The Burden of Holiness: The Book of Leviticus (Week 5)

John Sullivan (FBC Trustee + Deacon) - Leviticus 18-20 (Leviticus 18:1-8, 18-19 & 21-25; 19:1-5, 9-19 & 21-25; 20:1-6)

 

Every year, thousands of people set out to read the Bible in its entirety; every year, a large percentage stop when they get to Leviticus, a book that lays out in embarrassing detail the limits of God's law for the Israelites.

What can we learn from this strange book? Join us as we seek to understand its place in the larger narrative of the Bible, and learn how it speaks to us today.

The Burden of Holiness: The Book of Leviticus

Week 5

I. Introduction
A. “Be holy, as I am holy.”
B. Holiness looks strange from the outside. 

II. God’s Character
A. God is doing something specific with the Israelites, and is preparing them for a special destiny; they are to be God’s family, and to extend that idea to all humanity through adoption. 
--- 1. The Levitical system emphasizes order and sustainability. 
--- 2. The Levitical system emphasizes difference between the Israelites and other cultures. 
B. God cares about separation, and expresses that concern with separation through: 
--- 1. Concepts of purity and cleanliness
--- 2. Concepts of sacred space
--- 3. The idea that the closer you draw to the presence of God / sacred space, the more separate and different you must be
C. God cares about life and order
--- 1. To the ancient mind, certain substances and parts of the body suggested the idea of life-force
--- 2. Certain ideas and concepts are emphasized or are part of the law because of the idea of order or rightness (i.e. a return to sacred space)

III. Sexual Ethics
A. Sheer:  Close relations
B. Ermah:  Prohibited activity
C. Justification / reason for these concepts:  they emphasize order and sustainability

IV. The Holiness Code
A. Leviticus 19:1-18; 20:  Rules for right conduct
--- 1. 19:1-4:  Revere Father and Mother
--- 2. 19:11-12:  Do not swear falsely in the Lord’s name
--- 3. 19:14:  The deaf and the blind
--- 4. 19:15:  Partiality in justice
--- 5. 20:1-5:  Molech worship
--- 6. 20:6:  Mediums and the raising of the dead
--- 7. 20:9 Dishonoring parents
B. Against mixtures:  Leviticus 19:19