Author: Jefferson Vann

Jefferson Vann is pastor of Piney Grove Advent Christian Church in Delco, North Carolina.

HIS WINGS

HIS WINGS

Psalm 91 NET.

1 As for you, the one who lives in the shelter of the sovereign One, and resides in the protective shadow of the mighty king —  2     I say this about the LORD, my shelter and my stronghold, my God in whom I trust —

3 he will certainly rescue you from the snare of the hunter and from the destructive plague. 4 He will shelter you with his wings; you will find safety under his wings. His faithfulness is like a shield or a protective wall. 5 You need not fear the terrors of the night, the arrow that flies by day, 6 the plague that comes in the darkness, or the disease that comes at noon. 7 Though a thousand may fall beside you, and a multitude on your right side, it will not reach you. 8      Certainly you will see it with your very own eyes — you will see the wicked paid back. 9 For you have taken refuge in the LORD, my shelter, the sovereign One. 10 No harm will overtake you; no illness will come near your home. 11 For he will order his angels to protect you in all you do. 12 They will lift you up in their hands, so you will not slip and fall on a stone. 13 You will subdue a lion and a snake; you will trample underfoot a young lion and a serpent. 14 The LORD says, “Because he is devoted to me, I will deliver him; I will protect him because he is loyal to me. 15 When he calls out to me, I will answer him. I will be with him when he is in trouble; I will rescue him and bring him honor. 16   I will satisfy him with long life, and will let him see my salvation.

There is no superscription in today’s Psalm, which means we don’t know who wrote it or why it was written. Based on the content of the Psalm itself, we can assume that the priests may have used it to encourage and comfort believers facing challenges in their lives. I chose to title today’s sermon “HIS WINGS” from the statement in verse four, which says, “He will shelter you with his wings; you will find safety under his wings.” The imagery is that of a mother bird covering her young with her wings to protect them and keep them from harm. I like that picture because it shows that we are vulnerable to the enemy’s attacks, but that God has invested Himself in protecting us.

This Psalm is Hebrew poetry, so we should expect repetition as we read it. What we see throughout this Psalm is that the same principle, stated in metaphor: “He will shelter you with his wings,” is restated five times in different words.

God will rescue.

In verse three, the believer is assured that God will certainly rescue him “from the snare of the hunter and from the destructive plague.” This does not mean that the believer will never face problems. Instead, it suggests that the enemy (Satan himself) will attack the believer in at least two ways: by setting traps and spreading plagues. Satan aims to hurt us and make us victims of epidemics and pandemics. The priest assures the believer not that he will never encounter a trap, but that God will rescue him or her from it. Similarly, the priest does not promise that the believer will never catch a disease, but that God will actively deliver him or her from it.

God’s promise for believers in this Psalm is found in verse fifteen: “When he calls out to me, I will answer him. I will be with him when he is in trouble; I will rescue him.” This is a promise from God, but also some advice and a challenge for us. The rescue is not supposed to be automatic. It involves something on our part. He will rescue, but first, we must call out to him. 

We have already encountered this idea numerous times in the Psalms:

  • “To the LORD I cried out, and he answered me from his holy hill.” (3:4).
  • “When I call out, answer me, O God who vindicates me!” (4:1).
  • “The LORD responds when I cry out to him.” (4:3).
  • “I call to you for you will answer me” (17:6).
  • “I called to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I was delivered from my enemies.” (18:3).
  • “In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried out to my God. From his heavenly temple he heard my voice; he listened to my cry for help.” (18:6).

The word appears twenty-eight more times in the Psalms we’ve already read. The main idea is that God is present and eager to rescue us from danger, but he waits for us to take prayer seriously. By praying earnestly to God, we show him we mean it. This is what God wants. He wants to be there for us. His wings are ready to cover us, but he will stay distant if he never hears a peep from us.

God will shelter.

