LEVITICUS 52


     We will begin this lesson in Leviticus 22:24 "Ye shall not offer
unto the LORD that which is bruised, or crushed, or broken, or cut;
neither shall ye make [any offering thereof] in your land."

     You can easily see how it would be no sacrifice at all, to give
an animal that was already ruined. God will accept only the very best.
All of these offerings, in one sense or another, shadow the offering
that Jesus made of Himself for all mankind. Jesus was without blemish.
Anything that shadowed Jesus would, also, have to be without blemish.

     Leviticus 22:25 "Neither from a stranger's hand shall ye offer
the bread of your God of any of these; because their corruption [is]
in them, [and] blemishes [be] in them: they shall not be accepted for
you."

     Strangers were permitted to make offerings to the Lord, but they
must observe the same instructions as the Israelites when they made an
offering. I believe, also, that in the verse above there is an
indication that an Israelite was not to bring an offering that he had
received from a stranger, because he would not be familiar with the
offering. He would not possibly know whether this animal was of the
quality required of God. Just because this offering was from a
stranger did not eliminate the fact that it must be the very best he
had.

     Leviticus 22:26  "And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,"

     Again we must note that every time a new subject is brought up,
Moses reminds us again, where these instructions came from.

     Leviticus 22:27 "When a bullock, or a sheep, or a goat, is
brought forth, then it shall be seven days under the dam; and from the
eighth day and thenceforth it shall be accepted for an offering made
by fire unto the LORD."

     Dam in the verse above was translated from a word that means
mother. Then what we see in this is that any of the above mentioned
animals could be offered from the time they were 8 days old. It does
not mean that the animal must be very young. It just means that any
time after it is 8 days old, it is old enough.

     Leviticus 22:28 "And [whether it be] cow or ewe, ye shall not
kill it and her young both in one day."

     This is simply being kind, not to kill the baby and the parent at
the same time. Even though animals are for the use of man upon the
earth, we should not be cruel to them.

     Leviticus 22:29 "And when ye will offer a sacrifice of
thanksgiving unto the LORD, offer [it] at your own will."

     This type of offering is not an obligation, but an offering of
thanks to God. Any offering that is not an obligation, would be of the
person's own free will.

     Leviticus 22:30 "On the same day it shall be eaten up; ye shall
leave none of it until the morrow: I [am] the LORD."

     Let us look back at the offering for thanksgiving in an earlier
chapter. Leviticus 7:15 "And the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace
offerings for thanksgiving shall be eaten the same day that it is
offered; he shall not leave any of it until the morning."

     We remember from a previous lesson, that the meat of this
offering was shared by the priests and the person making the offering.
The blood, fat and inards belonged to God. This offering was not to
restore fellowship with God, but to thank Him for the fellowship they
already had. I want to say one more time, this is not an obligation,
but a freewill offering. This type offering is rated with the peace
offering. Certainly this will bring peace to the offerer.

     Leviticus 22:31 "Therefore shall ye keep my commandments, and do
them: I [am] the LORD."

     We see in this very short verse that, God requires obedience. He
not only says {keep His commandments}, but He says why it is
necessary. He is the LORD. We find an interesting Scripture that says
even above sacrifice, we must obey God. I Samuel 15:22 "And Samuel
said, Hath the LORD [as great] delight in burnt offerings and
sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey [is]
better than sacrifice, [and] to hearken than the fat of rams."

     Leviticus 22:32 "Neither shall ye profane my holy name; but I
will be hallowed among the children of Israel: I [am] the LORD which
hallow you,"

     There are so many ways to profane His holy name. We found very
quickly what happened to the two sons of Aaron who profaned His name
in the holy place. Fire came from the altar and destroyed them. This
is a vivid example of that, but in our day, in our churches we are
profaning the holy name. We have gotten into this so many times
before, but we must remember, so I will say it again. There are 2
houses of Israel. The Hebrews are the physical house of Israel, and
all believers in Christ are the spiritual house of Israel. The
physical house of Israel was punished many times for forgetting to
hold the name of the LORD above all others. God would be with them, as
long as they remembered to follow Him alone, and to reverence Him
alone. So many times, they would turn away from worshipping the true
God, and then the LORD would allow them to get into all sorts of
problems, so they would seek Him again. Every time they repented, God
forgave them and blessed them again. Our churches today have forgotten
that we serve a holy God. Are we profaning His name, when we give Him
less than our very best? The most important question I might ask all
of us, are we doing it God's way or our way? Are we guarding the Word
of God, making sure it is not changed in any way? Do we have a
reverent fear of the LORD? Are the services in the church, a sweet,
sweet sound in His ear? Would God be pleased with the amount of time
we spend finding out what His will is in our life, by studying the
Bible daily? Does God feel welcome in our services? Are we aware of
His presence in every service?

     We must not play games with God. The only reason a person should
go to church is to fellowship with God and His people, and to study
His Word, so that we will know His will. We should look forward to
that fellowship, and not dread going to church. Is the LORD really the
love of your life?  We must all examine ourselves and make sure Jesus
Christ is not only our Saviour, but our LORD as well.

     Leviticus 22:33 "That brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be
your God: I [am] the LORD."

     The Hebrew descendents of Jacob {Israel} were brought out of
Egypt with the mighty hand of God, to serve Him. The verse above
specifically says why they were brought out. They were in captivity in
Egypt for about 400 years.

     There is another side to this verse above. Egypt is symbolic of
the world. As we said above, the spiritual house of Israel is {all
believers in Christ}. Christians, as well as these Hebrews, must leave
Egypt {the world} behind, before they can head for the promised land.
Christians, we must not stay caught up in the things of this world, if
we plan to make it to our promised land {heaven}. We must realize that
our home is no more this earth. We should be like Abraham, who was
looking for a city whose maker is God. II Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore
if any man [be] in Christ, [he is] a new creature: old things are
passed away; behold, all things are become new."  We need to leave the
old life behind and let Christ live in us. When we are baptized in
water, we bury the old man, and rise to new life in Christ. Galatians
2:20 "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but
Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live
by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for
me."

     I will ask just one more question. What is more important to you,
what the world thinks, or what God thinks? Think on this.














                             Questions 52

1.  In verse 24, what were things they were not to offer?
2.  Why would this not be a correct offering?
3.  Were strangers permitted to offer to God?
4.  What was the difference in the offering for a stranger?
5.  Why does Moses keep saying who this message comes from?
6.  What does the word that dam was translated from, mean?
7.  How old was the minimum age an animal had to be to be offered?
8.  What was the restriction mentioned in verse 28?
9.  What lesson can we Christians learn from this restriction?
10. This offering was to be made of their ____ ____ ____.
11. Who eats of this thanksgiving offering?
12. This offering was not to bring the person offering back into
    fellowship with God, but was for what?
13. Why were all of these Hebrews to keep God's commandments?
14. What is better than sacrifice?
15. What are some of the ways they profaned the name of God?
16. What was the penalty for profaning the name of God?
17. Are we doing it God's way, or our way?
18. Would God be pleased with the time we spend studying our Bible
    each day?
19. What are the only reasons a person should go to church?
20. Is Jesus Christ your ________, as well as your Saviour?
21. Why did God bring them out of Egypt?
22. What is Egypt a symbol of?
23. Christians must leave Egypt, before they can go to the --------
    ----.
24. Where is the Christian's promised land?
25. If any man be in Christ, he is a new _________.