The land of Canaan was not holy, the Lord’s people were to make it so. As Aussie Christians let’s not allow our kids to be sacrificed to the gods of secularism.
Leviticus 20: Punishment for Child Sacrifice
1 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
2 "Say to the people of Israel, Any one of the people of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone him with stones.
3 I myself will set my face against that man and will cut him off from among his people, because he has given one of his children to Molech, to make my sanctuary unclean and to profane my holy name.
4 And if the people of the land do at all close their eyes to that man when he gives one of his children to Molech, and do not put him to death,
5 then I will set my face against that man and against his clan and will cut them off from among their people, him and all who follow him in whoring after Molech.
6 "If a person turns to mediums and necromancers, whoring after them, I will set my face against that person and will cut him off from among his people.
7 Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am the LORD your God.
8 Keep my statutes and do them; I am the LORD who sanctifies you.
9 For anyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death; he has cursed his father or his mother; his blood is upon him.
Punishments for Sexual Immorality
10 "If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbour, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.
11 If a man lies with his father's wife, he has uncovered his father's nakedness; both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.
12 If a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death; they have committed perversion; their blood is upon them.
13 If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.
14 If a man takes a woman and her mother also, it is depravity; he and they shall be burned with fire, that there may be no depravity among you.
15 If a man lies with an animal, he shall surely be put to death, and you shall kill the animal.
16 If a woman approaches any animal and lies with it, you shall kill the woman and the animal; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.
17 "If a man takes his sister, a daughter of his father or a daughter of his mother, and sees her nakedness, and she sees his nakedness, it is a disgrace, and they shall be cut off in the sight of the children of their people. He has uncovered his sister's nakedness, and he shall bear his iniquity.
18 If a man lies with a woman during her menstrual period and uncovers her nakedness, he has made naked her fountain, and she has uncovered the fountain of her blood. Both of them shall be cut off from among their people.
19 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother's sister or of your father's sister, for that is to make naked one's relative; they shall bear their iniquity.
20 If a man lies with his uncle's wife, he has uncovered his uncle's nakedness; they shall bear their sin; they shall die childless.
21 If a man takes his brother's wife, it is impurity. He has uncovered his brother's nakedness; they shall be childless.
You Shall Be Holy
22 "You shall therefore keep all my statutes and all my rules and do them, that the land where I am bringing you to live may not vomit you out.
23 And you shall not walk in the customs of the nation that I am driving out before you, for they did all these things, and therefore I detested them.
24 But I have said to you, 'You shall inherit their land, and I will give it to you to possess, a land flowing with milk and honey.' I am the LORD your God, who has separated you from the peoples.
25 You shall therefore separate the clean beast from the unclean, and the unclean bird from the clean. You shall not make yourselves detestable by beast or by bird or by anything with which the ground crawls, which I have set apart for you to hold unclean.
26 You shall be holy to me, for I the LORD am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine.
27 "A man or a woman who is a medium or a necromancer shall surely be put to death. They shall be stoned with stones; their blood shall be upon them."
Leviticus 21: Holiness and the Priests
1 And the LORD said to Moses, "Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: No one shall make himself unclean for the dead among his people,
2 except for his closest relatives, his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, his brother,
3 or his virgin sister (who is near to him because she has had no husband; for her he may make himself unclean).
4 He shall not make himself unclean as a husband among his people and so profane himself.
5 They shall not make bald patches on their heads, nor shave off the edges of their beards, nor make any cuts on their body.
6 They shall be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God. For they offer the LORD's food offerings, the bread of their God; therefore they shall be holy.
7 They shall not marry a prostitute or a woman who has been defiled, neither shall they marry a woman divorced from her husband, for the priest is holy to his God.
8 You shall sanctify him, for he offers the bread of your God. He shall be holy to you, for I, the LORD, who sanctify you, am holy.
9 And the daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by whoring, profanes her father; she shall be burned with fire.
10 "The priest who is chief among his brothers, on whose head the anointing oil is poured and who has been consecrated to wear the garments, shall not let the hair of his head hang loose nor tear his clothes.
11 He shall not go in to any dead bodies nor make himself unclean, even for his father or for his mother.
12 He shall not go out of the sanctuary, lest he profane the sanctuary of his God, for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is on him: I am the LORD.