This is another way the psalmist describes how God covers us with His wings. He is our shelter and stronghold (verses two and nine). He will protect us (verse four). The Hebrew word used here is also used for building a fence.

Psalm 5:11 says, “But may all who take shelter in you be happy! May they continually shout for joy! Shelter them so that those who are loyal to you may rejoice!” It suggests a preventative measure in which God builds a shelter around the believer so that he can find happiness and joy.

I was once told that if I wanted to see happy children, I should look at a house where the parents have built a fence around their play area. The idea is that kids feel free to play and enjoy life because they are protected from anything that might endanger them. I did not like that idea at first because, to me, a fence suggested that the kids were in bondage, like slaves. But I soon realized that children are okay with fences as long as they know the fences are there to keep them safe.

God will protect.

God’s wings symbolize His faithfulness, which “is like a shield or a protective wall” (verse four). The LORD promises, “Because he is devoted to me, I will deliver him; I will protect him because he is loyal to me” (verse fourteen). The imagery behind this word is that of a tower, elevating someone high enough to prevent harm from touching them. A shelter acts as a fence, keeping danger away. A tower places the believer securely on high.

  • “Indeed, you are my shelter, a strong tower that protects me from the enemy” (61:3).
  • “The name of the LORD is like a strong tower; the righteous person runs to it and is set safely on high” (Proverbs 18:10).

The tower of God’s protection is Himself. He doesn’t just cover us with His wings; He lifts us into the lofty heights of His own presence.

God will honor.

God promises believers not only that He will rescue us but also that He will honor us (verse 15). This needs some explanation because the root idea is to make someone heavy. Most of us don’t need God to make us heavier; we can handle that ourselves. All it will take is a few more trips to the diner on Sunday afternoons!

No, the idea of honor in this text is to earn the respect of others—to maintain a good reputation and personal dignity. God does not want to protect us from harm just for the sake of protection; he wants to bless us.

God will satisfy.

The Psalm concludes with the LORD promising to satisfy the believer with a long life. He doesn’t just answer our prayers for protection when we are in danger; he wants to bless us with a satisfied life and enrich our lives. The Lord Jesus said that he came that we might have life and have it abundantly (John 10:10).

Now, here is where we, who are the recipients of God’s promises, often prevent the abundance that he offers. We become satisfied in the wrong way. We settle. God wants to satisfy us, but we are okay with just having a small bit. We get by with a nibble when God wants us to feast.

One of the stories in the Gospels tells of ten lepers who came to Jesus for healing. One of them, when he saw he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He fell with his face to the ground at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. He was a Samaritan.

Jesus asked, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?”

He said to the man, : Get up and go your way. Your faith has made you well” (Luke 17:11-19).

Ten lepers came to Jesus for healing. All ten were cleansed of their leprosy, but only one was made well. All ten were healed, but only one was satisfied. His gratitude enabled him to receive another blessing beyond the answer to his prayer.

That is a lesson for all of us. We need to learn how to follow through on our prayers for healing. In our Sunday evening Bible studies, we are discovering that in the Book of Acts, every miracle of God’s power for the early church was more than just a blessing; it was an opportunity to share the gospel with those who saw the miracle.

Similarly, God wants to answer our prayers for healing, but he doesn’t want it to end there. He desires every miracle to become a way of worshiping him and to inspire our testimonies of his goodness. When that Samaritan leper returned and thanked Jesus, he received the chance not only to regain a normal life but also to experience an abundant one. That is the difference that satisfaction makes.

Today’s Psalm also hints at prophecy. The author speaks of the believer seeing God’s salvation. Of course, this can refer to deliverance from trouble or salvation from sin. But I think in this context, the Psalmist is talking about ultimate salvation. In several places in the Psalms, the NET translators render this word as “saving intervention” (42:5, 11; 43:5).

