SERIES: 03 Leviticus - 2012
MESSAGE: Leviticus 19:17-21:12
SPEAKER: Skip Heitzig
SCRIPTURE: Leviticus 19:17-21:12

MESSAGE SUMMARY
God calls us to be different from the world—a holy priesthood. In this text He lays out the His moral and ceremonial laws, His instructions for administering capital punishment, and His regulations for the priests. And we are reminded that while our outward actions may appear holy and righteous before men, God sees what is in our hearts.

STUDY GUIDE
Leviticus 20-21
PREVIEW: In Leviticus 20-21, we find that severe penalties such as death were required punishments for those who intentionally broke God’s laws. We’ll also learn about some of the regulations that governed the priests’ conduct and lifestyle.

Penalties for Breaking the Law – Read Leviticus 20:1-27
1. Molech was worshiped in the ancient Near East in the second millennium BC and was associated with death and the underworld. The name Molech means "king;" he was the main god in the Amonite pantheon of false gods. Molech promised pleasure and prosperity to those who placed their babies on the red-hot arms of the idols representing him. What did God command to be done to those who gave any of their descendants to Molech (v. 2)?




2. What would God do to those who gave any of his descendants to Molech (v. 3)?




3. How was the punishment for giving any descendants to Molech supposed to be delivered (v. 2)? Who would deliver this punishment?




4. If the people of the land hid their eyes in any way from the man who gave any of his descendants to Molech, and did not kill him, what would God do (v. 5)?




5. What is a modern-day example of sacrificing children to Molech?




6. "The person who turns to mediums and familiar spirits"(v. 6) refers to to necromancy—the practice of communicating with the spirits of the dead in order to predict the future. This practice was strictly forbidden by God. What were the results of turning to a medium (v. 6, 27)? (See also Leviticus 19:31 and 1 Samuel 28:3-25.)




7. Rather than seek after mediums or Molech for prosperity, God’s children were to consecrate themselves and be holy by keeping God’s statutes and performing them (v. 7-8). How are we to practice holiness? (See Matthew 5:48, 1 Thessalonians 4:7, and 1 Peter 1:15-16.)




8. Cursing father or mother wasn’t just talking evil about them or cussing at them disrespectfully, but calling down curses upon them. This is a direct violation of the fifth commandment (see Exodus 20:12). What was the punishment for this sin (v. 9)? (See also Exodus 21:17, Proverbs 20:20, and Matthew 15:4.)




9. Adultery is forbidden by God (see Exodus 20:14). What was the punishment for consensual adultery between a man and a woman (v. 10)?




10. Incest, the statutory crime of sexual relations with a near relative, is forbidden by God. “To uncover the nakedness,” “to take,” “to approach,” and “to lie with” are all phrases which speak of incest—sexual relations between persons who are closely related—which was forbidden in every form in Leviticus 18. Leviticus 20:10-14 seem to refer to consensual acts. What was the punishment for this type of wickedness (vv. 10-14)?




11. Homosexuality is expressly forbidden (v. 13) and is referred to as an abomination, which means abhorrent, loathsome, and disgusting. What was the consequence for violating this ordinance of God? (See Leviticus 18:22 and Romans 1:27.)




12. Bestiality, having sexual relations with an animal, is expressly forbidden (vv. 15-16). It is referred to as a perversion, which means a sexual practice or act considered abnormal or deviant. What was the consequence for violating this ordinance of God? (See Exodus 22:19, Leviticus 18:23, and Deuteronomy 27:21.)




13. Additional types of incestuous relationships are forbidden (vv. 17-21). List the additional forbidden incestuous relationships (vv. 17, 19-21).




14. God truly wanted to bless His children by giving them a land flowing with milk and honey (v. 24), but He didn’t want them to walk in the statutes of the nations that lived in the land before them (v. 23). Because He loved them, He gave them statutes and judgments to live by (v. 22). How were they to live amongst those nations that God was casting out before them (v. 26)?



Regulations for Conduct of Priests – Read Leviticus 21:1-24
15. Priests were not to defile themselves by touching dead bodies. What exception is made for this ordinance (vv. 2-4)?





16. The shaving of the head, cutting of the beard, and cutting of the flesh were all practices of an Egyptian death cult. Why were the priests to not bear these markings for the dead (vv.5-6)?




17. The priests were allowed to marry. Although certain religions in our culture restrict priests from being married, God allowed it with restrictions. What restrictions were placed on a priest and the wife he would take (v. 7)?




18. What would become of a priest’s daughter who played the harlot by being sexually immoral (v. 9)?




19. What was the high priest forbidden to do (vv. 10-15)? Whom was he required to marry (v. 13)?




20. The male descendants of Aaron were considered the priests of the children of Israel. However, not all of them could serve as priests inside the Tabernacle. What excluded a descendant of Aaron from this type of service (vv. 16-23)?

