WEBVTT - Skip Heitzig - Oct 26 - 7:30 am 0:00:01.280 --> 0:00:04.400 This is Connect with Skip Heitzig. Thanks for joining us today. 0:00:04.960 --> 0:00:07.840 Here at Connect with Skip, we love helping you understand 0:00:07.880 --> 0:00:10.610 God's Word and apply it to your life through clear, 0:00:10.869 --> 0:00:14.470 practical Bible teaching and real encouragement. And if you'd like 0:00:14.530 --> 0:00:17.189 help to keep growing in your walk with Jesus, sign 0:00:17.250 --> 0:00:21.610 up for Pastor Skip's free weekly devotional. You'll receive biblical insight, 0:00:21.770 --> 0:00:25.489 teaching highlights, and exclusive resources designed to help you stay 0:00:25.530 --> 0:00:28.630 strong in your faith, all delivered right to your inbox 0:00:28.650 --> 0:00:31.120 at Signing up is quick and easy, and you'll be 0:00:31.180 --> 0:00:35.449 glad you did. Go to connectwithskip.com and join the list today. 0:00:35.870 --> 0:00:40.229 That's connectwithskip.com. Before today's teaching, stay with us for a 0:00:40.290 --> 0:00:43.089 special invitation from Pastor Skip Heitzig. 0:00:43.700 --> 0:00:46.650 Have you ever dreamed of visiting Israel? Lenny and I 0:00:46.690 --> 0:00:49.310 want to invite you to join us for a life-changing 0:00:49.370 --> 0:00:53.680 journey through the land of the Bible in April of 2027. 0:00:53.680 --> 0:00:56.160 You can walk where Jesus walked. You can worship on 0:00:56.200 --> 0:00:59.620 the Sea of Galilee. You can celebrate baptisms at the 0:00:59.660 --> 0:01:02.940 Jordan River. And we're going to share communion at the 0:01:03.020 --> 0:01:06.380 Empty Tomb. You'll also have the option to attend the 0:01:06.459 --> 0:01:10.360 Epicenter Summit in Jerusalem, where I'll be speaking alongside of 0:01:10.440 --> 0:01:15.390 Joel Rosenberg, Greg Laurie, Anne Graham-Lotz, Jack Graham, and more. 0:01:16.000 --> 0:01:19.840 So join us April 5th through April 16th. You can 0:01:19.860 --> 0:01:24.830 learn more today at connectwithskip.com slash Israel. 0:01:25.390 --> 0:01:29.030 Now let's dive into today's teaching from Pastor Skip Heitzig. 0:01:29.810 --> 0:01:32.220 The first three, the burnt the grain and the peace 0:01:32.310 --> 0:01:35.640 offering are called a sweet aroma to the Lord. They're optional. 0:01:36.540 --> 0:01:40.080 You don't have to bring them. They're not obligatory. They're optional. 0:01:40.480 --> 0:01:43.640 The last two, the sin offering and the trespass offering 0:01:44.140 --> 0:01:49.420 are reversed. They are obligatory. They're not discretionary. You have 0:01:49.440 --> 0:01:52.140 to do it. Why? Because all have sinned and fallen 0:01:52.180 --> 0:01:53.860 short of the glory of God. And so to fix 0:01:53.920 --> 0:01:57.330 the sin problem, and by the way, a sin is 0:01:57.390 --> 0:02:00.410 different than a trespass. Everybody sins because they fall short 0:02:00.470 --> 0:02:03.010 of the mark, but then there's the trespass, which is 0:02:03.110 --> 0:02:06.730 crossing the line deliberately. Like, don't cross the line. Okay. 0:02:07.830 --> 0:02:09.710 So that's a trespass. I know I shouldn't do it, 0:02:09.730 --> 0:02:12.010 but I do it anyway. That had to be paid for. 0:02:12.570 --> 0:02:15.660 So those are the five offerings. Now, chapter 6 and 0:02:15.700 --> 0:02:21.080 chapter 7 are laws for the priests who would administrate 0:02:21.139 --> 0:02:23.940 those offerings that were brought that are enumerated in the 0:02:23.980 --> 0:02:27.590 first few chapters. So it's like office protocol for the priests. 