Leviticus 7

Chapter 7. The Divine Covenant, or Faithfulness to GodThe closing chapters of Leviticus (24-27) are chiefly occupied with the promises, precepts and penalties of the divine covenant between God and the nation, and also on the part of individuals.

Section I: National Faithfulness to God’s Covenant

Section I—National Faithfulness to God’s CovenantIdolatry This is the subject of the 26th chapter.

1. Warnings against idolatry. “Do not make idols or set up an image or a sacred stone for yourselves, and do not place a carved stone in your land to bow down before it. I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus 26:1). This was the most glaring form of national unfaithfulness and apostasy; and it was through this fearful sin that both Judah and Israel at last sank into declension and degeneracy, and were in consequence delivered to the judgments of God and the power of their enemies. Idolatry was the open rejection of the true God and an act of deliberate apostasy from their covenant. It was thoroughly cured by the Babylonian captivity, and never afterwards became a national sin, or even, apparently, a temptation. The Sabbath
2. Renewal of the Sabbatic laws and the prescriptions respecting the sanctuary worship. “Observe my Sabbaths and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am the Lord” (Leviticus 26:2). The Sabbath was always recognized as a sign of God’s covenant with Israel, and it was because of their unfaithfulness to it that the Lord sent the Babylonian captivity of 70 years as a great national Sabbath, to remind them of the Sabbaths that they had robbed Him of. The Sabbath and the sanctuary were designed to be the very anchor of the national faith, continually holding them, by the stated seasons and systematic habits and ordinances of worship, to their sacred obligations. It is still true that the Lord’s day and the Lord’s house are the safeguards of religion in every land, and that according to the reverence and sacredness with which these are observed the spirituality and the morals of the people can be gauged. Obedience (Leviticus 26:3-13)
3. Obedience and the promise of blessing connected with it. All the subsequent history of Israel hinged upon these solemn words. As long as they obeyed Jehovah they were happy and prosperous; but when they disobeyed, disaster and ruin ever came to them. This was the prime condition of victory, announced even in the minutest particular, to Joshua 40 years later; and the moment they infringed it, by the sin of Achan, their armies were ignominiously defeated. This was the reason that Saul was rejected at a later period, because he would not absolutely obey the Word of God through Samuel. This was the reason David was chosen, because with all his faults he was a man after God’s own heart, of whom God could say, “he will do everything I want him to do” (Acts 13:22). This was the turning point of Solomon’s life, of Rehoboam’s reign, and was, ultimately, the cause of Zedekiah’s fate. It was the cry of Isaiah, “If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword” (Isaiah 1:19-20). It was the imploring appeal of Jeremiah, “Obey me, and I will be your God” (Isaiah 7:23). And it is, too, the inexorable condition of the blessings of the gospel, and of the abiding communion and approval of Christ: “You are my friends if you do what I command” (John 15:14). The promises to the obedient in Leviticus 26 are fivefold. National wealth and abundance, fruitful seasons and rich harvests from field, orchard and vineyard (Leviticus 26:4-5). National peace, both from human enemies and from beasts that afterward became the scourges of the accursed land (Leviticus 26:6). National victory in war: “Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand” (Leviticus 26:8). A multiplied population: “I will… make you fruitful and increase your numbers” (Leviticus 26:9). God’s manifest presence among them: “I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people” (Leviticus 26:12). Disobedience (Leviticus 26:14-39)
4. Disobedience and its penalties. This is a very remarkable passage, and is a literal prediction of the mournful later history of disobedient and apostate Israel. First, we have the picture of their disobedience: “If you will not listen to me and carry out all these commands” (Leviticus 26:14). Then it grows still darker as it discloses the utter corruption of their spirit and affections: “If you reject my decrees and abhor my laws and fail to carry out all my commands and so violate my covenant” (Leviticus 26:15). And again: “If after all this you will not listen to me” (Leviticus 26:18). And yet again: “If you remain hostile toward me and refuse to listen to me” (Leviticus 26:21). And still later, as their obduracy grows more intolerable: “If in spite of these things you do not accept my correction but continue to be hostile toward me, I myself will be hostile toward you and will afflict you for your sins seven times over” (Leviticus 26:23-24). How true all this became, as the national declension passed from the neglect to hearken, to open disobedience and even scornful and defiant rebellion and apostasy, as written in the story of the wilderness, the Judges, the life of Saul, the pride of Rehoboam, the profanity of Jeroboam, the wickedness of Ahab, the transgressions of Ahaz and Uzziah, the last days of Israel and their awful extinction, the