DETAILED NOTES

  1. The Ten Commandments in detail
    1. Don't hate your brother
      1. Don't keep it pent up inside
      2. Don't hold a grudge
      3. Don't passively-aggressively give him the cold shoulder
      4. This leads to hatred
    2. Love your neighbor
      1. Old Testament verse most-often quoted: "You shall love your neighbor" Leviticus 19:18
      2. Jesus said this was the second greatest commandment (see Matthew 22:39)
    3. Important principle in this chapter: the law of God is not simply to govern your outward action
      1. It governs how people think
      2. Sin is committed inwardly first (see 1 John 3:15)
      3. Lust begins in the heart, leads to adultery
      4. Covetousness begins in the heart, leads to stealing
      5. Murder can begin with hatred
    4. Don't let livestock or seed mix
      1. Paul instructed that Christians should not be unequally yoked with unbelievers—to be separate, be devoted (see 2 Corinthians 6:14-17)
      2. Principle is one of separation
        1. Know the difference
        2. Make the difference
        3. Be separate
      3. The seed is the Word of God (see Matthew 13)
        1. Some Christians want to sow mixed seed
        2. Other religious systems
        3. Other good thoughts
        4. Best pickings from world religions
    5. Sexual relations with a slave girl
      1. Scourging and trespass offering
      2. The man was to bring a trespass offering
      3. Act of graciousness on God's part (he didn't receive the death penalty)
      4. The responsibility was the man's
      5. Everyone is hurt by sexual sin, everyone gets hurt
    6. Planting trees for food, eating the fruit of the land
      1. A reminder that the land and the produce were a free gift from the Lord
      2. The produce isn't mature for several years
      3. This is also true of the Christian; Paul tells Timothy not to lay hands on a person suddenly; watch their life to see if there was genuine maturity (see 1 Timothy 5:22)
    7. Don't consult mediums or spirits, God has your future—consult Him
    8. No tattooing or body piercing
      1. Qualifying phrase: for the dead
      2. This was a practice of the Egyptian and Canaanite death cults; it was a part of their mourning process
      3. To live longer, be spared death
      4. Tattoo and cut to appease their gods
    9. Honor the grey headed
      1. Growing to love this verse more and more
      2. Give honor to whom honor is due
      3. Our culture is about youth
        1. Calvary Chapel was based around a youth movement
        2. Mark Twain said, "Youth is wasted on the young"
      4. In the South they give honor, show respect, have manners
    10. Strangers/foreigners in the land
      1. Love him as yourself
      2. How do you feel around foreigners in your country?
      3. The Israelites were foreigners in Egypt
      4. They are going into a land where they are foreigners
      5. We are foreigners, we're just passing through, this is not our home (see Philippians 3:20)
      6. Brotherly love should continue, be careful how you treat strangers, they might be angels (see Hebrews 13:2)
    11. Integrity in the workplace and marketplace
      1. You are cheating one another, you should have honest scales and weights (see Amos 9)
      2. Quick challenge: integrity in the workplace
        1. Watch the Lord, not the clock
        2. Do your work to honor God
          1. Our job is our stage to show the world how Christians behave; you are being studied
          2. Live good lives that the world will see and glorify God (see 1 Peter 2:12)
          3. Skip lived and served on a kibbutz in his 20s; Christians witnessed by their love and hard work—service; crating chickens for Passover season
      3. 2nd Century Christian apologist Justin Martyr said, "Many who have come in contact with us [Christians]...were overcome and changed from violent and tyrannical characters either from having watched the consistency of Christian neighbors, or from having observed the wonderful patience of Christian travelers when over-charged, or from simply doing business with Christians"
      4. Businesses are hesitant to hire Christians, they want special favors
      5. Best witness you can give is to work hard!
  2. Capital Punishment
    1. Secularists and liberals will often point their fingers at Old Testament law and accuse that it is not much different from the codes of other ancient cultures
    2. The big difference is brutality vs. compassion
    3. It predates the law of Moses, "Whoever sheds man's blood, by man his blood shall be shed" Genesis 9:6
    4. List of punishable crimes
      1. Murder
      2. Sexual immorality
      3. Child kidnapping
      4. Child sacrifice
      5. Witchcraft
      6. False prophets
      7. Astrology
      8. Magic
      9. Idolatry
    5. It was never considered murder; it was righteously administered judicial execution
    6. Chapters 18 and 20 are virtually identical in the sins they cover
      1. 18 is addressed to the perpetrators
      2. 20 to the congregation; how to handle
    7. Those who sacrifice to the Ammonite god Molech shall be put to death
      1. Repulsive, repugnant to God
      2. Detestable practice of neighboring land Ammon
      3. King Solomon raised up an idol to Molech
      4. Lots of beating of the drum to drown out the noise of the crying babies
