What a perfect Saviour!

Leviticus 16:1-34 God is 'holy': We cannot 'draw near' and 'come' to Him without a 'sin offering' (1-3). We cannot bring 'a sin offering' to Him. We can only bring our sin: Our righteousness is 'like filthy rags' (Isaiah 64:6). There is a 'way' for sinners to 'draw near' to God: Christ is the true …

Love, holiness and power

"Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy" (Leviticus 19:1). We hear much about love. God loves us. We are to love one another. What about holiness? Have we forgotten about this? We hear much about power. We need to receive God's power. How will the power of God change us? The power of God gives …

The Blood Of The Offering For Sin

Leviticus 4:1-35 The word, “blood, appears often here. We may note, in particular, the phrase, in Leviticus 4:25, “the blood of the offering for sin.” In the final verse (Leviticus 4:35), we may note why “the blood of the offering for sin” was shed – “forgiveness” and “peace with the Lord.” Reading about this, our …

Moral Living – Grounded In Spiritual Worship

Leviticus 19:1-37 Again and again, we read the words, “I am the Lord your God”, or, more simply, “I am the Lord” (Leviticus 19:3-4,10,12,14,16,18,25,28,30-32,34,36-37). The whole point of this is that our moral practice is grounded in our spiritual worship (Romans 12:1).

Redeemed, Grateful And Obedient

"I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians; I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with heads held high" (Leviticus 26:13). God had done something very wonderful for His people, Israel. He redeemed them. He …

What great love, Lord, You have for us.

Leviticus 27:1-34 What great love, Lord, You have for us. There is no love like Your love for us. It's the best love! What joy You give to us - the joy that comes from knowing that we are loved with "everlasting love" (Jeremiah 31:3). Help us, Lord, to rejoice in Your love, to be …

Read – And Study.

We need to study Leviticus - not just read it. Leviticus follows on from Genesis and Exodus. In Genesis, we see man ruined. In Exodus, we see man redeemed. In Leviticus, we see man worshipping. This is a book of worship. It is a book for redeemed people. It shows them how to worship God. …

God loves us. He will help us to be holy.

Leviticus 13:47-14:32 We read about skin disease. Remember: there is also the sin disease - and we're all suffering from that!. Sin is a deadly 'cancer' for which there is only one treatment: 'Oh, precious is the flow that makes me white as snow; no other fount I know, nothing but the blood of Jesus' …

Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.

Leviticus 14:33-15:33 You can get 'dry rot' in people - as well as houses (14:34; Hebrews 12:15)! Sin is like 'a wasting disease' (Psalm 106:13-15). It will only get worse - unless something is done about it! Sin spreads. and spreads, and... Can anything be done about this sad situation? Look into yourself, and you …

Forty years in the wilderness… Is there more than this?

Forty years - it's such a long time. We look back. We try to remember what happened down through the years. We've forgotten so much more than we, still, remember. Have we forgotten the Lord? or Do we, still, remember him? We ask about our remembering and our forgetting, but there are more important questions …

The most important thing of all is to be in a right relationship with God.

Leviticus 4:1-5:13; Mark 10:13-31; Psalm 27:7-14 The most important thing of all is to be in a right relationship with God. This is the point which is emphasized in Israel’s sacrificial system. All other relationships are secondary to our relationship with God. Jesus makes this point in Mark 10:29-30 - Leave all your loved ones …

Believe in the Lord Jesus.

Leviticus 25:25-55 Moral conduct is to be grounded in divine redemption. Throughout the detailed ethical instructions, there is the recurrent emphasis on God's salvation: 'I am the Lord your God, who brought you forth out of the land of Egypt (Salvation) to give you the land of Canaan, and to be your God (Sanctification)...For to …

Holiness – In Every Part Of Our Life

Leviticus 27:1-34 The underlying theme of this final chapter is giving ourselves to the Lord to belong to Him, to be dedicated to Him, to be set apart for Him, to be holy. Such dedication to the Lord is to affect the whole of our life. We learn this from the variety of details in …

We have been redeemed by the Lord. Let us live as those who are being sanctified by Him.

