Addenda to last week:
On the concept of Sacrificial Worship
~Levitcus 8 establishes Aaron as High Priest and his sons as Priests. The concept is that Fellowship with God is mediated by Priests
~In Leviticus 10, Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu are killed by God because they couldn't follow instructions.
NEW TESTAMENT ABROGATION OF THE SYSTEM
Hebrews 4:14 through 5:10:
14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven,[f] Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Hebrews 5 New International Version (NIV)5 Every high priest is selected from among the people and is appointed to represent the people in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness. 3 This is why he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people. 4 And no one takes this honor on himself, but he receives it when called by God, just as Aaron was.
5 In the same way, Christ did not take on himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him,“You are my Son; today I have become your Father.”[a]6 And he says in another place,“You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”[b]7 During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitionswith fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. 8 Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered 9 and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him 10 and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.
Hebrews 9:11-1511 But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here,[a] he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. 12 He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining[b] eternal redemption.13 The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean.14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death,[c] so that we may serve the living God!
15 For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.
Christ is the new High Priest, animal sacrifice is no longer required. These sacrifices only made one clean on the outside, Jesus cleans from the inside. This puts to rest the entire Levitical system and sets those who lived under the First Covenant free from thier Sin.
(Personal observation: The Gospels of Luke and Matthew go to great lengths to establish the genealogy of Jesus as coming from the House of David, who was not a Levite. This is also an example of the Abrogation of Levitical Law under which Jesus could not be a Priest)
CLEAN AND UNCLEAN
We can't understand everything about the Sacrificial worship in Leviticus, or the concept of being Ceremonially Clean vs Unclean. There is no scholarly consensus and attempting to gain full understanding is beyond the scope of the class.
Chapters 11-15 have rule after rule regarding what is clean or unclean about foods, fish, and the conditions of people. The consequence of being unclean was that one would be out of Fellowship with God.
NEW TESTAMENT ABROGATION OF THE CEREMONIAL CLEANLINESS
in Levitcus 13:45 we find:
45 “Anyone with such a defiling disease must wear torn clothes, let their hair be unkempt,[c] cover the lower part of their face and cry out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’46 As long as they have the disease they remain unclean. They must live alone; they must live outside the camp.Yet in Mark 1:40-45 we see Jesus:
40 A man with leprosy[h] came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”41 Jesus was indignant.[i] He reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” 42 Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.43 Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: 44 “See that you don’t tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” 45 Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.We tend to focus on the Miracle of the healing of this man, but we need to understand that as a consequence of his disease he and those around him regarded him as being out of Fellowship with God. Jesus not only healed him, but he did it by touching him, which was prohibited by Levitical Law and as a consequence brought the man back into Fellowship with God and his community.
In Leviticus 15:25 we find:
25 “‘When a woman has a discharge of blood for many days at a time other than her monthly period or has a discharge that continues beyond her period, she will be unclean as long as she has the discharge, just as in the days of her period. 26 Any bed she lies on while her discharge continues will be unclean, as is her bed during her monthly period, and anything she sits on will be unclean, as during her period. 27 Anyone who touches them will be unclean; they must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening.And Leviticus 21:10:
10 “‘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[b] or tear his clothes. 11 He must not enter a place where there is a dead body. He must not make himself unclean,even for his father or mother, 12 nor leave the sanctuary of his God or desecrate it, because he has been dedicated by the anointing oil of his God. I am the Lord.And Numbers 19:11:
11 “Whoever touches a human corpse will be unclean for seven days.Yet in Mark 5:21-43 we see Jesus:
21 When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. 22 Then one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet. 23 He pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” 24 So Jesus went with him.A large crowd followed and pressed around him. 25 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26 She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” 29 Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.Here again we tend to focus on the Miracles, but miss the fact that he violates Levitical Law by touching a bleeding woman and going into a place with a corpse in it and touching the corpse.
30 At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”31 “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ”32 But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”35 While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher anymore?”36 Overhearing[c] what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”37 He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. 38 When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. 39 He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.”40 But they laughed at him.After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. 41 He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). 42 Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. 43 He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.
