I thank you to bring your Bibles to the Book of Exodus, the 40th chapter. Exodus 40, and we'll commence our reading at verse 34, and we'll read into Leviticus 1. And then the clouds covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting, because the cloud rested above it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Whenever the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would go onward in all their journeys. But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not journey till the day that it was taken up. For the crowd of the Lord was above the tabernacle by day, and fire was over it by night, in sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys. Now the Lord called to Moses and spoke to him from the tabernacle of meeting, saying, Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, When any one of you brings an offering to the Lord, you shall bring your offering of the livestock, of the herd and of the flock. If his offering is a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish. He shall offer it of his own free will at the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the Lord. Then he shall put his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him. He shall kill the bull before the Lord, and the priests, Aaron's sons, shall bring the blood and sprinkle the blood all round the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of meeting. And he shall skin the burnt offering and cut it into pieces. The sons of Aaron, the priests, shall put fire on the altar and lay the wood in order on the fire. Then the priests, Aaron's sons, shall lay the parts, the head, than the fat in order on the wood that is on the fire upon the altar. And he shall wash its entrails and its legs with water. And the priest shall burn all of the altar as a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord. If his offering is of the flocks, of the sheep, or of the goats, as a burnt sacrifice, he shall bring a male without blemish. He shall kill it on the noth side of the altar before the Lord, and the priest, Aaron's son, shall sprinkle its blood all around on the altar. He shall cut it into its pieces, with its head and its fat, and the priest shall lay them in order on the wood that is on the fire upon the altar. And he shall wash the entrails and the legs with water. Then the priest shall bring it all and burn it all on the altar. It is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord. And if the burnt sacrifice of his offering to the Lord is of birds, then he shall bring his offering of turtledoves or young pigeons. And the priest shall bring it to the altar, wring up its head, and burn it on the altar. His blood shall be drained out of the side of the altar. And he shall remove its crop with its feathers, and cast it beside the altar on the east side, into the place for ashes. Then he shall spit it at its wings, but shall not deride it completely. And the priest shall burn it on the altar, on the wood that is on the fire. It is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord. Let us come before the Lord tonight in prayer. Let's pray. Almighty God, our loving Heavenly Father, we thank you that we have this wonderful access into your presence, that we can approach you through the finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ, and we thank you for the Lamb of God who was slain from the foundation of the world. And how we thank you for him who has fulfilled all these shadows and types of Old Testament law. How we thank you for his perfect atonement. And how we thank you that you have raised him from the dead and seated him at your right hand, exalting him, a prince and a saviour. And how we thank you that through his name we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our sins, according to the riches of your grants. We thank you, O God, that he is the way and the truth and the life, the one who has opened up that way into your presence. We thank you that we can freely come. We thank you tonight that we do not have to remain in the outer courts of your presence. We thank you that the veil has been torn in two. And we thank you that we can come with boldness through the blood of Jesus within the veil itself. O Lord, we long that we might know what it is to dwell in the secret place of the Most High, to abide under the shadow of you, the Almighty. We pray that you may be pleased to meet with us this evening. Lord, we do thank you for this place of prayer. We thank you, Lord God, for the offering, Lord God, above the Christian praise. And we thank you for the fellowship of one another. And we pray that as we come aside from the affairs of this life, that as we enter the sanctuary this evening, lord may your presence fill this place just as you fill the tether of your bowels may you come and dwell among us this evening may we know that real sense of god in the midst and we pray that the holy spirit may be pleased to take the things of christ and Reveal them to us. May your truth burn within us this evening. And grant, O God, that we may learn something more of your glorious character, your wonderful being. We pray that we may, indeed, astound the transfects of the majesty of our God, and that we may be a people lost in wonder, love, and praise. Lord, draw