Leviticus 6

Study Guide 14: Leviticus 1-17 SACRIFICE AND OFFERINGS Overview The Book of Leviticus is often viewed as God’ s instruction to Israel on holy living. Earlier God spoke from the mountaintop; now, with the tabernacle erected, God’ s presence was among the people. The people were in unique fellowship with God, and it was His “ going with” them that set Israel apart from all others (Exodus 33:16). But how might they live so close to the holy God? Only by continual cleansing and commitment to a holy lifestyle. J. Sidlow Baxter (Explore the Book, vol. 1, Zondervan) notes this dual need and divides Leviticus into two parts:

Outline

I. Sacrifice: Ground of Fellowship A. Offerings — absolutionLev. 1-7 B. Priesthood — mediationLev. 8-10 C. People — purificationLev. 11-16 D. Altar — reconciliationLev_17:1-16 II. Separation: Way of Fellowship A. Rules for peopleLev. 18-20 B. Rules for priestsLev. 21-22 C. Rules concerning feastsLev. 23-24 D. Rules concerning CanaanLev. 25-27We’ ll follow this outline as we explore this book that teaches us so much about our own relationship with the Lord. Here too we discover basic truths about sacrifice, atonement, and priesthood. FELLOWSHIP. Selem is the word in the Old Testament for fellowship, most often used for the fellowship or peace offering. This freewill offering speaks of peace and harmony in our relationships with God.

Commentary The Book of Leviticus is a book of detailed regulations. It may seem dull to many. But imbedded in the instructions of this book are many principles which have relevance to us today.

Sacrifice: Leviticus 1-7 The Bible Knowledge Commentary makes these points about the role of sacrifice in the Old Testament system. First, under the Law sacrifice was given as the only sufficient means for Israelites to remain in fellowship with the Lord. But second, with one possible exception, the sacrifices were limited in scope, dealing only with certain kinds of personal sins. They were “ mainly concerned with sins of ignorance, accident, carelessness, and omission” and included sins of ritual and social nature. There was no individual sacrifice provided for willful violation of God’ s commands. Such sins could be forgiven — as David’ s experience and psalms testify (cf. Psalms 32:1-11; Psalms 51:1-19) — on the basis of a grace response to faith and repentance. But the sacrificial system was not in itself a way of salvation. Yet, sacrifice in the Old Testament has continually been associated with forgiveness and with fellowship with God. A historic overview. In other cultures, sacrifice was viewed usually as food for the gods, and the priests often used the entrails of sacrificial beasts for occult divination. In Israel the sacrifice was not divine food (cf. Exodus 29:38-41; Psalms 50:8-15). And in Israel it was the blood of the sacrificed animal that was significant. In fact, the blood was crucial, for God said, “ I have given it [the life-blood of the sacrificial animal] to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’ s life” (Leviticus 17:11). The worshiper was taught that sin calls for the surrender of life, and that God will accept a substitute. The practice of sacrifice precedes the Mosaic Law. Some see God’ s killing of an animal to cover Adam and Eve with skins as the first sacrifice. The story of Cain and Abel certainly suggests that the first family was taught this way to approach God. Cain “ brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord” (Genesis 4:3), while Abel “ brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock” (Genesis 4:4). God rebuked Cain. “ If you do what is right,” God said (Genesis 4:7), implying clearly that Cain’ s offering was in willful violation of God’ s known will. Animal sacrifices continued to be the norm. They were offered by Noah (Genesis 8:20-21). Job, who may have been a contemporary of Abraham, offered sacrifices for sins (Job 1:5; Job 42:7-9). Genesis shows that the patriarchs built altars when they called on the name of the Lord (Genesis 12:8; Genesis 13:4; Genesis 26:25). The Passover lamb was a family sacrifice, rich in powerful imagery. Now, before Sinai, God gave Israel in His Law a carefully designed, detailed system of offerings and sacrifices. As noted earlier, however, these sacrifices were for personal sins of a limited nature. They were to be offered for unintentional sins (cf. Leviticus 4:13, Leviticus 4:22, Leviticus 4:27; Leviticus 5:14; etc.). In such cases a common ritual was followed. The one who sinned unintentionally was guilty. The guilty sinner brought an animal to the priests, who offered it in sacrifice. “ In this way the priest will make atonement for the man’ s sin, and he will be forgiven” (Leviticus 4:26). But forgiveness was not really won through the ritual itself. That is, the ritual was not sufficient in itself. The later prophets made more clear the implications of forgiveness offered for the unintentional sins. The individual who chose to dishonor God by refusing to live the just and merciful life the Lord commanded had no real recourse to sacrifice, even though generations of Israelites failed to grasp this reality. Thus Isaiah thundered against the sinful of his days who enjoyed both sin and “ worship” : Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to Me. . . . Your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts My soul hates. They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood; wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of My sight! Stop doing wrong, learn to do right. Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the father less, plead the case of the widow. Isaiah 1:13-17 (See also Jeremiah 7:20-23; Amos 5:21-27; Micah 6:6-8.) The message of sacrifice was never that one could sin impudently, and then come to God for an easy remedy. Sacrifice was for those whose hearts were already turned to the Lord. LINK TO LIFE: YOUTH / ADULT Tell the story of an imaginary Israelite, Basar. He is wealthy, but holds back wages from workers. He lends to the poor, but at high interest. And he’ s quick to take possessions or sell another into servitude if he or she can’ t pay. He has many fields, but never leaves anything unharvested for the poor, as the Law commands. Yet Basar seems to be pious. He sacrifices regularly and makes additional offerings. How does God view this man and his sacrifices? Divide into teams to try to find answers to this question. For team 1, assign Leviticus 4:1-35. For team 2, Isaiah 1:13-17; Jeremiah 7:20-23. For team 3, Psalms 51:1-19. Share reports. Then discuss: “ What do we learn from these passages that we can apply to our own walk with God?”

