As a parent and public-school teacher of first grade; I formed a habit of explaining in simple, detailed terms the wrongful behaviors with the consequences of my young children at home as well as my first graders at school.  Some of my peers told me I took too much time explaining. My response was; “But, how will they learn?”

We are prone to be bogged down by the repetitive, laborious, detailed instructions outlined in Leviticus from God to Moses to Aaron and the priests. But remember, God has lessons to teach His newly rescued people who lived in Egypt and were forced to live the culture of their captors. 

God must teach His People who formally believed in many gods, to now believe in One God, the One who saved them and miraculously brought them out of Egypt in power and might.  God’s Chosen People are now living in the wilderness, away from Egypt’s enslavement and culture. “You are My People and I am Your God.” God is teaching them what sin is with how sin must be dealt with so that sin can be avoided in the future. 

Leviticus 6

The Lord said to Moses: ² “If anyone sins and is unfaithful to the Lord by deceiving a neighbor about something entrusted to them or left in their care or about something stolen, or if they cheat their neighbor, ³ or if they find lost property and lie about it, or if they swear falsely about any such sin that people may commit— ⁴ when they sin in any of these ways and realize their guilt, they must return what they have stolen or taken by extortion, or what was entrusted to them, or the lost property they found, ⁵ or whatever it was they swore falsely about. They must make restitution in full, add a fifth of the value to it and give it all to the owner on the day they present their guilt offering. ⁶ And as a penalty they must bring to the priest, that is, to the Lord, their guilt offering, a ram from the flock, one without defect and of the proper value. ⁷ In this way the priest will make atonement for them before the Lord, and they will be forgiven for any of the things they did that made them guilty.”

The Burnt Offering

⁸ The Lord said to Moses: ⁹ “Give Aaron and his sons this command: ‘These are the regulations for the burnt offering: The burnt offering is to remain on the altar hearth throughout the night, till morning, and the fire must be kept burning on the altar. ¹⁰ The priest shall then put on his linen clothes, with linen undergarments next to his body, and shall remove the ashes of the burnt offering that the fire has consumed on the altar and place them beside the altar. ¹¹ Then he is to take off these clothes and put on others, and carry the ashes outside the camp to a place that is ceremonially clean. ¹² The fire on the altar must be kept burning; it must not go out. Every morning the priest is to add firewood and arrange the burnt offering on the fire and burn the fat of the fellowship offerings on it. ¹³ The fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously; it must not go out.

The Grain Offering

¹⁴ “‘These are the regulations for the grain offering: Aaron’s sons are to bring it before the Lord, in front of the altar. ¹⁵ The priest is to take a handful of the finest flour and some olive oil, together with all the incense on the grain offering, and burn the memorial portion on the altar as an aroma pleasing to the Lord. ¹⁶ Aaron and his sons shall eat the rest of it, but it is to be eaten without yeast in the sanctuary area; they are to eat it in the courtyard of the tent of meeting. ¹⁷ It must not be baked with yeast; I have given it as their share of the food offerings presented to me. Like the sin offering and the guilt offering, it is most holy. ¹⁸ Any male descendant of Aaron may eat it. For all generations to come it is his perpetual share of the food offerings presented to the Lord. Whatever touches them will become holy.’”

¹⁹ The Lord also said to Moses, ²⁰ “This is the offering Aaron and his sons are to bring to the Lord on the day he is anointed: a tenth of an ephah of the finest flour as a regular grain offering, half of it in the morning and half in the evening. ²¹ It must be prepared with oil on a griddle; bring it well-mixed and present the grain offering broken in pieces as an aroma pleasing to the Lord. ²² The son who is to succeed him as anointed priest shall prepare it. It is the Lord’s perpetual share and is to be burned completely. ²³ Every grain offering of a priest shall be burned completely; it must not be eaten.”

The Sin Offering

²⁴ The Lord said to Moses, ²⁵ “Say to Aaron and his sons: ‘These are the regulations for the sin offering: The sin offering is to be slaughtered before the Lord in the place the burnt offering is slaughtered; it is most holy. ²⁶ The priest who offers it shall eat it; it is to be eaten in the sanctuary area, in the courtyard of the tent of meeting. ²⁷ Whatever touches any of the flesh will become holy, and if any of the blood is spattered on a garment, you must wash it in the sanctuary area. ²⁸ The clay pot the meat is cooked in must be broken; but if it is cooked in a bronze pot, the pot is to be scoured and rinsed with water. ²⁹ Any male in a priest’s family may eat it; it is most holy. ³⁰ But any sin offering whose blood is brought into the tent of meeting to make atonement in the Holy Place must not be eaten; it must be burned up.

WHAT WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND TO GOD?

The priests were the official communicators between God and man. God ordained priests as full-time spiritual leaders. When God calls and ordains spiritual leaders, they have a special responsibility to live obediently as they walk close to him.  These detailed instructions are given not only for health reasons (“keep the fire burning, put the ashes outside the camp”) but specifically for spiritual reasons.  God wants a relationship with His People that is pure and holy.

The designated priests must obey every detail for their good, the good of the people and for God’s glory.  God will have it no other way.  When we come into His Presence, we must yield to Him, seeking to become holy as He is holy. God, who sees our hearts, is the One and Only who makes us holy.  We cannot do that for ourselves. 

Only God makes all things holy.  We can never overemphasize the holiness of the God we serve.  God provided His best to make us holy. It was for holiness’ sake that Jesus lovingly laid down His life so that we could approach freely a God who cannot co-exist with sin.  Sin must be dealt with by God’s Plan.

To be holy means to be set apart and to be perfect in every way free from blemish, spot or wrinkle in every sense. Truth be told, no one has and will ever achieve this holiness except Jesus Christ Himself. But the good news is that Jesus, God’s Son, exchanged our filthiness for His righteousness as He took the punishment for our sin as the ultimate once and for all sacrifice!

Throughout God’s Word, we learn how God makes us holy.  Being made holy by God begins with a repentant, humbled, contrite heart. These are the traits God looks for in seekers of His holiness.

• 2 Chronicles 7:14. “if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
• Psalm 51:10. “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”
• Jeremiah 31:34. “And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord, ‘ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
• Malachi 3:3. “He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord.”
• Romans 5:1. “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
• Romans 15:15-16. “But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, because of the grace given me by God to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.”
• 1 Thessalonians 5:23. “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
• Hebrews 13:12. “So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood.”

God’s work of holiness begins with our response of humbled repentance. 

“Come and see what the Lord has done, the desolations he has brought on the earth.
He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire.
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:8-10

Lord,

Make me holy.  Create in me a clean heart by removing all that does not belong.  Renew my mind in ways that transform by behaviors.  Refresh my soul by the filling of your Holy Spirit.  Restore the joy of your salvation within me.  May your peace rule my life.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!

In Jesus Name, Amen

By Your spirit I will rise
From the ashes of defeat
The resurrected King, is resurrecting me
In Your name I come alive
To declare Your victory
The resurrected King, is resurrecting me…

(Resurrecting by Elevation Worship)