Leviticus 24
Continual light burning in Tabernacleverses 1-4
And the LORD spoke to Moses
saying
Command the children of Israel
that they bring to you pure olive oil beaten for the light
to cause the lamps to burn continually
Without the veil of the testimony – in the tabernacle of the congregation
shall Aaron order it from the evening to the morning
before the LORD continually
it shall be a statute forever in your generations
He shall order the lamps upon the pure candlestick before the
LORD continually
Offering of Shewbreadverses 5-9
And you shall take fine flour – and bake twelve cakes thereof
two tenth deals shall be in one cake
And you shall set them in two rows – six in a row
on the pure table before the LORD
And you shall put pure frankincense on each row
that it may be on the bread for a memorial
even an offering made by fire to the LORD
Every Sabbath he shall set it in order before the LORD continually
being taken from the children of Israel
by an everlasting covenant
And it shall be Aaron’s and his sons’
and they shall eat it in the holy place
FOR it is MOST HOLY to him of the offerings of the
LORD made by fire by a perpetual statute
Man curse NAME OF THE LORDverses 10-16
And the son of an Israelitish woman – whose father was an Egyptian
went out among the children of Israel
and this son of the Israelitish woman and a man of Israel
strove together in the camp
And the Israelitish woman’s son BLASPHEMED the name of the LORD
and cursed
And they brought him to Moses
(and his mother’s name was Shelomith – the daughter of Dibri
of the tribe of Dan)
And they put him in ward
that the MIND of the LORD might be shown them
And the LORD spoke unto Moses
saying
Bring forth him that has cursed without the camp
and let all that HEARD him lay their hands upon his head
and let all the congregation stone him
And you shall speak to the children of Israel
saying
Whosoever curses his God
shall bear his sin
And he that BLASPHEMES the name of the LORD
he shall surely be PUT TO DEATH
And all the congregation shall certainly STONE him
as well the stranger – as he that is born in the land
when he BLASPEMES the name of the LORD
shall be PUT TO DEATH
Equality in the Law for all menverses 17-22
And he that kills any man shall surely be PUT TO DEATH
and he that kills a beast shall make it good – beast for beast
And if a man cause a blemish in his neighbor
as he has done – so shall it be done to him
breach for breach – eye for eye – tooth for tooth
as he has caused a blemish in a man
so shall it be done to him again
And he that kills a beast – he shall restore it
and he that kills a man – he shall be PUT TO DEATH
You shall have one manner of law – as well for the stranger
as for one of your own country
FOR I am the LORD your God
Conclusion of the trialverse 23
And Moses spoke to the children of Israel
that they should bring forth him that had cursed
out of the camp and stone him with stone
And the children of Israel did as the LORD commanded Moses
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 2 Command the children of Israel, that they bring to you pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamps to burn continually. (3974 “light” [ma’owr] means bright, luminary, source of light, any object that serves as a source of illumination, a candlestick, lamp, or light source)
DEVOTION: The priests were not to allow the lampstand in the Tabernacle to every stop burning. It had to be kept burning morning and evening. The people were to provide the pure olive oil for the burning. It had to be pure.
The light of the Tabernacle was to remind the people of the presence of the LORD in their camp. Jesus said HE was the light of the world. HE taught that believers are to be lights in this dark world.
Children sing the song “This little light of mine I’m going to let it shine” and we need to be not only singing the song but showing our light to the world. We are supposed to be a reflection of Jesus Christ.
HE is our light and we are to manifest HIM to everyone who meets us on a daily basis. How bright is your light today for HIM?
The light in the Tabernacle was a continual light because the people continued to bring the oil. We need to bring our light to let the world know that we are not hiding under a bushel.
CHALLENGE: Let your light so shine before men that they might see Jesus!!!
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 8 Every Sabbath he shall set it in order before the LORD continually, being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant. (5769 “everlasting” [‘owlam] means perpetual, evermore, eternity, long time, duration, future time, times to come, or ancient)
DEVOTION: The word “showbread” means the bread of the presence. It is again signifying the presence of the LORD in the Tabernacle. Twelve loaves were to be made to represent the twelve tribes of Israel.
Each Sabbath the old loaves were removed from the table of showbread and new fresh loaves were to be put on the table. The old loaves were given to the priest to eat.
