Leviticus 6:1-13 (CLICK HERE FOR BIBLE VERSES)
Hi GAMErs,
Today’s passage is Leviticus 6:1-13. With a humble heart, see what sticks out to you in this passage. Is there a verse, a phrase, or a lesson you think the Holy Spirit may be highlighting for you in this passage? After you’ve thought about the passage yourself a bit, read the GAME sharing below. Let’s go!
Leviticus 6:1-7 (NIV)
1 The LORD said to Moses:
2 “If anyone sins and is unfaithful to the LORD by deceiving his neighbor about something entrusted to him or left in his care or stolen, or if he cheats him,
3 or if he finds lost property and lies about it, or if he swears falsely, or if he commits any such sin that people may do–
4 when he thus sins and becomes guilty, he must return what he has stolen or taken by extortion, or what was entrusted to him, or the lost property he found,
5 or whatever it was he swore falsely about. He must make restitution in full, add a fifth of the value to it and give it all to the owner on the day he presents his guilt offering.
6 And as a penalty he must bring to the priest, that is, to the LORD, his guilt offering, a ram from the flock, one without defect and of the proper value.
7 In this way the priest will make atonement for him before the LORD, and he will be forgiven for any of these things he did that made him guilty.”
On verses 1-7: In these verses God speaks to Moses about what happens when an Israelite sins against their neighbour. God commands that the offending Israelite must return to their neighbour what they had stolen or lost. This process of making a victim whole is called (in legal terms) “restitution” (v5). Notice that for God it wasn’t enough to make the person you offended whole by bringing them back to 100%; God’s command was that the offender add a fifth; in other words, the offender had to give back 120%. In addition, verse 6 says that the offender must also bring a ram without defect as an atoning sacrifice for sin.
What can we learn from this?
1. When we had sinned against God and were indebted to Him, Jesus made restitution for us. Not only did Jesus pay off the debt that we owed to God, He gave to God on our behalf a much better person than the one God lost. It’s just like in Leviticus 6 where the offender is supposed to restore the person they offended not just to 100% but to 120% of what they were before. God lost imperfect sinners like us because of our sin, but on behalf of us sinners Jesus gave to God an even better person in our place: Jesus himself. Jesus is that perfect ram without defect who was sacrificed for our sin.
2. If you have been sinned against and lost something dear as a result, God’s heart is to restore you and make you whole again. Just as God required that the thief not only give back what was stolen, but add one fifth (an extra 20%) to it, God’s restoration is not just about giving you back what you lost. God’s restoration is about making you better off than you were before the loss.
That’s what Christ did for us. When we had sinned against God, God not only forgave us of our sins by sending Jesus Christ to die for us. Even more, God adopted us as His children, and gave us the rights that His Son Jesus had. He forgave us and then some! What an incredible restorer our God is.
Leviticus 6:8-13 (NIV)
8 The LORD said to Moses:
9 “Give Aaron and his sons this command: ‘These are the regulations for the burnt offering: The burnt offering is to remain on the altar hearth throughout the night, till morning, and the fire must be kept burning on the altar.
10 The priest shall then put on his linen clothes, with linen undergarments next to his body, and shall remove the ashes of the burnt offering that the fire has consumed on the altar and place them beside the altar.
11 Then he is to take off these clothes and put on others, and carry the ashes outside the camp to a place that is ceremonially clean.
12 The fire on the altar must be kept burning; it must not go out. Every morning the priest is to add firewood and arrange the burnt offering on the fire and burn the fat of the fellowship offerings on it.
13 The fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously; it must not go out.
On verses 8-13: At least three times in these verses the Lord mentions that the fire on the altar for the burnt offering must keep on burning and “must not go out” (v9, v12, v13). When you received Christ into your life, God gave you His Holy Spirit, like a fire inside you lighting your soul. For as long as you live, morning and evening, that fire called the Holy Spirit is burning inside you. 1 Thessalonians 5:19 says, “Do not put out the Spirit’s fire”. Like the priests who made sure the fire on the altar never went out, be careful never to quench or grieve the Holy Spirit. How can we put out the Spirit’s fire? We do so when we ignore the Holy Spirit or intentionally rebel against the Holy Spirit. Let’s not put out the Spirit’s fire. Rather nurture your relationship with God every day and watch the Holy Spirit’s flame in you grow from a weak flicker to a raging forest fire within.
Thank You, God, for being such an incredible restorer, who gives us back more than what we have lost. Thank You Holy Spirit for being the fire that the Father has placed within me. May You never go out. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
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