Leviticus 17:1-9 ~ 20161009 ~ Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org
10/09 Leviticus 17; Location for Worship; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20161009_leviticus-17_1-9.mp3
We are in Leviticus 17, a chapter that deals with the handling of blood. To step back and look at where we are in the big picture of Leviticus, we see:
Leviticus 1-10 Sacrifices and Priests that make Atonement
--Leviticus 11-15 Uncleanness that Needs Atonement
----Leviticus 16 Day of Atonement
--Leviticus 17 Blood that makes Atonement
Leviticus 18-27 Holy Living in Response to Atonement
The remainder of the book tells us how forgiven people ought to live in response to the forgiveness they have been given.
In chapter 17, we see the location of sacrifice and the careful handling of the blood. If we outline this chapter we see something like this:
17:1-7 no peace offerings sacrificed outside the sanctuary
--17:8-9 no other sacrifices outside sanctuary
----17:10 no blood consumption
------17:11 atonement by blood
----17:12 no blood consumption
--17:13-14 no blood consumption from hunted animals
17:15-16 no blood consumption from dead animals
The first half of the chapter deals with the legitimate location of sacrifices. The second half of the chapter deals with consumption of non-sacrificial animals. The center section deals with the proper handling of blood, with verse 11 as the centerpiece of this chapter, giving us a pivotal statement about the role of blood in atonement.
We will take the first section today, then next week we will work through the central section of this chapter.
The Location of Sacrifice
Leviticus 17:1 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to Aaron and his sons and to all the people of Israel and say to them, This is the thing that the LORD has commanded. 3 If any one of the house of Israel kills an ox or a lamb or a goat in the camp, or kills it outside the camp, 4 and does not bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting to offer it as a gift to the LORD in front of the tabernacle of the LORD, bloodguilt shall be imputed to that man. He has shed blood, and that man shall be cut off from among his people. 5 This is to the end that the people of Israel may bring their sacrifices that they sacrifice in the open field, that they may bring them to the LORD, to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and sacrifice them as sacrifices of peace offerings to the LORD. 6 And the priest shall throw the blood on the altar of the LORD at the entrance of the tent of meeting and burn the fat for a pleasing aroma to the LORD. 7 So they shall no more sacrifice their sacrifices to goat demons, after whom they whore. This shall be a statute forever for them throughout their generations. 8 “And you shall say to them, Any one of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who sojourn among them, who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice 9 and does not bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting to offer it to the LORD, that man shall be cut off from his people.
One question many have had about this passage is: Does this prohibit slaughter of any animals for food outside of the tabernacle? The first 4 verses use the general word for kill, which could include simple butchering for meat. If this is the case, then this passage would require all meat to be offered as a sacrifice first at the tabernacle. But Deuteronomy 12 specifically says that the Israelites may kill and eat animals in their own towns away from the sanctuary. Those that believe this includes all meat see this as a temporary requirement for Israel camped around the central tabernacle, and they see Deuteronomy preparing for a different setting, when Israel will be scattered across the land that they are going in to possess. But this overlooks the fact that verse 7 says “This shall be a statute forever for them throughout their generations.” And if this were a requirement that all animals that are killed for food must first be offered as a sacrifice, there is no instruction on what to do with blemished animals, for only unblemished animals may be offered in sacrifice to the LORD. Deuteronomy 12 states what is left unsaid in this chapter, that domestic animals may be killed for food away from the sanctuary. This chapter is focused on animals killed as sacrifices.
This first section deals with the location of sacrifices, but more importantly it confronts to whom the sacrifices are offered, and confronts our tendency toward idolatry. The goal of this section, stated in verse 5, is
Leviticus 17:5 This is to the end that the people of Israel may bring their sacrifices that they sacrifice in the open field, that they may bring them to the LORD, to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and sacrifice them as sacrifices of peace offerings to the LORD. 6 And the priest shall throw the blood on the altar of the LORD at the entrance of the tent of meeting and burn the fat for a pleasing aroma to the LORD.