The outcome of God’s blessing on believers is witnessing His great salvation through our resurrection at Christ’s return. We don’t have to choose between an abundant life now and eternal life at the second coming; we can have both. The wings of our rescuing and protecting God will keep us safe from harm now and carry us into our final destiny when Christ returns.

Leviticus 24

Leviticus 24

Leviticus 24:1 Yahveh spoke to Moses, and this is what he said,

Leviticus 24:2 “Command the people of Israel to bring you pure oil from beaten olives for the lamp, so that a light may be kept burning continually.

Leviticus 24:3 Outside the veil of the reminder, in the conference tent, Aaron will arrange it from evening to morning to Yahveh’s face regularly. It will be a permanent prescription throughout your generations.

Leviticus 24:4 He will arrange the lamps on the lampstand of pure gold to Yahveh’s face continually.

Leviticus 24:5 “You will take fine flour and bake twelve loaves from it; two tenths of an ephah will be in each loaf.

Leviticus 24:6 And you will set them in two piles, six in a pile, on the table of pure gold to Yahveh’s face.

Leviticus 24:7 And you will put pure frankincense on each pile, that it may go with the bread as a reminiscence as a fire offering to Yahveh.

Leviticus 24:8 Every Sabbath day Aaron will arrange it to Yahveh’s face continually; it is from the people of Israel as a permanent covenant.

Leviticus 24:9 And it will be for Aaron and his sons, and they will eat it in a sacred place, since it is for him a most sacred portion out of Yahveh’s fire offerings, a permanent prescription.”

Leviticus 24:10 Now an Israelite woman’s son, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the people of Israel. And the Israelite woman’s son and a man of Israel fought in the camp,

Leviticus 24:11 and the Israelite woman’s son blasphemed the Name and cursed. Then they brought him to Moses. His mother’s name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.

Leviticus 24:12 And they put him in custody, till the will of Yahveh should be clear to them.

Leviticus 24:13 Then Yahveh spoke to Moses, and this is what he said,

Leviticus 24:14 “Bring out of the camp the one who cursed and let all who heard him lay their hands on his head and let all the congregation stone him.

Leviticus 24:15 And speak to the people of Israel, and this is what you should say, whoever curses his God will be responsible for his mistake.

Leviticus 24:16 Whoever blasphemes the name of Yahveh will surely be put to death. All the congregation will stone him. The temporary resident as well as the native, when he blasphemes the Name, will be put to death.

Leviticus 24:17 “Whoever takes a human throat will surely be put to death.

Leviticus 24:18 Whoever takes an animal’s throat will make it good, throat for throat.

Leviticus 24:19 If anyone injures his associate, as he has done it will be done to him,

Leviticus 24:20 fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; whatever injury he has given a human will be given to him.

Leviticus 24:21 Whoever kills an animal will make it good, and whoever kills a human will be put to death.

Leviticus 24:22 You will have the same judgment for the temporary resident and for the native, because I am Yahveh your God.”

Leviticus 24:23 So Moses spoke to the people of Israel, and they brought out of the camp the one who had cursed and stoned him with stones. And the people of Israel did as Yahveh commanded Moses.

Leviticus 24 quotes:

“The Continual Bread (Numbers 4:7; Il Chronicles 2:4 and Leviticus 24:8). — This Bread was to be before the Lord continually. Believers find in Christ the continual and daily Bread (Matthew 6:11).”

Conner, Kevin J. The Tabernacle of Moses. Bible Temple Pub., 1975. p. 36.

“The center lamp was referred to as the ner tamid or “eternal light,” because God commanded i in Leviticus 24:2 that it should be kept burning continually. This light — ~ was also called the shamash, or “servant” light, for it was used to rekindle the __ remaining six lights on the menorah whenever they were trimmed. Ancient ~ Hebrew rabbis have suggested that the shamash represents the Messiah.”

Holiness unto God : Leviticus. Nelson Impact, 2006. p. 83.

