Biblical Worldview Learning Center Families and Friends:
This week we continue through the middle of the Book of Leviticus. Even though these
Scriptures were written to a people that lived over 3500 years ago, and speak of situations that
they were facing, these writings have great relevance for us today. I hope you see some of that
in what you read and reflect upon this week.
For the month of June, we are offering special discounts on two books that address the
development of a Biblical Worldview.
Lord of All: Developing a Christian World and Life View, by D. James Kennedy. This book
presents a plan for developing a world-and-life view that will equip Christians to live out their
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Total Truth: Liberating Christianity from its Cultural Captivity, by Nancy Pearcey. This work
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You can find more about these resources after this week's devotionals.
May God richly bless your family,
David Barrett, Director
Biblical Worldview Learning Center
david@biblicalview.com
208-377-2367
Date: May 30
Reading: Leviticus 14:30-57
In this section, the Lord speaks of when the Israelites enter the promised land and a plague of
leprosy is found in a house. There are two things I would like for you to notice.
First, the Lord is teaching the Israelites something they will need to know years from now when
they have more permanent settlements. At this time they are dwelling in tents as they travel in
the wilderness. When they enter Caanan, they will settle down in actual houses. So, the Lord,
in His Providence, teaches them about how to handle the situation they could face of leprosy
actually found in the structure of the house.
Secondly, I want you to notice that this instruction of community health is being given about
1500 years before Christ. These laws of Scripture, which are so advanced in recognizing and
protecting a community from disease, were given at a time when many cultures were completely
trapped in mysticism about illness and plagues. God’s Word taught about disease and that disease can be harboring even in the structures of houses.
God's Word is applicable for all of time. Here we read of the health standards of the Israelite
community. They are perfect guidelines for health standards for us today. Thank the Lord for
His life applicable Word.
Date: May 31
Reading: Leviticus 15:1-3
The last of the laws of cleanliness and sanitation due mostly to illnesses and disease are
given here. Some of these things are kind of hard to read about because they deal with what
some people consider gross or at least distasteful. But these types of things are a matter of life.
People, because of injuries, diseases, or illnesses, and even some natural body functions, have
situations where they have continuous bleeding or the discharge of other fluids from different
places on their body. Each of these situations can end up being disease infecting of others
and God, in His wisdom, set down laws of cleanliness to protect the Israelite community from
spreading disease.
In the practical sense, we should also practice caution when someone is bleeding or has some
infection that is oozing puss or other fluid. Some sports, like basketball, will not allow a player
to continue playing if he is bleeding because of the potential of getting his blood on another
player. We consider this type of a decision as a modern stroke of genius. The truth is, it was the
Biblical wisdom giving by God to Moses over 3500 years ago. The Bible is truly an amazing
Book.
Date: June 1
Reading: Leviticus 16:1-34
Do you remember what happened to Aaron’s sons back in chapter 10 when they
brought "strange fire" before the Lord in the tabernacle? God struck them dead. They
apparently brought incense in to the Lord and attempted to burn it before the Lord. However,
they either did it without properly preparing themselves or in some other way it was done
inappropriately. God, in striking Nadab and Abihu dead for trying to approach Him on their own
terms, made it known that He will be worshipped in the fashion that He alone dictates.
So, here in Leviticus 16, the Lord tells Aaron through Moses how and when He is to be
approached for the type of worship Aaron's sons attempted in chapter 10. In verse 2, the Lord
says Aaron is not to come before Him just any time he wants. This warning is given so that "he
die not." Then, after instructing Aaron in the several sacrifices he is to prepare and do for
himself and for the people, God tells Aaron,
"…put the incense upon the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of the
incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony, that he
die not."
Again, we see that Aaron must bring the incense before the Lord in a proper way, so that he does
not die like his sons.
Whether Old Testament or New Testament, it is God who determines the manner in which He is
to be worshipped and the avenue through which He is to be approached. It is only through Jesus
Christ that any of us can approach the holy God of the Universe.
Date: June 2
Reading: Leviticus 17:1-16
Israel was surrounded by pagan nations. These nations had a number of practices that were
completely unacceptable to the Lord. For example, they would eat or drink the blood of animals
they sacrificed and they would sacrifice to devils or false gods. Many of these sacrifices to
devils were made in the open fields. So, God disallowed sacrifices made in one’s field. All
sacrifices had to be brought to the tabernacle and presented to the Lord. If they were not, then
they were considered a sacrifice made to a false god.
God knows that it is easy for people to become influenced by those around them. The Israelites
might observe the pagans making their sacrifices to their false gods in their fields. It would be
tempting to the Israelites to look upon this and see how much easier it is to do their sacrifices
in their fields and not have to travel to the tabernacle. At first, the Israelite would have every
intention of still making his sacrifice to the true God of Israel. However, he would have
compromised the command of God to go to the tabernacle. In time, other compromises would be
made, and soon they would be entertaining the idea and even practicing the offering of sacrifices
to false gods.
