“And this shall be a statute for ever unto you: that in the SEVENTH MONTH, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you: for on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the LORD.” Leviticus 16:29-30

God does everything “on time” we believe.

Including this “most solemn and interesting” Ritual/Set of Commands (perhaps) in all the Old Testament! (One old writer called it “the most impressive Day in the Jewish Calendar!” Yes, the Scriptural “Day of Atonement.”

And it was to occur in the “seventh month,” of the year … that special number (7) being a statement/symbol/type of “completion” or “spiritual perfection.”

Clearly, in a dozen or more ways, this “Day of Atonement” prefigures Calvary, the Cross upon which Jesus died.

From the various sacrifices to the officiating Priest to the attitude of God the Father … I see that old rugged Cross in miniature. In microcosm!

And Jesus died, too, right on time!

In the “seventh month” of world history!

Truly … “But when THE FULNESS OF THE TIME was come, GOD SENT FORTH HIS SON, made of a woman.” Galatians 4:4

If the Virgin Birth did not occur at the perfect time, I have been surely misled!

The seventh month in Israel … when the crops were ripe and ready for ingathering! Day of Atonement time!

The seventh month theologically for the whole world … when mankind was “ripe” for the Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ!

How so, you might ask?

Language had been properly developed … especially Greek … for the telling of the Gospel Message in precise detail! (Greek verbs … miraculously accurate!)

Roads had been properly developed … the Romans had perfected that art … for missionaries to travel and preach the newly minted Gospel! The Death, Burial and Resurrection of our Saviour! (I can see Paul now walking down the Appian Way … starting another “missionary journey!” The “Appian Way” that still exists in places, over two thousand years later! Yes, they could build such durable roads. Our Interstates may not still exist two thousand years from now!)

And the “Pax Romana” (peace like the world had seldom, if ever, known) was in full swing! So the Message of Jesus’ Incarnation and Life and Death and Resurrection … could be promulgated (spread) without the disruption wars/skirmishes (local or widespread) would have caused!

Wow!

By the way, the “Day of Atonement” only occurred once a year. Once per annual cycle. It covered the sins of the people of Israel for Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall! It kept them safe all “rainy season” and all “dry season” too. Not an event in the year, not a day, nor an hour, nor a minute … but that the Day of Atonement had not provided safety from God’s Wrath! (The people were perennially “under the Blood,” in a literal way!)

So with the Cross!

Not just an annual Provision though, an eternal Salvation there was There provided!

Saved (via the Blood) for all the coming Januarys! And Februarys through Decembers as well!

Saved for all the coming Valentine Days, all the Birthdays, all the Thanksgiving Days!

Yes, Jesus … “being made perfect, he became THE AUTHOR OF ETERNAL SALVATION unto all them that obey him.” Hebrews 5:9

Lastly, the Day of Atonement covered the sins of “all the people,”

Leviticus 16:33 … “And he (Aaron, the High Priest) shall MAKE AN ATONEMENT for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for the tabernacle of the congregation, and for the altar, and he shall make an atonement for the priests, and FOR ALL THE PEOPLE OF THE CONGREGATION.”

And identically, Jesus died for “all the people!” 1 John 2:2 is abundantly clear: “And he (Jesus) is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the WHOLE WORLD.”

Way back when Jesus was born, an angel said to the shepherds: “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you GOOD TIDINGS of great joy, which shall be TO ALL PEOPLE.” Luke 2:8

It sure would no be “good tidings” if I had to tell a man tonight in the Revival that Jesus did NOT die for him! That I could not promise him (on the authority of God’s Word) that Jesus is willing to save “whosoever will” sincerely in faith call upon His Name!

Including that man!

Including you too, dear reader this morning, if you have never been born-again!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

From a motel room in Jacksonville, Illinois. To (I pray) the soul who may have somehow “stumbled” across this Lesson today … to the soul “nearest hell” … Jesus died for you! He will save you if you trust in Him and His magnificent Sacrifice on the Cross!

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In the Book of Esther (not yet written when God gave the Law to Moses) an individual could NOT come before the King … without making certain preparation. And that citizen’s very LIFE depended on such a proper approach!

“All the king’s servants, and the people of the king’s provinces, do know, that whosoever, whether man or woman, shall come unto the KING into the inner court, who is not called, there is one law of his to put him to DEATH, except such to whom the king shall hold out the golden sceptre, that he may live.” Esther 4:11

If that was the case before a (mere) earthly king … what might we suppose to be consequences of disobediently approaching God Almighty, the King of Kings?

Again I suspect … death!  (Surely so, if our holy God is as important as that earthly King! Our ineffable God!)

Here’s proof, an example from Israel’s history …

Leviticus 10:1-2 … “And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not. And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they DIED before the LORD.”

Yes, coming before God in the correct way … it’s that important!

But what about Esther?

