Leviticus (Chapters 11-15)

This video is about Leviticus 11-15

Transcript

Mission And Welcome Back

Phil Porter 0:00

You're listening to Teach Me the Bible podcast. Our mission is to help the people of God understand the Word of God. Join us each Monday and Thursday for new episode releases. Listen to our full library of content at teachmethebible.com or by downloading the Teach Me the Bible app from any app store. You're listening to Teach Me the Bible Podcast. Hey everybody, welcome back to Teach Me the Bible Podcast. My name is Phil Porter, alongside Dr. David Klingler. We're in the book of Leviticus. And today we're going to do a kind of a little chunk here. But um there are some important things I think to note is that the Lord is holy. And uh He has some specific guidelines for Israel on um what to do on specific things, and that's a lot of what too we're gonna cover today because because he is holy, and the nation actually is supposed to be holy as he is holy, this is why um he has these laws that are gonna be presented here. So um looking forward to today, this big chunk, and uh help us understand.

The Problem Of A Holy God

Dr. David Klingler 1:11

Yeah, so we're in a we're gonna take a big chunk of a big chunk that's part of a bigger chunk. Right? And so we're we're gonna be in this this section of 11 through 15 that really is gonna flow right into chapter 16. We'll talk about that, that's part of a bigger section, which really begins with the whole building of the tabernacle. So the tabernacle, um, the Lord dwelling in the midst of a people, how do you have a set apart, clean, pure, holy, whatever words you want to use there? A um a God of the garden where perfection was everywhere, dwelling in the midst of a people who are outside the garden where sin, sickness, death, disease, evil is everywhere. Um, and so how does a people um how do they dwell with a holy God? That that's what we're that's the dilemma that we're dealing with in this whole section. And this has been the struggle from the beginning. And Israel is uh is part of an evil people. They they are rebellious the whole time, and and um Moses has had to step in already uh to say, Lord, don't kill them all. Uh and um, and so Moses is a mediator of a covenant. This is what's happening, and this is how even Paul's going to explain this over in Galatians, and uh and so so you've got a uh holy God, and Moses in between a holy God and a people, and the people are to be a set-apart people to be in between a holy God and the nations, uh, and this creates uh quite a bit. Um, and so I want to back up a little bit into chapter 10, uh, because all of the categories that are going to be in this next sections are developed

