Turn please to Leviticus 24 this evening. I have appreciated, by the way, the input and suggestions on future topics and books. Is it loud? Am I loud? A little bit? A little loud? We will work our way reminiscent of my childhood. You're being too loud. Stop slamming the door. I'm trying to remember what else. I think there was one other. What? I don't remember getting yelled at for that a lot, but I got yelled at a lot for being too loud and slamming doors. Yeah. Very traumatic childhood I had. I had a younger sister. That's where the real trauma came in, but that's another subject. Let's pray, and we will work our way through this chapter and this evening. Father, again, I pray for us that we would have a good appreciation for all of your word. I think that we are Thankful to be New Testament people and not Old Testament people, but so much of your word to us is Old Testament. Help us to understand it, to use it, to think rightly about it, to appreciate it. And we ask that you would help us to that end, then in Jesus' name, amen. While we're continuing along, we really are approaching the end of Leviticus. We have been much in the Old Testament of late, and so we will, I don't know exactly where on Wednesday, but we will venture into the New Testament for a while. Leviticus chapter 24 continues on a part of the bulk of the book, which is known as Israel's holiness code. The book began by telling us about the holiness of God, and thus the necessity of sacrifices to approach him. And then it talks about the humility of humanity, yet another reason why we must approach God with proper reverence and gifts. But the bulk of the book is given over to what holy people are like. If God is holy and he wants us to be holy, what does it mean to be holy? And while certainly the absence of sin is a large part of holiness, The real emphasis and thrust of the word would be more along the lines of consecration or distinctiveness. God is unparalleled. There are no other deities like him. There are no other human beings like him. He is matchless and unparalleled. He is unique. He is holy. And he calls us not to our own holiness, but to his, or what does that look like? And it plays out, right, we understand this from the lips of Jesus, that it plays out in one arena in the way that we relate to God and things that pertain directly to him, and it plays out in another arena in the way that we treat other people, or those that are his. And so, so we continue on in that. It runs through Leviticus chapter 26, the holiness code does. Leviticus, when you, from a structural standpoint, if you sit down and try and outline it, right, we can put, you know, we have a grouping of chapters that deal with the offerings, and they're pretty easy to put in a place. And then, you know, we have some of the other things that deal with humanity, and those fall pretty easily into place. Leviticus 24 doesn't really fit clearly into a place. I don't know that that's any kind of a problem. Some people, and I'll get to why this is so in a little bit, some people, some really good people, argue that Leviticus 24 is the conclusion of a section in its own right. I'm not sure that that's so, but again, it doesn't impact what it says or how we would think about it. It only impacts how we would try to organize the book if we were trying to give it a numerical formal count of outline. So two things are going on in chapter 24. We will begin by turning our attention first to the first nine verses. And the first nine verses deal with Israel's respect for the tabernacle. Verse number one, and the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Command the children of Israel that they bring unto thee pure oil olive, beaten for the light, to cause the lamps to burn continually. Without the veil of the testimony in the tabernacle of the congregation shall Aaron order it from evening unto the morning before the Lord continually. It shall be a statute forever in your generations. He shall order the lamps upon pure candlesticks before the Lord continually. And thou shalt take fine flour and bake 12 cakes thereof. Two-tenths deal shall be in one cake. And thou shalt set them in two rows, six on a row. upon the pure table before the Lord. And thou shalt put pure frankincense upon each row, that it may be on the bread for a memorial, even an offering made by fire unto the Lord. Every Sabbath he shall set it in order before the Lord continually, being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant. And it shall be Aaron's and his son's, and they shall eat it in the holy place. For it is most holy unto him of the offering of the Lord made by fire, by a perpetual statute. So the first, again, the first nine verses address specifically items within the tabernacle. The first four verses deal with the lampstand, the lampstand. And now we need to kind of go back in our memories and recover the layout of the tabernacle. There was a large courtyard, and then within the courtyard there was a tent, that was about 45 feet long by 15 feet wide, and it was partitioned into two rooms. The larger of the rooms, about 30 by 15, we call the holy place, and the back room, about 15 by 15, would be the most holy place. And you can read about them in Exodus 25 and Exodus chapter 27. So these two pieces of furniture, if I can put them that