0:02:27.610 --> 0:02:31.250 When we get to chapter 8, 9, and 10, I 0:02:31.310 --> 0:02:36.970 call these laws of professional activity. Laws of professional activity. Why? 0:02:37.010 --> 0:02:40.240 Because we're dealing with priests now. It's the priesthood. It's 0:02:40.300 --> 0:02:44.500 their profession to take yours and my sacrifices, if we 0:02:44.620 --> 0:02:47.750 lived back then, and offer them for us. So this 0:02:47.910 --> 0:02:53.950 answers the question, who can approach God for me? First 0:02:53.990 --> 0:02:57.530 question that the first few chapters ask and answer is, 0:02:57.810 --> 0:03:01.490 how can I approach God? Answer by sacrifice. Chapters 8 0:03:01.490 --> 0:03:06.740 through 10 answer the question, who can approach God for me? Answer, 0:03:07.360 --> 0:03:11.119 only a priest can. So chapters 1 through 7, get 0:03:11.139 --> 0:03:14.119 the flow of this. Chapters 1 through 7 says we 0:03:14.160 --> 0:03:20.410 need a sacrifice to approach God. Chapters 8 through 10, 0:03:20.410 --> 0:03:24.450 we need a stand-in. We need a representative. We need 0:03:24.590 --> 0:03:27.489 somebody to offer the sacrifice for us. That's what a 0:03:27.530 --> 0:03:33.180 priest does. A priest stands before God on behalf of 0:03:33.240 --> 0:03:38.310 the people and offers a sacrifice on their behalf. Now, 0:03:38.390 --> 0:03:40.310 I want to zero in. Let's tip the plane down 0:03:40.350 --> 0:03:41.960 a little bit, get a little closer to the ground. 0:03:42.240 --> 0:03:45.280 Look at chapter 8, verse 22. We're going right into 0:03:45.320 --> 0:03:51.160 the ordination ceremony of the ancient priesthood. Chapter 8, verse 22. 0:03:51.160 --> 0:03:54.880 And he brought the second ram, a ram of consecration. 0:03:55.360 --> 0:03:57.580 Then Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the 0:03:57.600 --> 0:04:01.560 head of the ram, and Moses killed it. And he 0:04:01.600 --> 0:04:04.380 took some of its blood and put it on the 0:04:04.780 --> 0:04:08.740 tip of Aaron's right ear. on the thumb of his 0:04:08.810 --> 0:04:12.200 right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. 0:04:13.420 --> 0:04:15.920 And then he brought Aaron's sons, and Moses put some 0:04:15.960 --> 0:04:18.460 of the blood on the tips of their right ears, 0:04:18.560 --> 0:04:21.279 on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the 0:04:21.300 --> 0:04:25.020 big toes of their right feet. And Moses sprinkled the 0:04:25.060 --> 0:04:28.919 blood all around the altar. What's all this about? It's 0:04:28.980 --> 0:04:33.140 the idea in sanctifying it with shed blood, may this 0:04:33.400 --> 0:04:38.000 priest hear the voice of God. by putting it on 0:04:38.040 --> 0:04:41.580 his ears. May he do the will of God by 0:04:41.620 --> 0:04:43.659 putting it on the thumb of his hand. Well, can 0:04:43.860 --> 0:04:45.700 work the works of God, do the will of God. 0:04:46.040 --> 0:04:48.540 And by putting it on his foot, he's saying, may 0:04:48.600 --> 0:04:51.500 this priest walk in the ways of God. So may 0:04:51.550 --> 0:04:54.969 he hear, work, and walk in the ways of God. 0:04:56.150 --> 0:04:58.010 Now let's fast forward in the New Testament, just to 0:04:58.050 --> 0:05:02.390 make an analogy. In the New Testament, Jesus Christ is 0:05:02.470 --> 0:05:08.080 called our great high priest. priest, our great high priest. 0:05:08.520 --> 0:05:15.980 Here's what's interesting. Jesus is both the sacrifice as well 0:05:16.020 --> 0:05:19.350 as the one who offers the sacrifice because he offered himself. 0:05:20.050 --> 0:05:24.050 So he is the sacrificial lamb and he is the 0:05:24.110 --> 0:05:27.290 high priest who offers the lamb. Behold the lamb of God, 0:05:27.330 --> 0:05:29.390 John said, who takes away the sin of the world. 0:05:29.650 --> 0:05:32.510 But he's also our high priest, our great high priest. 0:05:32.560 --> 0:05:36.610 He offers it. So there is the fulfillment of that. Now, 0:05:37.350 --> 0:05:40.810 let's move off of that and think of ourselves. In 0:05:40.890 --> 0:05:48.969 Romans chapter 12, Paul borrows the language of sacrifice from 0:05:49.040 --> 0:05:54.060 Leviticus and says to us, I beseech you, therefore, by 0:05:54.100 --> 0:05:59.300 the mercies of God, that you present your bodies, right? 0:05:59.320 --> 0:06:02.270 Just like they're Ears and hands and feet were covered 0:06:02.310 --> 0:06:07.010 with blood. You present your bodies as a living sacrifice, 0:06:07.170 --> 0:06:11.330 holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 0:06:12.410 --> 0:06:16.390 So he's saying you, like the priest, come and voluntarily 0:06:16.550 --> 0:06:20.650 offer your bodies for God to work through. And can 0:06:20.690 --> 0:06:25.370 I just say, when you do that, life gets really good. 0:06:27.230 --> 0:06:30.870 Life takes on a whole new level when you see 0:06:30.890 --> 0:06:33.510 your body as a base of operations for the Holy 0:06:33.570 --> 0:06:37.390 Spirit to dwell within and work through to other people. 