near to us as we seek to draw near to you tonight. Forgive and cleanse us from our many sins, because we only come to you on the basis of that last sacrifice shed at Calvary. We thank you, Lord God, that our Saviour did what all the laws and the blood of ancient animals could not accomplish. And we thank you, Lord God, that by that one offering we have been perfected forever. And so, Father, do receive that sacrifice of praise tonight from joyful lips, and prosper, Lord, that we might know that real fellowship together in the Spirit, because we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. So keep our minds open this evening at the Book of Leviticus. I want on these certain evenings to commence a new series of studies based upon this remarkable book of the Old Testament, the Book of Leviticus. We shall not be engaging in a verse-by-verse exposition of it, nor necessarily a chapter-by-chapter exposition. But what I want to do with you on these Thursday evenings is to take you through the book, section by section, and to seek to draw out some of the main themes and lessons that we can learn from it. Though it may be at the very moment that you heard mention of the Book of Leviticus, that it caused you to inwardly groan. And you thought to yourself, oh, why Leviticus? Why this of all the books of the Old Testament? And such a reaction, of course, would not be too surprising. Because Leviticus is hardly a book that rocks many Christians' votes today. It's one of the most neglected, one of the most unpopular books of the Bible. It's a book that is often regarded as just a tedious list of rules and regulations, outdated Jewish requirements, that no longer have any bearing on us as Christian believers under the new covenant today. And the book has suffered from a very bad press and from a bad reputation over the years. But I believe that such an attitude is unjustified, and it is really sad. It certainly stands in marked contrast to early Jewish attitudes and opinions regarding this book. Did you know, for example, that the Book of Leviticus was the first book that was chosen by the Jews to teach to their children in their schools and synagogues? They regarded it as absolutely foundational and essential to lay a set of and moral rules and values for everyday life and living. And therefore it was very much a book that the Lord Jesus Christ would have been steeped in from childhood. Jesus would have treated it with the utmost respect, believing it to be the very authoritative word of God and profitable for his daily life and living. Of course, having said that, the Book of Leviticus, at the end of the day, is not what we would call an inspirational book. It's not necessarily an emotional book. It is a law book. It's a legal book. It's part of the Old Testament Torah. It's a set of rules and regulations concerning offerings and sacrifices, food laws, and things you can touch and things you cannot touch, ritual uncleanness, and so on. But I want to show you this evening that it is far from being just a dull, tedious, oppressive list of do's and do nots as many Christians imagine. One modern scholar, John Sawyer, has done a lot of work analyzing the literary structure of Leviticus and its language. And he has come up with a number of very fascinating conclusions. He tells us, for example, that the book has two striking characteristics, language-wise. Firstly, there are very few imperatives in the book. And secondly, there is an infrequency of statements of facts. In other words, direct commands and negative commands are extremely rare in the Book of Leviticus. In fact, he has discovered that there are at least three or four times as many as you would find in many of the other books of the Old Testament. In fact, he says ten times more in the book of Psalms than there are here in the book of Leviticus. And therefore, the whole tone of this book is not couched in terms of, thou shalt not do this, and thou shalt not do that. But rather, of course, you will not live like that. and of course you will live like this. Also he tells us that the book abounds with such language and words as freedom and liberty, atonement and jubilee. You see, look at it, it says it's good news. Another author, Derek Tidwell, says it is good news for sinners who seek pardon. for priests who need empowering, for women who are vulnerable, for the unclean who cover cleansing, for the poor who yearn for freedom, for the marginalised who seek dignity, for animals that demand protection, for families that require strengthening, for communities that want fortifying, and a creation that stands in need of care. All these issues and more are addressed in a positive way in Leviticus. And Leviticus is good news, essentially, because it is a book that is full of the Gospel. It's a book of pictures of God's saving grace and activity and power on behalf of his people. It's a book that leads us ultimately to Christ. We see him here virtually on every page. The Lord Jesus Christ figures very prominently in the book of Leviticus. And one other observation that I wanted to make this evening is that in order to understand the message of Leviticus, we must never divorce it from its context. The context is of paramount importance. And what is the