Chuck Smith :: Verse by Verse Study on Leviticus 16-20 (C2000)

Now in chapter sixteen, we deal with Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. The high priest wasn't to go into the Holy of Holies at any time.

The Lord began to speak to Moses and this was given after the death of the sons of Aaron, [and now God is becoming more specific of the ministry of the priests, and how that they are not to go into the Holy of Holies at any time,] that they die not: [for God said,] I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat. And so Aaron shall come into the holy place: with a young bullock for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering. And he shall put on a holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and shall be girded with a linen girdle, and with the linen mitre shall he be attired: these are the holy garments; therefore he shall wash his flesh in water, and so put them on (Lev 16:1-4).

Now on the Day of Atonement, now during the rest of the year the other priests would offer the sacrifices, but on the Day of Atonement, actually the high priest would have to do all the work. If you count the number of animals and all that he had to kill and butcher, and offer, it comes to some thirty some animals that he had to deal with, plus he had to bathe five times.

Now on this particular day, he did not wear the beautiful garments of the high priest, the ephod, and the blue mitre, and all that. But on this day he wore just the plain linen of the robes of the priesthood. The first thing he had to do is offer an offering for his own sins. He had to take care of his own sins first. Then, having offered the offerings for his own sins, then he would offer for the sins of the people.

Of course, as you look at this, it is all looking forward to Jesus Christ. So there is just beautiful symbolism all the way through, with the exception that there is no equivalent in Christ for the sin offering that the high priest offered for himself. For Jesus did not have to offer any sacrifice for Himself being sinless. There's no New Testament equivalent to that. But Christ has become our High Priest, and He entered into the heavens of which the earthly tabernacle was only a model. Not with the blood of goats, but with His own blood. His was not an annual affair, for the high priest must each year offer, but Jesus once and for all, and is forever sitting down now at the right hand of the Father, until His enemies are made His footstool. But in the work of Aaron on the Day of Atonement, you find tremendous symbolism to Christ our great High Priest, going in and offering for us, and for our atonement before God.

Speaking of the Old Testament and the sacrifices, Paul the apostle tells us in Colossians that, "these were all a shadow of things to come, but the substance is Christ" (Colossians 2:17). These things were all just shadows of Jesus Christ. He's the substance. So Christ standing there at the division of history, casts the shadow in the Old Testament in the sacrifices and in the holy days. They were all shadows of Jesus Christ. None more important or powerful than this Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, when the priest made atonement for the people, in the offerings we see the work of Jesus Christ.

Now there were two goats that were brought, and the high priest Aaron would take the two goats, and would cast lots on the two goats; one was for the Lord, and the other was a scapegoat.

Verse nine:

And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the Lord's lot fell, and offer him for the sin offering. But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the Lord, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness. And Aaron shall bring the bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and shall make an atonement for himself, and for his house, and shall kill the bullock of the sin offering which is for himself: And he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the Lord, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the veil:... And he shall take the blood of the bullock, sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy seat eastward; and before the mercy seat he shall sprinkle the blood with his finger seven times. And then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the veil, to do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat: And shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and for their transgressions (Lev 16:5-12, 14-16)

So now on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement when the high priest, doing all of his work alone, no help on this day, even as Jesus alone bore our sins, suffered in our place.

Now the high priest would only come into the Holy of Holies one day a year, that was all. This was coming into the presence of God manifested there within the Holy of Holies, the mercy seat. On this Day of Atonement, he would enter the Holy of Holies three times. First of all, coming in offering the sin offering for himself. Then with the blood of the bullock as a sin offering for the people. Then with the blood of the goat as a sin offering for the people, coming into the Holy of Holies offering these sin offerings that God might make a covering of the sins of the nation.

Now this is the law of God for sin. As we get into a subsequent chapter, God deals with the importance of the blood, in chapter seventeen. He forbids any eating of blood, and in verse eleven He said, "For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes the atonement for the soul." The covering, it's the blood that makes the covering.

