Leviticus 26:27-46

Leviticus 26:27-46 - Daily Devotion - 13 March 2025

St Barnabas Anglican Church Fairfield & Bossley Park

1 But if in spite of all this you do not obey Me, but continue to walk in hostility toward Me, 28 then I will walk in fury against you, and I, even I, will punish you sevenfold for your sins. 29 You will eat the flesh of your own sons and daughters. 30 I will destroy your high places, cut down your incense altars, and heap your lifeless bodies on the lifeless remains of your idols; and My soul will despise you.

31 I will reduce your cities to rubble and lay waste your sanctuaries, and I will refuse to smell the pleasing aroma of your sacrifices. 32 And I will lay waste the land, so that your enemies who dwell in it will be appalled. 33 But I will scatter you among the nations and will draw out a sword after you as your land becomes desolate and your cities are laid waste.

34 Then the land shall enjoy its Sabbaths all the days it lies desolate, while you are in the land of your enemies. At that time the land will rest and enjoy its Sabbaths. 35 As long as it lies desolate, the land will have the rest it did not receive during the Sabbaths when you lived in it.

36 As for those of you who survive, I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies, so that even the sound of a windblown leaf will put them to flight. And they will flee as one flees the sword, and fall when no one pursues them. 37 They will stumble over one another as before the sword, though no one is behind them. So you will not be able to stand against your enemies.

38 You will perish among the nations, and the land of your enemies will consume you. 39 Those of you who survive in the lands of your enemies will waste away in their iniquity and will decay in the sins of their fathers.

40 But if they will confess their iniquity and that of their fathers in the unfaithfulness that they practiced against Me, by which they have also walked in hostility toward Me— 41 and I acted with hostility toward them and brought them into the land of their enemies—and if their uncircumcised hearts will be humbled and they will make amends for their iniquity, 42 then I will remember My covenant with Jacob and My covenant with Isaac and My covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land.

43 For the land will be abandoned by them, and it will enjoy its Sabbaths by lying desolate without them. And they will pay the penalty for their iniquity, because they rejected My ordinances and abhorred My statutes.

44 Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject or despise them so as to destroy them and break My covenant with them; for I am the LORD their God. 45 But for their sake I will remember the covenant with their fathers, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God. I am the LORD.”

46 These are the statutes, ordinances, and laws that the LORD established between Himself and the Israelites through Moses on Mount Sinai.

REFLECTIONS

This chapter of Leviticus started off sounding like a hypothetical scenario – “If you obey, things will go well, but if you disobey, I will judge you.” But as the “disobedience” half goes on, it gets more and more specific. Because this wasn’t just a hypothetical possibility. God knew that his people would abandon the covenant and all these things would happen, because their hearts were still “uncircumcised” (v 41).

But the thing I love most about the passage is that God’s judgment is not the end of this awful story, because God had committed himself from the very beginning to bring renewal and blessing – not just to Israel, but to the whole world. God would be faithful to his covenant with Abraham (v 42) – and God has been faithful! He brought Israel back from exile, and then sent Jesus to open to the way to salvation and blessing for all people.

I need to ask myself: Is my heart humble before the Lord and his claim on my life (v 41)? But in the end, my assurance doesn’t rest on my own ability to obey. I rest on the fact that God always remembers and is faithful to his promises in Jesus.

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Leviticus 26:1-26

Leviticus 26:1-26 - Daily Devotion - 12 March 2025

St Barnabas Anglican Church Fairfield & Bossley Park

1 “You must not make idols for yourselves or set up a carved image or sacred pillar; you must not place a sculpted stone in your land to bow down to it. For I am the LORD your God.

2 You must keep My Sabbaths and have reverence for My sanctuary. I am the LORD.

3 If you follow My statutes and carefully keep My commandments, 4 I will give you rains in their season, and the land will yield its produce, and the trees of the field will bear their fruit. 5 Your threshing will continue until the grape harvest, and the grape harvest will continue until sowing time; you will have your fill of food to eat and will dwell securely in your land.

6 And I will give peace to the land, and you will lie down with nothing to fear. I will rid the land of dangerous animals, and no sword will pass through your land. 7 You will pursue your enemies, and they will fall by the sword before you. 8 Five of you will pursue a hundred, and a hundred of you will pursue ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you.

9 I will turn toward you and make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will establish My covenant with you. 10 You will still be eating the old supply of grain when you need to clear it out to make room for the new.

11 And I will make My dwelling place among you, and My soul will not despise you. 12 I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be My people. 13 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians. I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk in uprightness.

14 If, however, you fail to obey Me and to carry out all these commandments, 15 and if you reject My statutes, despise My ordinances, and neglect to carry out all My commandments, and so break My covenant, 16 then this is what I will do to you: I will bring upon you sudden terror, wasting disease, and fever that will destroy your sight and drain your life. You will sow your seed in vain, because your enemies will eat it. 17 And I will set My face against you, so that you will be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee when no one pursues you.

18 And if after all this you will not obey Me, I will proceed to punish you sevenfold for your sins. 19 I will break down your stubborn pride and make your sky like iron and your land like bronze, 20 and your strength will be spent in vain. For your land will not yield its produce, and the trees of the land will not bear their fruit.

21 If you walk in hostility toward Me and refuse to obey Me, I will multiply your plagues seven times, according to your sins. 22 I will send wild animals against you to rob you of your children, destroy your livestock, and reduce your numbers, until your roads lie desolate.

23 And if in spite of these things you do not accept My discipline, but continue to walk in hostility toward Me, 24 then I will act with hostility toward you, and I will strike you sevenfold for your sins. 25 And I will bring a sword against you to execute the vengeance of the covenant. Though you withdraw into your cities, I will send a plague among you, and you will be delivered into the hand of the enemy. 26 When I cut off your supply of bread, ten women will bake your bread in a single oven and dole out your bread by weight, so that you will eat but not be satisfied.

REFLECTIONS

In this chapter, God is laying out the two options Israel will have when they get to the promised land of Canaan. Option 1: they can obey all the commandments in the Law of Moses and enjoy the blessings of abundant harvests, peace, and fruitfulness. Option 2: they can reject the Lord and suffer the terrible consequences of his judgment.

I’ll reflect on the judgment part tomorrow. For today, it struck me how clearly the “blessing” part of the chapter is pointing forward, not just to Israel in Canaan, but to the new creation. Because on almost the last page of the Bible, God repeats the words of his promise to Moses in Leviticus 26:11-12. The Apostle John sees a vision of the end of this world, and he says:

“And I heard a voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the former things have passed away’” (Rev. 21:3-4).

When you read those images of abundance and blessing and safety for Israel in Canaan – when you see and experience good things in this life – think to yourself: “And heaven is going to be 1,000 times better!”

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Leviticus 25:32-55

Leviticus 25:32-55 - Daily Devotion - 10 March 2025

St Barnabas Anglican Church Fairfield & Bossley Park

32 As for the cities of the Levites, the Levites always have the right to redeem their houses in the cities they possess. 33 So whatever belongs to the Levites may be redeemed—a house sold in a city they possess—and must be released in the Jubilee, because the houses in the cities of the Levites are their possession among the Israelites. 34 But the open pastureland around their cities may not be sold, for this is their permanent possession.

35 Now if your countryman becomes destitute and cannot support himself among you, then you are to help him as you would a foreigner or stranger, so that he can continue to live among you. 36 Do not take any interest or profit from him, but fear your God, that your countryman may live among you. 37 You must not lend him your silver at interest or sell him your food for profit. 38 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God.

39 If a countryman among you becomes destitute and sells himself to you, then you must not force him into slave labor. 40 Let him stay with you as a hired worker or temporary resident; he is to work for you until the Year of Jubilee. 41 Then he and his children are to be released, and he may return to his clan and to the property of his fathers.

42 Because the Israelites are My servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt, they are not to be sold as slaves. 43 You are not to rule over them harshly, but you shall fear your God.

