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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We are currently in the middle of a mass of “Laws of Purity,” each prescribed (commanded) by God for the Israelites’ lives.

These are strategically positioned between two references (the only two in Leviticus) of the presumptuous/rebellious sins of Aaron’s two sons (Nadab and Abihu) … specifically chapter 10:1-20 and again in chapter 16:1-2. They defiled the Tabernacle. Now God is emphasizing that all who come to the Tabernacle MUST BE pure/clean! Lest that sacred Place somehow be defiled yet again!

In that line of thought … today we notice Leviticus chapter 12, though I seriously thought about “skipping” it. It is hard to explain!

It concerns the bodily discharges a woman experiences when she gives birth. (By the way, this is the shortest chapter in the whole Book of Leviticus, with only 8 verses.)

“And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a woman have conceived seed, and born a man child: then she shall be unclean seven days; according to the days of the separation for her infirmity shall she be unclean. And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. And she shall then continue in the blood of her purifying three and thirty days; she shall touch no hallowed thing, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying be fulfilled.” Leviticus 12:1-4

Women lose blood at childbirth. Blood that is so “special” to God. (“For the life of the flesh is in the blood.” Leviticus 17:11) This loss of blood (which specifically occurs at childbirth but can also continue seeping for days afterward) is the opposite of the “life” principle. It is the “loss of life” principle. God is LIFE! Sin brings death! Hence (at least this is one reason often given) … the new Mother needs purification!

Furthermore, Psalm 51:5 links childbirth (even the little newborn one) to sin, original sin! “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me,” David confesses, writes under the Inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Hints of sin, a baby child (a little sinner, via Adam’s and Eve’s sin passed down to us all) at the time of birth even! (Though those little folks are “innocent” in God’s Eyes as far as eternity is concerned, until they reach an age of accountability, of understanding right from wrong. An age where they can accept Jesus as Saviour.)

So … there’s another possible reason for the Mother needing to be cleansed from her impurity. (Though those bloody discharges are likely the main reason, granted.)

Anyway, she is unclean (cannot go to the Tabernacle, for example) until two things happen. He child’s circumcision (we’re talking boys here) on the eighth (8th) day of his life. (A “picture” of the “putting off” of sinful flesh, thus “purification.”) Then for 33 more days (bringing the total up to 40 days or thereabouts) she is impure!

Then … she can go to the Tabernacle, present blood sacrifice, and be clean, pure once again! (Why does the man not have to do these things, when he becomes a Father? He shed no blood, maybe that’s the reason. He did not sin first, Eve did. Maybe that’s the reason. By the way, there were purity laws concerning any discharges from a man’s body, too.) In 1st Timothy 2:14 Paul reminds us: “And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.”

Purity Laws!

All designed to help people stay in fellowship/communion with God!

Then the chapter continues … with laws for the birth of a girl child! And waiting times for purification twice as long as that of a newborn son! (Not due to a patriarchal culture, I think. But to the fact of Eve’s sin again, likely. A little girl who will some day have children of her own, (Genesis 3:16, God to Eve: “Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.” The curse of that terrible sin!)

But again .. either way … verse 6 … “And when the days of her purifying are fulfilled, for a son, or for a daughter, she shall bring a lamb of the first year for a burnt offering, and a young pigeon, or a turtledove, for a sin offering, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, unto the priest.” SHE GETS TO BRING THIS OFFERING! A woman worshipping God at the Door of the Tabernacle! Quite an honor! Presenting “blood” (a picture of life, the life of that innocent lamb) at that wide open Door … before an Almighty God!

And, regardless of the “wait times” … the very same blood sacrifices apply to either boys or girls … no difference now.

All ground is level at the foot of the Cross! And the (brass) altar where she was standing is a Symbol of just that, the Cross of Calvary!

Another touching fact … if the Mother was “poor,” and she could not afford to bring a “lamb” … she could substitute with “doves” or “pigeons.” Much less expensive sacrifices! “Whosoever will may come!” 

(By the way … Mary and Joseph were that poor when they brought baby Jesus to the Temple, when He was forty days old!)

God is so very Holy! (Angels in Heaven right now are crying loudly … “Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts.” According to Isaiah 6:3 anyway. That’s why the old Preachers used to call our God “thrice holy!”)

He thus demands purity in our lives, too.

We today do not religiously circumcise our babies … not offer literal blood sacrificed down at our Churches … but we DO seek to live clean lives unto the glory of God!

They sought to be ritually pure. We seek to be morally pure.

Maybe I should NOT have written on this chapter, after all!

God’s Laws … always … were designed to put us into the place of enjoying His Company, His Presence, His Delight!

And for that fact, we should all be grateful!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

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