I point that out to point up to me what is a great disparity today among the Jews. Though they observe still Yom Kippur as the holiest day of the year, yet I have questioned the Jews, as to how they hope to have forgiveness of their sins. The standard pat answer that the Jew gives to me, as far as the basis for the forgiveness of his sin, is that Yom Kippur is now the day of reflection in which you think over your past year. You think of all of the evil things that you have done, and you think of all of the good things that you have done. Your hope and purpose is that your good outweighs your evil.

Now if you know some crooked Jew that's been given you a bad time, you might go to him the day before Yom Kippur, because quite often this time of the year they're really striving hard to make up for all of the other mismanagement during the year. So on the next day when they're reflecting, they're gonna come out okay on these balances. And yet the fallacy of it all, because God has established the basis for relationship with Himself.

The way that God has established the basis for a relationship is through blood sacrifices. For it is through the blood that atonement is made. God also declared in the law, "For without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins" (Hebrews 9:22). Sin is that which has always separated man from God. Under the law there is not one word about balancing your good works against your evil. God made a covenant with these people, a covenant whereby they might relate to Him. A covenant whereby they might come to Him, but that covenant whereby they might come to Him was actually a covenant that involved the shedding of the blood of an animal. For it is through the blood that atonement is made.

Now one thing the law shows is not how approachable God is but how unapproachable God is by the normal man. Under the law there is no easy approach to God. There was only one man that could really approach God, and that was the high priest, and that was only once a year, and that was only after many sacrifices and many washings. So their own law shows them that God is unapproachable by them.

When I have challenged the Jew on this issue, he really has no real answer. But only gives you some of the lame things that the Rabbis have taught them, which have no scriptural basis. The Old Testament doesn't really present us a God that can be approached by anyone, at anytime. In fact the sixteenth chapter begins, "And the Lord spake unto Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron when they offered before the Lord and died. And the Lord said unto Moses, Speak to Aaron thy brother that he come not at all times into the holy place within the veil." You're not to come here just anytime. You're only to come here once a year. And then only as you follow all of the ceremony that God is laying out here.

Now if God was so unapproachable, then what makes the Jew think that God is any more approachable today? If He could only be approached through blood sacrifices, how do they think that they can approach Him with their own works, which God's word in their own Testament declares is "as filthy rags in the sight of God." In the Old Testament any endeavor to approach God, by any other method than the prescribed method by God, was considered by God an abomination. So they are not true to their own scriptures. Having forsaken the way of God, they have now thought to establish their own righteousness by their works apart from the law of God. As Paul said, "Those to whom the law was given never did attain to the righteousness that is in the law". Because having departed from the law of God, they are seeking now by works to be righteous before God. Paul, in Romans shows the fallacy of their whole approach to God today.

Now we have an approach to God. Something that Israel no longer has. They don't have any offering for sin, they don't have any temple; they don't have any high priests. But we have approach to God today through Jesus Christ, our great High Priest, who has entered into heaven for us, not into the earthly tabernacle made with hands, but into the very presence of God, the heavenly of which the earthly temple was only a model. There Jesus has entered in, and by His entering in was the sacrifice for us. He then flung wide the door, and said, "Okay, all of you kids come on in." All the children who by faith, believe, and trust in Jesus Christ, now have a free access to God through the blood of Jesus Christ, and the blood of His new covenant that He has established with man. "Therefore let us come boldly to the throne of grace that we might receive mercy in our time of need" (Hebrews 4:16).

What a beautiful thing we have through Jesus Christ. So we are not coming to God apart from a blood sacrifice. For it is the blood that makes the atonement. Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins. That is why Jesus shed His blood, and that is why God put such a high respect for blood in the minds of these people, emphasizing over and over, the high respect that they should have for blood, even the blood of animals. It is to teach them the high respect, so that when God's blood was shed for our sins, it should be something that is held in highest respect, and reverence.

