Serving God in God’s Way

Serving God in God’s Way

Leviticus 6:8–7:38

Main Idea: God gave specific commands regarding how His people were to offer the sacrifices He prescribed, and His people were to obey those commands.

I. We Depend on God’s Presence.

A. The perpetual fire reminded the people of their access to God’s presence.

B. The perpetual fire reminded the people of the availability of atonement.

C. The perpetual fire reminded the people of the activity of God among them.

II. We Provide for Worship Leaders.

A. God commands us to support worship leaders.

B. God does not command us to support Him.

III. We Maintain Holiness before God.

A. We keep away from uncleanness.

B. We show reverence for God’s means of atonement.

In the 61 verses we will consider in this section, we encounter information that we’ve already seen in the first five chapters of Leviticus. When reading through the book of Leviticus, it is possible to arrive in chapter 6 and have a feeling of déjà vu. In the first five chapters we read about the five main offerings God provided in the old covenant—the burnt offering, the grain offering, the fellowship offering, the sin offering, and the restitution offering. Then in chapter 6 we read about the same offerings again with further details supplied. As Yogi Berra used to say, “It’s déjà vu all over again”—the whole burnt offering, the grain offering, the fellowship offering, the sin offering, the restitution offering, plus an additional offering for the ordination of the high priest. Why are the same subjects addressed again? What’s worse than reading minute, gory details about sacrifices that are not offered anymore? Reading those minute, gory details twice! Reading Leviticus 6:8–7:38 is a bit like that. Nevertheless, we respect that God had a reason to repeat some information, and we receive it as His Word to us. In chapters 6 and 7 God also provided some new information about the offerings and addressed them from a different perspective. Some Old Testament experts have concluded that chapters 6 and 7 were written for the priests so they would know how to conduct themselves in offering the various sacrifices. In this section we will focus primarily on the new information in chapters 6 and 7, so we will address the work of the priests and the larger subject of spiritual leadership among God’s people.

Until his death in 2007, Fred Smith was a successful businessman, a leadership consultant to corporations, and an author of books on the subject of leadership. He was also a Christian, and in Leading with Integrity he grappled with the issue of applying human leadership principles versus depending on God. He wrote,

Today in the institutional church we’ve become almost too dependent on human leadership principles. . . . My concern is that in the church we may be trying to do God’s work in man’s way. . . . I have a responsibility to use my gifts fully. If I’m not willing to do that, God has no obligation to add His blessing. . . . On the other hand, when I try to accomplish by human means what can be done only by spiritual means, I embezzle God’s authority. (Smith, “Doing God’s Work in God’s Way”)

One of the most obvious and important messages of Leviticus is that God’s people are to listen to God and live and worship His way, not ours. The passage we consider in this section is a good example of that fact. In the first five chapters of Leviticus, God revealed His pattern that He intended His people to follow in coming into His presence. He told them to offer sacrifices for sin and guilt. In chapters 6 and 7 God repeats that information in greater detail to make sure the priests followed His instructions. God’s people today are also to follow God’s instructions for us, and Leviticus 6 and 7 portray principles that are applicable to the church today. What are those principles?

We Depend on God’s Presence

In the opening verses of Leviticus 6 God said three times that the fire on the altar was to be “kept burning” (vv. 9,12,13). For example, verse 13 says, “Fire must be kept burning on the altar continually; it must not go out.” It is not using an allegorical or typological method of interpretation to say that for the Israelites fire surely would have evoked thoughts of the presence and power of God. That was true for the Israelites in the wilderness who first received these instructions, and it’s true throughout the Bible.

At the beginning of the Israelites’ wilderness wandering, Exodus 13:21 says that the Lord went before them as a pillar of cloud during the day and a pillar of fire at night. Exodus 14:24 says the Lord threw the Egyptian army into confusion and appeared to them as a pillar of fire and cloud. Exodus 19 records an awe-inspiring manifestation of God’s presence on Mount Sinai. It says, “Mount Sinai was completely enveloped in smoke because the Lord came down on it in fire” (v. 18). Moses was likely not surprised that the Lord revealed Himself by fire. Moses’ first close encounter with the Lord was when He appeared to Moses by means of a fire in a bush that burned but was not consumed (Exod 3:2). The Lord also revealed Himself to Ezekiel in a vision of fire (Ezek 1:4,13,27). Daniel had a vision in which the Lord’s throne was fire, its wheels were burning with fire, and fire came out from the presence of the Lord (Dan 7:9-10). The New Testament also represents God with fire. Hebrews 12:29 calls God “a consuming fire.” The book of Revelation says that heaven will need no sun or lamps “because the Lord God will give them light” (22:5), and Jesus will be called “the Bright Morning Star” (v. 16).

