Leviticus 16:27-18:30
We noticed how the bodies of the animals whose blood had been brought into the sanctuary were burned outside the camp. We, who have entered into the value of that blessed, perfect sacrifice on Calvary, should recognize that our place is outside too. We are surrounded with organized, religious ceremony on every hand, but may we learn that our blessed Saviour was crucified outside of all this, and that He calls us to come out to Him, bearing His reproach. This the remnant of Israel will have to acknowledge in a coming day before they are brought into their place of earthly blessing in the millennial temple. May we, in this present dispensation, be satisfied to share the outside place with Him, knowing that He took it for us in wondrous grace.
A True Place Before God
On this day of atonement no work was to be done, but they were to afflict their souls. Surely this is the only way of blessing for the sinner. There is nothing his guilty hands can do, for the work has all been done by another — the blessed Son of God. He must, however, take his true place before God, “afflicting his soul” in repentance, and owning his guilt, and then believe in what the Lord Jesus has done — just as the guilty Israelite must learn that another, the high priest alone, could enter in to make an atonement for him. If the one who reads these lines is unsaved, may he learn today what Christ has done for him.
Watchfulness
The next chapter (Leviticus 17) tells us of that watchfulness which is necessary lest the heart should be turned away from the Lord. We have learned what grace has done to meet us in our need, but how easily the heart can forget the claims of God and act in independence. The life was in the blood, and the children of Israel were never to forget this, so that no offerings were to be made in the field but brought to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. There was always the danger of their secretly departing from the Lord, as there is with us, but if in all things we seek to remember His claims, we are kept and preserved. If in hunting they caught any beasts or birds, the blood was to be shed and covered with dust. This would remind us that at school, or even in our fun, we should never forget to put the Lord and His claims first.
Not Copying the World
The children of Israel were then warned not to copy the nations around them but to walk in obedience to the Word of God. This is another danger with us all: we are liable to do things because others do them, without first being sure that such things are pleasing to the Lord. Boys and girls will say “everybody does it,” and even older ones say this too. The Lord particularly told the children of Israel that they were not to copy the nations, for He wanted to bless them, but He could not bless them in the path of disobedience. In the rest of the chapter the people were warned against certain sins, for the Lord knows all the secrets of our lives. Everything done in the dark is known to Him just as though it were done in the light, and the day is coming “when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel” (Romans 2:16). Little do men and women realize the awful judgment that is soon to fall upon these favored lands of Christendom. As we see the darkness increasing and man’s evil coming more and more into the open, we know that the judgment is drawing nearer.
For Further Meditation
1. What does the blood being shed and covered with dust remind us of?
2. If we watch others around us to get an idea of how we ought to behave, we are likely to go wrong quickly. How would Joseph have acted in Genesis 39 had he behaved like others around him? What gave him the strength to resist? What were the consequences?
3. For an extensive commentary on this chapter you may want to spend a significant amount of time reading Israel Holy to Jehovah: Leviticus 17-22 by W. Kelly