Day of Atonement: Leviticus 16:1-34The Old Testament says that the blood of the sacrifice is given to make atonement. What does “ atonement” mean? The Hebrew words translated atonement in English versions are kippur (noun) and kapar (verb). The root occurs about 150 times in the Old Testament, and is intimately linked with forgiveness of sin and with reconciliation to God. Many believe the root idea is “ to cover” or “ to conceal.” If so, atonement suggests a covering that conceals a person’ s sin and makes it possible for him to approach God. Certainly this is the role that atonement played in the Old Testament system. A person who sinned unintentionally would discover his failing, and as an act of confession, bring an animal offering to the priest. The sacrifice would be made, the blood shed, and “ in this way the priest will make atonement for the man’ s sin, and he will be forgiven” (Leviticus 4:26). But what about intentional, willful sins? While there was no individual offering for such sins, provision was made for them in the Day of Atonement. Leviticus 16:1-34 gives detailed instructions for a special sacrifice to be offered once a year, on the tenth day of the seventh month. On that day the whole community of Israel was to gather at the tabernacle (and later, the temple) to fast and to pray. The high priest followed carefully prescribed steps and entered the inner room of the tabernacle, bringing the blood of a sacrificed animal. There he sprinkled the blood on the cover of the ark, called the mercy seat. This animal was a “ sin offering for the people” (Leviticus 16:15). It is specifically said to have been required “ because of the uncleanness and rebellion of the Israelites, whatever their sins have been” (Leviticus 16:16, cf. Leviticus 16:21). That sacrifice was an “ atonement . . . to be made once a year for all the sins of the Israelites” (Leviticus 16:34, italics mine). Following that sacrifice, Israel was told, “ You will be clean from all your sins” (Leviticus 16:30). So the sacrificial system did make provision for intentional as well as unintentional sins. This was the only way the holy God could continue to dwell among a sinful and sinning community. The message of sacrifice. It is important in looking at the Old Testament to realize that in it we see realities acted out that would be unveiled later. It’ s not hard to grasp why. When a young child is about to go into a hospital for a tonsillectomy, parents are often told to play “ hospital” with him beforehand. For several days or weeks Mom and Dad rehearse the upcoming trip: they pack his bags, pretend to check in, look at pictures of hospital beds, take each other’ s temperatures. In every way the young child is prepared, so that when he actually does enter the hospital, it will all seem familiar. He will not be as fearful, because the reality is so much like the pretend. Should we be surprised, then, that God took the same kind of care? That God planned for continuous enactments of reality, so that when Jesus finally came to lay down His life for us, we would realize just what He was doing? Should we be surprised at the centuries of animal sacrifice, and the stress on the shedding of blood as necessary for forgiveness? No. In the repeated sacrifices of the Old Testament we are led to understand that, to God, death has always been the price of life for sinful men. What should surprise us is that God would give His Son for us. What should amaze us is that the blood spilled on history’ s ultimate altar would be His own. But we should never be surprised that only the sacrifice of another life can exempt one from the death penalty that sin and guilt deserve. Sacrifice has always been central in the history of God’ s gracious dealings with men. Over and over again the picture is presented to us. Over and over again we see the blood. Over and over — till with awed amazement we look at Calvary and suddenly the pictures from the past merge into one. And we bow, stunned by the reality. He died. He died for me. Isaiah 53:1-12. Even in Old Testament times God lifted the veil to let us peek beyond the shadows at the reality. Isaiah 53:1-12 was long understood by the Jews to speak of the coming Messiah — the Deliverer to be sent to them by God. In this passage we have a clear picture of Jesus, and of sacrifice. “ He was led like a lamb to the slaughter” (Isaiah 53:7). “ The Lord makes His life a guilt offering” (Isaiah 53:10). “ He poured out His life unto death” (Isaiah 53:12). “ He bore the sin of many” (Isaiah 53:12). We cannot read these words today with out realizing that they contain God’ s explanation for Jesus’ life — and for His death. Hebrews 10:1-39. This New Testament chapter looks back on the Old Testament sacrifices from the perspective of the Cross. The sacrifices of that day were “ only a shadow of the good things that [were] coming — not the realities themselves” (Hebrews 10:1). The blood of bulls and goats could not take away sins (Hebrews 10:4). The sacrifices only covered and concealed sin, thus permitting God to overlook His people’ s sins until Jesus could come to actually take away sins by the sacrifice of Himself (Romans 3:25-26). What the ancient sacrifices foreshadowed, Christ accomplished! “ By one sacrifice He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy” (Hebrews 10:14). In Jesus our sins and lawless acts have been forgiven fully, and we have been cleansed. Thus “ there is no longer any sacrifice for sins” (Hebrews 10:18). Today you and I look back on Calvary and mark it, as Israel did the first Passover, as the beginning of our lives as a freed people. We remember, as did the Jews, but with our own ritual. For us the reminder is bread and wine. And what a message in this! The Old Testament animal sacrifices had to be repeated again and again. Their repetition was a continual reminder to Israel that sin, while temporarily covered, must still be dealt with. The repeated sacrifices served to demonstrate that no animal’ s life could ever satisfy the righteousness of God. What a different message the bread and wine of Communion! No longer is fresh blood required. Jesus has died, offering “ for all time one sacrifice for sins” (Hebrews 10:12). It is enough. Redemption’ s work is done. By the blood of Christ, you and I have been set forever free. LINK TO LIFE: CHILDREN Sacrifice and atonement are very difficult concepts for young boys and girls. But the repetition that led to the cross, and makes Calvary so meaningful to any who grasp the implications of Old Testament sacrifice, can help prepare children for later understanding. Cut out one-fourth of a paper plate, leaving room to put a brad through its center. On another paper plate draw four pictures, placed so they will be seen in sequence when the cut-out plate is fastened to it and rotated. Picture 1: sad-faced person saying, “ I’ ve sinned.” 2: same person carrying lamb, still looking sad. 3: priest with arms raised, lamb on fiery altar. 4: person going away with a smiling, happy face. When completed, let the boys and girls turn through the cycle again and again, as you tell how a person had to come to make a sacrifice for each and every sin he found he’ d committed. On the other side of the bottom plate have the children draw a cross. Tell how Jesus came to be the sacrifice for our sins, so that we could be forgiven forever.