Returning to Leviticus, in the wilderness tabernacle God’s presence was already represented by fire in the menorah, the lampstand that stood on the south side of the holy place in the tabernacle. The burning lamps would have evoked thoughts of God’s presence, and the priests made sure those lamps were never extinguished. God also commanded the priests, “Fire must be kept burning on the altar continually; it must not go out. (v. 13)”

The Perpetual Fire Reminded the People of Their Access to God’s Presence

When do we have access to God’s presence? We always have access to God’s presence, and that was symbolized by the perpetual flame on the altar of sacrifice. The fire of God’s presence never goes out. When we go through trials, God is with us. In Isaiah 43 God says,

I will be with you when you pass through the waters. . . . You will not be scorched when you walk through the fire, and the flame will not burn you. . . . Do not fear, for I am with you. (vv. 2-5)

God does not tell us He will meet us when we come out of suffering; He tells us He will walk with us through suffering. Also, when we feel weak and incapable, God is with us. Jeremiah didn’t want to be a prophet because he thought he was too young, but God said to him, “Do not be afraid of anyone, for I will be with you to deliver you” (Jer 1:8). In fact, there will never be a time when we don’t have access to the presence of God; Jesus said, “I am with you always, to the end of the age”
(Matt 28:20). Whatever you are going through right now, you have access to God’s presence. The fire is always burning.

The Perpetual Fire Reminded the People of the Availability of Atonement

God’s purpose for the bronze altar, the altar of sacrifice, was to provide a place where people offered sacrifices to atone for sin. The first five chapters of Leviticus describe God’s instructions concerning the five types of sacrifices. God referred to atonement repeatedly in connection with sacrifice. Because we have sinned, atonement is necessary for us to be reconciled to God and to come into His presence. God is perfectly holy, so sin is not allowed in His presence. God is also perfectly just, so He always punishes sin. The penalty for sin is death, but God in His grace allowed a sacrificial animal to die in the place of the person who sinned. When the sacrificial animal was killed and burned on the altar in place of the sincere sinner, atonement for sin was accomplished.

Since the sacrificial animal had to be burned to accomplish atonement, fire had to be on the altar. The fire was always burning, so atonement was always obtainable. God was letting His people know that His atonement and forgiveness of sin were always available.

We too can always go into the presence of God, and God is always ready to take away our sin. God is never “Closed for Business.” Just as the fire was always burning, our Savior Jesus is always with us, and Hebrews 7:25 says that Jesus “is always able to save those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to intercede for them.” No matter what we have done, at any time we can confess our sin, and as 1 John 1:9 says, “He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Praise God, His forgiveness is available!

The Perpetual Fire Reminded the People of the Activity of God among Them

God gave these laws concerning how the sacrifices would be offered before the first sacrifice was offered. The fire had not yet been lit. When was the fire lit on the altar, and what was its source? Chapter 9 of Leviticus records that the priests set the first sacrifices in order, and verse 24 says,

Fire came from the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar. And when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell facedown on the ground.

The Lord Himself lit the fire on the altar of sacrifice. The fire came from Him, and the people were so in awe of the flames that came from the Lord that they shouted and fell on their faces in reverence.

After that, when the people saw the fire, they surely remembered the miracle God performed in lighting it. That miracle demonstrated that God’s activity among His people is powerful; God has supernatural power. The miraculous lighting of the fire also demonstrated God’s grace. Where did God send the fire? He sent it to the altar so the people could offer sacrifices by which God was allowing them to atone for sin. God was providing the means of forgiveness, so the fire represented both God’s supernatural power and His grace. When they saw the fire, the Israelites remembered God sent it there. They remembered His power and His provision for forgiveness.

We still need God’s power and grace. We need God’s grace because we are reconciled to God by grace. Ephesians 2:8 says, “For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift.” Who lit the fire of salvation in us? God did it by His grace. He drew us to Him, and He regenerated us. We also need God’s power. Once He reconciles us to Himself, we need His power to live as He calls us to live. In John 15:5 Jesus said, “You can do nothing without Me.” Thank God, He provides the power we need! Jesus said, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be My witnesses”
(Acts 1:8). God’s power is available through the Holy Spirit. He empowers us to be witnesses. The Holy Spirit is in followers of Jesus (John 16:7-14; Rom 8:9). He produces spiritual fruit in us (Gal 5:22-23) and gives us spiritual gifts to enable us to serve Him (1 Cor 12:4-11).