It is thought that the loaves of bread were made of a large amount of flour so they would be very large loaves of bread. There would be two stacks of bread on the table with six loaves put in a pile and the other six loaves put in another pile.
Jesus described HIMSELF as the Bread of Life. Bread was a stable to the children of Israel. In many countries bread is served with every meal. It is something that represents the blessing of the LORD.
When we pray the disciples pray we say “Give us this day our daily bread.” This is us asking the LORD to provide not only physical bread but spiritual bread as well.
We need to be fed each day from the Word of God. This is even more important than physical bread. Too often we switch our thinking to think that we need physical bread more than spiritual bread.
We are going to die one day and if we only have physical bread we will spend eternity in the lake of fire. We need to regain the thinking that we need spiritual bread much more than physical bread.
CHALLENGE: Are we correcting our thinking?
: 16 And he that blasphemes the name of the LORD, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemes the name of the LORD, shall be put to death.(5344 “blasphemes” [naqab] means to pierce, perforate, bore, speak ill of God with slander and insult or curse)
DEVOTION: Here we have the first case of someone cursing the name of the LORD. This individual was in a fight with someone and in that process blasphemed the name of the LORD. He used the name in the wrong manner. This is a sin punishable by death.
The children of Israel didn’t know the penalty until Moses went to the LORD with this sin. He asked the LORD what should be done to this individual. The LORD commanded that he be stoned to death.
What was the process? Moses was to gather all those who heard him curse the LORD and have them witness to it by placing their hands on the head of the individual. People had to identify him. They had to get involved.
Everyone in the camp of the children of Israel had to honor the LORD. No one was excluded. If there was no reverence of the LORD, it had to be dealt with.
Blaspheme means to speak ill of another with slander and insult. It was to do harm to the reputation of the LORD.
Capital punishment is taught throughout the Old Testament. There are offenses that God considered serious enough to take the life of an individual.
When Jesus Christ was on the earth HE stated that all sins would be forgiven except the one where someone blasphemed the name of Holy Spirit. The Pharisees were attributing the works of Jesus Christ to Satan. They were guilty of blaspheme.
What is the ministry of the Holy Spirit? HE is sent to witness of Jesus Christ and HIS teachings. HE was to reprove the world of sin, righteousness and judgment.
To commit this unpardonable sin was to not accept the work of Christ as coming from God. Those who do this were harming the reputation of the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the lives of those who become followers of Christ.
So there is only one unpardonable sin: denying Jesus Christ. Those who have chosen to reject Christ have committed or are committing the unpardonable sin. This is the only sin that God will not forgive. Those guilty of this sin will spend eternity in the lake of fire.
We live a society that thinks nothing of using the LORD’S name in vain. We need to tell them that we don’t want to hear it. If we can get them alone we need to tell them that in the Old Testament, people died for what they are saying.
Our televisions are going to allow more bad language to be acceptable. We will need to really edit our television programs. The end is nearer today.
If you have in the past used the name of the LORD or God in vain –STOP!!!! These things should not come from the mouth of those who follow the LORD Jesus Christ.
Also, if foul language comes from your mouth – STOP!!!! We are a witness for the LORD at all times and people listen to what we say. If we are witnessing and using this language the unsaved world sees the inconsistency in the two.
CHALLENGE: Our mouth can be used for good or evil. We need to use it for good all of the time. Watch what you say to people and about people.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
:19 And if a man cause a blemish in his neighbor; as he has done, so shall it be done to him. (5997 “neighbor” [ʿamiyth] means relation, neighbor, associate, fellow. [Strong, J. (1995). Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship])
DEVOTION: We are not accustomed to thinking about our neighbor. We think of that person as the one who lives next door to us (whether we live in a house, condo, or apartment). Because of our emphasis in our culture on individualism, we might get to know certain facts about that person, but rarely get to know him or her personally.
In Jesus’s culture, the neighbor was an intimate term based on the communal culture that they lived in. It was likely to be someone from your extended family, or at least a distant relative of yours. Hospitality demanded that you serve your neighbor whenever the opportunity presented itself, because life was lived in community. It was the same in ancient Israel, where those who lived closest to us (our neighbors) were likely to be those of our family. That is why it would be so unconscionable for a neighbor to wrong another neighbor (hurt, slander, or kill him). Yet we see in this chapter God’s response if this were to happen.
