Leviticus comments: introduction and 1:1-2; cattle?

Leviticus is the third book of Moses. It means, “to the Levites,” and is, as commentators say, a profoundly theological book. It is very detailed in its instructions. We must remember a few things to understand it. First, the Hebrews were carved out of the Gentiles at Ur of the Chaldees in the form of Abram, called by God. Secondly, this book will contain very detailed regulations that made a Hebrew much different than the Gentile nations, ethnic groups, around them.

We should also note that unbelieving and even many evangelical Christian authorities and scholars do not accept God’s hand in the writing AND the preservation of the Bible so, looking only to temporal evidence they will insist that Leviticus must be written much later than it was, over a long period of time, and not by Moses. Once you take God’s hand out of the Bible it becomes not unlike Homer’s Illiad or Odyssey. The Bible-believing Christian must always remember that God not only gave His word by inspiration, which is wisdom and understanding, but also preserved the words and ideas He wanted us to have.

In our study, as this defines what it meant to be a Hebrew in practice and ritual and religious observance as well as civil and ceremonial law I will compare it to what I can glean from the Bible and outside the Bible from our knowledge of surrounding cultures of Moses’ time sometime between 1200-1500BC.

Chapter 1

1:1 ¶  And the LORD called unto Moses, and spake unto him out of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying, 2  Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any

man of you bring an offering unto the LORD, ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd, and of the flock.

The use of the name, LORD, all capitals, indicates that it is God speaking, as LORD, all capitals, is translated from the name, Jehovah, which Strong’s dictionary says means, “the existing one.” It is used over 6500 times in the Bible.

We see how the word even is used as a connecting word between two like things, synonymous with each other. The cattle come from a herd or flock. So, cattle refers to both cows or beeves, and sheep.

Genesis 30:32   I will pass through all thy flock to day, removing from thence all the speckled and spotted cattle, and all the brown cattle among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats: and of such shall be my hire.

Exodus 9:3   Behold, the hand of the LORD is upon thy cattle which is in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep: there shall be a very grievous murrain.

As eighteenth-century commentator and Pastor of C.H. Spurgeon’s church a hundred years before him, John Gill, noted this use of man refers to people and includes men and women.

Multiple commentaries at one time

I'll be posting multiple commentaries at one time so I apologize if it is confusing. I just can't hold back the work I do every day. It's too much fun and too personally rewarding not to share.

Genesis 3:2-8 comments: Satan's 'con' game

3:2  And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3  But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 4  And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5  For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

Satan makes the woman, whom we later know as Eve, part of his deception, his con-game. We learn in verse 6 that Adam is with her, even though it is often told by preachers that Adam could not possibly have stood by and watched his wife get sucked into the con but later we also see that Adam is quick to blame even God for his actions. Adam is not tricked here, as we understand by what Paul said in a letter to Timothy. He stands by and watches what his wife is being pulled into.

1Timothy 2:14  And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.

            Eve acknowledges that she and Adam are permitted to eat of every tree but one. In fact, she goes beyond what God actually said, in neither shall ye touch it. We often do that with doctrine. God ordains a thing and we go beyond what He said to satisfy our own imaginings, making our new-improved rule God’s standard, when in reality, we have played the part of Eve.

Here, then, Satan makes a shocking statement, calling God a liar or calling into question what God meant by what He said. This is one of the most profound examples of wickedness in history, repeated by every drunk and drug addict before they take their first drink or shoot-up the first time, every sexually immoral person considering their lust, every teenaged boy with a heavy foot on the gas pedal, and every hot-tempered man of violence. Ye shall not surely die. Oh yes, you will, Sparky.

Some people might claim that Satan is telling Eve that they have misunderstood what God meant by what He said but what God said was so clear as to not be uncertain at all. Satan simply denies that what God said was true.

Satan basically tells them that God has tricked them and what He is doing is preventing them from being as gods themselves, having a knowledge of good and evil. Their eyes would be opened. But, while what he is suggesting seems desirable, being as gods, knowing good and evil comes at a price too horrible to contemplate, for death is at the end of that road. To disobey God when there was only one thing you could do on earth that constituted disobedience and the consequence of that one thing was too high a price to pay for such knowledge was the great tragedy of history.

We believe that we must have what we want and to get it we are willing to either deny that what God says will happen will actually happen, or as in the following passage, we simply justify it in our mind.

3:6 ¶  And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. 7  And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. 8  And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.