context? On Leviticus, it is the story of the exodus. In fact, you will have noticed from our reading we had earlier that the two books are closely joined together. They go hand in hand. The one immediately follows the other. Where exodus ends, Leviticus immediately begins, without hardly a pause for breath. The context of the story of redemption is the story of great God's great love for Israel, calling out a people for himself, saving them by mighty acts of redeeming love and power, saving them by the slaying of the Passover lamb, calling them out of Egypt, that they might become a holy nation, that they might become a people of God's own possession. Then God delivered to them in the wilderness the instructions concerning the building of a tabernacle and its accessories of worship, so that God himself might dwell among his people. This is something that had never been heard of in human history before. God, the living God, the creator, actually tabernacling on earth amongst his children. And that is actually where the book of Exodus ends, chapter 40, with this wonderful picture of God's glory coming down and filling the tabernacle. God dwelling amongst his redeemed people. And where Exodus ends, Leviticus begins. You see, the laws of Leviticus were delivered to the people in the context of grace. is a context of God's redeeming, abiding presence, and love, and care. And therefore, what we have here is a manual of instructions to teach the Israelites how they were to maintain that intimacy of fellowship and communion in the presence of their God. It was Greg Schrodinger who compared Exodus to Leviticus in this way. He says the message of Exodus was about God's approach to his people and their being brought near to him, whereas Leviticus was about the people's approach to God and their being kept near to him. Christian friends this evening, are you concerned about the issues of worship? Are you concerned about the presence of God among his people? Are you concerned about the devotional life of the church? Are you concerned about your own individual, personal walk with God? Maintaining fellowship with God, communion with God, in a secret place? Then the book of Leviticus is a book for you. Well, having seen the context of the book of Leviticus, there are a number of issues that I want us to just touch upon this evening by way of introduction. The first thing that we need to look at is the title of the book, the actual title. In our English Bible it's called Leviticus. That was, of course, not original. It was certainly not chosen by Moses. In fact, it's the title that was given to it by the translators of the Latin Vulgate version of the Old Testament. And they, in turn, borrowed it from the Septuagint, which was the famous Greek translation of the Old Testament that was available in the time of our Lord, made by 70 Greek scholars. And they called the book Leviticon. And Leviticon, or the Latin Leviticus, simply means that which pertains to the Levites, the priests. And so the book of Leviticus is firstly a book of instructions setting forth the responsibilities of the priests in relation to the worship of God. But it would be a mistake to run away with the idea this evening that this book is simply a manual of instructions for the priesthood and for church officers, and that it has nothing to say to the ordinary worshipper. In fact, much of the instructions given in this book are for the ordinary Israelites, teaching them how to draw near to God and how to maintain the purity of their walk with God. Leviticus is a book for you and for me. The Hebrew title given by the Jews was the title Wayikra. And the reason being because this is the first word of the book of Leviticus, and he calls. And he calls. Now the Lord called to Moses and spoke to him from the tabernacle of meeting, saying, And this Jewish title immediately shows us the connection with what has come before, the necessary connection with the context of the story of redemption. But I think it does more than that. It also reminds us of the fact that Leviticus is a book that contains direct speech. It contains the actual words of God to Moses. And did you know that the book of Leviticus contains more of the actual words of God than any other book of the Bible? And so as we approach this great book, we need to realise, friends, it's authority. We need to realise that we're not dealing with simply antiquated human laws for the Jewish nation, or even the words of Moses for handling the living oracles of the heart. So I'm not saying for the title. What about the contents of the book? What is the structure of Leviticus? Well, it has a very clear structure. And I think it can be clearly divided into at least five sections. The first being chapters 1 to 7, where we have the laws on sacrifice and offering. And Moses takes us through the five principal offerings. Chapter 1, the burnt offering. Chapter 2, the grain offering. Chapter 2, the fellowship offerings, or peace offerings. Chapter 4, the sin offering. Chapter 5, the trustless offerings. And then in chapters 6 and 7, we have the rules regarding the responsibilities of the priests in offering up these sacrifices. The second section is chapters 8 through to 10, where we have the institution of the priesthood. And