These examples shows how Jesus gives us a definition of being Spiritually clean rather than Ceremonially clean. With one we are only clean on the outside, with the other we are clean on the inside.
Mark 7:14-23:
14 Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. 15 Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.” [16] [f]17 After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked himabout this parable. 18 “Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? 19 For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.)
20 He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. 21 For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23 All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”
In Conclusion:
Although Jesus taught all this, Peter still didn't get it until Acts 10:9-16:
9 About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. 10 He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance.11 He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. 12 It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds. 13 Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.”14 “Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”15 The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”
16 This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.
And Acts 10:22-29 (NIV)
22 The men replied, “We have come from Cornelius the centurion. He is a righteous and God-fearing man, who is respected by all the Jewish people. A holy angel told him to ask you to come to his house so that he could hear what you have to say.” 23 Then Peter invited the men into the house to be his guests.Peter at Cornelius’s HouseThe next day Peter started out with them, and some of the believers from Joppa went along. 24 The following day he arrived in Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence.26 But Peter made him get up. “Stand up,” he said, “I am only a man myself.”
27 While talking with him, Peter went inside and found a large gathering of people. 28 He said to them: “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile. But God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean. 29 So when I was sent for, I came without raising any objection. May I ask why you sent for me?”
Peter still stubbornly held to the Law
Most scholars agree that the summary of The Law is found in Leviticus 19:18 (NIV)
18 “‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people,but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.The reason, of course, is because Jesus said it was:
Matthew 7:12New International Version (NIV)12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
Matthew 22:34-40New International Version (NIV)The Greatest Commandment34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together.35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment.39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b] 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”Paraphrasing Jesus at the Sermon On The Mount: Its not The Law, its the Spirit of The Law.
In the Parable of the Good Samaritan, the concept of who is your neighbor was enlarged making it a spiritual matter.
John 13:34-35New International Version (NIV)34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
OTHER IMPORTANT THINGS
-----> Sexual Relations
Leviticus 18 is God's first prohibition on certain sexual practices
-----> The Law of Leavings (See also Ruth for an example of Kindred Redeemers)
Leviticus 19:9New International Version (NIV)9 “‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest.
Leviticus 23:22New International Version (NIV)22 “‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and for the foreigner residing among you. I am the Lord your God.’”
Leviticus 19:33New International Version (NIV)33 “‘When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them.
Mark 25
Philippians 2
1 John 3
-----> The Year of Jubilee
In Leviticus 25, The Lord instructed that every 50th year would be the Year of Jubilee and the Year of the Sabbath. Every 7 years, the land would lie fallow, and the year after the 7th Sabbath Year would be a year of Jubilee. In the Year of Jubilee, all land would revert back to its original owner.
ROXIE'S NOTES
LEVITICUS
(Continued)
Jesus is our perfect atoning sacrifice:
Hebrews 4:14-5:10 Since we have a great high priest, Jesus the Son of God, who has gone into heaven, let us hold on to the faith we have. 15 For our high priest is able to understand our weaknesses. He was tempted in every way that we are, but he did not sin. 16 Let us, then, feel very sure that we can come before God’s throne where there is grace. There we can receive mercy and grace to help us when we need it. 5 Every high priest is chosen from among other people. He is given the work of going before God for them to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 Since he himself is weak, he is able to be gentle with those who do not understand and who are doing wrong things. 3 Because he is weak, the high priest must offer sacrifices for his own sins and also for the sins of the people. 4 To be a high priest is an honor, but no one chooses himself for this work. He must be called by God as Aaron was. 5 So also Christ did not choose himself to have the honor of being a high priest, but God chose him. God said to him,*Reminds us that the blood of Christ is the atonement of the bulls, calves, etc. that were sacrificed. Verse 14 “make our consciences pure” means he cleans us from the inside. Old Testament sacrifices made the unclean clean on the outside.
