Leviticus 3 – Pursuing Holiness – Unclean to Clean Chapters 11-15 Reading: Lev 11:1-8 Pr Chris Kam | 20/21 Feb 2021 ============================= The commandments found in Leviticus are part of the Law of Moses received from God. There are 613 laws in total. Out of the 613 laws, 247 of them, nearly half of the total, are found here in Leviticus. (Luke 24:44) “ … Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” “How can I be clean before God so that I can enter His Presence?” ## Big Idea: All of your life is to be lived under the watchful eye of God. ## (2 Corinthians 5:10) For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. (Psalm 121:7,8) 7 … he will watch over your life; 8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore. Chapter 11 - Regulations about food Chapter 12 - Childbirth Chapter 13 - Skin diseases, mildew, and molds Chapter 14 – Ritual cleansing and pronouncement of healing Chapter 15 - Bodily discharges These chapters remind us that we live in a very broken and sinful world and we are easily contaminated and influenced by all the things around us drawing us away from God. Leviticus 11:1–3 - 1 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 2 “Say to the Israelites: ‘Of all the animals that live on land, these are the ones you may eat: 3 You may eat any animal that has a divided hoof and that chews the cud. Leviticus 11:1-8 - Clean animals (Divided hoofs and chew the cuds); Unclean animals (Undivided hoofs) Leviticus 11:9-12 - Clean water animals (scales and fins); Unclean otherwise. Leviticus 11:13-19 - Clean and unclean birds Leviticus 11:20-23 - Clean and unclean insects (Leviticus 15:31) “ ‘You must keep the Israelites separate from things that make them unclean, so they will not die in their uncleanness for defiling my dwelling place,  which is among them.’ ” (Exodus 3:5) “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” (Luke 17:12–14) 12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance 13 (social distancing) and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” 14 When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed. Are these laws, regulations, and restrictions still applicable and relevant for us today? The good news is that these specific laws and regulations are no longer applicable as these were meant to help the Israelites determine whether they were fit to enter the tabernacle. Tabernacle and temple worship are over. In the New Testament, we are God’s temple in whom His Spirit dwells. How do we apply the concept of clean or unclean in the New Testament? We still need to ask ourselves the same question: “Are we clean or unclean as we enter God’s Presence?” Jesus explained this truth to His disciples. (Mark 7:18–23 18) “Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? 19 For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.) 20 He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. 21 For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23 All these evils come from inside and defile a person.” The two-part theme behind the book of Leviticus. Part 1- Chapters 1-16 The way to God through sacrifice – Justification (An access to God.) Part 2 - Chapters 17-27 A walk with God through sanctification. (A lifestyle in God.) Part 1 is a done deal by Jesus. Part 2 is our walk with God on this earth as we cooperate with the Holy Spirit. The old man and new man in us struggle every day. We must battle the issues of cleanness and uncleanness in our thought lives and how it is expressed out through our actions every day. (John 13:8–11) 8 “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” 9 “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!” 10 Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean.” Jesus is saying we need to have our feet washed regularly – because in our walk through this world we become unclean in so many ways, some intentionally, some unintentionally. Some of these defilements can be avoided, and some cannot. There will be many times we need to wash out feet. Holiness does not mean perfection on our part. Holiness on our part is to recognise the completed work of Christ for our salvation by grace and to live a life of humble confession and repentance daily. Hebrews 10:22 exhorts us to draw near to God with a sincere heart – an examined heart. (Leviticus 8:23) Moses slaughtered the ram and took some of its blood and put it on the lobe of Aaron’s right ear, on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot. What is the significance of this? We are a royal priesthood. May this priest hear the voice of God. May he do the will of God with his hands. May he walk in the ways of God. Application questions: ====================== 1. In the times of the Old Testament, how did the Jews become unclean? Why was it important that they came to God clean? 2. In the New Testament, what does it mean to become unclean? How do we become clean? What does it mean today to be entering into the Presence of God? 3. In the analogy of our feet getting dirty as we walk the world, give an example how we can get unclean in the light of Mark 7:18–23. 4. As we examine ourselves, in what ways have we come into the Presence of God with unclean hearts? How can we repent from that and enter the Presence of God with the right posture of a clean heart?