Pastor Billington's Blog

Leviticus 8

The consecration (making holy) of the priests is the fulfillment of the commands in Exodus 28-29, as exhibited by the repetition of “as/which the Lord commanded.” This is repeated seven times in the passage, quite possibly because seven represents perfection or completion. The idea of completion is also present by the oil being sprinkled seven times on the altar. The threefold placement of the blood on the right ear, thumb, and toe of the priest also symbolizes complete dedication and purification.

The neat thing about Jesus is that He is both offering and priest; both sacrifice and sacrificer. He is our great High Priest, and He is the one offering Himself for us. He didn’t need to be consecrated, because He was already holy! But various events in His life could be seen as His ordination: His baptism (Mark 1:9-11), His transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-6), or even His anointing (Matthew 26:6-13). The sinless gave Himself for the sinner so that we could be holy!

Hebrews 7:26-27 (WEB) “For such a high priest was fitting for us: holy, guiltless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; who doesn’t need, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices daily, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. For he did this once for all, when he offered up himself.”

Thought for the day: “As the Lord commanded.” Good words to live our own lives by.

John 14:15 (WEB) “If you love me, keep my commandments.”

Leviticus 7

Chapter seven has continued instructions regarding the procedure for the trespass and peace offerings, as well as some additional comments about the other offerings. There are three specific situations specified for peace offerings: for a “confession” (the literal translation of the Hebrew word translated “thanksgiving”), when fulfilling a vow, and as a freewill offering (which would mostly likely be a praise or thanksgiving offering). We are also reminded of the prohibition against eating fat and blood.

There are also guidelines here for what the priests receive as their portion from the peace offering, as well some new information regarding the burnt offering. If the priest offers a burnt offering for a member of the congregation, the priest gets to keep the skin. That means there is something being provided for the priesthood with every offering!

Thought for the day: Even today those who work in the church are supposed to receive compensation.

1 Timothy 5:17-18 (WEB) “Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and in teaching. For the Scripture says, ‘You shall not muzzle the ox when it treads out the grain.’ And, ‘The laborer is worthy of his wages.’ “

Leviticus 6

The beginning of the chapter concludes the instructions for the trespass offering. The rest of the chapter contains various instructions as to how the offerings should be conducted. If the instructions weren’t followed, the sacrifice was ineffective and the offender was punished (7:18, 20-21).

Some highlights: (1) the fire was kept going at all times, (2) the burnt offering was offered in the morning and evening, (3) the grain offering helped provide for the priests, (4) unless it was given by a priest (then it was completely burned), and (5) some of the meat from the sin offerings was also consumed by the priests.

The ongoing fire speaks to the ongoing nature of the sacrificial system. Aren’t we glad that we have Jesus?!?!

Hebrews 10:10 (WEB) “by which will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

Thought for the day: The trespass offering dealt with trespasses against God and man, and detailed the restitution that needed to be made. Are there any relationships in your life that you need to attempt to restore?

Matthew 5:23-34 (WEB) “If therefore you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.”

Leviticus 5

There is some discussion as to whether Leviticus 5:1-13 belongs with chapter 4 (regarding the sin offering), or Leviticus 5:14 forward (regarding the trespass offering). The main difference is the issue of restitution. The focus of the sin offering was the purification of the sinner, but the trespass offering was concerned with repaying the debt plus additional compensation.

Jesus is our trespass offering, because Jesus paid the debt we owed for our sin, and He paid it with interest! The creator died for His creation.

Romans 6:23 (WEB) “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Galatians 1:3-5 (WEB) “Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us out of this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father— to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”

Colossians 2:13-14 (WEB) “You were dead through your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh. He made you alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, wiping out the handwriting in ordinances which was against us. He has taken it out of the way, nailing it to the cross.”

Thought for the day: “Jesus paid a debt He didn’t owe, because we owed a debt we couldn’t pay.”

Psalm 118:21 (WEB) “I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me, and have become my salvation.”

Leviticus 4

The purpose of the sin offering is to make atonement for the worshipper’s broken relationship with God. This chapter deals with unintentional sins and the offering brought when made aware of them. The variations in the offering depend on the worshipper’s position in the congregation (for example, a priest is different than a common person).

Of all the offerings that foreshadow Jesus, this is perhaps the easiest to recognize. Jesus is our sin offering! He gave Himself for OUR sin.

Isaiah 53:10 (WEB) “Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him. He has caused him to suffer. When you make his soul an offering for sin, he will see his offspring. He will prolong his days and the LORD’s pleasure will prosper in his hand.”

Matthew 20:28 (WEB) “even as the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

2 Corinthians 5:21 (WEB) “For him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

Hebrews 7:26-27 (WEB) “For such a high priest was fitting for us: holy, guiltless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; who doesn’t need, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices daily, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. For he did this once for all, when he offered up himself.”

Thought for the day: When the worshipper realized their sin, they repented by bringing an offering. Although the eternal penalty for our sins is taken away when we believe in Jesus, our day-to-day relationship with God is still affected by our sin. We need to bring an “offering” of confession and repentance for that!