“You are my Son. Today I have become your Father.” Psalm 2:7 6 And in another Scripture God says, “You are a priest forever, a priest like Melchizedek.” Psalm 110:4
7 While Jesus lived on earth, he prayed to God and asked God for help. He prayed with loud cries and tears to the One who could save him from death, and his prayer was heard because he trusted God. 8 Even though Jesus was the Son of God, he learned obedience by what he suffered. 9 And because his obedience was perfect, he was able to give eternal salvation to all who obey him. 10 In this way God made Jesus a high priest, a priest like Melchizedek.Hebrews 9:11-15 But when Christ came as the high priest of the good things we now have, he entered the greater and more perfect tent. It is not made by humans and does not belong to this world. 12 Christ entered the Most Holy Place only once—and for all time. He did not take with him the blood of goats and calves. His sacrifice was his own blood, and by it he set us free from sin forever. 13 The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a cow are sprinkled on the people who are unclean, and this makes their bodies clean again. 14 How much more is done by the blood of Christ. He offered himself through the eternal Spirit as a perfect sacrifice to God. His blood will make our consciences pure from useless acts so we may serve the living God. 15 For this reason Christ brings a new agreement from God to his people. Those who are called by God can now receive the blessings he has promised, blessings that will last forever. They can have those things because Christ died so that the people who lived under the first agreement could be set free from sin.
Three Areas of focus with New Testament implications
1. Sacrificial worship (see week 1 notes)
2. Cleanness/Uncleanness
Separated from Community and God
-There were many rules during this time such as you couldn’t touch or eat certain food; you couldn’t touch anyone who was sick or had a skin disease, etc. If you did, you were considered ceremonially unclean which meant you were separated from the community and God.
Mark 1:40-45 A man with a skin disease came to Jesus. He fell to his knees and begged Jesus, “You can heal me if you will.” 41 Jesus felt sorry for the man, so he reached out his hand and touched him and said, “I will. Be healed!” 42 Immediately the disease left the man, and he was healed. 43 Jesus told the man to go away at once, but he warned him strongly, 44 “Don’t tell anyone about this. But go and show yourself to the priest. And offer the gift Moses commanded for people who are made well. This will show the people what I have done.” 45 The man left there, but he began to tell everyone that Jesus had healed him, and so he spread the news about Jesus. As a result, Jesus could not enter a town if people saw him. He stayed in places where nobody lived, but people came to him from everywhere.
- When we read that story we tend to focus on him being made clean instead of the opposite. The consequences of the skin disease made him an outcast, out of fellowship with the community and God. He was lonely.
-Leviticus laws forbid you to touch people with a skin disease but Jesus had compassion and touched him.
-Jesus is abrogating all of the Leviticus rules found in chapter 15.
Leviticus 13:45 If a person has a skin disease that spreads, he must warn other people by shouting, “Unclean, unclean!” His clothes must be torn at the seams, he must let his hair stay uncombed, and he must cover his mouth.
-He was basically banished to solitary existence. He was happy Jesus healed him but he was probably more grateful he was back in fellowship with the community and God.
-Leviticus 14:1-12 states the rules and procedures for cleansing a skin disease.
Leviticus 15:25-27 “‘If a woman has a loss of blood for many days and it is not during her regular monthly period, or if she continues to have a loss of blood after her regular period, she will be unclean, as she is during her monthly period. She will be unclean for as long as she continues to bleed. 26 Any bed she lies on during all the time of her bleeding will be like her bed during her regular monthly period. Everything she sits on will be unclean, as during her regular monthly period. 27 “‘Whoever touches those things will be unclean and must wash his clothes and bathe in water; he will be unclean until evening.
Mark 5:21-43 When Jesus went in the boat back to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him there. 22 A leader of the synagogue, named Jairus, came there, saw Jesus, and fell at his feet. 23 He begged Jesus, saying again and again, “My daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so she will be healed and will live.” 24 So Jesus went with him. A large crowd followed Jesus and pushed very close around him. 25 Among them was a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years. 26 She had suffered very much from many doctors and had spent all the money she had, but instead of improving, she was getting worse. 27 When the woman heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his coat. 28 She thought, “If I can just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” 29 Instantly her bleeding stopped, and she felt in her body that she was healed from her disease.