0:06:38.650 --> 0:06:40.630 That's when life really, really gets good. Think of the 0:06:40.670 --> 0:06:43.070 people in the Bible that God got a hold of 0:06:43.110 --> 0:06:46.750 their bodies, as imperfect as they were, and used it 0:06:46.800 --> 0:06:53.419 for his glory. Moses said, I can't talk. He stuttered. 0:06:53.440 --> 0:06:54.700 God says, great, I'm going to use you to be 0:06:54.720 --> 0:06:59.980 a spokesman. To Pharaoh. Yeah, he used Aaron to help 0:07:00.040 --> 0:07:03.060 do that as well. But then Moses' mouth gave the 0:07:03.180 --> 0:07:06.979 law to people that he heard from God's mouth. So 0:07:07.000 --> 0:07:11.580 his body was a living sacrifice. David's hands put a 0:07:11.640 --> 0:07:16.060 sling in it one day. And God guided that little 0:07:16.160 --> 0:07:22.020 missile right into the head of Goliath. Paul's feet anointed 0:07:22.040 --> 0:07:24.280 by God to spread the gospel through the known world 0:07:24.640 --> 0:07:28.500 and your body as well. as you offer it to God. 0:07:29.340 --> 0:07:31.260 You know, it's always interesting to me that God has 0:07:31.340 --> 0:07:34.660 chosen to use his redeemed people. So he redeems us. 0:07:34.700 --> 0:07:38.510 He saves us. We become sinful. But then we ask 0:07:38.530 --> 0:07:40.910 Jesus to forgive us our sins. So we're now instantly 0:07:40.970 --> 0:07:43.290 his child. You know how it works by faith. And 0:07:43.310 --> 0:07:45.950 then God says, now I'm going to use you. And 0:07:45.990 --> 0:07:47.410 you don't have to have any special training. You don't 0:07:47.430 --> 0:07:49.630 have to have any special education. I'll use you just 0:07:49.670 --> 0:07:51.950 as you are. If you let me, I'll work my 0:07:52.010 --> 0:07:56.400 ways through your body. And God didn't have to do that. 0:07:56.800 --> 0:08:01.750 You know, God could have used angels instead of redeemed humans. 0:08:02.510 --> 0:08:04.630 And wouldn't you agree if God decided to use angels, 0:08:05.590 --> 0:08:07.450 they'd probably do a much better job than we've done 0:08:07.510 --> 0:08:10.800 so far in 2,000 years. You could count on angels 0:08:10.830 --> 0:08:12.500 to really get the word out. God's going to use 0:08:12.520 --> 0:08:15.780 an angel in the book of Revelation to proclaim the 0:08:15.860 --> 0:08:19.820 everlasting gospel to all the people on the earth. The 0:08:19.840 --> 0:08:22.120 job is going to get done. But God has chosen 0:08:22.160 --> 0:08:26.160 to restrict himself in the meanwhile to do the most 0:08:26.240 --> 0:08:29.970 important part of his work now through our bodies. And 0:08:29.990 --> 0:08:34.370 you go, not a good plan, God. I would counsel 0:08:34.410 --> 0:08:37.550 against that. The reason God does that is it gives 0:08:37.630 --> 0:08:41.710 him more glory. The more imperfect the instrument, the greater 0:08:41.790 --> 0:08:46.210 the glory goes to the one using that instrument. So 0:08:46.250 --> 0:08:49.830 God uses priests. God uses your body and my body 0:08:49.870 --> 0:08:52.730 for his glory. Chapter 10, there is a glitch in 0:08:52.750 --> 0:08:56.630 the priesthood. Aaron has two sons, one named Nadab, the 0:08:56.670 --> 0:09:01.230 other Abihu. And this is when worship gets dangerous. Verse 1, 0:09:01.230 --> 0:09:05.030 then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, offered profane 0:09:05.270 --> 0:09:09.840 fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them. 0:09:11.010 --> 0:09:14.140 Now it says profane fire in my translation, the New 0:09:14.200 --> 0:09:17.380 King James that I'm reading from. The old King James 0:09:17.520 --> 0:09:23.850 calls it strange fire. Some translations call it unconsecrated fire. 0:09:24.410 --> 0:09:28.339 The New Living Translation puts it this way, different kind 0:09:28.380 --> 0:09:33.020 of fire. So they're all taking a stab at what 0:09:33.059 --> 0:09:37.660 this profane fire or strange fire is. Some And I'm 0:09:37.679 --> 0:09:43.520 putting a question mark here. Some unspecified infraction occurred that 0:09:43.590 --> 0:09:46.310 had to do with burning incense. You know what it was? 0:09:47.050 --> 0:09:48.990 Because if you know what it is, please tell me afterwards. 