The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil had three qualities that presented themselves to Eve. It could satisfy hunger, was nice to look at, and, at Satan’s suggestion she and her husband would be God-like, being able to discern the secret of good and evil. However, this was a trick, a con-job. Adam and Eve had no lack of food. Food was abundant most likely and delicious. The tree was beautiful as probably many other trees were beautiful. These things drew her like a moth to a flame. But the most important line Satan used was that they would know the secret of good and evil, like God. This was the trick. Good is obedience to God, believing what He says. Evil is disobedience to God in this context, denying Him and His sovereignty over you.

There are warnings and examples regarding lusting for food and not being patient and satisfied with what God has provided, not waiting on and trusting in the Lord God, and there were warnings and examples about worshipping things pleasant to the eyes.

Numbers 11:4 ¶  And the mixt multitude that was among them fell a lusting: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat? 5  We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick: 6  But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes.

Here, food represented dissatisfaction with what God had provided and a longing for the delights of the time before you were pulled out of a world in rebellion against their Creator as in, I wish I could drink a case of beer on a hot day again. What is enough is far too often not enough to satisfy our lusts.

There were things that were pleasant to the eyes to mankind that he grew to worship in place of God.

Exodus 20:4  Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5  Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 6  And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

Numbers 33:52   Then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their pictures, and destroy all their molten images, and quite pluck down all their high places:

In the following we see that this worship of things that our eyes see and admire is the very reason why God unleashed so many sexual perversions on our society today which were commonplace in the ancient world but had been forbidden and pushed into the dark corners of society by the Christian faith.

Romans 1:19 ¶  Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. 20  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are

clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: 21  Because that, when they knew God, they

glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22  Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 23  And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. 24  Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: 25  Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. 26  For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: 27  And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. 28  And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; 29  Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, 30  Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31  Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: 32  Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

Knowledge is a two-edged sword. Solomon said;

Ecclesiastes 1:18   For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.

What Adam and Eve faced and what they did we often have faced and done. Many a young person has not heeded the knowledge given to them by others to not touch the hot stove but has gained the painful knowledge that comes from being burnt in disbelief and disobedience.

Man would have done well to obey God rather than sought out the proof of what God said by painful experience. Many a life has been shattered, diminished, ruined, or lost by man’s sin nature.

True knowledge, though, is different.

Proverbs 1:7   The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Adam and Eve sought knowledge of the first kind. Satan lied to them. They learned the tragic consequences of disobeying God. This is not knowledge we should seek if we are wise. Our trouble is so many false preachers and teachers making up what God said and speaking falsely for Him that drives so many young people away from church fellowship. Hatred of and contempt for women, bigotry, paranoia, domination and control, and masochistic self-hatred are not of God and get in the way of our obedience to Him.

In any event we are called to obey Him, not test the limits of disobedience to see what happens, dancing on the edge of the abyss to see how close we can get before we fall into it

Adam and Eve chose disobedience and all of creation has suffered for it so that God could redeem us Himself and that mankind in eternity would know that they did not do it themselves but that it was God alone who saved them.

Adam and Eve gained knowledge by disobedience to God and judgment rather than gaining knowledge by obedience to Him and the joys of a personal relationship with their Creator.

Eve gave the fruit to her husband, Adam, who was with her, and he also disobeyed God. At that moment they realized their disgrace, as conscience was revealed and the bitter vision of knowing that they were undone, without honor, overcame them. As we are wont to do, if indeed we have a conscience at all, they tried to hide their shame and human frailty that had been exposed. Gone were the happy, careless times of joy in God’s garden, the first couple enjoying each other and creation without care or doubt. We mistake this time in our lives for attaining adulthood, becoming a man or a woman, when, all too often, it simply reflects a loss of who we were or could have been. When we follow the world, which is Satan’s bailiwick (2Corinthians 4:4), with our desire to place self-gratification and self-glorification above God and make it a sort of rite of passage into full admission to the world we must take on that shame and self-doubt, that uncertainty and, if you would, low self-esteem, we take steps downward. Often, with each action after that we feel less and less that sense of ‘all is possible’ for us and our choices become more and more limited and less and less satisfying. Shame becomes a constant nagging companion and if we become so hardened that we cannot feel it we just become numb and can only feel a sense of disgust at who we are.

