Week 33: Numbers Part 1

Introduction Numbers is not a well-known book, neither is it widely quoted. Perhaps only two or three passages are well known. Samuel Morse quoted one of these after he sent the first telegraph message in Morse code to Washington DC on 24 May 1844. He expressed his...

Week 32: Leviticus Part 6

Reading Leviticus as Christians What has this book to say to us, living as Christians in the modern world? Do we have to get rid of all mixed-fibre clothing? If we get dry rot in the house, do we have to burn it down? One principle we can use as a guide is found in...

Week 31: Leviticus Part 5

Rules and regulations We need to be clear about our understanding of the law of Moses. It is called the ‘law’, not the ‘laws’, because it all hangs together. Holiness means wholeness, and all these rules and regulations fit together and form one whole. If you break...

Week 30: Leviticus Part 4

Rules for living Clean and unclean A crucial area to understand in Leviticus concerns the distinctions between holy and common, clean and unclean. Most people think in terms of good and bad, but the Bible works with three categories, as the chart shows. There are two...

Week 29: Leviticus Part 3

Offerings and worship Let us look first at the opening seven chapters, which deal with the rules for offerings. There are five offerings, of two different types. Gratitude offerings The first three offerings were the right way to say ‘thank you’ to God for blessing....