Leviticus 5:14-7:10; Mark 10:32-52; Proverbs 6:12-19 “The sin offering is to be slaughtered before the Lord … it is most holy” (Leviticus 6:25). Concerning the death of Jesus, the human story is this: “the chief priests and the teachers of the law will condemn Him to death” (Mark 10:33-34). There is, however, also the divine side of …

Through Jesus Christ, the perferct Sacrifice for our sins, we are able to come to God and know that our prayer is heard and answered.

Leviticus 7:11-8:36; Mark 11:1-25; Psalm 28:1-9 The priest entered the holy place on behalf of the people. Jesus entered the holy city, Jerusalem, on behalf of the people. The priest entered with a sacrifice. Jesus Himself became the Sacrifice. Through Jesus Christ, the perfect Sacrifice for our sins, we are able to come to God …

We have been lifted out of the darkness of our sin. We will be raised to eternal life.

Leviticus 11:1-12:8; Mark 12:13-27; Psalm 30:1-7 The Psalmist says, “I will exalt You, O Lord, for You lifted me out of the depths” (Psalm 30:10. In Leviticus 11-12, there is a great emphasis on the need for cleansing. In Christ, we have been cleansed. We exalt Him because He has lifted us out of the …

The clean life

Leviticus 13:1-59; Mark 12:28-44; Proverbs 6:20-29 Leviticus 13 continues to emphasize the importance of being clean. The clean life is a life characterized by love for God and love for our neighbour (Mark 12:29-31). This is “more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices” (Mark 12:33). The clean life is the life which is lived …

Let us go the Lord’s way, not the world’s way.

Leviticus 19:1-20:27; Mark 14:43-72; Proverbs 6:30-35 Central to the teaching of Leviticus is its emphasis on the holiness of God and His purpose of making His people holy: “Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the Lord your God. Keep My decrees and follow them. I am the Lord, who makes you holy … …

O Lord my God, I will give You thanks for ever.

Leviticus 14:1-57; Mark 13:1-31; Psalm 30:8-12 We are cleansed by the sacrifice of “the sin offering” which “makes atonement” for us “before the Lord” (Leviticus 14:18). Only those who have received cleansing from their sins through faith in Christ will enjoy the glory of heaven when the Lord returns (Mark 13:27). Psalm 30:8-12 gives an …

Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins: the Lamb of God takes away the sin of the world.

Leviticus 17:1-18:30; Mark 14:17-42; Psalm 31:9-18 “For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar, it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life” (Leviticus 17:11). The Old Testament principle, cited in Hebrews – “without the shedding of blood, …

Lord, You love me. Help me to love You.

Leviticus 26:1-46 Lord, help us never to think, "We are blessed because we are obedient." Help us always to say, "We are blessed because You love us and Jesus died for us." Your love for us, Jesus' death for us:  This is where the blessing comes from - and it's where our obedience comes from! We think of …

Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord.

Leviticus 21:1-22:33; Mark 15:1-32; Psalm 31:19-24 An offering of sacrifice to the Lord “must be without defect pr blemish to be acceptable” (Leviticus 22:21). In Mark 15:15, we have the great statement concerning the sinless Son of God taking the sinner’s place – “Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged and handed Him …

The grace of God reaches us and changes us.

"I am the Lord, who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy" (Leviticus 11:45). Where does holiness come from? How are we to become holy? Before we read about God's holiness, we read about his love. God says, "I am holy" - but, first, he says, "I ... …

From a long, long time ago – a story for us, a story for today

Situations change. Sometimes, we're going through hard times - but blessing may be just around the corner. In the Old Testament book of Exodus, we read about the people of Israel, suffering in the land of Egypt. Would their suffering go on and on... Would it never come to an end? Then came their deliverance …

Take your sin to Christ. He has made atonement for sin.