44 Your menservants and maidservants shall come from the nations around you, from whom you may purchase them. 45 You may also purchase them from the foreigners residing among you or their clans living among you who are born in your land. These may become your property. 46 You may leave them to your sons after you to inherit as property; you can make them slaves for life. But as for your brothers, the Israelites, no man may rule harshly over his brother.

47 If a foreigner residing among you prospers, but your countryman dwelling near him becomes destitute and sells himself to the foreigner or to a member of his clan, 48 he retains the right of redemption after he has sold himself. One of his brothers may redeem him: 49 either his uncle or cousin or any close relative from his clan may redeem him. Or if he prospers, he may redeem himself.

50 He and his purchaser will then count the time from the year he sold himself up to the Year of Jubilee. The price of his sale will be determined by the number of years, based on the daily wages of a hired hand. 51 If many years remain, he must pay for his redemption in proportion to his purchase price. 52 If only a few years remain until the Year of Jubilee, he is to calculate and pay his redemption according to his remaining years. 53 He shall be treated like a man hired from year to year, but a foreign owner must not rule over him harshly in your sight.

54 Even if he is not redeemed in any of these ways, he and his children shall be released in the Year of Jubilee. 55 For the Israelites are My servants. They are My servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.

REFLECTIONS

This passage raises lots of uncomfortable questions. Does the Bible really support slavery? The thing that makes it tricky is that Leviticus 25 isn’t going to answer that question for us, because it doesn’t explain the kind of slavery it’s describing. The passage is setting out rules for redeeming Israelites in the Year of Jubilee, especially if an Israelite had to sell themselves into … well, “slavery,” if that’s the right word.

When we think of “slavery,” we think of the Atlantic slave trade, which involved treating Africans as mere objects to be bought and sold, stripping them of all rights as human beings based on their race, and permitting any and every kind of brutality. The word translated “slavery” in our Bibles is not referring to that evil trade, and Israelite masters were not to treat their “slaves” in any of those ways. In most cases, “servant” would be a more appropriate word to describe it. Masters were to treat their servants kindly and provide for them.

Even verses 42-46, which say that only foreigners could become “property,” aren’t talking about modern slavery. The main difference between Israelites and foreigners is that Israelites could not become servants for life – it had to be temporary (v. 46). Even then, God later relaxed that rule and allowed Israelite servants to make their situation lifelong if they wanted to – because for some people, this kind of service was a much more happy and secure life than they would otherwise have.

In fact, the thing that most struck me today was the reason why Israelites weren’t to be servants for life: because, God says, “the Israelites are My servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt.”

Not all service to a master is cruel and life-draining. But we all start life in the most abusive and destructive type of slavery possible: as slaves of sin. Jesus died so that through faith in him, we could be “set free from sin and become slaves to God” (Romans 6:22). And being God’s permanent, lifelong servant is … true freedom! As Paul says in the rest of that verse, it’s the only thing that leads to holiness and results in eternal life.

So when you read about slaves in the Old Testament, thank God that he set you free to serve him forever.

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Leviticus 25:1-31

Leviticus 25:1-31 - Daily Devotion - 10 March 2025

St Barnabas Anglican Church Fairfield & Bossley Park

1 Then the LORD said to Moses on Mount Sinai, 2 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: When you enter the land that I am giving you, the land itself must observe a Sabbath to the LORD.

3 For six years you may sow your field and prune your vineyard and gather its crops. 4 But in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of complete rest for the land—a Sabbath to the LORD.

You are not to sow your field or prune your vineyard. 5 You are not to reap the aftergrowth of your harvest or gather the grapes of your untended vines. The land must have a year of complete rest. 6 Whatever the land yields during the Sabbath year shall be food for you—for yourself, your manservant and maidservant, the hired hand or foreigner who stays with you, 7 and for your livestock and the wild animals in your land. All its growth may serve as food.

8 And you shall count off seven Sabbaths of years—seven times seven years—so that the seven Sabbaths of years amount to forty-nine years. 9 Then you are to sound the horn far and wide on the tenth day of the seventh month, the Day of Atonement. You shall sound it throughout your land.

10 So you are to consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty in the land for all its inhabitants. It shall be your Jubilee, when each of you is to return to his property and to his clan.

11 The fiftieth year will be a Jubilee for you; you are not to sow the land or reap its aftergrowth or harvest the untended vines. 12 For it is a Jubilee; it shall be holy to you. You may eat only the crops taken directly from the field.

13 In this Year of Jubilee, each of you shall return to his own property.

14 If you make a sale to your neighbor or a purchase from him, you must not take advantage of each other. 15 You are to buy from your neighbor according to the number of years since the last Jubilee; he is to sell to you according to the number of harvest years remaining. 16 You shall increase the price in proportion to a greater number of years, or decrease it in proportion to a lesser number of years; for he is selling you a given number of harvests.

17 Do not take advantage of each other, but fear your God; for I am the LORD your God.

18 You are to keep My statutes and carefully observe My judgments, so that you may dwell securely in the land. 19 Then the land will yield its fruit, so that you can eat your fill and dwell in safety in the land.

20 Now you may wonder, ‘What will we eat in the seventh year if we do not sow or gather our produce?’ 21 But I will send My blessing upon you in the sixth year, so that the land will yield a crop sufficient for three years. 22 While you are sowing in the eighth year, you will be eating from the previous harvest, until the ninth year’s harvest comes in.

23 The land must not be sold permanently, because it is Mine, and you are but foreigners and residents with Me. 24 Thus for every piece of property you possess, you must provide for the redemption of the land.

25 If your brother becomes impoverished and sells some of his property, his nearest of kin may come and redeem what his brother has sold. 26 Or if a man has no one to redeem it for him, but he prospers and acquires enough to redeem his land, 27 he shall calculate the years since its sale, repay the balance to the man to whom he sold it, and return to his property. 28 But if he cannot obtain enough to repay him, what he sold will remain in possession of the buyer until the Year of Jubilee. In the Jubilee, however, it is to be released, so that he may return to his property.

29 If a man sells a house in a walled city, he retains his right of redemption until a full year after its sale; during that year it may be redeemed. 30 If it is not redeemed by the end of a full year, then the house in the walled city is permanently transferred to its buyer and his descendants. It is not to be released in the Jubilee. 31 But houses in villages with no walls around them are to be considered as open fields. They may be redeemed, and they shall be released in the Jubilee.

REFLECTIONS

For Israel, the year of Jubilee every 50 years was to be a year of total rest for the whole land – a kind of year-long super-Sabbath. God meant it to be a picture of the true, heavenly rest that he has promised to all who belong to him.

I was struck by how much blessing and goodness is packed into this picture of that rest which is awaiting us. The Jubilee Year meant full redemption and freedom even for those who had become slaves. It meant everyone receiving their proper inheritance in the land – even if they had fallen on hard times. It meant safety and abundance.

And that’s nothing compared to the rest, freedom, inheritance, safety, and abundance that Jesus has stored up for us in heaven – “an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade” (1 Peter 1:4)! Ask God to use that picture to give you strength and energy to face whatever you need to face today, and to do it with courage, hope and faith.

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Leviticus 24

Leviticus 24 - Daily Devotion - 8 March 2025

St Barnabas Anglican Church Fairfield & Bossley Park

1 Then the LORD said to Moses, 2 “Command the Israelites to bring you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to keep the lamps burning continually.

3 Outside the veil of the Testimony in the Tent of Meeting, Aaron is to tend the lamps continually before the LORD from evening until morning. This is to be a permanent statute for the generations to come. 4 He shall tend the lamps on the pure gold lampstand before the LORD continually.

5 You are also to take fine flour and bake twelve loaves, using two-tenths of an ephah for each loaf, 6 and set them in two rows—six per row—on the table of pure gold before the LORD. 7 And you are to place pure frankincense near each row, so that it may serve as a memorial portion for the bread, an offering made by fire to the LORD.

8 Every Sabbath day the bread is to be set out before the LORD on behalf of the Israelites as a permanent covenant. 9 It belongs to Aaron and his sons, who are to eat it in a holy place; for it is to him a most holy part of the offerings made by fire to the LORD—his portion forever.”

