WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.139 Not many would know what happened in London on the 20th of May 2003. 00:00:05.919 --> 00:00:12.800 It turned out to be the date that marked the beginning of the end of the Anglican Church as a worldwide family of churches. 00:00:13.599 --> 00:00:17.460 What happened on that date was the announcement of the appointment of Canon Geoffrey John 00:00:17.460 --> 00:00:22.100 as the new Bishop of Reading in the Diocese of Oxford. 00:00:22.519 --> 00:00:26.699 The problem was not that Geoffrey John was same-sex attracted, 00:00:26.699 --> 00:00:35.719 but that he had a male partner of 27 years and was an outspoken critic of the church's position on homosexuality. 00:00:36.979 --> 00:00:41.240 And in the heated debates which followed, 00:00:41.899 --> 00:00:49.879 one Anglican minister went on national radio to explain the position of historical Orthodox Christianity 00:00:49.879 --> 00:00:54.939 and called the church to submit to the authority of God's Word. 00:00:54.939 --> 00:01:01.159 He quoted a number of passages in Leviticus as part of his plea. 00:01:01.839 --> 00:01:06.359 He received an email in response to that radio program, 00:01:06.739 --> 00:01:08.219 and part of the email said, 00:01:08.780 --> 00:01:15.219 It was wonderful to hear you on the radio this morning voicing your concerns about the incompatible views of homosexuality. 00:01:15.219 --> 00:01:23.480 Thank you for doing so much to educate people on God's law and the importance of taking our moral lead from the Bible. 00:01:23.620 --> 00:01:30.680 So far, I've been a faithful disciple of the Bible's views and try to spread the word to as many people as I possibly can. 00:01:31.379 --> 00:01:34.759 When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, 00:01:34.760 --> 00:01:40.439 I remind them that Leviticus 18.22 clearly states it's an abomination. 00:01:41.260 --> 00:01:42.140 End of debate. 00:01:43.640 --> 00:01:44.660 I do not need... 00:01:44.660 --> 00:01:49.939 I do, however, need some advice in regard to some of the specific laws and how to follow them. 00:01:50.020 --> 00:01:53.540 A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination, 00:01:53.820 --> 00:01:55.080 according to Leviticus 11, 00:01:55.540 --> 00:01:58.540 it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. 00:01:58.900 --> 00:01:59.700 I don't agree. 00:01:59.700 --> 00:02:05.140 Where do you fit on the selfish versus gay debate? 00:02:06.659 --> 00:02:12.860 Leviticus 21.20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have defects in my sight. 00:02:13.539 --> 00:02:15.800 I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. 00:02:16.539 --> 00:02:18.860 Does my vision have to be 20.20? 00:02:19.680 --> 00:02:23.699 Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including their hair around their temples, 00:02:23.780 --> 00:02:27.699 even though that's expressly forbidden in Leviticus 19.27. 00:02:27.699 --> 00:02:30.659 Does this mean that all boy bands should be stoned? 00:02:32.060 --> 00:02:33.759 My uncle has a farm. 00:02:34.119 --> 00:02:39.319 He violates Leviticus 19.19 by planting two crops in the same field. 00:02:39.739 --> 00:02:43.519 Leviticus 11.6-8 by touching the skin of a dead pig, 00:02:43.699 --> 00:02:47.299 as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread. 00:02:48.099 --> 00:02:50.479 I mean, they're toast, aren't they? 00:02:51.439 --> 00:02:54.219 He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. 00:02:54.219 --> 00:02:59.659 Is it really necessary to go to the trouble of getting the whole town together in order to stone them? 00:03:00.199 --> 00:03:01.060 Leviticus 24. 00:03:02.379 --> 00:03:06.060 Could we just not burn them at a private family affair, 00:03:06.500 --> 00:03:10.319 like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws, according to Leviticus 20? 00:03:12.319 --> 00:03:17.460 I know you've studied these things extensively, so I'm confident you can help. 00:03:17.460 --> 00:03:21.640 Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging. 00:03:23.260 --> 00:03:24.820 Plenty of sarcasm there. 00:03:26.659 --> 00:03:31.460 And yet, it raises some real questions. 00:03:32.439 --> 00:03:35.620 Is this book of Leviticus for a bygone era? 00:03:35.620 --> 00:03:41.879 Are its laws, its regulations, its views abhorrent to our culture? 00:03:42.759 --> 00:03:43.560 Well, they are. 00:03:43.879 --> 00:03:47.480 We exist in a culture that believes in the sovereign self, 00:03:48.900 --> 00:03:50.860 self-authorizing morality, 00:03:51.460 --> 00:03:54.800 where every individual chooses for themselves what's right and wrong. 00:03:56.360 --> 00:04:00.659 Leviticus seems as unworkable as windows in a submarine. 00:04:00.659 --> 00:04:08.340 And that culture of self-authorizing morality 00:04:08.340 --> 00:04:11.460 infiltrates within the church, 00:04:11.740 --> 00:04:13.699 where even we gather today, sit, 00:04:13.879 --> 00:04:17.139 and we pick the bits that we think are more important than the others. 