30 At once Jesus felt power go out from him. So he turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?” 31 His followers said, “Look at how many people are pushing against you! And you ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ” 32 But Jesus continued looking around to see who had touched him. 33 The woman, knowing that she was healed, came and fell at Jesus’ feet. Shaking with fear, she told him the whole truth. 34 Jesus said to her, “Dear woman, you are made well because you believed. Go in peace; be healed of your disease.”
35 While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of the synagogue leader. They said, “Your daughter is dead. There is no need to bother the teacher anymore.” 36 But Jesus paid no attention to what they said. He told the synagogue leader, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” 37 Jesus let only Peter, James, and John the brother of James go with him. 38 When they came to the house of the synagogue leader, Jesus found many people there making lots of noise and crying loudly. 39 Jesus entered the house and said to them, “Why are you crying and making so much noise? The child is not dead, only asleep.” 40 But they laughed at him. So, after throwing them out of the house, Jesus took the child’s father and mother and his three followers into the room where the child was. 41 Taking hold of the girl’s hand, he said to her, “Talitha, koum!” (This means, “Young girl, I tell you to stand up!”) 42 At once the girl stood right up and began walking. (She was twelve years old.) Everyone was completely amazed. 43 Jesus gave them strict orders not to tell people about this. Then he told them to give the girl something to eat.
-Leviticus Law did not allow you to touch yet we see Jesus touching people to heal them. The lady who was bleeding was out of fellowship for 12 years from community and God!
Leviticus 21:1 The LORD said to Moses, “Tell these things to Aaron’s sons, the priests: ‘A priest must not make himself unclean by touching a dead person.
Numbers 19:11 Those who touch a dead person’s body will be unclean for seven days.-Jesus focuses on cleansing our consciences on the inside. He speaks about spiritual cleanness in …
Mark 7:14-23 After Jesus called the crowd to him again, he said, “Every person should listen to me and understand what I am saying. 15 There is nothing people put into their bodies that makes them unclean. People are made unclean by the things that come out of them. [ 16 Let those with ears use them and listen.]” 17 When Jesus left the people and went into the house, his followers asked him about this story. 18 Jesus said, “Do you still not understand? Surely you know that nothing that enters someone from the outside can make that person unclean. 19 It does not go into the mind, but into the stomach. Then it goes out of the body.” (When Jesus said this, he meant that no longer was any food unclean for people to eat.) 20 And Jesus said, “The things that come out of people are the things that make them unclean. 21 All these evil things begin inside people, in the mind: evil thoughts, sexual sins, stealing, murder, adultery, 22 greed, evil actions, lying, doing sinful things, jealousy, speaking evil of others, pride, and foolish living. 23 All these evil things come from inside and make people unclean.”
-This abrogates Leviticus Laws! Read Matthew 15:1-20. Jesus goes into further detail and tells the Pharisees and the teachers of the law the same thing as what we read in Mark chapter 7.
-The rules no longer apply.
-Peter didn’t get it. He stubbornly held onto the Leviticus Laws even though he was with Jesus almost every day! God tells him there is no clean and unclean:
Acts 10:9-16 and versus 28-29 About noon the next day as they came near Joppa, Peter was going up to the roof to pray. 10 He was hungry and wanted to eat, but while the food was being prepared, he had a vision. 11 He saw heaven opened and something coming down that looked like a big sheet being lowered to earth by its four corners. 12 In it were all kinds of animals, reptiles, and birds. 13 Then a voice said to Peter, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat.” 14 But Peter said, “No, Lord! I have never eaten food that is unholy or unclean.” 15 But the voice said to him again, “God has made these things clean, so don’t call them ‘unholy’!” 16 This happened three times, and at once the sheet was taken back to heaven. 28 He (Peter) said, “You people understand that it is against our law for Jewish people to associate with or visit anyone who is not Jewish. But God has shown me that I should not call any person ‘unholy’ or ‘unclean.’ 29 That is why I did not argue when I was asked to come here. Now, please tell me why you sent for me.”“Good News”
-The Good News is that the law is no longer relevant!