fall of Zedekiah, and, last of all, the rejection of Jesus of Nazareth by the entire nation, and their fearful ruin by the Roman power. Five Periods It will be noticed that this picture of wickedness consists of a number of paragraphs like scenes in a panorama, describing, apparently, the special developments of Israel’s national history of wickedness which afterwards actually occurred. There are five of these distinct periods thus described. The first, from Leviticus 26:14-17; the second, from Leviticus 26:18-20; the third, from Leviticus 26:21-22; the fourth, from Leviticus 26:23-26; and the fifth, from Leviticus 26:26-27, or the end of the chapter. These may describe the successive declensions in the wilderness, during the period of the Judges, during the later days of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, after the Restoration, and finally, during Christ’s personal ministry, culminating in the crucifixion of their Messiah. Judgments Secondly, we have the vivid picture of God’s judgments upon them. These consisted of plague, sickness (Leviticus 26:16), sterility and barrenness of the soil (Leviticus 26:16), hatred and disaster from the hands of their enemies, oppression and bondage (Leviticus 26:17), wild beasts and desolation of the land, pestilence, siege, famine, and slaughter (Leviticus 26:25-30), destruction of their cities and even their sanctuary (Leviticus 26:31), captivity and dispersion among the Gentiles (Leviticus 26:32-33), horrible terrors and suffering on the part of the scattered fugitives in all lands. “I will make their hearts so fearful in the lands of their enemies that the sound of a windblown leaf will put them to flight. They will run as though fleeing from the sword, and they will fall, even though no one is pursuing them” (Leviticus 26:36). How vividly these terrific pictures describe the sufferings of the seed of Abraham during the last 3,000 years, especially during the Christian centuries. The outrages and enormities practiced upon the Jews for a thousand years, during the Middle Ages, surpass all the barbarities which human history anywhere records. They have been scattered in every land, yet proscribed from almost every country as vagabonds in the earth; they have been outcast, pillaged, expatriated, robbed by the wholesale, sold into slavery, separated from their families, violated, torn upon the rack, butchered and treated as public criminals whom it was a Christian duty to torment and abuse. Surely, they have drunk to the bitter dregs this dreadful cup, and shown that not a word of this awful picture was exaggerated. The Seven Times There is one strange expression in this chapter which has received a literal interpretation by many careful expositors, that seems to be reasonably justified. It is the words “seven times.” It occurs several times in the chapter. First, in Leviticus 26:18-21, where it seems to be a comparative expression of greater and more aggravated judgments, “seven times over,” referring to the increased chastisement which God was about to bring upon them. But in Leviticus 26:28 it is used absolutely as a simple expression with no comparative reference to previous judgments. “I myself will punish you for your sins seven times over.” If we bear in mind that this immediately precedes the last picture of judgment, which seems to be a punishment commencing at the time of the Babylonian captivity and includes the wasting of their city, and burning of their sanctuary and their dispersion among the nations, it gives additional weight to the interpretation about to be explained; that is, that the seven times denote exact chronological periods or prophetic times, corresponding to the use of this expression in the prophecies of Daniel and John, where again and again we find the words, a time, times and half a time, or three and a half times. In the fourth chapter of Daniel the same expression is used exactly as it is here. “Seven times pass by for him” (Leviticus 26:16). A time denotes, naturally, the most important chronological period known, that is the year. The year consists of 360 days, according to the solar calendar and in the usual prophetic calculations, and is represented by the word time. We know that this was the case in connection with the 70 weeks which Daniel saw intervene before the coming of the Messiah. It is certain that these 70 weeks meant 490 years, which is just seven times 70 days, counting a day for a year. The establishing of this standard in this one important prophecy fixes it for others. Applying it, therefore, to the present passage, seven times would be a week of years, comprising a total of 2,520 days, and counting each day for a year, seven times would be 2,520 years. Now, let us put together the following important considerations: Daniel’s Seven Times of the Gentiles (a) Daniel declared that seven times should pass over Nebuchadnezzar’s head in his madness, and at the end he should come forth restored to his reason. This, we know, was symbolical. Nebuchadnezzar represented the Gentile nations. He was the head of the image, which had already been explained to mean the four great empires that should fill up the remaining centuries of human history, and that in latter visions of this book are described as wild beasts. The meaning here is, that for seven times seven great prophetic periods this world power was to be like Nebuchadnezzar, during