00:04:21.180 --> 00:04:23.279 On the other hand, we might be sitting in the church here, 00:04:23.319 --> 00:04:27.620 and we hold a high view of the Bible and its authority as the word of God, 00:04:27.620 --> 00:04:31.540 but still kind of unsure how this book of Leviticus fits. 00:04:32.600 --> 00:04:34.939 Our instinct is that it's got something to offer, 00:04:35.199 --> 00:04:38.699 but not really sure what it offers. 00:04:39.480 --> 00:04:41.360 Why should we read Leviticus? 00:04:41.480 --> 00:04:42.560 Why spend six weeks on it? 00:04:42.560 --> 00:04:44.340 I wanted to spend ten, we've got it reduced to six. 00:04:45.180 --> 00:04:46.980 Why should we read Leviticus? 00:04:46.980 --> 00:04:54.840 Is it a little more than just a harsh duty for us to endure 00:04:54.840 --> 00:04:56.000 over the next number of weeks? 00:04:56.340 --> 00:05:01.040 It seems a total distance from the stories of Jesus 00:05:01.040 --> 00:05:03.060 and the adventures of the apostles. 00:05:04.140 --> 00:05:07.480 Apart from a couple of chapters that we'll look at next week, 00:05:07.560 --> 00:05:10.000 there's no stories, there's no drama, there's no movement. 00:05:10.480 --> 00:05:13.980 It feels like 27 chapters of lectures about rules, 00:05:13.980 --> 00:05:16.379 rules, rituals, regulations. 00:05:18.160 --> 00:05:20.060 And so my hope is that in the next six weeks, 00:05:20.960 --> 00:05:25.700 that if you love life in God, in the Lord Jesus, 00:05:25.840 --> 00:05:29.000 through the Lord Jesus, that is, if you treasure Jesus, 00:05:29.500 --> 00:05:31.500 then you will come to love Leviticus. 00:05:33.120 --> 00:05:37.160 I'm convinced that we should love this strange world of Leviticus 00:05:37.160 --> 00:05:40.160 because of how it foreshadows Christ 00:05:40.160 --> 00:05:43.960 and what life in him looks like. 00:05:45.240 --> 00:05:46.200 You know, questions like, 00:05:46.680 --> 00:05:48.900 why did Jesus see himself as sacrifice, 00:05:49.260 --> 00:05:50.320 an offering for sin? 00:05:50.940 --> 00:05:53.920 What's all this stuff about blood of Christ in the communion, 00:05:54.180 --> 00:05:55.960 the Lord's Supper that we participate in? 00:05:56.180 --> 00:05:59.800 What about when we read about Jesus being the Lamb of God? 00:05:59.800 --> 00:06:02.540 You know, the New Testament letter of Hebrews 00:06:02.540 --> 00:06:05.000 is full of illusions to priests, 00:06:05.120 --> 00:06:07.300 to blood, to a tabernacle, to atonement, 00:06:07.500 --> 00:06:11.699 and none of those things make sense by themselves. 00:06:12.439 --> 00:06:15.819 And that's why I don't think we can leave Leviticus 00:06:15.819 --> 00:06:17.420 untouched in our Bibles. 00:06:18.780 --> 00:06:23.540 This is God's prototype for life in him, 00:06:24.060 --> 00:06:26.340 a life of purity and holiness. 00:06:26.339 --> 00:06:29.119 This is God's word to all of his creatures 00:06:29.119 --> 00:06:31.379 which crosses across the generations. 00:06:32.239 --> 00:06:34.179 So what I want you to do now is grab your Bible, 00:06:34.299 --> 00:06:35.619 turn to Leviticus, dust it off, 00:06:36.239 --> 00:06:39.839 because we're going to spend the next six weeks there 00:06:39.839 --> 00:06:41.079 and I need you to go there right now. 00:06:42.339 --> 00:06:42.699 Let's go. 00:06:42.979 --> 00:06:43.899 Leviticus, grab your Bibles. 00:06:44.059 --> 00:06:45.579 There's spare ones floating around. 00:06:46.079 --> 00:06:49.179 We're a church that says one of our core values 00:06:49.179 --> 00:06:50.739 is Christ-centered Bible saturation. 00:06:51.519 --> 00:06:52.939 This is the authority word of God 00:06:52.939 --> 00:06:53.939 and so we want it in front of you. 00:06:53.939 --> 00:06:55.239 If you haven't got one, put your hand up 00:06:55.240 --> 00:06:56.439 and it'll come to you right now. 00:06:57.780 --> 00:06:58.480 There we go. 00:06:58.579 --> 00:06:59.220 Put your hand up. 00:06:59.980 --> 00:07:01.400 Especially if you're a community group leader. 00:07:01.860 --> 00:07:02.579 Put your hand up. 00:07:11.759 --> 00:07:13.500 Leviticus chapter 1, verse 1. 00:07:13.960 --> 00:07:15.060 This is God's word. 00:07:15.400 --> 00:07:15.800 It says, 00:07:15.800 --> 00:07:22.579 That's the opening of Leviticus. 00:07:22.579 --> 00:07:27.660 And that phrase features 56 times in Leviticus. 00:07:28.240 --> 00:07:30.220 All scripture is inspired by God. 00:07:30.620 --> 00:07:33.000 It's all God speaking to humanity. 00:07:33.000 --> 00:07:36.500 But we should be significantly encouraged 00:07:36.500 --> 00:07:41.500 that Leviticus records more explicit, 00:07:42.339 --> 00:07:44.120 exact words of God 00:07:44.120 --> 00:07:46.399 than any other book in the Bible. 00:07:48.399 --> 00:07:51.300 If there was a red letter edition 00:07:51.300 --> 00:07:53.720 of the Old Testament 00:07:53.720 --> 00:07:56.000 where God spoke, 00:07:56.399 --> 00:07:59.879 we would see red all the way through Leviticus. 