Leviticus 1:1-2:16 Jesus Christ, ‘the Lamb without blemish’, has ‘made atonement’ for sin through the shedding of His ‘precious blood’(1:3-5; 1 Peter 1:18-19). This offering of Christ - He ‘loved us and gave Himself up for us’- is ‘a pleasing odour to the Lord’, ‘a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God’(1:9,13,17; Ephesians 5:2). Read of …

Pure worship

Leviticus 24:1-25:24 'Pure' worship is to be offered 'continually': This is what God is looking for (1-8). 'Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? Who shall stand in His holy place?': No-one else but Christ - He alone 'has clean hands and a pure heart', He alone 'will receive blessing from the Lord' (Psalm …

When we catch a glimpse of the greatness of God’s salvation, we give glory to God and His glory appears among us.

Leviticus 9:1-10:20; Mark 11:27-12:12; Psalm 29:1-11 In the sacrificial system, everything was to be done “as the Lord has commanded” (Leviticus 9:7; Leviticus 10:15). This was the foundation of Jesus’ authority. He lived His whole life in perfect obedience to the Father’s will. Only those who, through faith, are in union with Him, will recognize the …

Don’t Let Your Light Go Out.

Leviticus 24:1-23 If our light is to be keep on burning continually, we need pure oil (Leviticus 24:2). The emphasis here is on keeping close to God. It is only through closeness to God that our light will be kept burning. In Leviticus 24:15, we read, “Whoever curses his God shall bear his sin.” This …

Jesus Christ, the Lamb without blemish, has made atonement for sin through the shedding of His precious blood.

Leviticus 1:1-2:16 -  Jesus Christ, ‘the Lamb without blemish’, has ‘made atonement’ for sin through the shedding of His ‘precious blood’ (1:3-5; 1 Peter 1:18-19). This offering of Christ – He ‘loved us and gave Himself up for us’ – is ‘a pleasing odour to the Lord’, ‘a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God’ (1:9,13,17; Ephesians …

The School of Discipleship (5): The Lord will be with us, every step of the way.

The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So, I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land …

Holiness – By Grace

The life of holiness is not an expression of our own moral virtue. It is an expression of the holy character of God being reproduced in us: ‘I am the Lord who sanctify you’ (Leviticus 20:8). God wants us for Himself – This is why we must not live the world’s way: ‘I the Lord …

Christ is the perfect Saviour …

Leviticus 15:1-16:34  Each of us is unclean before God. Each of us needs Christ, who has given Himself as "a sin offering" to "make atonement" for us (Leviticus 16:16). Christ is the perfect Saviour, who "bears all our iniquities" (Leviticus 16:22). Concerning His great sacrifice for us, the Word of God says, "On this day …

Blessing

Leviticus 26:1-46 There is blessing for those who learn to obey the Lord (Leviticus 26:3-13). There is judgment for those who persist in sinning against the Lord (Leviticus 26:14-33). The opportunity of blessing remains even for those who are in despair and are wasting away because of sin (Leviticus 26:36,39) – God says, “I will …

Called to be holy

"Be holy, because I am holy" (Leviticus 11:44). The call to holiness - where does it come from? Does it come from the church? Does it come from the preachers? or Are we to look beyond the church and the preachers? Are we to look to the God of perfect holiness? God calls us to …

The pathway to holiness – By grace, through faith, for good works

Leviticus 20:1-27 The life of holiness is not an expression of our own moral virtue. It is an expression of the holy character of God being reproduced in us: 'I am the Lord who sanctify you' (8). God wants us for Himself. This is why we must not live the world's way: 'I, the Lord, …

Responding to God’s Word (3): There shall be showers of blessing.

I will give you rain in due season and the land shall yield her increase and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit (Leviticus 26:40). As I was reading these words, I thought of the words of a hymn, "There shall be showers of blessing." This hymn is based on the words of …

How long will we be in this wilderness?

Sometimes, we feel like we're in a wilderness - and we can't get out of it! The first half of the book of Exodus tells of the deliverance of the people of Israel from their time of bondage in the land of Egypt. Things were looking up! Surely, there were better days ahead for them. …

Some Simple Thoughts From The Scriptures

Genesis When I was writing these words, I was thinking of some of the stories in the book of Genesis (the book of beginnings). I was thinking about Adam, Abraham and Joseph - and I was thinking about Jesus!___________________________________________ It was the genesis of my life.Things were looking so good.Then, it all went badly wrong.What …

The Lord takes great joy in every sinner who returns to Him.

