“I will give you rain in its season, the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.” (Lev. 26:4)
Leviticus is a book full of rules and regulations for the people of God. “You shall” and “You shall not” start the majority of the versus in this book. Getting everything right that is written in this book about what you cannot eat, all the various sacrifices and offerings, what not to touch, and what to do and not do on the Sabbaths would take a great deal of arranging one's life around God.
The requirements on the priests who ministered before the Lord and served the people were even higher. Every aspect of their lives were arranged around God's commandments and regulations. It says in Leviticus 10:10 about the conduct of the priests, “that you may distinguish between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean, and that you may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the Lord has spoken to them by the hand of Moses.”
Throughout Leviticus, the Lord was calling the Israelites to a different standard as the people who God would dwell among. In Leviticus 11:44 God says, “For I am the Lord your God. You shall therefore consecrate yourselves, and you shall be holy; for I am holy.” And He later told Moses as He was giving him regulations for the Israelites to follow, “Thus you shall separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness, lest they die in the uncleanness when they defile My tabernacle that is among them.” (Leviticus 15:31)
In Exodus 33:1-3, the Lord threatened to not go with the Israelites to the Promised Land but instead send His Angel before them because of their idolatry, sin and rebellion. He said to them “Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in your midst, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.” (Ex. 34:3) However, when the people repented and Moses interceded for them, God renewed His covenant with them.
Knowing the people could not keep the law, God established sin offerings and trespass offerings (Leviticus 4-5) whereby, one could bring a lamb, a kid goat, or if unable to afford either, they could bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons as an offering. Their sin was atoned for by the blood sacrifice. “So the priest shall make atonement for his sin that he has committed, and it shall be forgiven him.” (Lev. 4:35)
And once a year, the priest was to enter the Holy Place and make atonement for his sin, the sin of his household and also the sin of the assembly of Israel. He was to enter inside the veil, put incense on the fire before the Lord so that a cloud would cover the mercy seat, and then sprinkle blood with his finger on the mercy seat seven times. He was to do this with the blood of the bull (which was for his sins and the sins of his household) and then with the blood of the goat (which was for the sins of the community). He was also to sprinkle the blood on the horns of the altar that is before the Lord seven times. Then he was to take the live goat, confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel, putting them on the head of the goat, and sending it away in the wilderness (Leviticus 16).
One commentary notes, “This goat was not guilty of the sins he bore, but he bore them anyway, allowing the guilty to escape the consequences of their sins. In Jesus’ bearing the sins of the human race, and in His death outside the city (outside the camp), He fulfilled this annual ritual of the Day of Atonement. Not only was Jesus the perfect High Priest; He was the perfect Sacrifice.” [1]
And another commentary notes that “the two goats symbolized two different aspects of atonement: that which meets the character and holiness of God, and that which meets the need of the sinner as to the removal of his sins.” [2]
"My sins were laid on Jesus,
The spotless Lamb of God;
He bore them all and freed me
From the accursed load.
My guilt was borne by Jesus;
He cleansed the crimson stains
In His own blood most precious
And not a spot remains.
—Horatius Bonar, alt." [3]
The day of atonement, a holy day established by God to repent from sins corporately, was to be a day of afflicting one's soul (fasting) and sabbath rest. Leviticus 16:29-31 says, “This shall be a statute forever for you: In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether a native of your own country or a stranger who dwells among you. For on that day the priest shall make atonement for you, to cleanse you, that you may be clean from all your sins before the Lord. It is a sabbath of solemn rest for you, and you shall afflict your souls. It is a statute forever.”
Jim Altizer notes, holiness is sometimes applied to things, the sabbath day, holy ground and holy garments. In Leviticus, God often referred to offerings as holy. Jim Altizer notes that it implies a sacredness or a consecratedness. “Set apart for sacred use.” [4]
"Holy, Holy, Holy are You Lord God Almighty, Worthy is the Lamb!" sings in the background
Holiness is more than walking out all the regulations and commandments of God, it is a matter of the heart. The Lord says in Isaiah 29:13, “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men.”
Isaiah 29:14 goes on to say, “Therefore, behold, I will again do a marvelous work among the people, a marvelous work and a wonder; For the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hidden.”
The marvelous work was that God sent His only Son as the final sacrifice for sin. He is the Lamb slain and our High Priest who makes atonement for us in the Holy of Holies. We are no longer under the law but under grace (Romans 6:14). The law was fulfilled through the Jesus. The law is no longer written on stone tablets but is now written on our hearts.
Through His sacrifice, God "made us sufficient as ministers of the of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life." (2 Cor. 3:6)
We are free from following a set of rules. By the Spirit, we put to death the old nature, being transformed more and more into the image of the Lord, filled with his glory.
Paul says in 2 Corinthians 3:7-8,17,
"But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away, how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious?... Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord."