The Priesthood: Leviticus 8-10 There are three reasons why we need to pay particular attention to the priesthood which is introduced in these Leviticus chapters. First, the priesthood is a basic Old Testament institution. We cannot really understand the Old Testament without some grasp of its nature and function. Second, Christ is called our High Priest in the New Testament. An understanding of the Old Testament priesthood helps us to grasp more of His present ministry for us today. Third, we believers today are “ being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priest hood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5). Since we are “ a chosen people, a royal priesthood” (1 Peter 2:9), we need to see the meaning of priesthood if we are to understand our own calling as Christians. We hear little of priesthood today. In fact, the priestly system is foreign to Protestantism, and to our culture. But if we are to learn to live as ministers of the New Covenant (2 Corinthians 3:6), and break out of the tragically passive role laymen have in our society, we need to rediscover our identities as believer-priests, called to minister for and before God. Mediators. We begin a survey of the priest’ s role by noting that priests served as mediators between God and man. The priest “ is selected from among men and is appointed to represent them in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins” (Hebrews 5:1). The individual in Israel who wished to approach God brought his offering to the priest. That offering may have been an offering of obligation (one which had to be made because of guilt for sin), or a freewill offering of thanks or praise. But either kind of offering had to be brought to God through the priest. The priest, who served the altar, was the door keeper. His ministry kept the approach to God open. At the same time, the priest taught and interpreted God’ s revelation. “ You must distinguish between the holy and the profane, between the unclean and the clean,” Aaron and his sons were told. “ And you must teach the Israelites all the decrees the Lord has given them through Moses” (Leviticus 10:10-11). Thus the mediating priest was not only a person through whom an individual might approach God — he was a person who understood and interpreted God’ s words to the people. Communication between God and man in early Israel was focused in the person of the priest. Aaron and his descendants were set aside for this doorkeeping ministry. In the land, the priests and the Levites (the other descendants of Levi) were not given territory with the other families of Israel. They were instead dedicated to care for the things of God. Special cities were set aside for them to live in throughout the territories of the other tribes. But there was no land this tribe could call its own. God was to be their portion, and they were supported by an offering of a tenth of all that was produced by the other tribes. Their ministry was so important that it required total dedication. What do other basic Old Testament passages tell us about this class of mediators whose ministry foreshadows both the work of Christ, and our own? Exodus 28-29. With the tabernacle pattern revealed, God instructed Moses to set Aaron and his sons aside from the people of Israel to serve Him as priests. They, and especially Aaron the high priest, were given holy garments “ for dignity and honor” (Exodus 28:2). One striking feature: the names of the 12 tribes were engraved on precious stones and attached to the shoulder clasps of Aaron’ s garment, and on the breastplate. Thus whenever he entered the holy place, Aaron was to “ bear the names of the sons of Israel on the breastpiece of decision as a continuing memorial before the Lord” (Exodus 28:29). In the breastpiece too were the Urim and Thummim, which some believe were three polished stones, on which yes and no and nothing were engraved. When Israel sought God’ s will, God guided the hand of the high priest to select His answer as the priest reached blindly inside the breastpiece pocket. Thus the judgment of the people of Israel was also borne “ over his heart before the Lord” (Exodus 28:30). The priest carried the people by name before the Lord, and God’ s will was carried on his heart back to them. The Exodus passage also speaks of the priests’ ordination, and points out that, for Aaron and his sons, sacrifice must also be made. All associated with their ministry was set aside for service by the sprinkling of sacrificial blood. To maintain the blood-won point of contact with God, a continual burnt offering was made daily “ at the entrance of the tent of meeting before the Lord,” where God said, “ I will meet you, and speak to you. There also I will meet with the Israelites, and the place will be consecrated by My glory” (Exodus 29:42-43). Leviticus 10:1-20. Following ordination of the priests (reported in chaps. 8-9) an incident occurred which emphasized the critical role the priest was to play. Nadab and Abihu, two of Aaron’ s sons, broke the ordained pattern of ministry to offer “ unauthorized fire before the Lord” (Leviticus 10:1). God acted immediately; the pair died there before the Lord. Leviticus 10:8-10 of this chapter explain one possible reason for their deaths. No priest was to drink alcoholic beverages when ministering: a priest must be fully aware. The priest was called to “ distinguish between the holy and the profane” and to “ teach the Israelites all the decrees” which the Lord had spoken. One who taught holiness must himself be holy. Leviticus 13-14. The ministry of the priest in evaluating and judging is seen in a task assigned here. The priest was to examine diseased individuals and places. Leprosy, one of many skin conditions that separated the diseased person from society as unclean, was diagnosed by the priest on the basis of clear descriptions in Scripture. When a person recovered, the priest also was to examine him and pronounce him cleansed, and to officially restore him to fellowship. The priest did not cure. But the priest did make a distinction between the clean and unclean, the sick and the well. Leviticus 21-22. This passage emphasizes the holiness that was to characterize the priests. “ They must be holy to their God. . . . Because they present the offerings by fire to the Lord.” Thus the priest was under special restrictions. Priests were restricted as to whom they could marry, and in other ways. Baxter (Explore the Book) comments: All the sons of Aaron, whether young or old, defective or normal, were priests to Yahweh, by virtue of their birth and life-relationship with Aaron; and nothing could break that relationship. Yet those among them who were physically defective were not allowed to officiate at the altar or enter within the veil of the sanctuary (Leviticus 21:21-23). And those who were in any way defiled were not allowed even to eat of the priests’ portion (Leviticus 22:6-7). Even so, every true believer is a priest by virtue of life-giving union with the Lord Jesus, and nothing can break that union. But all Christians do not enjoy the same intimacy of fellowship, or exercise the same ministry within the veil! Union is one thing; communion is another.