All sacrifices are to be sacrifices to the LORD, brought to the LORD's one specified place of sacrifice. This is primarily an issue of who is to be worshiped. The altar is here called 'the altar of YHWH.' This is a unique designation of the bronze altar of burnt offering. It emphasizes that every sacrifice is to be brought to the one true God. The tabernacle is called the tent of meeting, because the focus is on meeting with God.
Verses 5 and 6 specifically deal with the peace offering of chapter 3, the offering where the fat was burned on the altar to the LORD, and the worshiper ate some of the sacrificed animal in communion with God. Verses 8-9 extend the issue to include burnt offerings or any of the other kinds of sacrifices. They are all to be offered exclusively to God at the one place he has established in the specific way that he has proscribed.
This is an issue of the first commandment.
Exodus 20:1 And God spoke all these words, saying, 2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
3 “You shall have no other gods before me.
4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
In the context of Israel camped around the tabernacle, this mean that sacrifice was to be offered nowhere else but the tabernacle, officiated by the priests in the way proscribed by the LORD. Deuteronomy chapter 12 is the counterpart to Leviticus 17, giving instructions more specifically in the context of the occupation of the promised land, that sacrifice is then to be offered nowhere else but the one place that the LORD chooses to make his name dwell, the temple in Jerusalem. The Israelites were instructed to tear down all high places and altars that the pagans used and not follow their idolatrous practices. God demands exclusive worship. He is the God who triumphed over the gods of the Egyptians and set his people free to worship him. This is the God who would be victorious over the gods of the Canaanite people who occupied the promised land.
Idolatrous Inclinations
We might think that it would go without saying that the LORD is the only one to be worshiped. But our tendency to idolatry runs deep. Verse 7 says:
Leviticus 17:7 So they shall no more sacrifice their sacrifices to goat demons, after whom they whore. This shall be a statute forever for them throughout their generations.
Notice, this was not written to warn against an obscure possibility; this is written to confront a practice that was already going on, a practice that was incompatible with the worship of the one true God, a practice that was considered covenant breaking adultery. The people were sacrificing in the wilderness to goat demons. We find this almost unbelievable. How could the people of Israel, who had witnessed the ten plagues, who had walked through the Red Sea on dry land, who had seen the LORD destroy their enemies, who had seen the lightning and felt the thunder at Mount Sinai, who had seen the glory cloud come down and inhabit the sanctuary, how could these people sacrifice to goat demons in the wilderness? How could they!
But how can we, we who have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, we who have been bought with the precious blood of Jesus, we who have knelt at the foot of the cross and seen the divine Word made flesh, Love incarnate, die for our sins, how can we go after money and pleasure and power and position and praise and security and family and food and possessions and comfort and ease? How is it that we so frequently fail to acknowledge God as God or give him thanks? 'Prone to wander, Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love; Take my heart Lord, take and seal it, seal it to thy courts above.' We have wicked idolatrous, adulterous hearts.
This is why this issue is so serious, and carries such a severe penalty.
Leviticus 17:4 ...bloodguilt shall be imputed to that man. He has shed blood, and that man shall be cut off from among his people.
God considers idolatry as serious as murder. He will have a people with hearts single toward him, with affections alone for him. He is a jealous God.
God knew the hearts of his people. In Deuteronomy 31,
Deuteronomy 31:16 And the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, you are about to lie down with your fathers. Then this people will rise and whore after the foreign gods among them in the land that they are entering, and they will forsake me and break my covenant that I have made with them.
...18 And I will surely hide my face in that day because of all the evil that they have done, because they have turned to other gods. 19 “Now therefore write this song and teach it to the people of Israel. Put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the people of Israel. 20 For when I have brought them into the land flowing with milk and honey, which I swore to give to their fathers, and they have eaten and are full and grown fat, they will turn to other gods and serve them, and despise me and break my covenant. 21 And when many evils and troubles have come upon them, this song shall confront them as a witness (for it will live unforgotten in the mouths of their offspring). For I know what they are inclined to do even today, before I have brought them into the land that I swore to give.”
