LEVITICUS 47


     We will begin this lesson in Leviticus 19:23  "And when ye shall
come into the land, and shall have planted all manner of trees for
food, then ye shall count the fruit thereof as uncircumcised: three
years shall it be as uncircumcised unto you: it shall not be eaten
of."

     A fruit tree takes at least three years of growth without fruit
to make it strong and healthy. They probably wouldn't have over 2 or 3
pieces of fruit anyway. The first crop of fruit, just like the first
crop of the field belongs to God. This is teaching the practice of
firstfruits.

     Leviticus 19:24 "But in the fourth year all the fruit thereof
shall be holy to praise the LORD [withal]."

     The fruit that is from the tree on the fourth year is to be
carried to the sanctuary and offered as a firstfruits offering. The
high priest and his family will eat this fruit.

     Leviticus 19:25 "And in the fifth year shall ye eat of the fruit
thereof, that it may yield unto you the increase thereof: I [am] the
LORD your God."

     Of course, 5 means grace. This fruit is a blessing from God. In
this Scripture, we see that God will bless this crop, if His
instructions are followed.

     Leviticus 19:26  "Ye shall not eat [any thing] with the blood:
neither shall ye use enchantment, nor observe times."

     We have been told over and over that the blood belongs to God. As
I said in a previous lesson, this does not mean that you can not eat
meat after it is cooked. It does mean that all meat must have the
blood drained to make it edible. Satanic cults in our day are drinking
blood. This is not just sin, but an abomination before God.
Enchantment, here, means magic, or telling the future. Things such as
all types of mind control fall into this category. Fortune tellers
fall into this category, as well. Even hypnotism falls into this
category. Observers of times are those who study astrology. Horoscopes
fall into this category. Astronomy is not evil, but astrology is. We
should not depend on any power other than God to direct us. Palm
reading, also, falls into this realm. We can easily see the mistakes
that many people around us are making, practicing these things. Our
newspapers and magazines are filled with horoscopes telling your
future, nearly every town has palm readers. Even transcendental
meditation falls into the realm of enchantment. How long will God
tolerate this type of sin? Some churches have jumped over the line of
faith and are actually practicing mind control.  Deuteronomy 18:10
"There shall not be found among you [any one] that maketh his son or
his daughter to pass through the fire, [or] that useth divination,
[or] an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch,"
     Leviticus 19:27 "Ye shall not round the corners of your heads,
neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard."

     It appears that this was practiced by Arabians as a form of
worshipping a false god. This is not found in the Bible, but in a
history book of that time. The Hebrews sometimes cut there hair and
beard as a form of mourning.

     Leviticus 19:28 "Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for
the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I [am] the LORD."

     The prophets of Baal cut themselves trying to get their gods to
answer them, when Elijah challenged them. It did no good to cut
themselves, because it did not bring an answer from their false god.
Deuteronomy 14:1 "Ye [are] the children of the LORD your God: ye shall
not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the
dead." In Jeremiah the 48th chapter all of these things are done in
lamentation, but it is done by heathen people. We see that people have
taken this Scripture above very lightly. Men and women are having
tattoos done all over their bodies. The Scripture says, don't print
anything on your body. Our body is not our own to do with as we wish.
Our body belongs to our Creator. He just let us borrow it for our stay
here on the earth.

     Leviticus 19:29  "Do not prostitute thy daughter, to cause her to
be a whore; lest the land fall to whoredom, and the land become full
of wickedness."

     In Thailand today, we hear that parents of little girls are
selling them for a few hundred dollars into prostitution. This is, to
me, one of the most horrible abuses of children that there could be.
The excuse that these people give for selling their little girls into
prostitution is the poverty they live in. I am saying little girls,
but our society has become so sin sick that this now includes young
boys, as well. This is not just in Thailand, it really is everywhere,
even here in the United States, perhaps, on a smaller scale. The whole
world is full of wickedness. Television and movies promote a lot of
this. Now movies are parental guidance or x-rated or r-rated. Very few
movies are being made that are classed as family movies. We must stop
this degradation of our land. God will not look the other way
forever.

     Leviticus 19:30  "Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my
sanctuary: I [am] the LORD."

