Feb.6 - Leviticus 21 - 23

While these 3 chapters pretty much speak for themselves, let me offer some Power Point thoughts that we can apply to our lives today:

1) Spiritual leaders MUST live a life above mediocrity and in blamelessness before those to whom they minister! In Chapter 21, God gives His recommendations for the life of a spiritual leader in Israel - in this case, the priests. He says in 21:6, "They must be set apart as holy to their God." This means that spiritual leaders must live a life of holiness before God! While many have been accused of leading a private life that's corrupt or sinful, God demands that their private life (when no one is looking) is holy and pure before God. How many pastors today (or even Sunday School teachers) would be disqualified? Spiritual leaders should NOT be in a place of spiritual leadership if what they do in private is sinful before Almighty God. They should remove themselves. This is not to say that they can't sin, but if what they are doing on a habitual basis were to be made public, would they lose credibility with the people? If so, according to what God says here in Leviticus, they should stop sinning, seek God's forgiveness, and/or remove themselves from the place of spiritual leadership. What do you think?

2) Church members need to give a special respect to their spiritual leaders! Did you hear what God said in Leviticus 21:8? God says (concerning your spiritual leaders) "You must consider them holy because I, the Lord, am holy, and I make you holy." Wow! That's not only a humbling statement to a spiritual leader, but it is how God wants us to view our spiritual leaders (if they are, in fact, leading holy lives before God). Remember King David? David was honored by God because he respected King Saul as God's annointed king of Israel. David would not kill or cause any harm to come to Saul because of that fact! Even though Saul was living a life in arrogance and in disobedience to the Lord, David committed judgement into the hands of God. Doing so, he remained respectful and loyal to king Saul, even in his death. David is a good example of how we should be with God's annointed spiritual leaders in our lives.

3) God has required several key festivals (or holy times) for the nation of Israel.
a) Sabbath - A day of rest and a cessation of worldly and business activity.
b) Feast of Passover - (Mid-April) A day to commemorate the escape from the death Angel who passed over the nation of Israel before they left Egypt. Jesus was crucified on the Passover day! He is our sacrificial lamb. This day initiated a celebration to last for 7 days.
c) Feast of Unleavened Bread - Started the day after Passover and lasted for 7 days.
d) Feast of Weeks - Represents the giving of the law of Moses, fifty days after the departure from Egypt. It is also called Pentecost in the New Testament. This is when the outpouring of the Holy Spirit took place! On that day, the first fruits of the Church took place!
e) Feast of Trumpets - The blowing of trumpets was to sound the alarm for spiritual readiness! It represents the declaration of the gospel and that all men must get ready spiritually!
f) The Day of Atonement - This took place 9 days after the feast of trumpets! This required a humbling of the spirit, serious repentence before God, and a making of a peace with God.
g) The Feast of Tabernacles - This was a remembrance of their dwelling in the wilderness in tents just after leaving Egypt. It was to humble them and remind them of where they came from and of God's special protection and faithfulness to the nation of Israel. At this event, they were to be reminded that they were nothing without God!

I hope this helps! Did you see anything that meant something special to you? Let me know if you did! Have a God-blessed day!