Some will try to hide in an entertainment as an escape, some in a hobby or an employment or some other activity, even hiding from God in church, while others drink or take drugs to numb the pain of their existence. Some will become defiant and proud of their sin, claiming it as a badge of distinction and self-justification, thumbing their nose at God, so to speak. But, that point comes for almost all people who are actually able to acknowledge it, that point when they feel that they have lost something. It is a vague and uncertain pain or it may be a great sense of grief. But it is a sense of loss nonetheless. The only real cure is to trust Christ, to know that He loves you, to acknowledge both your love for Him and His for you, and to depend on His righteousness and not your own for peace with God and peace in your own soul.

They heard God, the pre-incarnate Christ, the visible image of the invisible God, the express image of His person as pointed out in the study on chapter 1, verse 3, with whom they had known such sweet fellowship, walking in the garden, calling out to them as He often did apparently. But, this time they hid from His presence. When we sin we often forgo our prayer, talking to God, and reading the Bible, God talking to us, and hide from Him, because, if we are indeed believers, we feel great shame and that we have let Him down. The more we continue to do wrong the more we try to cut off His counsel and fellowship with Him until we are the most miserable of persons.

Genesis 3:1 comments: Satan aka Lucifer makes an appearance

3:1 ¶  Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

Subtil or subtilty, our modern subtle or subtlety, refers to a shrewd and clever individual, sly in plotting and schemes. This is someone who is full of guile and devices to corrupt and pervert those around him. His type is almost applauded in our culture as resourceful and a “winner” and someone who is likely to get the upper hand.

That Satan came in the guise of a serpent has long been understood by Christians. A serpent, in the history of the mythologies of the world, can also be a dragon and called a worm. It is a powerful motif in many cultures. This is not merely a talking snake. This serpent would have been a magnificent creature.

In the books of Isaiah and Ezekiel the prophets the writers may be talking about a human king and yet also give a description of Satan himself as human kings are often possessed of the traits and self-aggrandizing characteristics of Satan. This is part of the multi-dimensional layout of the Bible. Where the author is giving a description of Satan, as well, is clear to most readers. Here are some descriptions of Satan buried in writing about a human king.

Ezekiel 28:11 ¶  Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 12  Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. 13  Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. 14  Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. 15  Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. 16  By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. 17  Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee. 18  Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. 19  All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.

Isaiah 14:12  How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! 13  For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: 14  I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. 15  Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

In these passages you get a glimpse of Satan’s majestic appearance, his original position, and his pride. One can imagine him resenting man’s position as having dominion over God’s creation greatly and plotting a way to take man’s place. Satan envies not only Adam. He envies God. It is that pride and ambition that has condemned him.

Satan twists God’s words in his trick. Did God say you can’t eat of every tree in the garden? The ultimate con-man will let his mark talk themselves into the deception. In this way the woman becomes part of the con.

Satan tries to upset God’s order of man’s dominion under God’s authority. He knows his marks well. Consider for yourself if this could be linked to Satan’s rebellious attitude in Isaiah 14. Traditionally, Lucifer is regarded as a name or title for Satan, which is also a name or title.

Isaiah 14:12  How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! 13  For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: 14  I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. 15  Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

Or, to the events of Revelation 12, if they are historical events described.

Revelation 12:3  And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. 4  And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born…7   And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels…9   And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

But, if you interpret these as past events even to the time around Satan’s deception of Adam and Eve you still have to deal with the fact that Satan had God’s ear in Job and this statement by Jesus;

Luke 10:18   And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.

The events in Isaiah 14 and in Revelation 12:3,4,7, and 9 fit textually more clearly in the events of Christ’s life, death, burial, and resurrection with Isaiah looking forward to Satan’s attempt to control and unite the entire earth against God and Revelation 12 providing a history of Satan’s persecution of the Jews and attempt to destroy Christ’s mission before it began and then to have Him executed. But, these are discussions and arguments that would be a great subject of Bible studies. For the sake of the narrative let’s move on.

Genesis 2:21-25 comments: and they shall be one flesh

2:21 ¶  And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; 22  And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. 23  And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. 24  Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. 25  And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

The Creator made the human female from the bone of a male. Woman is the only creature not made directly from the ground. She was made from material already present in the man. Today we have the advantage of understanding our own very imperfect process of cloning one individual from another. What is truly important about this passage is the fact that this is the pattern for marriage before God, the union of a man and a woman as one flesh, this union being the consummation of the marriage. There are a great many sermons to be had in this passage but I will try to avoid sermonizing so as not to take away from what the text literally says. Suffice it to say that many days of sorrow could have been avoided in a young man or woman’s life if a young man or a young woman had been capable of leaving the control of their mother and father to start a new life together.