00:07:59.879 --> 00:08:04.159 When you pick up Leviticus, 00:08:04.279 --> 00:08:07.079 you are picking up one of the most authoritative manuals 00:08:07.079 --> 00:08:09.639 on the principles of holy living there is. 00:08:09.740 --> 00:08:11.199 This book is foundational. 00:08:11.659 --> 00:08:14.860 It is as foundational as Genesis and Exodus 00:08:14.860 --> 00:08:16.139 which came before it. 00:08:16.480 --> 00:08:17.639 Leviticus is good news. 00:08:17.719 --> 00:08:20.019 It's good news for sinners who seek pardon, 00:08:20.139 --> 00:08:21.540 for priests who need empowering, 00:08:21.879 --> 00:08:23.120 for women who are vulnerable, 00:08:23.279 --> 00:08:24.899 for the unclean who covet cleansing, 00:08:25.279 --> 00:08:27.040 for the poor who yearn for freedom, 00:08:27.219 --> 00:08:29.040 for the marginalized who seek dignity, 00:08:29.040 --> 00:08:31.340 for animals that demand protection, 00:08:31.560 --> 00:08:33.560 for families that require strengthening, 00:08:33.720 --> 00:08:35.940 for communities that want fortifying, 00:08:36.320 --> 00:08:38.580 for creation that stands in need of care. 00:08:38.899 --> 00:08:41.200 And these issues and many more of them 00:08:41.200 --> 00:08:42.800 are what we're going to see in Leviticus. 00:08:46.200 --> 00:08:47.899 So, how does it fit in the Bible? 00:08:48.019 --> 00:08:52.000 Leviticus is the third of the first five books of the Bible. 00:08:52.120 --> 00:08:54.560 Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. 00:08:54.700 --> 00:08:55.480 Collectively together, 00:08:55.539 --> 00:08:57.279 they're called the Pentateuch, five books. 00:08:57.279 --> 00:09:00.279 And Leviticus is right in the center. 00:09:00.959 --> 00:09:01.620 It's the center book. 00:09:03.639 --> 00:09:08.199 And there is a particular order in the opening of these foundational books. 00:09:08.579 --> 00:09:13.539 They give us the basic ABC of theological understanding. 00:09:14.240 --> 00:09:17.059 They are foundational books for the whole of the Christian faith 00:09:17.059 --> 00:09:18.120 as we know it today. 00:09:19.079 --> 00:09:23.980 Genesis presents the human race as ruined because of rejection of God, 00:09:23.980 --> 00:09:28.460 the source and the sustainer of their life and all life. 00:09:28.460 --> 00:09:34.600 Exodus opens with the whole plan of redemption and salvation and rescue 00:09:34.600 --> 00:09:40.779 as God chooses and brings his people out of ruin and captivity and slavery 00:09:40.779 --> 00:09:44.759 to be his own redeemed people living with him 00:09:44.759 --> 00:09:48.460 in a binding covenant relationship made through Moses. 00:09:48.460 --> 00:09:55.139 And then we move on to Leviticus and we see how those same saved people 00:09:55.139 --> 00:10:02.440 are now expected but also set free and able to live in purity 00:10:02.440 --> 00:10:04.320 in response to God's rescue plan. 00:10:05.480 --> 00:10:10.280 You see, the book's rich descriptions of sacrifices and moral holiness 00:10:10.279 --> 00:10:19.059 and ritual purity provided God's people with a gripping vision of this new life in God, 00:10:19.899 --> 00:10:23.439 with God, at one with God. 00:10:24.620 --> 00:10:27.819 The center of the book of Leviticus is chapter 16. 00:10:28.220 --> 00:10:31.159 It's a chapter about the day of atonement. 00:10:31.500 --> 00:10:34.559 And atonement is not a word that we use much nowadays, 00:10:34.559 --> 00:10:38.939 but to understand it in its simplest form, 00:10:39.119 --> 00:10:43.259 atonement means at one-ment with God. 00:10:44.739 --> 00:10:47.959 At one-ment with God, together with God. 00:10:48.819 --> 00:10:51.319 And Genesis presents us with a ruined race. 00:10:51.500 --> 00:10:53.879 Exodus introduces us to a redeemed people. 00:10:54.239 --> 00:10:56.559 Leviticus develops the theme of a holy nation, 00:10:56.879 --> 00:11:00.399 a people different because of God's rescue and his salvation plan. 00:11:00.399 --> 00:11:03.959 A ruined race, a redeemed people, a holy people. 00:11:05.479 --> 00:11:09.679 Leviticus, if you like, is like the blueprints of a building. 00:11:10.879 --> 00:11:14.899 Once the building is finished, its blueprints are no longer needed, 00:11:15.039 --> 00:11:17.519 but they still give a bunch of useful information 00:11:17.519 --> 00:11:20.059 of understanding the finished product. 00:11:21.500 --> 00:11:25.139 And when we see these blueprints of atonement, of life in God, 00:11:25.439 --> 00:11:30.579 we actually start to explore the riches of what Christ himself came to fulfill. 00:11:30.580 --> 00:11:39.060 Only when we learn that from Genesis that we are a ruined and a lost people, 00:11:39.540 --> 00:11:44.139 we're ready to engage the topic of salvation in Exodus. 