God knew the idolatrous inclination of the hearts of his people, so he warned them.
Deuteronomy 32:15 “But Jeshurun grew fat, and kicked; you grew fat, stout, and sleek; then he forsook God who made him and scoffed at the Rock of his salvation. 16 They stirred him to jealousy with strange gods; with abominations they provoked him to anger. 17 They sacrificed to demons that were no gods, to gods they had never known, to new gods that had come recently, whom your fathers had never dreaded. 18 You were unmindful of the Rock that bore you, and you forgot the God who gave you birth.
Our tendency is to forget God. To fail to give him thanks and praise. To follow other things. To fix our affections on other things.
Idolatry in the New Testament
We tend to think that this issue of idolatry is remote and removed from us. We are not polytheistic. We do not bow down to idols. That this is still an issue for the New Testament believer is clear from Paul's teaching to the church in Corinth. In chapter 10 he warns us:
1 Corinthians 10:6 ...that we might not desire evil... 7 Do not be idolaters... 8 we must not indulge in sexual immorality... 9 we must not put Christ to the test... 10 nor grumble...
We would certainly agree that most of the things he mentions here are relevant temptations today. Anyone here struggle with grumbling? He goes on.
1 Corinthians 10:12 Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. 13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. 14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.
The main issue Paul deals with in this chapter is idolatry. An idol is what we value, what we treasure, what we trust, what we hope in, what we work for, what we focus on, what we put time and energy into. Colossians 3 gives us insight into our idolatrous nature.
Colossians 3:5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
Covetousness, putting our hope in something we don't have to fulfill a longing in us, is idolatry. Paul tells us that this is earthly and we are to put it to death. That is one side of his instruction – kill idolatry, kill evil desire, kill covetousness. The other side of his instruction comes first, and it is positive. He says
Colossians 3:1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
Seek what is above. Set your minds on things above. Fix your eyes, fix your hopes, fix your heart on what is above. Notice, this comes first, and makes the second command so much easier. If our hearts and our hopes are attached to God and his glory, it is easier to crucify our covetousness. It is still painful, it is still a fight, but it is easier. It is much easier to let go of something when you have something more solid, more substantial, more satisfying to hold on to. Put to death that which is earthly, because you have been resurrected to a heavenly reality.
Jesus and the Location for Worship
Leviticus 17 restricts all sacrifice to one central worship location to prevent the people from continuing to follow after false gods.
In John 4 Jesus was asked a question about the location of worship.
John 4:19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.”
The woman from Samaria asked Jesus about the proper place of worship. Mount Gerizim or Jerusalem? Which place is the right place to worship? Place matters. Leviticus tells us to bring our sacrifices to the altar of YWHW. Which is the true altar? Who is right? The Samaritans or the Jews? This is a Leviticus 17 question.
John 4:21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.
This is a staggering answer! Which altar is the true altar? Which place is the right place? No. Neither. “The hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.” “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations, but you have made it a den of robbers” (Mk.11:17). The house was condemned. “There will not be left here one stone left upon another that will not be thrown down” (Mk.13:2). The glory presence had left. Neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. Where then? Where is the place to worship?
John 4:23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
God is Spirit, true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. Jesus is decentralizing the worship of YHWH. It is no longer about a location, no longer about an altar, because God is not confined to a location. The shadow is being replaced by the reality. God is spirit. He will be worshiped in spirit and truth. Where?
1 Corinthians 3:16 Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? 17 ... For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple.
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1 Corinthians 6:19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
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2 Corinthians 6:16 What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said,
“I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them,
and I will be their God,
We are the temple of the living God. God's temple is wherever you are. So glorify God in your body. Worship him in spirit and in truth. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength. You are God's temple. God's Spirit dwells in you. Wherever you are, at all times, truly worship him. Honor him. Give him thanks. Fix your attention on Jesus.
Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org