Quiet Heroes of the Titanic Leviticus 16-20

Quiet Heroes of the Titanic
 

On the Morning of April 15, 1912 the Titanic hit an iceberg and sank. Women and children were put onto lifeboats and sent away from the sinking ship. Families were torn apart, but the men that chose to stay behind stood resolutely and calmly doing what they knew was right. The porters stood by the rails to make sure the women and children got their places and that less honorable men were not allowed to board the lifeboats. Once the message had gone out that the women and children were off the boat the remaining men drew straws to see who would be allowed to get into the lifeboats that remained. There may have been men who did not make the right choice in the face of death, but this was the minority. The men who did this honorable thing and placed children and their mothers in the lifeboats would have known that they were transferring or trading their own lives for the safety of those they were sending out in lifeboats to sea and hopefully salvation.
As I read Leviticus 16 this week, and studied the Day of Atonement it reminded me of the love and honor those who face death to protect others possess. They do so to save the earthly life of people they may or may not know. Now think of the love of our Savior, who gave all He had so that we could have "eternal life" in a place of unimaginable beauty in a relationship with our Heavenly Father. He knew who He was dying for, He knew we had rejected Him, yet He chose to take our place because of His love for us. We earned our punishment, yet He willingly transferred our sin onto himself and paid the price for life.
The scapegoat in Leviticus 16, is a picture of a transfer of punishment for sin. The sin offering atonement was for everyone in the Israelite camp. It was a temporary atonement yet signified the permanent atonement that was to come in the future, "once for all" by Jesus, the perfect sacrifice.
Romans 3:25New International Version (NIV)
²⁵ God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement,^[a] through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished

Hebrews 9:15New International Version (NIV)
¹⁵ For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.

 

TidBits from Leviticus 16-20

Read Romans 9-10 for more comparison of Jesus Christ and the day of atonement of the Israelites.

• The Day of Atonement was the one day the high priests would enter the Holy of Holies with a  blood sacrifice for the atonement of the peoples sins
• The blood sprinkled in the courtyard signified that all the people had sinned and needed purifying
• The Scapegoat signified the transfer of sins
• Chapter 17 contains laws for practical holiness
• Chapter 18 contains laws for sexual behavior
• Chapter 19 contains laws for neighbors
• Chapter 20 contains laws again the practice of spiritual mediums

Dig Deeper

 

Leviticus 16-20New International Version (NIV)

The Day of Atonement

16 The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron who died when they approached the Lord. ² The Lord said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron that he is not to come whenever he chooses into the Most Holy Place behind the curtain in front of the atonement cover on the ark, or else he will die. For I will appear in the cloud over the atonement cover.