his insanity, debased, cruel and, as it were, possessed with madness. Such has truly been the spirit of the Gentile nations. At the end of this period these nations are to be restored, as Nebuchadnezzar was, but only through the coming and the personal reign of the Lord Jesus Christ, the true King of nations. Now these are what Christ called the times of the Gentiles. They have a definite period and are to be at length fulfilled. Previous to this the Jewish nation had been in the ascendant, but from the days of Nebuchadnezzar the world has been passing through the times of the Gentiles, and the Jewish people have been subject to their oppressions; and their own dominion has been practically suspended. Therefore the times of the Gentiles have been to the Jews times of disaster, judgment and suffering. Now, in conjunction with this fact: Israel’s Seven Times (b) Notice that Moses declares seven times of judgment and disaster shall pass over the Jews for their disobedience. This we see exactly corresponds with the period of the times of the Gentiles. The only question is, when were these times of Jewish calamity to begin? The natural historical epoch is the Babylonian captivity, when the city fell, the kingdom was dissolved, and the people dispersed as captives in other lands, never after to have a really independent national existence and government, for even the kingdom of Herod was subject to the permission of the Roman power. It is a delightful consideration to know that nearly 2,500 years have already elapsed since this age of calamity began, and the seven times must be nearly fulfilled. It is not ours to prophesy, but humble faith can read even behind the dark lines of their judgment the promise of the morning, while a thousand other signals on the earth and in the skies are already proclaiming to the Daughter of Zion, “Stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near” (Luke 21:28). Restoration (Leviticus 26:40-46)
5. The restoration of the nation after judgment and repentance. It is indicated that at last their idolatry, disobedience and hardness of heart will be completely broken, and that the entire nation shall repent and turn to God to wander no more. And as they turn to Him with humble confession, recognizing all their calamities as divine chastenings which they have brought upon themselves, God promises that He will remember His covenant with their fathers, and will again forgive, and restore them to all their ancient privileges and blessings. This day is drawing near. Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins.” As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies on your account; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable. (Romans 11:25-29) The light of later prophecy sheds a still brighter glory over these later days. The time is coming when “I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son” (Zechariah 12:10). And yet again the prophet Ezekiel describes this penitential return and restoration: Then you will remember your evil ways and wicked deeds, and you will loathe yourselves for your sins and detestable practices…. On the day I cleanse you from all your sins, I will resettle your towns, and the ruins will be rebuilt…. They will say, “This land that was laid waste has become like the garden of Eden.” (Ezekiel 36:31, Ezekiel 36:33,Ezekiel 36:35) I will now bring Jacob back from captivity and will have compassion on all the people of Israel,… They will forget their shame and all the unfaithfulness they showed toward me… I will no longer hide my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit on the house of Israel, declares the Sovereign Lord. (Ezekiel 39:25-26, Ezekiel 39:29)

Section II: Personal Faithfulness to God

Section II—Personal Faithfulness to GodLeviticus 27Vows (Leviticus 27:1-13)1. With respect to special vows, the special vow was a vow of consecration on the part of an individual, induced by gratitude or a sense of personal obligation, to dedicate something to God. The object dedicated might be a person, one’s own child, or one’s slave, or it might be an animal from his flock. It was provided that such a dedicated person or thing might be redeemed; and the estimate of its value was to be recorded, according to God’s own express stipulations, or, where these were not explicit, by the estimate of the priest. It was also provided that in the case of a poor man this estimation might be reduced and the value accepted according to his ability. All this legislation had reference to the consecration of our common life to God, and teaches us that secular things may be made as sacred as those which we call religious; and that God accepts from each one according to their ability, the dedication which they freely make of their life, their property and the dearest objects of their affection. Property (Leviticus 27:14-25) 2. Houses and fields might likewise be dedicated and then redeemed on the same principle and the proceeds of the redemption presented to God as an offering. This seems to teach us that in our possession of secular things we may be wholly consecrated to God, holding them as trusts for Him, and giving Him their value as tokens of thankfulness for His inestimable gifts and grace to us. It was provided in all these ransoms, that the estimation was to be according to the shekel of the sanctuary (Leviticus 27:25). This shekel