That’s the way we do God’s work—by God’s power. The sacrificial system was God’s idea. God initiated it by His grace and power. It was His work done in His way. The fire on the altar reminded God’s people of access to God’s presence, atonement for sin, and God’s supernatural activity. May we not allow the fire to go out in our lives. Let us keep the fire burning. Let us keep going into God’s presence in prayer, keep seeking God’s forgiveness for daily sin, and keep depending on His power. “Fire must be kept burning on the altar continually; it must not go out” (Lev 6:13).

We Provide for Worship Leaders

Chapter 6, verse 14 begins the description of the grain offering. Verses 16-18 describe God’s intention that the priests were to eat part of the grain offering. Verse 17 says, “I have assigned it as their portion.” Chapter 6, verse 25 begins the description of the sin offering, and verse 29 says the priests were to eat of that offering. Chapter 7, verse 1 begins the description of the restitution offering, and verses 5-8 specify that God gave a portion of that offering for the priests. Next is the fellowship offering, beginning in chapter 7, verse 11, and God said the priests were to eat part of the fellowship offering too. Some have suggested that perhaps the priests did not have the healthiest diet—red meat and carbohydrates—but most likely they supplemented their diet with vegetables and fruits.

God Commands Us to Support Worship Leaders

Just as the people of Israel provided for the priests and Levites, Christians are to support worship leaders. We’re using “worship leaders” to refer to the people who work in the church vocationally. We’re avoiding the word “priests” here because the New Testament says all followers of Jesus are priests in a sense (1 Pet 2:9; Rev 1:6).

In the sacrificial system God established a pattern that He continues in the New Testament church. God made special provisions for the descendants of Aaron and the whole tribe of Levi to make their living from the sacrificial system. Aaron and his descendants worked in the tabernacle and later the temple. They did not have other employment because God commanded them to work in the place of worship. Since they were not working elsewhere to make an income or to produce food, how could they support themselves? God commanded the people to provide food for them through the sacrificial system where they worked. Later, when the Israelites entered the promised land and the land was allotted to the tribes of Israel, the Levites received no land allotment. Again, the Levites would not make their living by the land; they would work at the tabernacle and later the temple, so God commanded His people to provide for the Levites there.

That pattern is repeated in the New Testament. In 1 Corinthians 9 the apostle Paul referred to this law in Leviticus.

Don’t you know that those who perform the temple services eat the food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the offerings of the altar? In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should earn their living by the gospel. (vv. 13-14)

Paul wrote something similar in 1 Timothy 5. He was writing to Timothy regarding how the church should treat elders, who were spiritual leaders in the early church.

The elders who are good leaders should be considered worthy of an ample honorarium, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says: Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain, and, the worker is worthy of his wages.
(vv. 17-18)

Paul was again referring to principles God established in the old covenant. Specifically, he cited Deuteronomy 25:4 and 24:14-15. The principle is that God wants us to provide for those who labor on our behalf. In the old covenant the priests worked as worship leaders for the worshipers, so God told the worshipers to provide food for the priests. In the new covenant elders, or pastors, lead the people through ministries such as preaching and teaching, so God tells the church to provide for them.

God Does Not Command Us to Support Him

In chapter 6, verse 17, the Lord refers to “My fire offerings.” The next verse refers to “the fire offerings to the Lord.” That phrase is used twice more in chapter 7—“the fire offerings to the Lord” (vv. 30,35). One translation renders “fire offering” as “food offering” (ESV). While such a translation is not necessary, the Hebrew word for “food” or “bread” is added to “fire offering” three times in Leviticus (3:11,16; 21:6).

In the ancient Near East, people who practiced pagan religions also offered sacrifices to their gods. They had entirely different conceptions about their sacrifices than the conceptions expressed in the religion of the one true God described in the Old Testament. The people who practiced pagan sacrifices believed that their sacrifices literally fed the gods. The gods were hungry, the people fed them with sacrificial food, and the gods would become angry if they did not feed them. In Leviticus the presence of the word for “food” in phrases defining offerings raises the question of whether the Old Testament supports the anthropomorphic idea that sacrifices fed God because God wanted or needed food. The answer to the question is, No. Many times the Bible conveys the idea that we need God. However, nowhere does the Bible imply that God needs or lacks something. If He had any need, how could mere humans, His creations, possibly be capable of meeting the needs of the almighty Creator of the vast universe (see Ps 50:7-15)?

