Leviticus (Chapter 27)

This video is about Leviticus 26 and 27

Transcript

Copy Transcript Copied

Welcome And Where We Are

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. And uh I'm alongside Dr. David Klinger. My name's Phil Porter, and I am excited for today. We are going to be doing the last book of, or sorry, the last chapter of the book of Leviticus. Um, but uh spoiler alert, it won't uh just stop. We just go right into numbers. So although we are ending a book, don't think that that has no there's no significance really just in the ending of the book, like, oh, well now there's a totally different thought or a totally different idea. Uh nope, it's just a story and it just keeps going. So uh today we are in chapter uh 27

Leviticus Flows Straight Into Numbers

Phil Porter 1:05

and we are ready to learn.

Dr. David Klingler 1:08

Yeah, this is um so so chapter 27, the book of Leviticus ends at the end of the book of Leviticus. Thank you for making that statement. Appreciate that. The question is, yeah, thanks for staying on this. The question is, why does it end there? Verse 34, the end of the chapter says, uh, these are the commandments which the Lord commanded Moses uh to uh you know for the sons of Israel at Mount Sinai. Okay. So uh now, uh verse uh one of the book of Numbers, uh, and the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai at the tent of meeting in the second month of the second year after they came out, and he says, Take a census. And so uh so the the number, the word numbers, um midbar uh is the the word uh for the title of numbers in Hebrew. It's not doesn't have to do with the census or taking the count. That's where we get numbers from the taking the census, two sense, census, sense I. I like that word.

Phil Porter 2:11

I don't know if that's technically we're making up words here. Yeah.

Dr. David Klingler 2:17

Yeah. They're gonna count the first generation, they're gonna count the second generation. That's where they're getting the the this numbers um uh title. Uh but in the wilderness is uh the title in Hebrew of the of the fourth scroll of the five that make up Torah.

The Meaning Of A Wonderful Vow

Dr. David Klingler 2:35

Um, but this is a continuous story, as as we've said. Uh, this chapter uh the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, when a man makes a, and then we got this phrase, and they're going to translate it uh differently. Here I'm looking at the uh let me look at New American Standard. It says uh a difficult vow, others, uh a wonderful vow. The word actually is uh to to make uh wonderful, to make amazing, astonishing, something like that. Okay. So not difficult in the sense of hard. Like hardship, yeah. But difficult in the sense of how's that work? You know, uh difficult to understand. Why would someone do this, right? That type of thing. Um in Numbers chapter six, the same language is going to show up. It's the the vowel, uh the Nazarite vowel. It's the uh the vowel uh of one who's dedicated himself to the Lord. And this is what we're talking about here. Uh someone who wants to dedicate themselves to the Lord, dedicate um um, you know, whatever it is. They there's several things that can be uh be dedicated here uh to the Lord. Uh and and this is this chapter is going to talk about those things. And so special dedication to the Lord, above and beyond what was required. Uh, if someone says, I uh I want to make a special vow or a wonderful vow uh to the Lord, uh Deuteronomy is going to warn against doing, you know, if you make a vow to the Lord, you will be sure to keep it, unless the Lord require it of you. Um, but if you refrain from vowing, it you know, there's no harm there. Jesus is going to say, Yet you're let your yes be yes and your and your no be no. But but this is a uh vow that is above and beyond what was required in the law. So the Lord speaks to Moses and says, Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, if a man makes a wonderful vow, a special vow, whatever, however we want to translate that, uh he shall be valued according to the valuation of the persons belonging to the Lord. If the valuation is a male of 20 years, even to 60 years old. Now, the reason why these evaluations are being set is if uh you want to purchase back, essentially, you say I dedicate myself or dedicate um my house or my field or whatever it is to the Lord or an animal, um, and uh then you say I want to buy it back, then there's a purchase price and and a request and an additional uh 20% is is added to it uh to redeem it. So if the valuation of the male uh from 20 years to 60 years, uh it shall be 50 shekels of silver after the shekel of the sanctuary. If it's a female, 30 um shekels. If it is uh if uh it be from five years to twenty years old, then the valuation for a male will be twenty, a female ten. Um why these different valuations? Well, um because and it's gonna uh talk about it here even more in a second. Why why uh younger is more versus older?

