1
THE STUDY OF LEVITICUS
Leviticus: Lesson 1
Names of the books in our English Bibles are names of Greek origin, given long
after the books were written. Before these names were Hebrew names, which were much
older. By practice, the Hebrew names for the books of the Pentateuch, the books written
by Moses, were simply the opening word or words of each book.
For example, the Greek name “Genesis” is a name that describes the book as a
whole, “the beginnings”. But the Hebrew name for the book in Hebrew is “Beh-resheet”
which means “In the beginning” and is the opening word in the Hebrew Book of Genesis.
The Greek name “Exodus,” in our English Bible, comes from the subject matter
of that book, which is: “the road out” of Israel from Egypt. But in the Hebrew, the name
is “Elle-shemot” which means, in Hebrew, “These are the names” and is the exact
wording of the opening words, in Hebrew.
So, for the book we are now studying, the Book of Leviticus, the English name
comes from the subject matter: it is basically about the duties of the Levites, priests of the
Old Testament church. But the Hebrew name of the book is “Va-yiq-rah” which means
“And called”, which is the opening word in the Hebrew Bible.
The Book of Leviticus is, primarily, about the offices and duties of the Levites.
Because its subject matter is unfamiliar to us, many pass it over as too detailed or
complicated to understand or follow. But to do this is to miss many great truths, because,
like all of the other books of the Old Testament, as Jesus taught in his days on earth: the
Old Testament is about Jesus Christ. And that includes the Book of Leviticus.
By my count, there are twelve primary sections to Leviticus:
1. Offerings to God
2. Functions of the Priestly office regarding offerings
3. Consecration of Aaron and his sons into their office
4. The concept of “clean and unclean”
5. Atonement
6. Nakedness (shame)-spiritual as well as physical
7. Rules for priests
8. Religious feasts
9. The Lamp and the Bread
10. The Sabbatical Year and Jubilee
11. Blessings and chastisements
12. Vows (commitments)
2
Though we, as believers in Jesus Christ, are not under the laws and regulations
given in Leviticus (we are not under the law but under grace) nevertheless, its truths are
as vital for us today as they were in the days of Moses.
Section One: Offerings to God (1:1-6:7)
The word “oblation” or “sacrifice” in verse 1:2, is “qorbon” (something brought
near) in the Hebrew language. It refers to something brought near to God, by the sinner.
It refers to all of the offerings mentioned in this section.
The first oblation or offering is called a burnt-offering from the herd. It is to be a
male animal without blemish. It is to be brought to the door of the tabernacle (symbol for
the dwelling place of God). Only by that offering can one be accepted by God and come
near God. If God accepts this oblation, then atonement (v.4) has been made for the one
bringing the offering. It points to Jesus Christ, who is the ultimate offering that makes it
possible for us to come near to God. He is the male without blemish.
The word often translated as “Atonement,” in Hebrew, means “covering,” and has
reference to man being in harmony with God (covered). The English word “atonement”
comes from the English term, “at-one-ment.”
In this section, blood is shed and fire burns what is on the altar. All of the inwards
of the animal are washed clean with water. Shedding blood usually implies, in Scripture:
dying, death. Fire usually represents punishment, as the fire of hell. Jesus Christ
ultimately shed his blood and descended into hell that we might be saved. No death and
burning of an animal could actually save us, but it could point to what is needed for our
salvation, the death of God’s own Son.
Such an offering is described as “a sweet savor to the Lord,” something pleasing
to the Lord. (1:1-9). This offering points to one who will take our sin on himself and
wash us clean in our inward heart by his own shed blood. That one will pay the full
penalty for sin, which is eternal fire in hell. Such a man and his offering of himself in our
stead is a sweet savor unto the Lord, meaning that the Lord will accept such a person’s
death on behalf of those he died for. His offering of himself pleases the Father. It is
clearly taught in Ephesians 5:2, that Jesus Christ is that person.
Not all Israelites could afford an offering from a herd; for such, one from a flock
could be the offering (1:10-13) or a bird (1:14-17). In all cases, blood was shed and fire
was applied to the offering. All offerings that were commanded by God in the Old
Testament pointed to Jesus Christ.
