Bereans Corner
Bereans Corner
Thru the Bible - #111 - Leviticus 24 - Lamp and Bread of the Sanctuary and Justice for Blasphemy
Ever wondered how the ancient Israelites maintained the sacred space of their sanctuary? Uncover the intricate details of Leviticus 24 as we discuss God's precise instructions to Moses. Learn why clear oil was essential for the lamps and how Aaron ensured they burned continuously. We also delve into the fascinating process of baking and arranging twelve loaves of bread every Sabbath as a lasting covenant before the Lord. This episode doesn't shy away from the intense story of a young man who committed blasphemy, leading to his severe punishment, and explores the concept of "an eye for an eye" justice that applied equally to natives and foreigners.
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Thank you for joining me here on Berean's Corner. Open your Bible to Leviticus, chapter 24. The title of today's lesson is the Lamp and the Bread of the Sanctuary, and we will also get into the verses, the famous verses, where it talks about an eye for an eye. Leviticus, chapter 24,. And let's read Leviticus 24.
Speaker 2:and let's read Leviticus 24. The Lord said to Moses Command the Israelites to bring your clear oil of pressed olives for the light so that the lamps may be kept burning continually Outside the curtain of the testimony, in the tent of meeting Aaron is to tend the lamps before the Lord from evening till morning, continually. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. The lamps on the pure gold lampstand before the Lord must be tended continually. Take fine flour and bake twelve loaves of bread, using two-tenths of an ephah for each loaf. Set them in two rows, six in each row, on the table of pure gold before the Lord. Along each row put some pure incense as a memorial portion to represent the bread and to be an offering made to the Lord by fire. This bread is to be set out before the Lord regularly, sabbath after Sabbath, on behalf of the Israelites, as a lasting covenant. It belongs to Aaron and his sons, who are to eat it in a holy place because it is a most holy part of their regular share of the offerings made to the Lord by fire.
Speaker 2:Now the son of an Israelite mother and an Egyptian father went out among the Israelites and a fight broke out in the camp between him and an Israelite. The son of the Israelite woman blasphemed the name with a curse. So they brought him to Moses. His mother's name was Shillamith, the daughter of Debrai the Danite. They put him in custody until the will of the Lord should be made clear to them. Then the Lord said to Moses Take the blasphemer outside the camp. All those who heard him are to lay their hands on his head and the entire assembly is to stone him.
Speaker 2:Say to the Israelites If anyone curses his God, he will be held responsible. Anyone who blasphemes the name of the Lord must be put to death. The entire assembly must stone him, whether an alien or native-born. When he blasphemes the name, he must be put to death. If anyone takes the life of a human being, he must be put to death. If anyone takes the life of a human being, he must be put to death. Anyone who takes the life of someone's animal must make restitution life for life. If anyone injures his neighbor, whatever he has done must be done to him, fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth For fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. As he has injured the other, so he is to be injured. Whoever kills an animal must make restitution, but whoever kills a man must be put to death. You are to have the same law for the alien and the native born. I am the Lord, your God. Then Moses spoke to the Israelites and they took the blasphemer outside the camp and stoned him. The Israelites did as the Lord commanded Moses.
Speaker 1:Now. The last time we were together we looked at laws of religious festivals and the day of atonement. Today we are looking at the lamp and sanctuary bread. This is another example that we are to worship god on his term, not ours. I have broken this chapter down into 11 parts. Part number one we start this chapter by noticing who the Lord is speaking to. Notice verse one of Leviticus 24. Then the Lord spoke to Moses Again. We see not, not that you don't already know this, but we see who he's speaking to.
Speaker 1:Part two a command to Israel. We see this in verses two to three. Command the sons of excuse. 3. Command the sons of Israel that they bring to you clear oil from beaten olives for the light to make a lamp burn continually outside the veil of testimony in the tent of meeting. Aaron shall keep it in order from evening to morning before the Lord continually. It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations. Remember, you have to worship the Lord how he says, and Aaron is to keep this lamp burning continually. Part three Aaron's duty. We look, we see this in verse four. He shall keep the lamps in order on the pure gold lampstand before the Lord continually. Who is the he, aaron Per four.
Speaker 1:Next we move on to the bread and we see this in verses five to seven. Then you shall take fine flour and bake 12 cakes with it. Flour and bake 12 cakes with it. Two-tenths of an ephah shall be in the cake and you shall set them in two rows, six to a row, on the pure gold table before the lord, and you shall put pure frankincense on each row. That it may be a memorial portion for the bread. Even in offering by fire to the lord, what did the lord tell them to do? He was very clear. He said set them in two rows, six to a row. The lord didn't say just throw the table on the bread, do what you do what you want to do with the bread. The lord is very clear on how he wants things done. He wants these things done and follow the way that he says. Part five this was for aaron and his sons. We see this in verses eight and nine. Every sabbath day you shall set it in order before the lord continually. It is an everlasting covenant for the sons of israel and it shall be for aaron and his sons and they shall eat it in a holy place, for it is most holy to him from the lord's offering by fire his portion forever. So the lord is making it clear that this is for aaron and his sons. Some things the lord sets apart for certain people.