0:09:49.010 --> 0:09:50.950 I have no idea what it is. I have read 0:09:50.970 --> 0:09:53.370 so many books and commentaries on what it is and 0:09:53.410 --> 0:09:57.390 nobody really agrees. Some think it's they lit their censers 0:09:57.450 --> 0:10:01.660 with ordinary fire other than the prescribed fire from the 0:10:01.780 --> 0:10:04.540 altar of sacrifice, that brass altar that was in the 0:10:04.559 --> 0:10:08.020 courtyard for animal sacrifices. So they just decided, why go 0:10:08.059 --> 0:10:10.320 out there? Just get a Zippo lighter, you know, do 0:10:10.360 --> 0:10:13.300 it that way. That's a possibility. Not the Zippo lighter. 0:10:13.320 --> 0:10:17.689 That didn't exist, but just an ordinary fire. Others have 0:10:18.510 --> 0:10:23.360 guessed that maybe they were drunk because in verse 8 0:10:23.360 --> 0:10:25.420 and 9 to Aaron it says, Do not drink wine 0:10:25.480 --> 0:10:29.199 or intoxicating drink, you nor your sons with you, when 0:10:29.240 --> 0:10:33.120 you go into the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die. 0:10:33.240 --> 0:10:36.400 And they will die with this infraction. It shall be 0:10:36.420 --> 0:10:40.010 a statute forever throughout your generations. But here's the point. 0:10:40.030 --> 0:10:41.709 Instead of trying to figure out what the profane fire 0:10:41.750 --> 0:10:45.990 exactly is, God, when he calls priests into the special 0:10:46.030 --> 0:10:48.790 role of representing the people, he calls them to a 0:10:48.850 --> 0:10:53.740 higher standard. Yes, they're humans. Yes, they sin. Yes, they're 0:10:53.760 --> 0:10:56.360 going to need sacrifices. But if you're going to serve 0:10:56.380 --> 0:10:58.980 in the priesthood, let me modernize it. If you're going 0:10:59.000 --> 0:11:02.840 to serve in the ministry today, we are called to 0:11:02.960 --> 0:11:06.480 a higher standard. Those who teach the word are called 0:11:06.520 --> 0:11:12.820 to a higher standard, the Bible tells us. So our work, yeah, 0:11:13.300 --> 0:11:16.350 we work. All of us do our work. But in 0:11:16.390 --> 0:11:20.330 the ministry, it's not a nine to five. And sometimes 0:11:20.390 --> 0:11:23.430 it's not five days a week. Sometimes it's like whenever 0:11:23.490 --> 0:11:27.130 there's a need. And Charles Spurgeon wrote a great book 0:11:27.390 --> 0:11:29.570 called Lectures to My Students, one of my favorite books 0:11:29.610 --> 0:11:32.050 that I always tell young men who want to get 0:11:32.090 --> 0:11:35.320 into the ministry to read. And here's a little section 0:11:35.360 --> 0:11:37.700 in there where he says, if you plan to be lazy, 0:11:38.000 --> 0:11:41.080 there are plenty of avocations or jobs in which you 0:11:41.120 --> 0:11:43.820 will not be wanted. But above all, you are not 0:11:43.880 --> 0:11:48.200 wanted in the Christian ministry. The man who finds the 0:11:48.240 --> 0:11:50.600 ministry an easy life will find that it also brings 0:11:50.660 --> 0:11:54.780 a hard death. So Nadab and Abihu, instead of trying 0:11:54.800 --> 0:11:58.040 to cut corners and just light your little incense thing 0:11:58.080 --> 0:12:00.900 with a Zippo, you know, get out there and do 0:12:00.940 --> 0:12:05.660 it right. And the grand theme is the worship that 0:12:05.710 --> 0:12:10.030 God accepts is the worship that God prescribes. God says, 0:12:10.070 --> 0:12:12.210 do it this way. Don't argue with that. Just do 0:12:12.290 --> 0:12:14.970 it the way God said to do it. So that's 0:12:14.990 --> 0:12:15.950 the glitch that happens. 