For those that grew grain or fruit rather than cattle or flocks, a meal offering was
acceptable (2:1-16). It, too, was an offering by fire. It was to be baked in the oven as a
cake, without leaven, for it must be pure, without defilement, but it should be seasoned
with salt and with oil and frankincense. Salt was always required. Such offerings were a
3
substitute for blood. Salt was a means of preserving and Jesus showed that salt as a
purifier was necessary, so that we not live in a way that causes little children to stumble
(Mark 9:38-50). Jesus, the Bread of Life, as he described himself, was bread with salt and
he alone could keep us from the quenching fire of hell. Jesus was the perfect meal
offering. And Paul charges his readers to season their speech always with grace, seasoned
with salt (Colossians 4:6; Mark 9:50). It means that we are to see to it that what we say in
conversation blends with our Christian testimony.
There were other kinds of offerings, also, such as peace offerings (3:1-17). These,
too, were of the herd and without blemish and burned by fire, and were also pleasing to
God. For the meaning of peace-offering we turn to Paul’s expounding on the gospel of
Jesus Christ, saying that “Being justified, therefore, by faith, we have peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:1). It was just this peace that Leviticus is talking
about.
Moving on in this first section of Leviticus, we read of sin-offerings, which
pertained to offerings made for unintentional sins. Though not intended by man, it still
required the death of the offering that was without blemish, shedding its blood. And such
offerings were also a sweet smell to God (acceptable). The answer to all kinds of sin,
then, is to be found only in Jesus Christ, who shed his blood and gave up his sinless life
for us, enduring hell itself, to save us forever. “Him who knew no sin he made sin on our
behalf; that we might become the righteousness of God in him” (2 Cor. 5:21).
Furthermore, such offerings as sin offerings were for whole congregations and for
rulers of the people and for the common man. In all cases, ultimately, Jesus is the lamb
that is slain (4:1-35). “Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world”
(John 1: 29, 35).
Another type of offering was called the guilt (sometimes called a trespass)
offering (Lev. 5:1-6:7). It was for an unfaithful or treacherous act. As with the sin
offering, so this offering could be adjusted according to one’s economic circumstance. It,
also, was for atonement. Such failures could be: not reporting a sin one witnessed;
speaking rashly with an oath; dealing falsely with one’s neighbor. In all cases the offering
must be without blemish, whether an animal or a grain offering (having no additions to
the grain itself).
Leviticus: Lesson 2
Section Two: Functions of the priestly office regarding offerings (Lev. 6:8-7:38).
In regard to all offerings, the priests were to keep the fire burning, day and night,
on the altar on which the offerings were made. And they were to wear particular garments
to do this, taking up the ashes when the burnt offering was consumed. They were given
directions how to measure the meal offerings and who could and who could not eat of
those meal offerings. Such edible offerings were most holy (belonging to God). This
4
included sin offerings, trespass offerings and peace offerings. All must be done in a clean
manner. Fat was not to be eaten, nor torn flesh (only perfect offerings). Fat was to be
burned.
Hebrews 7:1-28 tells us how the work of Jesus Christ, the non-Levite, but priest
after the order of Melchizedek, superseded the Levitical order and ritual. Not only that
but Jesus Christ is the Great High Priest, holy, guileless, undefiled and separated from
sinners, who did not need, daily, like the priests of the Levitical order, to offer sacrifices
for himself before making offerings for the people.
Section Three: Consecration of Aaron and his sons into their office (Lev. 8:1-10:20).
Aaron and his sons were gathered together by Moses at God’s instructions, with
their garments, anointing oil and sin-offering, together with unleavened bread. The
people gathered before the door of the tent of meeting and Moses, as commanded, had
the priests washed with water and a breastplate put on Aaron, together with the Urim and
Thummim (the lights and the perfections; first mentioned in Exodus 28:30) with a turban
and crown on his head. The Urim and Thummim were attachable and removable from the
breastplate and, apparently, from later information, they were used in seeking God’s will
in matters pertaining to the whole people of God. Symbolically, the priests were cleansed
with water and blood and offerings were made for them (chapter 8). Jesus, being the only
begotten Son of God was, from his birth, consecrated to the Father and for the Father’s
service (John 3:16).
The term “consecration”, in the Hebrew language, has to do with “the filling of
hands”. Its significance is that, being installed as priests of God, they were not to take on
anything else. This was to be their full-time occupation (with hands filled so that they did
nothing else). All Christians are to be full-time Christian servants, having no other
purpose in life, whatever their work may be.
Having been cleansed, installed and consecrated unto their work, they offered
various sacrifices for the people of God: burnt offerings, sin offerings and peaceofferings, always with blood and fire (death and hell).
When they had blessed the people, God’s glory was shown and consumed the
burnt offering on the altar, an act of approval of what had been done (chapter 9).