This law was called the “lex talonis,” and became an important part of early Judeo-Christian jurisprudence. It was designed to deter someone from harming another person, based on the expectation that they would be punished in like manner. There is nothing in the “lex talonis” about grace, nor about rehabilitation of an offender. Instead, it was to be the glue that was to make the Jewish culture work, and to make it unique among the cultures they lived in. The punishment was to be in direct proportion to the injury caused (certainly not to exceed it, which was the standard of other cultures). Already, the concept of loving one’s neighbor had been expressed in Leviticus 19:18.
That is why the lawyer in Luke 10:25 thought he had a good chance of inheriting eternal life. He thought he had lived up to the moral requirements of the Law. What Jesus shows him through the parable of the good Samaritan is that our neighbor is one of the more unlikely people around us, and is the person who is in need of God’s mercy at the exact time when we are available to provide it. Jesus expanded the idea of “neighbor” beyond even what the Jewish culture at that time thought it meant, and changed the mandate of the “lex talonis” into one of serving and loving the neighbor rather than seeking to get revenge.
CHALLENGE: Look for an opportunity to serve your neighbor today, and be quick to forgive any old mishaps. (BM)
: 23 And Moses spoke to the children of Israel, that they should bring forth him that had cursed out of the camp, and stone him with stones. And the children of Israel did as the LORD commanded Moses. (6680 “commanded” [tsavah] means charge, appoint, order, to lay charge upon, commission, instruct, enjoin or ordain)
DEVOTION: The case was brought before Moses. He went to the LORD for a judgment. The judgment was a death sentence.
Now came the time to make a choice. You either have to follow what the LORD appointed or not follow the LORD. The people were obedient to the LORD at this time in this circumstance.
We are to go to the LORD regarding what we should do in certain circumstances. When we find HIS command regarding a matter we need to do it immediately. Sin enters into a camp very quickly. It is hard to stop something if it is not stopped right at the beginning of a person or group committing a sin.
Once we let sin get a foothold in a group or a country it is hard to go back to the way it used to be. There would have to be a great revival for things to turn around.
This happened to the nation of Israel many times. They let sin get a foothold and there had to be judgment by God for there to be any hope of recovery as a nation. This might have to happen today as well for a our nation to return to the Biblical principles set down in the Word of God.
CHALLENGE: Instant obedience is better than waiting for a revival to come.
DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
Light for the Tabernacleverses 2-4
Bread for the Tabernacleverse 5-7
Sabbathverse 8
DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
Statuteverses 3, 9
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD (Jehovah)verses 1, 3, 4, 6-9, 11, 12, 13, 16, 22, 23
Offerings of the LORDverse 9
Name of the LORDverses 11, 16
Mind of the LORDverse 12
God (Elohim)verses 15, 22
I am the LORD your Godverse 22
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead – God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Egyptianverse 10
Strangerverse 22
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Not to burn oil continuallyverses 3, 4
Not to set bread before the LORDverse 8
Blasphemed the name of the LORDverses 11, 16
Cursedverses 11, 14, 15 ,23
Sin verse 15
Kills any man = Capital punishmentverses 17, 21
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Seek the mind of the LORDverse 12
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Mosesverses 1, 11, 13, 23
Children of Israelverses 2, 8, 10, 15, 23
Tabernacle of the congregationverse 3
Everlasting covenantverse 8
Aaron and his sonsverse 9
Israelitish womanverses 10-16
Son: Blasphemed the name of the LORD
Sholomith – daughter of Dibri
Tribe of Dan
Judgment: stone the son
Kill a beast shall make goodverses 18, 21
Causes a blemish – will receive a blemishverses 19, 20
Killing a man – put to deathverse 21
One manner of law for everyoneverse 22
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
Statute for eververse 3
Everlasting covenantverse 8
Perpetual statuteverse 9
Put to deathverses 16, 17, 21
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QUOTES regarding passage
Immature Christians want the Lord to give them rules and regulations to cover every area of life, and this explains why they’re immature. If we never have to pray, search the Scriptures, counsel with other believers, and wait on the Lord, we never will use our “spiritual muscles” and grow up. The Bible gives us precepts, principles, promises, and personal examples that together are adequate to guide us in the decisions of life. The motor club will give its members detailed maps for their trips, but the Bible is more of a compass that keeps us going in the right direction without spelling out every detail of the trip. “For we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7).
