© 2000 "Yes Lord" Ministries

Leviticus

Lesson 11

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Hi! And, yes, welcome back again to another lesson in this wonderful Old Testament Book of Leviticus.

Possibly, when you began this study, you did it reluctantly, thinking that a study of anything in the Old Testament would be dull and boring. But, surely, by now, you would agree that this Book is definitely not dull or boring and is really very relevant to us today.

In fact, you will find that the entire Old Testament is much more significant and relevant than you ever imagined! So, please do not stop studying the OT when you finish this course. Keep on reading. Keep on letting God tell you the history of His people, the Jewish nation, and also the history of much of the world. But, even more importantly, keep on reading and let God reveal Himself, His holiness, and His commands and instructions for all who choose to worship, serve, and fellowship with Him.

And, speaking of commands and instructions -- that is what we saw in exquisite detail in Lesson 10 as we looked at many of the specific directions from God concerning _________________________________ .

And, guess what? In this lesson, there are even more directions, commands, and instructions. Oh nooooooo! Not more commands! Yes, more commands. However, this time the topic has changed, and instead of being mainly on the subject of interpersonal relations and morality, they will mainly relate to many other aspects of life of an individual who desires to walk a walk of _________________ from the world, a walk of ___________________ before a Holy God. (Hint: if you can't fill in those blanks, refer back to lesson 10, which you should have done before you did this lesson anyway.)

So, with that said, you guessed it, it is time for another assignment. And, since in many ways, this chapter, Chapter 19 of Leviticus, is a continuation of the thoughts of Chapter 18, let's approach it in the same way. So, get your Bible and your colored pens and / or pencils and it is time to read chapter 19. And, as you did in the previous lesson, as you read, circle every occurrence of the words, not or no.

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Wow, you all really learn fast. You did your assignment and your returned here, just as you always do. And you didn't even have to be told to return. How wonderful! What a great group! And, now that you are back, let's think about what you just read. (You knew I would say that, too? Didn't you? What a great group of "rocket scientists".)

Anyway, you have now read Chapter 19 and as you read it, did you have a kind of deja vue? In other words, did this sound like something that you have read or heard before? It did! What? (Circle your answer from the choices below. Only 1 is correct.)

a. The Creation account in Genesis 1

b. The Sermon on the Mount in the New Testament

c. The 10 Commandments in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5

Yes, you are absolutely correct! Many of the commands in this chapter are exactly the same as those given to these same people a little over a year before, when they were at Mt. Sinai. They were recorded in Exodus 20 and are known as the 10 Commandments. They were then repeated by Moses in Deuteronomy 5, about 38 years after this partial retelling in Leviticus 19. And, there are several other places in the OT where some of these are repeated and or explained or expanded upon.

Hmmmm. So many repetitions of these commands. Do you think that means that God is really serious about what He says to His people. Of course!

So, since some of the commands in Leviticus 19 are also in the 10 Commandments, and, since you may not have read these recently (if at all), and since you may not have done our study on the 10 Commandments, perhaps now would be a good time to stop and read the 10 Commandments. So, let's do that.

So, your assignment now is to read the 10 Commandments as recorded in Exodus 20, which I will include here for you. And, as you read these commandments, as you did before, circle every occurrence of the words not or no. Also, as you also did in the previous lesson, mark every occurrence of the phrases "I am the LORD your God" or "the LORD your God," or other similar phrases which indicate that God has the authority and right to declare these statements and commands. If you prefer, you may use your Bible to do this assignment. If you do decide to use your Bible, you may either read the 10 Commandments as recorded in Exodus 20:1-17, or as in Deuteronomy 5:5b-21, or preferably, in both places. Your choice.

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Exodus 20:1-17 niv

1. And God spoke all these words:

2. "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

3. "You shall have no other gods before me.

4. "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.

5. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,

6. but showing love to a thousand [ generations] of those who love me and keep my commandments.

7. "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

8. "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.

9. Six days you shall labor and do all your work,

10. but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates.

11. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

12. "Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.

13. "You shall not murder.

14. "You shall not commit adultery.

15. "You shall not steal.

16. "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

17. "You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."