³ “This is how Aaron is to enter the Most Holy Place: He must first bring a young bull for a sin offering^[a] and a ram for a burnt offering. ⁴ He is to put on the sacred linen tunic, with linen undergarments next to his body; he is to tie the linen sash around him and put on the linen turban. These are sacred garments; so he must bathe himself with water before he puts them on. ⁵ From the Israelite community he is to take two male goats for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.
⁶ “Aaron is to offer the bull for his own sin offering to make atonement for himself and his household. ⁷ Then he is to take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting. ⁸ He is to cast lots for the two goats—one lot for the Lord and the other for the scapegoat.^{[b] 9} Aaron shall bring the goat whose lot falls to the Lord and sacrifice it for a sin offering. ¹⁰ But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord to be used for making atonement by sending it into the wilderness as a scapegoat.
¹¹ “Aaron shall bring the bull for his own sin offering to make atonement for himself and his household, and he is to slaughter the bull for his own sin offering. ¹² He is to take a censer full of burning coals from the altar before the Lord and two handfuls of finely ground fragrant incense and take them behind the curtain. ¹³ He is to put the incense on the fire before the Lord, and the smoke of the incense will conceal the atonement cover above the tablets of the covenant law, so that he will not die. ¹⁴ He is to take some of the bull’s blood and with his finger sprinkle it on the front of the atonement cover; then he shall sprinkle some of it with his finger seven times before the atonement cover.
¹⁵ “He shall then slaughter the goat for the sin offering for the people and take its blood behind the curtain and do with it as he did with the bull’s blood: He shall sprinkle it on the atonement cover and in front of it. ¹⁶ In this way he will make atonement for the Most Holy Place because of the uncleanness and rebellion of the Israelites, whatever their sins have been. He is to do the same for the tent of meeting, which is among them in the midst of their uncleanness. ¹⁷ No one is to be in the tent of meeting from the time Aaron goes in to make atonement in the Most Holy Place until he comes out, having made atonement for himself, his household and the whole community of Israel.
¹⁸ “Then he shall come out to the altar that is before the Lord and make atonement for it. He shall 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 shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times to cleanse it and to consecrate it from the uncleanness of the Israelites.
²⁰ “When Aaron has finished making atonement for the Most Holy Place, the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall bring forward the live goat. ²¹ He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites—all their sins—and put them on the goat’s head. He shall send the goat away into the wilderness in the care of someone appointed for the task. ²² The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a remote place; and the man shall release it in the wilderness.
²³ “Then Aaron is to go into the tent of meeting and take off the linen garments he put on before he entered the Most Holy Place, and he is to leave them there. ²⁴ He shall bathe himself with water in the sanctuary area and put on his regular garments. Then he shall come out and sacrifice the burnt offering for himself and the burnt offering for the people, to make atonement for himself and for the people. ²⁵ He shall also burn the fat of the sin offering on the altar.
²⁶ “The man who releases the goat as a scapegoat must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water; afterward he may come into the camp. ²⁷ The bull and the goat for the sin offerings, whose blood was brought into the Most Holy Place to make atonement, must be taken outside the camp; their hides, flesh and intestines are to be burned up. ²⁸ The man who burns them must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water; afterward he may come into the camp.
²⁹ “This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month you must deny yourselves^[c] and not do any work—whether native-born or a foreigner residing among you— ³⁰ because on this day atonement will be made for you, to cleanse you. Then, before the Lord, you will be clean from all your sins. ³¹ It is a day of sabbath rest, and you must deny yourselves; it is a lasting ordinance. ³² The priest who is anointed and ordained to succeed his father as high priest is to make atonement. He is to put on the sacred linen garments ³³ and make atonement for the Most Holy Place, for the tent of meeting and the altar, and for the priests and all the members of the community.
³⁴ “This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: Atonement is to be made once a year for all the sins of the Israelites.”
And it was done, as the Lord commanded Moses.

Eating Blood Forbidden

17 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Speak to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites and say to them: ‘This is what the Lord has commanded: ³ Any Israelite who sacrifices an ox,^[d] 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 in front of the tabernacle of the Lord—that person shall be considered guilty of bloodshed; they have shed blood and must be cut off from their people. ⁵ This is so the Israelites will bring to the Lord the sacrifices they are now making in the open fields. They must bring them to the priest, that is, to the Lord, at the entrance to the tent of meeting and sacrifice them as fellowship offerings. ⁶ The priest is to splash the blood against the altar of the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting and burn the fat as an aroma pleasing to the Lord. ⁷ They must no longer offer any of their sacrifices to the goat idols^[e] to whom they prostitute themselves. This is to be a lasting ordinance for them and for the generations to come.’

⁸ “Say to them: ‘Any Israelite or any foreigner residing among them who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice ⁹ and does not bring it to the entrance to the tent of meeting to sacrifice it to the Lord must be cut off from the people of Israel.
¹⁰ “‘I will set my face against any Israelite or any foreigner residing among them who eats blood, and I will cut them off from the people. ¹¹ For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.^{[f] 12} Therefore I say to the Israelites, “None of you may eat blood, nor may any foreigner residing among you eat blood.”
¹³ “‘Any Israelite or any foreigner residing among you who hunts any animal or bird that may be eaten must drain out the blood and cover it with earth, ¹⁴ because the life of every creature is its blood. That is why I have said to the Israelites, “You must not eat the blood of any creature, because the life of every creature is its blood; anyone who eats it must be cut off.”
¹⁵ “‘Anyone, whether native-born or foreigner, who eats anything found dead or torn by wild animals must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be ceremonially unclean till evening; then they will be clean. ¹⁶ But if they do not wash their clothes and bathe themselves, they will be held responsible.’”