The relating of the priests’ procedure was delayed at this point when two of
Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, dared to introduce ceremonies with fire of their own
making. For that evil deed, fire consumed them and they died, teaching that we are not to
add to or take from God’s word (Deut. 4:2; 12:32; Prov. 30:6; Rev. 22:19).
After this, the remaining priests were warned not to drink wine and get drunk, lest
they not be able to make distinction between the clean and the unclean (that no more of
them be lost as Nadab and Abihu) (chapter 10).
5
Concerning the consecration of the priests into their offices, the washing of the
inward parts of the whole ram points to what Jesus later said, when he explained that
while men are concerned only with the cleansings of the outward appearance, God looks
into the heart. He does this, because, from the heart of man come evil thoughts and all
thinking that defiles the man, not from the outer parts of man (Matthew 15:18, 19;
compare Matthew 5:21-32; 12:34).
In Hebrews 8:1-13, the writer shows us that our great high priest, Jesus Christ,
who sits at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, has obtained a
ministry more excellent than that of the Levitical priests by so much as it is based on a
better covenant than the old covenant. It is a covenant that puts God’s law in the heart
and mind. And since we have this new covenant, the old one is vanishing away (is
invalid). In doing this, the writer of Hebrews draws from Jeremiah 31:31, and following
verses.
As to the Urim and Thummim, since the words literally mean “the lights and the
perfections,” the significance is that we are to look to God for guidance in all matters
pertaining to the church. And since there was, at this time, little of the written Word of
God, in order to seek God’s will, the tools, Urim and Thummim, pointed to the time
when the people would be led by God’s written word. In various parts of Scripture, the
written Word of God is shown to be the light of God’s people (Psalm 119:105) and also
perfect (without fault), that is, The Truth (Psalm 119:142).
Section four: The Concept of “clean and unclean” (11:1-15:33)
The Lord lists clean and unclean animals, those that may be eaten and those that
may not be eaten and those things that may be touched and those that may not be
touched, and the need for the purification of women after their period and cleansing of
men by circumcision. It also includes notation and treatment of diseases that pollute, such
as leprosy; those that do not pollute; and the uncleanness of houses where such diseases
have occurred. It includes also, men who are unclean when they have semen flow at night
or in sexual intercourse. This section closes by saying that they must separate the children
of Israel from their uncleanness, so that they not die in uncleanness and, thus, defile the
tabernacle that is in the midst of them (15:31).
Hebrews 9:1-28, deals with our uncleanness, spiritually, and the shed blood
needed to cleanse the souls of men. “The copies of the things in the heaven (the
tabernacle and all of its ceremonies) should be cleansed with these (sacrifices), but the
heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices. For Christ entered not into a holy place
made with hands, like in pattern to the true, but into the heaven itself, now to appear
before the face of God for us…but once at the end of the ages has he been manifested to
put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.” In other words, Jesus’ coming and work on
earth makes all the Old Testament sacrifices and tabernacle now extinct.
6
Section five: Atonement (16:1-17:16)
Atonement has to do with reconciliation between the unclean (man) and the Lord. It was
symbolically accomplished by shed blood of the sacrificial goat or other animal. Aaron
(or the high priest) was to present the bullock of the sin-offering for himself and make
atonement for himself and for his house (16:6). The manner of this was to take two goats
and cast lots on them, one lot for the Lord and the other for Azazel (removal) that was to
be let loose in the wilderness. Such atonement was to be made for himself and his family
and another for the holy place and another for the iniquities of the children of Israel. It
was to be done annually, on the tenth day of the seventh month because of all of their
sins.
This blood of the atonement meant that no blood of any animal that men shed,
away from the tabernacle, should be eaten by the people, but poured out and covered by
dust. The soul that eats such blood would be pronounced unclean until the evening.
In Romans 3:24, we are told that the true atonement (propitiation) is by Jesus
Christ, through his blood. In 2 Corinthians 5:18, we are told that God reconciled us to
himself through Christ and gave to us the ministry of reconciliation: God in Christ
reconciles the world to himself, not reckoning to them their sins, and has committed to us
the word of reconciliation, the good news. In First Timothy 2:5, 6, we are told that there
is one God, one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave
himself a ransom for all. In Hebrews 2:9, we learn that the grace of God was that Jesus
should taste of death for every (one): all that are saved. In First Peter 2:24, Jesus is
described as he who, his own self, bore our sins in his body, upon the tree (cross), that
we, having died to sins, might live to righteousness, by whose stripes we were healed; see
Isaiah 53:5. Hebrews 10:19-23, shows what this all means in our life as believers.