0:12:16.330 --> 0:12:19.830 You're listening to Connect with Skip Heitzig. The Bible is 0:12:19.890 --> 0:12:25.860 a big book. 66 books filled with history, poetry, prophecy, letters, laws, 0:12:26.000 --> 0:12:28.479 and more. It's easy to lose sight of how it 0:12:28.559 --> 0:12:32.170 all fits together. That's why Pastor Skip Heitzig wrote his 0:12:32.270 --> 0:12:36.070 new one-year devotional, Soaring Above It All. It gives you 0:12:36.110 --> 0:12:40.250 a panoramic view of Scripture, helping you understand the key people, events, 0:12:40.320 --> 0:12:43.820 and themes from Genesis to Revelation while deepening your walk 0:12:43.860 --> 0:12:47.760 with God. Request Soaring Above It All as our thanks 0:12:47.800 --> 0:12:50.680 when you give $ 50 or more today to help Connect 0:12:50.720 --> 0:12:54.750 with Skip share clear, verse-by-verse Bible teaching with people everywhere. 0:12:55.309 --> 0:13:03.150 Give now at connectwithskip.com slash offer today. or call 800-922-1888. Now, 0:13:03.350 --> 0:13:05.030 here's more from Pastor Skip. 0:13:05.600 --> 0:13:09.079 When we get to chapters 11 through 15, we have 0:13:09.120 --> 0:13:14.420 laws of ritual purity. Laws of ritual purity. Now, some 0:13:14.440 --> 0:13:17.079 of these are weird. I will admit that. And they're 0:13:17.100 --> 0:13:19.860 not going to really like apply to you in a 0:13:19.920 --> 0:13:22.640 modern day and age. But it does answer the question, 0:13:22.700 --> 0:13:26.160 how can I be clean before God? In fact, the 0:13:26.200 --> 0:13:34.920 word unclean appears over 100 times in chapters 11 through 15. Now, 0:13:34.960 --> 0:13:38.239 some of these, as I say, seem weird. Let me 0:13:38.260 --> 0:13:40.459 give you the big picture. The big picture, God is 0:13:40.520 --> 0:13:44.860 saying this, all of your life, all of your life, 0:13:45.900 --> 0:13:48.320 all of your life is to be lived under the 0:13:48.580 --> 0:13:51.540 eye of God. Whether you're in the kitchen, whether you're 0:13:51.559 --> 0:13:54.860 in the office, whether you're in the bedroom, God wants 0:13:54.900 --> 0:13:57.770 to be a part of all of your life. So 0:13:57.830 --> 0:14:02.630 chapter 11, our regulations about food. Chapter 12, about childbirth. 0:14:03.050 --> 0:14:09.329 Chapter 13, about skin diseases. Chapter 14, leprosy as a 0:14:09.450 --> 0:14:12.770 specialized skin disease because of the contagion that it provides. 0:14:13.350 --> 0:14:20.640 And then probably your favorite chapter in chapter 15, bodily discharges. Ooh, yeah. 0:14:21.200 --> 0:14:23.619 So chapter 11, verse 1, And the Lord spoke to 0:14:23.680 --> 0:14:25.920 Moses and Aaron, saying to them, Speak to the children 0:14:25.940 --> 0:14:30.340 of Israel, saying, These are the animals which you may 0:14:30.520 --> 0:14:34.660 eat among all the beasts that are on the earth. 0:14:35.480 --> 0:14:40.690 Among the beasts, whatever divides the hoof, having cloven hooves 0:14:41.310 --> 0:14:44.910 and chewing the cud, you may eat. How many of 0:14:44.930 --> 0:14:46.970 you ever worry about this when you go to the supermarket? 0:14:47.490 --> 0:14:50.710 Excuse me, did I have cloven hooves? You probably don't. 0:14:50.750 --> 0:14:53.390 If you were Jewish, you probably would. That's according to 0:14:53.430 --> 0:14:57.910 kosher law. Here's why. Here's the big reason. Go down 0:14:57.930 --> 0:15:02.630 to verse 45. Still in chapter 11. For I am 0:15:02.690 --> 0:15:05.610 the Lord who brings you up out of the land 0:15:05.650 --> 0:15:10.870 of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, 0:15:11.500 --> 0:15:16.040 for I am holy. So that's reason number one. God 0:15:16.100 --> 0:15:18.440 is saying, I want Israel to be different. That's what 0:15:18.500 --> 0:15:21.240 holy means, different, set apart. I don't want you like 0:15:21.320 --> 0:15:23.460 every other nation. I don't want you to be like 0:15:23.480 --> 0:15:25.220 the world. I don't want you to think you need 0:15:25.240 --> 0:15:27.820 to be like the world. You're my people. I want 0:15:27.860 --> 0:15:31.060 you to live and act differently, including what you eat. 0:15:32.760 --> 0:15:35.890 Then verse 46, this is the law of the animals 0:15:36.270 --> 0:15:39.510 and the