A pagan priest bars the approach to god, claiming mystical powers, and denies the finished work of christ and the priesthood of all believers. He has, by his one great sacrifice for sin, forever put away all the sins of all his people isa. We spent the first 2 weeks of our leviticus study simply preparing the background and laying the groundwork to make leviticus more understandable, enjoyable, and hopefully, meaningful. Or it could have been added in by h when he put everything together in one book. If the high priest sins, bringing guilt upon the entire community, he must give a sin offering for the sin he has committed. The direct parallel is also shown in matthew 3, when the church of israel witnesses jesus christ being consecrated for his ministry as the anointed one, the high priest fulfilling all righteousness. The book of leviticus is described by some as a priests. Leviticus serves as a guide to the chosen, though sinful, people of a holy god.
Leviticus is the third book of the bible, and the part of the torah the law of moses dealing with priestly matters. The priests of nehemiahs day seem opposed to reform, whereas leviticus magnifies the office of high priest. The bible describes those who trust christ as kings and priests revelation. I had to prepare a talk on leviticus specifically chapter 16 on the day of atonement, and this little book was superb preparation along with reading the bible, of course. The subject of hebrews is the approaching of men to god as well. Living water is not a new testament idea, it began in torah. No dreidels, however, even though leviticus does love a good roll of the dice. Bible studies about the book of leviticus during gcm bible survey slideshare uses cookies to improve functionality and performance, and to provide you with relevant advertising. One can only explain the aaronic priesthood as purely a matter of gods grace. Mar 29, 2020 this is from the holy book of leviticus chapter 21 rules for priests. I will be working through that in the latter part of this post. Moses served in the role of a prophet when he did this. The hebrews call it vaicra, from the word with which it begins.
Moses provisional priestly role seems to come to an end here. Aaron and his family were chosen from this tribe to serve as priests and to offer the sacrifices, while god appointed the rest of the levites to the service of the tabernacle, to assist the priests in the worship at the sanctuary num. Josephus gives a list of eightythree highpriests from aaron to the. Leviticus 3 new american bible revised edition nabre chapter 3. Understanding the significance of jesus christs role as our great high priest will allow you to. The first part of the book of leviticus deals with offerings and the one that was offered and the last part of the book. He is the great prophet, like unto whom the messiah will be deut. Leviticus 4 5 the sin and the trespass guilt offerings. More was expected from a priest than from other people, but more from the high priest than from other priests, because upon his head the anointing oil was poured, and he was consecrated to put on the garments leviticus 21. The great priest, or high priest, is the appellation used in the other portions of.
The book closes with an appendix on vows and sanctified things in chap. If they keep the rules contained therein, they are promised peace even in this life 26. Leviticus chapter 3 the fellowship offering the holy. The priests did not cure or even pray over the metsora skin disease carrier l142. This great exchange of imputing our sins to christ and his sins to us is spoken of in romans 3. The oil a picture of the holy spirit was poured over aarons head. The pagan notion of priesthood colors our thinking. Levi family was chosen by god to act as priests and assistants in the tabernacle. Net bible if the high priest sins so that the people are guilty, on account of the sin he. This chapter is a theological pivot on which the whole book of leviticus turns. The anointing of the tabernacle and instruments and aaron with oil.
The second census of israel the daughters of zelophehad appointment of moses successor sacrificial ordinances the war against midian allocation of territory east of the jordan levitical and cities of refuge. Leviticus reveals the heart of god the father in amazing ways, too. Garments are always used in scripture as a picture of character, especially as expressed in behavior. This is from the holy book of leviticus chapter 3 the fellowship offering. Aug 02, 2008 the high priest is also a type of christ. More on this when we speak of the anointing with the oil as the third step of the ritual. Jona on leviticus 3 every offering or everything that is for the lord is the most best above all. I would like to reiterate from an earlier lesson a. God held the priests to the most stringent standards of behavior and ritual purity leviticus 21.
The book of leviticus opens with god calling moses from the tabernacle. The law appointed high priests who were limited by human weakness. Leviticus means concerning the levites and as the work of the ancient levites is explained so the prophesied work of the great and divine high priest is being explained. Now, the time has come, and aaron is the prophesied high priest. Our great high priest leviticus redeemers grace church. The bible will take you through the history of the. The book of leviticus is thought to lay down rules for all jews, but some biblical scholars think the laws were originally meant for a more select group. All the fat this is to be limited, to those beasts, which were offered or offerable in sacrifice, as it isexplained, leviticus 7. The first sixteen chapters are gods revelation to us of what humanity is like and of. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tested in every way as we are, yet without sin. Really emphasised the connection between the old testament law and sacrificial system, and jesus christ as the divine high priest.