Learning To Divide Holy And Profane

Dr. David Klingler 3:07

here. Uh back in 108, it says, Then the Lord spoke to Aaron, saying, Do not drink wine or strong drink, neither you nor your sons, uh, when you come into the Ten of Meetings, so that you will not die. Now, simple instruction. Yeah, that this is going to flow into chapter 16, um, the Day of Atonement, when the priest, when Aaron has to, you know, change his clothes and and go into the Holy of Holies. And this is a one-time yearly event, and um, and if he does anything wrong, he dies. And so this is all uh just just gonna flow right into the next section. Um so that when you come into the ten of meeting, you will not die. It is a perpetual statement, a perpetual statute throughout your generations, and so that you will make distinctions between what is holy and profane, between what is unclean and clean. Now, all the way through this uh this next section, um we'll need to identify, they're gonna translate these words with the in Hebrew. There's a a root word. Let's let's take holy, for example, uh kadosh or uh all kinds of you know um, you know, set apart, kaddish, set apart, kadosh. Um it is holy, it is set apart. Um and uh and and so it is altogether separate, altogether different, and that is contrasted with uh a word that uh that is uh we we translate as as profane, uh, and it is from uh halal to be defiled, to be profane. Uh and and so you've got set apart and profane. Think of it as um altogether separate, different think garden, and then profane, mixed with the mess, right? I mean, I you know that that's kind of a crude way to put it, but but that's uh clean and unclean. You know, clean, set apart, holy, um acceptable, um would fit right in in the garden and stuff that won't. Okay. Um so that this is so that the the the the the Aaron and his sons were to ensure that they were able to divide. They're they're translating this in verse 10, make a distinction. Uh it is divide. It's it's the same word when the Lord divided the you know the waters in the dry land, the heavens which are above, waters which were above, the waters which were below. It's the it's Genesis 1 language, but it's it's dividing language, divide between the holy and between the profane, between the clean and between the unclean. Uh, and so uh as uh in and and in addition to teach the sons of Israel all the statutes, so they've got to be able to discern for themselves and for the nation, so that the nation would be holy and clean, as the nation represents the Lord to the nations. Okay, and so so this is all just tying together. Chapter uh 10, then verse 12, you get this Moses spoke to Israel and to his surviving sons. So these two sons have already blown it, they've died. Moses has told them, Aaron, don't say anything, right? Uh and um this is Eliezer and uh Ithamar, take a grain offering that is left over from the Lord's offering and burn it with fire, and you shall eat it in the holy place. There's our word, the holy place. It is most holy, and you eat it in the holy place. It is uh your dew, it is for your sons. Uh, the breast uh offering, however, verse 14, the thigh offering, you may eat in a clean place. So a holy place, a clean place. 13 and 14. There's the contrast. Uh well, and what happens uh is um a situation where you kind of get both of these things, you know, um the command previously given and what uh has just been given are kind of coming into conflict. And this is an illustration of Aaron's ability to discern between, you know, clean and unclean, holy, unholy. These things are clashing. Um and so uh, you know, why did you not eat the sin offering at the holy place? Verse 17, uh, for it is most holy. Um and Aaron um spoke to Moses and said, Well, to this very uh day, they presented their sin offering and their burnt offering before the Lord. And when things happen, uh, you know, when these things happened to me, if I had eaten a sin offering today, it would have been uh would it have been good in the eyes of the Lord? The answer is, well, no. Okay, well then he's making discernment. So so this is a you're you're it's an illustration of the instruction in uh in 1010. Aaron's doing it. Okay, now um here's the list of the clean, the unclean, the holy, the unholy. And this is the list that Aaron is to know, his sons are to know, so that Israel clearly delineates between these two, and they do these