Christ’ s High Priesthood: Hebrews 4:14-10:25 This extended section of the New Testament discusses the high priesthood of Jesus. It compares Him to the Aaronic priests of the Old Testament, and contrasts His ministry to theirs. Hebrews 4:1-16 and Hebrews 5:1-14 of Hebrews emphasize the necessity for the priest to be identified with those he serves. A mediator must have contact with those who need his ministry. Hebrews 7:1-28 emphasizes the primacy of Christ’ s priesthood, stressing its superiority over the Aaronic. The passage also points out a crucial concept: perfection could not come through the old priesthood. By a continual and repetitive ministry the Aaronic priests held the door to God open. But only a permanent priest could save completely and guarantee us access. As believers, we no longer need human priests to meet us at the door and then to turn within, while we stand outside and wait. Christ, in His death and resurrection, has thrown the door wide open, and has invited us to enter freely. Christ Himself, living forever, is God’ s eternal guarantee that the door to eternal life will never be closed to you and me. Hebrews 8:1-13 of Hebrews elaborates on this. Christ is a Priest of an entirely new system, a system which reaches within men’ s hearts to transform them. According to Hebrews 9:1-28 this required that Christ as High Priest present a perfect offering — one able to clear the conscience of the worshiper. Hebrews 10:1-39 goes on to show the efficacy of Christ’ s sacrifice. Through His sacrifice we have been made holy once for all. We are now able to confidently enter into the very presence of God. “ Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). Our ever-living High Priest, who has made a single sacrifice and by it perfected us, has thrown open wide the door by which the Old Testament priest once stood — and has commanded us to enter boldly.

