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Leviticus 11 (2/16/17)

Reclassifying Sin

February 16, 2017 • Benham Brothers

* The Jews had special privileges, but they had particular restraints as well.
* All of this was a part of them being “set apart” so other nations would want to worship their God.
* Leviticus 11:29 - God is classifying that which is unclean.
* Thirty two times in Leviticus 11 the word “unclean” is mentioned, and ten times “abomination” is mentioned.
* Isaiah 5:20 - “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness.”
* The real tragedy would be the reclassifying of the unclean.
* Eve reclassified the tree, Achan reclassified the spoil of Jericho, Saul reclassified the Amalekite flocks and herds.
* Reclassifying sin leads to a curse.
* Today we have a major problem with this and the church has to lead the way in helping people understand why NOT to reclassify what God has already classified.

Leviticus 1 (2/16/17)

February 16, 2017 • Benham Brothers

* The theme of the book of Leviticus is “Be Holy.” * The word “holy” is used 91 times in the book. * God wanted the Jews to be “set apart” so the “whole world may know that He is God. * On that foundation, God established one of the key principles in being set apart - sacrifice. * In the OT it required an animal, but in the NT Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice. * If we want to be holy we can’t do it apart from offering ourselves as “living sacrifices.” (Romans 12:1) * Leviticus 1:8-9 - there’s repetition in the book about the head, fat, and organs. * Look at all three: * Head - represents pride. Sacrifice it. * Fat - represents selfishness. Fat is a result of indulgence. Sacrifice it. * Organs (kidneys and liver) - these filter out impurities. * All of this teaches us to be holy as God is holy.

Leviticus 1:1 (2/15/18)

February 15, 2018 • Benham Brothers

* The tabernacle was ready for use, now God gave the priests the instructions they needed for offering various sacrifices. * There were three types of offerings: * 1) When worshippers wanted to express COMMITMENT to God. These were: * Burnt offering - it symbolized “just as the animal is totally given to God so I totally give myself.” * Grain offering - this was a way the Jews could dedicate to God that which He enabled them to produce, but it also represented Jesus as the Bread of Life. * Drink offering - pouring out the wine symbolized a life poured out in dedication to God. * 2) When worshippers wanted to express COMMUNION with God. This was: * Peace offering meal - eating together in the East represented an end to any hostility, so this offering showed peace between God and man. * 3) When worshippers wanted CLEANSING from God. These were: * The sin offering - the sacrifice was different depending on what the person could afford - this placed a higher burden on the influencers. It was for forgiveness of sins (body burned outside the camp to distinguish between the burnt and sin offering - only the fat was burned on the altar). * The trespass offering - was needed for two kinds of sin: sins against holy things and against one’s neighbor. * It illustrated the importance of honoring God and others.

Lev 1:2 (2/20/14)

February 20, 2014 • Benham Brothers

* Since the fall of man we see people giving offerings to God. * Offerings were voluntary - you weren't "commanded" to bring offerings. * Why? Because God put into human nature the desire to "give back." * 1) The Reason for offerings is to show your love to God and gratitude for His provision, and in the case of the sin offerings it was so that you could be put back in right relationship with Him. * 2) The Recognition for an offering was that you must first "recognize" that all is God's and all came from Him. * 3) The Result of the offering is ACCEPTANCE by God. * God will only accept a clean offering that's your very best. * Our lives are to be offerings to God.