1 John 1:9 (WEB) “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Leviticus 3

The peace offering is also called the “fellowship” or “covenant” offering. The sacrifice could be offered for anything from petition to praise, with the emphasis being the fellowship of the worshipper with God. Only a portion of this offering was given to the priests or burned on the altar, and the worshiper and his family consumed the rest. The fat was burned up instead of being eaten, and it represented giving your best to God. No blood was consumed in any of the offerings, because the blood brings atonement.

Leviticus 17:11 (WEB) “For the life of the flesh is in the blood. I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement by reason of the life.”

The peace offering is also a foreshadowing of Jesus Christ!

Romans 5:1 (WEB) “Being therefore justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Thought for the day: The peace that we have with God should also be manifested in our day-to-day lives.

Galatians 5:22-23 (WEB) “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control.”

Leviticus 2

Grain offerings consisted of fine flour, oil, frankincense, and salt. They could be cooked or uncooked. The priest would only burn a handful as a memorial portion, and the rest would be his. Most of the offerings had some element that would provide for the priesthood. Although not mentioned in chapter one, the skin from the burnt offering would also go to the priest. Typically, the grain offering would be offered with a burnt or peace offering. If offered as a “firstfruit” offering (i.e. as thanksgiving for the harvest), it was a little different.

The ingredients (or lack of ingredients) tell us more about the offering. The fine flour and frankincense symbolize bringing the best. Salt, as a preservative, was a sign of the everlasting covenant. Oil, since it was used for anointing, is often seen as a symbol of the Holy Spirit. Leaven (yeast) and honey cause fermentation, which is a type of corruption. Leaven is often seen as a representation of sin, so it makes sense that it would be excluded from the offering.

Just like the burnt offering, the grain offering also foreshadows the ministry of Jesus.

John 6:35 (WEB) “Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will not be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.’ “

Thought for the day: Since the grain offering is usually coupled with another, many think that its meaning mirrors the one it accompanies. Why offer it then? I believe that it represents an additional level of devotion and thanksgiving that we should emulate in our lives.

Psalm 111:1 (WEB) “Praise the LORD! I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart, in the council of the upright, and in the congregation.”

Leviticus 1

The burnt offering was for atonement (“appeasement”). It was a freewill offering. Different animals were allowed because of varying incomes. The laying on of hands was presumably a way of identifying the worshipper with the sacrifice. The animal had to be a perfect specimen, giving its perfect life for the sins of the sacrificer. The shedding of blood and the burning of the sacrifice were to appease God’s wrath. The burning is described as a “pleasant aroma” to God.

The burnt offering is a wonderful foreshadowing of Jesus Christ!

Romans 5:9 (WEB) “Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we will be saved from God’s wrath through him.”

1 Peter 1:18-19 (WEB) “knowing that you were redeemed, not with corruptible things like silver or gold, from the useless way of life handed down from your fathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb without blemish or spot, the blood of Christ”

Ephesians 5:2 (WEB) “Walk in love, even as Christ also loved us and gave himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling fragrance.”

Hebrews 9:14 (WEB) “how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without defect to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”

Thought for the day: “Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost; As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen.”

Philippians 4:20 (WEB) “Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever! Amen.”

Proverbs 7

Here is our warning: sin comes out to meet us! It doesn’t ever leave us alone. Our culture and even our own minds attempt to lure us into sin. How do we prepare for such an onslaught? By filling our minds with wisdom! Which means we need to fill it ahead of time so that we are ready when temptation strikes. But just learning Scripture isn’t enough. We also have to be willing to yield to the influence of the Word and the Spirit in our lives when we are in the midst of temptation.

Sin is insidious and destructive, and the consequences can continue to impact us long after the event. A man in his late 80’s once asked me to come and visit him because he needed some counseling. I had some ideas about what it might be based on my experience, but I was completely wrong. When this man was a teenager being shipped off to war, he looked at what were considered pornographic images for that day and time. His problem was that, 70 years later, he still remembered those images and couldn’t get them out of his mind. It was taking away his peace and his joy. Unfortunately, that’s a perfect illustration of what sin, and particularly sexual sin, does to us. Guilt, shame, and pain can still affect us years later. In one way or another, it can cost us our lives.

Here are three additional ideas that this passage should cause us to consider. First, it’s very easy to find bad examples in the world. Why should we need to personally experience trouble and distress when all we have to do is look out our windows (so to speak) and we can see the trouble that sin brings? I took a quick peak at the two most prominent news sites on the web and saw stories about human trafficking, abuse, shootings, war, and theft. And, on top of that, we can see what’s happening within our communities and to our family and friends when bad choices are made. You would think that seeing the consequences of certain actions would deter us. Unfortunately, that’s not usually what happens. Second, it’s implied that if you are older then you are more mature and you know better than to do dumb things. However, sometimes physical maturity doesn’t equate to spiritual maturity. Hopefully it does in our own lives. And finally, if you are trying to hide your actions (“in the middle of the night and in the darkness”), should you be doing what you are doing?

Thought for the day: In addition to everything we just discussed, other people also help us to keep from sin and its consequences.

Hebrews 3:13 (WEB) “but exhort one another day by day, so long as it is called ‘today,’ lest anyone of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.”