Leviticus chapter 4 verse by verse bible commentary. Aaron was the first high priest and his male descendants became priests. Rather than being about the levites, the title refers to the usefulness of book s contents to the levites in their ministry as priests, worship leaders, and teachers of morality. Our great high priest therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavensjesus the son of godlet us hold fast to the confession. Priests are mentioned many times in exodus and leviticus. Why was leaven prohibited from being mixed with a grain offering 2.
Even though aaron was the first high priest mentioned in the book of exodus, louis ginzberg in legends of the jews noted that in legends the first man that assumed the title of high priest of god is enoch, who was succeeded by methuselah, lamech, noah, shem, melchizedek, abraham, isaac and levi. That as great as what he is doing in the book of leviticus it will be even greater when christ comes. Israel as a holy people 1727 the last section of the book, leviticus 17 to 27 emphasizes israel as a holy people. Leviticus comes from the greek title of the third book in the old testament, meaning relating to the levites.
Though his ignorance was of all others least excusable, yet he was allowed to bring his offering. When the high priest entered into the holy of holies and sprinkled the blood upon the mercy seat the sins of the entire nation for the previous year were forgiven by god. One of the great distinctions of this third book of the bible is found in the name given by leah to her third son. The priests of nehemiahs day seem opposed to reform, whereas leviticus magnifies the office of high priest. Leviticus chapter 4 chronological pofws bible blog. Jesus christ, being the great high priest, has declared all houses unclean. Leviticus reveals the heart of god the father in amazing ways, too. The priest put his finger in it, and sprinkled it seven times before the veil, leviticus 4. What single word in verse 1 indicates that chapter 10 is a continuation of chapter 9.
Leviticus a2 classic bible study guide 2 introduction as genesis is the book of beginnings and exodus the book of redemption, so leviticus is the book of reconciliation and fellowship. Now i want to remind you that aaron is the high priest, the chief priest, and his sons are to follow him. The great priest, or high priest, is the appellation used in the other portions of the. The priest was to place his hands atop the animals head before slaughtering it and use the blood to cleanse the altar. Then leviticus chapters 8 11 will take a close look at the priesthood of aaron and his sons. Leviticus is a book about the rites of jewish liturgy. Jesus is the simultaneous culmination and consummation of the old testament sacrificial system. Garments are always used in scripture as a picture of character, especially as expressed in behavior. And many, many times equally so, if not more and god commanded or taught or authorized or empowered jesus to do all he did on earth. The bullock must be killed, and a great deal of solemnity there must be in disposing of the blood. He was consecrated not by a ceremony but he was consecrated by his sufferings on the cross at calvary and he was installed and recognized as our great high priest at the resurrection, his order.
She called him levi, which means joined or united, for she said, now this time will my husband be joined unto me. Bereans sunday school class placerita baptist church section outline i. Net bible if the high priest sins so that the people are guilty, on account of the sin he. Then follow the dedication of the priests who were the mediators of this fellowship in chaps. Chapter 24 goes over the setup of the sacred interior room the priests get to before the holiest of holies, which is reserved for the ark and the high priest. Leviticus 4 commentary matthew henrys complete commentary. Actually it is more concerned with the priests than with the levites themselves.
Aaron and his family were chosen from this tribe to serve as priests and to offer the sacrifices, while god appointed the rest of the levites to the service of the tabernacle, to assist the priests in the worship at the sanctuary num. He was instructed in leviticus chapter 4 to sprinkle some of the blood of the animal seven times in front of the curtain. If the anointed priest sins, bringing guilt on the. Because of his sin, the high priest was also required to offer sacrifices for himself as well as for the people. The fat of the animal was to be removed and the remainder of the young bull burned to ashes. It contains laws about worship in general and rules and customs on ceremonies in consecrations and sacrificial offerings. Apr 15, 2016 in light of our beginning the book of hebrews, one cannot properly understand hebrews 4. Describe the work of the priests when a sacrifice was made 1. Jesus was a high priest after the order of melchizedek hebrews 5. Choose from 500 different sets of leviticus flashcards on quizlet.