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Hmmmmm. Yes, you were correct when you said that Lev. 19 reminded you of the 10 Commandments. And, to see how many of these 10 Commandments were repeated or expanded upon in Leviticus 19, let's reread Lev. 19 and compare the 10 commandments recorded in Exodus with what we read in Leviticus 19, and when you see a match or a close match, underline or highlight in RED or a color of your choice (in the scripture printed here in this study, not in your Bible) the specific commandments in Exodus which were repeated or talked about in more detail in Leviticus 19. The wording does not have to be precise in both places. Just simply see how many of the original 10 were repeated or expanded upon in some form or fashion in Lev. 19. Also, if you recall any commands from Lev. 18 which were either stated directly in these 10 commandments or which were alluded to, underline those also. ( I will begin for you as an example... and, as your example, I underlined Exodus 20:2-4, because in Leviticus 19:1-4, God it talking about these first 2 commandments in Exodus by giving more details in Leviticus. Astounding!)

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Ok, I see that you have finished. And, WOW, what a correlation.

And, when you stop and think about it, Leviticus 19 is actually a commentary on the 10 Commandments, isn't it?

Yes! These chapters of Leviticus (19 and 18) are very much a Commentary on the 10 Commandments. Indeed, practically all, if not all, of the 10 Commandments are mentioned or referred to in Leviticus 18 and 19. Therefore, you are correct if you underlined all or most of the 10 commandments in this last assignment. I guess it depends on how "technical", "detailed," and "picky" you are as to whether or not you thought that all of them were to one degree or another talked about, named, or explained in Leviticus 18 & 19. Personally, I think they were all named or alluded to in these two chapters. But, then I am very detailed, picky, precise, and technical. But, if you did not underline them all, that is ok. The point is that most, if not all, of the 10 Commandments in Exodus, were, or should have been underlined.

And this, once again, points out that the Bible is its own best commentary. So, as we have probably said before, but it is worth repeating again, whenever you have a question about something in the Bible, before you go rushing off to read a book or a commentary or to ask some friend, (or your teacher, pastor, or whomever), what it "means", go instead to the Bible and let it explain itself for you. You will find that most of the time the Bible does explain and does give you more details. And, this is a very clear example. For, here in Leviticus 18 and 19, we see the 10 Commandments being explained.

The 10 commandments are given in a simple, concise, short, easy to read and remember, list both in Exodus and Deuteronomy. But, in Leviticus and elsewhere in the Bible, you will find many of them expanded upon, explained, and emphasized in greater detail, in God's own Commentary, the rest of the Bible. Why? Because God really does want us to know and understand what He tells us. And He cares so much, that He, like any good parent, repeats and repeats, explains and explains. Wow! What a great God we serve!

Well, with that said, and knowing that Leviticus 18 and 19 are actually a commentary explaining and giving more detailed information concerning the 10 Commandments, we are also able to understand that the Book of Deuteronomy is also a commentary in many respects, as it again states the 10 Commandments and then goes into much more detail concerning them and expanding upon them.

Indeed, this is common throughout the Old and New Testaments. You will repeatedly (now that you are looking for this) see scriptures that explain or clarify something that is talked about elsewhere in the Bible. The scriptures that do the explaining or clarifying are known as, you guessed it, CROSS REFERENCES!

But, how and where do you find Cross References? Glad you asked, because it is something you need to know and it has been right there under your nose all the time. The Cross References, which direct you to the explanations and clarifications in God's commentary, are usually found in those little tiny scripture citations located either in the center column of your Bible, or in the margins, or sometimes they are found at the end of each chapter or at the bottom of the page. Different Bibles put them in different places, just to keep you guessing, I guess. Just kidding. But, seriously, the first place to look when you don't understand something, is to look up all the cross references in the margin or wherever. The next place is to look in the Concordance (the little one in the Back of your Bible or the really big one in the Church library) and find other places where the same word is used. Then look up those scriptures and see what you can learn. And, if you don't know how to use a concordance, there is a short FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) on our website which explains how.

We will come back to all of this soon. But, first, we must continue on ---

So, it is time for another assignment. In your Bible, read again (yes, again) Leviticus 19. And, this time, as you read, as we did before when reading Leviticus 18, circle or highlight in the same way as you did in Lev. 18, every occurrence of the phrases, "I, the LORD your God", or "I am the LORD your God," or "I am the LORD", or any other phrase your particular translation is using to convey this thought. Again, these are the NIV phrases.

