Gems from the OT Law

Years ago when I was reading in the Pauline epistles I got quite exasperated with the redundancy found there: Paul wrote a lot about the importance of Jesus' sacrifice. I knew that, why keep repeating it??!!

But God in his mercy saw my heart, saw my confusion and subsequently worked to ease this confusion and this is what He did, ever so gently.

I noticed a few things: one, Paul was a Jew writing to Jews. It was from that perspective in which the NT was written. So, if I am to even begin to understand the importance of Jesus' sacrifice, I need to learn to think like a Jew, I have to understand the concepts of sacrifice, redemption, etc. and the only way was to study the OT law. I went to it and read it, allowed it to teach me. The day came when there were those AH..ha moments - Now I see! WOW! Joy flooded my being! I not only knew, I understood - vast difference - they are not one and the same. I understood perfectly what Paul was saying - how well I remember reading one of his verses and recalling that this was exactly the same concept I gleaned from the study of the law.

The inspirations found there are tremendous. As I study it I observed how there is just as much practical inspiration to be found there as there is in Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. And it is these nuggets of inspiration I would like to share in this thread.

If any want to share your inspiration, I suggest you put the reference/subject in the subject box.

God bless.

Leviticus 1:9: Its entrails, however, and its legs he shall wash with water.

Wash, wash. Whenever God directs the people in how to offer sacrifices he always instructs them on how they need to wash. The concept of washing appears a lot in the law, not only in the handling of dead flesh, it cleans one from uncleanness, be it personal hygiene, contamination of anything defined as unclean.

Anyhow, wash, wash after handling raw meat. Ever thought about the scientific reasons behind the motivation of this law? Ever consider how unsafe it is to handle raw meat? How a body can become infected by it, get sick? but washing after handling raw meat makes it safe to do so? (I just recently heard of a lady who has become infected by handling of raw meat. She is very sick.)

God, in his wisdom, is concerned that his people be sanitary in their handling of raw flesh so he stipulated the command to wash, wash...

Today the health experts warn people of the dangers inherent in the handling of raw meat. How long did it take for them to discover that? Yet, God told the Israelite thousands of years ago...

Leviticus 2:1,3. Frankincense
1‘Now when anyone presents a grain offering as an offering to the LORD, his offering shall be of fine flour, and he shall pour oil on it and put frankincense on it

3‘The remainder of the grain offering belongs to Aaron and his sons: a thing most holy, of the offerings to the LORD by fire.

Frankincense is made by tapping the Boswellia tree. It has many uses among which is less known are its medicinal benefits. You can go to a health food store and buy it - it is recommended for arthritis - I have used it.

I find it fascinating that God would command that the flour offered to the priests be enriched by a substance that has medicinal benefits.

And who knew?

Good insights, Ginny. God gave these to the Israelites because they had been 400 years with the Egyptians who were sick all the time. Their affection for using dung was mind boggling, they would get sick and their physicians would give them "medicine" loaded with various concoctions of dung. (And no FDA warnings, either!)

God said if the Israelites would adhere to these practices, they would be free from all the diseases of the Egyptians.

QUOTE:
"God said if the Israelites would adhere to these practices, they would be free from all the diseases of the Egyptians."

You are making an important point that I want to visit later on. Or, if you wish, go ahead and expand on it.

God bless.

Leviticus 3.:1: "he shall offer it without blemish before the LORD."

"Without blemish" appears 18 times in the book of Leviticus. This concept is so very important...let us take a look at it.

The animals offered for sacrifice were to be without blemish or defect. This is a costly requirement. As a person who grew up on a successful farm where all kinds of animals were grown for sale and profit, the animal 'without defect' was a prized one, one highly esteemed and considered to produce the best profit for the grower. And this was a requirement for the one who offers a sacrifice. In this one can easily see how costly sin is to the individual.