And as we abide in Him, obeying His commands through the work of the Spirit (John 15:10), we inherit the blessings God promised for following His commandments.
"You alone are worthy of all that I am" sings in the background.
In Leviticus 26:3-13 there were promises of blessing given for following His commandments:
“If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments, and perform them, then I will give you rain in its season, the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. Your threshing shall last till the time of vintage, and the vintage shall last till the time of sowing; you shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely. I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none will make you afraid; I will rid the land of evil beasts, and the sword will not go through your land. You will chase your enemies, and they shall fall by the sword before you. Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight; your enemies shall fall by the sword before you. For I will look on you favorably and make you fruitful, multiply you and confirm My covenant with you. You shall eat the old harvest, and clear out the old because of the new. I will set My tabernacle among you, and My soul shall not abhor you. I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves; I have broken the bands of your yoke and made you walk upright.”
And Leviticus 26:21-39 God lists the consequences of rebellion against His commandments:
“But if you do not obey Me, and do not observe all these commandments, and if you despise My statutes, or if your soul abhors My judgments, so that you do not perform all My commandments, but break my covenant, I also will do this to you: I will even appoint terror over you, wasting disease and fever which shall consume the eyes and cause sorrow of heart. And you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. I will set My face against you, and you shall be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you shall reign over you, and you shall flee when no one pursues you. And after all this, if you do not obey Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins. I will break the pride of your power; I will make your heavens like iron and your earth like bronze. And your strength shall be spent in vain; for your land shall not yield its produce, nor shall the trees of the land yield their fruit...”
However, he ends the consequences of rebellion with noting in Leviticus 26:40-42, “But if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers, with their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, and that they also have walked contrary to Me, and that I also have walked contrary to them and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if their uncircumcised hearts are humbled, and they accept their guilt – then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and My covenant with Isaac and My covenant with Abraham I will remember; I will remember the land.”
The Lord says something similar in 2 Chronicles 7:14. He says, “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
Throughout the Bible, land has had significance. When the Israelites were led out of bondage, they were led out of the land of Egypt. Egypt was a place of slavery, bondage and hard labor for the Israelites. They owned nothing and were continually oppressed in this land. Their children were either murdered or entered into slavery. It was a land without hope and great misery for the people of God.
God told Moses, “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites.” (Ex. 3:7-8)
The Israelites were eventually led into the Promise Land, which flowed with milk and honey. The Promised Land closely mirrors the blessings of God noted in Leviticus 26 and speaks of several things[a]:
- The Faithfulness of God in fulfilling His promises. God had promised this land to Abraham and his descendants (Gen. 17:8). It was associated with the covenant (Gen. 17:7-8) and with the blessings of God (Gen. 28:4).
- Possessing the land by faith. Abraham left his country and his family to go to the land promised by God (Gen. 12:1-3). It also took faith for the Israelites to cross the Jordan and claim the land. Originally the people of God shrunk back in fear and threatened to stone Moses and Aaron rather than enter the land (Numbers 14:10). It was not until a new generation of Israelites came forth that they could inherit the land (Ex. 14:30).
- Fruitfulness. The land flowed with milk and honey (Ex. 33:3).
- Reaping abundantly. One reaped abundantly for anything sowed (Deut. 11:10).
- Victory over the enemy. The Israelites had success in driving out the people who were residing in the land (see Ex 8:24 for example).
- The miraculous power of God working on behalf of the people of God (Ex. 34:10, Ex. 23:25-26).
- Rest and peace (Deut. 25:19)
- Rain of heaven watering the land (Deut. 11:11)
- Answered prayer (Deut. 11:12)
- Provision, meeting the people's needs (Deut. 11:15)
- An open heaven (Deut. 11:17)
“The brilliance of the Sh'kinah streams forth from His presence for millions and millions of earth miles” sings in the background.
And when the Israelites rebelled against God, they were warned by the prophets to repent. And when they still continued to rebel, they were eventually removed from the land. They were exiled for a period of time. Exile speaks of the removal from the blessings of the Promised Land.
The people were taken to Babylon, a land of sorrow where their enemies ruled over them (see Psalm 137). Psalm 137:8 says about Babylon, “O daughter of Babylon, doomed to be destroyed, blessed shall he be who repays you with what you have done to us!”
In Daniel 9, Daniel repented for himself and his people for walking in rebellion against God. He asked for God to forgive, for His own sake, His city, and His people called by His name (Daniel 9:19). While He was still interceding, Gabriel reached him and informed him that God had heard his prayer (Daniel 9:20-21) and after "seventy weeks" [70 years], He would restore them and build Jerusalem.