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Finished? Great!

And, as you read those many and various expansions and explanations of the 10 Commandments, did you come across any that were so clear and understandable that there was NO question in your mind what God was saying? Sure! Probably there were several. In the space below, list at least 10 of these that were so clear that you have no questions about them. You might not "like" them or you might be "breaking" them, but you do understand them. (I will begin this list for you as an example.)

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Really Clear Commandments in Leviticus 19

1. Each of you must respect his mother and father (Lev. 19:3)

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Yes, those were really clear and really do not need any further explanation. They just require (gasp) OBEDIENCE!

But, you probably also noticed some commandments that weren't as clear or as understandable to you as the others. And, it is not that you are stubborn and don't want to obey God. It is just that you don't really know for sure what God is saying. Right? Sure. So, as you did before, in the space below, list a few of the commands that you are not really totally sure what God means. Again, I will do one for you as an example. It will not necessarily be the first one that you don't understand, but I am going to use this as an illustration for something else. So, look at my example, then you write 4 or 5 things that you didn't totally understand.

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Commands in Leviticus 19

that are not totally clear to me, so I want to know more.

1. do not pervert justice (Lev. 19:15)

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Ok, I see that you have finished. And probably you wished you had more space as there were probably more than 5 things that you did not clearly understand. But, this will do for now. What I want to do now is to show you HOW to find out the answers for yourself, by using, you guessed it, CROSS REFERENCES to God's Commentary. Let's learn how to let God explain or further clarify what He means when He says something that we don't fully understand.

So, look at your list, and then look at the item I placed on the list, "do not pervert justice". This phrase in Leviticus 19:15 is not really totally clear to me. How does a person "pervert justice", I wonder. Is it something one says or doesn't say or what?

Well, thanks to cross references, my wondering can cease. Because, in my NIV translation, the verse actually reads like this.

15. Do not pervert justice; j do not show partiality k to the poor or favoritism to the great; l but judge your neighbor fairly. m

Look closely at that verse. Do you see those little tiny letters interspersed in the verse? They are the little j after justice, the little k after partiality, the little l after great, and the little m after fairly. Sure, you see them, although sometimes you may need a magnifying glass. Sigh.

Anyway, each of those little letters, in italics, scattered around in various verses, is a clue to you that there are one or more cross references which will help you better understand the particular word or phrase next to it.

Then, if you look in the center margin or side margin or at the end of the chapter or at the bottom of the page -- wherever your Bible puts its cross references, you will see a little tiny Chapter and verse number written usually in small but bold type. That will be the chapter and verse of the verse with the letter, the verse you are reading and about which you are wondering. In this case, I would look in my side margin and find a little tiny but bold 19:15

And after that verse reference number, you will see the little letter. In this case there are several letters, j k l m, each of which is followed by one or more little tiny scripture references given as the book, chapter, and verse. Those little tiny scripture references (book, chapter, and verse) are the cross references! Yay!

So, let's look at that verse again and see how this works. In this illustration, the scripture will be on the left and the Cross References will be in the side margin on the right (but, again, yours might be in the center, or at the bottom of the chapter, whatever. It doesn't matter WHERE the cross references are, they will always be somewhere and will look something like this.)

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Now, we have the verse; we have the cross references. And we have our question: what does it mean to pervert justice? And, fortunately, there is a little j to the right of that phrase "do not pervert justice." That little j tells us that there is a cross reference to explain or clarify that phrase. So, we look in the margin (in this case) and we find the 19:15 and then we look for the little letter j and next to that little letter, we see a scripture reference. What is that cross reference verse? ie. Where does the little j tell us to look to find out more about this? _______________ .

Yes, it tells us to look in Exodus 23:2.

So, let's do that, let's look at Exodus 23:2. Those of you with your Bibles handy, turn to that place in the Bible. For those of you who are toooooo lazy, I will print it here for you.

2. "Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd,

Look at that verse! Wow! The Bible really is its own commentary! It clearly explains, in this verse in Exodus, HOW a person can pervert justice. Underline the answer in Exodus 32:2 which tells you HOW.