birds and every living creature that moves in 0:15:39.530 --> 0:15:42.350 the waters and of every creature that creeps on the 0:15:42.410 --> 0:15:47.830 earth to distinguish between the unclean and the clean and 0:15:47.870 --> 0:15:50.190 between the animal that may be eaten and the animal 0:15:50.230 --> 0:15:52.850 that may not be eaten. So the second reason is 0:15:52.890 --> 0:15:56.840 God is saying for sanitary reasons, I want you to 0:15:56.960 --> 0:15:59.960 eat certain things and not eat other things to preserve 0:16:00.020 --> 0:16:03.580 your physical health. Now, why is that? Well, back in 0:16:03.600 --> 0:16:08.420 those days, there was no FDA. There was no Food 0:16:08.460 --> 0:16:11.880 and Drug Administration. We have FDA today. So our foods 0:16:11.940 --> 0:16:14.810 are highly regulated by the FDA. There was no FDA. 0:16:15.290 --> 0:16:21.550 There was only G-O-D. And God knew that certain animals 0:16:21.590 --> 0:16:26.810 can be harmful. Moses didn't. Aaron didn't. God knew that 0:16:26.890 --> 0:16:31.720 certain animals were what are called unclean feeders and are 0:16:31.760 --> 0:16:35.220 liable to disease, not only having them, but spreading them especially. 0:16:35.960 --> 0:16:38.700 So God knew that, and so this is part of 0:16:38.800 --> 0:16:42.420 kosher law. Funny story, I was overseas a few years ago, 0:16:42.460 --> 0:16:45.090 and on this particular trip, I went with a buddy 0:16:45.120 --> 0:16:47.030 who had not traveled out of the United States. So 0:16:47.050 --> 0:16:49.670 that's even more fun, just to watch what he thinks 0:16:49.730 --> 0:16:54.790 about some of those places, smells, temperatures. And we were 0:16:54.830 --> 0:17:00.080 in India. And, you know, at first he was just like, 0:17:00.100 --> 0:17:02.000 come on, bring it on. I'll eat anything. And you 0:17:02.040 --> 0:17:05.280 don't do that in India. He got dysentery on that trip. 0:17:07.080 --> 0:17:09.740 So we were there about two weeks. That got cured. 0:17:10.020 --> 0:17:12.719 He left India with me. We went to Egypt. The 0:17:12.740 --> 0:17:15.990 food doesn't look a whole lot different. And he was 0:17:16.030 --> 0:17:17.970 just a little bit skittish, but he ate a few things. 0:17:18.010 --> 0:17:20.449 But now he's eating less and less. And then we 0:17:20.510 --> 0:17:22.610 finally made it to Israel. And I remember him just saying, 0:17:22.630 --> 0:17:24.880 you know what? Just find me a bag of potato chips. 0:17:24.940 --> 0:17:27.280 I'm not going to eat any of this food. I said, here, 0:17:28.040 --> 0:17:32.629 you don't have to worry. Here, things are kosher. And 0:17:32.650 --> 0:17:38.469 there's a very strict rabbinical law of cleanliness instituted in Leviticus. 0:17:39.109 --> 0:17:41.340 Eat what you want in these Jewish quarter, in the 0:17:41.380 --> 0:17:45.780 Jewish sections we were at. So God knew that. And 0:17:45.840 --> 0:17:50.820 a very interesting book. or a very interesting author named Dr. S.H. 0:17:50.900 --> 0:17:54.580 Kellogg said this, and I'm quoting him. One of the 0:17:54.640 --> 0:17:57.840 greatest discoveries of modern science is the fact that a 0:17:57.900 --> 0:18:01.340 large number of diseases to which animals are liable are 0:18:01.400 --> 0:18:04.300 due to the presence of low forms of parasitic life. 0:18:04.960 --> 0:18:08.260 To such diseases, those which are unclean in their feeding 0:18:08.760 --> 0:18:13.100 will be especially exposed. And he goes on to say, 0:18:13.140 --> 0:18:16.870 that's why God said certain animals can and cannot be eaten. 0:18:18.210 --> 0:18:20.450 So in this article that I was reading, in this book, 0:18:21.890 --> 0:18:27.020 he then went forward to 14th century Europe during the 0:18:27.080 --> 0:18:29.980 Black Plague when people were dying like crazy. And he said, 0:18:30.359 --> 0:18:32.940 long ago, as in the days when the plague was 0:18:33.040 --> 0:18:42.869 desolating Europe, the Jews universally escaped infection, which brought suspicion 0:18:43.530 --> 0:18:46.770 that they were poisoning the wells and the springs in Europe. 