Leviticus 27:1-34 'Every devoted thing is most holy to the Lord' (28). We are loved by the holy God. We are precious in His eyes. In love, He has reached out to us - through the Cross of Christ (Romans 5:8). We are 'greatly beloved' (Daniel 9:23). The Lord takes great joy in every sinner …

Leviticus 26-27

Leviticus 26:1-46 - ‘Every spiritual blessing’ is ‘in Christ’ (Ephesians 1:3).  The moment you begin to feel superior – ‘I am blessed because I am obedient’  (There is too much of ‘I’ in this!) – , remember: ‘in Christ‘.  We are blessed because God loves us and Christ died for us.  It is His grace …

Leviticus 24-25

Leviticus 24:1-25:24 -  ‘Pure’ worship is to be offered ‘continually’:  This is what God is looking for (1-8).  ‘Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?  Who shall stand in His holy place?’: No-one else but Christ – He alone ‘has clean hands and a pure heart’, He alone ‘will receive blessing from the Lord’ …

Leviticus 22:17-23:44

Leviticus 22:17-23:44 -  God says, ‘I am the Lord’ (22:30-33):  Let Him be ‘your God’ (23:14,22,28,40,43,).  We are to ‘worship in Spirit and in truth’ – ‘in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day’ (John 4:24; Revelation 1:10)  When Christ died – This was the day of atonement.  We worship Him, ‘our Passover Lamb’ (22:28; Exodus …

Leviticus 20:1-22:16

Leviticus 20:1-27 -  The life of holiness is not an expression of our own moral virtue.  It is an expression of the holy character of God being reproduced in us: ‘I am the Lord who sanctify you’ (8).  God wants us for Himself – This is why we must not live the world’s way: ‘I …

Leviticus 18:24-19:37

Holiness and love - the two belong together (1,18,34). God calls us to live a life of ho liness, a life of love. Through His Spirit - the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of love - , He enables us to live this life. We need His promises. We need His commands. Take them both together …

Leviticus 17:1-18:23

We are to be devoted 'to the Lord' (17:4-6,9): 'You are not your own; you were bought with a price' (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Underlying Christ's atoning death, there is this principle: 'the life...is in the blood...I have given it for you...to make atonement...' (17:11). Christ has shed His blood: He has given His life that …

Jesus Christ, ‘the Lamb without blemish’, has ‘made atonement’ for sin through the shedding of His ‘precious blood.’

Leviticus 1:1-2:16 Jesus Christ, 'the Lamb without blemish', has 'made atonement' for sin through the shedding of His 'precious blood' (1:3-5; 1 Peter 1:18-19). This offering of Christ - He 'loved us and gave Himself up for us' - is 'a pleasing odour to the Lord', 'a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God' (1:9,13,17; Ephesians …

Leviticus 16-19

Leviticus 16:1-34 -  God is ‘holy‘. We cannot ‘draw near’ and ‘come’ to Him without a ‘sin offering’ (1-3).  We cannot bring ‘a sin offering’ to Him.  We can only bring our sin:  Our righteousness is ‘like filthy rags’ (Isaiah  64:6).  There is a ‘way’ for sinners to ‘draw near’ to God: Christ is the …

Leviticus 14:33-15:33

Leviticus 14:33-15:33 -  You can get ‘dry rot’ in people – as well as houses (14:34; Hebrews 12:15)!  Sin is like ‘a wasting disease’ (Psalm 106:13-15).  It will only get worse – unless something is done about it!  Sin spreads. and spreads, and…  Can anything be done about this sad situation?  Look into yourself, and …

Leviticus 11:1-14:32

Leviticus 11:1-47 -  God sees only two types of people: ‘clean’ and ‘unclean’. All of us are ‘in Adam’ (sinners). Not all are ‘in Christ’ (saved) (Romans 5:12-21). How about you? – Are you cleansed, forgiven, born again, saved, committed (1 John 1:7,9; John 3:7; Acts 16:31; 2 Timothy 1:12)? Or, are you still in …

