Lesson#27

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Leviticus

September 21, 2015

Introduction

May 13, 2010

Leviticus Lesson #02

May 13, 2010

RETURN TO THE LIST OF LESSONS

LEVITICUS 26 and 27
Lesson #27
THE CONDITIONAL LAND CONTRACT

• Memory Verse: Lev 26:12

 

• Leviticus 26

 

• All of the laws that God gave to Moses for the Israelites were to help them establish a new society in the Promised Land based on God’s laws and principles.
  • The same thing was true for the Pilgrims that first came to America to establish a new nation. They brought with them the Bible and established their society, their justice system, and their government on the laws that God gave to the Jews in the Bible.
  • They thought that if they could faithfully do what the Israelites failed to do, God would bless their efforts and prosper them. This is exactly what happened with the founding of the United States, and a prosperous nation was the result. As long as this nation followed the Biblical principles established by God, this nation grew in power and prosperity.
  • However, gradually we removed God from different sections of our society and in doing so we discontinued walking in His principles. The result is that in these days the United States has lost its desire to live by God’s principles resulting in a declining society and a nation that has lost its way.
    • The same idea is true for the Christian today. If a Christian makes a determination in his heart to study the Bible and to live by its principles, God will abundantly bless his life.
    • And to the contrary, if a Christian chooses disobedience, sin, or indifference to God as the Israelites did, God cannot pour out His blessings on a rebellious life.
  • A life, a family, a church, a community, a nation established on Biblical principles will have success and be prospered by God.
• Read Lev 26:1-13
  • As we come to end of the book of Leviticus we see a lot of repetition. When something is repeated in scripture, it means that it is important to God.
  • We also see the first of the “if” statements. There are 9 such statements of “if” in this chapter. These statements are conditional declarations placed into the covenant that God made with Moses.
    • In other words, “if” the people were obedient to follow God, God would bless them in numerous ways.
    • If the people were not obedient to follow God, God would curse them as a consequence of their rebellious attitude.
  • God’s means of blessing faithful Israel would be through the land that He gave them.
    • The Promised Land would have abundant rainfall.
    • The Promised Land would produce bountiful harvests to feed the people. In other words, abundant prosperity.
    • The Promised Land would have God’s protection and therefore peace from her enemies.
  • General Comments about Specifics:
    • Vs. 1. Idols = The Hebrew word (elilim) means = nothing. Anything that takes the place of the God, Jehovah, is nothing. Wow! There are so many people in this world that worship “nothing”.
    • Vs. 4. Rain. Notice that the beginning and the ultimate of God’s blessing is depicted as rainfall. We discussed the latter and the former rains and how they referred to the first and the second comings of Jesus Christ.
    • Vs 9. Population explosion. You will hear people complain that there are too many people inhabiting the world.
      • Having an abundance of children is a blessing from God.
      • God has made the earth so that it will produce sufficient food to feed all the people.
        • When there is insufficient food, the problem is not God’s provision, but man’s reluctance to trust in God, or with human governments that use food for political means.
        • This is why, in the Bible, famines are seen as God’s judgment.
  • These verses concerning God’s abundant blessing on His people are prophetic promises that will be fulfilled in the Millennial Kingdom of Jesus Christ when Christ will be physically present with His people for 1000 years.
• Read Lev 26:14-39 God’s Judgment
  • What would bring God’s judgment on the people? (14-15)
    • A refusal to hear God.
    • A refusal to do what God says.
    • A hatred for the precious things of God such as a hatred for His Word.
  • The concept of multiplied judgment (18)
    • The Biblical concept of the wages of sin is death is through the entire Bible. Death is the ultimate payment for sin.
      • However, God gives people a warning.
      • The prophets constantly warned the Jews, but they turned their backs on the messages of their prophets and then killed them.
    • Judgment comes in cycles of deepening burdens and multiplied judgments:
      • The first cycle: (16-17) terror, consumption, burning ague, sorrow of heart, crop failure, their enemies will kill them or enslave them.
      • The second cycle: (18-20) seven times more punishment for sin. God uses the number 7 to tell us that this is the completeness of judgment.
      • The third cycle: (21-22) seven times more punishment for continued sin. Plagues and wild beasts will overcome them. Man loses his dominion over the animals.
      • The fourth cycle: (23-26) seven times more punishment for walking with their back to God. Pestilence and their enemies will overtake them until they were taken as slaves. Ezekiel and the other prophets warned them that a third of the population would die with pestilence, a third of the population would be scattered and die of famine.
      • The fifth cycle: (27-33) seven times more punishment for walking contrary to God. Economic poverty and famine would result in cannibalism. (2Kin 6:28-29 Lam 2:20 Lam 4:10) The land would be devastated and the cities would lie in ruin.
      • The sixth cycle: (34-39) seven times more punishment results in the extreme removal of the people from the land for 70 years in the Babylonian Captivity. They would be slaves in a foreign land (Babylon) with a demoralized spirit.
    • Each cycle was to be a warning from God, but the people did not listen. They became blind to the reality of what was going on in their society, in their government, and in their land. The result was that all six cycles were literally fulfilled in Israel’s history.
    • Vs. 33 was the condition of Israel from 70 AD to 1948.
    • These cycles are repeated in the book of Revelation (Rev 6) as God will again deal with the Jews during the coming Tribulation Period.
• Read Lev 26:40-42 Restoration promised
  • Notice that even though they must pass through all of these terrible cycles of judgment from God, God will not destroy them. Why?
    • God has made promises to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob that have not been fulfilled. (45)
    • Therefore, God will preserve the Jews until He puts enough pressure on them during the Tribulation period that they finally turn to God in humility and repentance. (43-44)
    • Then, in the Millennial Kingdom of Jesus Christ, He will restore them and bless them in the land.

