Levítico 17

Levítico 17

Chart from recommended resource Jensen's Survey of the OT - used by permission Another Overview Chart of Leviticus - Charles Swindoll A third Overview Chart of Leviticus LEVITICUS THE BOOK OF SANCTIFICATION AND WORSHIP Adapted and modified from C. Swindoll Leviticus 1-17 Leviticus 18-27 The Way to God Access The Walk with God Lifestyle The Approach: Offerings Practical Guidelines The Representative: Priest Chronological Observances The Laws: Cleansing Physically & Spiritually Severe Consequences Verbal promises Ritual for Worship Worshipping a Holy God Practical for Walking Living a Holy Life Location: Mt Sinai for one full year Theme: How sinful humanity can approach and worship a holy God Key Verses: Lev 17:11, 19:2, 20:7-8 Christ in Leviticus: In every sacrifice, every ritual, every feast Time: about 1446BC Leviticus 17:1 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, - The phrase "Jehovah spoke to Moses" occurs 93 times in the OT = Ex 6:10, 13, 28f; 7:8; 13:1; 14:1; 16:11; 19:21; 25:1; 30:17, 22; 31:1, 12; 32:7; 33:1; 40:1; Lev 4:1; 5:14; 6:1, 8, 19, 24; 7:22, 28; 8:1; 12:1; 13:1; 14:1; 16:1; 17:1; 18:1; 19:1; 20:1; 21:16; 22:1, 17, 26; 23:9, 23, 26, 33; 24:1, 13; 27:1; Num 1:1; 2:1; 3:5, 11, 14, 44; 4:1, 17, 21; 5:1, 5, 11; 6:1, 22; 7:4; 8:1, 5, 23; 9:1, 9; 13:1; 14:26; 15:1, 17; 16:20, 23, 36, 44; 17:1; 18:25; 19:1; 20:7, 23; 25:10, 16; 26:1, 52; 27:6; 28:1; 31:1, 25; 33:50; 34:1, 16; 35:1, 9; Deut 32:48; Josh 14:6 ("You know the word which the LORD spoke to Moses the man of God concerning you and me in Kadesh-barnea.") Jehovah spoke to Moses so Moses could speak to Aaron, a good pattern for all pastors -- that Jehovah might speak to them (who function as intermediaries, mediators if you will) through His Word, that they might be able to speak to their congregation (who like Aaron are a royal priesthood of the Lord - 1Pe 2:9) a word from the Lord. All else is futility and chaff! Give us holy "wheat" from heaven in our churches, O Lord! Amen. William MacDonald Notes on Leviticus 17 - At first these verses seem to prohibit the killing of animals without bringing them to the tabernacle as a sacrifice. But this is not the case. The Israelites were permitted to kill animals for food. What this passage forbade was the offering of sacrificial animals at any place other than the door of the tabernacle. Lev 17:1-9 forbade the offering of animals in the fields, as was done in the worship of the idol Pan. “The Hebrew word [translated ‘devils’ in KJV and ‘goat-demons’ in ASV] is literally ‘hairy ones.’ In Isaiah 13:21 and Isa 34:14 it is rendered ‘satyr’ in the Authorized Version and ‘wild-goats’ in the American Standard Version. The satyr was an imaginary being, half-goat, half-man, of demon nature. In Egypt the goat-man, Pan, was worshiped, it would seem as though this word recognized the fact that these people had in Egypt probably worshiped the false god.” The eating of blood was likewise forbidden (Lev 17:10-14). The blood was for atonement, not for nourishment. “The life of the flesh is in the blood” (Lev 17:11). The principle behind atonement is life for life. Since the wages of sin is death, symbolized by the shedding of blood, so “without the shedding of blood is no remission.” Forgiveness does not come because the penalty of sin is excused, but because it is transferred to a sacrifice whose lifeblood is poured out. Lev 17:11 is one of the key verses in Leviticus and should be memorized. When an animal was slaughtered, its blood was drained immediately. An animal that died accidentally was unclean if its blood was not drained right, away. Lev 17:15 refers to a person who ignorantly ate the meat of an animal that had not been bled. Provision was made for his cleansing. But if he refused this provision, he was to be punished. Leviticus 17:2 "Speak to Aaron and to his sons and to all the sons of Israel and say to them, 'This is what the LORD has commanded, saying, - Commanded, not suggested. Too often I fear I read His Word and receive it as a good suggestion rather than a great commandment. Leviticus 17:3 "Any man from the house of Israel who slaughters an ox or a lamb or a goat in the camp, or who slaughters it outside the camp, be of: Lev 17:8,12,13,15 that killeth an: Deut 12:5-7,11-15,20-22,26,27) Outside the camp (this exact phrase 28x in 27v in NAS) - Ex 29:14; 33:7; Lev 4:12, 21-note; Lev 6:11-note.; Lev 8:17-note.; Lev 9:11; Lev 13:46-note.; Lev 16:27-note (good note by Richard Phillips).; Lev 17:3-note.; Lev 24:14, 23-note.; Nu 5:3-4; 12:14-15; 15:35-36; 19:3, 9; 31:13, 19; Dt 23:10, 12; Josh 6:23; Heb 13:11-note Heb 13:13-note. and "outside the gate" in Heb 13:12-note. Leviticus 17:4 and has not brought it to the doorway of the tent of meeting to present it as an offering to the