Leviticus: Lesson 3
Section Six: Nakedness And Unchasteness (18:1-20:27)
The essence of the Old Covenant message is found in Leviticus 18:5: “You shall
therefore keep my statutes and my ordinances which, if a man does, he shall live in them.
I am the Lord.” Galatians 3:12, calls this to our attention. Leviticus is intended to show us
what being under the law means. You can only live by this covenant if you live perfectly,
which no man but Jesus can do. Paul says the same thing in Romans 10:5.
This section teaches that nakedness is not to be exposed to any member of a
family but husband or wife. Incest is forbidden. And even a wife who is in her period is
not to be exposed or approached, nor is a man with a man or a woman with a woman, for
sexual purposes (18:6-30). But “nakedness” pertains not only to that of the physical body
of a person but more importantly, to that of the spirit or heart of a person.
In the midst of the verses on unchastity there comes a section in Leviticus 19
which focuses not on physical cleanness but spiritual cleanness: learning to love your
7
neighbor as yourself (the second great commandment, according to our Lord, Jesus
Christ: Mark 12:31). It apparently comes at this place in Leviticus because we are to
recognize that we are to be clean not just outwardly, but in our hearts as well.
The word teaches, here, that we are to be holy, for the Lord, our God is holy
(19:2). Remember that “holy” in Scripture means that which belongs to the Lord and to
him, alone. We show such holiness, therefore, by obeying the commandments of God and
rejecting all idols (substitutes for the Living and True God).
We are to be, therefore, at peace with the Lord at all times and we are to show God’s
compassion on others by sharing what God has given to us with others who have needs.
We are not to cheat others, particularly those with handicaps (blindness or deafness). We
are to judge others in righteousness, not by our own opinions (19:1-18). At this point
appears the Second Great Commandment: “you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
And that commandment comes with the full authority of the Lord: “I am the Lord.”
Further matters relating to nakedness follow (19:19-20:27), with warnings against
taking advantage of helpless women and commandments to circumcise (purify) the fields
by not eating the fruit of the fields for four years. Respecting the members of the family,
we are warned against misusing sexual intercourse by having sexual relationships with
any other than your husband or wife, and warned to distinguish between the clean and the
unclean including not practicing such things as wizardry.
In regard to 19:1 and 2: “ you shall be holy for I, the Lord your God, am holy,”
Peter makes very clear that the Lord Jesus is the Lamb of God, without blemish…who
was foreknown (fore determined) indeed, before the foundation of the world, but was
manifested at the end of the times, for your sake, who, through him are believers in God
that raised him from the dead, and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope might be in
God” ( 1 Peter 1:19-21). That is what Leviticus 19:2 is talking about.
The whole matter of nakedness and cleanness is summed up clearly in Revelation
3: 4 and 18: “You have a few names in Sardis that did not defile their garments and they
shall walk with me in white, for they are worthy…I counsel you to buy of me gold
refined by fire, that you may become rich and white garments (washed in Jesus’ blood)
that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness (exposed sin) be not made
manifest…”. Being unsaved is like being naked and having no cover.
Section Seven: Rules for Priests (21:1-22:33)
First, we read of rules for priests that prevent them from defiling themselves.
They are to be holy because the Lord who claimed them as his own is holy; and that
includes their families as well (21:1-9).
The high priest is not to defile himself by going to any dead body, not even that of
his father or mother. He cannot profane the sanctuary in which he serves the Lord. He has
8
been anointed. And his wife must be a virgin of his own people (Israelites). One with a
blemish cannot perform the duties of the sanctuary.
Not only the high priest but all of the priests are to separate from those things that
the people hallow (21:10-22:2). Things that come from others that they see as holy are
not to be accepted. All of the conduct of the priests is to be guarded from anything of this
world or the world’s people. Only a lamb offered, a male without blemish, (Jesus) can
purify them from the sins of this world (22:17 following).
In the midst of these words, is a statement: “He shall eat the bread of his God”
(Lev. 21:22), which Paul interprets to mean that, as the ministers of the sacred things had
the right to eat of the bread of the temple, so, ministers of the gospel, today, those that
proclaim the gospel as their calling, are to live from the gospel they preach (1 Cor. 9:13,
14).
