Leviticus 23:1-24:9 - Party Time With God

Well, podcast listener or viewer, welcome back. We are in Leviticus 23 today, and we're gonna be looking at the Holy Days that are mentioned in the Book of Leviticus.

As we've been going through, just by way of reminder, the Book of Leviticus is how does a sinful, wicked, sin-filled people live with a holy God in their presence and yet not be destroyed, not be killed, not be consumed by the fire of His holiness?

And the answer is because God sets up a way for them to experience His life-giving presence without the destruction and justice on their sin. Or rather, that God makes a way for justice to be met without it destroying mankind.

Or here in particular, the Israelites. So as we've been going through, the Book starts off with the priests and the sacrifices.

It goes into the ceremonial or ritual laws of sin has affected so many things in the world around us and even being pure from ways in which though they are not sin themselves, sinful things and ways, considerations in which sin has brought death into

the world or sickness or disease. How do we keep ourselves ceremonially clean? That's brought up in the Book. Then there's the Day of Atonement, which is kind of the centerpiece of the entire Book.

This is the most important thing that happens is the guilt and sin of all the people of Israel being placed on, here, these sacrifices, one sacrifice that is slain for the sin of Israel and one sacrifice that is sent far away and takes the sin

elsewhere. And we talked about how Jesus is both of those things for us, and we'll even see the Day of Atonement mentioned here again. And then we saw the moral law of God.

Man, what a weighty section, what a needed section for our sin-sick hearts to be able to realize here is the righteous standard of a holy God, and we have all failed, and that's why we need Jesus, our perfect sacrifice, the one who fulfilled every

aspect of the law and sacrifices on our behalf. So, Leviticus 23 and verse 1. I'll continue going down the slope with you.

As we come down from the Day of Atonement, we find the actual moral sins as well, and then we discover more things about the priests. So, start with the priests and with the priests. So, here in Leviticus 23 and verse 1.

Yahweh spoke to Moses. Speak to the Israelites and tell them, These are my appointed times, the times of Yahweh that you will proclaim as sacred assemblies.

Work may be done for six days, but on the seventh day there is to be a Sabbath of complete rest. A sacred assembly. You are not to do any work.

It is a Sabbath to Yahweh wherever you live. And we talked about this just a little bit on Sunday. At our churches, we looked at Genesis 1 and 2.

We do this because God did this, that we realize that God is the one that works, and we are the ones that rest in His goodness, that He can continue to make our crops grow even if we're not looking.

He's the one that can continue to make money moves on our behalf even if we're not picking up the phone and working on a Sunday.

It's something that we can give over to Him and say, God, there is a time of rest, and I'm going to allow that to be this. So here He says, remember to rest. It's something that God modeled for us, and we can follow His example.

Verse number 4, These are Yahweh's appointed times, the sacred assemblies who are to proclaim at their appointed times. The Passover to Yahweh comes in the first month at twilight on the fourteenth day of the month.

Here remembering what God did in bringing them out of Egypt. He says, the festival of unleavened bread to Yahweh is on the fifteenth day of the same month. So the day after Passover then begins the feast of unleavened bread.

He says, for seven days, you must eat unleavened bread. On the first day, you are to hold a sacred assembly. You are not to do any daily work.

You are to present a fire offering to Yahweh for seven days. On the seventh day, there will be a sacred assembly. Do not do any daily work.

Verse nine, Yahweh spoke to Moses. Speak to the Israelites and tell them, when you enter the land I'm giving you and reap its harvest, you are to bring the first sheaf of your harvest to the priest.

So the very first thing that buds up and you go, great, I've got barley, I've got grain. He says, he will present the sheaf before Yahweh so that you may be accepted. The priest is to present it on the day after the Sabbath.

On the day you present the sheaf, you are to offer a year old male lamb without blemish as a burnt offering to Yahweh. It's grain offering is to be four quarts of fine flour mixed with oil as a fire offering to Yahweh.

A pleasing aroma and its drink offering will be one quart of wine. You must not eat bread, roasted grain, or any new grain until this very day and until you have brought the offering to your God.

This is to be a permanent statute throughout your generations wherever you live. So you get the first, the first inkling of the harvest is coming. We're going to have food for my family.

I can sell the excess to others so that I can have food for what I, or I can have money for what I need for the future.

And God says before you go about being excited about all those other things, He says first remember who gave you the harvest, who helped the seeds to grow into the ground that He gave them water enough to be able to sprout up, who made it so the

birds didn't steal away the seeds or the animals didn't come and steal away all the possibility of food. He says remember God. And there's been many people that have talked about even in our giving to the Lord. When do you give?

