Leviticus 18-27
Living a Holy Life
Week 11 October 7 – 11, 2019
Monday October 7
Interpreting the Character of God – Leviticus 18-19
God continues to show us His character in these verses, giving instructions that will help the Israelites to live good lives. These laws protect His people from disease and medical problems, protect them from fights and contention, and teach them to be generous and take care of those who have less. God specifically tells the Hebrew people that they shouldn’t be like the pagans, people who worship gods that are not the One True God. There are things that pagans did to worship their own gods, and these things were not acceptable forms of worshipping the One True God. There are similar things today, that we should measure against these types of standards based on God’s character. In our culture, a tattoo is not a form of ancestor worship, so it’s not a sin simply to get a tattoo. Whereas in the culture of the Israelites, tattoos were pagan symbols of ancestor worship and therefore not something in which God’s holy people should partake. There were specific relationships that God did not allow between family members because it was a type of promiscuity, which is wrong. Promiscuity is still wrong, and we know now that certain types of relationships can cause real physical problems. God tells farmers to leave some food behind for the poor to pick for themselves. Most people todays don’t pick their own food, so it is up to us to ask God how to apply this to our lives today. What extra do we have that we can give to someone in need? It is important that we understand the context and reasoning behind these instructions, so that we do not misinterpret the character of God. God gives these instructions as an act of love to His people, to help them to live well and live Holy. Sin keeps us apart from God, and God shows us how to have the right heart and the right life, to stop sin in it’s tracks.
Activity: Take a second look and some of the laws in these verses and consider if you think they apply to your culture, based on the character of God. Or how would it apply differently in you culture? The idols of today are not all the same and they are not worshipped the same, but there is surely idol worship in our culture. Can you identify our modern day idols and how people worship them. Ex. Money/greed, sex, pagan gods/unGodly spirituality, horoscopes, status, etc.
With Children: Talk with your child about the idols of today and how to avoid falling into worshipping the idols of our modern culture. We must be active in resisting the idols of our current culture, just as we are active in worshipping our Holy God.
Tuesday October 8
The Protection of Discipline – Leviticus 20-21
God gives the Israelites a list of punishments for certain sins, which seem overly harsh to us in our current time. During the time of the Israelites, all of these forms of sin were very common and encouraged by the pagan religions. As a result the people suffered all kinds of problems, both physical and relational. God’s people needed to learn that in order to be holy, they could not use their bodies in the same way as those who were unholy. God is perfect and holy and we are representatives of Him on the earth. We cannot achieve perfection on our own. Like the Israelites, we wouldn’t even know where to start. God gives us His perfect instructions to help us learn to be holy so that we might be close to Him, be like Him, and represent Him well to the rest of the world. Are you concerned with being holy? Have you considered how our God who defines “holy” would want you to live? Or have you gotten caught up in what is acceptable to the rest of the world, having only the standards required to please other people? As a good father, God gives discipline to His people because it protects us. God’s discipline helps us understand the seriousness of living outside of holiness, which will lead to our own destruction. “But like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves in all your conduct [be set apart from the world by your godly character and moral courage]; because it is written, “You shall be holy (set apart), for I am holy.” 1Peter 1:15-16 AMP
Activity: What is an area of your life where you need help to become more holy? Write it down. Examples: romantic relationships, friend/family/colleague relationships, entertainment, finances, worship, prayer, Bible study, etc. Pray over this specific area of your life, asking God to help you receive His discipline and make this part of your life a holy worship to and representation of Him. Now write down any ideas you have on how you can discipline yourself in this area, according to what is Holy and acceptable to God. What can you change about your habits, thoughts, actions, and words, to align yourself with the Lord?
With Children: Talk with your child about the rules that you keep in your house. Explain to them that many of these rules aren’t just there because you like telling them what to do, but the rules are there to protect them from the bad things that would happen if they did those things. For example: We don’t eat dessert before dinner, because we won’t get all of the nutrition we need from our meals if we filled up first on sweets. There are penalties if you eat dessert first as well, maybe sweets get taken away for a time, to help your child be disciplined and learn the right thing to do. Otherwise, they would get very sick if they only ate desserts for their meals. God has rules for us, too, that protect us from the natural consequences that would happen if we disobeyed Him.
Wednesday October 9
Perfect Sacrifice & Celebration – Leviticus 22-23
For the Israelites to offer an animal as a sacrifice, the animal had to fit the requirements and be completely perfect in every way. These sacrifices symbolized the ultimate sacrifice to come, Jesus Christ, the perfect final sacrifice for our sin. We still give offerings today and it’s important that we take the act of giving and offering to the Lord as a true sacrifice – perfect – the best of what we have. Our offerings aren’t meant for forgiveness of sin, but are a sign of respect and love for God. The Israelites gave sacrifices for more than forgiveness of sin, but also as an act of worship to the Lord. When you give to God, are you giving the best of yourself? When you work in the church, are you fully prepared and giving God the best offering of your time and energy? When you give money to the Lord, is it the best of what you have to offer – the “first fruits”, or is it just the amount you have “leftover”? God also gives the Israelites several festivals to observe and while they begin with confession and repentance, the majority of the time is meant to be spent rejoicing in the Lord! We do need to take our relationship with God and our sin seriously, but that’s not all that there is to our faith! We have many reasons to rejoice, including the forgiveness of our sins, the ability to be close with a loving God, His many blessings, and so much more! Have you rejoiced today? Take an encouragement from Leviticus and set special times specifically to rejoice and celebrate God and His many acts of love toward you! Take time around special holidays, too, to infiltrate your home and your family with the joy of the Lord and the true meaning of our celebrations.