there we see the ordination of the sons of Aaron, who were to fulfill these requirements. Sections 3 is chapters 11 to 15, where we have the laws concerning ritual cleanness and uncleanness, uncleanness and its treatment. Section 4 is chapter 16, where we are brought to that most solemn day in Israel's calendar, Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of atonement. That day when the blood of bulls and goats was offered up in the most holy place for the sins of the nation that year. And then finally, in chapter 17 to 27, we have prescriptions for practical holiness, prescriptions that cover every aspect of daily life, every part of society, every aspect of national life. What is the keynote of this book? What is the key word that runs right the way through it? What is its essential message and theme? Well, of course, it is summed up in that one word, holy or holiness. We find it at least 46 times throughout the book. It is the book of God's holiness. And I think the key verse is undoubtedly chapter 19, verse 2. God says, you shall be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy. And that statement is repeated five times in the book of Leviticus. Leviticus is a call to holiness. And we use that word so often, don't we? Holy and holiness. And I think it's important that we should start to consider what it means. What is holiness according to the Old Testament? Well the word that is used here in the Hebrew is basically a word which means to separate or to cut. And holiness in the Old Testament means to separate something from a common use to a sacred use. You see, holiness in the Bible is both negative and positive. It's a separation, a cutting off from, from that which is common, that which is mundane, that which is worldly. of that which is carnal, of that which is sinful and unclean. And it is a consecration to the worship and the services of God. That's the idea of holiness. And as we read through Leviticus, we find that holiness is firstly a statement about God. God says, you shall be holy. Why? Because I the Lord your God. and holy. You see, the book of Leviticus is the revelation of the awesome holiness of God, that they serve a God who is different, a God who is separate, a God who is distinct from all the gods of the pagan nations of the ancient worlds. There is no one in fact like Him in heaven above or in earth beneath. He stands apart, separated from the rest of His creation. He is so altogether unique that He needs a category all of His own. He is the Holy of the One. He is the God who dwells in unapproachable light. He is the God of absolute holiness and perfection. And of course, when the Bible speaks of the holiness of God, it's important to remember that the Bible is not speaking about one individual aspect of God's character. It's referring to all his attributes put together. Because God's love is a holy love. God's wisdom is a holy wisdom. God's truth is called his holy word. And God's name, which is all the attributes that the character of God put together, the Bible declares that his name is holy. God is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his words. In all God's character, there is holiness. And so holiness is not just one individual aspect of God's being, but it is a general term representing the consummate perfection and the total glory of God. Our God is glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders." This is a statement about God. The Vespers in Leviticus, holiness, is also a commandment of God to his people. He says, you shall be holy for I, the Lord your God, am holy. God didn't just save the Israelites out of Egypt so that they could go on living their own selfish and self-centered existence and lifestyle. No, God brought them out that he might take Egypt out of them, that he might bring them into communion with himself, that they might become a light to the nations. that they might be a separate and distinct people from all the other nations on the face of the earth. They were meant to represent God on the earth. They were meant to be a mirror image of himself. They were to be holy because he is holy. But then think of Thurgy and Leviticus. Holiness is not just a statement about God, not just a command of God to his people, but thank God it's also a promise. A promise of God to his children. Turn to chapter 20, verse 8. And you shall keep my statutes and perform them. I am the Lord who sanctifies you. and again we have it in 21 verse 8 therefore you shall consecrate him for he offers the bread of your God he shall be holy to you for I the Lord who sanctify you am holy we find it in 22 verse 9 they shall therefore keep my ordinance lest they bear sin for it and die thereby if they profane it I, the Lord, sanctify her. Verse 16. For allow them to bear the yields of Christmas when they eat their holy offerings. For I, the Lord, sanctify her. And finally, verse 32. You shall not propane my holy name, that I will be hallowed among the children of Israel. I am the Lord who sanctifies you. who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your gods. I am the Lord. You see, friends, here we have true gospel holiness. God didn't just save these Israelites out of Egypt and then deliver to them all these meticulous rules and regulations