Did she, for the sake of the Jews … her own people (who at that time were under threat of extinction), approach this powerful King (Ahasuerus of Persia)?

Yes!

Was she slain?

“Now it came to pass on the third day, that Esther put on her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king’s house, over against the king’s house: and the king sat upon his royal throne in the royal house, over against the gate of the house. And it was so, when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, that she obtained FAVOUR (GRACE) in his sight: and the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre that was in his hand. So Esther drew near, and touched the top of the sceptre. Then said the king unto her, What wilt thou, queen Esther? and what is thy request?” Esther 5:1-3

Because of Grace … she was not only accepted, but also her greatest needs were granted!

Now … back to Leviticus chapter 16 (our Bible Text for the next few days) … where man, a human being (in the person of Aaron the High Priest of Israel, as representative), is going to be allowed (an act of GRACE, for sure) to approach the Lord God Himself!

So, logically, there are procedures that MUST be followed!

And there is benefit (actually Israel’s greatest need, an eternal need) to be gained!

Wow!

Leviticus 16:1-10, that first Paragraph, gives Aaron some general directions on HOW to enter this Most Holy Place, where the very Shekinah Glory of God (the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob) abides!

And those verses we shall note tomorrow morning, the Lord willing. (Unless I first discuss the “dating” of this great Day of Atonement.) This might be an exciting week here on the Website. Filled with Old Testament Law … but also filled with practical suggestions/principles on living for God, approaching Him the right way!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

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I have read (in several commentaries and Bible Study sources) that personal sin (defilement) not only affected the person involved, but also tainted the Tabernacle of God as well.

So I thought … “I will search the Scriptures, the Old Testament Law, and learn more.”

If I had to choose just one verse, for consideration of this thought, it would be Leviticus 15:31, on the cusp of the Day of Atonement Legislation, beginning in Leviticus 16:1.

“Thus shall ye separate the children of Israel from THEIR UNCLEANNESS they die not in their uncleanness, when they DEFILE MY TABERNACLE that is among them.” Leviticus 15:31

That noun “uncleanness” is spelled “tumah” in Hebrew. And it is a summary term for all the “violations” of God’s Purity/Holiness Code discussed in Leviticus chapters 11-15.

Things like “bodily discharges” and “boils or lesions” on one’s skin or even “mold/mildew” (translated as “leprosy” in our King James Version) on the walls of one’s home!

And these things … here it is in black and white, in the infallible Word of God … “defile our Lord’s Tabernacle!”

Case settled!

Question answered!

And it is partly for this reason that the exercises of the Day of Atonement were instituted. Proof needed? “And he shall make an ATONEMENT FOR THE HOLY PLACE, because of the UNCLEANNESS OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, and because of THEIR TRANSGRESSIONS in all THEIR SINS: and so shall he do FOR THE TABERNACLE of the congregation.” Leviticus 16:16

Wow!

Of course the other “job/ministry” that is accomplished on that great Day of Atonement is the “covering” of the Nations of Israel’s sins (for another year)!

All the BLOODSHED on that great Day … to both (1) cleanse the Tabernacle and (2) to cleanse the people!

Praise the Lord!

More about this idea of personal and/or national “Atonement” Monday in our Lesson, the Lord willing.

But for this morning … think of the implications of the two verses I’ve referenced above!

My personal (and often considered “small”) transgressions (shortcomings, lack of purity … partly due to being human) can taint the very House of God!

That might mean, in principle anyway, that if I go to Church with loads (maybe even shreds) of unconfessed sins, failures to “abstain” from the appearance of evil … I can hinder the Service that day!

Retard the working of God the Holy Spirit, by grieving or quenching Him! By being a dirty vessel! At Church, on the Lord’s Day!

No wonder some services seem so much “better” than others! And that atmosphere might not all depend on the Preacher or the particular Bible Text he’s expounding … but on the spiritual condition of the listeners!

Wow!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9

“And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers.” At the Temple, in Nehemiah 9:2.

Let me add one more, still somewhat applicable … “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” Proverbs 28:13

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Yes, even a house in which a Jewish family lived could become “infested” with something unclean, impure.

And God gave Israel regulations about cleansing such a situation! (That’s how intensely God wanted to fellowship with his people! That’s also how even the slightest defilement could block sweet communion with Almighty God!)

Of course they would need no such “house” legislation while in the wilderness, living in tents. But once in Canaan … this would become a key issue. So here in today’s Text is God in His Love … looking ahead … graciously meeting the needs of His people.

Remember: anything speaking of death, of deterioration, would lead away from God. The wages of sin being … death! And mold and mildew (the main culprits in this house impurity defilement) were indications of some sort of pollution, for sure. Jesus said “I AM THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE!” Quoting John 11:25. He is also the Conqueror of death, Death!