Food Laws And Detestable Creatures

Dr. David Klingler 8:35

things. And so um in chapter 11, uh this is the the law about uh food, what they can eat, what they can eat. Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, These are the creatures that you may eat from all of the animals that are on the on the land. Whatever divides the hoof makes the hoof split. Choose the cud among the animals you may eat. So you're allowed to eat those if there's the the hoof is split, and if it chews the cud. There are some that their hoof is split, but they don't chew the cud, like the pig. There are those that chew the cud, but their foot's not split, like the camel or the rabbit, or or the the gopher, whatever. Uh, and so it's got to have both. If it doesn't have both, then you're not allowed to eat it. Verse 10. Whatever's in the seas, in the rivers, that does not have fins and scales among the teeming life, among all the living creatures that are in the water, they are detestable to you. That they are um it's actually a different word that's not either pro profane or unclean. They're detestable. They're they're they're they're unholy, they're you know, they're they're not to be uh to be eaten. Um continues on. I lost my place here. Let me scroll down here. Um uh they are abhorrent. Uh same uh it's it's the same uh the same word here, abhorrent, detestable, verse 11, detest. It's all the same word that's being used here. Um whatever in the water does not have fins and scales, it is detestable, it is unacceptable to you. Moreover, uh you shall detest all the birds, um uh all those among the birds um that are you know detestable. You detest those who are detestable. Yeah. The eagle, the vulture, the buzzard, the kite, the falcon. Um all of these that uh seems to to me that these are the the animals that eat other animals' flesh. Seems to be that way in the unclean animals earlier as well. That if an animal eats other animals, it is unclean. You don't eat the things that eat the things, okay? You eat the things that eat the um uh that eat the grass, right? Um it's the old joke for the you know for the guy who eats beef, you know. I don't eat salad. I you know that's what the things I eat eat, right? Yeah, and so you eat the things that eat salad. You don't eat the things that eat meat that eat the, you know. Yes. Um and so these winged animals, uh uh same thing with the insects. You know, you've got the insects that uh, you know, like the locusts, the cricket, the grasshopper, they bend their leg a certain way, uh, and they're they they eat, you know, grass, they eat the leaves, that type of thing. Uh seems that that's what's what's going on, best I can tell. You know, there's there's all kinds of you know, you you try to put this together. Um the the blood is unclean, you shall not eat the blood, you shall not eat the the the flesh, death, blood, all of that is unacceptable in the garden, right? Uh outside of the garden, uh, then this becomes you know normal, uh, normal life. And and so you're not to eat the blood. Uh the life is in the blood, things that eat the blood, they're unclean too. That that's kind of how I I think it's being put together. At least that's my understanding. Um, so if it's got paws, uh you don't eat it because it doesn't have the split hoof. All the swarming things, all of the geckos and crocodiles and lizards and reptiles and chameleons, these are unclean to you, the swarming things. Uh whoever touches them uh when they are dead becomes unclean. Uh, and so all the way through here, you're getting this clean and unclean. Uh, what makes it uh something clean and unclean? And then he goes into um, what if the unclean animal touches something? Touches a pot, touches uh uh something that you cook with, or or uh something that you carry things in, a bag or something like that. So he's gonna go through, he's gonna explain this is what makes, you know, the unclean animal makes these things unclean, and they have either have to be washed or have to be destroyed, right? Uh and so um this is the law regarding the animal and the bird, every living thing that moves uh in the waters and everything that swarms on the earth to make a distinction between the clean and the unclean, between the edible and the creatures that are not to be eaten, right? So we're we're kind of dividing all these things out, being told to Aaron and to his sons through the book of Leviticus, through Moses' words, so that Israel knows them, so that Israel is clean and they know what's clean and unclean.

Childbirth Blood And Mary’s Offering

Dr. David Klingler 13:10

Then uh Moses turns his attention in chapter twelve uh to the you know, really this is gonna, I I think, uh it's dealing with the with the blood, right? Uh then the Lord said to Moses, speak to the sons of Israel. When a woman gives birth to a male child, um, she is unclean for seven days. Uh in the days of her menstruation, she shall be unclean. And the eighth day of the flesh of the foreskin, uh the son shall shall be circumcised, but she shall remain in the blood of her purification for thirty-three days. She is not to touch any they c translate this consecrated thing in uh in twelve four. It's just more of the of the same the same language. She is not to touch anything uh that is uh it is unclean. Um she shall remain in the blood of her uh purification, uh in the but blood of her uh cleansing for sixty-six uh for sixty-six days. Uh when the days of her cleansing, making clean are completed, uh for a son or a daughter, she shall bring to the priest the doorway of the tent a one-year-old lamb, a burnt offering, a young pigeon, a turtle dove. And she shall offer it before the Lord to make atonement for her, and she shall be cleansed from the flow of her blood. This is the law of the one who bears a child, a marrow feet. If she cannot afford a lamb, then she's to take two turtle doves, two pigeons, one for the burnt offering, the other for the sin offering, and the priest shall make atonement for her, and so she shall be clean. Um, this passage right here, uh Leviticus chapter 12, verses 7 and 8, um, this is an example of in the Gospel of Luke. Luke is showing that Mary is poor in all the way through the book of Luke, Luke Acts, the the poor, um, both poor physically and poor spiritually, those are poor in spirit, um, will be exalted. The the one who humbles himself will be exalted, the ones who have exalted themselves will be humbled. And so this is a way in which uh not only is it true that Mary was poor, uh obviously because uh she brought two turtle doves, um, but Luke is pointing that out. Even in the what we call the magnificent Mary's Prayer, it makes these same points. Uh, it's contrasted between the Pharisees who are rich uh and don't think they need they don't think they have sin, and so they don't think they need a covering for sin, uh, versus the poor who know that they need a covering for sin. Uh and so they are coming to Jesus through the whole book of Luke. So so this is the type of thing that we'll see uh later uh used in the in the New Testament.