Unlawful Sexual Relations

18 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘I am the Lord your God. ³ You must not do as they do in Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices. ⁴ You must obey my laws and be careful to follow my decrees. I am the Lord your God. ⁵ Keep my decrees and laws, for the person who obeys them will live by them. I am the Lord.

⁶ “‘No one is to approach any close relative to have sexual relations. I am the Lord.
⁷ “‘Do not dishonor your father by having sexual relations with your mother. She is your mother; do not have relations with her.
⁸ “‘Do not have sexual relations with your father’s wife; that would dishonor your father.
⁹ “‘Do 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 “‘Do not have sexual relations with your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter; that would dishonor you.
¹¹ “‘Do not have sexual relations with the daughter of your father’s wife, born to your father; she is your sister.
¹² “‘Do not have sexual relations with your father’s sister; she is your father’s close relative.
¹³ “‘Do not have sexual relations with your mother’s sister, because she is your mother’s close relative.
¹⁴ “‘Do not dishonor your father’s brother by approaching his wife to have sexual relations; she is your aunt.
¹⁵ “‘Do not have sexual relations with your daughter-in-law. She is your son’s wife; do not have relations with her.
¹⁶ “‘Do not have sexual relations with your brother’s wife; that would dishonor your brother.
¹⁷ “‘Do not have sexual relations with both a woman and her daughter. Do not have sexual relations with either her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter; they are her close relatives. That is wickedness.
¹⁸ “‘Do not take your wife’s sister as a rival wife and have sexual relations with her while your wife is living.
¹⁹ “‘Do not approach a woman to have sexual relations during the uncleanness of her monthly period.
²⁰ “‘Do not have sexual relations with your neighbor’s wife and defile yourself with her.
²¹ “‘Do not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molek, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the Lord.
²² “‘Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable.
²³ “‘Do not have sexual relations with an animal and defile yourself with it. A woman must not present herself to an animal to have sexual relations with it; that is a perversion.
²⁴ “‘Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the nations that I am going to drive out before you became defiled. ²⁵ Even the land was defiled; so I punished it for its sin, and the land vomited out its inhabitants. ²⁶ But you must keep my decrees and my laws. The native-born and the foreigners residing among you must not do any of these detestable things, ²⁷ for all these things were done by the people who lived in the land before you, and the land became defiled. ²⁸ And if you defile the land, it will vomit you out as it vomited out the nations that were before you.
²⁹ “‘Everyone who does any of these detestable things—such persons must be cut off from their people. ³⁰ Keep my requirements and do not follow any of the detestable customs that were practiced before you came and do not defile yourselves with them. I am the Lord your God.’”

Various Laws

19 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.

³ “‘Each of you must respect your mother and father, and you must observe my Sabbaths. I am the Lord your God.
⁴ “‘Do not turn to idols or make metal gods for yourselves. I am the Lord your God.
⁵ “‘When you sacrifice a fellowship offering to the Lord, sacrifice it in such a way that it will be accepted on your behalf. ⁶ It shall be eaten on the day you sacrifice it or on the next day; anything left over until the third day must be burned up. ⁷ If any of it is eaten on the third day, it is impure and will not be accepted. ⁸ Whoever eats it will be held responsible because they have desecrated what is holy to the Lord; they must be cut off from their people.
⁹ “‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. ¹⁰ Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the Lord your God.
¹¹ “‘Do not steal.
“‘Do not lie.
“‘Do not deceive one another.
¹² “‘Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God. I am the Lord.
¹³ “‘Do not defraud or rob your neighbor.
“‘Do not hold back the wages of a hired worker overnight.
¹⁴ “‘Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but fear your God. I am the Lord.
¹⁵ “‘Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.
¹⁶ “‘Do not go about spreading slander among your people.
“‘Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor’s life. I am the Lord.
¹⁷ “‘Do not hate a fellow Israelite in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in their guilt.
¹⁸ “‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.
¹⁹ “‘Keep my decrees.
“‘Do not mate different kinds of animals.
“‘Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed.
“‘Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material.
²⁰ “‘If a man sleeps with a female slave who is promised to another man but who has not been ransomed or given her freedom, there must be due punishment.^[g] Yet 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 for a guilt offering to the Lord. ²² With the ram of the guilt offering the priest is to make atonement for him before the Lord for the sin he has committed, and his sin will be forgiven.
²³ “‘When you enter the land and plant any kind of fruit tree, regard its fruit as forbidden.^[h] For three years you are to consider it forbidden^[i]; it must not be eaten. ²⁴ In the fourth year all its fruit will be holy, an offering of praise to the Lord. ²⁵ But in the fifth year you may eat its fruit. In this way your harvest will be increased. I am the Lord your God.
²⁶ “‘Do not eat any meat with the blood still in it.
“‘Do not practice divination or seek omens.
²⁷ “‘Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.
²⁸ “‘Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the Lord.
²⁹ “‘Do not degrade your daughter by making her a prostitute, or the land will turn to prostitution and be filled with wickedness.
³⁰ “‘Observe my Sabbaths and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am the Lord.
³¹ “‘Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God.
³² “‘Stand up in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the Lord.
³³ “‘When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. ³⁴ The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.
³⁵ “‘Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight or quantity. ³⁶ Use honest scales and honest weights, an honest ephah^[j] and an honest hin.^[k] I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt.
³⁷ “‘Keep all my decrees and all my laws and follow them. I am the Lord.’”