10 Now the son of an Israelite mother and an Egyptian father went out among the Israelites, and a fight broke out in the camp between him and an Israelite. 11 The son of the Israelite woman blasphemed the Name with a curse. So they brought him to Moses. (His mother’s name was Shelomith daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.)

12 They placed him in custody until the will of the LORD should be made clear to them.

13 Then the LORD said to Moses, 14 “Take the blasphemer outside the camp, and have all who heard him lay their hands on his head; then have the whole assembly stone him.

15 And you are to tell the Israelites, ‘If anyone curses his God, he shall bear the consequences of his sin. 16 Whoever blasphemes the name of the LORD must surely be put to death; the whole assembly must surely stone him, whether he is a foreign resident or native; if he blasphemes the Name, he must be put to death.

17 And if a man takes the life of anyone else, he must surely be put to death. 18 Whoever kills an animal must make restitution—life for life. 19 If anyone injures his neighbor, whatever he has done must be done to him: 20 fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. Just as he injured the other person, the same must be inflicted on him.

21 Whoever kills an animal must make restitution, but whoever kills a man must be put to death. 22 You are to have the same standard of law for the foreign resident and the native; for I am the LORD your God.’”

23 Then Moses spoke to the Israelites, and they took the blasphemer outside the camp and stoned him. So the Israelites did as the LORD had commanded Moses.

REFLECTIONS

I found the transition from the first half to the second half of the chapter jarring. But then, maybe that’s part of the point. As I reflected on it, I realised that it presents a stark picture of the difference between faith in God and defying God – it’s the difference between light and dark, joy and destruction, life and death. Perhaps that’s why there’s such a sudden shift from holy lamps and holy bread to the man who cursed God. We need to be shown the beauty of the life that God has for us in Christ, but every now and then we need the shock of the contrast.

“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him” (John 3:36). Pray that knowing the contrast will help you to keep the lamp of your witness for Jesus burning continually.

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Leviticus 23:23-44

Leviticus 23:23-44 - Daily Devotion - 7 March 2025

St Barnabas Anglican Church Fairfield & Bossley Park

23 The LORD also said to Moses, 24 “Speak to the Israelites and say, ‘On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of rest, a sacred assembly announced by trumpet blasts. 25 You must not do any regular work, but you are to present an offering made by fire to the LORD.’”

26 Again the LORD said to Moses, 27 “The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. You shall hold a sacred assembly and humble yourselves, and present an offering made by fire to the LORD.

28 On this day you are not to do any work, for it is the Day of Atonement, when atonement is made for you before the LORD your God. 29 If anyone does not humble himself on this day, he must be cut off from his people. 30 I will destroy from among his people anyone who does any work on this day.

31 You are not to do any work at all. This is a permanent statute for the generations to come, wherever you live. 32 It will be a Sabbath of complete rest for you, and you shall humble yourselves. From the evening of the ninth day of the month until the following evening you are to keep your Sabbath.”

33 And the LORD said to Moses, 34 “Speak to the Israelites and say, ‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh month the Feast of Tabernacles to the LORD begins, and it continues for seven days. 35 On the first day there shall be a sacred assembly. You must not do any regular work. 36 For seven days you are to present an offering made by fire to the LORD. On the eighth day you are to hold a sacred assembly and present an offering made by fire to the LORD. It is a solemn assembly; you must not do any regular work.

37 These are the LORD’s appointed feasts, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies for presenting offerings by fire to the LORD—burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings, each on its designated day. 38 These offerings are in addition to the offerings for the LORD’s Sabbaths, and in addition to your gifts, to all your vow offerings, and to all the freewill offerings you give to the LORD.

39 On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, after you have gathered the produce of the land, you are to celebrate a feast to the LORD for seven days. There shall be complete rest on the first day and also on the eighth day.

40 On the first day you are to gather the fruit of majestic trees, the branches of palm trees, and the boughs of leafy trees and of willows of the brook. And you are to rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days. 41 You are to celebrate this as a feast to the LORD for seven days each year. This is a permanent statute for the generations to come; you are to celebrate it in the seventh month.

42 You are to dwell in booths for seven days. All the native-born of Israel must dwell in booths, 43 so that your descendants may know that I made the Israelites dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.’”

44 So Moses announced to the Israelites the appointed feasts of the LORD.

REFLECTIONS

Yesterday I mentioned rest and gathering to give thanks as two blessings of Israel’s festivals. Today, two more stood out to me: remembering, and rejoicing-with-food. The Feast of Tabernacles was to help Israel always remember how God had saved them from Egypt and provided for them through their journey to the promised land. It also involved seven days of feasting and rejoicing before God! (I always knew we were on the right track at St Barnabas, with all our lunches and dinners.)

We’re not under the same systems of laws as Israel. But those four things are all such good gifts, and so important for our wellbeing – resting, being thankful, remembering God’s salvation and constant provision, and rejoicing (with food!). Pray that God would help you to value and prioritise those things.

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Leviticus 23:1-22

Leviticus 23:1-22 - Daily Devotion - 6 March 2025

St Barnabas Anglican Church Fairfield & Bossley Park

Leviticus 23 is about the annual calendar of festivals or feasts that God appointed for Israel. Today we will read the first half, about the festivals to be celebrated in Spring.

Leviticus 23

1 Then the LORD said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them, ‘These are My appointed feasts, the feasts of the LORD that you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies.

3 For six days work may be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of complete rest, a day of sacred assembly. You must not do any work; wherever you live, it is a Sabbath to the LORD.

4 These are the LORD’s appointed feasts, the sacred assemblies you are to proclaim at their appointed times. 5 The Passover to the LORD begins at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month. 6 On the fifteenth day of the same month begins the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the LORD. For seven days you must eat unleavened bread. 7 On the first day you are to hold a sacred assembly; you are not to do any regular work. 8 For seven days you are to present an offering made by fire to the LORD. On the seventh day there shall be a sacred assembly; you must not do any regular work.’”

9 And the LORD said to Moses, 10 “Speak to the Israelites and say, ‘When you enter the land that I am giving you and you reap its harvest, you are to bring to the priest a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest. 11 And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD so that it may be accepted on your behalf; the priest is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath.

12 On the day you wave the sheaf, you shall offer a year-old lamb without blemish as a burnt offering to the LORD, 13 along with its grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil—an offering made by fire to the LORD, a pleasing aroma—and its drink offering of a quarter hin of wine.

14 You must not eat any bread or roasted or new grain until the very day you have brought this offering to your God. This is to be a permanent statute for the generations to come, wherever you live.

15 From the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, you are to count off seven full weeks. 16 You shall count off fifty days until the day after the seventh Sabbath, and then present an offering of new grain to the LORD.

17 Bring two loaves of bread from your dwellings as a wave offering, each made from two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour, baked with leaven, as the firstfruits to the LORD.

18 Along with the bread you are to present seven unblemished male lambs a year old, one young bull, and two rams. They will be a burnt offering to the LORD, together with their grain offerings and drink offerings—an offering made by fire, a pleasing aroma to the LORD.

19 You shall also prepare one male goat as a sin offering and two male lambs a year old as a peace offering. 20 The priest is to wave the lambs as a wave offering before the LORD, together with the bread of the firstfruits. The bread and the two lambs shall be holy to the LORD for the priest.

21 On that same day you are to proclaim a sacred assembly, and you must not do any regular work. This is to be a permanent statute wherever you live for the generations to come.

22 When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap all the way to the edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and the foreign resident. I am the LORD your God.’”

REFLECTIONS

Today’s section was a helpful reminder to me that rest is such a good gift from God. Protestant Christians tend to be suspicious of commands, which means sometimes we can get a sense that the Sabbath command must have been a burden for the Israelites to obey. But it was, quite literally, the opposite of a burden. It was about the double blessing of rest and a designated space in their lives to gather and be intentionally thankful to God. I needed the reminder of both those things.

