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Leviticus 19

1 - The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
2 - "Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and tell them, 'You shall be holy; for I, the LORD your God, am holy.
3 - "'Each one of you shall respect his mother and his father. You shall keep my Sabbaths. I am the LORD your God.
4 - "'Don't turn to idols, nor make molten gods for yourselves. I am the LORD your God.
5 - "'When you offer a sacrifice of peace offerings to The LORD, you shall offer it so that you may be accepted.
6 - It shall be eaten the same day you offer it, and on the next day: and if anything remains until the third day, it shall be burned with fire.
7 - If it is eaten at all on the third day, it is an abomination. It will not be accepted;
8 - but everyone who eats it shall bear his iniquity, because he has profaned the holy thing of The LORD, and that soul shall be cut off from his people.
9 - "'When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field, neither shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest.
10 - You shall not glean your vineyard, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the foreigner. I am the LORD your God.
11 - "'You shall not steal."'You shall not lie."'You shall not deceive one another.
12 - "'You shall not swear by my name falsely, and profane the name of your God. I am The LORD.
13 - "'You shall not oppress your neighbor, nor rob him."'The wages of a hired servant shall not remain with you all night until the morning.
14 - "'You shall not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind; but you shall fear your God. I am The LORD.
15 - "'You shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor show favoritism to the great; but you shall judge your neighbor in righteousness.
16 - "'You shall not go up and down as a slanderer among your people."'You shall not endanger the life of your neighbor. I am The LORD.
17 - "'You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him.
18 - "'You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people; but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am The LORD.
19 - "'You shall keep my statutes."'You shall not cross-breed different kinds of animals."'You shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed;"'Don't wear a garment made of two kinds of material.
20 - "'If a man lies carnally with a woman who is a slave girl, pledged to be married to another man, and not ransomed, or given her freedom; they shall be punished. They shall not be put to death, because she was not free.
21 - He shall bring his trespass offering to The LORD, to the door of the Tent of Meeting, even a ram for a trespass offering.
22 - The priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering before the LORD for his sin which he has committed: and the sin which he has committed shall be forgiven him.
23 - "'When you come into the land, and have planted all kinds of trees for food, then you shall count their fruit as forbidden. Three years they shall be forbidden to you. It shall not be eaten.
24 - But in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, for giving praise to The LORD.
25 - In the fifth year you shall eat its fruit, that it may yield its increase to you. I am the LORD your God.
26 - "'You shall not eat any meat with the blood still in it. You shall not use enchantments, nor practice sorcery.
27 - "'You shall not cut the hair on the sides of your head or clip off the edge of your beard.
28 - "'You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you. I am The LORD.
29 - "'Don't profane your daughter, to make her a prostitute; lest the land fall to prostitution, and the land become full of wickedness.
30 - "'You shall keep my Sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary; I am The LORD.
31 - "'Don't turn to those who are mediums, nor to the wizards. Don't seek them out, to be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.
32 - "'You shall rise up before the gray head, and honor the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God. I am The LORD.
33 - "'If a stranger lives as a foreigner with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong.
34 - The stranger who lives as a foreigner with you shall be to you as the native-born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you lived as foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.
35 - "'You shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in measures of length, of weight, or of quantity.
36 - You shall have just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.
37 - "'You shall observe all my statutes, and all my ordinances, and do them. I am The LORD.'"
Leviticus Images and Notes

The Book of Leviticus

Leviticus 16:30 - For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the LORD.