00:11:44.139 --> 00:11:49.519 And only when we have taken the wonders of God's covenant, 00:11:49.819 --> 00:11:55.539 unreserved, undeserved love and mercy and grace in the rescue story of Exodus, 00:11:55.539 --> 00:12:01.360 can we be ready for the theme of holy living as our right and our willing 00:12:01.360 --> 00:12:05.439 and our joyful response to God's love as taught in Leviticus. 00:12:05.440 --> 00:12:09.320 So what's it about? 00:12:10.440 --> 00:12:12.620 Leviticus, the center book of the Pentateuch, 00:12:13.200 --> 00:12:16.160 takes place during a course of one month, 00:12:16.560 --> 00:12:19.760 beginning to end, the course of one month at the foot of Mount Sinai. 00:12:19.759 --> 00:12:26.019 The first and the last verse of Leviticus pretty much tell us what the book contains. 00:12:26.220 --> 00:12:27.559 Verse 1, the very beginning, we read, 00:12:27.639 --> 00:12:31.319 The Lord called to Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting. 00:12:31.480 --> 00:12:32.860 And as you flip to the very last verse, 00:12:32.960 --> 00:12:39.519 we read these are the commands that the Lord gave to Moses at Mount Sinai for the Israelites. 00:12:40.159 --> 00:12:44.240 So basically, having rescued his people, brought them out from Sinai, 00:12:44.240 --> 00:12:49.899 God speaks to his people, he lays out for them a long series of commands 00:12:49.899 --> 00:12:52.159 that governs their new life in him. 00:12:53.159 --> 00:12:56.060 It's an authoritative manual on the principles of holy living. 00:12:56.639 --> 00:13:00.320 There is a word that dominates the first seven chapters. 00:13:01.740 --> 00:13:05.779 By my count, it appears 142 times in itself. 00:13:05.919 --> 00:13:07.100 It's the word offering. 00:13:08.379 --> 00:13:11.820 The words offering, sacrifice, oblation together, 00:13:11.879 --> 00:13:13.740 which carry all the same kind of ideas. 00:13:14.240 --> 00:13:20.960 Those words collectively occur 194 times in the first seven chapters. 00:13:21.560 --> 00:13:27.480 That is the great theme of the first seven chapters, offering. 00:13:31.740 --> 00:13:34.919 Chapters 8 to 10 introduces to the priesthood. 00:13:35.399 --> 00:13:40.000 Chapters 11 to 16 are marked out by the words clean and unclean. 00:13:40.000 --> 00:13:45.139 Phrases that occur 164 times in those seven chapters. 00:13:46.059 --> 00:13:50.120 The chapters that follow on from chapter 17 onwards, the end, 00:13:50.679 --> 00:13:52.919 are noted by their contrast. 00:13:53.960 --> 00:14:00.000 Sorry, their constant use of the words holy, consecrated, sanctify. 00:14:01.399 --> 00:14:05.320 Holiness, separated from, different to, is the closing theme. 00:14:05.320 --> 00:14:08.540 They're the four big themes running through Leviticus. 00:14:08.700 --> 00:14:11.379 Offering, priest, purity, holiness. 00:14:11.379 --> 00:14:20.919 You see, the book of Leviticus is not telling ruined people how to be redeemed, 00:14:21.159 --> 00:14:23.460 because Exodus did that. 00:14:24.720 --> 00:14:29.939 Leviticus is addressing people who are already redeemed by his mercy as his people. 00:14:29.940 --> 00:14:33.480 It's not telling them how to be brought close to God, 00:14:33.540 --> 00:14:40.020 but how to walk close to him in a life of purity and holiness that they've been brought into. 00:14:41.060 --> 00:14:44.060 The very first verse of Leviticus, we're introduced to this thing called the tent of meeting. 00:14:44.920 --> 00:14:48.740 And that makes no sense unless you've read Exodus. 00:14:48.740 --> 00:14:55.019 In Exodus 25 to 40, we have the construction of the tent of meeting. 00:14:55.759 --> 00:14:58.220 And it takes up a big chunk of Exodus. 00:14:58.840 --> 00:15:07.539 And what's interesting is that the tent of meeting is meant to symbolize what the human race lost. 00:15:08.560 --> 00:15:09.940 The Garden of Eden. 00:15:10.860 --> 00:15:11.299 Paradise. 00:15:12.299 --> 00:15:18.480 In the instructions, it sets out as seven words of creation. 00:15:19.200 --> 00:15:21.340 Just like in Genesis chapter 1. 00:15:21.500 --> 00:15:24.600 And if you pay attention to what the people were meant to be building, 00:15:25.100 --> 00:15:27.759 it has so many similarities to the Garden of Eden. 00:15:27.960 --> 00:15:32.080 It has a lampstand that has fruit hanging from it. 00:15:32.500 --> 00:15:36.200 A botanical lampstand that resembles the tree of life. 00:15:36.200 --> 00:15:40.680 And like the Garden of Eden, the tent of meeting can only be entered from the east. 00:15:41.019 --> 00:15:45.779 And all the precious stones that were in the Garden of Eden were now embedded in the robes of the priest. 00:15:46.120 --> 00:15:48.580 And just like the Garden of Eden that had the cherubim, 00:15:48.740 --> 00:15:54.860 standing guard at the entrance of the Garden of Eden after Adam and Eve had been expelled from because of sin. 00:15:55.740 --> 00:15:58.879 And if they tried to get back, the cherubim meant to cut them in half. 00:15:59.019 --> 00:16:01.039 No access back to the Garden of Eden. 00:16:01.039 --> 00:16:11.379 We have in the tent of meeting these great curtains where cherubim are woven into the fabric to remind the people there is no access to this place. 