0:18:47.560 --> 0:18:51.139 True story. The Jews were spared. Why? Because of this. 0:18:52.040 --> 0:18:55.860 Because of eating kosher. Because of the laws that God 0:18:55.900 --> 0:18:57.959 had given. And that caused the other people who were 0:18:58.000 --> 0:19:01.480 non-Jewish to view with suspicion the Jewish population of Europe 0:19:01.500 --> 0:19:04.320 back then and say, these Jews are poisoning our wells. 0:19:04.340 --> 0:19:07.639 It's their fault. Now we get to chapter 16 and 17. 0:19:07.640 --> 0:19:12.320 I'm going to call this the laws of national sanctity. 0:19:13.340 --> 0:19:16.240 In this section of Leviticus, we're at the very heart 0:19:16.340 --> 0:19:20.119 of the book. It is the theological hub of the 0:19:20.160 --> 0:19:23.869 book of Leviticus. And the question these two chapters answer 0:19:24.290 --> 0:19:27.449 is how can we be one nation under God? You know, 0:19:27.470 --> 0:19:31.070 we say that about America, one nation under God. Israel 0:19:31.109 --> 0:19:35.530 in the wilderness truly was one nation under God. And 0:19:35.550 --> 0:19:39.020 God gave them laws. And these two chapters formed the 0:19:39.100 --> 0:19:44.720 theological hub of Leviticus. What do I mean? Well, There's 0:19:44.760 --> 0:19:47.790 a thing called the Day of Atonement. By the way, 0:19:48.250 --> 0:19:52.020 next week, I think it's Wednesday. will be the 2018 0:19:52.020 --> 0:19:56.580 Yom Kippur Day of Atonement. Right now we're at Rosh Hashanah. 0:19:57.220 --> 0:20:01.080 There's 10 days between Rosh Hashanah, the new year, to 0:20:01.180 --> 0:20:04.719 Yom Kippur called Days of Repentance. So this deals with 0:20:04.760 --> 0:20:08.740 the Day of Atonement. The Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, 0:20:08.800 --> 0:20:11.640 was a special day, one day a year, in which 0:20:11.880 --> 0:20:18.140 sin nationally was dealt with. Nationally was dealt with. These 0:20:18.200 --> 0:20:22.680 two chapters are like the Isaiah chapter 53 of the Torah. 0:20:23.970 --> 0:20:27.710 These were called days of awe. Yom Kippur was not 0:20:27.770 --> 0:20:30.730 a joyful day, it was a mournful day. It was 0:20:30.800 --> 0:20:33.480 a day of introspection. It was a day of meditation. 0:20:33.820 --> 0:20:36.340 It was a day of confession of sin. Nobody said, 0:20:36.780 --> 0:20:41.939 marry Yom Kippur. Happy Yom Kippur. It wasn't happy. It 0:20:42.000 --> 0:20:44.530 was mournful. It was the one day a year, and 0:20:44.570 --> 0:20:49.070 still is, where Orthodox Jews fast for a period of 0:20:49.070 --> 0:20:52.570 25 hours, a whole day. Why 25? I want to 0:20:52.590 --> 0:20:55.770 make sure they cover the entire day. So the 10 0:20:55.770 --> 0:21:00.129 days between these two festivals, Rosh Hashanah, beginning of the 0:21:00.270 --> 0:21:03.250 new year, Yom Kippur, those 10 days are called days 0:21:03.290 --> 0:21:07.120 of repentance. What happened? The high priest bathed. The high 0:21:07.150 --> 0:21:12.980 priest dressed in special ceremonial garb. He sacrificed a bull, 0:21:13.660 --> 0:21:19.040 sacrificed a ram, and took two goats. And that's where 0:21:19.060 --> 0:21:22.500 we get into chapter 16 and 17. The first goat 0:21:22.600 --> 0:21:27.100 was killed. It was killed because that one goat, the 0:21:27.160 --> 0:21:32.540 blood was a substitute for the nation. It was receiving 0:21:32.640 --> 0:21:36.719 the punishment of the nation for their sin so that 0:21:36.770 --> 0:21:38.970 the nation wouldn't have to die. The second goat is 0:21:38.990 --> 0:21:41.510 called the scapegoat. I'm sure you've heard of that. If 0:21:41.550 --> 0:21:43.629 you haven't heard of the biblical scapegoat, you've heard of 0:21:43.670 --> 0:21:45.850 the modern idiom. We say, well, you're using me as 0:21:45.930 --> 0:21:48.740 a scapegoat. This is where it comes from. It was 0:21:48.780 --> 0:21:51.810 the second goat on Yom Kippur, and the priest walked 0:21:51.869 --> 0:21:54.389 up to it, laid his hands on the head of 0:21:54.430 --> 0:21:57.250 the goat, confessed the sins of the nation. So it 0:21:57.290 --> 0:22:00.350 was like all of the