Valuing People And The Priest’s Role

Dr. David Klingler 5:55

Because of its work. How much work can this person uh person do? How strong are they? How much work can they do? Verse 8, if a person is poorer than the then the evaluation, in other words, they're not um it could be poor in the sense of you know however we want to interpret that. Probably here what we're talking about here is uh uh in in the sense of um um maybe impoverished, but but but maybe weaker than than normal. Maybe that that might be what's uh what's going on here. Um and this this um vow could be for a certain uh number of years. Uh if uh if it uh be from five years to twenty years, the valuation um shall be twenty shekels, ten for the female, but if they are a month um uh uh uh even up to five years, then the valuation uh shall be for the male and for the female three shekels of silver. Uh Hannah is going to dedicate Samuel to the Lord. Um this is this would be the type of thing that's going on here. Uh you remember the story of Hannah in 1 Samuel. She doesn't have any children. She makes a she vows to the Lord. If the Lord will give me uh a child, then I will dedicate them to the Lord. This is what this is what's being talked about here. If from sixty years old and upward, uh, if it is a male, then the valuation shall be fifteen shekels, female ten shekels. But if he is poor, then the valuation, then he shall be placed before the priest, and the priest shall value him. According to the means uh of the one who is vowed, the priest shall value him. If it's an animal of any kind, uh which man can present as an offering to the Lord, uh such as one that uh gives to the Lord uh shall be holy, he shall not replace it or exchange it, the good for the for the bad, or the bad for the good. Uh if or if he does exchange animal for animal, then both it and its substitute shall become holy. If, however, it is an unclean animal, of which uh men do not present as an offering to the Lord, then he shall place the animal before the priest, and the priest shall value it as either good or bad, and you uh uh as you, the priest, value it, so it shall be. Um but if he should ever wish to redeem it, then he shall add one fifth to its valuation. If a man consecrates or makes holy his house to the Lord, he sets his house apart to the Lord. The priest shall valuate it, uh, you know, shall value it either good or bad, and the priest value, uh the priest values it, that's what it will be, though thus it shall stand. Uh yet if the one who sets it apart, who consecrates it, uh should wish to redeem his house, then he shall add one-fifth of the valuation to it, uh, so that it may be his. Again, if any man consecrates to the Lord part of his field or part of his property, um then you know it's its uh valuation shall be proportionate uh to the seed needed for it. In other words, how big is the field, how much produce does it uh produce, a homer of barley seed at fifty shekels of silver, if he consecrates his field as uh of the year of Jubilee, according to the valuation it shall stand. If he consecrates his field after Jubilee, in other words, he's saying, I will do this uh up until the Jubilee, then it's the same Jubilee valuations that we talked about uh two podcasts ago. If he wishes to redeem it, he has to add uh one fifth to the evalu to the valuation. Uh verse 20, yet he will not redeem uh the field, but as uh if he will not redeem the field, but it's uh sold to another man, it may no longer be redeemed. Uh and when it reverts in Jubilee, the field shall be holy to the Lord, uh like a field set apart, it shall be for the priest and for his property. Um if he has consecrated to the Lord a field which he has bought,