This is a type of the sacrifice Jesus was for us. He was highly esteemed by his father, it was a costly thing he did - he paid the cost of our sin with his life - he gave all of it. He was without blemish in every sense of the word - he was without sin, perfect. 1Peter 1:19: But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

Now in Romans 12:1,2 the writer teaches us that:
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

We are to present our body as a living sacrifice to God, one that is acceptable, holy...how holy am I? Am I being conformed to His image or to the image of prevailing culture
about me? (2Peter 3:14: Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.)

In offering a sacrifice the entire body of the animal was given, not just parts of it. Am I offering my entire body as a living sacrifice to God, everyday?

Leviticus 3.:1: "he shall offer it without blemish before the LORD."

"Without blemish" appears 18 times in the book of Leviticus. This concept is so very important...let us take a look at it.

The animals offered for sacrifice were to be without blemish or defect. This is a costly requirement. As a person who grew up on a successful farm where all kinds of animals were grown for sale and profit, the animal 'without defect' was a prized one, one highly esteemed and considered to produce the best profit for the grower. And this was a requirement for the one who offers a sacrifice. In this one can easily see how costly sin is to the individual.

This is a type of the sacrifice Jesus was for us. He was highly esteemed by his father, it was a costly thing he did - he paid the cost of our sin with his life - he gave all of it. He was without blemish in every sense of the word - he was without sin, perfect. 1Peter 1:19: But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

Now in Romans 12:1,2 the writer teaches us that:
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

We are to present our body as a living sacrifice to God, one that is acceptable, holy...how holy am I? Am I being conformed to His image or to the image of prevailing culture
about me? (2Peter 3:14: Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.)

In offering a sacrifice the entire body of the animal was given, not just parts of it. Am I offering my entire body as a living sacrifice to God, everyday?

Concerning Romans 12:1-2, it would be good for us to examine our lives, periodically, on that scripture, to see if we are being living sacrifices.

While it might be painful to do so, it is needed.

Greatly needed.

And how our minds need to be transformed!

The animal sacrifices were to be outwardly without blemish.

What blemishes do we have that we know about, yet will not give them up? If we refuse to give up the ones we know about, what of those we don't know about?

Fact is, we enjoy sin more than we should or than we realise.

We can't see it, but we do.

Leviticus 3.:1: "he shall offer it without blemish before the LORD."

In Malachi the Lord tied the sacrificing of blemished animals to the dishonoring of His name...

Malachi 1:6-14 NASB

6“ ‘A son honors his father, and a servant his master. Then if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is My respect?’ says the LORD of hosts to you, O priests who despise My name. But you say, ‘How have we despised Your name?’

7“You are presenting defiled food upon My altar. But you say, ‘How have we defiled You?’ In that you say, ‘The table of the LORD is to be despised.’

8“But when you present the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you present the lame and sick, is it not evil? Why not offer it to your governor? Would he be pleased with you? Or would he receive you kindly?” says the LORD of hosts.

9“But now will you not entreat God’s favor, that He may be gracious to us? With such an offering on your part, will He receive any of you kindly?” says the LORD of hosts.

10“Oh that there were one among you who would shut the gates, that you might not uselessly kindle fire on My altar! I am not pleased with you,” says the LORD of hosts, “nor will I accept an offering from you.

11“For from the rising of the sun even to its setting, My name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense is going to be offered to My name, and a grain offering that is pure; for My name will be great among the nations,” says the LORD of hosts.

12“But you are profaning it, in that you say, ‘The table of the Lord is defiled, and as for its fruit, its food is to be despised.’

13“You also say, ‘My, how tiresome it is!’ And you disdainfully sniff at it,” says the LORD of hosts, “and you bring what was taken by robbery and what is lame or sick; so you bring the offering! Should I receive that from your hand?” says the LORD.

14“But cursed be the swindler who has a male in his flock and vows it, but sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord, for I am a great King,” says the LORD of hosts, “and My name is feared among the nations.”