of the sanctuary was the special type of Christ’s redemption of His people. It was the standard of redemption money in all other respects, and it reminded them constantly that they were a redeemed people; and that all their gifts to God were to be regulated and inspired by the recognition of the price with which they had been purchased from judgment worse than that of Egypt. The Firstborn (Leviticus 27:26-27) 3. There were some things which they could not dedicate to the Lord and afterwards redeem; especially was this true of the firstborn. “No one, however, may dedicate the firstborn of an animal, since the firstborn already belongs to the Lord; whether an ox or a sheep, it is the Lord’s” (Leviticus 27:26). It was already the Lord’s as a substitute for the firstborn of Egypt, and God claimed it as a right. So our life is a redeemed life, and is already the Lord’s; and our consecration is but the acknowledgment of His antecedent claims. Unchangeable Vows (Leviticus 27:28-29) 4. There were some things which could not be redeemed when once consecrated to God. But nothing that a man owns and devotes to the Lord—whether man or animal or family land—may be sold or redeemed; everything so devoted is most holy to the Lord. No person devoted to destruction may be ransomed; he must be put to death, (Leviticus 27:28-29) There was a sort of vow called herem, which denoted a higher kind of dedication for which no equivalent could be accepted. A man might dedicate his house, his cattle, his field and even his children to God, and then give an equivalent for their value in money, and retain them in his ordinary course of life and occupation, and feel that he had substantially fulfilled his vow. But a thing given in a sense expressed by this word could never be taken back (Leviticus 27:29). This implies that there are some things in our engagements with God which are irredeemable, and in which He holds us to our sacred pledge to the letter, as He is willing to be held by His plighted word to us. There are vows and covenants which God may lead a soul to make, and which are specific and immutable, and in which our keeping faith with God is the condition on which alone we can stand approved. It was thus in the case of Jephthah. The Lord placed him among the heroes of faith, because he kept his word with God (Judges 10-12). While we give all things to God, subject to His will concerning them as He shall show us day by day, yet there are some services and consecrations which are more definite and explicit, and wherever God has permitted us to give our word, we shall find that He will hold us to a faithfulness no less than His own. To take back a gift thus consecrated is a very serious thing. It was the sin of Ananias, and it is, no doubt, the secret of the blight which has fallen on many a Christian life. Perhaps someone who reads these lines may remember a forgotten vow made on a dying bed, a consecration as old as childhood, a promise by the deathbed of a mother, a sacrifice laid on the missionary altar, a pledge given in some great hour of deliverance which the heart has tried to make good in some other way, but for which God will accept no substitute. Tithes (Leviticus 27:30-32) 5. The tithes of the land and its produce were recognized as the Lord’s. These were but expressions of His ownership in everything. “A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord” (Leviticus 27:30). Among the Jews they involved a much larger proportion of the annual increase than is generally supposed. Besides the first tithe which was given for the support of the priest, there was a second which went to sustain the service of the tabernacle, and every third year there was tithe for the great annual feasts. All this, combined with the half shekel which was the ordinary offering at the entrance to the tabernacle, and the freewill offering and sacrifice, involved to every faithful Hebrew an expenditure for the cause of religion of at least three-tenths of his annual income every year. The same amount from the Christians of America would secure for the cause of Christ an annual contribution of many billions of dollars. With all our advanced light and enlarged privileges, and with the stronger motive of voluntary giving which ought ever to lead to greater sacrifice than any law of constraint, we have not yet even approached the results of systematic beneficence obtained by God’s ancient people in the days of their faithfulness. Integrity (Leviticus 27:33) 6. The strictest honesty was required in all devoted things and all dealings with God, in the contribution of money or redemption and fulfillment of vows. “He must not pick out the good from the bad or make any substitution. If he does make a substitution, both the animal and its substitute become holy and cannot be redeemed” (Leviticus 27:33). When tithes were to be redeemed and their value to be paid in money rather than in kind, one-fifth more was to be added to cover all possible cost. When tithes were to be chosen from the flocks or herds, every 10th animal was to be separated for the Lord whether good or bad. The refuse or inferior were not to be chosen for Jehovah, as sometimes modern Christians dispose of their poor coin, but the strictest integrity was to mark their dealings with the Lord. A spirit of equal conscientiousness now would revolutionize the practical working of modern Christianity.