00:16:11.379 --> 00:16:18.080 They are not allowed to just walk back in to God's presence. 00:16:20.080 --> 00:16:23.100 It's a reminder you've been cut off from God. 00:16:23.100 --> 00:16:30.639 And it's fitting that when you get to the book of Exodus in chapter 40, 00:16:30.940 --> 00:16:35.519 we see Moses standing outside the tent of meeting. 00:16:36.860 --> 00:16:38.680 He's not allowed in. 00:16:38.679 --> 00:16:43.919 It's a symbol of paradise lost. 00:16:44.679 --> 00:16:45.859 Chapter 40, verse 34. 00:16:46.819 --> 00:16:50.839 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 00:16:51.000 --> 00:16:51.839 God is there. 00:16:51.899 --> 00:16:53.319 His presence is there in the tent of meeting. 00:16:54.019 --> 00:17:00.699 And Moses could not enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. 00:17:00.700 --> 00:17:10.960 God's presence is in the tent and Moses standing outside, not able to enter, just as Adam was outside the Garden of Eden and not able to enter. 00:17:13.059 --> 00:17:18.480 And it makes the beginning of Leviticus so, so striking. 00:17:19.880 --> 00:17:20.559 Verse 2. 00:17:22.700 --> 00:17:24.080 God speaking to Moses, 00:17:24.079 --> 00:17:41.659 How's that going to happen? 00:17:42.779 --> 00:17:45.220 How is it possible for someone to approach the Lord? 00:17:46.319 --> 00:17:47.399 We've been cut off. 00:17:47.699 --> 00:17:50.099 How can fallen man approach God and regain paradise? 00:17:50.579 --> 00:17:53.139 That's what Leviticus 1 to 7 is all about. 00:17:53.140 --> 00:17:58.700 Now, the word offering dominates the first seven chapters, as I said 194 times. 00:17:58.800 --> 00:18:03.880 And these chapters tell us how it's possible for a fallen person to relate to God. 00:18:05.980 --> 00:18:08.480 How can we have at-one-ment with God? 00:18:10.980 --> 00:18:19.180 They describe how God can find a fallen person's presence pleasurable to him in a way that he used to find Adam's presence. 00:18:19.180 --> 00:18:23.200 The term is a fragrant smell. 00:18:24.740 --> 00:18:31.779 How can God go to people and go, oh, that's good. 00:18:32.720 --> 00:18:35.740 Rather than walking past a double hook. 00:18:37.120 --> 00:18:38.039 How's that possible? 00:18:39.539 --> 00:18:40.840 Two things need to be done. 00:18:40.839 --> 00:18:47.500 First thing is to bring, verse 3 and 5, a bull without defect. 00:18:48.899 --> 00:18:51.919 Now, I grew up on a farm, and we had cattle on that farm. 00:18:53.000 --> 00:19:00.659 Now, most farmers, surprisingly for city people, is that they do not call their cows things like Daisy and Buttercup. 00:19:01.199 --> 00:19:02.639 It just generally doesn't happen. 00:19:02.640 --> 00:19:06.400 They do, however, name their bulls. 00:19:08.180 --> 00:19:16.800 Bulls like Cream Puff, Perfect Storm, Hammer, Unforgiven, you know, oof, kind of names. 00:19:17.400 --> 00:19:18.720 Except Cream Puff is here. 00:19:19.040 --> 00:19:19.420 Anyway. 00:19:19.420 --> 00:19:25.800 On our farm, our bull was called Jason. 00:19:29.300 --> 00:19:29.720 Yeah. 00:19:32.640 --> 00:19:33.440 Jason. 00:19:38.880 --> 00:19:40.840 I don't know why. 00:19:41.740 --> 00:19:43.120 No idea whatsoever. 00:19:43.119 --> 00:19:50.119 However, at the beginning of Leviticus, let's call this bull wholehearted. 00:19:51.839 --> 00:19:52.279 Wholehearted. 00:19:53.939 --> 00:19:58.219 If the offering is a burnt offering for the herd, you are to offer a male without defect. 00:19:58.839 --> 00:20:05.239 You must present it at the entrance to the tent of meeting so that it will be acceptable to the Lord. 00:20:05.299 --> 00:20:08.959 The term without defect is the same term that's used of Noah early in the Bible. 00:20:08.960 --> 00:20:15.319 He was a man who was blameless, literally, without defect. 00:20:16.779 --> 00:20:20.019 He was a man who was completely devoted to his relationship with God. 00:20:20.120 --> 00:20:24.880 God said, Moses, Noah, build a really, really, really, really big boat. 00:20:26.180 --> 00:20:27.500 It's going to take you a hundred and something years. 00:20:28.360 --> 00:20:29.039 Right on. 00:20:31.480 --> 00:20:32.360 In the desert. 00:20:34.279 --> 00:20:35.279 Makes no sense. 00:20:35.840 --> 00:20:36.880 You told me to do it, God. 00:20:37.160 --> 00:20:38.039 I will do it. 00:20:38.960 --> 00:20:44.240 It's the same call that God had of Abraham in Genesis 17. 00:20:44.340 --> 00:20:45.220 I am the Lord Almighty. 00:20:45.420 --> 00:20:47.559 Walk before me faithfully and be blameless. 00:20:48.259 --> 00:20:49.200 Without defect. 00:20:50.980 --> 00:20:56.700 I think these men show us, help us to understand the symbolic meaning of this offering. 00:20:57.340 --> 00:21:01.819 To bring a bull without defect is to bring a bull wholeheartedly. 00:21:03.059 --> 00:21:06.480 A bull that symbolizes the life that God finds pleasing. 