Leviticus 16-18 - Keep My Statutes and My Judgments

The Day of Atonement

Lev 16:2-4 LSB - [2] And Yahweh said to Moses: "Tell your brother Aaron that he shall not enter at any time into the holy place inside the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark, so that he will not die; for I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat. [3] "Aaron shall enter the holy place with this: with a bull from the herd for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. [4] "He shall put on the holy linen tunic, and the linen undergarments shall be next to his body, and he shall be girded with the linen sash and attired with the linen turban (these are holy garments). Then he shall bathe his body in water and put them on.

Lev 16:21-22 LSB - [21] "Then Aaron shall lay both of his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the sons of Israel and all their transgressions in regard to all their sins; and he shall lay them on the head of the goat and send [it] out into the wilderness by the hand of a man ready [to do this]. [22] "And the goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to an isolated land; and he shall send out the goat in the wilderness.

Lev 16:29-31 LSB - [29] "And [this] shall be a perpetual statute for you: in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall humble your souls and not do any work, whether the native or the sojourner who sojourns among you; [30] for it is on this day that atonement shall be made for you to cleanse you; you will be clean from all your sins before Yahweh. [31] "It is to be a sabbath of solemn rest for you, that you may humble your souls; it is a perpetual statute.

Not all the blood of beasts

Isaac Watts (1674-1748)

1 Not all the blood of beasts,
On Jewish altars slain,
Could give the guilty conscience peace,
Or wash away its stain.

2 But Christ, the heavenly Lamb, 
Takes all our sins away;
A sacrifice of nobler name,
And richer blood than they.

3 My faith would lay her hand
On that dear head of Thine,
While like a penitent I stand,
And there confess my sin.

4 My soul looks back to see
The burdens Thou didst bear
When hanging on the cursed tree,
And knows her guilt was there.

5 Believing, we rejoice
To see the curse remove;
We bless the Lamb with cheerful voice,
And sing His bleeding love.

 

Statutes Against Eating Blood

Lev 17:5-7 LSB - [5] "[The reason is] so that the sons of Israel may bring their sacrifices which they were sacrificing in the open field, that they may bring them in to Yahweh, at the doorway of the tent of meeting to the priest, and sacrifice them as sacrifices of peace offerings to Yahweh. [6] "And the priest shall splash the blood on the altar of Yahweh at the doorway of the tent of meeting and offer up the fat in smoke as a soothing aroma to Yahweh. [7] "And they shall no longer sacrifice their sacrifices to the goat demons with which they play the harlot. This shall be a perpetual statute to them throughout their generations."'

Lev 17:11 LSB - [11] 'For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.'

There is a fountain filled with blood Drawn from Emmanuel's veins

Author: William Cowper (1772)

1 There is a fountain filled with blood

Drawn from Immanuel's veins;

And sinners, plunged beneath that flood,

Lose all their guilty stains:

Lose all their guilty stains,

Lose all their guilty stains;

And sinners, plunged beneath that flood,

Lose all their guilty stains.

2 The dying thief rejoiced to see

That fountain in his day;

And there may I, though vile as he,

Wash all my sins away:

Wash all my sins away,

Wash all my sins away;

And there may I, though vile as he,

Wash all my sins away.

3 Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious blood

Shall never lose its pow'r,

Till all the ransomed Church of God

Be saved, to sin no more:

Be saved, to sin no more,

Be saved, to sin no more;

Till all the ransomed Church of God

Be saved to sin no more.

4 E'er since by faith I saw the stream

Thy flowing wounds supply,

Redeeming love has been my theme,

And shall be till I die:

And shall be till I die,

And shall be till I die;

Redeeming love has been my theme,

And shall be till I die.

5 When this poor lisping, stamm'ring tongue

Lies silent in the grave,

Then in a nobler, sweeter song

I'll sing Thy pow'r to save:

I'll sing Thy pow'r to save,

I'll sing Thy pow'r to save;

Then in a nobler, sweeter song

I'll sing Thy pow'r to save.

Statutes on the Nakedness of Relatives

Lev 18:2-5 LSB - [2] "Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, 'I am Yahweh your God. [3] 'You shall not do according to what is done in the land of Egypt where you lived, nor are you to do according to what is done in the land of Canaan where I am bringing you; you shall not walk in their statutes. [4] 'You are to do My judgments and keep My statutes, to walk in them; I am Yahweh your God. [5] 'So you shall keep My statutes and My judgments, which if a man does them, he shall live by them; I am Yahweh.

Lev 18:26-28 LSB - [26] 'But as for you, you shall keep My statutes and My judgments and shall not do any of these abominations, [neither] the native nor the sojourner who sojourns among you [27] (for the men of the land who have been before you have done all these abominations, and the land has become defiled); [28] so that the land will not vomit you out, should you defile it, as it has vomited out the nation which has been before you.

Take time to be holy

Author: William D. Longstaff (ca. 1882)

1 Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy Lord;

abide in Him always, and feed on His word.

Make friends of God’s children, help those who are weak,

forgetting in nothing His blessing to seek.

2 Take time to be holy, the world rushes on;

spend much time in secret with Jesus alone.

By looking to Jesus, like Him thou shalt be;

thy friends in thy conduct His likeness shall see.

3 Take time to be holy, let Him be thy guide,

and run not before Him, whatever betide.

In joy or in sorrow, still follow the Lord,

and, looking to Jesus, still trust in His word.

4 Take time to be holy, be calm in thy soul,

each thought and each motive beneath His control.

Thus led by His Spirit to fountains of love,

thou soon shalt be fitted for service above.