemy hungered?
25. What are the rich in the world charged to do?
26. When you are helping the poor, who are you doing it as unto?
27. What are dealing falsely and lying one to another really?
28. Who did Jesus say we could swear by in the Sermon on the Mount?
29. Thou shalt not defraud thy _________.
30. Stealing is not just against God's law, but _____, as well.
31. Who will punish you, if you steal?
32. Is deafness and blindness a punishment from God?