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Leviticus 22:17-33

Leviticus 22:17-33 - Daily Devotion - 5 March 2025

St Barnabas Anglican Church Fairfield & Bossley Park

17 Then the LORD said to Moses, 18 “Speak to Aaron and his sons and all the Israelites and tell them, ‘Any man of the house of Israel or any foreign resident who presents a gift for a burnt offering to the LORD, whether to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering, 19 must offer an unblemished male from the cattle, sheep, or goats in order for it to be accepted on your behalf. 20 You must not present anything with a defect, because it will not be accepted on your behalf.

21 When a man presents a peace offering to the LORD from the herd or flock to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering, it must be without blemish or defect to be acceptable. 22 You are not to present to the LORD any animal that is blind, injured, or maimed, or anything with a running sore, a festering rash, or a scab; you must not put any of these on the altar as an offering made by fire to the LORD.

23 You may present as a freewill offering an ox or sheep that has a deformed or stunted limb, but it is not acceptable in fulfillment of a vow. 24 You are not to present to the LORD an animal whose testicles are bruised, crushed, torn, or cut; you are not to sacrifice them in your land. 25 Neither you nor a foreigner shall present food to your God from any such animal. They will not be accepted on your behalf, because they are deformed and flawed.’”

26 Then the LORD said to Moses, 27 “When an ox, a sheep, or a goat is born, it must remain with its mother for seven days. From the eighth day on, it will be acceptable as an offering made by fire to the LORD. 28 But you must not slaughter an ox or a sheep on the same day as its young.

29 When you sacrifice a thank offering to the LORD, offer it so that it may be acceptable on your behalf. 30 It must be eaten that same day. Do not leave any of it until morning. I am the LORD.

31 You are to keep My commandments and practice them. I am the LORD. 32 You must not profane My holy name. I must be acknowledged as holy among the Israelites. I am the LORD who sanctifies you, 33 who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God. I am the LORD.”

REFLECTIONS

Verses 26-28 took me by surprise – the commands not to take a calf or lamb from its mother before the eighth day (not even to offer to the Lord), and not to slaughter both a mature animal and its young on the same day. The thing I’ve always thought of is how much more valuable and important human lives are in God’s sight than the lives of animals – and I still think that’s right. After all, how many animals were sacrificed, at God’s command, to save people from judgment in the Old Testament?

But that doesn’t mean God doesn’t value animals at all, and it certainly doesn’t justify cruelty to animals. In fact, when I looked into it, I discovered there are more verses than I realised that command people to show kindness to animals, even wild animals and birds (Exodus 23:5, 10-12; Deuteronomy 22:6-7; Proverbs 12:10). I guess it’s no surprise that God cares about all of his creatures – and I should too, since they belong to him.

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Leviticus 22:1-16

Leviticus 22:1-16 - Daily Devotion - 4 March 2025

St Barnabas Anglican Church Fairfield & Bossley Park

1 Then the LORD said to Moses, 2 “Tell Aaron and his sons to treat with respect the sacred offerings that the Israelites have consecrated to Me, so that they do not profane My holy name. I am the LORD.

3 Tell them that for the generations to come, if any of their descendants in a state of uncleanness approaches the sacred offerings that the Israelites consecrate to the LORD, that person must be cut off from My presence. I am the LORD.

4 If a descendant of Aaron has a skin disease or a discharge, he may not eat the sacred offerings until he is clean. Whoever touches anything defiled by a corpse or by a man who has an emission of semen, 5 or whoever touches a crawling creature or a person that makes him unclean, whatever the uncleanness may be— 6 the man who touches any of these will remain unclean until evening. He must not eat from the sacred offerings unless he has bathed himself with water.

7 When the sun has set, he will become clean, and then he may eat from the sacred offerings, for they are his food. 8 He must not eat anything found dead or torn by wild animals, which would make him unclean. I am the LORD. 9 The priests must keep My charge, lest they bear the guilt and die because they profane it. I am the LORD who sanctifies them.

10 No one outside a priest’s family may eat the sacred offering, nor may the guest of a priest or his hired hand eat it. 11 But if a priest buys a slave with his own money, or if a slave is born in his household, that slave may eat his food.

12 If the priest’s daughter is married to a man other than a priest, she is not to eat of the sacred contributions. 13 But if a priest’s daughter with no children becomes widowed or divorced and returns to her father’s house, she may share her father’s food as in her youth. But no outsider may share it.

14 If anyone eats a sacred offering in error, he must add a fifth to its value and give the sacred offering to the priest. 15 The priests must not profane the sacred offerings that the Israelites present to the LORD 16 by allowing the people to eat the sacred offerings and thus to bear the punishment for guilt. For I am the LORD who sanctifies them.”

REFLECTIONS

On the one hand, I’m so glad I’m not a priest in the Old Testament, and that we don’t need to follow all these rules about being clean or unclean, because Jesus has come and provided true cleansing. On the other hand, I was thinking about verse 1, and the command to “treat with respect the sacred offerings that the Israelites have consecrated to Me, so that they do not profane My holy name.” We no longer bring grain offerings or fellowship offerings to the tabernacle, to be consecrated to the Lord. But that’s because by his grace, Jesus has consecrated our whole selves and our whole lives to God, and because of that, we are called to “offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God” (Romans 12:1).

That means, I don’t want to be less concerned with consecrating myself to God than the Israelites were. I want everything in my life to look like Colossians 3:17: “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

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Leviticus 21

Leviticus 21 - Daily Devotion - 3 March 2025

St Barnabas Anglican Church Fairfield & Bossley Park

1 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Speak to Aaron’s sons, the priests, and tell them that a priest is not to defile himself for a dead person among his people, 2 except for his immediate family—his mother, father, son, daughter, or brother, 3 or his unmarried sister who is near to him, since she has no husband. 4 He is not to defile himself for those related to him by marriage, and so profane himself.

5 Priests must not make bald spots on their heads, shave off the edges of their beards, or make cuts in their bodies. 6 They must be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God. Because they present to the LORD the offerings made by fire, the food of their God, they must be holy.

7 A priest must not marry a woman defiled by prostitution or divorced by her husband, for the priest is holy to his God. 8 You are to regard him as holy, since he presents the food of your God. He shall be holy to you, because I the LORD am holy—I who set you apart. 9 If a priest’s daughter defiles herself by prostituting herself, she profanes her father; she must be burned in the fire.

10 The priest who is highest among his brothers, who has had the anointing oil poured on his head and has been ordained to wear the priestly garments, must not let his hair hang loose or tear his garments. 11 He must not go near any dead body; he must not defile himself, even for his father or mother. 12 He must not leave or desecrate the sanctuary of his God, for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is on him. I am the LORD.

13 The woman he marries must be a virgin. 14 He is not to marry a widow, a divorced woman, or one defiled by prostitution. He is to marry a virgin from his own people, 15 so that he does not defile his offspring among his people, for I am the LORD who sanctifies him.”

16 Then the LORD said to Moses, 17 “Say to Aaron, ‘For the generations to come, none of your descendants who has a physical defect may approach to offer the food of his God.

18 No man who has any defect may approach—no man who is blind, lame, disfigured, or deformed; 19 no man who has a broken foot or hand, 20 or who is a hunchback or dwarf, or who has an eye defect, a festering rash, scabs, or a crushed testicle.

21 No descendant of Aaron the priest who has a defect shall approach to present the offerings made by fire to the LORD. Since he has a defect, he is not to come near to offer the food of his God. 22 He may eat the most holy food of his God as well as the holy food, 23 but because he has a defect, he must not go near the veil or approach the altar, so as not to desecrate My sanctuaries. For I am the LORD who sanctifies them.’”

24 Moses told this to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites.

REFLECTIONS

(Many apologies that today’s devotion is late!)

As I was reading today’s passage, what caught my eye was how vulnerable the priests under the old covenant were to being defiled – and what a contrast that is with Jesus, the true high priest who fulfilled their weak ministry.

That especially stood out with the repeated warnings that they would become unclean if they came into contact with death. It made me think of Mark 5, where Jesus is confronted by a wild, unhinged man who lived among the tombs of dead people and was controlled by a legion of “unclean spirits”! But Jesus doesn’t become contaminated or defiled – instead, he drives out the unclean spirits and makes the man clean and sane again.