God set the boundary clear that all sacrifices were to be made at the tabernacle in order to
separate Israel from the pagan nations and to protect the children of Israel from the entrapment of
compromise.
We need to be careful about the choices we make in this life and the steps we take. Are we being
influenced by the world around us? Have we made choices that have taken us away from God
and not brought us closer to Him? Ask God to help you keep your eyes upon Him and what
He desires for your life. Ask Him to protect you from the deadly act of compromising with the
world.
Date: June 3
Reading: Leviticus 18:1-30
Once again God warns against following the practices of those who do not know Him. In
verse 3 of today's reading, the Lord says,
"After the doings of the land of Egypt, where in ye dwelt, shall ye not do:
and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye
not do: neither shall ye walk in their ordinances."
We are reminded how easy it is to follow the standards and practices of others and not consider
what is commanded by God in His Word. All the horrible practices listed in the remainder of
this chapter were done in Egypt and in Canaan. These would be the things the Israelites would
have observed as "normal" practices. However, they are all abominations in the Lord's eyes.
We will take a closer look at these evil practices the next time we pass through this part of
Leviticus. For now, let's clearly heed the Lord's command that we turn away from the practices
of this world and the world's way of doing things. Let us follow the declaration that the Lord
made to Israel in verse 4 and 5,
"Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein:
I am the Lord your God. Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my
judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the Lord."
Date: June 4
Reading: Leviticus 19:1-37
This chapter is filled with many practical commandments from the Lord that can be
applied to our lives. Some are difficult to understand, but most give us a clear picture of God's
commands and wisdom for life. Because there is so much that can be covered, I will divide the
chapter in thirds and address a third each time we pass through in our reading program. So, this
time looking at Leviticus 19, let's consider the first 12 verses.
In these 12 verses several of the 10 Commandments are reiterated. Can you pick out some of
those commandments? Here are some that I noticed:
5th Commandment – verse 3
4th Commandment – verse 3
2nd Commandment – verse 4
8th Commandment – verse 11
9th Commandment – verse 11
Besides these re-statements of the 10 commandments, there are some other very important
commandments given. In verse 5 we are told that the peace offering was to be offered from an
act of the will. In other words, God desires His people to worship Him freely from the heart and
not have to be commanded. Even in the Old Testament, God was looking for those who had a
heart to worship Him.
Now look at verse 9. Do you understand what the Lord was commanding here? He was saying
that when the fields were harvested, the workers were to leave the corners of the field untouched.
Also, they were not to strip the plants or trees of all their fruit. The reason they would leave
this produce on the plants and in the corners of their fields was to help the poor, the needy, and
the strangers that may need to gather food for themselves. You see, in Israel, they did not have a welfare program set up to be run under the state or national government. Such needs were
handled on the individual and family level. Leaving the fields with fruit that needy people could
harvest was one of the important ways the community helped those in need.
God’s ways are always the best ways. We should look to how we can practically apply God's
Word to our lives and communities. How can this gleaning law be applied in your family or
Church?
Date: June 5
Reading: Leviticus 20:1-27
Again, various laws are stated that are to guide the Israelites in holy living before the Lord.
Some of the laws are re-statements of earlier laws and even of the 10 commandments. Our goal
should be to attempt to understand the laws and endeavor to see how they foreshadow Christ,
recognize the holiness and sovereignty of God, and/or provide practical guidance for our daily
living.
Today, let's focus on verses 1-6 and 22-26. Verses 1-5 speak about the evil of a man giving his
seed to Moloch. Seed used in this sense means children. So a man was not to give his children
to Moloch. Who or what is Moloch? Moloch was a pagan god of the people who were living
in Canaan prior to the Israelites taking possession of the land. The greatest gift you could give
the false god Moloch was the literal sacrifice of your own child. Later in Scripture, when the
Israelites turn away from God, it will say that they caused their children to pass through the fire
of Moloch. What a horrible thing to do.
Verse 6 speaks of turning to wizards and those who speak with familiar spirits. These are people
who we would call witches. They include people who try to contact the spirits of dead people.
Just as God warns the Israelites to stay away from these practices, He is warning us as well.
Verse 23 tells us that all the evil practices of this chapter are the things those living in Canaan
were doing. And God was going to drive them out of the land and give it to the Israelites. God
wanted Israel to know that it was because of these evil practices that He was driving out these
people and giving the land to them. The Israelites were instructed by God to "keep all my
statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: that the land, whither I bring you to dwell therein,
spew you not out" (vs. 22). The sins of a people will cause God to remove them from where
they are. The Lord calls this an act of the land spewing or spitting the people out of the land.
Today, we live among unbelievers that do all kinds of evil. They may not literally burn their
children in fire to a false god, but they cause their children to be taught false ideas and, in that
way, sacrifice their children's hearts and minds to a pagan god.. There are people around us who
worship the dead, speak with demons, and try to contact the dead. As believers, we are called to
a holy life and must separate from all these kinds of practices. We should never follow the ways
of the world, but always seek only to worship the One, True God of Scripture in the way that He
has instructed us.
__________________________________________
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