Leviticus 9-10

Leviticus 9:1-10:20 -  Aaron had to make atonement for himself and for the people (9:7). Christ did not need to make atonement for Himself – He was ‘without sin’ (Hebrews 4:15). In Christ, we are ‘accepted’. In Him, there is blessing, glory and joy (9:22-24; Ephesians 1:6,3; 2 Thessalonians 2:14; 1 Peter 1:8). God has …

Leviticus 7-8

Leviticus 7:1-38 -  As we read about the sacrifices, rejoicing in Christ – the perfect Sacrifice for sin – , let us bring our sacrifice of ‘thanksgiving’ (12-13,15). ‘Let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God’ (Hebrews 13:15). Let it be ‘a living sacrifice’, the sacrifice of our lives – this is …

Twenty-Third Sunday after Pentecost; Deuteronomy 34:1-12; Psalm 90:1-6, 13-17 or Leviticus 19:1-2, 15-18; Psalm 1; 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8; Matthew 22:34-46

“The eternal God is your refuge and underneath are the everlasting arms.” ‘The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms’ (Deuteronomy 33:27): This is no guarantee of peaceful tranquillity. For Israel, there was conflict. ‘Saved by the Lord’, Israel had found true happiness. Still, there were ‘enemies’ to be ‘thrust out’and …

Give your heart to Christ.

Leviticus 11:1-47 God sees only two types of people: 'clean' and 'unclean'. All of us are 'in Adam' (sinners). Not all are 'in Christ' (saved) (Romans 5:12-21). How about you? - Are you cleansed, forgiven, born again, saved, committed (1 John 1:7,9; John 3:7; Acts 16:31; 2 Timothy 1:12)? Or, are you still in your …

Our Lord Jesus Christ has done for us what we could never do for ourselves.

Leviticus 14:1-57 We read here of our need of cleansing and of the sacrifice of a lamb as a way of removing our guilt and bringing us into peace with God (Leviticus 14:21). Spiritually, we are "poor." What we have to bring to God is not "that much." It is not enough to provide for …

Link to Rev James Philip’s notes on Leviticus

Leviticus

Overview Of The Old Testament: Leviticus

Leviticus 1-7 Jesus Christ, ‘the Lamb without blemish’, has ‘made atonement’ for sin through the shedding of His ‘precious blood’ (1:3-5; 1 Peter 1:18-19). Christ is the real thing. Israel’s sacrifices are only ‘copies of the heavenly things’, ‘a shadow of the good things to come’ (Hebrews 9:23-24; 10:1,5-10). Christ’s sacrifice covers every sin. No …

Leviticus

LEVITICUS 1:1-2:16 –  Jesus Christ, ‘the Lamb without blemish’, has ‘made atonement’ for sin through the shedding of His ‘precious blood’ (1:3-5; 1 Peter 1:18-19). This offering of Christ – He ‘loved us and gave Himself up for us’ – is ‘a pleasing odour to the Lord’, ‘a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God’ (1:9,13,17; …

Lord, You call us to “worship You in spirit and in truth.”

Leviticus 22:17-23:44 Lord, You call us to "worship You in spirit and in truth" (John 4:24). Where does true worship come from? - It comes from You. It comes from Your Spirit. It comes from Your Truth. We read the Holy Scriptures - and we begin to worship You. We open our hearts to the …

Set Free For God’s Future

"a sin offering ... an atonement ... clean" (Leviticus 12:8). We read the words of the book of Leviticus. We feel like we're out of our depth. We don't really know what to make all of this. We read about " a sin offering", we read about "an atonement", we read about being made "clean" …

Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time: Leviticus 19:1-2,17-18; 1 Corinthians 3:16-23; Matthew 5:38-48

Holiness and Love Holiness and love – the two belong together (Leviticus 19:1,18,34).  God calls us to live a life of holiness, a life of love.  Through His Spirit – the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of love – , He enables us to live this life.  We need His promises.  We need His commands.  Take …