Jesus the great high priest therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, jesus the son of god, let us hold firmly to. Christ is both our priest and our sinatoning sacrifice, the lamb of god who has taken away our sins. In chapter 4 the material is organized in accordance with the social categories, from the high priest to the common israelite. Leviticus 10 aaron in his role of high priest was not allowed to mourn for the death of his sons. When the high priest trespasses against god the principal established here is that it has the effect of polluting all of israel. This chapter is a theological pivot on which the whole book of leviticus turns. Leviticus is a remarkable book, as the contents are considered in the light of the new testament. Though it was but a beast he had killed, yet, killing it otherwise than god had appointed, he was looked upon as a murderer. Leviticus 4 5 the sin and the trespass guilt offerings. I will be working through that in the latter part of this post. The pagan notion of priesthood colors our thinking.
He put some of it on the horns of the altar of incense. The first part of the book of leviticus deals with offerings and the one that was offered and the last part of the book. There was always just one high priest holding office. Leviticus chapter 4 matthew henry complete commentary on. After the high priest, the sin of the whole congregation the nation of israel as a. He has, by his one great sacrifice for sin, forever put away all the sins of all his people isa. The high priest, the one among his brothers who has had the anointing oil poured on his head and who has been ordained to wear the priestly garments, must not let his hair become unkempt or tear his clothes. Leviticus, the third book of the pentateuch takes its name from levi one of the twelve sons of jacob.
Israel is still camped out at the base of mount sinai, and they will remain there all through the book of leviticus. The second major part of leviticus begins at the end of this chapter and reveals the private worship of the israelites chs1727. The purification offering shows us how sin is like an infectious disease l4 4. Much like paul, who was a persecutor of the church, and then came, by gods grace, to be a great apostle to the church, aaron, a hindrance to moses and israel, now becomes her spiritual leader. Levi family was chosen by god to act as priests and assistants in the tabernacle. The anointing of the tabernacle and instruments and aaron with oil. What were 2 of the possible wrongdoings these sons did. This is the first place in the bible where this title is introduced. I would like to compare the typology behind the high priest and the other sons of aaron, who were also priests, mind you. Practically, this means that israelites should love their neighbors as themselves, thus proving that even jesus reads leviticus. The tabernacle has been set up and the priests have been clothed properly. Christ is superior to the levitical priesthood, chapters 4. The oil a picture of the holy spirit was poured over aarons head. Our great high priest leviticus redeemers grace church.
What is the significance of placing the hands upon the animal 1. It is the climax of the first part of the book that deals with the public worship of the israelites chs116. But the transgression of a high priest, or of the whole congregation, entailing a general taint on the ritual of the tabernacle, and vitiating its services, required a further expiation. Try meditating on the picture of a high priest sacrificing an animal and both priest and animal are types of christ and imagine the implications of christs work on the cross. A pagan priest bars the approach to god, claiming mystical powers, and denies the finished work of christ and the priesthood of all believers.
The book of leviticus opens with god calling moses from the tabernacle. The high priest of the new covenant was appointed in eternity our lord jesus christ. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. And he shall take away all the fat thereof, as the fat of the lamb is taken away from the sacrifice of the peace offerings. Moses provisional priestly role seems to come to an end here. Why the term sin offering is a misleading translation l42. Leviticus chapter 8 coffmans commentary of the new. It brings us into the tabernacle and opens to us all the privileges of access to the presence of god, and our place of blessing as his priestly household. Some of the blood of the high priests sinoffering was to be sprinkled seven times before the veil, with an eye towards the mercy. He is the great prophet, like unto whom the messiah will be deut. He tells the people how they can move towards moral excellence.
God held the priests to the most stringent standards of behavior and ritual purity leviticus 21. Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, jesus the son of god, let us hold fast our profession. Centuries before hanukkah, the tabernacle gets a menorah. Jesus was a high priest, but not after the order of aaron. The sin offering for the high priest and his household vv. Chapter 19 boils the reason for everything down to one core principle. Aug 02, 2008 the high priest is also a type of christ.
Leviticus 4 commentary matthew henry commentary on the. What important message did we end the last lesson with, that applies here. The story of leviticus picks up where exodus left off. From the highest to the lowest in the land, god cared about unintentional sins. List the three types of burnt offerings found in chapter one. The household of the high priest was included because the office was inherited. That he must bring a bullock without blemish for a sinoffering leviticus 4.
Also the tithe laws indicated about a ratio of 10 levites to one priest in leviticus, but ezra 8. In the bible we find israel being removed from their land, exiled and. Now lets be clear that in the context of leviticus 4 these sins of the high priest were not necessarily personal sins of bad behaviorgenerally they were errors made in the carrying out of his duties as high. Now the law concerning the sinoffering for the high priest is, 1. The title of leviticus comes from the ancient greek septuagint, which named the book leueitikon, meaning the book of the levites.