The great priest, or high priest, is the appellation used in the other portions of the. Leviticus was written for priests, not you, say scholars. Leviticus, the third book of the pentateuch takes its name from levi one of the twelve sons of jacob. Also the tithe laws indicated about a ratio of 10 levites to one priest in leviticus, but ezra 8. This book is about as dull as anything possibly could be to the average christian and you wont find very many classes or individuals reading and studying the book of leviticus. Study the bible online using commentary on leviticus 4 and more. Earlier in this book we looked at the garments of the high priest, which were a revelation of the way our great high priest, the lord jesus christ, is equipped to deal. This has been established in the lessons on genesis and deuteronomy. Leviticus in the picture study bible the book of leviticus. Much like paul, who was a persecutor of the church, and then came, by gods grace, to be a great apostle to the church, aaron, a hindrance to moses and israel, now becomes her spiritual leader. It brings us into the tabernacle and opens to us all the privileges of access to the presence of god, and our place of blessing as his priestly household. Leviticus chapter 9 matthew henry complete commentary on. Chapter 19 boils the reason for everything down to one core principle. Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, jesus the son of god, let us hold fast our profession.
Everything from sexual conduct to the handling of food, to instructions for worship and religious celebrations, is covered in detail in the book of leviticus. But now, moving on in the chapter, beginning with verse 10, we read. With the exception of the memorial or the handful of flour and oil, and of all the frankincense, this meat offering belonged to the priests, who divided it among them, and by whom alone it was to be consumed in the court of the sanctuary. The death of aarons two sons nadab and abihu leviticus 10. Jesus was a high priest, but not after the order of aaron. Jehovahs message through moses for israel at the red sea was and moses said unto the people, fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the lord, which he will shew to you to day. Here are five glimpses of jesus christ in the book of leviticus. That as great as what he is doing in the book of leviticus it will be even greater when christ comes. This book is called leviticus, because it treats of the offices, ministries, rites and ceremonies of the priests and levites. In the book of leviticus, as in all of the bible, god is teaching us truth about ourselves. Ellicotts commentary for english readers 3 and the remnant. When the high priest entered into the holy of holies and sprinkled the blood upon the mercy seat the sins of the entire nation for the previous year were forgiven by god. The book of leviticus gives us the prescribed ordinances and ceremonies of divine worship. It is a carefully arranged reference manual for the levitical priests.
Most of its chapters 17, 1127 consist of gods speeches to moses. In the new testament, jesus is identified as the great high priest hebrews 4. Includes the catholic encyclopedia, church fathers, summa, bible and more all. This is the subject we are examining in this great passage in the book of leviticus, the eighth chapter. Today we are considering a fact, a truth, embedded generally in leviticus chapter 8.
If your offering is a fellowship offering, and you offer an animal from the herd. Centuries before hanukkah, the tabernacle gets a menorah. The lord said to moses, speak to the priests, the sons of aaron, and say to them. It contains laws about worship in general and rules and customs on ceremonies in consecrations and sacrificial offerings. Israel is still camped out at the base of mount sinai, and they will remain there all through the book of leviticus. Now i want to remind you that aaron is the high priest, the chief priest, and his sons are to follow him. Leviticus is a remarkable book, as the contents are considered in the light of the new testament. Leviticus chapter 21 matthew henry complete commentary on. Actually it is more concerned with the priests than with the levites themselves. Leviticus comes from the greek title of the third book in the old testament, meaning relating to the levites.
This broadcast discusses the work of jesus as our great high priest in the heavenly sanctuary. Qualifications for the high priest as contransted to messiah who is after the. The tabernacle has been set up and the priests have been clothed properly. The high priest could only enter the most holy place once a year on the day of atonement to offer sacrifices for all the people, including himself hebrews 9. Thus, leviticus is best explained as a guidebook for instructing gods people about holy living and worship. Leviticus 1726 spells out the way in which members of the people of god should relate to each other. Hitherto moses had told the people what they must do.
He began, as we saw last week, by setting aside first of all the high priest. This book explores how the sacrificial rituals and purity practices cleared the way for morally corrupt israelites to become gods covenant partners. Practically, this means that israelites should love their neighbors as themselves, thus proving that even jesus reads leviticus. Jesus the great high priest therefore, since we have a great high priest who.