sins were being transferred to 0:22:00.390 --> 0:22:05.630 the goat. Then the goat went into the wilderness. Chapter 16, 0:22:05.630 --> 0:22:10.320 verse 21. And Aaron lay both his hands on the 0:22:10.359 --> 0:22:13.100 head of the live goat, confessed over at the iniquities 0:22:13.160 --> 0:22:15.840 of the children of Israel, all their transgressions. That would 0:22:15.859 --> 0:22:20.020 take a while. concerning all their sins, putting them on 0:22:20.060 --> 0:22:23.660 the head of the goat and sent it away into 0:22:23.680 --> 0:22:29.510 the wilderness by the hand of a suitable man. I've 0:22:29.550 --> 0:22:32.690 been in Judea before and I had the privilege of 0:22:32.750 --> 0:22:35.850 getting in a Jeep and I was taken out of 0:22:35.910 --> 0:22:40.500 Jerusalem through the Judean desert, through the foothills to the 0:22:40.660 --> 0:22:44.690 stations of to where they would have fires that would 0:22:44.710 --> 0:22:48.670 be signal fires to watch the scapegoat go in the wilderness. 0:22:48.710 --> 0:22:51.230 So they would let it go in the wilderness. Once 0:22:51.310 --> 0:22:54.590 it got out of sight, you know, the priest would 0:22:55.090 --> 0:22:58.490 wave back to the guy upon the little pinnacle. He'd 0:22:58.530 --> 0:23:00.950 light his fire. The guy on the next pinnacle, a 0:23:00.990 --> 0:23:03.310 little higher up closer to Jerusalem, would see that fire. 0:23:03.369 --> 0:23:06.550 He'd light his fire. the guy on the pinnacle a 0:23:06.550 --> 0:23:08.869 little bit closer to Jerusalem, higher up would light his fire, 0:23:09.130 --> 0:23:12.140 all the way back to the city of Jerusalem. When 0:23:12.180 --> 0:23:14.580 the people in the city, in the temple, when that 0:23:14.840 --> 0:23:19.300 was built, when they saw that the scapegoat had vanished 0:23:19.340 --> 0:23:23.109 from sight, all the people in the temple jumped and 0:23:23.330 --> 0:23:27.450 shouted praises to God as if to say, our sins 0:23:27.810 --> 0:23:35.030 are taken away. Now, quickly, the scapegoat, is the hope 0:23:35.950 --> 0:23:39.270 of the new covenant. It's the hope of the new covenant. 0:23:39.290 --> 0:23:41.970 What do I mean by that? Well, this happened every what? 0:23:42.770 --> 0:23:46.030 Day of Atonement happened every year, every year, every year. 0:23:46.410 --> 0:23:49.889 Just like there's a sacrifice or two every day and 0:23:49.910 --> 0:23:54.650 there's festivals every few months, every year. This happened every year, 0:23:54.670 --> 0:23:58.190 every year, every year, every year, year after year, generation 0:23:58.230 --> 0:24:05.359 after generation. But Jeremiah 31 predicts a new covenant Jeremiah 31, 0:24:05.359 --> 0:24:09.980 I will make a new covenant with Israel. I will 0:24:10.080 --> 0:24:16.229 forgive their iniquity and their sin. I will remember no more. 0:24:17.369 --> 0:24:20.710 It anticipates a time in the future where it won't 0:24:20.750 --> 0:24:23.570 be like the covenant of the law anymore, having to 0:24:23.609 --> 0:24:26.020 do this over and over again, but God will take 0:24:26.080 --> 0:24:29.500 their sin and remove it completely, not cover it over. 0:24:30.560 --> 0:24:33.040 That's what the blood of sacrifices animals did. They just 0:24:33.060 --> 0:24:37.280 sort of covered it over. but remove it completely. The scapegoat, 0:24:37.420 --> 0:24:42.480 Jesus Christ, once and for all would take the sin away. 0:24:42.510 --> 0:24:43.490 That's the new covenant. 0:24:45.650 --> 0:24:48.470 Thanks for joining us today on Connect with Skip Heitzig. 0:24:48.890 --> 0:24:52.560 Before we go, remember that your generosity helps share clear, 0:24:52.780 --> 0:24:56.740 verse-by-verse Bible teaching with people everywhere, helping them know God 0:24:56.780 --> 0:25:00.210 more deeply and live out His truth. And this month, 0:25:00.270 --> 0:25:03.070 when you give $ 50 or more, we'll send you Pastor 0:25:03.090 --> 0:25:06.700 Skip's brand new devotional, Soaring Above It All, as our thanks. 0:25:07.400 --> 0:25:10.020 This one-year journey through the Bible will help you see 0:25:10.080 --> 0:25:14.219