Leviticus 23:33

The Bible says in Leviticus 23:33-44, “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,[34] Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the LORD.[35] On the first day shall be an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.[36] Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein.[37] These are the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD, a burnt offering, and a meat offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings, every thing upon his day:[38] Beside the sabbaths of the LORD, and beside your gifts, and beside all your vows, and beside all your freewill offerings, which ye give unto the LORD.[39] Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath.[40] And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days.[41] And ye shall keep it a feast unto the LORD seven days in the year. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations: ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month.[42] Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths:[43] That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.[44] And Moses declared unto the children of Israel the feasts of the LORD.” The last of these special feasts is called “the feast of tabernacles.” It lasted an entire week and also took place in the seventh month. The purpose for this feast is very obvious because of the name: “tabernacles.” A tabernacle is a tent. A tent is a very temporary dwelling compared to other homes. After the children of Israel left Egypt, they dwelled in tents as they wandered through the wilderness. They had no permanent dwelling place, and yet the Lord still took care of them. God did not want them to forget where they came from. God did not want them to forget all that He had done for them. How easily human beings forget. Have a good memory about the things that Jesus has done for you, and you will go a long way to living a faithful life for the Lord.

The Bible says in Leviticus 24:1-4, “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,[2] Command the children of Israel, that they bring unto thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamps to burn continually.[3] Without the vail of the testimony, in the tabernacle of the congregation, shall Aaron order it from the evening unto the morning before the LORD continually: it shall be a statute for ever in your generations.[4] He shall order the lamps upon the pure candlestick before the LORD continually.” Oil symbolizes the Holy Spirit. The true lamps are the believers in Jesus. Jesus said in Matthew 5:14, “Ye are the light of the world.” To have light in the candlestick required oil. Christians are dependent upon the Holy Spirit in order to do and say the things that are God’s will and that will honor Jesus. That is why Christians are told in the New Testament to not quench the Holy Spirit and to not grieve the Holy Spirit. It must be a “pure” candlestick. Make sure that you live a holy life and that your sins are confessed so that the “holy” Spirit is allowed to work in you and through you.

The Bible says in Leviticus 24:5-9, “And thou shalt take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes thereof: two tenth deals shall be in one cake.[6] And thou shalt set them in two rows, six on a row, upon the pure table before the LORD.[7] 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.[8] Every sabbath he shall set it in order before the LORD continually, being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant.[9] And it shall be Aaron's and his sons'; and they shall eat it in the holy place: for it is most holy unto him of the offerings of the LORD made by fire by a perpetual statute.” One of the things inside the temple was the showbread. This bread had a symbolic meaning like everything else in the temple. There were twelve loaves: one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. God promises to supply our needs. It is one of the great promises of the Bible. Jesus will take care of you. Jesus told us to pray and ask for our daily bread, and He does answer that prayer. Jesus said in Matthew 6:33, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” There was also a practical use for the bread that was in the temple. The priests ate it. There is no difference between the holy and the profane. Everything that comes your way is holy. It is a gift from God.

The Bible says in Leviticus 24:10-16, “And the son of an Israelitish woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the children of Israel: and this son of the Israelitish woman and a man of Israel strove together in the camp;[11] And the Israelitish woman's son blasphemed the name of the LORD, and cursed. And they brought him unto Moses: (and his mother's name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan:)[12] And they put him in ward, that the mind of the LORD might be shewed them.[13] And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,[14] 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.[15] And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, Whosoever curseth his God shall bear his sin.[16] 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.” One thing leads to another. First of all this Jewish woman violated one of the principles of scripture whereby someone who believes in Jesus and loves Jesus should only marry someone else who believes in Jesus and who loves Jesus. Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers. The implication is that the Egyptian man that she married had the religion of the Egyptians and thus was not a true believer. The son that resulted from the marriage picked up the father’s beliefs instead of the mother’s. And when the son became a man, he got into a fight with an Israelite. It does not even say what they fought about because that is not the issue. Christians are told that when possible to be at peace with all men. One thing leads to another. This man got angry, then he got into a fight, then he got even angrier, and then he took the Lord’s name in vain and blasphemed the name of the Lord, which means that he spoke against the Lord. Guess which one of these failures is worse? God said in the Ten Commandments, “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord in vain.” And remember that these people were under the law. The punishment for breaking the law was death. How blessed we are to not be under the law, but under grace because of Jesus. The law says in verse sixteen, “And he that blasphemeth the name of the LORD, he shall surely be put to death.”

Of course, there were many commandments in the law, and many of them were punishable by death. The Bible says in Leviticus 24:17, “And he that killeth any man shall surely be put to death.” This refers to murder. It was one of the Ten Commandments. God gives life, and therefore man should not take it. Of course, there are exceptions such as in war, defending oneself or other innocent ones, or the judicial system handing out deserved punishments. Each of these exceptions are easily abused because human beings tend to overstep their bounds and justify whatever they do. A good example of this is the taking of innocent life through abortion. Life starts at conception.

The Bible says in Leviticus 24:18-21, “And he that killeth a beast shall make it good; beast for beast.[19] And if a man cause a blemish in his neighbour; as he hath done, so shall it be done to him;[20] 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.[21] And he that killeth a beast, he shall restore it: and he that killeth a man, he shall be put to death.” Verse eighteen is about making proper restitution: respecting the property and rights of others. If you cause someone to lose an animal or anything else, then you are responsible to replace that animal or thing. Verse twenty contains a phrase that is very well known from the Bible. It says, “eye for eye, tooth for tooth.” People have often used this phrase to justify getting revenge. Jesus Himself commented on this phrase. Jesus said in Matthew 5:38-48, “Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:[39] But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.[40] And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.[41] And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.[42] Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.[43] Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.[44] But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;[45] That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.[46] For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?[47] And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?[48] Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Jesus is Lord. Therefore, He has the authority to contradict a statement from the Old Testament, and to give a higher and better teaching. Instead of law, Jesus brought grace. Instead of a harsh punishment, Jesus brought love. Instead of revenge, Jesus brought forgiveness. Be careful when you read the Old Testament. Make sure that you know what the New Testament says, so that you can understand the Old Testament properly.

The Bible says in Leviticus 24:22-23, “Ye 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.[23] 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.” Verse twenty-two is talking about the equality of mankind: “one manner of law, as well for the stranger, as for one of your own country.” Why should we view others equally and treat them equally: because it is God’s will. God loves everyone as much as He loves you. The founders of America understood this. They wrote in the Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, and are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights…”

Unfortunately for the people who lived under the law, that means that the punishments were handed out equally too. And thus verse twenty-three says, “bring forth him that had cursed out of the camp, and stone him with stones.” Thank God that Jesus died in our place on the cross of Calvary. The New Covenant is much better than the Old Covenant because we are weak and sinful and would have no hope without Jesus. It says in Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” It says in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” And it says in Romans 10:13, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” If your soul is not saved, and you do not know if you are on the way to heaven, make sure that you pray to Jesus and receive Him into your heart and life.

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