In Hebrews we are told that, "He who despised Moses' law was stoned in the mouth of two or three witnesses. Of how much sorer punishment suppose ye he could be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and who hath countered the blood of His covenant wherewith He was sanctified an unholy thing" (Hebrews 10:28-29). The reverence that God would have us to have in respect, God would have us have for blood, even the blood of the animal, how much more respect for the blood of Jesus Christ.

I shudder when people speak disparagingly concerning the blood of Jesus Christ. I shudder when people say, "Oh Christianity is a bloody religion." I shudder when men like Voltaire say, "The blood of Christ, the blood of pigs, there's no difference." I shudder at such blasphemy. God wants you to have the very highest respect for the blood of Jesus Christ that was shed that your sins might be put away. But the glorious thing about Jesus Christ, and about His sacrifice for our sins, it was only necessary once, and it covered for all. We don't have to bring sin offerings. His sacrifice was sufficient for every one of us, and has provided the basis whereby God can forgive you of your sins.

But let me tell you this, in the scripture there is no other basis whereby God can forgive you of your sins. There's no way that you as a sinner can have fellowship with God until the sin issue is dealt with. Something has to be done about your sin. God is a holy God; there's no sin that can dwell in His presence. Thus, for you to become one with God, have fellowship with God, something must be done about your sin. So no man can really have fellowship with God apart from Jesus Christ. The cross of Christ is to them that perish foolishness, but to us who are saved thereby it's the power of God, whereby I've been cleansed of my sins, so that now I can come to God through Jesus Christ.

So the sixteenth chapter is absolutely a fabulous chapter to study as you see Aaron the high priest going in, sprinkling the blood before the mercy seat, making the atonement in the holy place for the uncleanness of Israel. That was with the blood of the bullock, and then going back in with the blood of the goat. The two goats, one was for the Lord, sacrificed as the sin offering. But the other one, the scapegoat, these speak of the twofold work of Jesus Christ. Jesus not only provides the forgiveness of your sins, but He also provides you power over sin, to separate your sins from you.

Now this second goat, the scapegoat, after having slain the first goat upon whom the lot fell and offering it as a sacrifice, he took the second goat and he laid his hands upon the head of this second goat. Over the head of the second goat, he confessed all the sins of the nation, transferring all of the sins onto this second goat. Then this second goat was led by a priest out of camp, out into the wilderness, and it was let go to just run off in the wilderness. It was the scapegoat, and it spoke of the separation of us from sin.

Now as the years went on there was a highly developed ritual that went with this as the temple was finally established in Jerusalem, there was a certain area where the scapegoat was generally released. There were men that would stand at vantage points all the way out to the Judean wilderness. The priest would be going out and the people would all be waiting back in the great area of the temple mount. The priest as he would lead this scapegoat into the wilderness, finally he'd come to the wilderness area where he turned it loose.

As it ran and when it disappeared, he would give a signal to the fellow back on the mountain peak, who would give the signal to the next guy, who would send to the next, to the next, to the next. And in just a few moments the signal would come from the Mount of Olives to those down in the temple mount that the scapegoat has gone, the sins are gone. There would be this great rejoicing of the people, the singing of the Hallel songs, the praises unto God, and as the news would come back that the goat carrying the sin was gone. I think of that great rejoicing when we realize that our sins are gone, never to be remembered again. Christ having borne them, carried them, and the victory, the power that He gives to us over sin.

So this Day of Atonement, the most important day in the Jewish calendar. It's worthy to study and compare with Jesus Christ.

So in verse thirty-four,

This shall be an everlasting statute unto you, to make atonement for the children of Israel for all their sins once a year. And he did as the Lord commanded Moses (Lev 16:34).

Chapter 17

Now in chapter seventeen, God laid out that there was only to be one place for sacrifice, and that was the temple. They weren't to just sacrifice anywhere but the tabernacle, and later the temples were to be the only places where sacrifices were to be offered unto the Lord. And that any time you killed any of your animals, you really should bring them. You shouldn't just butcher your animals anywhere in the field. You should bring them to the temple and offer them as unto the Lord, as a peace offering, or a communion with God.