The Jews had a popular story that became part of the collection of works known as the Apocrypha. The title of the story is “Bel and the Dragon,” and the setting is the lifetime of Daniel. Cyrus, the Persian king, worshiped the idol called Bel. Daniel refused to worship Bel; he worshiped only the one true God. Every day the priests of Bel placed before the image of Bel large quantities of food. They were feeding their god. The next day the food would be gone—supposedly Bel was eating the food offered to him. One day, Cyrus asked Daniel why he did not worship Bel. Daniel told him that he worshiped only the living God. Cyrus replied that surely Bel is living since he eats so much every day. Daniel told the king that Bel was only clay and bronze, and he had never eaten anything. Cyrus was enraged at Daniel’s denial of the Persian god. He proposed a test to prove to Daniel that Bel was alive. He called the 70 priests of Bel and told them to place food before the idol. If Bel ate the food that night, Daniel would be put to death. If the food was still there in the morning, the priests of Bel would die. So the priests placed food before the idol. The door of the temple was locked and sealed with the king’s ring. The next morning, the door was still locked and the seal was undisturbed, and when they opened the door they saw the food was gone. King Cyrus began to praise the greatness of Bel the living god, but Daniel only laughed. Before the door of the temple had been shut the night before, Daniel had scattered ashes on the floor of the temple. The priests of Bel had a secret entry into the temple through the floor under a table. During the night, as usual, they had come into the temple through the floor and had eaten the food themselves. Because of the ashes on the floor, their footprints could be seen all over the temple. Daniel showed the footprints to the king, the king had the priests of Bel executed, and Daniel destroyed the idol.

The moral of the story is that pagan gods are not real. People have made pagan gods in their own image—they eat and drink and have needs. The one true God has no needs. He commanded sacrificial offerings not because He needs anything from us, but because we need the sacrifice to take the penalty for our sin so we will be allowed to come into His presence to be reconciled to Him. God does not command us to support Him.

We Maintain Holiness before God

Much of the book of Leviticus is devoted to teaching God’s people to observe the boundary between things that were clean and things that were unclean. The distinction between those two was important because God was teaching His people that He wanted them to be different. Several verses in chapter 7 introduce the idea of being clean before God. Verse 21, for example, says that if someone touches an unclean thing (in other words, touches something the Lord told them not to touch), and then he eats some of the meat from a fellowship offering, he should be punished. He brought uncleanness to worship.

We Keep Away from Uncleanness

The place of worship was clean. Uncleanness was to be kept away from the place of worship and from the people of worship. Throughout God’s Word, God makes it clear that He does not want us to engage in something holy, like worship, when our lives are unholy. He wants us to live holy lives and offer holy worship.

When God told His people not to worship after touching something profane, God was giving a physical, visible illustration to teach us to avoid sin and embrace holiness. What’s so bad about touching an unclean animal? Some of the classifications seem pretty random. What made an animal clean or unclean? As far as we know, nothing inherent in an animal made it either. It was the command of God that made animals clean or unclean. It was not the thing or the animal that defiled people; it was disobedience to God’s command that defiled. Disobedience to God in the matter of touching an unclean thing was a signal of a deeper problem of the heart, and that problem was rebellion against God and His command. Later in the history of Israel, Isaiah cited this principle in Leviticus when he urged God’s people to touch nothing unclean as they prepared to return to Jerusalem and the temple (Isa 52:11). In the New Testament Paul cited Isaiah’s use of this principle when he was writing to the Christians in Corinth to be different from people who do not know Christ. He wrote, “Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord; do not touch any unclean thing” (2 Cor 6:17). God calls His people to stay away from uncleanness and obey Him.

We Show Reverence for God’s Means of Atonement

God’s means of atonement was the sacrificial system, and God commanded respect for every part of that system. Leviticus 7, verse 23 says God commanded His people not to eat the fat of sacrificial animals. Verse 26 says God commanded His people not to eat the blood of sacrificial animals. The fat was reserved for God and given to Him in sacrifice. The blood was the life of the sacrificial animal that was given to atone for the sins of the people. Therefore, God had special commands regarding the fat and the blood, and God expected His people to respect those commands.