00:21:06.480 --> 00:21:08.299 That is, bring your best. 00:21:08.960 --> 00:21:10.759 That's the first requirement. 00:21:10.860 --> 00:21:13.400 The second requirement is that you bring your all. 00:21:13.500 --> 00:21:15.799 Not just your best, but your all. 00:21:16.299 --> 00:21:17.180 Verse 4. 00:21:17.299 --> 00:21:24.920 You are to lay your hand on the head of the burnt offering and it will be accepted on your behalf to make atonement for you. 00:21:24.920 --> 00:21:28.720 The words are quite strong. 00:21:28.720 --> 00:21:30.720 It's not just a, you know, touch the ball. 00:21:30.860 --> 00:21:34.700 It's a pressing down on its head. 00:21:34.880 --> 00:21:38.080 It's the same words that's used of Samson in the Old Testament. 00:21:38.200 --> 00:21:39.560 Remember when he grabbed the pillars and pulled them in? 00:21:39.600 --> 00:21:40.720 It's the same word. 00:21:40.860 --> 00:21:42.860 A force associated with it. 00:21:42.859 --> 00:21:47.299 This bull symbolizes. 00:21:47.299 --> 00:21:48.979 This bull is my identification. 00:21:49.339 --> 00:21:50.279 It symbolizes me. 00:21:50.519 --> 00:21:51.599 It symbolizes my life. 00:21:51.699 --> 00:21:53.059 It symbolizes my commitment. 00:21:54.479 --> 00:22:03.339 You are to offer this symbol of what you are to be to make atonement for your life before God so that God accepts you in the way that he wants to accept Adam. 00:22:03.339 --> 00:22:03.779 Wow. 00:22:05.939 --> 00:22:06.579 That's good. 00:22:08.359 --> 00:22:09.959 I find this person pleasurable. 00:22:10.740 --> 00:22:12.159 And then we read in verse 5. 00:22:12.240 --> 00:22:20.240 You are to slaughter the young bull before the Lord and then Aaron's sons of priests shall bring the blood and splash it against the sides of the altar to the entrance of the town of meeting. 00:22:20.359 --> 00:22:27.379 You are to skim the burnt offering and to cut it up into pieces and the sons of Aaron the priests are to put fire on the altar and arrange the wood on the fire. 00:22:27.380 --> 00:22:33.940 Then Aaron's sons of the priests shall arrange the pieces including the head and the fat and the wood that is burning on the altar. 00:22:34.040 --> 00:22:36.840 You are to wash the internal organs and the legs with water. 00:22:37.200 --> 00:22:40.880 And the priest is to burn all of it on the altar. 00:22:41.940 --> 00:22:47.040 It's a burnt offering, a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the Lord. 00:22:47.960 --> 00:22:53.580 You see, the bull called wholehearted became what it symbolized. 00:22:53.579 --> 00:22:57.859 The bull was a symbol of what God requires from his people. 00:22:58.419 --> 00:23:04.859 God requires that we give ourselves totally to him, completely to him. 00:23:06.240 --> 00:23:08.779 Worship of God always requires total commitment. 00:23:08.980 --> 00:23:10.439 It always requires total surrender. 00:23:10.879 --> 00:23:16.960 We cannot escape this fundamental feature of authentic worship. 00:23:17.619 --> 00:23:18.679 Total commitment. 00:23:18.680 --> 00:23:29.259 As the starting point is reflected in the arrangement of the five sacrifices that are called for in Leviticus 1-7. 00:23:29.460 --> 00:23:35.519 The five sacrifices can be classified into their motivation and their necessity. 00:23:36.180 --> 00:23:40.299 The first three sacrifices are voluntary. 00:23:40.519 --> 00:23:42.480 The burnt offering, the grain offering, the peace offering. 00:23:42.560 --> 00:23:43.519 That's chapters 1-3. 00:23:43.519 --> 00:23:45.799 And the final two are required. 00:23:46.220 --> 00:23:52.599 The sin offering and the guilt offering in chapters 4 and 5. 00:23:54.299 --> 00:24:01.700 The first offering reflects the willing spirit of the worshippers to acknowledge the lordship of their God. 00:24:02.839 --> 00:24:06.359 And since the burnt offering was totally burnt up in the altar, 00:24:07.519 --> 00:24:10.559 the person themselves did not benefit from it. 00:24:10.559 --> 00:24:14.899 There was no personal gain from this. 00:24:16.119 --> 00:24:20.359 It's an expression of complete surrender to the lord. 00:24:20.940 --> 00:24:22.200 An act of total devotion. 00:24:22.339 --> 00:24:23.339 There's no holding back. 00:24:23.619 --> 00:24:29.000 There's no stingy, you know, wheeling out of favors or passing out of favors. 00:24:29.079 --> 00:24:30.379 I'll have that bit and you have that bit. 00:24:30.519 --> 00:24:33.779 You know, burn up the chuck steak and I'll take the eye fillets. 00:24:34.559 --> 00:24:36.539 It was a costly sacrifice. 00:24:37.339 --> 00:24:40.319 Bring your best and bring it all. 00:24:41.519 --> 00:24:44.240 You see, worship begins with a devoted heart towards God. 00:24:44.339 --> 00:24:47.359 A wholehearted devotion to him. 00:24:48.819 --> 00:24:54.379 On your own accord, you part with your possessions and disregard personal ambition. 