 

• Leviticus 27 The Voluntary Response of a Grateful Heart

 

• We began the book with all of the animal sacrifices that God required. Most of these were an obligation that the people had to fulfill.
• We also considered many laws in man’s relationship to God that the people had to fulfill.
  • For example keeping the Sabbath.
  • Avoiding the worship of foreign gods and the practices involved in worshiping idols.
• We also considered many laws in man’s relationship to other people that the Israelites had to do.
  • For example the avoidance of sexual sins.
  • For example maintaining honesty in business.
• All of these laws were an obligation placed over the people to show them what sin is in God’s perspective.
  • For the faithful Jew that loved God and desired to be as obedient and as faithful to God as he possibly could there remains the truths that we find in Lev 27.
• Read Deu 23:21-23

• These are voluntary vows based on one’s love for God after He has kept all the required elements of Judaism.
  • It is like the New Testament believer that discovers how God has saved him totally by grace as a free gift of the love of God through Jesus Christ. Now he asks the Lord, “What can I do for the Lord in RETURN for so great a salvation?”
  • The response of an eager heart for God is a desire to pledge something to God. That is the attitude of this chapter.
• Read Mic 6:8
• Background:
  • The concept of vows in the Old Testament:
    • God insisted that if a person made a vow, he must fulfill it.
      • In other words, vows were voluntarily made but once they were made, they became a voluntary obligation that the person promised to fulfill.
      • If he did not pay his vow, there were consequences to pay.
    • Therefore, while the vow was voluntary, it became an obligation once it was made.
  • We can see this concept and attitude regarding vows in scripture:
    • Read Ecc 5:4-6
  • God established one very important vow:
    • Read Num 6:1-8 The Nazarite vow:
      • This was a voluntary vow. It was not commanded by God that a person take this vow. This vow was for any man or woman who decided that he or she wanted a closer walk with God. There were two types of Nazarite vows, dealing with the length of the vow.
        • A person could take the Nazarite vow for a limited period of time.
        • Paul took a temporary Nazarite vow in Acts 18:18.
      • A person could take the Nazarite vow for a lifetime. Of course, it was the parents that decided the lifetime vow for a child.
    • The conditions of the Nazarite vow:
      • A person taking the vow, whether for a limited time or for a lifetime, must follow the same three conditions:
      • He must not drink wine, vinegar, or any kind of strong drink made with grapes.
        • To have a closer relationship with God means that your joy comes from the fruit of the Holy Spirit and not the fruit of the world.
      • He must not cut his hair during the period of his vow.
        • To have a closer relationship with God means that a person must be willing to bear ridicule and shame for the Lord.
      • He must not touch any dead thing.
        • To have a closer relationship with God means that a person must forsake the death that the wages of sin brings.
    • There were only 3 men in the Bible who were Nazarite’s under this vow for a lifetime.
      • Samson (Jdg 16:17)
        • You will recall that Samson was a failure regarding this vow.
        • He touched a dead lion (Jdg 14:5-6) and his hair was cut by Delilah (Jdg 16:19).
      • Samuel (1Sam 1:21)