way, are not in the most holy place, but are in the holy place. So to get to them, the priest would have to go through the doorway into the courtyard, and then through the doorway into the holy place, and this is where these two items would be. And when it comes to the lampstand, it is to be trimmed daily. It is to be trimmed daily. Daily there is oil put, in the little holders for the lampstand, that they would be burning oil, they're not wax candles, they would be burning holy oil, olive oil, and there is always a fire that is going on there. And then verses 5 through 9 deal with respect for what we call the showbread, and that's the way it's translated in our King James Bible. In Exodus 25, the word showbread literally means bread presence. Bread presence. It is sometimes called bread of presence, and you may have a note in your Bible like that. And the idea is that it is bread that is put out on display. It is bread that you can see with your face. It is out there on public display. And it is made of Verse number five, fine flour doesn't reference the quality, not that it's a bad quality, but fine refers to the coarseness. So that when you read about fine gold in the Bible, it's not high quality gold. It is gold dust, pure gold kind of dust. And so this would be a very finely ground, as fine as they're able to grind the flour that they would use for this showbread. And it is formed into 12 cakes, which are formed then arranged into stacks, obviously representing the 12 tribes of Israel. And this is done every Sabbath day. And it is, again, done continually. And this bread of presence then ultimately belongs to the priestly class. They may eat it. And of course, one of the most famous incidents with the showbread is when David and his men ate it. And when Jesus made reference to that when he was having a conversation with the Pharisees about the legalities of what his disciples were doing, gathering grain on the Sabbath day. Now, here's again one of the more interesting things about this. These are certainly not the only things that happened at the tabernacle. They're not the only items of furniture. They are not the only sacrifices that are offered. They are not the only rituals that are observed. But I think part of the connection is, and again, I'm grateful for this, so I never say these things to be critical, but God didn't write chapter 24. God just had Moses start writing. And I think that what we have is, in keeping with all of the agricultural dimensions of the feast that we have been observing in chapter 23, was devoted to the annual feasts. That once a year, depending upon the spring season or the fall season, the people would come, they would bring their offerings. Their worship of the Lord was very much tied to the material world in which they live. And there are things that pertain to God that are not simply set aside for an annual observation. The worship of the Lord is to be regular, and so the oil must be tended daily. There are these kind of annual feast days that are really big deals, and then there is kind of the normal routine observation of respecting the Lord. And I would argue that these two are mentioned singularly for what they are, right? The first one is the lampstand, because God is our light, and the Word of God is our light, and Christ is our light. And the second one is the showbread, the bread that is on display that was to be eaten by the priests. God is our provider. So God really does direct our paths and preserve our bodies and our souls. Those are the observations there. So I don't think, again, looking at it from a structural standpoint, I don't know that it would be any injustice to the idea to have chapter 24 verses 1 through 9 be a part of chapter 23, if you thought of it that way. We're continuing on with worship of the Lord... I hope I don't get in trouble for putting it this way. Let me back up and not say what I was thinking. The means of worshiping the Lord for the Israelites. You couldn't have right worship of the Lord and ignore these things. Just like, no matter how passionately a person would argue, that they could have a right relationship with the Lord but never go to church, they would be wrong. You cannot have a right relationship with the Lord and never go to church. Because the Lord has called us to assemble. And part of the way that we worship is by gathering together. And so this was part of the way that the Israelites worshipped and demonstrated their reverence and respect for God. So that's the first part of the chapter. Then in verse number 10, and this is where much of the speculation lies of why this is put here in the place that it is. Verse number 10, and the son of an Israelitish woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the children of Israel, and the son of the Israelitish woman and a man of Israel strove together in the camp. And the Israelitist woman's son blasphemed the name of the Lord, and cursed. And they brought him into Moses, and his mother's name was Shalemeth, the daughter of Dibri of the tribe of Dan. And they put him in ward, that the mind of the Lord might be showed them. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Bring forth him that hath cursed without the camp, and let all that heard him lay their hands upon his head, and let all the congregation stone him. And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, whosoever curseth his God shall bear his sin. And he that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, he shall surely be put to death. And all the congregation shall certainly stone him, as well the stranger as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of the Lord, shall be put to death. And he that killeth any man shall surely be put to death. And he that killeth a beast shall make it good, beast for beast. And if a man cause a blemish on his neighbor, as he hath done, so shall it be done to him. Breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, as he hath caused a blemish in a man, so shall it be done to him again. And he that killeth a beast, he shall restore it. And he that killeth a man, he shall be put to death. He shall have one manner of law as well for the stranger as for one of your own country, for I am the Lord your God. And Moses spake to the children of Israel that they should bring forth him that had cursed out of the camp and stone him with stones. And the children of Israel did as the Lord commanded Moses. So now the subject matter turns from respect for God's tabernacle to respect for God's name. And it is the fact that there is this insertion of this incident here, that has caused some speculation as to why it is in this place. Is it the end of a section? And part of the logic for that, again, folks, with reference to the structure, if you're inclined to try to outline the book, the God's execution of Nadab and Abihu in Leviticus chapter 10 do count as kind of the end of a section. In Exodus chapter 11, Leviticus 11 turns to the dietary restrictions. So we've had the holiness of God in this lengthy passage, and the culmination of that is the disrespect of Nadab and Abihu in offering strange fire kills, a very human interest kind of dimension. I don't know that it marks the end of the section. I do know that chapter 25, which will be our portion next week, deals with future events when you get into the land. These are things that you will do. So you could perhaps make that argument. But I think, and this is just me, this would just be my idea. It's not inspired. I wouldn't argue with you over it if you think I'm wrong. No harm, no foul. But I think that it's pretty evident, just from the flow of Leviticus, that it doesn't come to the people in one sitting. The book of Leviticus itself spans about 18 months. The tabernacle is put together, the law of Moses is given, the spies are sent out. So there's an adequate amount of time, and we keep having these, and the Lord said to Moses, and the Lord said to Moses, which help us identify key ideas and themes, but I think that it's possible that this information comes over the course of time. And if that's the case, then something like this is not really out of place because when it happened, God took that as an opportunity to deal with the law. The subject matter doesn't change, folks. God is telling the people what he expects of them. And that can come in kind of a, and again, I say this very carefully, It can come, as much of it has come in some form of monologue. God says, here's what you're gonna do, here's what you're gonna do, here's what you're gonna do, here's what you're gonna do, and then the people either do it or sometimes down the road they won't. And then we have this kind of right off the front pages of the newspaper stuff that happens every once in a while. that again, doesn't change the direction, it doesn't interrupt the flow of the book, it becomes an opportunity for God to kind of give some real life dimension to the law. What is this law of Moses gonna look like in a real life situation? And so you have that incident in chapter 24, verses 10 through 12, and it's spelled out in very meticulous detail. You have a man whose mother was an Israelite, but his father was an Egyptian. So you know where that originated. We're back in Egypt now. And this son, who is half Israelite and half Egyptian, gets into a fight with a man who is entirely an Israelite. And in the course of this fight, this man who is half Egyptian and half Israelite blasphemes the name of the Lord and curses. And you notice, folks, that we're not given any information about why they were fighting, or what they were fighting about, or how long the fight was, or the nature of the fight. We know that they were fighting, and we know that somehow, in some way, God got dragged into this fight in an unfavorable way. The word blaspheme, when we look at blasphemy in the New Testament, it almost always means to speak evil. The Hebrew is actually a little more colorful. It means to put a hole. It means to put a hole. Like stabbed. This young man kind of took a stab at Jehovah. And to curse doesn't mean that he used dirty language. It means that he made light of. Right? He dismissed God as insignificant or unworthy in some way. And so he is locked up. That's what it means in verse number 12 to put him in ward. They put him in confinement. So No doubt men came and grabbed him and hauled him off someplace and put him in confinement. And they said, you're going to stay there until we find out what God wants us to do. They have the book of Exodus and they have a large part of the book of Leviticus, but we haven't specifically touched on this. What do we do here? And so what happens then is that God expands, right? God renders his judgment in verses 13 through 17. They do the right thing. This is, by the way, a good thing. Let's find out what God's position on this is. Is this a big deal or not? Should we make a big deal out of it? Should we not make a big deal out of it? How big of a deal is it? And God said, well, here's what I want to happen. I want everybody who heard this, Right? Everybody who could honestly testify to the facts, to put their hand on him, to identify with him, he's the guy. And then all the congregation will stone him. So it is a big deal. And then you're to tell everybody, God says, that to make light of me is to make you guilty and you will bear the consequences of your sin. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. And the ethnicity doesn't matter. The ethnicity doesn't matter. This is a man within the congregation, and the ethnicity... In our world, folks, you know as well as I do, the ethnicity matters a lot. Guilt and innocence in America is often ascribed simply on the basis of ethnicity. But to God, ethnicity doesn't matter at all. You curse the name of the Lord, you bear the guilt, I expect the congregation to act, your guiltiness transcends your ethnicity. And then in verses 18 through 22, God expands upon the concept of equality. Equality is a very important concept in the law of Moses. So then, I'm sorry, verse 17 through 22, verse number 17, if you kill a man, you die. And again, folks, there is a tremendous simplicity to Bible truth. You kill him, you die. Now, we know that there are sometimes extenuating circumstances that even the law factors in. But the fundamental basic principle is very simple. If you kill somebody, you die. On the other hand, because God doesn't inhabit the topsy-turvy world that you and I inhabit, if you kill an animal, you just have to make it good. You have to replace the animal. Because after all, it's just an animal. If you cause a blemish, verse number 19, or a defect, right? That's what we're getting at here. If you cause a blemish, you receive a blemish. In verses 21 through 22, are a summary. You shall have one manner of law as well for the stranger, right? Somebody who is Egyptian or partially Egyptian but living within the covenant community. One law for them. As for one of your own country, I am the Lord. Which again, when you look at our country, you see how seriously we have alienated from the biblical principle in our legal position. Shall have one manner of law, as well for the stranger as for one of your own country, for I am the Lord your God. I'm sorry, verse number 20. Breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. As he hath cause to blemish in a man, so shall it be done to him again. And he that killeth a beast, he shall restore it. He that killeth a man, he shall be put to death. You'll have one manner of law as well for the strangers, for one of your own country, for I am the Lord, your God. And again, those verses summarize what God has said, the proper reaction and the same law for all. And I'm assuming that you understand this, that what this eye for eye, tooth for tooth really does is limit retribution. It puts a limit as to how far you can go. It is a form of the concept, do unto your neighbor what you would have done unto yourself. So everybody within the covenant community lives to the same law. There's the same law for everybody. This is the fundamental principle of equality under the law. And then verse number 23, right, takes us back to the beginning of the section. What do we do with this man? Well, they did what God told them to do. He took him out and they stoned him with stones till he died. So I've just a couple of observations in conclusion. These laws apply to Israel. God is not trying to dictate Egyptian legal policy. The fact that the man was an Egyptian was not the issue. The fact that he was living within the covenant community was. So we're not just dealing with some kind of, we're not creating a special class of people who are exempted from the laws because God is imposing the laws upon his own people. We think, if you think about it properly, that the Jews enjoyed God's special favor by being chosen by him. But that special favor did not extend to overlooking their sin and their guilt, not at all. There is the mandate of a response, and there is a limit to how far you may respond. I mean, seriously folks, I'm not trying to be funny, but if you had, particularly in an agricultural world, supposing that you had a prized bull, and the calves that were born to that bull were spectacular calves, and that bull was worth more than his weight in gold, and then somebody killed it, you might be mad enough to want to kill them. But the law does not allow that. The law limits and tempers our responses. Which means, by the way, if you just, if we take this all the way down the road, right, this is the law, that you may not inflict a punishment or a judgment that is in excess of the nature of the crime. that when God sends people to eternal condemnation, he has done no injustice in doing so. He would not violate his own law, would he? He is simply giving to them what justice insists they deserve. That would be, I think, the New Testament, the far reach of the New Testament. All right, so I'm going to stop there.