So that you would offer it and then you would get a part of the meat back for yourself in order that as you ate, it was something that had been offered to God. He having part of it, the fat and all, was burned as a sweet savor unto the Lord. And so you get the meat to eat. As you eat, the idea is I'm communing with God. I'm eating with God. I'm having this fellowship with God, the peace offering. So anytime you were gonna eat meat, anytime you were gonna have a barbecue, you should bring it first to the priest, offer it to the Lord, let it be slain there. You weren't to just slay the animals anywhere, but let there be that constant reminder of the need that we have for fellowship with God. So offer to God, and realize that I'm eating with God. I'm partaking with God. I'm a part of God and realize that relationship that you have to the Lord.

Then in the latter portion of chapter seventeen the sanctity of the blood, beginning with verse ten,

They are not to eat any manner of blood, nor to allow any stranger in the land to eat any manner of blood; for God will set his face against that person, and will cut him off from among the people. For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I've given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that makes the atonement for the soul. Therefore I said unto the children of Israel, No soul of you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger that sojourns among you eat blood. And whatsoever man there be of the children of Israel, or the strangers [and so forth] that hunt and catch any beast or fowl that it may be eaten; he shall pour out the blood, and cover it with dust. For it is the life of all flesh; the blood is for the life thereof: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh: for the life of all flesh is the blood (Lev 17:10-14):

So the respect for life, and then of course the realization that the blood was that which brings the covering for sins.

Chapter 18

Here we find the term used over and over again, "For I am the Lord your God." So God wants a holy people. He tells them how they are to walk with them. "For I am the Lord your God", and actually laying out the importance of the fact that they are representing God to the world.

Now Paul the apostle speaks about how the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of the way the Jews were living. God was stressing the importance, "For I am Jehovah your God". All through this chapter you'll find that emphasis as God deals with them in the way that they should live, and dealing with moral issues in chapter eighteen.

Now as God deals with these moral issues, He is dealing basically with incestuous relationships, first of all, and forbidding any type of incestuous relationship. I think that the movie industry has had the most corrupting influence upon the world, than any other single source. I think the minds of men have been polluted more through the movie industry than anything else. I think that they have introduced more filth and corruption into the world than any other single source. There seems to be within the movie industry, a desire to show bizarre kinds of relationships. First of all, adultery, seeking to make it an acceptable practice. Then having satiated people with adulterous relationships that no longer gets a tingle, they started showing incestuous relationships. Homosexual relationships, seeking to make them accepted practices, then began to show bestiality, the relationship with animals. Horrible, filthy, polluting things.

Now the Bible says, "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap" (Galatians 6:7). If you sow to the flesh, you're gonna have the flesh reap corruption. You cannot look at those things without polluting yourself, without polluting your mind, because you are sowing into your mind these things. If these are the things you are sowing into your mind, sowing to your flesh, then of your flesh you're gonna reap corruption.

Paul tells us of the heathen world having forsaken God, "Not wishing to retain God in their minds, God gave them over to minds that were reprobate" (Romans 1:28). Then he begins to speak of the reprobate practices, homosexuality, and goes on then and lists a whole, horrible list of the reprobate practices of men who no longer wanted to have God in their conscience. Of course they didn't want God in their conscience. Of course they'd like to think that we evolve from animals. They must get God out of their conscience because they could never live with a conscience with all of the horrible, filthy things that they have dreamed up in their minds and in their imaginations, and are portrayed on the film. Horrible acts.

As Paul lists for us in Romans, chapter one these horrible things that men did. He says something very startling at the end of the chapter, "Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity, whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful"(Romans 1:29-31).