In their original state of innocence the man and the woman had no sense of shame for their nakedness. There were no inhibitions for them in that regard.

Genesis 2:18-20 comments: man names every living creature that is brought to him by God

2:18 ¶  And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. 19  And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. 20  And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.

The word meet means worthy or useful in this context. Here it does not mean to run into someone by accident or design nor is there such a word in the Bible as, “helpmeet.” A help is a person who helps. The following verses reveal one way the Bible defines itself, that is by word substitution. Notice the two words I have put in bold print.

Matthew 3:7 ¶  But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8  Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: 9  And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.

Luke 3:7  Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8  Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.

The power to name represents the power to have dominion over just as the power to tax represents the power to govern. God gives Adam the power to name, not just a label, but recognition of what the beast is in relation to man. God therefore defines animals in the Bible in reference to their relation to agricultural man and military man, as in beast of the forest and beast of the field and function as in a fowl flying, which includes a bat in Leviticus 11, or a fish swimming in the sea which includes a whale comparing Jonah 1:17 and Matthew 12:40. Modern taxonomic classifications having to do with species, family, order, etc. are post-Bible terms that man uses to categorize animals in certain ways that are different from the Bible’s categories. In the Bible, as in modern day reality a beast of the forest is not going to pull your plow as a matter of rule. Here is a reference by God Himself to what we would call a rhinoceros today, which had a much larger range of existence in early days as shown by the Lascaux Cave paintings in France.

Job 39:9  Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib? 10  Canst thou bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow? or will he harrow the valleys after thee? 11  Wilt thou trust him, because his strength is great? or wilt thou leave thy labour to him? 12  Wilt thou believe him, that he will bring home thy seed, and gather it into thy barn?

Although Adam did give names to everything there was not found one creature that was useful or worthy to be his co-administrator over God’s creation as the stewards of God’s earth.

Genesis 2:16-17 comments: thou shalt not eat of it

2:16 ¶  And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17  But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

This barrier, so to speak, of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, a real literal, tree, is very important. Mankind was not to reach beyond that barrier. Obedience to God presents blessings and eternal life. Disobedience was a barrier to the fellowship with God that eternal life depended on. God told mankind’s first representative, Adam, not to eat of it. God would grant all things to him and, by extension, to us but we were to obey. There was no law, no rules, no restrictions, no commandments, save this one thing, along with being fruitful and multiplying which seems more of a permission as it carries more obvious benefits, joys, and pleasures.

For a Christian to obey God requires belief, faith, and an expectation of things to come, which benefits are not always apparent. Our choices, our pleasures and entertainments, our professions, and those things and people we surround ourselves with often appear to us to be simply a matter of our own will. However, if we do not choose based on our obedience to God, if our free will is not harnessed to what God has ordained, then we will give the illusion of the goodness of our own will power over us. The end result of our own will, being corrupted by sin, is more sin, and disaster. Of course, this can be complicated by a so-called man of God dictating his will to a congregation as a substitute for God’s, even saying that the so-called man of God is repeating something that God has laid on his heart when it is his own prejudices, bigotry, fear, and self-righteousness that is being expressed. This is done for the purposes of control and self-justification. It is very important, therefore, to know what the Bible says so you can compare everything said to God’s word.

God said that Adam would die if he ate of the tree and he began dying that very moment he ate of it. The penalty for his disobedience was death. Dying is a process. In a way, we begin dying as soon as we are born. With each cell division and in each generation mankind passes on more and more deleterious mutations, so much so that some researchers into genetics have been alarmed at the accumulated damage and amazed that human beings have not become extinct because of it.[1] We will see a statement in a few verses that shows that future generations have the image or appearance of God that Adam had lacking in respects in them. The process of dying, mutations, decay, old age, disease, and death are the profound consequences of this disobedience. Death is the great plague of life.

Hebrews 2:15  And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

To eat of this particular tree was disobedience to God. Disobedience to God is sin. Death is the result of sin.

Romans 6:23  For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

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[1] Alexey S. Kondrashov, “Contamination of the Genome by Very Slightly Deleterious Mutations: Why Have We Not Died 100 Times Over?” Journal of Theoretical Biology, (1995) vol. 175, pp. 583-594.  James F. Crow, “The High Spontaneous Mutation Rate: Is it a Health Risk?” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, (Aug 1997) vol. 94, pp. 8380-8386.