REJOICE! =)
Mary

Mary,

You made a very important and profound point: how tempting it is to not give your best - God did and it was so costly...why do we want to give that which is blemished, full of defects? Col.3:23: "And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;"

We want God to give us his best but how willing are we to reciprocate? God wants our admiration, our worship, adoration. We do our best to folks we admire, worship and want to impress, do we not? So why do we want to do any less in our service to the LORD Jesus?

Ginnyrose

Thanks for posting this very interesting topic. One of my favourite OT gems which I find has helped my walk is I Samuel 15 v 22

" Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold to obey is better than sacrifice."

Jesus delights in our obedience in the gospel of John He tells us that the one who loves Him obeys his commands and does the will of the Father.
I see grace in obedience and I see the law in offerings and sacrifice.
By that I mean I need grace and strength from Jesus to wilfully obey. When I start to do things in my own strength that is not Sprit led e.g making promises which I fail to keep I am doing it as way of pleasing God saying look what I have sacrificed and offered to You Lord I am doing works which I can then relate to as the law.

Love in Christ
Lindi

Ginnyrose, Thanks for sharing these gems from the OT Law. I enjoyed reading them. The dietary Laws that Israel practices according to the Torah were way above the practices of concurrent pagan nations of those times.

e.g.:

Nevertheless a rational interpretation of the Biblical and Mosaic laws has at all times endeavored to find the dietary laws prophylactic of diseases of both body and soul. Indeed, many statisticians have declared that the observance of the dietary laws has greatly contributed to the longevity and physical as well as moral power of the Jewish race (see H. Behrend, "Communicability of Diseases from Animals to Man," London, 1895).

I hope, by the grace of God, to resume this thread. We had difficulties with our ISP and now everything has been corrected so I can continue to share how the OT law has taught me so much about the mercy and grace of God.

Since I touched upon the sacrifices I want to comment on the Passover. It was instituted by God on the eve of the Israelites' departure from Egypt. Here is the scripture that details this information.

Exodus 12:1-14:
And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying,
Exo 12:2 This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.
Exo 12:3 Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house:
Exo 12:4 And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb.
Exo 12:5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:
Exo 12:6 And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.
Exo 12:7 And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it.
Exo 12:8 And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.
Exo 12:9 Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof.
Exo 12:10 And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire.
Exo 12:11 And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD'S passover.
Exo 12:12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD.
Exo 12:13 And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.
Exo 12:14 And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.

As I study this event and how it was to be observed "throughout your generations" I cringe. No, I am repulsed by it.

The Passover was instituted to redeem the firstborn of man and beast. Failure to do so meant death to them.

Consider: a lamb was to be taken on the tenth day by each household, or according to the number of people in it - if your household was too small, you could share it with a neighbor. This lamb was to be with the family and then four days later killed, roasted and eaten. Now think about that a minute: you take a lamb - and they make dear pets, trust me, I have done it - and then kill it and eat it! What person could do THAT without any feelings of repulsion or sorrow? Children would find it very hard to eat what has become something like a pet. (A lamb requires care and feeding by a human being if the mother is absent. You cannot turn it out to pasture and expect it to fend for itself, it is too helpless.)

Jesus is called the Lamb of God. Is it any wonder that as Jesus was hanging on the cross that God turned his back on Him? He could not stand to see it? God was repulsed as well.

This entire sacrifice highlights to us the awfulness of sin, the cost of redemption paid for us. How well do we appreciate Jesus' sacrifice for our redemption?

QUOTE:
"Indeed, many statisticians have declared that the observance of the dietary laws has greatly contributed to the longevity and physical as well as moral power of the Jewish race"

Ah, and not only the Jewish people, the entire western world...will talk more about this later.

I have read accounts of isolated people who acquired a copy of the WORD. After reading it diligently, they applied the principles delineated therein. Years pass, and then a westerner happens upon them, surprised to find a culture that was orderly and clean. Upon investigation they were told what had happened. Ah...the effect of WORD, can we ever underestimate its power?

PS: I wrote another insight to share but after writing most of it, felt in spirit I needed to delete it (I did before I submitted it). I want to stay away from doctrine as much as possible although that will be hard to do. At the moment allow it to suffice that as I understand the sacrifices as detailed in the OT law, we have it so easy...are we grateful for the Lamb of God?