Punishments for Sin

20 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Say to the Israelites: ‘Any Israelite or any foreigner residing in Israel who sacrifices any of his children to Molek is to be put to death. The members of the community are to stone him. ³ I myself will set my face against him and will cut him off from his people; for by sacrificing his children to Molek, he has defiled my sanctuary and profaned my holy name. ⁴ If the members of the community close their eyes when that man sacrifices one of his children to Molek and if they fail to put him to death, ⁵ I myself will set my face against him and his family and will cut them off from their people together with all who follow him in prostituting themselves to Molek.

⁶ “‘I will set my face against anyone who turns to mediums and spiritists to prostitute themselves by following them, and I will cut them off from their people.
⁷ “‘Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the Lord your God. ⁸ Keep my decrees and follow them. I am the Lord, who makes you holy.
⁹ “‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death. Because they have cursed their father or mother, their blood will be on their own head.
¹⁰ “‘If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress are to be put to death.
¹¹ “‘If a man has sexual relations with his father’s wife, he has dishonored his father. Both the man and the woman are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.
¹² “‘If a man has sexual relations with his daughter-in-law, both of them are to be put to death. What they have done is a perversion; their blood will be on their own heads.
¹³ “‘If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.
¹⁴ “‘If a man marries both a woman and her mother, it is wicked. Both he and they must be burned in the fire, so that no wickedness will be among you.
¹⁵ “‘If a man has sexual relations with an animal, he is to be put to death, and you must kill the animal.
¹⁶ “‘If a woman approaches an animal to have sexual relations with it, kill both the woman and the animal. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.
¹⁷ “‘If a man marries his sister, the daughter of either his father or his mother, and they have sexual relations, it is a disgrace. They are to be publicly removed from their people. He has dishonored his sister and will be held responsible.
¹⁸ “‘If a man has sexual relations with a woman during her monthly period, he has exposed the source of her flow, and she has also uncovered it. Both of them are to be cut off from their people.
¹⁹ “‘Do not have sexual relations with the sister of either your mother or your father, for that would dishonor a close relative; both of you would be held responsible.
²⁰ “‘If a man has sexual relations with his aunt, he has dishonored his uncle. They will be held responsible; they will die childless.
²¹ “‘If a man marries his brother’s wife, it is an act of impurity; he has dishonored his brother. They will be childless.
²² “‘Keep all my decrees and laws and follow them, so that the land where I am bringing you to live may not vomit you out. ²³ You must not live according to the customs of the nations I am going to drive out before you. Because they did all these things, I abhorred them. ²⁴ But I said to you, “You will possess their land; 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 nations.
²⁵ “‘You must therefore make a distinction between clean and unclean animals and between unclean and clean birds. Do not defile yourselves by any animal or bird or anything that moves along the ground—those that I have set 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 woman who is a medium or spiritist among you must be put to death. You are to stone them; their blood will be on their own heads.’”