Let me show you a sample of what God taught Israel in this regard, concerning even buildings:

Let’s say a Jew discovers a “spot” on the wall of his house, a suspicious growth of some kind. “If the plague be in the walls of the house with hollow strakes, greenish or reddish, which in sight are lower than the wall; then the priest shall go out of the house to the door of the house, and shut up the house seven days.” Leviticus 14:37-38, sounds like “building code” minutia.

Impurity to any degree … even colored streaks like these, if beneath the surface of the plaster … could bar fellowship with God. Because an unclean house could render its inhabitants unclean … thus they would not be able to go to the Tabernacle and sacrifice/worship/commune with the Lord!

Wow!

Reminds me of Paul’s Holy Spirit inspired admonition in 1 Thessalonians 5:22 … “Abstain from all appearance of evil.”

And if this “leprosy” in the house got out of control … this could be the final result: “And he shall break down the house, the stones of it, and the timber thereof, and all the morter of the house; and he shall carry them forth out of the city into an unclean place.” The complete destruction of the dwelling, Leviticus 14:45.

One more question today. What could a homeowner do if such mold/mildew/leprosy appears and is only superficial? He must obey the inspector/priest on duty … “Then the priest shall command that they take away the stones in which the plague is, and they shall cast them into an unclean place without the city: and he shall cause the house to be scraped within round about, and they shall pour out the dust that they scrape off without the city into an unclean place: and they shall take other stones, and put them in the place of those stones; and he shall take other morter, and shall plaister the house.” Leviticus 14:40-42, major “surgery” on the house! Getting rid of the dreaded infestation! And reconstructing where necessary!

The point of these Passages … stay pure in God’s Eyes … let absolutely NOTHING hinder your fellowship with Him!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

I supect a lot of so-called Christian homes could undergo a little cleansing (morally as much as ritually) even in these days, in the “last days” according to Scripture.

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The largest organ (most expansive) in the human body is the skin! And of course, human skin is subject to disease! Some of which made an Israelite “unclean” (ceremonially impure) in the eyes of God.

So Leviticus 13 tells “how” to diagnose these types of diseases, under the umbrella of “leprosy.”

And then Leviticus 14 tells about the process to “restore” a formerly infected person (but now healed) back into the community.

Verified leprosy required immediate social, physical “expulsion” … for health reasons, the health of the person’s family, neighbors and (ultimately) his whole nation!

And the person who makes the “call,” the “judge” in such critical health affairs … was not the local doctor, but the priest on duty!

It’s easy to see why such “skin” diseases (many of which are highly contagious) would render a person “unclean,” disqualifying him or her form worship at the Tabernacle, among other things! (Like even living among the general population!)

To this degree … “And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean. All the days wherein the plague shall be in him he shall be defiled; he is unclean: he shall dwell alone; without the camp shall his habitation be.” Leviticus 13:45-46

Thus … Leviticus 13 reads like a medical textbook! Here’s one example, of many … “And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, saying, when a man shall have in the skin of his flesh a rising, a scab, or bright spot, and it be in the skin of his flesh like the plague of leprosy; then he shall be brought unto Aaron the priest, or unto one of his sons the priests: and the priest shall look on the plague in the skin of the flesh: and when the hair in the plague is turned white, and the plague in sight be deeper than the skin of his flesh, it is a plague of leprosy: and the priest shall look on him, and pronounce him unclean.” Verses 1-3 of Leviticus 13, King James Version.

Do remember … if you are “unclean” in any way … you cannot fellowship/commune/worship with God, the great God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob! (And such sweet Communion is the goal of all Scripture, including the Pentateuch, and especially the Book of Leviticus!)

Leprosy in this context becomes a “picture” of sin in our lives. Defiling, separating, robbing sin … with exclusion from Heaven (eternal life) as its final stage/result!

The only way to be cured … was by a “miracle” of God! Just as that’s the only way to be saved as well! The miracle of the “New Birth!”

And when such a miracle did occur, in the Levitical sense (in ancient Israel) … a cleansing ritual had to be observed. (Which itself is a beautiful picture of soul salvation! And is given in detail in Leviticus chapter 14.)

But here’s my “point” today, of this Lesson. What I woke up this morning wanting to say …

Jesus in His public earthly Ministry healed many a leper! And often He then instructed him to … “go show the priest!”

Here’s an example: “When he (Jesus) was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. And, behold, there came a LEPER and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, shew thyself to the PRIEST, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a TESTIMONY unto them.” Matthew 8:1-4

Jesus … obeying the Law of Moses.

But more than that … Jesus wanting the priest on duty to see what had happened. A healed, cleansed leper! And realize that the Son of God had come to earth!

And (the real goal) for that priest … to be saved from an eternal Hell!

Wow!

Jesus, ever the “Soul Winner!”

Don’t you just love Him today?

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

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