The insight I am sharing today is one that begs to be posted...It is as though its importance is such that I have no rest until it is done.

I first became aware of it in Bible School when Bro. Willard Mayer (I think it was) shared this in some OT study. Then I was somewhat amused, amazed, but never deviated from the wonder, the wisdom of it. So let us take a look.
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Deuteronomy 23:13-14:

Deu 23:13 And thou shalt have a paddle upon thy weapon; and it shall be, when thou wilt ease thyself abroad, thou shalt dig therewith, and shalt turn back and cover that which cometh from thee:

Deu 23:14 For the LORD thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and to give up thine enemies before thee; therefore shall thy camp be holy: that he see no unclean thing in thee, and turn away from thee.

COMMENT: Simply put - it means that you should carry a shovel with you when you are out and about so when you have to relieve yourself, you are to dig a hole, do your job and then cover it with the soil, like cats do. Why? Because God wants the camp to be clean and holy. Ever consider that cleanness and holiness are connected?

Today we have restrooms everywhere and people are expected to use them. You could get arrested if seen to deposit body waste in public places not designated for its acceptance. Do we understand how this principle promotes health? Allow me to share a couple stories.

Dorthy Clarke Wilson wrote in "Granny Brand" the story of Jesse and Evelyn Brand's ministry to the Indian people at Tamil Nadu, India beginning in the early 1900s. These people were infected with the Guinea worm (guinea worms grow several feet long under a person’s skin) which she almost eradicating from their countryside by introducing the building and use of latrines. You see, this worm was spread by people stepping in human feces which was infected with the worm that somehow attached to the human skin and worked its way under it.

Another: Recently a family from our church visited Bangladesh. They were horrified at the prevailing unsanitary conditions there. People pooped anywhere, its disposal was of no importance, the stench was overwhelming. This brother said this country will never rise above the poverty that exists there until the sewer issue is addressed and worked on. After hearing his evaluation of the situation I had to wonder if God had not turned away from the people there because he says here in Deut. 23:14: "that he see no unclean thing in thee, and turn away from thee" - I do not know, but do wonder.

In any case, are we not amazed at God's desire for cleanliness? Moderns have discovered how it promotes health...

Who would have guessed this principle of sanitation was first introduced in the OT law?

Leviticus 6:1-5 NASB

1 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

2 “When a person sins and acts unfaithfully against the LORD, and deceives his companion in regard to a deposit or a security entrusted to him, or through robbery, or if he has extorted from his companion,

3 or has found what was lost and lied about it and sworn falsely, so that he sins in regard to any one of the things a man may do;

4 then it shall be, when he sins and becomes guilty, that he shall restore what he took by robbery or what he got by extortion, or the deposit which was entrusted to him or the lost thing which he found,

5 or anything about which he swore falsely; he shall make restitution for it in full and add to it one-fifth more. He shall give it to the one to whom it belongs on the day he presents his guilt offering.

COMMENT:

I find this law very interesting.

Basically what it is saying is that of you stole anything from anyone, be it by robbery, embezzling, fraud, or whatever you were required by law to repay it PLUS a 20%. hmmmm...

In Luke 19:1-10 is the story of Zaccheus. Here it is:
1 He entered Jericho and was passing through.

2 And there was a man called by the name of Zaccheus; he was a chief tax collector and he was rich.

3 Zaccheus was trying to see who Jesus was, and was unable because of the crowd, for he was small in stature.

4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree in order to see Him, for He was about to pass through that way.

5 When Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, “Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.”

6 And he hurried and came down and received Him gladly.

7 When they saw it, they all began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”

8Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much.”

9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham.