“In Leviticus 24, the Lord gave Moses instructions concerning three holy things: the holy oil for the lampstand (vv. 1-4), the holy bread for the table (vv. 5—9), and the holy name of the Lord, which all the people were to honor (vv. 10-23).”

Wiersbe, Warren W. Leviticus : Becoming “Set Apart” for God. First edition, David C Cook, 2015. p. 106.

Leviticus 24 links:

devotion and testimony
extreme blamism
feasting on his presence
his glorious reputation
regular oil change
the price of innocent life

Maranatha Daily Devotional – Wednesday, April 7, 2021

LEVITICUS in Jeff’s library

Leviticus 23

Leviticus 23

Leviticus 23:1 Yahveh spoke to Moses, and this is what he said,

Leviticus 23:2 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, these are the appointed feasts of Yahveh that you will convene as sacred conventions; they are my appointed feasts.

Leviticus 23:3 “Six days will work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a sacred convention. You will do no work. It is a Sabbath to Yahveh wherever you stay.

Leviticus 23:4 “These are the appointed feasts of Yahveh, the sacred conventions, which you will convene at the time appointed for them.

Leviticus 23:5 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight, is Yahveh’s Passover.

Leviticus 23:6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to Yahveh; for seven days you will eat unleavened bread.

Leviticus 23:7 On the first day you will have a sacred convention; you will not do any ordinary work.

Leviticus 23:8 But you will present a fire offering to Yahveh for seven days. On the seventh day is a sacred convention; you will not do any ordinary work.”

Leviticus 23:9 And Yahveh spoke to Moses, and this is what he said,

Leviticus 23:10 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, when you come into the land that I give you and reap its harvest, you will bring the sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest,

Leviticus 23:11 and he will wave the sheaf to Yahveh’s face, so that you may be accepted. On the day after the Sabbath the priest will wave it.

Leviticus 23:12 And on the day when you wave the sheaf, you will offer a perfect male lamb a year old as an ascending offering to Yahveh.

Leviticus 23:13 And the tribute offering with it will be two tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, a fire offering to Yahveh with a pacifying aroma, and the drink offering with it will be of wine, a fourth of a hin.

Leviticus 23:14 And you will eat neither bread nor grain parched or fresh until this same day, until you have brought the offering of your God: it is a permanent prescription throughout your generations wherever you stay.

Leviticus 23:15 “You will count seven full weeks from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering.

Leviticus 23:16 You will count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath. Then you will present a new tribute offering to Yahveh.

Leviticus 23:17 You will bring from wherever you stay two loaves of bread to be waved, made of two tenths of an ephah. They will be of fine flour, and they will be baked with leaven, as firstfruits to Yahveh.

Leviticus 23:18 And you will present with the bread seven perfect lambs a year old, and one bull from the herd and two rams. They will be an ascending offering to Yahveh, with their tribute offering and their drink offerings, a fire offering with a pacifying aroma to Yahveh.

Leviticus 23:19 And you will offer one male goat for a failure offering, and two male lambs a year old as a sacrifice for healthy relationships.

Leviticus 23:20 And the priest will wave them with the bread of the firstfruits as a wave offering to Yahveh’s face, with the two lambs. They will be sacred to Yahveh for the priest.

Leviticus 23:21 And you will convene on the same day. You will hold a sacred convention. You will not do any ordinary work. It is a permanent prescription wherever you stay throughout your generations.

Leviticus 23:22 “And when you reap the harvest of your land, you will not reap your field right up to its edge, nor will you gather the gleanings after your harvest. You will leave them for the poor and for the temporary resident: I am Yahveh your God.”

Leviticus 23:23 And Yahveh spoke to Moses, and this is what he said,

Leviticus 23:24 “Speak to the people of Israel, and this is what you should say, In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you will observe a day of solemn rest, a memorial proclaimed with blast of trumpets, a sacred convention.

Leviticus 23:25 You will not do any ordinary work, and you will present a fire offering to Yahveh.”

