Our Daily Scripture – 1/30/23

SCRIPTURE:  LEVITICUS 22

BIBLE VERSES:

“Keep my commands and follow them. I am the Lord.  Do not profane my holy name, for I must be acknowledged as holy by the Israelites. I am the Lord, who made you holy and who brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord.” (Leviticus 22:31-33)

OTHER RULES OF THE LORD:

  1. Anyone who is ceremonially unclean must not come near the sacred offerings or he will be cut off (v. 3)
  2. A descendant of Aaron with infectious skin disease or having bodily discharge must not eat the sacred offering until he is cleaned (v. 4a)
  3. Anyone can become unclean if he touches something defiled by a corpse or by anyone who has an emission of semen. (vs. 4b-5)
  4. Anyone must not eat any of the sacred offerings unless he has bathed himself with water. (v. 6)
  5. Anyone must not eat anything found dead or torn by wild animals (v. 8)

GUIDELINES FOR THE PRIESTS:

  1. No one outside a priest’s family may eat the sacred offering not even his guest or hired worker. (v. 10)
  2. The slave bought by a priest or born in his household may not eat his food (v. 11)
  3. A priest’s daughter who marrieds anyone other than a priest cannot eat any of the sacred contributions (v. 12)
  4. A priest’s daughter who became a widow or is divorced yet has no children and returns to live in his father’s house may eat her father’s food. (v. 13)
  5. The priests must not allowed the Israelites to eat the sacred offerings. (v. 15)

UNACCEPTABLE SACRIFICES (vs. 17-33)

  1. All offerings of animals must be male and without defect of blemish.
  2. When a calf or lamb is born, it is to remain with its mother for 7 days.  It will be acceptable as an offering to the Lord by fire from the eighth day.
  3. A thanksgiving offering must be eaten that same day and leave nothing of it till morning.

THOUGHTS:

Final admonition of God Is:  Do not profane my holy name.  God wants the priests to be clean, not to share holy food and make perfect sacrifices.

Animals with defects were not acceptable as sacrifices because they did not represent God’s holy nature.  Therefore, we have to give our best time, talent and treasure to God and show the true meaning of worship to testify God’s supreme worth.