00:24:54.960 --> 00:25:00.079 The first divine word then from the tent was a call for complete surrender, 00:25:00.200 --> 00:25:06.279 complete submission to the lord who accepted nothing less than that from those who loved him. 00:25:06.279 --> 00:25:12.259 And yet as you go, it doesn't take long in fact in the Old Testament, 00:25:12.779 --> 00:25:20.519 before you get to things like Isaiah 1 where God says that I have no pleasure in your sacrifices. 00:25:20.519 --> 00:25:23.740 Books like Amos. 00:25:24.200 --> 00:25:27.680 Your sacrifices are repulsive to me. 00:25:28.160 --> 00:25:29.400 They stink. 00:25:30.359 --> 00:25:32.200 I have no regard for them. 00:25:32.200 --> 00:25:40.640 You see, the Israelites soon forgot about the real meaning of the sacrifice. 00:25:40.779 --> 00:25:45.039 It became instead a ritual disconnected from relationship with God. 00:25:45.039 --> 00:25:49.000 The people didn't live lives in conformity to their offerings. 00:25:49.379 --> 00:25:51.039 They offered this bull. 00:25:51.159 --> 00:25:52.159 It was burned up. 00:25:52.339 --> 00:25:54.920 And then they went and lived for themselves. 00:25:55.740 --> 00:25:59.220 The sacrifices no longer represented their lives. 00:25:59.220 --> 00:26:06.960 The good news is that God's plans and his expectations for the sacrificial system didn't fail. 00:26:07.079 --> 00:26:13.039 The writer to the Hebrews says that the offerings ultimately foreshadowed the real and the ultimate thing. 00:26:13.600 --> 00:26:17.460 In Hebrews 10, we see the symbolism of the burnt offering again. 00:26:17.860 --> 00:26:20.240 It becomes the real thing in Jesus. 00:26:20.380 --> 00:26:21.500 It's perfected in Jesus. 00:26:21.500 --> 00:26:21.920 It says, 00:26:21.920 --> 00:26:31.440 There you go. 00:26:31.539 --> 00:26:33.580 There's all of Leviticus chapters 1 to 7. 00:26:34.539 --> 00:26:35.580 You were not pleased. 00:26:36.620 --> 00:26:37.160 And then I said, 00:26:37.240 --> 00:26:37.759 Here I am. 00:26:39.200 --> 00:26:40.940 It is written about me in the scroll. 00:26:41.700 --> 00:26:45.800 I have come to do your will, O God. 00:26:45.799 --> 00:26:55.980 See, the expectations that underlie this burnt offering that call Israel to give themselves wholeheartedly find their fulfillment in the person of the Lord Jesus. 00:26:56.639 --> 00:26:57.220 Here I am. 00:26:57.259 --> 00:26:58.299 I've come to do your will. 00:27:00.559 --> 00:27:01.899 He takes on a body. 00:27:03.700 --> 00:27:05.720 He identifies with us. 00:27:07.200 --> 00:27:11.220 He lives like the burnt offering so that verse 8, first he said, 00:27:11.419 --> 00:27:13.079 Sacrifice and offerings, burnt offerings. 00:27:13.079 --> 00:27:19.159 And sin offerings you do not desire, nor were you pleased with him, though they were offered in accordance with the law. 00:27:19.819 --> 00:27:20.980 They did what they were told. 00:27:23.000 --> 00:27:23.679 And then he said, 00:27:23.759 --> 00:27:24.319 Here I am. 00:27:24.359 --> 00:27:25.500 I've come to do your will. 00:27:25.679 --> 00:27:28.500 He sets aside the first in order to establish the second. 00:27:29.679 --> 00:27:35.659 He gets rid of all this need for burnt offerings because he's completely fulfilled the will of God. 00:27:38.240 --> 00:27:41.599 And by that will, you have made holy. 00:27:41.599 --> 00:27:49.159 You have made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all. 00:27:49.639 --> 00:27:50.459 It's done. 00:27:51.759 --> 00:27:52.519 It's done. 00:27:56.279 --> 00:28:01.339 That's why we don't need to play cleaners at St. Paul's every day. 00:28:02.419 --> 00:28:04.379 To clean up the blood and the guts. 00:28:05.299 --> 00:28:06.240 It's done. 00:28:06.240 --> 00:28:11.279 We don't need to offer burnt offerings and sin offerings. 00:28:11.440 --> 00:28:13.180 Jesus is our offering. 00:28:13.500 --> 00:28:15.160 As the Son of God, He humbled Himself. 00:28:15.420 --> 00:28:16.859 He became one of His creatures. 00:28:17.160 --> 00:28:18.940 He identified with us. 00:28:20.700 --> 00:28:22.240 The broken, the sinful. 00:28:24.220 --> 00:28:27.099 He was wholehearted in His devotion to the Father. 00:28:27.099 --> 00:28:30.980 He lived the fallest life in obedience to His Father. 00:28:32.199 --> 00:28:36.359 And He died a voluntary death. 00:28:36.619 --> 00:28:38.899 As a voluntary sacrifice. 00:28:39.779 --> 00:28:41.699 He became our ransom, our atonement. 00:28:42.319 --> 00:28:46.259 And the Apostle Paul sees the death of Jesus through the lens of the burnt offering. 00:28:46.259 --> 00:28:48.160 In Ephesians 5.2, he writes, 00:28:48.500 --> 00:28:58.700 Walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. 00:29:00.299 --> 00:29:01.299 I'm delighted. 00:29:01.299 --> 00:29:09.720 In Jesus, we are brought back to God, given free access to Him. 00:29:09.819 --> 00:29:15.839 God is pleased with you and me on the basis of Jesus' wholeheartedness and His holiness. 00:29:17.099 --> 00:29:20.039 Through Jesus, God delights in us. 00:29:22.180 --> 00:29:24.220 If you're in Christ, you are holy. 00:29:26.119 --> 00:29:27.180 You are right. 