Even during his earthly ministry, Jesus was the true priest who couldn’t be defiled, the victorious lord over evil and death. How much more now that he has literally risen in power from the grave? What a comfort to know that “when Christ appears, we will be like Him” (1 John 3:2).

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Leviticus 20

Leviticus 20 - Daily Devotion - 1 March 2025

St Barnabas Anglican Church Fairfield & Bossley Park

1 Then the LORD said to Moses, 2 “Tell the Israelites, ‘Any Israelite or foreigner living in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech must be put to death. The people of the land are to stone him. 3 And I will set My face against that man and cut him off from his people, because by giving his offspring to Molech, he has defiled My sanctuary and profaned My holy name.

4 And if the people of the land ever hide their eyes and fail to put to death the man who gives one of his children to Molech, 5 then I will set My face against that man and his family and cut off from among their people both him and all who follow him in prostituting themselves with Molech.

6 Whoever turns to mediums or spiritists to prostitute himself with them, I will also set My face against that person and cut him off from his people.

7 Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, because I am the LORD your God. 8 And you shall keep My statutes and practice them. I am the LORD who sanctifies you.

9 If anyone curses his father or mother, he must be put to death. He has cursed his father or mother; his blood shall be upon him.

10 If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress must surely be put to death.

11 If a man lies with his father’s wife, he has uncovered his father’s nakedness. Both must surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.

12 If a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both must surely be put to death. They have acted perversely; their blood is upon them.

13 If a man lies with a man as with a woman, they have both committed an abomination. They must surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.

14 If a man marries both a woman and her mother, it is depraved. Both he and they must be burned in the fire, so that there will be no depravity among you.

15 If a man lies carnally with an animal, he must be put to death. And you are also to kill the animal.

16 If a woman approaches any animal to mate with it, you must kill both the woman and the animal. They must surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.

17 If a man marries his sister, whether the daughter of his father or of his mother, and they have sexual relations, it is a disgrace. They must be cut off in the sight of their people. He has uncovered the nakedness of his sister; he shall bear his iniquity.

18 If a man lies with a menstruating woman and has sexual relations with her, he has exposed the source of her flow, and she has uncovered the source of her blood. Both of them must be cut off from among their people.

19 You must not have sexual relations with the sister of your mother or your father, for it is exposing one’s own kin; both shall bear their iniquity.

20 If a man lies with his uncle’s wife, he has uncovered the nakedness of his uncle. They will bear their sin; they shall die childless.

21 If a man marries his brother’s wife, it is an act of impurity. He has uncovered the nakedness of his brother; they shall be childless.

22 You are therefore to keep all My statutes and ordinances, so that the land where I am bringing you to live will not vomit you out. 23 You must not follow the statutes of the nations I am driving out before you. Because they did all these things, I abhorred them.

24 But I have told you that you will inherit their land, since I will give it to you as an inheritance—a land flowing with milk and honey. I am the LORD your God, who has set you apart from the peoples.

25 You are therefore to distinguish between clean and unclean animals and birds. Do not become contaminated by any animal or bird, or by anything that crawls on the ground; I have set these apart as unclean for you. 26 You are to be holy to Me because I, the LORD, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be My own.

27 A man or a woman who is a medium or spiritist must surely be put to death. They shall be stoned; their blood is upon them.’”

REFLECTIONS

This is an intense chapter. The penalties set out here for serious sins don’t apply directly in the church – we aren’t a political nation under the Sinai law code like Israel was.

But here’s what most struck me reading it: It’s so easy for Christians to slowly and unwittingly shift towards the moral compass of the godless society we live in.

The Israelites were about to enter a land where the Canaanites practiced abominations, like child sacrifice and consulting the spirits of the dead. Surely the Israelites didn’t need to be told not to copy them, did they?

Apparently they did. Because unless we’re vigilant in sticking to God’s Word and encouraging each other in Jesus, we’ll be like frogs in a pot of water sitting on the stove: We won’t notice that the moral temperature is slowly changing.

Pray now that we will resolutely resist the influence of the world, so that we joyfully pursue holy living, for Jesus’ sake.

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Leviticus 19:19-37

Leviticus 19:19-37 - Daily Devotion - 28 February 2025

St Barnabas Anglican Church Fairfield & Bossley Park

19 You are to keep My statutes. You shall not crossbreed two different kinds of livestock; you shall not sow your fields with two kinds of seed; and you shall not wear clothing made of two kinds of material.

20 If a man lies carnally with a slave girl promised to another man but who has not been redeemed or given her freedom, there must be due punishment. But they are not to be put to death, because she had not been freed. 21 The man, however, must bring a ram to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting as his guilt offering to the LORD. 22 The priest shall make atonement on his behalf before the LORD with the ram of the guilt offering for the sin he has committed, and he will be forgiven the sin he has committed.

23 When you enter the land and plant any kind of tree for food, you shall regard the fruit as forbidden. For three years it will be forbidden to you and must not be eaten. 24 In the fourth year all its fruit must be consecrated as a praise offering to the LORD. 25 But in the fifth year you may eat its fruit; thus your harvest will be increased. I am the LORD your God.

26 You must not eat anything with blood still in it.

You must not practice divination or sorcery.

27 You must not cut off the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.

28 You must not make any cuts in your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD.

29 You must not defile your daughter by making her a prostitute, or the land will be prostituted and filled with depravity.

30 You must keep My Sabbaths and have reverence for My sanctuary. I am the LORD.

31 You must not turn to mediums or spiritists; do not seek them out, or you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.

32 You are to rise in the presence of the elderly, honor the aged, and fear your God. I am the LORD.

33 When a foreigner resides with you in your land, you must not oppress him. 34 You must treat the foreigner living among you as native-born and love him as yourself, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.

35 You must not use dishonest measures of length, weight, or volume. 36 You shall maintain honest scales and weights, an honest ephah, and an honest hin. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.

37 You must keep all My statutes and all My ordinances and follow them. I am the LORD.”

REFLECTIONS

Today’s passage has such a diverse list of laws. But the bit that got stuck in my brain was the law about a man who sleeps with a slave girl who has been promised in marriage to another man (v 20-22). Did those verses make you at all uncomfortable?

Here’s what I think is most helpful for seeing how good this command is: It was designed to give Israel’s judges one key principle as they considered cases of sexual misconduct. That key principle was that every person has the same value in God’s eyes.

Female slaves were the lowest of the low on Israel’s social scale (that scale didn’t come from God, mind you!). The Law of Moses had already laid out protections for women, to stop men from exploiting them and then abandoning them. This law makes it clear that even female slaves were to receive those protections, and that the man who did this had to both seek God’s forgiveness and do everything possible to repair the damage he had caused. For example, the man in this case would probably have had to marry the slave girl to provide for her (that’s the most likely “due punishment” in verse 20).

I love that God cares for the poor and the foreigner, as we saw yesterday and today. I love that he has female slaves, along with everyone else, at the top of his social scale. And I love how Jesus wanted tax collectors and prostitutes to find life and salvation. That’s the king I want to follow.

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Leviticus 19:1-18

Leviticus 19:1-18 - Daily Devotion - 27 February 2025

St Barnabas Anglican Church Fairfield & Bossley Park

1 Then the LORD said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the whole congregation of Israel and tell them: Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.

3 Each of you must respect his mother and father, and you must keep My Sabbaths. I am the LORD your God.

4 Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves molten gods. I am the LORD your God.

5 When you sacrifice a peace offering to the LORD, you shall offer it for your acceptance. 6 It shall be eaten on the day you sacrifice it, or on the next day; but what remains on the third day must be burned up. 7 If any of it is eaten on the third day, it is tainted and will not be accepted. 8 Whoever eats it will bear his iniquity, for he has profaned what is holy to the LORD. That person must be cut off from his people.

9 When you reap the harvest of your land, you are not to reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 You must not strip your vineyard bare or gather its fallen grapes. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the LORD your God.