Skin Disease Discharge And Being Restored

Dr. David Klingler 16:02

Um chapters 13 uh through 15, uh we you can go through this um uh you know kind of on your own. But basically, this is when we think of leprosy, we think of the disease leprosy. This is really any skin condition. Um and the the priest is supposed to discern between what's acceptable, unacceptable, clean, unclean, what basically what's infectious and what needs to be concerned, and you need to separate this person from the people because we don't want this spreading throughout the people and making them all unclean. Uh and so, you know, this is um you know we like I said we think of leprosy. I think that I don't know, I don't think they had chicken pox or smallpox or anything, those related diseases, but but you know, that that type of thing, any type of infectious disease, along with leprosy, would certainly fit in here, uh, would uh you know, would uh would fit. The uh the priest's job was to determine, look at it, and see if it was skin deep, if it was, if it was more than skin deep, then then they were to be declared unclean. And and so there's all of this instruction on not only what is clean and unclean, but then how do you function afterwards? You know what do you what do you do? And so this is the instruction for the priest. And this is going to flow all the way down through chapter uh chapter 14 and chapter 15, um, what makes someone clean and unclean? All the uh we're talking about the the the the you know discharge, you know, if if like if you've got a wound that's you know seeping, you won't get too you know graphic here, but you know that type of thing. But um, but is it uh, you know, when is it acceptable for this person to rejoin uh the covenant community? And and so it was the priest's job to do that. You'll see these stories. Um, that Jesus cleanses the leper, the the unclean leper touches Jesus, and that's supposed to make Jesus unclean. Uh but here Jesus uh makes the unclean clean and goes and tells then tells him, Go present yourself to the priest so that they will say, Yep, you're you are you have in fact been made been made clean and acceptable. And so this is gonna go all the way down through chapter 15. Chapter 16 uh is the law of atonement.

Day Of Atonement Preview

Dr. David Klingler 18:29

We'll pick this up uh next time uh in chapter 16, but uh, but I want to just introduce it uh quickly because uh uh because again, we're gonna get um several stories uh that are going to play out in the New Testament. It's the it's the Day of Atonement. Um there's a lot that's going to happen, just you know, by way of heads up, uh, on the Day of Atonement, both in the Old Testament and then when we're in the Gospels, there's gonna be a lot of New Testament allusion to these passages in the crucifixion of Christ, uh, in Christ's um trial, uh, in the release of the scapegoat. Um there's gonna be a tradition uh that uh you know we uh kill one and let one go. And and uh we've got Jesus and we've got bar Abbas, and we'll talk about uh what those words uh mean next time. Um Yahweh saves and son of the father, which one do you want to let go? And and they say, let the son of the father go, bar Abbas go. Uh and so there's a lot of this that's gonna play out. There's instruction that's very specific. Uh, and uh in the New Testament, uh, we're gonna see these things play out over and over in the gospel stories. And so the more that you know the book of Leviticus, the more you know these details, um, the more you you will be able to make sense of some of these stories.