     God has set aside one day in 7 to worship Him. So many people
find a thousand and one other things to do to keep them away from
God's house on this earth. Every time you hear someone say, I could
not come to church, because. You hear one of these excuses. I do not
read exceptions in the Scripture above. Reverence in the sanctuary is
almost a thing of the past. I hear people say that some of the things
they are doing in the church is art. Art has its place, but its place
is not in church. We should enter the sanctuary in a Spirit of
worship. We should not eat or drink in the sanctuary. It should be
quiet in the sanctuary. God is a holy God. We must conduct His
services His way, not our way to entertain the people. The time in the
sanctuary should be a time to fellowship with God. It should not be a
time when we are entertained to please our flesh.

     Leviticus 19:31  "Regard not them that have familiar spirits,
neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I [am] the LORD
your God."

     There are 9 different Scriptures in the Bible where God came
against those with familiar spirits and wizards. In many cases, they
were driven out of the land. Nearly all of these Scriptures speak of
these as being part of Satanic worship. These familiar spirits are
like demons. They communicate evil. Wizards include people who get
information and power from the devil, instead of from God.

     Leviticus 19:32  "Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and
honour the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I [am] the LORD."

     The word hoary has to do with grey hair caused by old age. This
is just saying that a person should have respect for those of old age.
Knowledge through experience comes with old age. Many young people
would do well to listen to the voice of experience. Fear thy God, has
to do with showing great reverence for God.

     Leviticus 19:33  "And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your
land, ye shall not vex him."  Leviticus 19:34 "[But] the stranger that
dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou
shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt:
I [am] the LORD your God."

     They should remember that just a short time before they were
strangers in a foreign land. They should be nice to strangers. I can
sympathize with you better if I have walked the same path as you.

     Leviticus 19:35  "Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in
meteyard, in weight, or in measure."

     Meteyard means measurement. In other words, be honest when you
measure, when you weigh anything, and fill the measuring cup to
overflowing. The following is what Jesus said about this very thing.
Matthew 7:2 "For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and
with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again."

     Leviticus 19:36 "Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a
just hin, shall ye have: I [am] the LORD your God, which brought you
out of the land of Egypt."

     For many people the only way they know God is by Christians they
do business with. Christians should not be like the rest of the world,
cheating to get ahead. Everything we do should show that we are trying
to be like Jesus our Saviour. The best sermon any of us can give is
the life we live in front of others. Remember, Egypt is a type of the
world. He says here, I have brought you out of the world, live like my
followers.

     Leviticus 19:37 "Therefore shall ye observe all my statutes, and
all my judgments, and do them: I [am] the LORD."

     We notice from this that, God wants us to have a totally
different life style than the world. A short way to say this, that He
said in another Scripture, is {Be ye holy for I am holy}.


                          Notes











































                             Questions 47

1.  The fruit of trees is counted as uncircumcised for how many years
    after planting?
2.  What is the fruit of the tree used for in the fourth year?
3.  What type offering is this?
4.  Who will eat the fruit the fourth year?
5.  What does the number 5 mean symbolically?
6.  Ye shall not eat anything with the _____.
7.  What falls into the category of enchantment?
8.  Who is an observer of times?
9.  Name some of the things that we should not do that are classified
    as observing times.
10. Quote Dueteronomy chapter 18 verse 10.
11. Ye shall not round the corners of your _____.
12. Ye shall not make any cuttings in your ______ for the _____.
13. What is meant by not printing any marks upon you?
14. What false prophets, in the Old Testament, cut themselves trying
    to get their false god to answer them?
15. Who does our body belong to?
16. Do not prostitute thy daughter, to cause her to be a ______.
17. What is even sicker in our society today, than verse 29 here?
18. What does the author think is the cause of some of the moral
    failure in our country?
19. Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and ___________ my sanctuary.
20. Does art have a place in the church?
21. What are familiar spirits and wizards usually associated with?
22. Where do wizards and familiar spirits get their power?
23. What does the hoary head mean?
24. If a stranger lives in the land with you, you should not ____ him.
25. Why should they be good to strangers?
26. What does meteyard mean?
27. Quote Matthew chapter 7 verse 2.
28. Why is it important for Christians to have just weights, measures,
    and to give full portions in their dealings with others?
29. What is the best sermon any of us can give?