Do you give after you've already, you know, done all the things you wanted with your money and then whatever is left over you bring to God? Kind of the biblical practices bring what you have first to the Lord.

And I know for myself, this is something I got to get in a better habit of because I always have that exact amount. No matter what I have or don't have or anything, I always make sure that that amount goes to God every single time.

But sometimes in my busyness and because even some of how I'm paid changed from my previous job to how I get paid at this job, sometimes I forget to do it right at first.

And it's something that I do want to follow, even as I read through this, that I remember, okay, God, thank you. You're the one that's provided for me. You've provided for my family.

And so I want to honor you with what you've given me. And so I would encourage you in that way and encourage me to remember to do it.

Verse 15, you are to count seven complete weeks starting from the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the presentation offering.

You're to count 50 days until the day after the seventh Sabbath and then present an offering of new grain to the Lord.

So you brought the first, like literally the first sheaf that budded, and you brought that to the Lord along with the offering of the lamb and the grain offering. And you said, thank you, Lord, for this.

Now, 50 days later, you're supposed to come back and you're supposed to bring a offering of new grain.

Verse 17, bring two loaves of bread from your settlements as a presentation offering, each of them made from four quarts of fine flour baked with yeast as first fruits to Yahweh. So here he says, do bake these with yeast.

It's not that yeast is always sinful. It's just something that you don't include in a, if I remember correctly, in a grain offering and in one or two other things, you're not supposed to bring it.

But here in this presentation offering of 50 Days, you've got the new grain. He says, do bake this with yeast. He says, you are to present with the bread seven unblemished male lambs, a year old, one young bull, and two rams.

As soon as I read that amount, I was like, that's a lot of animals. But here it's a, it's a thanking the Lord that he is providing this so that people are able to bring these sacrifices, bring these offerings, and they still have food left over.

They still have animals left over to be able to do this. And it's a proclamation of faith in God's provision to say, I can give all this and it's okay, because I know God's going to take care of me and God's going to give me everything that I need.

He says, they will be a burnt offering to Yahweh with their grain offerings and drink offerings, a fire offering of a pleasing aroma to Yahweh.

You are also to prepare one male goat as a sin offering and two male lambs a year old as a fellowship sacrifice. The priest will present the lambs with the bread of firstfruits as a presentation offering before Yahweh.

The bread and the two lambs will be holy to Yahweh for the priest. On that same day, you are to make a proclamation and hold a sacred assembly. You are not to do any daily work.

This is to be a permanent statute wherever you live throughout your generations. When you reap the harvest of your land, you are not to reap all the way to the edge of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest.

Leave them for the poor and the resident alien. I am Yahweh, your God. So here mentioning one of the things that he mentioned.

I forget if it was in the ceremonial law. I think it might have been in the moral law where he says, I want you to take care of those that are going without. I'm providing for you and what I provide for you.

I want you to help others who are in need. Verse 23. Yahweh spoke to Moses.

Tell the Israelites in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you are to have a day of complete rest, commemoration, and trumpet blasts, a sacred assembly. You must not do any daily work, but you must present a fire offering to Yahweh.

So here he says there's a very, very serious assembly. And this is 13, no, this is nine days before the Day of Atonement.

He says nine days before the Day of Atonement, you get like a bonus Sabbath, complete rest, commemoration, and trumpet blasts, sometimes referred to, forget if it's the Festival of Trumpets or something like that.

Then verse 26, Yahweh again spoke to Moses, the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. You are to hold a sacred assembly and practice self-denial. You are to present a fire offering to Yahweh.

On this particular day, you are not to do any work, for it is a day of atonement to make atonement for yourselves before Yahweh your God. If any person does not practice self-denial on this particular day, he is to be cut off from his people.

I will destroy among his people anyone who does any work on this same day. You are not to do any work. This is a permanent statute throughout your generations wherever you live.

It will be a Sabbath of complete rest for you, and you must practice self-denial. You are to observe your Sabbath from the evening of the ninth day of the month until the following evening.

It says the day of atonement, when your sins are forgiven, taken away, covering is made, atonement is made. It's a very, very serious time, and you are not to take it lightly. You stop your work and remember what God is doing on your behalf.

Verse 33. Yahweh spoke to Moses, tell the Israelites, the festival of shelters or booths or tabernacles, to Yahweh, begins on the 15th day of this seventh month and continues for seven days.

So literally, it is five days after the day of atonement, you have the festival of tabernacles or booths. He says, there is to be a secret assembly on the first day, you are not to do any daily work.

You are to present a fire offering to Yahweh for seven days. On the eighth day, you are to hold a sacred assembly and present a fire offering to Yahweh. It's a solemn gathering.