The whole matter of rules for priests, in this section of Leviticus, is summarized
according to Hebrews 7:26-28, thusly: “For such a high priest became us (Jesus Christ),
holy, guileless, undefiled, separated from sinners and made higher than the heavens, who
needed not daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices for his own sins and then
for the sins of the people, for this, he (Jesus, our High Priest) did once for all, when he
offered up himself. For the Law appoints men high priest, having infirmity; but the word
of the oath (by grace), which was after the law, (appoints) a Son, perfected for
evermore.” What better argument that the grace we are under through Christ is far better
than the Law that the Old Testament saints were under, and which they could not fulfill.
Leviticus: Lesson 4
Section Eight: Religious Feasts (23:1-44)
There were several religious feasts appointed for the Israelites, commanded in this
section of Leviticus, commanded to be held in the year. They are set (appointed) feasts
that are proclaimed to be holy convocations. The first feast is the Lord’s Passover Feast,
held on the fourteenth day of the first month. And the second feast is the Feast of
Unleavened Bread in the same month. And at harvest time in the land, in the seventh
month, is the Feast of Tabernacles, on the 15th day of the seventh month. Instructions are
given for the proper observance of these feasts (23:1-38).
At the latter feast, the Feast of Tabernacles, booths were required for the keeping
of the feast, to remind the people of their having to dwell in booths for the forty years
they spent in the wilderness (23: 39-44). Jews, to this day, that seek to observe this feast,
do actually build little booths, but many do not actually sleep in them.
As we noted in study of Exodus, Jesus speaks only of one feast to be observed by
the church, and it is not dated nor does it require any specific number of times in a year.
Here, one covers all: The Lord’s Supper. It was initiated by Jesus on the last night before
9
his arrest and crucifixion and established an opportunity to remember what he, by his
body and blood, did to purchase our salvation.
However, the Lord, by practice, introduced the blessing at each meal, each day,
recognizing that the Lord gives us our daily bread, as we are taught in the Lord’s Prayer
and in Jesus’ act after his resurrection (Luke 24:27-30).
There are two one-time-only feasts mentioned in Revelation 19, neither of which
has yet been observed but both of which will be observed at the end of the ages.
The first of these feasts is called the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Rev. 19:6-9).
To it are invited all true believers in Jesus Christ. It is the celebration of the marriage
between Jesus Christ and his bride: the church of true believers in Christ from the
beginning to the end of human history on earth.
The second feast is called the Great Supper of God (Rev. 19:17, 18). To it are
invited all the rest of humanity that have not believed in the Lord, though some falsely
claimed to be believers. In this case, the invited are not the guests, they are the menu!
Section Nine: The Lamp and the Bread (24:1-33)
The focus of this section is on the lamp and the table of bread in the tabernacle.
It explains how the light is to burn continually in the holy place and warns that it
must be kept in order, so that the light never goes out (24:1-4).
It also explains and gives the ingredients for the bread and the importance of
keeping the bread on the table, in two rows, six in each row (representing the twelve
tribes of the church at that time). It is to be prepared and arranged each Sabbath and to be
eaten by Aaron (the high priest) and his sons (the priests) (24:5-10); see also, Matthew
12:4, 5. Everything was to be done perfectly because it was being done before the Lord.
To emphasize the importance of doing this correctly, we are told of an Israelite
woman married to an Egyptian, who had a son that blasphemed the name of the Lord
when he struggled with an Israelite man. Because of this, the Lord ordered him to be
stoned to death by the congregation. Then, a list of sins similar to that is given, to impress
on Israel that their purpose was to do all they did to the glory of God. And when they did
not, God would punish them (24:23).
In regard to punishments for harm done to another, we are told that the rule is:
“eye for eye, tooth for tooth” (24:20). So, he that killed a man was to have his life taken
in punishment (v.21). Jesus refers to this in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5:38). Jesus
shows that this does not mean that we should take vengeance on one that does us harm. It
was to be used only in the context of legal procedure, never in personal vengeance.
10
In this chapter, our focus is on the care of the light in the holy place and the table
of bread. As we noted in our study of the tabernacle and its parts, in Exodus, the bread
represents the body of Christ who died for our sins, the Bread of Life (John 6:35). And as
for the lamp burning continually, it is because that lamp represents Jesus Christ who
declares himself to be the light of the world (John 8:12).
Section Ten: The Sabbatical Year and Jubilee (Leviticus 25:1-55).
This passage explains that for every six years, the people were to labor in their
fields, but on the seventh year, they were to take a sabbatical year off, a year of solemn
rest to the Lord and not sow their fields or prune their vineyards during that year. What
grew up of itself was to be reaped for the people and for the needy and for food for the
cattle.