and leave them to their own human strength to get on with them the best they can. No, no, God saved them and then gave them the wonderful promise of his sanctifying provision. I am the Lord who sanctifies you. You see, friends, God provides the means. God is the agent of their sanctification. And therefore what we have here in the business is not simply a manual of self-help, a manual of works, as many people seem to think, but rather the promise of God's transforming love and grace. God provides the spirit. God provides the very means in order that these people may become the people He wants them to be. That they may be like Him. That they may be holy. I am the Lord who sanctifies you. You see, friends, this is the very title of Jehovah in the Old Testament. He is Yahweh Mechadishke. I am the Lord who sets you apart. I am the Lord who sanctifies you, I am the one who will make you holy. It's both a statement of God, a command to his people, and that wonderful promise of God's powerful grace and the Holy Spirit to transform them into that same image. You shall be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy. And, of course, we find exactly the same thing, don't we, in the New Testament? You see, the requirement is exactly the same. The standard has not been lowered. The standard has not been altered for the people of God. Peter, in his first letter, chapter 1, verse 14, says, as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance. But as he who calls you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, be holy, for I am holy. And God says in the second chapter, or Peter says, but you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, his own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of him who calls you out of darkness into his marvelous light, who were once not a people, but are now the people of the heart. You shall be holy. It is a call to holiness. With a wonderful promise, I am the Lord who sanctifies you. There's one final thing that we need to notice before we close our study this evening, and that is the question of Leviticus and the Christian. How exactly do the laws of this book apply to the church today? How are we to interpret and understand these Old Testament laws? Well, it's a matter of great controversy today, and no two people seem to agree on this particular matter. You read many of the commentaries. They come to a book like this, and they'll tell us, well, the Book of Leviticus is a book that is full of civil and ceremonial laws. And these ancient laws have been abrogated with the coming of Jesus Christ into the world. We're told that Hebrews is the New Testament counterpart to Leviticus. And here we have the shadow, there we have the substance. It's all being ultimately fulfilled in Christ. And therefore many go away with the idea that the book of Leviticus, therefore, is no longer relevant to us. And what are we to say to this? But I think that this common treat of division of the law is not always helpful. You remember how people say, well, there is firstly the moral laws of the Old Testament, enshrined in the Ten Commandments. The moral law is eternally binding on the Christian today. But we are told these civil and ceremonial laws, they were only for a period. They were temporary. And they have been done away with with the coming of Christ. But there is a problem with that, I find. And that is that the New Testament writers do not clearly distinguish between these three types of Old Testament law. And secondly, we find many of these so-called civil laws and ceremonial laws actually embodied in the Ten Commandments. They are undergirded by moral principles from the Ten Commandments. And sometimes it is virtually impossible to separate one law from another, and to say, well, this fits in that category, and that fits in the other. Take, for example, the question of the Sabbath. Where does that fit in? Is that moral law? Is it ceremonial law? Is it civil law? Well, if I study the Old Testament, it's all three. And you'll find that it's merged into all three and it's impossible virtually to separate it from the others. We find this in many of the laws concerning the laws of sacrifice, concerning civil requirements for Israel. There are these moral principles embodied in them that cannot be separated. Let me give you an illustration of what I mean. Think, for example, of a passage like Deuteronomy 22, verse 8. Well, there we have often what is called a civil piece of legislation, primosis to the people, to teach them how they are to conduct themselves on the ends of the promised lands. When you build a new house, then you shall make a parapet for your roof, that you may not bring guilt of bloodshed on your household if anyone falls from it." Now of course the reason why that legislation was laid down was because Israel was to be concerned about health and safety. They were to be concerned about the sanctity of human life. You see, these homes that they would build had flat roofs, and much of the time was spent on the top of the flat roof, either sunbathing, or sleeping, or doing various tasks, weaving and so on. And it would be a very precarious place for a child, or for an elderly person, or someone who has been at the Y, they could easily topple over the