General fire came from god and burnt the offering after the priest went into the most holy place and offered sacrificial blood for atonement. Behind the various offerings lies a deep conviction that god is the lord of all creation. The second part of the book of leviticus will look at the offerings and their requirements in the seventeenth chapter, and. Atonement was made once every year by the high priest. Jesus was a high priest after the order of melchizedek hebrews 5. It is the climax of the first part of the book that deals with the public worship of the israelites chs116.
Aaron is the picture of that great high priest, jesus christ our lord. The word leviticus means pertaining to the levites. Yet the great climax of this book can be clearly seen in leviticus 16 where god gives the instructions for making atonement for sin on the great day of atonement yom kippur. In leviticus chapter 10, where the death of nadab and abihu are recorded, the. A brief summary of these two chapters will show the close.
All of us need a priest we have a lack and we need help. It is about how the people of god should live, eat and sacrifice. But after the law was given, god appointed his son with an oath, and his son has been made the perfect high priest forever. Israel as a holy people 1727 the last section of the book, leviticus 17 to 27 emphasizes israel as a holy people. And the reason of this difference is not obscure, both because part of this sacrifice was to be waved by the hands of the offerer, leviticus 7. The breast, which was the part of moses, he also waves, lev 8.
Leviticus chapter 21 rules for priests the holy bible. John gill tells us that the book of leviticus was written by moses 2514 years after the creation, about 1490 years before the coming of christ. Try meditating on the picture of a high priest sacrificing an animal and both priest and animal are types of christ and imagine the implications of christs work on the cross. Even though aaron was the first high priest mentioned in the book of exodus, louis ginzberg in legends of the jews noted that in legends the first man that assumed the title of high priest of god is enoch, who was succeeded by methuselah, lamech, noah, shem, melchizedek, abraham, isaac and levi. Our great high priest therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavensjesus the son of godlet us hold fast to the confession. Unto the children of israel thou shalt speak, leviticus 9. We will continue this morning the study we began last sunday of the day on which moses, under the command of god, established on earth a body of priests. Apr 15, 2016 in light of our beginning the book of hebrews, one cannot properly understand hebrews 4. That was gods anointing of the great high priest by a symbol of the holy spirit, the. Read leviticus 4 commentary using wesleys explanatory notes. This is the first place in the bible where this title is introduced. The high priest and, obviously, his descendants were all sinners. In chapter 10, however, aaron is installed as the high priest, and he very much comes into his own.
Aaron and his sons and indeed the whole tribe of levi, one of the 12 tribes of israel, are to be israels high priests, priests, and priestly assistants. Chapter 24 goes over the setup of the sacred interior room the priests get to before the holiest of holies, which is reserved for the ark and the high priest. Next chapter of leviticus the book of leviticus, chapter 3 we hope that you find the content of the book of leviticus, chapter 3 from the douay rheims version of the catholic bible helpful to your bible studies and for references which allow you to read the books and individual verses of this chapter. As usual, god revealed these laws to moses, not directly to the priests or even the high priest, aaron leviticus 16. The book of hebrews has much to say about christ as our great high priest, and of. Our great high priest leviticus the theme of the book of leviticus is holiness. Leviticus is a book about the rites of jewish liturgy. God is not content to allow israel simply to avoid sin. As god daily by most singular benefits declared himself to be mindful of his church. If you continue browsing the site, you agree to the use of cookies on this website.
The date of composition is between 1445 and 1405bc. You can read the story of holy week in marks gospel beginning at chapter 11. Throughout the book of hebrews we see jesus referred to as the great high priest. Moses was the great mediator between god and the israelites superior even to the high priest. Leviticus corresponds to the epistle to the hebrews in the new testament. The story of leviticus picks up where exodus left off. You shall be holy, because i, yhvh, your god, am holy.
The sin offering for the high priest and his household vv. May 06, 2015 this book explores how the sacrificial rituals and purity practices cleared the way for morally corrupt israelites to become gods covenant partners. Then leviticus chapters 8 11 will take a close look at the priesthood of aaron and his sons. Priests are mentioned many times in exodus and leviticus. He tells the people how they can move towards moral excellence. Levine writes, it should be remembered thatexcept for the burnt offering of chapter 1, the priestly minhah of 6. The second major part of leviticus begins at the end of this chapter and reveals the private worship of the israelites chs1727. The household of the high priest was included because the office was inherited. Enduring word bible commentary leviticus chapter 21. Christ is both our priest and our sinatoning sacrifice, the lamb of god who has taken away our sins.