Some of the blood of the high priest s sinoffering was to be sprinkled seven times before the veil, with an eye towards the mercy. Aaron and christ, or the typology of the priesthood slj. In chapter 10, however, aaron is installed as the high priest, and he very much comes into his own. God is not content to allow israel simply to avoid sin. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tested in every way as we are, yet without sin. May 06, 2015 this book explores how the sacrificial rituals and purity practices cleared the way for morally corrupt israelites to become gods covenant partners. The law appointed high priests who were limited by human weakness. The high priest and, obviously, his descendants were all sinners. He poured the remaining part at the bottom of the altar of burntofferings, leviticus 4. The law begins with the case of the anointed priest, that is, the high priest, provided he should sin through ignorance. Aaron and his sons and indeed the whole tribe of levi, one of the 12 tribes of israel, are to be israels high priests, priests, and priestly assistants. The bible will take you through the history of the. T he biggest problem with how the modern church teaches the bible l43. Leviticus chapter 17 verse by verse bible commentary.
New living translation the high priest has the highest rank of all the priests. Only the high priest must dare go into the holiest place. The near place of the levites is seen in the fact that they were joined to aaron who was of the same family, the high priest who could enter the holiest on. The high priests belonged to the jewish priestly families that trace their paternal line back to aaron, the first high priest of israel in the hebrew bible and elder brother of moses, through zadok, a leading priest at the time of david and solomon.
Twelve times in leviticus 8 and god commandedor similar words regarding the aaronic priesthood, concerning its consecration, dedication, ordination. The high priest could only enter the most holy place once a year on the day of atonement to offer sacrifices for all the people, including himself hebrews 9. Leviticus chapter 4 kjv king james version jesus came to dispel laws of sacrifice because the true temple of god is in your heart and mind not in a building built with hands. The great priest, or high priest, is the appellation used in the other portions of. The second part of the book of leviticus will look at the offerings and their requirements in the seventeenth chapter, and. This great day of atonement is declared the once for all offering of christ in hebrews 9. Our lord being the antitype, not only of aaron as the great high priest, but also of the expiatory sacrifices as the great sin offering, the author of the epistle to the hebrews notices that the fact of christs having suffered without the camp serves as an indication that his blood had in its atoning effects been carried by him into heaven. One can only explain the aaronic priesthood as purely a matter of gods grace. Earlier in this book we looked at the garments of the high priest, which were a revelation of the way our great high priest, the lord jesus christ, is equipped to deal. You shall be holy, because i, yhvh, your god, am holy.
And, in chapter 4 we get a new kind, a new type, of sacrificial offering called the. Next chapter of leviticus the book of leviticus, chapter 4 we hope that you find the content of the book of leviticus, chapter 4 from the douay rheims version of the catholic bible helpful to your bible studies and for references which allow you to read the books and individual verses of this chapter. No dreidels, however, even though leviticus does love a good roll of the dice. Enduring word bible commentary leviticus chapter 21. Leviticus 4 niv the sin offering the lord said to bible gateway. This explains why, in verses 412, moses convenes a congregation hebrew. A house with leprosy was cleansed with blood and water. This book is about as dull as anything possibly could be to the average christian and you wont find very many classes or individuals reading and studying the book of leviticus. If the high priest sins, bringing guilt upon the entire community, he must give a sin offering for the sin he has committed. If any should transgress this law, and offer sacrifice any where but at the tabernacle, 1. Hebrews 4 therefore, while the promise of entering his rest. Behind the various offerings lies a deep conviction that god is the lord of all creation.
The priests played a serious role in representing the people before jehovah god and offering sacrifices in their behalf. When the high priest sinned, all of israel bore the guilt. The priest was to cleanse the house with blood and water. In light of our beginning the book of hebrews, one cannot properly understand hebrews 4. But after the law was given, god appointed his son with an oath, and his son has been made the perfect high priest forever. This book explores how the sacrificial rituals and purity practices cleared the way for morally corrupt israelites to become gods covenant partners. Leviticus means concerning the levites and as the work of the ancient levites is explained so the prophesied work of the great and divine high priest is being explained. In what other book of the bible do we read of the wrongdoings of nadab and abihu. Today we are considering a fact, a truth, embedded generally in leviticus chapter 8. As we said, the priest that is anointed is the high priest.
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