Looking at Leviticus (Lev. 19:1-10)

10/12/2008 8:03 AM

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time                              Focus:  Looking at Lev. 19:1-10

Bible Reading & Meditation               Reference:  Lev. 19:1-10

            Message of the verses:  “1 ¶  Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying:  2  "Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.  3  ‘Every one of you shall reverence his mother and his father, and you shall keep My sabbaths; I am the LORD your God.  4  ‘Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves molten gods; I am the LORD your God.  5  ‘Now 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 the next day; but what remains until the third day shall be burned with fire.  7  ‘So if it is eaten at all on the third day, it is an offense; it will not be accepted.  8  ‘Everyone who eats it will bear his iniquity, for he has profaned the holy thing of the LORD; and that person shall be cut off from his people.  9  ‘Now when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest.  10  ‘Nor shall you glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the needy and for the stranger. I am the LORD your God.”

            I have come to a new chapter in Leviticus and a new section in Dr. Wiersbe’s book, which he entitled “The sanctity of the Law.”  He has chosen to break this chapter in how it relates to the Ten Commandments, but does not really give the verses that he is talking about, so I have chosen to just wade through this chapter a paragraph at a time, and verses one through ten comprises of the first paragraph.

            God gives to Moses in the second verse the theme of the book of Leviticus, and this is to be holy for God is holy.  Again it must be remembered that the words “I am the Lord your God” are seen over forty times in chapters eighteen through twenty-six of Leviticus, showing that the things that are written here are authenticated by God.

            Dr. Wiersbe writes that this chapter the various commandments of the Ten Commandments are applied to various areas of live and then in chapter twenty the penalties are stated that must be given out to those who disobey these commandments.  Verse three speaks of the commandment to honor your father and your mother, and also to keep the Sabbath holy.  Verse four speaks of the commandment of not worshiping idols. 

            In verses five through speaks of the proper way to offer and eat a peace offering, which has already been gone over in an earlier chapter.  Verses nine and ten speaks of a new commandment that has not been given before and that is about not gleaming all of the grain in the fields after gong into the land so that the poor have something to eat.  This law comes into play in the book of Ruth and has a lot to do with how Ruth is included in the genealogy of Jesus Christ.  Verse ten says the same thing about a persons vineyard, not gleaming all of its grapes. 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  There was a time when I did not understand why it was that many of the commandments in the Bible were repeated so often like is seen in this section today, and why they are in the order that one finds them.  I still do not understand all of that, but the one thing that I think that I understand about it is that they are very important to the Lord and He wants them to be very important to me and to all of His children.  In having God say in these chapters so many times “I am the Lord your God” speaks to me that He is telling me something that I should really listen too.

My Steps of Faith for Today:

1. I want to remember the statement “I am the Lord your God.”

Memory verses for the week                                               Exodus 20:12-16

12.      Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you.

13.      You shall not murder.

14.      You shall not commit adultery.

15.      You shall not steal.

16.      You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

10/12/2008 8:33 AM