If God commanded His people to treat the fat and blood of sacrificial animals with respect, how much more should we show respect for the blood of Jesus, who gave Himself as a sacrifice for our sins? Jesus is the fulfillment of all the sacrifices God commanded in Leviticus. All of the sacrifices prepared people for the coming of Jesus—God the Son and humanity’s Savior. The whole burnt offering was consumed completely on the altar; all of it was burned, nothing remained. Jesus also gave all of Himself as a sacrifice, and Philippians 2 says that “He emptied Himself . . . even to death on a cross” (vv. 2:7-8).

The grain offering signified thanksgiving and dedication to God. Jesus expressed thanksgiving to God the Father (Luke 10:21; John 11:41), and He was completely dedicated to God. He said, “I have come down from heaven, not to do My will, but the will of Him who sent Me” (John 6:38). The fellowship offering expressed peace with God. Jesus had and has perfect fellowship with God the Father. In John 10:30 He said, “The Father and I are one.” Jesus also made peace with God possible for us; Colossians 1:20 says He made “peace through the blood of His cross.”

The sin offering was to make atonement for sin. God judges sin, and His penalty for sin is death. The sin offering satisfied the wrath of God against sin. Jesus was our sin offering when He died on the cross for our sins. The New Testament word for satisfying God’s wrath against sin is “propitiation,” and 1 John 4:10 says, “Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” The restitution offering was for the guilt of sin and involved making restitution for wrongs done, paying back debts owed because of sin. The death of Jesus on the cross also fulfilled the restitution offering. Colossians 2:13-14 says God

forgave us all our trespasses. He erased the certificate of debt, with its obligations, that was against us and opposed to us, and has taken it out of the way by nailing it to the cross.

Jesus paid our sin debt on the cross.

Jesus wasn’t just the next step in God’s plan. He was always God’s plan, and He is the final, once-for-all sacrifice for sin. When Jesus died on the cross, every sin of every person was placed on Him. God never meant for the old covenant sacrificial system to be permanent; it existed to prepare for the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross and to explain the sacrifice of Jesus. Furthermore, Jesus was no human priest: He was God the Son. He did not offer the blood of goats and bulls; He offered His own blood. No one killed Him against His will; He laid down His life for us willingly. His sacrifice was not in an earthly tabernacle made with human hands; He offered Himself before God. God commanded respect for all the elements of old covenant sacrifices. How much more reverence should we give to the sacrifice of God Himself in human flesh? How much more will we incur God’s wrath if we treat His sacrifice flippantly? That is exactly the question the writer of Hebrews asked. In Hebrews 10 he mentioned that people could be put to death for violating a command of the old covenant. Then he asked,

How much worse punishment do you think one will deserve who has trampled on the Son of God, regarded as profane the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and insulted the Spirit of grace? (v. 29)

People wear crosses as jewelry with no thought about their meaning, but the cross is where the almighty God of the universe set aside His commands regarding the sacrifice of animals and grain and He Himself became the sacrifice for sin. He took all of human sin on Himself on a cross outside Jerusalem, so that whenever people see the cross they will know that He loves them so much that He died for them to offer forgiveness, freedom, and heaven if they will put their faith in Him. How could anyone turn away from such love and grace? May we never spurn the Son of God and profane the blood of His covenant. May we instead serve Him by depending on His presence and power, obeying His commands, and separating ourselves from uncleanness so we will be clean before the one true God.

Reflect and Discuss

1. Why do you think the same subjects are readdressed in Leviticus 6:8–7:38 again?
2. In what ways might church members be guilty of trying to do God’s work in man’s way? How would the teaching of Leviticus correct them?
3. Why would fire have evoked thoughts of the presence and power of God for the people of Israel?
4. When do God’s people have access to God’s presence? How does the flame on the altar of sacrifice symbolize this reality?
5. When was atonement available to the people of Israel?
6. When the priests set the first sacrifices in order, who lit the fire on the altar? Who lights the fire of salvation in us?
7. How can you keep the fire burning in your life?
8. Beginning in the sacrificial system and continuing into the New Testament, God commanded His followers to provide for worship leaders. Why do you think God gave that command, and why is it important for God’s people to obey it?
9. Why does God not command us to support Him? How does this set Him apart from false gods?
10. God commanded respect for all the elements of old covenant sacrifices. How much more reverence should we give to the sacrifice of God Himself in human flesh?