God instructed Moses what to do. The offender must be brought outside the camp where the entire assembly would stone him, for blasphemy was a capital crime in Israel (Matt. 26:65; Acts 6:11, 13; 7:58). Those who actually heard the man blaspheme would put their hands on his head to publicly identify him as the offender. The witnesses would also be the first to stone him (Deut. 17:7). In other words, the same law that applied to the Israelites also applied to the resident aliens (the “strangers” or “sojourners”) who lived among the Jews (Lev. 24:16, 22). Even the “strangers” were not to blaspheme the name of the God of Israel. (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be Holy (pp. 118–119). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
24:15 His God can refer to either the Creator or any pagan deities the person worshiped. Anyone who cursed the Creator bore the responsibility for the sin and was executed. If an Israelite worshiped a pagan deity, he was liable for the death penalty on those grounds. Foreigners were allowed to worship Israel’s God, but if they did not, they were not to worship their own gods while living among the people of Israel (Lev. 17:8, 9). For such a person to curse his own god in Israel’s presence was of no concern to Israel. In that case, he shall bear his sin meant, “If his god desires to punish him, let him.” Of course, faithful Israelites would have understood that other gods do not exist, and could not punish anyone who curses them. (Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1999). Nelson’s new illustrated Bible commentary (p. 187). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.)
24:15–16. The divine law based on this case is specified to apply equally to an alien or native-born person. Those aliens who lived in Israel and so enjoyed certain covenant blessings were not to repudiate the Author of that covenant. (Lindsey, F. D. (1985). Leviticus. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 209). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
This incident underlines the seriousness of the surrounding laws (cf. ch. 10). The surprising number of details about the man’s identity show that this was not just a vague story, but a well-remembered event. His offence was that he blasphemed the Name (i.e. the personal name of God, Yahweh) with a curse (11). Misuse of the divine name and cursing God were strictly forbidden and were among the most serious offences against the very covenant itself (Ex. 20:7; 22:28). The preceding chapters show us that the offence was not merely a matter of casual foul language, such as thoughtlessly sprinkles everyday speech nowadays in public and on the media. The name of Yahweh had been repeated in almost every paragraph of the laws. It was his character that shaped the whole social system of Israel and his authority that stamped their covenant law. Thus, to blaspheme and curse him was in effect to repudiate his authority and to reject his law. It was a crime against the whole community who depended on God’s continued protection under the covenant, and therefore set the offender outside that community. The death penalty in a sense sealed the offender’s own decision. (Wright, C. J. H. (1994). Leviticus. In D. A. Carson, R. T. France, J. A. Motyer, & G. J. Wenham (Eds.), New Bible commentary: 21st century edition (4th ed., p. 152). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press.)
Ver. 15. And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, &c.] On this occasion, and gave them some laws and rules concerning the above affair, and other things: saying, whosoever curseth his God shall bear his sin; which some understand of any one of another nation, that cursed the God he used to serve in his own country; but it can hardly be thought that a law should be made by the one only living and true God, to preserve the honour and credit of false gods, when he is so jealous of his own glory; and those are spoken of in Scripture with the greatest contempt, as dunghill-deities, and are actually cursed, Jer. 10:11 but they are rather to be interpreted of judges and all civil magistrates, who, as Aben Ezra observes, are sometimes called Elohim or gods, Psal. 82:1, 6 and the rather, as it is probable this man had cursed his judges, and so this is a distinct sin from what follows; and not only the manner of expressing it, but the punishment of it, seem to be different; for the phrase, to bear his sin, is used where the punishment is not expressly declared, and is by Jarchi and others interpreted of cutting off from his people, but in what way is not certain; whereas the punishment of a blasphemer of God is before and after clearly expressed; see ch. 20:19.