edge. And therefore, because they were to be concerned about protecting human life, they had to build a parapet wall around their roofs. They were to be different from the other nations around them. And of course, it would be very easy to think to ourselves, well, that no longer relates to us today, because it's civil legislation. It's passed away with the coming of Christ. And we don't have black roofs on our houses today. It's seen sunbathing on the slope of the roof. And therefore, to put a carpet wall around our rooms is no longer a requirement for us. It doesn't apply to us today. But you see, that very legislation is shot through with the moral principle of the commandment, thou shalt not kill. This was part of the outworking of that commandment, to teach people that in everyday life, and particularly within the home, they were to be concerned about health and safety. Moses was the very first health and safety officer. And Ken's in very good company. And we as God's people today are to be concerned about health and safety for our loved ones and visitors in our homes. Now of course, while this particular application must change, Nevertheless, the underlying principle still abides and still must be followed through. What it means, for example, is that we must make sure that we haven't got dodgy electrics in the home. That could cause people electrocution. That we don't have walls around our boundaries that could come crashing down at a moment's notice and crush somebody and cause irreparable damage. We must make sure that the ceilings that are about to collapse on people's heads, as happened in the chapel at one time, we must be concerned about safety because we have a God who's concerned about the sanctity of human life. And so you see, here is a case in point. Here is a law that, in many ways, is obsolete. And its application is not the same for us today. But nevertheless, the principle carries over. And we need to work it out in our own situations. We can say the same in many parts of Leviticus. Chapter 19, we have a case of of care for the alien residents in Israel and for the poor of the land. They were told that when they went out into the harvest fields, they were not to harvest the edge of their fields. They were to leave it to the resident alien, temporary residents, and the poor among the No, of course, that doesn't mean that Christian farmers today are concrete at the will of God and they get out their big combine harvesters and they harvest every single thing in their fields. But what it means is that Christian people, Christian politicians and those Christians in society should be concerned about the care of the poor. about temporary aliens and residents among us, that we ought to be concerned because we ought to love our neighbor and ourselves. And particularly as Christians, it means that we ought to do good to all, but especially to those who are of the household of faith. You see, the moral principle doesn't change, but the particular application of it does. And that's how I think we should view this Book of Leviticus and consider its laws. We need not to carry them over literalistically. We need to realize that there is a principle enshrined in the law, and we need to see it fulfilled in different ways in our lives today. One of the messages that we're seeing is a call to holiness in every direction, in every department of our lives as Christian people. May God help us to rise to its challenge. Many years ago in this country there was a Puritan godly creature by the name of Richard Rogers in East Anglia. And one day Richard Rogers was out riding his horse, and he bumped into one of his neighbours. And his neighbour said to him, tell me, Rogers, why are you Puritans so precise? You people are concerned so much with details, and dotting every i, crossing every t. in the way you live. You're prestigious. Why are you concerned about details?" And Richard Rogers gave him on the reply, why, sir, he said, I serve a precise God. And that's the message that we find in the book of Leviticus. We serve a holy God, a precise God, a God who's concerned about the day-to-day details and activities of our lives in this world. And God wants us to be holy, just as He is holy. Let's pray. Now precious God, we do thank you for this wonderful book. We thank you for this book that contains more than any other the words of our God. And we pray that as we study this book over the coming weeks, we pray that you would break light upon it. We pray that you would give us a heart for yourself and a desire that we might be your witnesses in this world, that people might know that we have been with Jesus, that we might reflect his glory, his purity, his majesty, his attention to detail. We pray that we may be concerned in this laid-back society, Lord God, about things that concern you, and we do pray that our lives may reflect the very grace and glory of the Father who has loved us and redeemed us through the blood of your Son from all iniquity. Teach us, O God, that way of approach to you. Teach us how to worship. Teach us how to maintain that presence of God in the assembly. And we pray, O God, that we may truly grow in that grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, because we are sitting in His name. Amen.