Leviticus 23:26 And Yahveh spoke to Moses, and this is what he said,

Leviticus 23:27 “Now on the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Reconciliations. It will be for you a time of sacred convention, and you will discipline your throats and present a food offering to Yahveh.

Leviticus 23:28 And you will not do any work on that very day, because it is a Day of Reconciliations, to provide reconciliation for you to your God Yahveh’s face.

Leviticus 23:29 Because every throat who is not disciplined on that very day will be eliminated from his people.

Leviticus 23:30 And every throat who does any work on that very day, that throat I will destroy from among his people.

Leviticus 23:31 You will not do any work. It is a permanent prescription throughout your generations in all your dwelling places.

Leviticus 23:32 It will be to you a Sabbath of solemn rest, and you will discipline your throats. On the ninth day of the month beginning at evening, from evening to evening will you keep your Sabbath.”

Leviticus 23:33 And Yahveh spoke to Moses, and this is what he said,

Leviticus 23:34 “Speak to the people of Israel, and this is what you should say, On the fifteenth day of this seventh month and for seven days is the Feast of Huts[1] to Yahveh.

Leviticus 23:35 On the first day will be a sacred convention; you will not do any ordinary work.

Leviticus 23:36 For seven days you will present fire offerings to Yahveh. On the eighth day you will hold a sacred convention and present a fire offering to Yahveh. It is a solemn assembly; you will not do any ordinary work.

Leviticus 23:37 “These are the appointed feasts of Yahveh, which you will convene as times of sacred convention, for presenting to Yahveh food offerings, ascending offerings and tribute offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings, each on its proper day,

Leviticus 23:38 besides Yahveh’s Sabbaths and besides your gifts and besides all your solemn pledge offerings and besides all your spontaneous voluntary offerings, which you give to Yahveh.

Leviticus 23:39 “On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the produce of the land, you will celebrate the feast of Yahveh seven days. On the first day will be a solemn rest, and on the eighth day will be a solemn rest.

Leviticus 23:40 And you will take on the first day the fruit of splendid trees, branches of palm trees and boughs of leafy trees and willows of the brook, and you will rejoice to Yahveh your God’s face seven days.

Leviticus 23:41 You will celebrate it as a feast to Yahveh for seven days in the year. It is a permanent prescription throughout your generations; you will celebrate it in the seventh month.

Leviticus 23:42 You will stay in huts for seven days. All native Israelites will stay in huts,

Leviticus 23:43 that your generations may know that I made the people of Israel stay in huts when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am Yahveh your God.”

Leviticus 23:44 Thus Moses declared to the people of Israel the appointed feasts of Yahveh.

[1] סֻכָּה = hut. Leviticus 23:34, 42, 43.

Leviticus 23 quotes:

“Jesus is the center of each feast. In Him each feast finds its completion.”

Olsen, Ellyn. God’s Blueprint for Mankind : As Revealed in the Feasts of the Lord. Bless Israel Today, 1983. p. 22.

“The seven feasts of Leviticus 23 present a picture of the orderly chronology of events from Calvary to the millennium.”

Coulson Shepherd. Jewish holy days. Loizeaux Bros., 1961. p. 24.

“Moedim – Literally “appointments” in Hebrew from Leviticus 23:2. These appointments were the scheduled times to appear before the Lord for worship and sacrifices. The feasts of Israel from Leviticus 23 were God’s appointed times.”

Nadler, Sam. Feasts of the Bible. Participant Guide. Rose Publishing, 2011. p. 12.

“The annual feasts were a major part of the Israelites’ life in the Old Testament. In just this chapter in Leviticus, the feasts are referred to as “appointed feasts” and “holy convocations,” words that indicate these were sacred days intended to express devotion to God. They were appointments on Jehovah’s annual calendar when Israel was offered the privilege of meeting with their God. They were also memorial feasts intended to prompt Israel’s memory of all the Lord had done for them.”