11 You must not steal. You must not lie or deceive one another.

12 You must not swear falsely by My name and so profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.

13 You must not defraud your neighbor or rob him.

You must not withhold until morning the wages due a hired hand.

14 You must not curse the deaf or place a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God. I am the LORD.

15 You must not pervert justice; you must not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the rich; you are to judge your neighbor fairly.

16 You must not go about spreading slander among your people.

You must not endanger the life of your neighbor. I am the LORD.

17 You must not harbor hatred against your brother in your heart. Directly rebuke your neighbor, so that you will not incur guilt on account of him. 18 Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against any of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.

REFLECTIONS

We spent lots of time last year thinking about what it means to be holy like God is holy (v. 2). We saw that holiness is a gift we receive through faith in Jesus. He devotes us to God by his death for us. But Jesus also frees us to live holy lives, lives that are devoted to God. We don’t just learn that from the New Testament, the Old Testament has so much to teach us about holy living. After all, verse 18 was Jesus’ second-favourite Bible verse: “love your neighbour as yourself” (see Matthew 22:37-40).

As I read Leviticus 19 today, it struck me how holiness involves both our actions and our attitudes – our hands and our hearts. For example, in verses 17-18, God tells us not to seek revenge (action), he also says not to harbour hatred against others in our hearts (attitude). I’m sure we could think about both our hands and our hearts with all the areas of life this passage covers – honouring our parents, not turning to idols, helping the poor and foreigners, not stealing or lying, and so on.

Pray for one aspect of your own holiness today, both for your actions and your attitude.

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Leviticus 18

Leviticus 18 - Daily Devotion - 26 February 2025

St Barnabas Anglican Church Fairfield & Bossley Park

1 Then the LORD said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: I am the LORD your God. 3 You must not follow the practices of the land of Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not follow the practices of the land of Canaan, into which I am bringing you. You must not walk in their customs.

4 You are to practice My judgments and keep My statutes by walking in them. I am the LORD your God. 5 Keep My statutes and My judgments, for the man who does these things will live by them. I am the LORD.

6 None of you are to approach any close relative to have sexual relations. I am the LORD.

7 You must not expose the nakedness of your father by having sexual relations with your mother. She is your mother; you must not have sexual relations with her.

8 You must not have sexual relations with your father’s wife; it would dishonor your father.

9 You must not have sexual relations with your sister, either your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether she was born in the same home or elsewhere.

10 You must not have sexual relations with your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter, for that would shame your family.

11 You must not have sexual relations with the daughter of your father’s wife, born to your father; she is your sister.

12 You must not have sexual relations with your father’s sister; she is your father’s close relative.

13 You must not have sexual relations with your mother’s sister, for she is your mother’s close relative.

14 You must not dishonor your father’s brother by approaching his wife to have sexual relations with her; she is your aunt.

15 You must not have sexual relations with your daughter-in-law. She is your son’s wife; you are not to have sexual relations with her.

16 You must not have sexual relations with your brother’s wife; that would shame your brother.

17 You must not have sexual relations with both a woman and her daughter. You are not to marry her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter and have sexual relations with her. They are close relatives; it is depraved.

18 You must not take your wife’s sister as a rival wife and have sexual relations with her while your wife is still alive.

19 You must not approach a woman to have sexual relations with her during her menstrual period.

20 You must not lie carnally with your neighbor’s wife and thus defile yourself with her.

21 You must not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molech, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.

22 You must not lie with a man as with a woman; that is an abomination.

23 You must not lie carnally with any animal, thus defiling yourself with it; a woman must not stand before an animal to mate with it; that is a perversion.

24 Do not defile yourselves by any of these practices, for by all these things the nations I am driving out before you have defiled themselves. 25 Even the land has become defiled, so I am punishing it for its sin, and the land will vomit out its inhabitants.

26 But you are to keep My statutes and ordinances, and you must not commit any of these abominations—neither your native-born nor the foreigner who lives among you. 27 For the men who were in the land before you committed all these abominations, and the land has become defiled. 28 So if you defile the land, it will vomit you out as it spewed out the nations before you.

29 Therefore anyone who commits any of these abominations must be cut off from among his people. 30 You must keep My charge not to practice any of the abominable customs that were practiced before you, so that you do not defile yourselves by them. I am the LORD your God.”

REFLECTIONS

Today marks an important shift in the book of Leviticus. The first 17 chapters have focused on the symbolic system of Israel’s ceremonies. But the next few chapters will focus on practical holiness of life. A key indication of that is in verse 3: “you must not follow the practices of the land of Canaan, into which I am bringing you.”

You might come across people who argue that, just as we’re now free to eat shellfish and pork, so we are now free to abandon the Bible’s commands about sex. That is such a deceptive and dangerous teaching – not because sexual sins are more evil than other sins, but because of how it undermines the Word of God. The New Testament tells us just as clearly not to follow the practices of the world, especially when it comes to sex and marriage (e.g. 1 Thess. 4:3-7).

That doesn’t mean it’s easy to ignore the voices around us. For today, pray that God will give you an unshakeable belief in the goodness of his instructions to us about sex, and a hope-filled expectation that they are the best thing for our flourishing.

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Leviticus 17

Leviticus 17 - Daily Devotion - 25 February 2025

St Barnabas Anglican Church Fairfield & Bossley Park

1 Then the LORD said to Moses, 2 “Speak to Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites and tell them this is what the LORD has commanded: 3 ‘Anyone from the house of Israel who slaughters an ox, a lamb, or a goat in the camp or outside of it 4 instead of bringing it to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting to present it as an offering to the LORD before His tabernacle—that man shall incur bloodguilt. He has shed blood and must be cut off from among his people.

5 For this reason the Israelites will bring to the LORD the sacrifices they have been offering in the open fields. They are to bring them to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and offer them as sacrifices of peace to the LORD. 6 The priest will then sprinkle the blood on the altar of the LORD at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and burn the fat as a pleasing aroma to the LORD.

7 They must no longer offer their sacrifices to the goat demons to which they have prostituted themselves. This will be a permanent statute for them for the generations to come.’

8 Tell them that if anyone from the house of Israel or any foreigner living among them offers a burnt offering or a sacrifice 9 but does not bring it to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting to sacrifice it to the LORD, that man must be cut off from his people.

10 If anyone from the house of Israel or a foreigner living among them eats any blood, I will set My face against that person and cut him off from among his people. 11 For the life[C] of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for your souls upon the altar; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul. 12 Therefore I say to the Israelites, ‘None of you may eat blood, nor may any foreigner living among you eat blood.’

13 And if any Israelite or foreigner living among them hunts down a wild animal or bird that may be eaten, he must drain its blood and cover it with dirt. 14 For the life of all flesh is its blood. Therefore I have told the Israelites, ‘You must not eat the blood of any living thing, because the life of all flesh is its blood; whoever eats it must be cut off.’

15 And any person, whether native or foreigner, who eats anything found dead or mauled by wild beasts must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening; then he will be clean. 16 But if he does not wash his clothes and bathe himself, then he shall bear his iniquity.”

REFLECTIONS

This chapter is still talking about the symbolic system that God gave Israel to teach them about sin and holiness – and verse 11 is one of the keys to understanding the meaning of all the sacrifices in that system, and why almost all of them involved blood: “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for your souls upon the altar; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.” (verse 11)

That’s so helpful for understanding the death of Jesus on the cross. Why does the New Testament talk so much about the blood of Jesus shed on the cross? It’s because his blood was the visible sign of his life, and he willingly sacrificed his own life to save us from death and judgment. Peter says, “You were redeemed … with the precious blood of Christ” (1 Peter 1:18-19). That blood was precious, because the life of the Son of God was more precious to the Father than anything else. And he offered it over to death for you and me. What a saviour!

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Leviticus 16:20-34

Leviticus 16:20-34 - Daily Devotion - 24 February 2025

St Barnabas Anglican Church Fairfield & Bossley Park

Today is the second half of God’s instructions to Aaron for the Day of Atonement ceremony.