LORD before the tabernacle of the LORD, bloodguiltiness is to be reckoned to that man. He has shed blood and that man shall be cut off from among his people. bringeth: Lev 1:3 Deut 12:5,6,13,14 Eze 20:40 Joh 10:7,9 14:6 blood shall: Lev 7:18 Ps 32:2 Ro 4:6 5:13,20 Philemon 1:18,19 he hath: Isa 66:3 be cut off: Lev 17:10,14 18:29 20:3,16,18 Ge 17:14 Ex 12:15,19 Nu 15:30,31 Preacher’s Complete Homiletic Commentary - A captious mind will ask. Why is not sacrifice acceptable to God wherever offered? Surely it is in the spirit of the offerer, rather than in the circumstances of the offering, that piety consists. Wherefore, then, this insistence on mere conditions, and importance attached to the place of sacrifice? But God meets such contention of thought with absolute interdict; He is the authority in human life and sacred regulations; and “who art thou that replies against God?” Even when “your ways are not my ways” (Isa 55:8), the LORD must be obeyed, and His terms of dealing with sinful creatures be observed as absolute Yet more. There was wisdom in those requirements; for the Israelites had been so trained to superstitious and heathenish ideas in Egypt as to need this fencing about in order to restrain them from lapsing, all but unconsciously, into the snares of familiar idolatrous practices. Our God is gracious in all His ways; His commandments are not grievous; but, knowing our tendencies to err, He arrests us at the first symptoms of erring, and shows us the path of safety, the plan of acceptance. (Preacher’s Complete Homiletic Commentary - Leviticus 17 The Sanctity of Blood ) Leviticus 17:5 "The reason is so that the sons of Israel may bring their sacrifices which they were sacrificing in the open field, that they may bring them in to the LORD, at the doorway of the tent of meeting to the priest, and sacrifice them as sacrifices of peace offerings to the LORD. in the open: Ge 21:33 22:2,13 31:54 Deut 12:2 1Ki 14:23 2Ki 16:4 17:10 2Ch 28:4 Eze 20:28 22:9 and offer them: Lev 3:1-17 7:11-21 Ex 24:5) Comment on "sacrificing in the open field" - Israel "had learned this from the Egyptians, who peopled the scenes of nature with deities (v. 7), and Israel continually fell into this old habit, and sacrificed in groves and on high places; it was the snare of their whole after history. We may be redeemed from our spiritual bondage, and become pilgrims to Canaan, yet all the journey through the power of old habits pursues us, and would reassert itself upon us. Therefore the urgency with which God’s Word prohibits any and every concession to “the former lusts in our ignorance.” We must shun lurking perils." (Preacher’s Complete Homiletic Commentary - Leviticus 17 The Sanctity of Blood ) Leviticus 17:6 "The priest shall sprinkle the blood on the altar of the LORD at the doorway of the tent of meeting, and offer up the fat in smoke as a soothing aroma to the LORD. sprinkle: Lev 3:2,8,13 burn: Lev 3:5,11,16 4:31 Ex 29:13,18 Nu 18:17 Leviticus 17:7 "They shall no longer sacrifice their sacrifices to the goat demons with which they play the harlot. This shall be a permanent statute to them throughout their generations." sacrifices to the goat demons Deut 32:17 2Ch 11:15 Ps 106:37 John 12:31 14:30 1Co 10:20 2Co 4:4 Eph 2:2 Rev 9:20) This is a fascinating prohibition. Notice it does not say "shall not sacrifice" but "shall no longer sacrifice"! Implication? Clearly this was something that Israel was doing! Wow and woe! They had not been out of Egypt for very long at the time of the giving of the truth in Leviticus (about 1450-1410BC) as they camped at the base of Mt Sinai. Clearly Israel had lived in Egypt amid her idolatry long enough for the practice of idol worship to live in Israel, the holy, chosen people. My, how longsuffering is God! Harris - The word שָׂעִיר (sāyîr) is identical with the word for he-goat; but as it obviously refers to idolatry, it is translated “goat idol.” Some think this points to what the Greeks called satyrs—mythical creatures in half-human, half-goat form. But the LXX translation is “vanities,” a name for idols, and the word is used in 2Chronicles 11:15 clearly in a context of idolatry—with mention of Jeroboam’s golden calves. As far as is known, satyrs were creatures of Greek mythology, not of Semitic idolatry. There is no hint that these idols were half-human. It is easiest to see here just an idol in goat form similar to the more common one in calf or bull form. (The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Volume 2: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers) Demons (08163) (sa'yr from sear = hair) means shaggy or hairy ("hairy one") and can also refer to a "he goat." Some lexicons also associate it with the "goat-idol." Sa'yr is translated in the Lxx of Lev 17:7 with the adjective