Pyle, Debbie. The Lord’s Feasts. Crossbooks, 2010. p. 1.

Leviticus 23 links:

celebrating the temporary
devotion and time
national deliverance
Perish the thought
rescue and rest
self-sovereignty
sustenance
that your generations may know
up time
with blast of trumpets

Maranatha Daily Devotional – Thursday, April 6, 2023

LEVITICUS in Jeff’s library

Leviticus 22

Leviticus 22

Leviticus 22:1 And Yahveh spoke to Moses, and this is what he said,

Leviticus 22:2 “Speak to Aaron and his sons so that they abstain from the sacred things of the people of Israel, which they dedicate to me, so that they do not profane my sacred name: I am Yahveh.

Leviticus 22:3 Say to them, ‘If any one of all your offspring throughout your generations approaches the sacred things that the people of Israel dedicate to Yahveh, while he has a contamination, that throat will be eliminated from my face: I am Yahveh.

Leviticus 22:4 None of the offspring of Aaron who has a rash or a discharge may eat of the sacred things until he is clean. Whoever touches anything that is contaminated through contact with a dead throat or a man who has had an emission of semen,

Leviticus 22:5 and whoever touches a swarming thing by which he may be made contaminated or a human from whom he may take contamination, whatever his contamination may be —

Leviticus 22:6 the throat who touches such a thing will be contaminated until the evening and will not eat of the sacred things unless he has bathed his body in water.

Leviticus 22:7 When the sun goes down, he will be clean, and afterward he may eat of the sacred things, because they are his food.

Leviticus 22:8 He will not eat what dies of itself or is torn by beasts, and so make himself contaminated by it: I am Yahveh.’

Leviticus 22:9 They will therefore keep my charge, or else they will be responsible for making a mistake against it and die thereby when they profane it: I am Yahveh who sanctifies them.

Leviticus 22:10 “A lay person will not eat of a sacred thing; no foreign guest of the priest or hired worker will eat of a sacred thing,

Leviticus 22:11 but if a priest buys a throat as his property for money, the slave may eat of it, and anyone born in his house may eat of his food.

Leviticus 22:12 If a priest’s daughter marries a layman, she will not eat of the contribution of the sacred things.

Leviticus 22:13 But if a priest’s daughter is widowed or divorced and has no child and returns to her father’s house, as in her youth, she may eat of her father’s food; yet no lay person will eat of it.

Leviticus 22:14 And if anyone eats of a sacred thing unintentionally, he will add the fifth of its value to it and give the sacred thing to the priest.

Leviticus 22:15 They will not profane the sacred things of the people of Israel, which they contribute to Yahveh,

Leviticus 22:16 and so cause them to be responsible for violation and need reparation, by eating their sacred things: because I am Yahveh who sanctifies them.”

Leviticus 22:17 And Yahveh spoke to Moses, and this is what he said,

Leviticus 22:18 “Speak to Aaron and his sons and all the people of Israel and say to them, when any one from the house of Israel or from the temporary residents in Israel presents an ascending offering as his offering, for any of their solemn pledges or spontaneous voluntary offerings that they offer to Yahveh,

Leviticus 22:19 if it is to be accepted for you it will be a perfect male, of the bulls or the sheep or the goats.

Leviticus 22:20 You will not offer anything that has a defect, because it will not be acceptable for you.

Leviticus 22:21 And when anyone offers a sacrifice for healthy relationships to Yahveh to fulfil a solemn pledge or as a spontaneous voluntary offering from the herd or from the flock, to be accepted it must be perfect; there will be no defect in it.

Leviticus 22:22 Animals blind or disabled or mutilated or having a discharge or an itch or scabs you will not offer to Yahveh or give them to Yahveh as a fire offering on the altar.

Leviticus 22:23 You may present a bull or a lamb that has a part too long or too short for a spontaneous voluntary offering, but for a solemn pledge offering it cannot be accepted.