      • John the Baptist (Luk 1:14-15)
  • Religious vows were a very common practice with the Israelites in the Old Testament.
    • In fact, they developed a whole legalized system of vows outside of scripture that became as burdensome as the other laws that the Rabbis added to the Law of Moses.
    • Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for this burdensome system of empty vows.
      • Read Mat 5:33-37
      • The Jews were making all kinds of frivolous vows and ridiculous vows to appear “spiritual” without any concept of a love for God.
        • They swore by including the word “heaven” in their vow.
        • They swore by including the word “earth” in their vow.
        • They swore by including the word “Jerusalem” in their vow.
        • They swore by including the word “head” in their vow.
      • THE NEW TESTAMENT PRINCIPLE: Jesus said that such vows of the Pharisees are vanity. You should simply keep your word. Do not say anything that you do not intend to do your very best to keep.
  • Be careful what you vow:
    • Read Jdg. 11:30-31, 34-35
    • Jephthah dedicated his daughter to the Lord, not as a burnt offering, but in service to the Lord for all of her life. Therefore, she would not marry or have children.
• Read Lev 27:1-10

• General comments:
  • Vs. 2. “make a singular vow” = To single something out as having a special value and giving it to the Lord as a free will offering.
    • The believer is to offer God things of value that cost him something. (2Sam 24:24)
  • Vs 3-8 “estimation” = This is the price of redemption according to the age and sex of the individual.
    • If a person made a vow and needed to be relieved of his vow, he could pay the estimation price, or in this case a redemption price.
    • If a persona made a vow and completed his vow, he still paid the estimation price. Because it is a pleasure to serve the Lord, the believer paid God to serve Him.
  • Vs 9-10. Man must not change the conditions of his vow for something cheaper of less value so as to benefit himself. God will still hold you to your original promise.
  • Vs 14-15. The vow of a house.
  • Vs. 16-25 The vow of a piece of land.
    • The value of the land was calculated based on the year of jubilee when all land was to be RETURN ed to the original owner.
    • The value of the land was calculated based on its productivity.
• Read Lev 27:26-27 The three things that cannot be devoted to God in a vow

• A person could not take a vow to give something to God that already belonged to God. There were three things in this category.
  • =1= The firstborn of man or beast already belonged to God. (26-27)
  • =2= The things already pledged to God in a vow could not be devoted to God again. (28-29)
  • =3= The tithe already belonged to God and could not be devoted to God in a vow. (30-33)
• Read Lev 27:34 Conclusion

• God gave all the Law of Moses to the Israelites to keep in a period of law. When Jesus Christ came, He nailed these ordinances to the cross as fulfilled.
• Read Col 2:14
• Therefore, the New Testament believer is under grace and free to live guided by the Holy Spirit of Grace and not by the ordinances of Law.
• However, God will bless the believer that learns God’s spiritual principles and lives by them. We have learned many of these principles by gaining God’s perspective of life through the book of Leviticus.

• It is my prayer that you make holiness a priority in your life and remember the key verse in Leviticus, “Ye shall be holy for I am holy.” (Lev 11:44-45 Lev 19:2 Lev 20:7, 26)

The End and May God Bless You