Now go down that list again and just think of the movies. What kind of things do they depict in the movies? "Fornication, unrighteousness, wickedness, covetousness, murder, deceit, haters of God, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, without natural affection." Those are the things portrayed. They say, "Well this is life, this is realism. This is how people live. We have a right to show it, because this is, this is real. This is real life, realism." If that is so, God help us. We're living in a horrible world. But the last verse is the clincher. "Who knowing the judgment of God that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do those things, but have pleasure in them that do them"(Romans 1:32). If you go to the show to find pleasure in watching murders, in watching fornication, in watching these things, if you go to the show to find pleasure watching other people do them, you are guilty taking pleasure in those that do them.

So God is speaking now, the moral laws, His people are to be a pure people. His people are to be a representative people before the world. You're not to be as the world. Everybody's doing it is no excuse for the child of God. You're to be separate. You're to be different from everybody. He is the Lord your God. Your life is to be separate and different. If it's not, then what do you really have? Surely not a true relationship with God.

So the first thing that God is forbidding here is any type of incestuous relationships. Things that are all of a sudden become a popular subject in the Hollywood movies. After the showing of a few movies where fathers, abusing their daughters and all, they've made it almost a common thing. The young girls that are abused by their fathers today, the numbers are staggering. It's horrible; it's unthinkable, but that whole horrible door was opened by Hollywood. Oh yes, I know that it existed earlier, but it's magnified through Hollywood.

Now they are coming out with a set of films on mothers having relationships with their sons. Horrible. Absolutely horrible. One of the shows on TV that we're missing tonight has that theme. Thank God you're missing it. What a corrupt, sinful world. But because Jehovah is your God, you're not to be polluted by these things. You're not to follow these practices; you're to be different. The theme all the way through chapter eighteen, "For I am Jehovah your God." You'll find that He says it some fourteen times, as He emphasizes this truth.

Now they're not to allow their children to pass through the fire, their seed to pass through the fires of Molech. Now God said, "The Egyptians did these things. The Canaanites are doing these things. I know that they're doing it. For this reason I'm driving the Canaanites out of the land. I'm destroying them. You're not to follow the practice of the Canaanites, the people in the land where you're going."

In verse twenty-seven, the prohibition of homosexual relationships.

Thou shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind, it is an abomination (Lev 18:27).

Now these, I know where I am, I'm just trying to frame the word for these characters who are trying to pass themselves off as ministers, and so forth, who are advocating homosexual relationships. Cal State Long Beach has a "Gay for Christ" club. Governor Brown just appointed and avowed homosexuals to the Superior Court in Los Angeles. Governor Brown is gonna be one of the featured speakers at the gay community center's fund raising dinner in Los Angeles the end of this month. He's beginning to identify himself so much with that community that it's beginning to look like our governor needs to examine his own relationship with God. I think you got the message.

In verse twenty-three, bestiality forbidden.

Defile not yourselves [verse twenty-four] in any of these things: for in all of these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you: The land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants (Lev 18:24-25).

In other words the land itself is so sick of the corruption that is within, ultimately the land itself vomits out. I wonder, I wonder. Jesus, it was interesting said, when the Pharisees said, "Lord rebuke Your disciples", when he was making a triumphant entry. He said, "I'll tell you something, if these disciples were to all together hold their peace, these very rocks would cry out." I wonder how much the land really knows. God said to Abel, or to Cain, "The blood of thy brother, the ground crieth out unto Me, where your brother's blood was spilled." Now God says, "The land vomited out the inhabitants of the people." So sick were their practices.

You see there is a point of moral decay that once the nation reaches that point, it can no longer exist. It's gone beyond the point of return and the nation can no longer exist; it's gonna crumble, and fall. Let me tell you something. The United States is awfully close to that point. Now God in speaking of these things said to the nation of Israel, "If you will obey My commandments and do them, then I will make you great. But if you forsake them, then you're gonna be cursed in the city, cursed in the fields, cursed everywhere you go." God said, "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people." God's cry against Israel and the reason why she had to fall was, "She had forsaken My laws, they have forsaken My commandments, and they've gone after their own ways." I'm sure that as God looks at the United States today, His cry is much the same. "They have forsaken My ways, they have forsaken My laws, they've forsaken My commandments." The land is about to vomit out its inhabitants because of the things that we have allowed, sitting back and doing nothing. So the land is defiled. "Therefore I visit the iniquity, and the land vomits out her inhabitants."