00:29:27.379 --> 00:29:29.759 And I delight in you. 00:29:31.299 --> 00:29:36.720 We are as much His loved children on the basis... 00:29:36.720 --> 00:29:42.839 Sorry, we are His much loved children on the basis of His perfect Son's wholeheartedness. 00:29:43.079 --> 00:29:44.700 And that is the wonder of the Christian faith. 00:29:44.799 --> 00:29:48.819 The verdict of acceptance comes before the performance. 00:29:49.480 --> 00:29:51.419 Exodus comes before Leviticus. 00:29:53.159 --> 00:29:56.440 The rescue comes before the requirement to live out who we are. 00:29:56.440 --> 00:30:00.039 The burnt offering captures in dramatic form 00:30:00.039 --> 00:30:06.319 what Jesus called for when He invites us to love God with every part of our being. 00:30:06.799 --> 00:30:13.819 He's fulfilled the requirement so that we are set free to live as Jesus lived. 00:30:13.819 --> 00:30:19.339 And again, Paul, through the lens of the burnt offering, 00:30:19.339 --> 00:30:26.299 calls to the Roman church and to us generations later in the church worldwide, 00:30:27.299 --> 00:30:32.240 in view of God's mercy to offer our bodies as living sacrifices, 00:30:32.960 --> 00:30:34.859 holy and pleasing to God. 00:30:35.240 --> 00:30:37.839 He wants us to live like the Lord Jesus. 00:30:37.839 --> 00:30:39.839 He wants us to live like the Lord Jesus. 00:30:39.839 --> 00:30:40.199 He wants us to live like the Lord Jesus. 00:30:40.199 --> 00:30:41.259 He wants us to live like the Lord Jesus. 00:30:41.259 --> 00:30:42.259 He wants us to live like the Lord Jesus. 00:30:42.259 --> 00:30:43.259 He wants us to live like the Lord Jesus. 00:30:43.259 --> 00:30:49.220 The call is for us to be an aroma acceptable to God. 00:30:50.319 --> 00:30:53.179 And God is pleased with a life of total devotion. 00:30:54.439 --> 00:30:55.819 And so as you begin this series, 00:30:56.119 --> 00:30:58.779 can you genuinely say, 00:30:59.779 --> 00:31:02.959 as the Apostle Peter said in Mark chapter 10, 00:31:02.960 --> 00:31:09.500 see, Jesus, we have left everything and followed you. 00:31:13.600 --> 00:31:18.380 Let me just pull out one point of application here. 00:31:18.440 --> 00:31:20.559 It's not the only application of Romans 12. 00:31:20.680 --> 00:31:21.819 Romans 12 is everything. 00:31:22.400 --> 00:31:25.940 But I find it interesting that when the Philippian church 00:31:25.940 --> 00:31:30.900 sent its monetary support to crawl in prison, 00:31:30.900 --> 00:31:34.600 he characterized their monetary support, 00:31:34.720 --> 00:31:35.759 their sacrifice, 00:31:36.180 --> 00:31:40.140 with the same language that's used of Jesus' sacrifice, 00:31:40.280 --> 00:31:44.640 which is the same language which is used in Leviticus 1 to 7. 00:31:46.000 --> 00:31:47.920 In chapter 4 of Philippians, he said, 00:31:48.120 --> 00:31:50.360 it was a fragrant offering, 00:31:52.140 --> 00:31:57.120 a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. 00:31:57.119 --> 00:32:05.159 When God saw you support me financially, 00:32:05.679 --> 00:32:06.159 he went, 00:32:07.279 --> 00:32:09.959 that smells good. 00:32:13.339 --> 00:32:15.819 When we present our financial gifts to the Lord 00:32:15.819 --> 00:32:16.719 as an act of worship, 00:32:16.859 --> 00:32:19.019 we are offering up ourselves. 00:32:20.679 --> 00:32:23.079 The Bible views such gifts as an indication 00:32:23.079 --> 00:32:24.319 of our commitment to our Savior. 00:32:24.439 --> 00:32:26.219 I mean, I've said it so many times before. 00:32:27.119 --> 00:32:29.759 What we do with our money is an indication 00:32:29.759 --> 00:32:30.819 of what we truly value, 00:32:30.919 --> 00:32:31.659 what we truly serve, 00:32:31.739 --> 00:32:32.500 what we truly sacrifice. 00:32:32.559 --> 00:32:34.779 What we sacrifice to is what we truly serve. 00:32:37.679 --> 00:32:39.459 And it's an indication of whether 00:32:39.459 --> 00:32:42.199 I've got wholehearted devotion to Christ 00:32:42.199 --> 00:32:45.859 or whether you can have some of my life, 00:32:46.159 --> 00:32:47.259 I'll keep the rest. 00:32:47.959 --> 00:32:50.039 That was the problem of Israel 00:32:50.039 --> 00:32:52.500 in the Old Testament. 00:32:53.339 --> 00:32:55.139 Giving, including all forms of giving, 00:32:55.140 --> 00:32:55.960 not just money that you give, 00:32:55.960 --> 00:32:56.800 giving of ourselves, 00:32:56.920 --> 00:32:58.860 is not incidental to Christian living, 00:32:59.360 --> 00:33:00.680 but it's a core value 00:33:00.680 --> 00:33:04.220 in the life of a devoted disciple of Christ. 00:33:05.120 --> 00:33:08.860 There is no legitimate claim 00:33:08.860 --> 00:33:10.560 to worship God 00:33:10.560 --> 00:33:16.140 if there is no costly consecration to God. 00:33:16.800 --> 00:33:18.920 We'll see that unpacked in the coming weeks. 00:33:18.920 --> 00:33:20.560 We'll see you next time. 00:33:20.560 --> 00:33:21.560 We'll see you next time.