Leviticus 23-24

Leviticus 23-24 continues the theme of ritual holiness. We have to be careful not to think of this as “mere rituals that don’t really matter.” Our modern instinctive dislike of rituals in the West prompts us to think like that. But the rituals and instructions of Leviticus 23-24 matter for Israel's overall life as a people distinct and different from the nations -- as God’s holy people, a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

So in the whole section of Leviticus 21-24 the main question is, what does it look like to respect the people, places, things, and times that belong to the Lord as holy? And in Leviticus 23-24 one of the main emphases is on time: what will Israel's weekly and annual calendar look like that will set them apart for the Lord?

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Leviticus 21-22

Leviticus 21-22 provided special instructions for the priests. Leviticus 18-20 were addressed to the entire congregation of Israel and dealt mostly with holiness in everyday life. Since Israel as a whole is set apart for the Lord (=holy) to be a holy nation, chapters 18-20 detailed some of the ways they had to be distinct and different from the nations personally, socially, and ritually.

But here in Leviticus 21-22 we shift to the priests. Since they are set apart as a special holy class within the nation, these chapters describe some of the ways hey had to be distinct and different from the rest of Israel.

So these chapters record what might be called "priestly holiness."

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Special Study: How Do the Laws of Leviticus (and the rest of the Torah) Apply Today?

Some of the Laws of the Torah seem easy to apply. For example, love your neighbor as yourself is found in Leviticus 19:18. Others feel foreign. The very next verse tells us not to wear a garment woven of two kinds of fabric (Leviticus 19:19). There are plenty of laws that seem strange or even impossible to keep in modern culture. So how do such laws apply today?

In this special study we show why one common approach--breaking the laws into civil, ceremonial, and moral-- isn't the best way to approach such laws.

Instead we recommend treating the laws as part of God's covenant with Israel and thus no longer our covenant in Christ. We are not under the Law. But at the same time, the Law is still Scripture for us and instructive to us as Paul says in 2 Timothy 3:16-17.

We end by recommending an approach for applying the values and wisdom of the laws to our life and world today.

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