The Old Testament - A Brief Overview

Photo of the Sinai Wilderness
Photo of the Sinai Wilderness

Summary of The Book of Leviticus

Bible Survery - Leviticus
Hebrew Name - Vayyiqra "and He called"
Greek Name - Leviticus "from Levi"
Author - Moses
Date - 1490 BC Approximately
Theme - God's Laws for the Hebrew Nation
Types and Shadows - In Leviticus Jesus is the High Priest

In the Septuagint (The Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament), the third book of the Pentateuch is called "Levitikon" ("pertaining to the Levites"), which is an adjective that modifies the word "book." The Levites were the tribe in Israel from which the priests and others prominent in the worship services were chosen, in place of the firstborn sons of all the tribes (Num. 3:45). Leviticus plays a very important and essential role in the Pentateuch. In the same way that it is important to understand the book of Exodus before reading Leviticus, it seems just as important to read the book of Leviticus before reading the books of Numbers and Deuteronomy and the rest of the Old Testament for that matter. The purpose of the book of Leviticus is to make a clear focus on the holiness of God, and a clear distinction on the sinfulness of man in the light of God's holiness. God provides the necessary steps that man needs to take to restore the great fellowship which was lost between God and man as a result of the terrible defilement of sin. God explains the laws that make this restoration possible, in a general sense and also a very specific sense. These laws are intended to govern the whole life of the people chosen to serve God. Because of the focus on God's holiness and how to approach Him the book of Leviticus is clearly the most legalistic book in the entire Old Testament. The core message of God's laws is seen in the absolute statement "Ye shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy." Yet the great climax of this book can be clearly seen in Leviticus 16 where God gives the instructions for making atonement for sin on the Great Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). When the high priest entered into the holy of holies and sprinkled the blood upon the Mercy Seat the sins of the entire nation for the previous year were forgiven by God. The mercy which God showed forth on the day of atonement so foreshadows the work of Christ that the Leviticus 16 has been called "the most beautiful flower of all Messianic symbolism."

In addition to the moral, ceremonial, and civil laws set forth in the book of Leviticus, there are also some historical sections, but these too are centered around the priesthood. These historical portions include the consecration of the priests in Leviticus 8 and 9, the sin and punishment of Nadab and Abihu (Leviticus 10), and the stoning of the blasphemer (Leviticus 24:10 ff). it is interesting that the Levites are not mentioned except one time very briefly and incidental (Leviticus 25:32 ff). 

ILLUSTRATION

The Tabernacle of Moses

The Tabernacle in the Wilderness

The ancient Tabernacle of Moses illustration with the curtain fence, the bronze laver, the bronze altar, the holy place, and the badger skin covering. (Click to Enlarge)

The book may be divided as follows :

Outline of the Book of Leviticus

1 ) Laws concerning Sacrifice (1-7). In this section five types of offerings are discussed: burnt offerings, meal offerings, peace offerings, sin offerings and guilt offerings. This is filled out by a discussion of the sin offering as it is to be observed by various classes of individuals.

2 ) An historical section featuring the consecration of the priests (8-9) and the sin of Nadab and Abihu (ch. 10).

3 ) A section on laws of purification from ceremonial uncleanness (11-15). These furnish instructions as to the appropriate sacrifices and ordinances for ridding oneself of impurity.

4) The Day of Atonement (ch. 16).

5 ) Laws dealing with the conduct of God's people (17-20). These include various religious and ethical laws designed to accent the separation between Israel and the heathen nations.

6) Laws concerning the holiness of the priests (21-22).

7 ) A discussion of holy days and feasts (23-24). Included in this section are the Sabbath, Passover, the feasts of first fruits and harvest, Pentecost, the Day of Atonement and the feast of Tabernacles.

8 ) The Sabbatical and Jubilee Years (ch. 25).

9 ) Promises and threats connected with obedience to the laws (ch. 26).

10) An appendix containing the laws concerning vows (ch. 27).

Quick Reference Map
Map of the Route of the Exodus
Map of the Possible Route of the Exodus (Click to Enlarge)

Quick Reference Maps - Leviticus

Israel During the Book of Exodus

The World During the Book of Exodus

The Exodus of the Hebrews From Egypt

Mount Horeb or Mount Sinai

The Red Sea at the Time of Moses

Canaan Before Joshua

Leviticus Resources

The Giving of the Law
The Tabernacle

More About the Book of Leviticus
Leviticus in the Picture Study Bible
The Old Testament
Timeline of the Ancient World
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