      5. Child sacrifice was common in ancient cultures
      6. Carthage (North Africa) archeologists have found bones of thousands of children from infants to age four
      7. They thought they would get wealth, prosperity, and pleasure by sacrificing their children to those gods
      8. Today abortion mirrors this child sacrifice
      9. The egg of a bald eagle and pregnant lobsters are protected, but babies in the womb are not
    8. Be holy
      1. Holy in Hebrew is qodesh
      2. Do you sanctify yourself or does the Lord sanctify you?
        1. Both
        2. You have been sanctified (see 1 Corinthians 6:11)
        3. There is a difference between positional sanctification and practical sanctification
        4. Positional: we were sanctified by the blood of Jesus
        5. Practical: we still have some old crud/habits to let go of
        6. There is a theological divider along these lines
          1.  John Wesley taught that you could attain sinless perfection
          2. The truth is we won't be perfect until we get to heaven
          3. God looks at us through the blood of Jesus
            1. Cooperate, "Work out your own salvation" Philippians 2:12
            2. Turn from your old ways, turn to the Lord (see 1 Peter 3:11)
    9. Cursing your parents
      1. Not the outburst of an upset teenager
      2. To harm your parents by occult means
      3. In the last days children will be disobedient to their parents (see 2 Timothy 3:2)
      4. In America every year, greater than 8 million serious assaults by children on their parents are committed
      5. High profile case in the 80s; it was discovered that the child was exploring occult practices, dark powers
    10. Capital punishment
      1. Highly debated, we're not going to solve that tonight
      2. We should love all people
        1. There is hope for anyone who's done anything
        2. Goal is restoration, salvation
      3. We should also have justice
        1. Focus should be on the victim
        2. It is their rights that have been violated
      4. Is this just Old Testament? Surely New Testament is all about love and forgiveness?
        1. Paul was arrested (see Acts 21-25)
        2. They were trying to rig it so they could kill him
        3. He admitted that he should die if he had done anything worthy of the death penalty
  3. Requirements of those privileged to serve in the priesthood
    1. The priesthood of Israel was not God's original intention
      1. He intended that the whole nation have a relationship with Him—everyone would be priests
      2. If you will obey, you shall be a special treasure, a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (see Exodus 19:5-6)
      3. What happened? Idolatry spoiled
      4. Tribe of Levi
    2. The standards for priests are higher than the standards for the people
      1. The priest is the link between God and man
      2. Two men arrested for committing a crime; one a lawyer, one a dropout; the lawyer was held to a high standard
    3. In the New Testament we are a holy priesthood
      1. You are a chosen generation (see 1 Peter 2:9)
      2. We can go directly to God
        1. Skip's mom hoped that he would become a Catholic priest
        2. Any one of us can have direct access to Jesus, we don't have to go through a human
    4. Stricter separation for the priest
      1. Similar, more stringent set of requirement in the New Testament
        1. It's a good work but it's a dangerous work (see 1 Timothy 3:1-7)
        2. James says that the teachers will receive the stricter judgment (see James 3:1)
      2. You become a dedicated target of the enemy
      3. Statistics show that 1600 ministers per month quit
        1. Pressure to have the perfect family
        2. Discouraged by other people
        3. Tired of dealing with complaints
        4. Stringent set of responsibilities
        5. Observed/under the microscope/fish-bowl syndrome
        6. Charles Spurgeon and Chuck Smith both said, "If you can be happy doing anything else, do it"
          1. Chuck Smith would often try to discourage young pastors
          2. If he can be discouraged, he shouldn't be in the ministry
    5. To tear the clothes was a sign of grief
      1. Joshua and Caleb, after they spied out the land, tore their clothes at the statement that caused unbelief to sweep over the children of Israel (see Numbers 14:6)
      2. Ezra tore his clothes when he found out about intermarriage with pagan cultures (see Ezra 9)
      3. The high priest was not to show violence
      4. In the New Testament, a minister was not to be given to violence (see Titus 1:7)
      5. Caiaphas violated this (see Matthew 26:65)


Hebrew terms: קֹ֫דֶשׁ; holy
Figures referenced: Billy Graham, Mark Twain, Justin Martyr, John Wesley, Charles Spurgeon, Chuck Smith
Cross references: Genesis 9:6, Exodus 19:5-6, Numbers 14:6, Ezra 9, Amos 9, Matthew 13, 22:39, 26:65, Acts 21-25, 1 Corinthians 6:11, 2 Corinthians 6:14-17, Philippians 2:12, 3:20, 1 Timothy 3:1-7, 5:22, 2 Timothy 3:2, Titus 1:7, Hebrews 13:2, James 3:1, 1 Peter 2:9, 12, 3:11, 1 John 3:15

Topic: holiness

Keywords: law, punishment, moral, ceremony, God, set apart, holy, different


Leviticus 19:17-21:12 - Leviticus 19:17-21:12 | SkipHeitzig.com/2446
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