Leviticus 22:24 Any animal that has its testicles bruised or crushed or torn or cut you will not offer to Yahveh; you will not do it within your land,

Leviticus 22:25 neither will you offer as the bread of your God any such animals gotten from a foreigner. since there is a defect in them, because of their mutilation, they will not be accepted for you.”

Leviticus 22:26 And Yahveh spoke to Moses, and this is what he said,

Leviticus 22:27 “When an ox or sheep or goat is given birth to, it will remain seven days with its mother, and from the eighth day on it will be acceptable as a fire offering to Yahveh.

Leviticus 22:28 But you will not kill an ox or a sheep and her young in one day.

Leviticus 22:29 And when you sacrifice a sacrifice of thanksgiving to Yahveh, you will sacrifice it so that you may be accepted.

Leviticus 22:30 It will be eaten on the same day; you will leave none of it until morning: I am Yahveh.

Leviticus 22:31 “So you will keep my commandments and do them: I am Yahveh.

Leviticus 22:32 And you will not profane my sacred name, that I may be sanctified among the people of Israel. I am Yahveh who sanctifies you,

Leviticus 22:33 who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I am Yahveh.”

Leviticus 22 quotes:

“Leviticus 22:17-33. These instructions are grounded in the relationship or covenant between God and God’s people and in the commandments given to Moses. They have the authority of God’s law. The Scripture is part of the Holiness Code (17:1-26:46), which is concerned not only with the purity of the sanctuary and the activity of priests (“Aaron and his sons,” 22:18) but also with the holiness_ of those within the boundaries of Israel (“all the people of Israel . … [and] aliens residing in Israel,” 22:18). The text concerns several different kinds of sacrifices and offerings.”

Duerling, Nan, editor. The New International Lesson Annual September 2015 – August 2016. Abingdon Pr, 2015. p. 168.

“Leviticus 22:1—9 describes the circumstances under which priests could not eat the holy food, or offerings. The main reason for such exclusion was uncleanness of the type mentioned in Leviticus 11-15. Any priest made temporarily or permanently unclean was excluded, and anyone who broke this law was to be executed (22:9). God’s means for securing forgiveness could not be treated as if it were merely a priest’s meal ticket.”

House, Paul R. Leviticus/Numbers. Broadman & Holman, 1999. p. 44.

“Early Jewish commentaries on the Scriptures provide insights into how biblical passages were interpreted during the New Testament era. Hence it can be illuminating to read the midrash (commentary) on the verse, “And you shall not profane my holy name, but I will be hallowed among the people of Israel” (Leviticus 22:32). Israel’s sages interpreted this verse to mean that one must be willing to sacrifice his life for his faith! “One should not understand literally, ‘Do not profane,’ but rather, ‘Sanctify’ — and when He said, ‘I will be hallowed’—it means deliver yourself over and sanctify my name.”” The focus of this passage is on those who would suffer martyrdom for their righteous way of life and thereby sanctify God’s name by their example.”

Young, Brad. The Jewish Background to the Lord’s Prayer. Center for Judaic-Christian Studies, 1984. p. 8.

Leviticus 22 links:

consecration, not cruelty
devotion and defiled offerings
holy contributions
making the sacred mundane
mutual sanctification
only the best
when the sun goes down

LEVITICUS in Jeff’s library

Leviticus 21

Leviticus 21

Leviticus 21:1 And Yahveh said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them, no one will make his throat contaminated among his people,

Leviticus 21:2 except for his closest relatives, his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, his brother,

Leviticus 21:3 or his virgin sister (who is near to him because she has had no husband; for her he may make himself contaminated).

Leviticus 21:4 He will not make himself contaminated as a husband among his people and so profane himself.

Leviticus 21:5 They will not make bald patches on their heads, nor shave off the edges of their beards, nor make any cuts on their skin.