Now verse twenty-eight,

That the land spew not you out also, when you defile it, as it spewed out the nations that were before you. For whosoever shall commit any of these abominations, even the souls that commit them shall be cut off from among their people. Therefore shall ye keep my ordinance, that ye commit not any one of these abominable customs, which were committed before you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein: for I am Jehovah your God (Lev 18:28-30).

The repetition again.

Chapter 19

Now God continues in this same vein, as He moves into chapter nineteen.

Speak unto all of the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy. You shall reverence every man his mother, and his father, and keep my sabbaths: I am the Lord your God. Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: for I am the Lord your God. [Notice the repetition over and over, "I am the Lord your God, you're not to have idols, and molten gods and so forth, I am the Lord your God."] And if you offer a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the Lord, ye shall offer it of your own will. [Again man's free will in all of his service and worship to God.] Eat what you can for two days, if you can't eat it all in two days, burn it. If you eat it the third day, then it's no longer accepted, it becomes an abomination of that which was offered in sacrifice of the peace offerings to God. When you reap your harvest, don't gather the corners of the fields, and don't gather everything. [Leave something there for the poor of the land] (Lev 19:2-9).

So the welfare program was a beautiful program in that they weren't, they were to go through and pick the grapes that were ripe, but leave everything that wasn't ripe. But they couldn't go through and pick the second time. Whatever was left was left for the poor in the land. They could come in once your harvesters had gone through. You weren't to glean your own land, let it be there for the poor, don't even harvest the corners of your fields, leave that to the poor. Thus the poor could go out and gather in the fields anytime the harvesters had gone through. It was there; it was available for them. So it wasn't just a doled out program. You didn't just go down and get food stamps, but you actually went out and gathered your own. So you were busy doing something, rather than just sitting and watching TV and polluting your mind.

Now the Lord goes on to give further instructions, verse ten,

Thou shalt not glean the vineyard, neither gather every grape; leave them for the poor and the stranger. Ye shall not steal, you're not to deal falsely, don't lie. Ye shall not swear by God's name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: for I am Jehovah. Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbour, neither rob him: but the wages that is hired [Actually you paid wages daily] thou shalt not keep them overnight. Thou shalt not curse the deaf, [Now these are some of the things that I found sort of amusing, you're not to curse the deaf] or trip the blind (Lev 19:10-14),

Man, what a dirty dog cursing the deaf man, or laying a stumbling block before a blind man. But you know, I'm amazed at how cruel people really are. I'm amazed how cruel children are to a handicapped child. What is that about our nature, that children are so cruel to a handicapped child.

Now in the animal realm, quite often a handicapped animal will be killed by another animal. But unfortunately sometimes men aren't far from that. Taking advantage of the disadvantaged. How often we see it done, yet there's nothing more cruel in the world taking advantage of a disadvantaged person. There's nothing more dangerous in all the world, because God said He sticks up for the disadvantaged. God said He watches over the widow. Man, when you're doing it to one that God is watching over, you're in big trouble. But you see, man apart from Jesus Christ isn't far from the animal. For an animal has body and consciousness. Man apart from Jesus Christ has body and consciousness, therefore he relates well to the animal kingdom; therefore, he is cruel to the handicapped or the disadvantaged.

But a man who has been born again by the Spirit of God and now has a spiritual birth, not just born of the flesh, but now born of the Spirit, and with this spiritual birth now is related to God, and related to Jesus Christ, you really can't do these things. If you find yourself doing these things persistently and continually, then I will tell you, you don't have a true relationship with Jesus Christ. For whosoever is born of God does not practice sin for God's seed is in him now, a new seed, a new life. Born again by the seed of God, by the Spirit of God, and he cannot be living in sin. You say, "Oh I don't know about that, Chuck." Hey, I'm not telling you my words, that's God's word. You can read it for yourself in first John.