Samson And Playing With Uncleanness

Dr. David Klingler 20:05

Let me go back to one that we skipped over. So uh when an animal has paws, it's unclean, and you're not to touch it. You certainly don't touch its carcass. Um think of Samson's story, right? So Samson was uh, and again, remember I said this is a section of a section, and and we're going from basically the introduction to build the tabernacle all the way into the book of Numbers. In Numbers chapter six, there is this instruction about the Nazirite vow, and uh, and this goes all the way back to earlier in Leviticus, uh, this this Nazirite, it's being separate and set apart, and and they were not to drink strong wine. We saw this here. Um, they were uh they were not to have anything to do with with grapes, they were not to uh have anything to do with anything that was unclean. Um and here uh is Samson walking through uh they were so they were also not to cut their hair, but that's you know kind of another an additional thing. Um, but here's Samson, he's walking through the vineyard, and you're going, well, why are you walking through the vineyard? You're not supposed to be around any kind of grapes. And and this lion comes on him, he kills the lion, you know. So now that he's I'm assuming he had to touch the lion to kill it, um, and so now he's unclean. But uh, but you know, the the author's kind of you're you're showing how close, or he's showing how close Samson is getting uh to breaking the law. Um and then uh he he's coming back through the same place uh and there is a uh there are bees who have built uh you know a hive in the the carcass, apparently, and there's honey in there, and he's scooping the the honey out of the carcass to eat it. And you're going, what are you doing? Right. Now, is the author saying this is all bad? No, they're showing you this is a problem. Samson's playing awfully fast and loose with the law here. He's putting his toe up over the line, and when he violates all three of those commands, the the you know the grapes, the uh um the uh the the touching of the unclean animals, uh touching of the dead, uh, and cutting his hair, he loses all of his strength. It is only when he begets his strength back that he starts to do what's good right in the eyes of the Lord. There's so much imagery here that's built into all these stories. And if you don't know these these Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy passages, then really none of the details in any of these scenes makes much sense. Uh, and so it's a great opportunity to go read them. Uh I I would make the habit often when I drive back and forth to Dallas of listening to Leviticus um early in the morning. Now, look, if you know the guy who's reading it has to, you know, if he's got a monotone voice, I don't recommend trying to try red eyes. You're you're falling asleep. You know, um, but you will be amazed, you say, wait a second, I didn't know that was in there. That's like when Jesus does this, or when, you know, Isaiah is talking about this thing over. I didn't know that was in there. Uh, and you're gonna see this over and over and over to the point where everything Jesus is saying and everything Jesus is doing, and everything that Paul and Peter and James and John and the New Testament apostles are referring to, and all the Old Testament prophets are referring to, is coming right out of the law without except almost every single verse. Uh and so when so then the question becomes do we interpret these things by the law? Yes. The reason why is because that's the morality, that's the ethic

Leviticus As The Key To The Bible

Dr. David Klingler 24:08

that has been established that Israel was to know. And so when the reader says, wait a second, they're doing what? You're supposed to be shocked, you're supposed to be appalled. Uh, and that is how the storyteller is telling the story to the reader. And you're supposed to go, oh no, what are they doing? Yeah, they're doing that again. Oh, here we go again, right? Uh and so this is the story. Uh, and all of these little details are gonna really matter. Now, um, they matter to the storyteller and to the story hearer, but they go more than that in Old Testament Israel. They were to be lived out, right? And so these were instructions that were to be lived out day by day. So, you know, Israel goes in, they take the land, they're, you know, they're they're gonna build the tabernacle, and and during the days of the kingdom, David's going to set it out to build the tower, uh, the temple, and Solomon's gonna build it. Uh, but all of these things were to be continually done in their midst, um, day after day after day. They don't do them, or they violate violate the law. Uh, and so now the later storyteller reflects back and shows you how evil they were by how they violated the law over and over again. Uh, and so there's a practical applicational day-by-day function for the Israelite. Uh, but then for the later hearer of these stories, you're supposed to go, Oh, I see why this happened. They've been wicked the whole time. Yes, they have. Uh, and so so the book of Leviticus is central. You know, we said this before. Um, the when the Lord is speaking to Moses, this is the red letter edition of the Old Testament. This is thus saith the Lord, quote. And you're to give heed to these. The sons of Aaron were to give heed to these things. Uh, they were to make them known to Israel so that they would give heed to these things, because they were to be a kingdom of priests, a holy people set apart so that they could be a kingdom of priests to the nations. Uh, and so this is all going to snowball on Israel when they rebel against it.