Animals Houses Fields And Redemption

Dr. David Klingler 10:00

uh which is not part of the field of his own property, the priest shall calculate uh for him the amount of the valuation uh valuation up to the year of Jubilee, uh, and he shall on that day give the valuation as holy to the Lord. In the year of Jubilee, the field shall return to the one who bought it, um, to whom the possession of the land belongs. Every valuation of yours, moreover, shall be after the shekel of the sanctuary. The shekel shall be twenty gerahs. Moreover, the firstborn among the animals, uh you're not allowed to do this with the firstborn, because it's already belongs to the Lord. That's what's going on here. Uh if it is an unclean animal, then he shall redeem it according to the valuation and add one fifth to it. Uh also all the way through here, we're getting these valuations. Uh if someone wants to dedicate something, something of value to the Lord, this is what's going on. Uh verse 28. Uh anything which a man sets apart to the Lord, out of all that he has, a man or an animal or a field or uh anything from his possession shall not be sold or redeemed unless devoted to destruction, uh it is most holy to the Lord. Uh no one who may have uh set apart among the men shall be ransomed. He shall surely be put to death. You're not allowed to do that. Thus all the the tithe of the land, all that the seed of the land, all the fruit of the trees are the Lord's, it is holy to the Lord. You can see why this they would think, well, that's this is a hard vow to make. It's a difficult vow. Uh it's a wonderful vow, right? Uh if a man wishes to redeem part of his tithe, he shall redeem it by adding one fifth to it. For every tenth part of the herd or the flock, whatever passes under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the Lord. Uh, he is not to be concerned whether it is good or bad, uh, nor shall he exchange it. For if he does exchange it, then both it and the substitute shall become holy. It shall not be redeemed. In other words, you weren't allowed to say, oh, that's that's that's a bad animal or or a good animal, let me substitute a bad. No, no. If you try to do that, both you lose both. These are the commandments which the Lord commanded for the sons of Israel at Mount Sinai. One of the problems that we get into with Leviticus, and we're we're now to the end of the book of Leviticus, is that it seems like it's kind of covering different issues. Well, there are many issues that had to be addressed as Israel's taking the land. Uh, and so there's an interruption in the story. And Leviticus basically is an interruption in the story to for the Lord to instruct Moses on how Israel, the sons of Israel, and more importantly, the priests, the Levites, uh, Leviticus, the Levites, were to operate uh in their administration of the duties in between the Lord and Israel. Uh and this was going to be for all of their days. Uh, it was the function of the tabernacle, the temporary dwelling of the Lord. And then when we get to Deuteronomy chapter 12, then the Lord's going to choose for His Himself a place for His name to dwell forever. This is going to be Jerusalem. We don't know this in the story yet, uh, but uh uh but pretty quickly uh in the story we're going to learn that that place is Jerusalem, the place where the Lord's name will dwell forever. And that's going to play a central role uh in all of human history, this city, Jerusalem. Uh, and um, and it's going to uh to be the center of of the discussion in the uh in the prophets, in the gospels, in the epistles, uh, and in Revelation. This this place where the Lord dwells uh and where he rules from is going to be central uh in the rest of the story. So so the the instruction in Leviticus is going to be important and it's going to have its uh impact throughout the rest of uh the rest of human history and the rest of the story as well.

Phil Porter 14:09

Yeah, you've said many times you get the Genesis, Exodus, and Leviticus, it slows way down. It does. And this is why. It's it's instructing the Lord's instructing

Devoted Things And Tithes Explained

Phil Porter 14:20

Moses, Moses is then instructing Israel or the priest, and this is what you need to do. Um, and um I think it's very important uh to realize these moments of slowing down. There's a lot of things that you've we've touched through this entire book that that you can see everywhere, you know, uh within New Testament um apostles and and uh and then referring back to here. Um and it's it it's it remember we talked about before, which was one of the the greatest things that you had said is that if there was a red letter version of the Old Testament, this would be flooded. Yeah, Leviticus would be shockful. Yes, and so it is very important for Israel, and it's actually very important in understanding the story.

Dr. David Klingler 15:09

The thing we don't like about it is it doesn't apply directly to us, and we've been taught uh that that if it doesn't apply to us, then it's not important, right?

Phil Porter 15:20

Yep.

Dr. David Klingler 15:20

Well, think of what movie would you watch then? Oh, yeah. Yeah, you know, the the uh well this I I'm not a you know I'm not a doctor in prison, so the movie the fugitive or whatever has no relevance to me. No, there's the moral of the story. Um, but but all of the imagery, all the language, all of the things that are happening here, you're watching it play out. Israel's lack of faithfulness to the Lord, uh, the tension is being built. We call this in story the rising action. Uh, and the way that the narrator is showing you is through they're not doing these commands, they're not keeping the law. Do you see this? And if you understand why these commands are being given, because it goes back to the garden, because it goes back to um separation uh from the presence of the Lord, but now the Lord has agreed to dwell in the midst of these people so long as they keep the commands, so long as the priests make atonement covering, you know, kind of reconcile the conflict between a holy God who demands perfection and a sinful people who are incapable of it. What's the middle ground? Well, the middle ground is the priesthood. And boy, if you understand this, then the the work of Christ becomes very significant. The payment of Christ, the sacrificial system, uh is huge. Um in um you know, in the gospel of John, Jesus is going to say that the Spirit is coming and it will convict the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. Um, when I reflect back, you know, convict the world of sin of righteousness. Israel had already been convicted of sin of righteousness and of judgment. That