Every seven sabbatical years (49 years), was followed by a fiftieth year, a Year of
Jubilee (a year of rams’ horns—trumpets-the word “Jubilee” has to do with a ram’s horn
that was made into a horn for making noise). In that year, every man’s land that had
fallen into the hands of another was to be returned to him. And the price of a given piece
of land was to be determined by this return to its original owner. Anyone who tried to
overcharge a man for a piece of land that he knew would be turned over to its original
owner, shortly, would displease the Lord.
The Lord promised that each sixth year would be a bountiful year to carry over
for the seventh and eighth years, before the next harvest.
He explained that the purpose of Jubilee was to remind all that the land they
owned, though sold due to some hardship, would return to them, because all the land
really belonged to the Lord. The people were always to understand that they were
strangers and sojourners on the earth, with the Lord. Moreover, if one sold his land, he
could reclaim it before the Jubilee, if he or a kin redeemed it (bought it back) for him.
The same was so for one who, due to poverty, had to sell himself to another (become his
slave). He must be given his freedom in that 70th year, the year of Jubilee. This pertained
only to Israelites, not foreigners that had been captured and made slaves. In all of these
trades with fellow Israelites, no interest (literally: a bite) was to be taken at all. Interest
could only be taken from foreigners who were not Israelites.
In First Thessalonians 4:16, 17, we are told of the trumpet that will sound at the
end of human history (the Jubilee of Jubilees) when the Lord will descend from heaven
with a shout and the voice of the archangel and the trump of God will sound; and the
dead in Christ shall rise first. All believers that are alive at that time will be caught up in
the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and we will ever be with the Lord. This is the
Jubilee that we, as believers living in this sinful world, must look to. It will come. And
that truth is the reason for the “Jubilee” in Old Testament times.
11
Leviticus: Lesson 5
Section Eleven: Blessings and Chastisements (Leviticus 26:1-46)
This chapter makes clear that there is no compromise with God. The Old
Covenant blessings depend entirely on obedience to the Lord. Any failure to do all that
the Lord requires will bring not blessings but chastisements and cursing. If they are not
reformed in their behavior, then they will find that God is not for them but against them.
God will bring them down and scatter them among the nations (26:1-39).
But the Lord, during this Old Covenant era, does give hope; if they humble their
hearts and accept the punishment of their sin, then the Lord will remember his covenant
with Jacob and Isaac and Abraham. That covenant had to do with God giving to his
people the true Lamb that would die for them (Gen. 22). Wherever they had scattered to
in the world, the Lord will continue to be their Lord in that day and call them one by one
to himself (26:40-45).
Ultimately, this is exactly what did happen. For Jesus Christ, the Son of God
came into the world to suffer the punishment for our sins. All of our sins were laid on
him, for God could not forgive us our sins without those sins being fully paid for. We
could not do it ourselves, so God’s Son did it for us and then sent out those that believed
in him to the ends of the earth to call all that belonged to God to himself (Matt. 28).
This is clearly laid out in Isaiah 53 and fulfilled in the New Testament time, when
Jesus became the bearer of our sins (Matt. 8:17; Heb. 9:28; Rom. 4:25; 1 Cor. 15:3; Heb.
5:8,9; 1 Pet. 2:24, 25; Acts 8:32-35; 1 Pet 2:22-25; and Rom. 5:18,19).
This does not mean that Christians today are free from chastisement, but the
chastening of believers now is for their own spiritual growth, not a punishment for sin
(Heb. 12:4-13; Rev. 3:19).
Section Twelve: Vows (Lev. 26:46-27:34)
The making of vows was a means of Israelites promising to the Lord some time of
service for the Lord or wealth of their own, to be given to the Lord, that is, making a
commitment promise to the Lord. Every vow must be in terms of one’s ability to pay it.
But this did not include the tithe, which already belonged to the Lord.
Jesus made clear that this is not what is to be done by those living after the work
of the Lord Jesus is done. We are not to make pledges and promises of what we will give;
we are not to make “faith-promises” (Mat. 5:33-37). Instead, we are to present our
bodies, the lives we live in this world, as believers, to him, as a living sacrifice. This is
holy and what is acceptable to the Lord, so far as our giving is concerned. Nothing less
will please him for any believer in Jesus Christ. Any attempt to avoid this is seen by the
Lord as being fashioned according to the world and we are not to do as the world does
but are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, so that we may prove what is the
12
good and acceptable and perfect will of God for us who have been saved by Jesus Christ.
(Rom. 12:1,2).