Leviticus 16

20 When Aaron has finished purifying the Most Holy Place, the Tent of Meeting, and the altar, he is to bring forward the live goat. 21 Then he is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the iniquities and rebellious acts of the Israelites in regard to all their sins. He is to put them on the goat’s head and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man appointed for the task. 22 The goat will carry on itself all their iniquities into a solitary place, and the man will release it into the wilderness.

23 Then Aaron is to enter the Tent of Meeting, take off the linen garments he put on before entering the Most Holy Place, and leave them there. 24 He is to bathe himself with water in a holy place and put on his own clothes. Then he must go out and sacrifice his burnt offering and the people’s burnt offering to make atonement for himself and for the people. 25 He is also to burn the fat of the sin offering on the altar.

26 The man who released the goat as the scapegoat must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water; afterward he may reenter the camp.

27 The bull for the sin offering and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought into the Most Holy Place to make atonement, must be taken outside the camp; and their hides, flesh, and dung must be burned up. 28 The one who burns them must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water, and afterward he may reenter the camp.

29 This is to be a permanent statute for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month, you shall humble yourselves and not do any work—whether the native or the foreigner who resides among you— 30 because on this day atonement will be made for you to cleanse you, and you will be clean from all your sins before the LORD. 31 It is a Sabbath of complete rest for you, that you may humble yourselves; it is a permanent statute.

32 The priest who is anointed and ordained to succeed his father as high priest shall make atonement. He will put on the sacred linen garments 33 and make atonement for the Most Holy Place, the Tent of Meeting, and the altar, and for the priests and all the people of the assembly. 34 This is to be a permanent statute for you, to make atonement once a year for the Israelites because of all their sins.”

And all this was done as the LORD had commanded Moses.

REFLECTIONS

The New Testament takes every part of Israel’s Day of Atonement ceremony and tells us: Jesus is the fulfilment of all of them! He is both the sacrifice whose blood truly washes away sin, and he is the high priest who has entered the true sanctuary of God’s dwelling in heaven, where he constantly intercedes for us.

Even the fact that the remains of the sacrifices are burned outside the camp points to the cross of Jesus! Hebrews 13:11-14 is fascinating:

11 Although the high priest brings the blood of animals into the Holy Place as a sacrifice for sin, the bodies are burned outside the camp. 12 And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate, to sanctify the people by His own blood. 13 Therefore let us go to Him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace He bore. 14 For here we do not have a permanent city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.

I guess it was shameful to be the person who had to carry the stinking carcasses and dung outside the Israelite community to burn them. Being joined to Jesus in his death for us involves sharing his shame – but we count that a joy and a privilege, because we are headed for his eternal heavenly home.

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Leviticus 16:1-19

Leviticus 16:1-19 - Daily Devotion - 22 February 2025

St Barnabas Anglican Church Fairfield & Bossley Park

After 5 chapters hearing about Israel’s uncleanness, today we reach the central chapter of the book of Leviticus. It describes the Day of Atonement – the one day in the year when the high priest could enter the Most Holy Place of the tabernacle.

Leviticus 16

1 Now the LORD spoke to Moses after the death of two of Aaron’s sons when they approached the presence of the LORD. 2 And the LORD said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron not to enter freely into the Most Holy Place behind the veil in front of the mercy seat on the ark, or else he will die, because I appear in the cloud above the mercy seat.

3 This is how Aaron is to enter the Holy Place: with a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. 4 He is to wear the sacred linen tunic, with linen undergarments. He must tie a linen sash around him and put on the linen turban. These are holy garments, and he must bathe himself with water before he wears them. 5 And he shall take from the congregation of Israel two male goats for a sin offering and one ram for a burnt offering.

6 Aaron is to present the bull for his sin offering and make atonement for himself and his household. 7 Then he shall take the two goats and present them before the LORD at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.

8 After Aaron casts lots for the two goats, one for the LORD and the other for the scapegoat, 9 he shall present the goat chosen by lot for the LORD and sacrifice it as a sin offering. 10 But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the LORD to make atonement by sending it into the wilderness as the scapegoat.

11 When Aaron presents the bull for his sin offering and makes atonement for himself and his household, he is to slaughter the bull for his own sin offering. 12 Then he must take a censer full of burning coals from the altar before the LORD, and two handfuls of finely ground fragrant incense, and take them inside the veil. 13 He is to put the incense on the fire before the LORD, and the cloud of incense will cover the mercy seat above the Testimony, so that he will not die. 14 And he is to take some of the bull’s blood and sprinkle it with his finger on the east side of the mercy seat; then he shall sprinkle some of it with his finger seven times before the mercy seat.

15 Aaron shall then slaughter the goat for the sin offering for the people and bring its blood behind the veil, and with its blood he must do as he did with the bull’s blood: He is to sprinkle it against the mercy seat and in front of it.

16 So he shall make atonement for the Most Holy Place because of the impurities and rebellious acts of the Israelites in regard to all their sins. He is to do the same for the Tent of Meeting which abides among them, because it is surrounded by their impurities. 17 No one may be in the Tent of Meeting from the time Aaron goes in to make atonement in the Most Holy Place until he leaves, after he has made atonement for himself, his household, and the whole assembly of Israel.

18 Then he shall go out to the altar that is before the LORD and make atonement for it. He is to take some of the bull’s blood and some of the goat’s blood and put it on all the horns of the altar. 19 He is to sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times to cleanse it and consecrate it from the uncleanness of the Israelites.

REFLECTIONS

In Israel’s whole system of sacrifices, the Day of Atonement was the most solemn and profound ceremony for symbolically dealing with sin and uncleanness. We will think more deeply about it in church next Sunday.

But here’s what really struck me today as I read it: For sinners like us, the living God is both instant death, and mercy and hope. Entering God’s presence would mean death even to a priest like Aaron. And yet, God’s presence in the Most Holy Place was where the “mercy seat” was located – the cover of the ark of the covenant. That was the only place where Aaron could take the blood of the sacrifice that would wash away all Israel’s impurity.

The New Testament tells us that Jesus is that God’s mercy come to us. Is he your life and hope?

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Leviticus 15

Leviticus 15 - Daily Devotion - 21 February 2025

St Barnabas Anglican Church Fairfield & Bossley Park

Today is the final chapter of regulations about clean and unclean things – and a heads up that there is an awful lot about bodily fluids in this chapter!

1 And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, 2 “Say to the Israelites, ‘When any man has a bodily discharge, the discharge is unclean. 3 This uncleanness is from his discharge, whether his body allows the discharge to flow or blocks it. So his discharge will bring about uncleanness.

4 Any bed on which the man with the discharge lies will be unclean, and any furniture on which he sits will be unclean. 5 Anyone who touches his bed must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening. 6 Whoever sits on furniture on which the man with the discharge was sitting must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening.

7 Whoever touches the body of the man with a discharge must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening. 8 If the man with the discharge spits on one who is clean, that person must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening.

9 Any saddle on which the man with the discharge rides will be unclean. 10 Whoever touches anything that was under him will be unclean until evening, and whoever carries such things must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening.

11 If the man with the discharge touches anyone without first rinsing his hands with water, the one who was touched must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening. 12 Any clay pot that the man with the discharge touches must be broken, and any wooden utensil must be rinsed with water.

13 When the man has been cleansed from his discharge, he must count off seven days for his cleansing, wash his clothes, and bathe himself in fresh water, and he shall be clean. 14 On the eighth day he is to take two turtledoves or two young pigeons, come before the LORD at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, and give them to the priest. 15 The priest is to sacrifice them, one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for the man before the LORD because of his discharge.

16 When a man has an emission of semen, he must bathe his whole body with water, and he will be unclean until evening. 17 Any clothing or leather on which there is an emission of semen must be washed with water, and it will remain unclean until evening. 18 If a man lies with a woman and there is an emission of semen, both must bathe with water, and they will remain unclean until evening.