Our Priesthood This brief survey of some of the aspects of priesthood helps us understand our present standing with God. Because of Christ, the old need of a doorkeeper is gone. We have direct, personal access to God’ s throne through Jesus. But what about our priesthood? How do we serve? Partly in worship. The offerings made on the altar were not all for sin. Many were offerings of thanksgiving and praise, ex pressing the joy of communion with the Lord. The Book of Revelation speaks of the prayers of God’ s saints, rising up to God as a pleasant incense. This worship is some thing that we can offer to God as part of our present priestly service. In part, we serve as priests by serving our brothers and sisters. As Aaron bore the names of Israel before the Lord, and as Jesus bears our names on His heart, so we are to carry the names and the needs of our brothers before the Lord. There are fellow priests of ours who experience needs. There are fellow believers who experience needs. They have a relationship with God, but do not experience communion. These too we can serve in prayer, and also by reaching out to them to teach and encourage. And there is another class of people; those who have never met Christ or come to know Him in a saving way. The concept of priesthood is very important here, in helping us understand ourselves. The priest was “ chosen from among men.” He established a point of contact with other human beings, based on his likeness to them. The New Testament stresses the fact that Jesus too became fully human. He did this that He might sympathize with our weaknesses. He never sinned, and yet He knew fully all that it means to be a human being, subject to human weaknesses. Because of Jesus’ identification with humanity, Christ is able to reach out to grasp the hand of the sinner and lead him to God. Our priestly ministry carries the same demand, the demand that we reach out to people, confessing our common identity with them, and together drawing near to and serving God. LINK TO LIFE: YOUTH / ADULT Set up a three-column chart on priesthood. Above the first column write Old Testament Priesthood; above the second write Christ’ s High Priesthood; above the third write Our Priesthood. Because of the amount of data needed to fill in these charts, it’ s probably best to cover content with a lecture on material drawn from this unit and from the Bible chapters discussed. Then work from the chart as a group to list: “ What needs were to be met by the priesthood?” You can do this with each column (e.g., each priesthood). Your purpose in taking this approach is to help your group members sense that their own priesthood should be seen in terms of ministry rather than as a role. If your group members are new Christians, or not yet believers, focus on the priestly ministry of Jesus. If your group members are mature Christians, focus on the believer’ s priestly ministry — to God in worship, and to others by sharing Jesus effectively with them.