Phil Porter 26:21

And you've said many times before about the book of Leviticus that although it doesn't directly apply to us, this is how we understand the Bible. Absolutely.

Dr. David Klingler 26:32

Absolutely. And and so, uh, like I said, the the the instruction was given to Israel, and it was uh it's an imperative, do it. Okay. Um, and so during the days before the kingdom, for example, or before the exile, before they're kicked out of the land, they were to do this. Uh, as they're being kicked out of the land, uh, and these authors are, you know, these later authors are telling this is why they're getting kicked out of the land, because they're not doing it. And so it it so that still applies to us. We are to to we still understand how Israel blew it in the Old Testament by understanding the law and how it applied to their Old Testament story, and how that all of that Old Testament story and all of that sacrificial system and all of that imagery is going to play right into the gospels. But remember this. Uh just last little point in closing. The antagonist in the New Testament, the antagonist in uh Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John uh are the Pharisees, the lawyers. How many debates do they have with Jesus over the law, over clean and unclean, over tithing? Uh you, you know, you worship wash worship you worship the outside. Uh, but the inside is defiled, it's unclean. Uh this is Leviticus discussion that Jesus is having with these scribes and Pharisees, these lawyers who know the law, and they're claiming uh to do part of it. And Jesus is saying, but you're neglecting the bigger part. This is going to happen over and over. In the New Testament, uh, the epistles, Paul's epistles, everywhere he goes, Book of Acts, he's going to fight against the Jews who are appealing to the law over and over again. Uh, and so this is this is so central to our understanding, not just of Old Testament story, of prophets, but of the gospels and of the epistles, and then ultimately of revelation when Christ comes and returns and restores all. And and and we're looking towards the garden scene again, right? And where it's all made clean, it's all made pure, it's all made holy. Um there's nothing impure, unclean, and all the things that were um not in the garden will be not in the garden again. No more sin, sickness, sorrow, death, suffering, no more tears, no more evil. It's all going to be done away with at the end. And uh, and so we're watching this story unfold, and it's just uh it's just amazing to to be able to understand it. Um, but you have to understand these passages that we don't read because we think, well, they don't apply to us today. Yep. Say no, but they sure do uh give us understanding on how to how to interpret the Bible.

Phil Porter 29:20

Absolutely. So today, you know, 11 through 15, we kind of went through uh encourage you go read it, see if it triggers something, you know, uh brings to your memory. Uh you talked about some uh today with Mary, we talked about that. You talked about Samson, you also talked about leprosy, you know. Uh so even if you if those are the only three that come. The woman hemorrhaging hemorrhaging. Oh, there we go. There's another thing.

Dr. David Klingler 29:42

I mean, there they're there's just there's example after example after example. It's it's every scene that Jesus interacts with these Pharisees.

Phil Porter 29:49

It's over the law, every single one. Yeah. So just make sure, man, just as you're reading this, if it triggers it, go back. And I think most Bibles probably have something that kind of tell you, hey, this is where it goes. Many have cross-references, so pay attention to those cross-references.

Dr. David Klingler 30:05

Some

Homework Cross References And Closing

Dr. David Klingler 30:06

some of them will just tie a a word, uh, but often that they tie it back correctly to the to the correct scene, the correct context. Often, you know, when, for example, uh when Mary is bringing her sacrifice, her offering to the temple, uh, you know, it uh, you know, it it I most of the Bibles I've seen, they'll tie it back uh to to uh uh to Leviticus and to the poor offering two turtledoves. Wonderful.

Phil Porter 30:33

Well, that's your homework, but we'll uh pick back up next week, starting with the uh law of atonement and everything that comes along with that. I feels like it's gonna be a big one. So we'll see you next time. For more resources, visit teachmethebible.com or download our app from any app store. You can partner with Teach Me the Bible in helping the people of God understand the Word of God by subscribing and sharing with others. Thank you for listening to Teach Me the Bible Podcast.