mataios which speaks of that which is deceptive or ineffectual. It is not what it appears to be and was used in the NT to describe empty speculations (1Cor 3:20) and futile, worthless religion (James 1:26) and "vain things" (idols in contrast to the living God) (Acts 14:15). Here is another reference to "goat demons"… "And he (Rehoboam) set up priests of his own for the high places, for the satyrs (KJV = idols; NET & ESV = goat idols; CSB = goat-demons; Hebrew = sa'yr; Lxx = mataios), and for the calves which he had made." (2Chronicles 11:15) Thoralf Gilbrant - "Most of the occurrences of sa'yr refer to the male goat used for the sin offering. Leviticus 4 specifies the regulations for the sin offering. A young bull without defect was to be offered by the high priest, a male goat by a leader in the community (Lev. 4:23), a female goat for a common person, a dove or pigeon by the poor and one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour by the very poor. This sacrifice served as mandatory atonement and confession for unintentional sin and provided forgiveness from sin and cleansing from defilement. The Day of Atonement signified the substitutionary role of the male goat in bearing the sins of the people, in like manner as Christ did on the cross (cf. Lev. 16; Heb. 13:11ff). The high priest was to offer two goats, one for the sin offering and the other as the scapegoat, which would be chosen by casting lots. The first goat would be slaughtered and its blood sprinkled in the holy Place and its body burned outside of the camp. The scapegoat would be released into the desert after the high priest laid his hands upon its head, confessing over the animal all the sin and rebellion of Israel (Lev. 16:21). Thus, the sin was transferred from the guilty party to the sa'yr, as all iniquity was transferred to Christ on the cross. On four occasions, sa'yr refers to "goat idols" or "demons," which were understood to be one and the same. Leviticus 17:7 reveals that Israel prostituted themselves with goat idols, which were strictly forbidden. Jeroboam ignored this prohibition, rejected the Levites and appointed his own pagan priests who set up idols bearing goat images (2Chr. 11:15). Isaiah ironically described God's judgment in which the very animals Israel worshiped would be the only ones left in the land (Isa. 13:21; 34:14)." (The Complete Biblical Library Old and New Testament - Dictionary) Baker - A masculine noun meaning a male goat, a buck. Occasionally, the word can be used figuratively to mean a hairy one. Under the Israelite sacrificial system, a male goat was an acceptable sin offering. This noun is used many times in conjunction with the sin offering, in which a male goat without any defects was offered by the priest to atone for the sins of himself and the people (Lev. 9:15; 2 Chr. 29:23; Ezek. 43:25). On the negative side, the Israelites worshiped the goat as an idol in times of rebellion against God; the same noun is used in these references (Lev. 17:7; 2Chr. 11:15). (The complete word study dictionary: Old Testament) Sa'yr is translated in KJV - - kid 28, goat 24, devil 2, satyr 2, hairy 2, rough 1; 59 Sa'iyr - 57v - Gen 27:11, 23; 37:31; Lev 4:23-34; 9:3, 15; 10:16; 16:5, 7-9, 15, 18, 20ff, 26f; 17:7; 23:19; Num 7:16, 22, 28, 34, 40, 46, 52, 58, 64, 70, 76, 82, 87; 15:24; 28:15, 22, 30; 29:5, 11, 16, 19, 22, 25, 28, 31, 34, 38; 2Chr 11:15; 29:23; Isa 13:21; 34:14; Ezek 43:22, 25; 45:23; Dan 8:21. See following for discussion of satyr… Satyr - Holman Bible Dictionary Satyr - Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature Satyrs (Satyr) - 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica Satyr - International Standard Bible Encyclopedia Satyr - The 1901 Jewish Encyclopedia Sacrifices to the goat demons - The word Seirim, here translated “devils,” literally means hairy or shaggy goats, and then goat-like deities, or demons. The Egyptians, and other nations of antiquity, worshipped goats as gods. Not only was there a celebrated temple in Thmuis, the capital of the Mendesian Nomos in Lower Egypt, dedicated to the goat image Pan, whom they called Mendes, and worshipped as an oracle and as the fertilising principle in nature, but they erected statues to him everywhere. Hence the Pan Silenus, satyrs, fawns, and woodland gods found among the Greeks and Romans; and hence, too, the goat-like forms of the devil, with a tail, horns, and cloven feet, which obtain in Medieval Christianity, and which may still be seen in some European cities. The terror in which the devil, appearing in this Pan-like form, created in those who were thought to have seen him, has given rise to our expression panic. (Ellicott’s Commentary in Preacher’s Complete Homiletic Commentary - Leviticus 17 The Sanctity of Blood ) G Campbell