3. Leviticus 19:18 (Love Commandment)
Summary of the Law
Leviticus 19:18 Forget about the wrong things people do to you, and do not try to get even. Love your neighbor as you love yourself. I am the LORD.-Most people believe that this is the summary of the law.
The Golden Rule:
Matthew 7:12 Do to others what you want them to do to you. This is the meaning of the Law of Moses and the teaching of the prophets.Matthew 22:34-40 enlarges our duty to love:
When the Pharisees learned that the Sadducees could not argue with Jesus’ answers to them, the Pharisees met together. 35 One Pharisee, who was an expert on the Law of Moses, asked Jesus this question to test him:
36 “Teacher, which command in the law is the most important?” 37 Jesus answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and most important command. 39 And the second command is like the first: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ 40 All the law and the writings of the prophets depend on these two commands.”-Jesus adds another command…Love as I have loved. That takes away all excuses to not love someone. We see this in:
John 13:34-35 “I give you a new command: Love each other. You must love each other as I have loved you. 35 All people will know that you are my followers if you love each other.”
Romans 8:35 Can anything separate us from the love Christ has for us? Can troubles or problems or sufferings or hunger or nakedness or danger or violent death?Other Important Themes
Sexual Relations
-You can’t have sexual relations with close relatives.
Law of Leavings
-The book of Ruth is an example of the Law of Leavings.
Leviticus 19:9-10 When you harvest your crops on your land, do not harvest all the way to the corners of your fields. If grain falls onto the ground, don’t gather it up. 10 Don’t pick all the grapes in your vineyards, and don’t pick up the grapes that fall to the ground. You must leave those things for poor people and for people traveling through your country. I am the LORD your God.-Read Matthew 25:31-46
Philippians 2:1-4 Does your life in Christ give you strength? Does his love comfort you? Do we share together in the spirit? Do you have mercy and kindness? 2 If so, make me very happy by having the same thoughts, sharing the same love, and having one mind and purpose. 3 When you do things, do not let selfishness or pride be your guide. Instead, be humble and give more honor to others than to yourselves. 4 Do not be interested only in your own life, but be interested in the lives of others.
1 John 3:16-18 This is how we know what real love is: Jesus gave his life for us. So we should give our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 Suppose someone has enough to live and sees a brother or sister in need, but does not help. Then God’s love is not living in that person. 18 My children, we should love people not only with words and talk, but by our actions and true caring.
Leviticus 19:33-34 Do not mistreat foreigners living in your country, 34 but treat them just as you treat your own citizens. Love foreigners as you love yourselves, because you were foreigners one time in Egypt. I am the LORD your God.
Rest for the Land / Year of Jubilee
-Read Leviticus chapter 25. Every 7 years the land was to remain at rest to honor the Lord. You were not allowed to plant crops or harvest it. Every 50 years, everything reverts to its previous owner. If you were a slave, you are now free. The purpose was so there would never be an unending cycle of poverty.
-Leviticus 25:20-22 is the Season of Trusting: 20 But you might ask, “If we don’t plant seeds or gather crops, what will we eat the seventh year?” 21 I will send you such a great blessing during the sixth year that the land will produce enough crops for three years. 22 When you plant in the eighth year, you will still be eating from the old crop; you will eat the old crop until the harvest of the ninth year.Kindred Redeemer
-The Kindred Redeemer (aka Kinsman Redeemer) is a male relative who, according to various laws of the Pentateuch, had the privilege or responsibility to act on behalf of a relative who was in trouble, danger, or need. The Hebrew term (go el) for kinsman-redeemer designates one who delivers or rescues (Genesis 48:16; Exodus 6:6) or redeems property or person (Leviticus 27:9–25, 25:47–55). The kinsman who redeems or vindicates a relative is illustrated most clearly in the book of Ruth, where the kinsman-redeemer is Boaz.
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