You are not to do any daily work.

These are Yahweh's appointed times that you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies for presenting fire offerings to Yahweh, burns offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings each on its designated day.

These are in addition to the offerings for Yahweh's Sabbaths, your gifts, all your vow offerings, all your free will offerings that you give to Yahweh.

You are to celebrate Yahweh's Festival on the 15th day of the seventh month for seven days after you have gathered the produce of the land. There will be complete rest on the first day and complete rest on the eighth day.

On the first day, you are to take the product of majestic trees, palm fronds, boughs of leafy trees and willows of the brook and rejoice before Yahweh your God for seven days. You are to celebrate it as a festival to Yahweh seven days each year.

This is a permanent statute for you throughout your generation. Celebrate it in the seventh month. You are to live in shelters for seven days.

You are supposed to make your own tents or tabernacles or booths just like the Israelites made their booths or tents that they lived in as they were fleeing Egypt as a result of what God did at the Passover.

He says, All the native born of Israel must live in shelters so that your generations may know that I made the Israelites live in shelters when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. I am Yahweh your God.

So Moses declared Yahweh's appointed times to the Israelites. Here God says, I've got some parties that I want you to observe. Times when you stop, when you realize that I am working on your behalf.

I'm giving you food. I am giving you forgiveness. I am the one that made it so you are where you are today.

Do you have any times where you stop and you remember, God, you are the reason that I'm here. You are the reason that I have what I have. Are you thankful to Him?

Do you give to Him because of thankfulness from your heart, not out of an obligation of guilt, but do you give to Him because He's worthy of it, because you love Him and you love what He's done for you?

I want to close here with Leviticus 24 verses 1 through 9, and then tomorrow we'll look at a very interesting section in chapter 24.

He says, Yahweh spoke to Moses, command the Israelites to bring you pure oil from crushed olives for the light in order to keep the lamp burning regularly in the tabernacle and then later the temple.

Aaron is to tend continually from evening until morning before Yahweh outside the curtain of the testimony in the tent of meeting. This is a permanent statute throughout your generations.

He must continually tend the lamps on the pure gold lamp stand in Yahweh's presence. Take fine flour and bake it into twelve loaves. Each loaf is to be made with four quarts.

Arrange them in two rows, six to a row on the pure gold table before Yahweh. Here there's a picture. There's twelve loaves of bread that are in front of God.

And the implication is, this is the twelve tribes of Israel, that they live in the presence of God. And it's a cool little, they're the little bread pieces. It's just a funny mind picture to me, mental picture to me as I look at that.

It says, place pure frankincense near each row so that it may serve as a memorial portion for the bread and a fire offering to Yahweh.

The bread is to be set out before Yahweh every Sabbath day as a permanent covenant obligation on the part of the Israelites. It belongs to Aaron and his sons who are to eat it in a holy place.

For it is the holiest portion for him from the fire offerings to Yahweh. This is a permanent rule.

And man, even as I think about that bread of the presence, the showbread, what comes to mind is then David, as he interacts with it, he's on the run from Saul, he's hungry, he needs food, he asks the priest, hey, do you guys have anything to eat?

And they're like, oh, all we've got is the bread of the presence, the showbread. And David goes, great, can I have that?

And then when the Pharisees in the New Testament are chiding Jesus because the disciples, they were picking some grain to be able to eat some food on the Sabbath, they were, it wasn't like a lot of work, they just picked some things and were eating

it. And so the Pharisees got mad at Jesus and he says, didn't you read what David did? He says, the showbread was only for the priests. It's the holiest portion like Leviticus 24 says.

He says, but God allowed it because Sabbath wasn't made to oppress man. It was made to benefit, to help man.

And then he tells them, the Son of Man, again from Daniel 7, the Messiah, God himself, Jesus is giving the biggest indication, I am the Son of Man, I'm the Messiah. And he says, I am Lord of the Sabbath. I'm the one that decides what happens.

People can get very legalistic about the Holy Days or the Sabbaths. And I think of Paul's words in Colossians 2.

He says, let no man therefore judge you in respect of a Holy Day or of Sabbaths or the New Moons or any of those types of religious festivals. He says, don't let anyone judge you about those things. He says, what's important is Jesus.

And so I want to remind you of that. Remember that God has done everything for you. Let's be faithful to give to Him.

Give to Him of our first and our best. And may we realize that we are in God's presence and we can rejoice in Him, that it's a joyful thing to be with the Lord. Thanks for tuning in.

Hope you have a wonderful day and we'll be resuming in Leviticus 24 tomorrow with a very interesting story.