Activity: What is the next holiday on your calendar? Plan to start your celebrations and early and to make them truly meaningful, beyond the usual gifts, food, or typical celebrations. Use the holiday as an opportunity to especially acknowledge God and to really celebrate! Start planning now!
With Children: Talk with your child about an upcoming holiday that your family celebrates, ie. a birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, summer break. Ask them what they would like to do to celebrate with God during that holiday. Maybe there is a special faith-based book about that holiday, a special act of charity in with you can participate, or any number of possible options to add some fun into your celebration of God. Get creative and start planning now!
Thursday October 10
Honoring God & His Creation – Leviticus 24-25
Just as God has standards for how we ought to honor Him, He also has standards for how we ought to honor His creation. As a standard we do not mistreat God, and neither should we mistreat people, animals, and the earth. These verses in Leviticus show us that no matter a person’s station in life, they are still a person and there are standards we set to honor everyone because they are a valuable creation of God. If we see any person in need, we must do whatever is within our power to help them. If we see a person lost and out of place, we must do whatever we can to help them. If there is any person in our care, we must do whatever we can to help them. This doesn’t mean that we neglect our own family or caring for ourselves, but it does mean that we don’t allow any person to become invisible. A person is worth too much to allow ourselves to pretend they don’t exist. As the created, we are subject to the Creator. We follow His instructions and we do everything we can to emulate the example He has set for us in honor, care, work, and rest. Our motives and actions are reflected in every part of our lives and we would be foolish to think that we can separate God’s character from any part of His creation. No, an animal does not have the same purpose as a person, but they are treated with the same spirit of honor. The same for the earth, there are appropriate ways to care for the earth with the same spirit of honor. We are not worshipping people, or animals, or the earth, but we are honoring God by taking good care of and honoring the people, animals, and earth, that He has entrusted to our care. How do you treat God’s creation? Do you view creation as something to be used up only for your benefit? Or do you follow God’s lead and practice having the character of God as you interact with His creation?
Activity: How can you honor God and His creation today? There are many charitable organizations you can connect with to perform a community service. Or you can take your own initiative and pick up trash in your neighborhood, bring a meal to a neighbor going through a hard time, donate food to a local animal shelter. Decide to do one of these thing TODAY.
With Children: Talk with your child about how God has given us so much to take care of and ask them if they have any ideas on how to help in one of these areas. Make it a family service project, have them help cook the meal and drop it off, or simply include them as you do your own act of care for God’s creation today.
Friday October 11
Obedience for Blessing – Leviticus 26-27
At the end of Leviticus, God gives His people some last instructions. He advises the Israelites to closely follows all of the laws that He has given to them. If they obey, they will always be blessed and have everything they could ever need. If they disobey, they will fall into ruin and be cut off from the blessings of the Lord. God is very clear and goes into detail because He wants the Hebrew people to understand how serious He is about the laws they have been given. There is a reason and purposed behind everything that God tells us to do and when we obey God, we will find that things work out better than we might have expected. God is not a selfish dictator, making us do work and follow laws only because they will benefit Him! God is a loving Father, who knows what our lives will look like if we don’t make the right choices and so He shows us the way! The instructions given at this time to the Israelites are no longer our instructions. But the spirit of those laws, the character of God, is still true. Whenever you’re at a crossroads, you need to make a decision, figure what you’re going to do next, make sure you ask God. Be constantly in the Word, reading your Bible so that you can know the true character of God and apply His will to your life today. Pray constantly asking for help, guidance, and sensitivity to the Holy Spirit. Be careful not to squash the leading of the Spirit within you and be obedient at every opportunity. The more you obey the Father’s voice, the more clearly you will hear Him next time.
Activity: Practice asking God to lead you in your day to day life and in the big decisions. You have something in your life right now that you need to submit to God in prayer, telling Him that you want to be obedient to Him instead of only serving yourself. Do that now and watch how God will work in your heart and in your life!
With Children: Ask your child what they need help with in their life, if there is a decision they have to make soon, or maybe they have a personal area they’re struggling in. Help them submit those things to God in prayer and remind them to be obedient to God as He gives them guidance. For younger children, pray over them that they will come to know the Lord at an early age and be sensitive to the Holy Spirit in their lives, living in obedience to the heavenly Father for all of their days.