19 When a woman has a discharge consisting of blood from her body, she will be unclean due to her menstruation for seven days, and anyone who touches her will be unclean until evening. 20 Anything on which she lies or sits during her menstruation will be unclean, 21 and anyone who touches her bed must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening.

22 Whoever touches any furniture on which she was sitting must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening. 23 And whether it is a bed or furniture on which she was sitting, whoever touches it will be unclean until evening.

24 If a man lies with her and her menstrual flow touches him, he will be unclean for seven days, and any bed on which he lies will become unclean.

25 When a woman has a discharge of her blood for many days at a time other than her menstrual period, or if it continues beyond her period, she will be unclean all the days of her unclean discharge, just as she is during the days of her menstruation. 26 Any bed on which she lies or any furniture on which she sits during the days of her discharge will be unclean, like her bed during her menstrual period. 27 Anyone who touches these things will be unclean; he must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening.

28 When a woman is cleansed of her discharge, she must count off seven days, and after that she will be ceremonially clean. 29 On the eighth day she is to take two turtledoves or two young pigeons and bring them to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. 30 The priest is to sacrifice one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for her before the LORD for her unclean discharge.

31 You must keep the children of Israel separate from their uncleanness, so that they do not die by defiling My tabernacle, which is among them.

32 This is the law of him who has a discharge, of the man who has an emission of semen whereby he is unclean, 33 of a woman in her menstrual period, of any male or female who has a discharge, and of a man who lies with an unclean woman.’”

REFLECTIONS

You know, the last 5 chapters have got me wondering: How many of the Israelites were ritually clean at any one time? You must have spent most of your life unclean, or going through rituals, or paying for sacrifices for cleansing.

And the kicker is at the very end of chapter 15: If there was too much uncleanness among the people, it would contaminate the tabernacle itself, and if that happened, all of them would die (v 31).

How on earth was it possible for that not to happen? Stay tuned for the answer tomorrow.

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Leviticus 14:33-57

Leviticus 14:33-57 - Daily Devotion - 20 February 2025

St Barnabas Anglican Church Fairfield & Bossley Park

33 Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, 34 “When you enter the land of Canaan, which I am giving you as your possession, and I put a contamination of mildew into a house in that land, 35 the owner of the house shall come and tell the priest, ‘Something like mildew has appeared in my house.’

36 The priest must order that the house be cleared before he enters it to examine the mildew, so that nothing in the house will become unclean. After this, the priest shall go in to inspect the house.

37 He is to examine the house, and if the mildew on the walls consists of green or red depressions that appear to be beneath the surface of the wall, 38 the priest shall go outside the doorway of the house and close it up for seven days.

39 On the seventh day the priest is to return and inspect the house. If the mildew has spread on the walls, 40 he must order that the contaminated stones be pulled out and thrown into an unclean place outside the city. 41 And he shall have the inside of the house scraped completely and the plaster that is scraped off dumped into an unclean place outside the city.

42 So different stones must be obtained to replace the contaminated ones, as well as additional mortar to replaster the house.

43 If the mildew reappears in the house after the stones have been torn out and the house has been scraped and replastered, 44 the priest must come and inspect it.

If the mildew has spread in the house, it is a destructive mildew; the house is unclean. 45 It must be torn down with its stones, its timbers, and all its plaster, and taken outside the city to an unclean place. 46 Anyone who enters the house during any of the days that it is closed up will be unclean until evening. 47 And anyone who sleeps in the house or eats in it must wash his clothes.

48 If, however, the priest comes and inspects it, and the mildew has not spread after the house has been replastered, he shall pronounce the house clean, because the mildew is gone.

49 He is to take two birds, cedar wood, scarlet yarn, and hyssop to purify the house; 50 and he shall slaughter one of the birds over fresh water in a clay pot.

51 Then he shall take the cedar wood, the hyssop, the scarlet yarn, and the live bird, dip them in the blood of the slaughtered bird and the fresh water, and sprinkle the house seven times. 52 And he shall cleanse the house with the bird’s blood, the fresh water, the live bird, the cedar wood, the hyssop, and the scarlet yarn.

53 Finally, he is to release the live bird into the open fields outside the city. In this way he will make atonement for the house, and it will be clean.

54 This is the law for any infectious skin disease, for a scaly outbreak, 55 for mildew in clothing or in a house, 56 and for a swelling, rash, or spot, 57 to determine when something is clean or unclean. This is the law regarding skin diseases and mildew. ”

REFLECTIONS

Dealing properly with sin is always very costly. It cost the life of the Son of God to deal with the guilt and penalty of it. But today I was reminded that Jesus also calls us to count the cost of eradicating it from our lives. The Israelites were required to literally tear out contaminated stones from the walls of their houses and replace them with clean ones.

Is there some ungodly behaviour or habit for which you realise you need to do something costly to remove it? If so, talk to a Christian friend who will help you go through with the cost, and work out how you can replace the contaminated “stone” with something good and God-honouring.

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Leviticus 14:10-32

Leviticus 14:10-32 - Daily Devotion - 19 February 2025

St Barnabas Anglican Church Fairfield & Bossley Park

Yesterday we started reading about the rituals needed to be cleansed from a skin disease. Today we will see the rest of the process.

10 On the eighth day he is to bring two unblemished male lambs, an unblemished ewe lamb a year old, a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with olive oil, and one log of olive oil. 11 The priest who performs the cleansing shall present the one to be cleansed, together with these offerings, before the LORD at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.

12 Then the priest is to take one of the male lambs and present it as a guilt offering, along with the log of olive oil; and he must wave them as a wave offering before the LORD. 13 Then he is to slaughter the lamb in the sanctuary area where the sin offering and burnt offering are slaughtered. Like the sin offering, the guilt offering belongs to the priest; it is most holy.

14 The priest is to take some of the blood from the guilt offering and put it on the right earlobe of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. 15 Then the priest shall take some of the log of olive oil, pour it into his left palm, 16 dip his right forefinger into the oil in his left palm, and sprinkle some of the oil with his finger seven times before the LORD. 17 And the priest is to put some of the oil remaining in his palm on the right earlobe of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, on top of the blood of the guilt offering.

18 The rest of the oil in his palm, the priest is to put on the head of the one to be cleansed, to make atonement for him before the LORD. 19 Then the priest is to sacrifice the sin offering and make atonement for the one to be cleansed from his uncleanness. After that, the priest shall slaughter the burnt offering 20 and offer it on the altar, with the grain offering, to make atonement for him, and he will be clean.

21 If, however, the person is poor and cannot afford these offerings, he is to take one male lamb as a guilt offering to be waved to make atonement for him, along with a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with olive oil for a grain offering, a log of olive oil, 22 and two turtledoves or two young pigeons, whichever he can afford, one to be a sin offering and the other a burnt offering.

23 On the eighth day he is to bring them for his cleansing to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting before the LORD. 24 The priest shall take the lamb for the guilt offering, along with the log of olive oil, and wave them as a wave offering before the LORD.

25 And after he slaughters the lamb for the guilt offering, the priest is to take some of the blood of the guilt offering and put it on the right earlobe of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. 26 Then the priest is to pour some of the oil into his left palm 27 and sprinkle with his right forefinger some of the oil in his left palm seven times before the LORD. 28 The priest shall also put some of the oil in his palm on the right earlobe of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot—on the same places as the blood of the guilt offering.

29 The rest of the oil in his palm, the priest is to put on the head of the one to be cleansed, to make atonement for him before the LORD. 30 Then he must sacrifice the turtledoves or young pigeons, whichever he can afford, 31 one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, together with the grain offering. In this way the priest will make atonement before the LORD for the one to be cleansed.

32 This is the law for someone who has a skin disease and cannot afford the cost of his cleansing.”

REFLECTIONS

More sacrifices! And to make it really obvious that we can only be spiritually cleansed through a sacrificial death, this time the blood of the sin offering is smeared not on the altar, but on the unclean person. But once again, Jesus tops that. If you’ve come to Jesus and given him your life, you are now dressed in spiritual robes that have been washed in Jesus’ blood … which means they are the purest white, forever (Revelation 7:14).

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