The People: Leviticus 11-15 Priests and people in Israel were to make distinctions between clean and unclean in Israel (cf. Leviticus 11:47). The regulations that covered diet and certain ritual requirements are discussed in this context. Some have gone to great lengths to invent “ logical” reasons for some of the commands that God gave here. Even today, the proscription against pork has led to the imaginative notion that pork is “ bad” meat. I recently talked with a person who argued that a pig’ s digestive system is incomplete, and that consequently waste materials are stored in the body rather than eliminated as by other animals. Thus pork is supposed to be intrinsically dirty — and thus God is justified in telling the Jews not to eat pork. It’ s a little more difficult to find similar explanations for other dietary laws, such as, “ You shall not boil a kid in its mother’ s milk.” In fact, such explanations miss the point. To teach Peter that the Old Testament economy was passing and that Jew and Gentile were no longer to be viewed as distinct, different races, God caused a great sheet to be lowered from heaven full of “ unclean” animals. And Peter was commanded to kill and eat! Peter, a pious Jew, objected. But then the word of God came: “ Do not call anything impure that God has made clean” (Acts 10:9-15). Later Paul wrote in Romans, “ I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean” (Romans 14:14-15). The point is simply this. Some things are immoral and unclean in themselves for all persons at all times. Adultery, for instance, is never right. Such things are rooted in the very nature of man as God has created him, and reflect something of God’ s own moral character and His righteousness. But many things that we read of here in Leviticus have no intrinsic rightness or wrongness. These things were “ unclean” simply because God said they were to be so regarded by Israel. Why did God create this whole set of unclean things? In answering, we do not need to give a logical excuse for each item, as some attempt with the dietary laws. Instead, we need to realize that God was acting to train and to discipline His people. He was working with them, to give them a sense of their own unique identity as His people: to help them realize constantly the privilege — and responsibility — of fellowship with Him. There was a tremendous danger that this people would forget their God. Sinai demonstrated how quickly and easily they forgot! Now, however, the very pattern of daily life in Israel was so structured that it was almost impossible to forget God. Each meal served was a reminder. The specialness of the offerings served as a reminder. The presence of the priests, scattered throughout the other tribes in their cities and supported by yearly tithes, were reminders. The Sabbath was a weekly reminder and, as we will see in the next unit, a system of annual festivals also helped to keep God in focus. Everything in the customs God gave to Israel was designed to constantly remind the people that they had a special relationship with God, and were called to walk in fellowship with Him. Many of these customs in Israel are irrelevant to us today. Others have some deep typical significance, and speak of Christ. Still others reflect God’ s own character and are rooted in righteousness. But all of them serve as unique reminders of how special it is to live in fellowship with God.

Teaching Guide Prepare Read and meditate on the Hebrews passages which deal with the high priesthood of Jesus: Hebrews 4:14-5:10; Hebrews 7:11-28; Hebrews 9:11-28.

Explore

1. Describe the role of sacrifices under Old Testament Law. Then brainstorm with your group for lessons which Old Testament believers might have learned from the Law. (You may want to use the analogy of the child going to the hospital suggested above.)
2. Set up the three-column chart described in the “ link-to-life” activity above, and work through the process described there.

Expand

1. Compare the efficacy of Old Testament sacrifices and the sacrifice of Jesus. Do this by describing the limitations of Old Testament sacrifices as shown in Leviticus 4:1-35 and Leviticus 16:1-34. Then have your group look together at Hebrews 10:1-25. Work through this vital passage verse by verse, letting your group members discover and list key points.
2. Or explore the meaning of Jesus’ death as a sacrifice by looking at three passages: Leviticus 16:1-34; Isaiah 53:1-12; and Hebrews 10:1-25. Let one team take each passage, and look for what the passage can teach us of the meaning of Jesus’ death for us.
3. Or plan an inductive study of 2 Corinthians 3:1-18, which speaks of believers as “ ministers of a New Covenant.” This passage contrasts the priest who ministered under the Old Covenant and the believer-priest who ministers under the New. Some contrasts they will find: God now writes on hearts, not stone. His new law is “ read” by all: we communicate Christ by who we are. We “ judge,” but only as God leads through the Spirit. (The O.T. priest had to judge on the basis of externals.) The priests’ clothing was their “ beauty and glory” ; we remove veils for, while still vulnerable and human, we are being “ transformed into His likeness.” We accept identification with frail and imperfect humanity, yet show God’ s work in our lives.

Apply

1. If there are several non-Christians in your group, ask members to volunteer how accepting Christ as Saviour has changed their lives. Do they experience the freedom from guilt and fear that forgiveness is to bring?
2. If most of your group members are believers, focus on how they can fulfill a personal ministry as a believer-priest. Go around the group and ask each to complete: “ As a believer-priest today, what I learn from this study is that I. . . .”