Leviticus 21:6 They will be sacred to their God and not profane the name of their God. Because they offer Yahveh’s fire offerings, the bread of their God; therefore, they will be sacred.

Leviticus 21:7 They will not marry a prostitute or a woman who has been defiled, neither will they marry a woman divorced from her husband, because the priest is sacred to his God.

Leviticus 21:8 You will sanctify him, because he offers the bread of your God. He will be sacred to you, because I, Yahveh, who sanctify you, am sacred.

Leviticus 21:9 And the daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by prostitution, profanes her father; she will be burned with fire.

Leviticus 21:10 “The priest who is most influential among his brothers, on whose head the anointing oil is poured and who has been consecrated to wear the garments, will not let the hair of his head hang loose nor tear his clothes.

Leviticus 21:11 He will not go near any dead throats nor make himself unclean, even for his father or for his mother.

Leviticus 21:12 He will not go out of the sanctuary, or else he profanes the sanctuary of his God, because the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is on him: I am Yahveh.

Leviticus 21:13 And he will take a wife in her virginity.

Leviticus 21:14 A widow, or a divorced woman, or a woman who has been defiled, or a prostitute, these he will not marry. But he will take as his wife a virgin of his own people,

Leviticus 21:15 that he may not profane his offspring among his people, because I am Yahveh who sanctifies him.”

Leviticus 21:16 And Yahveh spoke to Moses, and this is what he said,

Leviticus 21:17 “Speak to Aaron, and this is what you should say, none of your offspring throughout their generations who has a defect may approach to offer the bread of his God.

Leviticus 21:18 Because no one who has a defect will draw near, a man blind or lame, or one who has a mutilated face or a limb too long,

Leviticus 21:19 or a man who has an injured foot or an injured hand,

Leviticus 21:20 or a hunchback or a dwarf or a man with a defect in his sight or an itching disease or scabs or crushed testicles.

Leviticus 21:21 No man of the offspring of Aaron the priest who has a defect will come near to offer Yahveh’s fire offerings; since he has a defect, he will not come near to offer the bread of his God.

Leviticus 21:22 He may eat the bread of his God, both of the most sacred and of the sacred things,

Leviticus 21:23 but he will not go through the veil or approach the altar, because he has a defect, that he may not profane my sanctuaries, because I am Yahveh who sanctifies them.”

Leviticus 21:24 So Moses spoke to Aaron and to his sons and to all the people of Israel.

Leviticus 21 quotes:

“The man who would take the offerings of the Lord, bring and offer them, was actually acting in the place of our great High Priest, the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, who lived a perfect life. When He came into the presence of God He was One in whom the Father delighted because He had always done right. Any person serving as a priest had to have no visible defects in order to convey the principle that something less than perfect would be unacceptable. We are to keep in mind that so far as the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and the saving power of God are concerned, it is God’s great glory that His grace should extend to everybody—whosoever will may come. God is no respecter of persons—Christ Jesus died for all.”

Gutzke, Manford George. Plain Talk on Leviticus and Numbers. Zondervan Pub. House., 1981. p. 49.

“Although you and I are priests unto God by virtue of our living relationship with Christ, our privileges as priests are dependent and conditional. Like the sons of Aaron, we can be excluded from higher, honored ministries for the Lord.”

Ravenhill, David. For God’s Sake, Grow up! : A Call to Spiritual Maturity. Destiny Image Publishers, 1997. p. 125.

“These men had to remain detached from profane things and were subject to very strict rules concerning purity (Leviticus 21:4-23). In a unique way they represented in their person the inscription which was engraved in the golden breastplate of the High Priest, Holiness to the Lord (Exodus 28:36).”

Coleman, Robert E. Written in Blood; a Devotional Bible Study of the Blood of Christ. F.H. Revell Co, 1972. p. 42.

Leviticus 21 links:

avoid any dead souls
devotion and defiled service
divine responsibility
exclusive dedication
legacy of loss
participation and officiation