Now in judgment they're not to respect the persons of poor, or to honor the person of the mighty: but they shall be righteous in the judging of their neighbour. You're not to go around bearing tales, as a tale bearer (Lev 19:15-16).

"Do you know what he did? Let me tell ya", whisper and people believe you.

Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart (Lev 19:17):

You see, what the Jews forgot was that the law was dealing with the spirit and the heart of man. They started to just observe it from an outward thing, and Jesus when He came and pointed out where they missed the law completely in interpreting it as governing outward activities, when the law is spiritual, and God is concerned with the attitude. Here the law says, "you're not to hate your brother in your heart". They just took the law, "thou shalt not kill", you can hate him all you want, just don't kill him. It's only when you killed him that you violated the law. But Jesus brought out again, "Hey if you hate your brother, you violated."

Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself (Lev 19:18),

Now when Jesus asked the lawyer, "Which is the greatest commandment?" He said, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with all thy mind, and thy neighbor as thyself." That's what Jesus answered the lawyer. He said, "In this is all the law and the commandments." So this is the second greatest commandment. Jesus said, "The second is like unto the first." The first is loving God. But the second, and Jesus is quoting then from this one, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."

for I am the Lord. Now you're not to inner breed animals, you're not to sow your fields with mingled seed, nor are you to have mingled materials in your garments, such as wool and linen mingled together. When they come into the land they are to plant the trees but for the first three years, they're not to eat the fruit of it. In the fourth year the fruit belongs to God, in the fifth year it becomes theirs, and thus will they be blessed, and can reap the harvest after the fifth year. They're not to make any markings upon their bodies. [The forbidding of tattoos, and so forth.] The forbidding of haircuts that corner of your head, or making baldness, [This is what, well, the Hari Krishna's good example.] Ye shall not eat anything with blood, neither shall you use enchantment, nor observe times. [You're not to be following horoscopes.] Not to make any cutting in your flesh for the dead, nor marks upon you: for I am the Lord. Keep my sabbaths, [verse thirty] reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord. Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek the wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord. Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, [In other words when the old man, gray-haired man comes in you're supposed to stand up.] and honor the face of the old man, and fear thy God: for I am the Lord. [So the respect for the elderly is taught.] Also the respect for a stranger, treat him as one that is born in your land. Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin, [which are measurements] shall ye have: for I am the Lord your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt (Lev 19:19-37).

So the fairness in their dealings.

Chapter 20

Chapter twenty, now God begins to get a little heavier. In chapter twenty God goes over some of the things He dealt with in chapter eighteen, only in chapter twenty telling that the violators of these things should be put to death. I know a lot of these sob sisters are crying out against capital punishment. But if we practice capital punishment as the Bible says, we wouldn't have near the crime problem that we have today.

I don't know what's gone wrong with our judicial system, but we are far more interested in protecting the rights of the criminal than we are of the innocent victims. There's something awfully stupid about our whole system that releases the rapists, and the murderers and all back, and the kidnappers, back on the streets to repeat their crimes over and over again. Something stupid when you can't bring up the past patterns of a man's life for a present crime that he's committed. The man is showing himself to be a habitual child molester, or a habitual rapist and all, then he should be dealt with as a habitual child molester.

As far as I'm concerned better to-I'll pull the switch if they need someone. He can ask God to forgive him, and God will forgive him, and he'll go to heaven; he'll be a lot better off. But we'll be a lot better off too, and a lot safer, and our children will be a lot safer walking in the streets. I wouldn't have to worry nearly so much in sending them off to the store. We are living in a crazy, corrupt world that's gone wild. It's because we've forsaken the law of God. We've got a bunch of sob sisters, pantywaists. Romaine could tell you about them better than I could.