Babylon is also mentioned in Revelation 18:1-24 (ESV),
“After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was made bright with his glory. And he called out with a mighty voice, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place for demons, a haunt for every unclean spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast. For all nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living.” Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues; for her sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. ...”
Babylon was a barren, unfruitful land, destitute and void of the blessings of God because of the grievous sins that were performed in her. It had been a land filled with pride, power, seeking pleasure and luxuries.
Babylon was similar to Sodom and Gomorrah. The land of Sodom and Gomorrah was completely destroyed (Gen. 18:28) because of the grievous sin that was performed in them (Gen 18:2).
In Isaiah 13:19-22, Isaiah proclaims, “And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the splendor and pomp of the Chaldeans, will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God overthrew them. It will never be inhabited or lived in for all generations; no Arab will pitch his tent there; no shepherds will make their flocks lie down there. But wild animals will lie down there, and their houses will be full of howling creatures; there ostriches will dwell, and there wild goats will dance. Hyenas will cry in its towers, and jackals in the pleasant places; its time is close at hand and its days will not be prolonged.”
And In Isaiah 24, Isaiah talks about the impending judgment on the whole earth [land] for her sin. He prophesies, “The earth is violently broken, the earth is split open, the earth is shaken exceedingly, the earth shall reel to and from like a drunkard, and shall totter like a hut; Its transgression shall be heavy upon it, and it will fall, and not rise again. It shall come to pass in that day that the Lord will punish on high the host of exalted ones, and on the earth the kings of the earth. They will be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and will be shut up in the prison; After many days they will be punished. Then the moon will be disgraced and the sun ashamed; For the Lord of hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem and before His elders, gloriously.”
The word “land” is the Hebrew word erets, Strong's #776. It is a plot of land. It can be a city, state, nation or the entire earth. As one commentary notes, all land “belongs to God as its Creator (Ps. 24:1).” This commentary goes one to note that when “God promised the Israelites the “land” of Canaan, it was His to give. Because the land of Canaan was an important element in God’s covenant with the Israelites (12:1), it became one of their identifying characteristics—the “people of the land” (Gen. 13:15; 15:7).” [5].
So what can I learn from this?
As noted above by Jim Altizer, land can be set apart, sacred, or consecrated to God. While God is everywhere and all the earth is His, certain areas of territory can be more open to the Spirit of God moving than other land. An 'open heaven' can be over a specific region or territory of land.
When God spoke to Moses from a burning bush, He told Moses, "Do not come any closer...Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground."
And at Bethel, when Jacob went to sleep, he dreamed that “a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.” (Gen. 28:12) When Jacob awake from his sleep, he said, “'Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.' And he was afraid and said, 'How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!'” (Gen. 28:16-17)
Clarke's Commentary on the Bible notes about these verses, “The Lord is in this place; and I knew it not - That is, God has made this place his peculiar residence; it is a place in which he meets with and reveals himself to his followers. Jacob might have supposed that this place had been consecrated to God. And it has already been supposed that, his mind having been brought into a humble frame, he was prepared to hold communion with his Maker.” [6]
Another commentary notes about Bethel:
So how does all of this relate to me?“BETHEL [BETH uhl] (house of God)
...Bethel is mentioned more often in the Bible than any other city except Jerusalem. It is first mentioned in connection with Abraham, who “pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and . . . built an altar to the Lord” (Gen. 12:8; 13:3). … Jacob, Abraham’s grandson, had a lifechanging experience at this site. He had a vision of a staircase reaching into the heavens with the angels of God “ascending and descending on it” (Gen. 28:12).
Jacob called the name of that place Bethel, “the house of God” (Gen. 28:19). He erected a pillar at Bethel to mark the spot of his vision (Gen. 28:22; 31:13). Jacob later built an altar at Bethel, where he worshiped the Lord (Gen. 35:1–16). During Israel’s war with the Benjamites in later years (Judg. 20), the children of Israel suffered two disastrous defeats (Judg. 20:21, 25). They went to Bethel (the
house of God, NKJV) to inquire of the Lord, for the Ark of the Covenant was located there (Judg. 20:26–27). At Bethel they built an altar and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. The third battle ended in disaster for the Benjamites. At the end of the war the Israelites returned to Bethel (the house of God, NKJV), built an altar, and again offered burnt offerings and peace offerings (Judg. 21:1–4).After the death of Solomon and the division of his kingdom, Jeroboam, the king of Israel (the Northern Kingdom), set up two calves of gold, one in Bethel and one in Dan (1 Kin. 12:29, 32–33). Thus, Bethel became a great center of idolatry (1 Kin. 13:1–32; 2 Kin. 10:29) and the chief sanctuary of Israel (Amos 7:13), rivaling the Temple in Jerusalem. The prophets Jeremiah and Amos denounced Bethel for its idolatries (Jer. 48:13; Amos 5:5–6). Hosea, deploring its great wickedness (Hos. 10:5, 15), called it Beth Aven (“house of idols”), because of the golden calf set up there. Bethel, the house of God, had deteriorated into Beth Aven, the house of idols.” [7]
On Saturday nights I go to a prayer meeting that is a gathering of prayer people from churches throughout the Twin Cities. We pray for the church of the Twin Cities overall. I will most often pray in the spirit on the way to the meeting. Every time, what comes out of my mouth is “My holy Land.” As I speak forth these words, I feel a sense of grief for the way things are and a longing for something more.