Speaker 1:Next, a young man commits blasphemy. We see this in verses 10 through 16. Now the son of an Israelite woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the sons of Israel, and the Israelite woman's son and a man of Israel struggled with each other in the camp, and the son of the Israelite woman blasphemed the name and cursed. So they brought him to Moses. Now his mother's name was Shalemit, the daughter of Debrei of the tribe of Dan, and they put him in custody so that the command of the Lord might be made clear to them. Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying Bring the one who has cursed outside the camp and let all who heard him lay their hands on his head, and then let all the congregation stone him. And you shall speak to the sons of israel saying if anyone curses his god, then he shall bear his sin. Moreover, the one who blasphemes the name of the lord shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall certainly stone him, the alien as well as the native. When he blasphemes the name shall be put to death. He's very clear. It could be an alien, it could be a native. He will be put to death.
Speaker 1:Now in verse 11 I want I want to look at a few words back. In verse 11 it said blaspheme hebrew 68, 95 means to malign or execrate or to stab with words the name, hebrew 8034. Notice that the N is capitalized. This is a destination for God. And then cursed Hebrew 7043 to make despicable. So what we see here is is when it says that the young man cursed, it means that he, he blasphemed I mean he says sharp words. The name was the lord's name. I believe that it means that he said the holy name, y, h, w, h, yitwa or yahweh, and it says that he cursed to make despicable. So he basically. So what this young man did was he cursed down on his guy. He didn't use the gd word, curse word, but he brought hurtful, harsh words onto the lord.
Speaker 1:Now, with all of that in mind, let's look at verse 11 again. The son of the israelite woman blasphemed the name and cursed. So they brought him to moses, excuse me. So they brought him to Moses, excuse me. So they brought him to Moses. So that's what happened after he blasphemed and cursed. Now I don't know if they wanted us to know that his father was an Egyptian. To kind of show the difference, it said his mother was an Israelite but his father was an Egyptian. So I don't know if they're trying to point out that it was his other side, his, you know, maybe some of the things he got from his father maybe not from his father per se, but from his father's heritage that made him curse the name of the lord like this. But for whatever reason, the lord felt the need to have moses put it in this chapter that way. Now we will get to an eye for an eye.
Speaker 1:Part seven we look at murderers be put to death verse 17. If a man takes the life of any human being, he shall surely be put to death. That's very clear, very straightforward. Next we look at taking an animal's life in verse 18. And the one who takes the life of an animal shall make it good life for life. So if he now we know that this is not talking about hunting, hunting, but we're talking about animals that they weren't eating he shall make it right life for life, pretty straightforward. Next we look at justice. Look at verses 19 through 21. Look at verses 19 through 21.
Speaker 1:If a man injures his neighbor, just as he has done, so, it shall be to him, fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. Just as he has injured a man, so it shall be inflicted on him. Thus, the one who kills an animal shall make it good, but the one who kills a man shall be put to death. The lord is very clear. What's gonna, what happens here? This, this is the death penalty. But it's plain and simple.
Speaker 1:Now we live in a time where people don't believe in the death penalty, particularly in the country that I'm in, north america, the united states and north america, there are a lot of people. They go outside, they protest that so and so shouldn't be put to't be put to death. But in the time when the Lord Gideon lost to Israel, the Lord did believe in the death penalty and he believed that if you murdered a man, you should get the same consequences. The Lord didn't say if you murder a man, put him in your prison and leave him there for life, where he has to be fed and watered and clothed and taken care of for the rest of his life, because that could be 20, 30, 60 years. The Lord said, no, it's an eye for an eye. If he puts a man to death, he has to be put to death. If he takes the life of an animal that he shouldn't, he has to make it right. In other words, we don't eat. Uh, you know I don't eat. I don't eat a possum. So if I killed your possum, whether it was accidental or on purpose, I owed you a possum. It was. It was a life for a life.
Speaker 1:The next part we want to look at is is there is one standard, the Lord's standard. Notice verse 22. There shall be one standard for you. It shall be for the stranger as well as the native, for I am the Lord, your God. The Lord has one standard. He said this was not just for Israel, but this was for the stranger in well as the native, for I am the Lord, your God. The Lord has one standard. He said this was not just for Israel, but this was for the stranger in the land. Remember, other people stayed in the land that they were in. They may not have been Israelites, but they stayed in the land. The Lord says that this law was for them as well.
Speaker 1:And then, lastly, we see, the sons of Israel obeyed Notice verse 23. Then Moses spoke to the sons of Israel and they brought the one who had cursed outside the camp and stoned him with stones. Thus the sons of Israel did just as the Lord had commanded Moses. So at the end of the chapter it goes back to what we read in verse 11. It said I'm'm sorry, verse 10 uh, now the son of israel woman, whose father was an egyptian, went out among the sons of israel, that kid right there or that young man right there verse 23 we see what happened. It was said back then that he had to be brought out and they had to put hands on them and stone them. And in verse 23 it says they bought the one out who had cursed outside the camp and stone him with stones. So they obey what the Lord told them to do. Listen, these things had to be done the way the Lord wanted them to be done. It wasn't about your emotion, it wasn't about your feelings or your opinions. You had to do what the Lord told you to do. He spoke it to Moses and Moses gave it to the people. All right, people. That brings us to the end of Leviticus, chapter 24.
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