Why Leviticus Matters For Jesus

Dr. David Klingler 17:05

was the function of the law. The law showed their sinfulness, uh, it demanded a payment, sin of judgment and of righteousness. It said, This is your sin, this is the righteous standard of God, and here's the judgment in the middle of it. This is the sacrificial system. The law was a tutor to Christ. We talked last time about Galatians. Well, uh, Paul's explaining the function of the law in the Old Testament was a tutor to lead Israel to Christ. And they didn't come to Christ, but the Gentiles did without the law, without being circumcised and without keeping the law. And this is the tension that is right there in the book of Galatians. And so um the goal of the law uh was to reveal the righteous character of God, to reveal that Israel didn't have it. The fact that no other humans had it was went without saying. Uh the Lord had not revealed himself to Israel. So now Israel was without excuse. They were to, because of the law, recognize their need for the coming payment, the Christ, and to place their faith in him. So salvation was always through faith in the coming one who was provided, foretold in the law. All of the law and all the psalms and all the prophets speaks of Moses. Um, this is Jesus' words in Luke chapter 24, Jesus' words in John chapter 5. Uh, if you believed Moses, you would believe me, for Moses wrote of me. Uh, and so this is not just happenstance. This isn't just, oh, that that's a nice little saying. No, this is actually what's going on. It's not true because Jesus says it. Jesus says it's because it's true. Paul says it because it's true. It's what we said last time. Uh, you know, you can sum up these these books in the words, told you, you know, or or maybe the way Jesus says it to the Pharisees, have you not read? Yes. Uh, and our answer is, well, no, we've skipped that part. We didn't think it was relevant. It didn't apply to us. Well, I got news for you. This whole Bible applies to you. Uh, the question is, how does it apply? It reveals the character of the righteous God, it reveals sin, righteousness, and judgment. Israel should have known better. So we say in the New Testament, because we almost always, uh, if you're a Gentile, you come to faith in Christ and you don't know anything about the Bible, they go tell you to read John, and you I don't know how on earth you're supposed to make any sense of John, because John is writing John to prove that Jesus is the promised Messiah of the Old Testament. How do you come to the conclusion that Jesus is the promised Messiah of the Old Testament if you don't know what the Old Testament says and how to match it up? This is what it says, this is what he does, therefore it's a match. If you don't know the Old Testament, you have nothing to match it to. Moses wrote of me. You have to go back and start from the beginning. Uh, and if you do that, you already have faith. This is what the early church taught, and the church has taught. We have faith seeking understanding. How do you get that understanding? Read the story, watch the movie. Uh, well, where would you start the movie? From the beginning. Do you skip the any part? No. If you skip parts, you won't make sense of the movie. Correct. Uh, especially when the main character of the story is talking and telling what the people in the story are supposed to be doing. Uh, and this is the book of Leviticus. And so hopefully you've learned and we've learned uh uh a lot uh in the book of Leviticus. Uh, and as we go through this, uh the books to come, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua Judges, Samuel Kings, we're gonna be referring to Leviticus over and over and over because it is constant. It's in the it's in the Old Testament, it's in the prophets, uh, it's in the gospels, it's in little places like um Mary offering the the required sacrifice for a son, uh, and she brings a sacrifice because she's poor of turtle doves. Uh, this was the sacrifice for the poor. How do you know that? Leviticus. Um all the way through this story, Leviticus is gonna play a central role. Uh, and um, and if we don't know Leviticus, you're gonna really struggle to learn the Bible.

Final Takeaways And Next Stop

Phil Porter 21:30

Well, today we concluded a book, but it goes again. Remember that we have concluded Leviticus, but it continues right on in Numbers. So from here, thank you uh everybody for listening and for tuning in uh to the entirety of the whole book, is what we hope you have done. And then we look forward to uh going on the journey again or continuing the story through the book of Numbers. We'll see you then. 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.