Most often, what I find is that what is preached at the Saturday night service at my church finds its way as a general theme in prayer on Saturday nights. For instance, this last Saturday night I went to church and my pastor preached on the manifest glory of God. Then when I went to prayer that evening after church, it was focused on the manifest glory of God. And again, when I went to my once a month prayer / worship / healing service for the Twin Cities, the overall theme God was the manifest glory of God. His glory was clearly present in these places!
I guess what I am realizing more and more is that God is doing a greater work in the Twin Cities than the church I belong to. And He is inviting me in to pray, along with many, many others, for what He is doing in our land overall.
'Holy land' speaks of land that is set apart, sacred, and consecrated to God. It also speaks of a place that God has made his "peculiar residence" a place where he "meets with and reveals himself to his followers." And Israel (the Promised Land) is often referred to as 'The Holy Land' therefore it speaks of a land particularly blessed by God.
One of the leaders of the prayer meeting I attend on Saturday night noted that God had been speaking to him of 'one hundred and twenty.' He noted that in both 2 Chronicles 5:11-14 and Acts 1:15-2:4, there were one hundred and twenty who came together as one voice, in one accord and in one place. And when they did, God poured out His manifest presence abundantly. He noted that in this way, the 120 represented perfect community [b].
Perhaps God is calling Christians who have willing hearts in the Twin Cities to, with one accord and one voice, ask for Him to bless our land with His manifest glory in greater measure in the Twin Cities.
Lord, thank you for who You are and all You have done! All you have given me is more than I could have asked for or imagined. Yet, I deeply long for more. I long to see the fullness of Your glory dwell in our land. I long to see Your purposes fulfilled in Your holy land. I long to see You glorified in this region.
I think of words in a poem I wrote many years ago: “As I have promised you Twila, the Promised Land.” In so many ways You have fulfilled this in my life. When I look around at what You have done in my life, I can be nothing but incredibly grateful. My heart cries Dayenu! It would have been sufficient! Yet, as I read the things the Promised Land speaks of, I long for even more. I long to see us fully living in Your promises in the Twin Cities region.
Lord, along with my brothers and sisters in Christ, I ask, would you bless our land in the Twin Cities? Would you pour out even more of your Spirit upon us?
1.Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1997). The Nelson study Bible : New King James Version. Includes index. (Le 16:22). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.
2-3. MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. (1997, c1995). Believer's Bible Commentary : Old and New Testaments (Le 16:11). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
4. Altizer, Jim. Holy Defined. Located at: http://roadmapsforworship.com/?p=803. Last Accessed: 10/6/10
5. Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1999). Nelson's new illustrated Bible commentary (Ge 12:1). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.
6. Clarke's Commentary on the Bible. Located at: http://biblecommenter.com/genesis/28-16.htm
7. Youngblood, R. F., Bruce, F. F., Harrison, R. K., & Thomas Nelson Publishers. (1995). Nelson's new illustrated Bible dictionary. Rev. ed. of: Nelson's illustrated Bible dictionary.; Includes index. Nashville: T. Nelson.
a. Deuteronomy 11:8-21,
8 “Therefore you shall keep every commandment which I command you today, that you may be strong, and go in and possess the land which you cross over to possess, 9 and that you may prolong your days in the land which the LORD swore to give your fathers, to them and their descendants, ‘a land flowing with milk and honey.’ 10 For the land which you go to possess is not like the land of Egypt from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and watered it by foot, as a vegetable garden; 11 but the land which you cross over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water from the rain of heaven, 12 a land for which the LORD your God cares; the eyes of the LORD your God are always on it, from the beginning of the year to the very end of the year.
13 ‘And it shall be that if you earnestly obey My commandments which I command you today, to love the LORD your God and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, 14 then I will give you the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the latter rain, that you may gather in your grain, your new wine, and your oil. 15 And I will send grass in your fields for your livestock, that you may eat and be filled.’ 16 Take heed to yourselves, lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them, 17 lest the LORD’s anger be aroused against you, and He shut up the heavens so that there be no rain, and the land yield no produce, and you perish quickly from the good land which the LORD is giving you.
18 Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 19 You shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 20 And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house
and on your gates, 21 that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land of which the LORD swore to your fathers to give them, like the days of the heavens above the earth."
Comments