Ver. 16. And he that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, &c.] Or, but he that blasphemeth, &c. from whence the Jews gather, that the name Jehovah must be expressed, or it is no blasphemy; so Jarchi; but it is not bare using or expressing the word Jehovah that is blasphemy, but speaking ill and contemptuously of God, with respect to any of his names, titles, and epithets, or of any of his perfections, ways, and works: he shall surely be put to death; no mercy shall be shewn him, no reprieve or pardon granted him: hence it is said, there is no atonement for it, by repentance, or chastisements, or the day of atonement: so blasphemy against the Holy Ghost is not forgiven, neither in this world nor in that which is to come, Matt. 12:31, 32 and all the congregation shall certainly stone him; shall have no pity on him, nor spare him, but stone him till he dies: as well the stranger as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of the Lord, shall be put to death; even a proselyte of the gate, a Gentile that sojourned among them, uncircumcised, and did not profess the Jewish religion, as well as a proselyte of righteousness, and an Israelite born; yet, if he blasphemed the God of Israel, was to lose his life without any mercy shewn him. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 1, pp. 679–680). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
24:13–16 The culprit is to be stoned outside the camp (v. 14). The laying on of hands prior to the stoning has been commonly explained in such a way that the congregation, having overheard the curse and become defiled, devolves the guilt onto the culprit, and his death makes atonement for the guilt. Alternatively, it may be taken as a gesture simply to indicate who it is that had cursed the name of the Lord. (Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (p. 250). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.)
FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
THE ADVOCATE, PART 2
He ever liveth to make intercession for us. Hebrews 7:25
Christ is not our advocate before an unwilling God. But at the same time we must be very careful not to go to the other extreme and think that what John means by “advocate” is just that the work of Christ on the cross prevails and continues throughout eternity and is there always in the mind of God, and that therefore in that sense Christ and His work are advocates for us. We must not think that, because that makes it something quite passive, and that is an idea we must reject, not only because of 1 John 2:1, but also because of those magnificent words in Hebrews 7 where the whole argument is that “he ever liveth to make intercession for us.” Christ is unlike the Levitical priests who came and lived and died and then a new person had to be appointed. The whole point about Him, says the author of Hebrews, is that He lives. He is without beginning and without end—it is an eternal priesthood—and it is because “he ever liveth” that He is able to “save…to the uttermost”—a nd must forever and ever irrespective of what may happen—those “that come unto God by him.”
In other words, it does seem to me that once more we are confronted by a conception that baffles our understanding. But of this we can be quite certain: As the Lord Jesus Christ looked after His disciples and followers while here on earth, as He looked after their interests and did certain things for them, so He is now equally active for us there in heaven. He is representing His people; He is there looking after us and our interests. This is not a conflict between Father and Son; but it seems to me that in the economy of the blessed Trinity, the Father has handed this particular work to the Son.
A Thought to Ponder
As the Lord Jesus Christ looked after His disciples while here on earth, so He is now equally active for us there in heaven.
(From Walking with God, pp. 37-38, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
1 Corinthians 3
Paul says no foundation can be laid other than Jesus, and anything else is worthless in eternity.
INSIGHT
When the events of life are viewed with an eternal perspective, things that initially seemed important become unimportant, and things that seemed unimportant become important. Religious activity that is not undertaken with the right spirit or motive is worthless in view of eternity, regardless of how much weight it is given by men. And conversely the smallest cup of water given in the name of Christ receives eternal reward. Be careful how you build your life’s work. Keep eternity in mind at all times.
(QuietWalk)
Certain Hope
“Who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil.” (Hebrews 6:18-19)
The noun “hope,” when used in the New Testament, does not imply a wishful attitude but rather a joyous and confident expectation in something promised that will certainly come to pass—in most cases, something good. Note especially the few times it is used with a descriptive adjective.
First, in a stirring benediction, Paul tells us that our good hope comes from both “our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father” (2 Thessalonians 2:16). Furthermore, such hope is given to us along with “everlasting consolation,” or comfort, that shall last forever. The Father and Son have done this “through grace” that brings eternal salvation.
Next, we are taught to be “looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13). This blessed hope can be none other than “our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope” (1 Timothy 1:1). He will certainly return, and this return will be glorious.
Furthermore, we have a hope that is actively alive. “The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3). We have been (past tense) born again from the dead just as surely as Christ has been raised from the dead, for His resurrection accomplished it.
Our hope, under grace, is guaranteed by Jesus Christ: “A better hope…by the which we draw nigh unto God” (Hebrews 7:19) than that which was possible under law. In fact, it is a glorious hope (2 Corinthians 3:11-12) by comparison. This kind of hope can be “an anchor of the soul.” (JDM, The Institute for Creation Research)
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