If a father sacrificed his child to Molech, he was to be put to death. [Don't mess with him.] If he is worshiping the god Molech and in so doing offers his child as a living sacrifice to Molech, kill him, put him to death. Stone him with stones, for I will set my face against that man and will cut him off from among the people. And if you in any wise hide your eyes from him who has sacrificed his children to Molech, and you don't kill him, then God will set his face against you, and against your family, to cut you off, for those that go a-whoring after Molech, from among the people. And if a person seeks after those that have the familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a-whoring after them, I will set my face against them. Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the Lord your God. And ye shall keep my statutes: I am the Lord which has set you apart. Every one that curses his father or mother shall surely be put to death: [That's heavy.] A man that commits adultery with another man's wife, both of them shall be put to death. A man that lies with his father's wife, those of the incestuous relationships were to be put to death. Homosexuals [verse thirteen] were to be put to death, bestiality a person was to be put to death; both for men and women (Lev 20:2-15).

So God ordered stringent dealing with sin. It gives you an idea of what God's idea of sin is. You think that God is very soft and easy, not so. God ordered them to deal severely in order that they might remain clean, in order that they might be pure, in order that they might not be polluted. As long as they remained obedient to the law of God, God blessed them. When they started to mollify and to ease off on things, then the land ultimately spewed them out even as God said.

Verse twenty-two...

Ye shall therefore keep all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: that the land, whither I bring you to dwell in shall not spew you out. [In their failure the land ultimately spewed them out.] Ye shall not walk in the manner of the nations, in which I cast out before you for they committed all these things, therefore I abhorred them (Lev 20:22-23).

That's why God ordered them eradicated. So God dealt very severely with these violators. But I'll tell you; it kept the violators down to a minimum. It was safe to walk around the land. A woman could walk around the camp at night and never worry, never fear. It was a holy place. Heaven's gonna be a holy place. The kingdom age is gonna be a holy place. Man, you find it tough looking at this? Then you're gonna find it tough living in the kingdom age, cause you're gonna be one of the enforcers of righteousness. You're gonna be having the rod of iron which you're gonna be going around popping skulls like, like clay pots. That's what it said, "He's gonna rule with a rod of iron as a potter blasts a vessel in shivers". (Revelation 2:27).

So those that are disobedient to God. Listen, He's gonna keep it pure, He's gonna keep it holy, and it's gonna be a fabulous place to live. For a thousand years it's gonna be absolutely glorious as He rules with that rod of iron, and righteousness covers the earth. It'll be a much better place to live than it is today, let me tell you that.

Well next week we finish Leviticus, so fasten your seat belts. Shall we stand? I want to tell you something, God is very gracious, God is very merciful, or none of you would be around. If it were not for the Lord, let all Israel now say, "if it were not for the Lord, then we would be utterly destroyed". If it wasn't for the Lord's graciousness, and His mercy, and His tenderness, and His lovingkindness, none of us would have a chance. But thank God for the grace and truth that is ours through Jesus Christ. "But should I sin freely so that grace may abound? God forbid. How can we who are dead to sin live any longer therein?"

So one of the scriptures, and we passed over it, God said that, "And ye shall, and if ye do these things, ye shall live by them." Now that's what the covenant was based upon doing. The new covenant that God has established with us is based upon being, what I am in Christ Jesus. It's no longer on what I am doing; it's on what God has done, and my believing and trusting in that work of Jesus Christ, my great High Priest.

As you go through Leviticus, Hebrews is going to, you ought to really just having, when we go through Leviticus, when we finish it, you really ought to pop over to the New Testament and read Hebrews. You'll have a better understanding of Hebrews than you've ever had before if you'll pop over and read it now just being so fresh out of Leviticus. Hebrews will really talk to you in a very special way. So just as a special assignment this week, you that are looking for an "A" grade, read the book of Hebrews.

May the Lord bless you, and keep His hand upon your life, and may He help you to walk in all righteousness and holiness, for He is Jehovah our God, and He is a holy God. He wants His people to be a holy people, that the name of the Lord would not be blasphemed by my actions, but that people in seeing my good works will glorify our Father who is in heaven. God bless you. May the face of the Lord shine upon you, and His love burn in your heart all through the week. In Jesus' name.