10 “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

We do not know how long Zaccheus was in the company of Jesus, but it apparently was not long. However long it was, it did not take much until he was convicted of his sin of thievery. He declared that not only will he repay the victims but he will repay 400%! wow! This is far above and beyond what the OT law required. Not only that, he did it voluntarily without any legal persuasion or threat of fines. He did it because he had met Jesus. He saw in Him someone who was so holy that it evoked a repentant attitude, change of heart where he delighted in making restitution to those wronged.

How Jesus loved Zaccheus response! He said, "“Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham." We rarely find Jesus complimenting anyone and here he gave the most wonderful compliment ever.

I like to imagine the impact Zaccheus had on his community when he went about repaying people he had defrauded. Think about that a while - let it be like a popcorn kernel stuck in your teeth!

The law said to repay the amount stolen plus 20%...when Zaccheus repaid he paid the amount taken PLUS 400%! This went far above and beyond what the law required.

Now, I wonder, if and when we are convicted are we as eager to make restitution as Zaccheus did?

Leviticus 4:3-12, et al NASB
a bull without defect as a sin offering for the sin he has committed.
4‘He shall bring the bull to the doorway of the tent of meeting before the LORD, and he shall lay his hand on the head of the bull and slay the bull before the LORD.
5‘Then the anointed priest is to take some of the blood of the bull and bring it to the tent of meeting,
6and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle some of the blood seven times before the LORD, in front of the veil of the sanctuary.
7‘The priest shall also put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense which is before the LORD in the tent of meeting; and all the blood of the bull he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering which is at the doorway of the tent of meeting.
8‘He shall remove from it all the fat of the bull of the sin offering: the fat that covers the entrails, and all the fat which is on the entrails,
9and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, which is on the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which he shall remove with the kidneys
10(just as it is removed from the ox of the sacrifice of peace offerings), and the priest is to offer them up in smoke on the altar of burnt offering.
11‘But the hide of the bull and all its flesh with its head and its legs and its entrails and its refuse,
12that is, all the rest of the bull, he is to bring out to a clean place outside the camp where the ashes are poured out, and burn it on wood with fire; where the ashes are poured out it shall be burned.

COMMENT:

I posted this scripture to illustrate my insight for today.

When I read of the detail, the exactness God expected of his people in the offering of these sacrifices, I am, by turns, annoyed, then exasperated with its redundancy: why so much detail? why is it important?

Years ago I felt led by the Holy Spirit to study Numbers. Initially, I questioned this prompting, but proceeded to do so. After I got into it I saw something that became very real to me: God is a God of the smallest details. He is an exacting Being in every sense of the word. If he is so exacting and cares about the smallest detail in how one is to worship him, does He not also care about the smallest detail in my life? Is He not aware of the smallest detail in my life? 1Peter 5:7 tells us to cast all our cares up him for he cares for us. How much is 'all'?

One can look to nature to see this guiding principle operating. Actually, absolutely nothing in this universe is working haphazardly - all is finely tuned to work together. On the human level this principle is operating as well. I used to enjoy watching a combine (harvester that cuts grains) run. I was always amazed at all the pulleys, belts here and there making this and that another part cut, shake, turn, pull - all to harvest the grain. Now this harvester was not invented over-night but evolved with time, men improving, bettering previous improvements and it is still going on - farmers even use GPS to farm their fields!

With God, he made everything, taking six days to do it. Such detail - all made to work together in harmony. Man cannot single-handedly, or with a couple other people, even begin to accomplish much in six days.

Somehow, the longer I type the more I become overwhelmed with the greatness of God and how little I am! So small, so ignorant....now why do I find it so hard to cast all of my cares upon a God who is so much greater and bigger then me?

Greetings ginnyrose

you wrote:Somehow, the longer I type the more I become overwhelmed with the greatness of God and how little I am! So small, so ignorant....now why do I find it so hard to cast all of my cares upon a God who is so much greater and bigger then me?

________

These exact thoughts have been on my mind so often. I too find myself thinking and feeling the same way. I am nothing, and know nothing and yet in pride and self I try to do things my own way..."Forgive me LORD JESUS!"

Thank you for sharing your heart in this thread, I am learning much from it.

God Bless
mary