13 And he shall take a wife in her virginity.
14 A widow, or a divorced woman, or a woman who has been defiled, or a prostitute, these he shall not marry. But he shall take as his wife a virgin of his own people,
15 that he may not profane his offspring among his people, for I am the LORD who sanctifies him."
16 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
17 "Speak to Aaron, saying, None of your offspring throughout their generations who has a blemish may approach to offer the bread of his God.
18 For no one who has a blemish shall draw near, a man blind or lame, or one who has a mutilated face or a limb too long,
19 or a man who has an injured foot or an injured hand,
20 or a hunchback or a dwarf or a man with a defect in his sight or an itching disease or scabs or crushed testicles.
21 No man of the offspring of Aaron the priest who has a blemish shall come near to offer the LORD's food offerings; since he has a blemish, he shall not come near to offer the bread of his God.
22 He may eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy and of the holy things,
23 but he shall not go through the veil or approach the altar, because he has a blemish, that he may not profane my sanctuaries, for I am the LORD who sanctifies them."
24 So Moses spoke to Aaron and to his sons and to all the people of Israel.
Things to think about…
1. We often think that the destruction of the nations in Canaan by the Israelites as being a difficult concept to grasp, but these nations burned babies, practised cult prostitution, had other cult blood sacrifices etc to the gods of Baal, Molech, Chemosh. Lev 20:1-9. Pray for modern day Israel that they turn from the secular to the sacred through their Saviour Yeshua (Jesus). Please continue to pray for the One for Israel ministry the church supports.
2. ‘Put to death’ is the common phrase in Lev 20:10-16. Note that it refers to the Israelites, not the nations of Canaan. God is holy and He expects His people to be the same. Let’s continue to “put to death” the sins that can easily ensnare us.
3. The land was not kept holy therefore the other nations were being driven out, Lev 20:22-27. We know the Jews were driven out later because they did not maintain the Lord’s requirements to be holy. Churches close down and have no influence in the land or over people’s lives because they forget how the Lord is to be worshipped, “In the beauty of holiness’, Ps 96:9. As such they turn away from the central calling to preach the gospel.
4. The laws in Lev 21 refer mainly to the priests. Remember we are all part of the royal priesthood in Christ and as His people we are to honour Christ in our words, actions and belief system.
5. Does God discriminate against those with an imperfection or disability, Lev 21:17-24? Here the answer is clearly ‘yes’. The priests were to serve as those who were whole and ‘perfect’ to represent and be an offering in their service to those who were not. The sacrifices of a lamb and bull were to be without blemish. Jesus was also the perfect sacrifice without blemish. The priests were His representatives and could not serve with any defect. Our defect today is sin. Christ offers His perfection for our imperfection. Church leadership needs to be walking closely with the Lord as revealed in His word. We praise God for our Elders and Ministry Leaders. Please pray for the leadership that we honour Christ with grace and truth.
Vision statement for CBC
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Life groups on this week. Ric Beson has started the Life Groups at church 6:30pm and will be looking at the life of Christ in the church.
Pastor Jay has started the young adult’s life group after Sunday mornings café time. Christian topics and apologetics will be discussed.
Prayer Points
1. Pray for Tad. He is due for prostate treatment within the next few days.
2. Pray for of Kids@Church, Life groups and church community days.
3. The conflicts in Israel and Ukraine. Praise for the peace of Jesus to reign.
4. Mathys has a prayer time at church on Monday afternoons. He would be happy for you to join him and to send prayer requests.
5. That we be bold in our witnessing for Christ. Pray for a heart to see those around you to be saved. Pray for the blessing over the new pastoral care and hosting program.
6. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
Praise Points
1. Wonderful start to the Life groups at church this week – good discussion around the meaning and role of the church.
2. Good discussion on Baptism at Young Adults Life group on Sunday.
3. Praise God for the church leaders. May the Lord bless as they make their plans, that He guides our steps.
4. Start of Kids@Church and Life groups this week.
5. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. Groups start back on Wednesday night at Church – 6:30pm. New Christians and Young Adults – Sunday after church.
2. Combined Baptist Church service at Beacon Baptist 5pm 11th Feb.
3. Members meeting after the service – 25th Feb 2024.
4. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
5. Tune in again this week on our YouTube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism questions for January...
Q. 16. Who were our first parents? A. Adam and Eve.