Yes, a person can and does pervert justice when they side with and follow the crowd in doing wrong. This, obviously, means that they are going along with the mob, the crowd, even when they know that the person was innocent or guilty or whatever... but the crowd has decided to not do what is right and to, instead, pervert justice by not doing what is right. Arg.

Does this happen today? Sadly, yes. Does God want His people to go along with the crowd and pervert justice? Of course not.

So what are God's people to do when they see something like this happening? (Think about this, think of a specific situation where this has occurred that you know about or make one up and then and write your answer in the space below.)

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Yes, you are absolutely correct. You now know that when God says to not pervert justice, that this means to not side with the crowd (or with the majority), when the crowd (or majority) is wrong and is not being fair and is going to make a decision or do something that is clearly WRONG and unjust.

God never wants His people to ever side with the majority when the majority, the crowd, is doing something contrary to His direct commands. A very good illustration of this is the Commandment, Do not steal. Yet, how often do we see news coverage on TV of crowds looting and destroying things after a fire or a disaster or any other crisis. Is this right? Is this OK with God? Or is this a perversion of justice.

No, it is not right. It is NOT "ok" with God! And, Yes, it is a perversion of justice for God has clearly said in His Word, in Leviticus and in Exodus, Do NOT steal! (Exodus 20:15). And, when a mob is looting and destroying, they are stealing; they are taking and destroying things which belong to another. God says do NOT do this. This, then, is an example of perverting justice. And there are many other examples, of this principle, including the one which you gave in your answer.

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Great! Good thinking.

And this is exactly how you are to read and study the Bible.

When some something is clear and you clearly understand it. Then just OBEY what God has said. Don't argue with Him. He has spoken and He has the right and the authority to tell us what to do because He is the Holy God.

But, if you don't understand something clearly, then try to find out what God means. And, He does want us to know what He means. We know He does, because there are usually other places in the Bible where God tells us more and explains and further clarifies what He said..

So, let Him tell you and explain what He means. Look at God's cross references in His Word, the Bible. Most of the time, the cross references will clear it up for you. Sometimes, there are none. And sometimes they don't.

And, sometimes God doesn't explain at all. He just states the fact. In that case, just obey to the best of your understanding and ask the Holy Spirit to show you God's heart. And, you will usually discover that there is a principle present and that principle will show you what God wants you to do or be or say or whatever.

The point is, don't just gloss over something because you don't understand it (or don't WANT to understand it). Try to find out what God is saying. And the Cross References are a great place to begin. Let the Bible tell you the answer. Let the Bible be its own commentary. 95% of the time, maybe more, you WILL find the answer in the Bible.

And, Wow, now you know how to find the answers to most of your questions in the Bible.

And that is really a good thing, because, obviously, we don't have time to go into everything that you had questions about in this or in previous or in future lessons, but, now you know HOW to find the answers yourself.

So, your final assignment for this lesson is to look up the answers to the other questions on that list, the questions that you added. Use what you now know about how to do cross references and look up the answers for the questions about which you are still wondering.

Then, if you have time and still have more questions, look up the answers to those other questions, too. Get a piece of paper and write down your questions, then look up the cross references, and when you find the answers, write them down!

Begin to study the Bible this way and you will find that God will really show you His heart and He will explain things to you as you read His Word.

Ok, I know you want to begin. So, go to it. You can do this. As you have seen, it is not hard. It is actually very easy and fun. And you will be thrilled at what God will teach you as you spend time with Him in this way! Indeed, this is part of the fellowship that your Holy God wants to have with you. So, pray, speak to Him, as you begin this study time. I begin my times of study by praying something like this: Lord, I have some questions. Please show me Your truth and Your answers. Guide me as I do this study and look for Your answers to these questions. Thank You. In Jesus' Name. Amen. And then begin your study and your time of fellowship with your God. He is eager to spend this time with you.

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And we will continue our study of Leviticus in Lesson 12. See 'ya there.

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Scriptures unless otherwise marked are taken from

the NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright C 1973,1978,1984 International Bible Society.

Used by permission of Zondervan Publishers.

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but you may copy and freely distribute it,

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