Regulations for the Lampstand and Table of Bread A Case of ...biblestudyworkshop.com/download/old/leviticus... · Commentary and Questions by Pat Andrews Landmark Publications, Inc.,

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Commentary and Questions by Pat Andrews

Landmark Publications, Inc., 1045 Maynor Street, Nashville, TN 37216, U.S.A., John C. Sewell, Ph.D., Editor.

Regulations for the Lampstand and Table of Bread

A Case of Blaspheming the Name

Leviticus 24:1-23





A Case of Blaspheming the Name

Text:

Leviticus 24:1-23,

1. The Lord spoke to Moses:

2. “Command the Israelites to bring to you pure oil of

beaten olives for the light, to make a lamp burn continually.

3. Outside the veil-canopy of the congregation in the

Meeting Tent Aaron must arrange it from evening until morning before the Lord continually. This is a perpetual

statute throughout your generations.

4. On the ceremonially pure lampstand he must arrange

the lamps before the Lord continually. 5. “You must take choice wheat flour and bake twelve

loaves; there must be two tenths of an ephah of flour in

each loaf, 6. and you must set them in two rows, six in a row, on the

ceremonially pure table before the Lord. 7. You must put pure frankincense on each row, and it

will become a memorial portion for the bread, a gift to the Lord.

8. Each Sabbath day Aaron must arrange it before the

Lord continually; this portion is from the Israelites as a perpetual covenant.




9. It will belong to Aaron and his sons, and they must eat

it in a holy place because it is most holy to him, a

perpetual allotted portion from the gifts of the Lord.” 10. Now an Israelite woman’s son whose father was an Egyptian went out among the Israelites, and the Israelite

woman’s son and an Israelite man had a fight in the

camp. 11. The Israelite woman’s son misused the Name and

cursed, so they brought him to Moses. (Now his mother’s

name was Shelomith daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.)

12. So they placed him in custody until they were able to

make a clear legal decision for themselves based on

words from the mouth of the Lord. 13. Then the Lord spoke to Moses:

14. “Bring the one who cursed outside the camp, and all

who heard him are to lay their hands on his head, and the whole congregation is to stone him to death.

15. Moreover, you are to tell the Israelites, ‘If any man curses his God he will bear responsibility for his sin,

16. and one who misuses the name of the Lord must surely be put to death. The whole congregation must

surely stone him, whether he is a foreigner or a native

citizen; when he misuses the Name he must be put to death.

17. “‘If a man beats any person to death, he must be put

to death.

18. One who beats an animal to death must make restitution for it, life for life.

19. If a man inflicts an injury on his fellow citizen, just as

he has done it must be done to him—




20. fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth—just

as he inflicts an injury on another person that same injury

must be inflicted on him. 21. One who beats an animal to death must make restitution for it, but one who beats a person to death

must be put to death.

22. There will be one regulation for you, whether a foreigner or a native citizen, for I am the Lord your God.’”

23. Then Moses spoke to the Israelites and they brought

the one who cursed outside the camp and stoned him with stones. So the Israelites did just as the Lord had

commanded Moses. (NET)

Introduction:

Chapter 24 almost seems to be out of place here, between two

chapters about feasts and Sabbaths and special years, etc. However, there is a correlation and it is about “ritual

observances.” Many Christians frown on rituals, and, indeed, Jesus took issue with the Scribes and Pharisees about their

“meaningless rituals.” The truth remains, however, that “rituals” are practiced by everyone who achieves anything of worth.

Athletes who excel have routines of practice and training that are

not hap-hazard but are planned and ritualistic. Writers who succeed in producing works that have lasting benefit have rituals

that they follow in order to turn out quality work. And godly

servants who change the world for the Lord also follow rituals.

One could “set their clock” by Daniel’s prayer times! Daniel 6:10 “When Daniel realized that a written decree had

been issued, he entered his home, where the windows in

his upper room opened toward Jerusalem. Three times daily he was kneeling and offering prayers and thanks to




his God just as he had been accustomed to do

previously.” (NET) Jesus went to the synagogue, “as was his

custom.” Luke 4:16 “Now Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, as was his custom.” (NET) These

examples could be multiplied not only in the biblical narrative but

in the annals of history and of daily life. And so it is that chapters 23, 24 and 25 set up some guidelines for rituals for worship, for

justice and for the long-term life of Israel.

Commentary:


Leviticus 24:1-4, The Lord spoke to Moses: “Command the

Israelites to bring to you pure oil of beaten olives for the

light, to make a lamp burn continually. Outside the veil-canopy of the congregation in the Meeting Tent Aaron

must arrange it from evening until morning before the Lord continually. This is a perpetual statute throughout

your generations. On the ceremonially pure lampstand he must arrange the lamps before the Lord continually.

(NET)

The word “continually” occurs three times in four verses! That

speaks of ritual. The importance of the lampstand inside the Holy

Place cannot be overstated! When one reads about the

construction of the Tabernacle and its coverings it is easy to realize that there was no source of light by day or night inside the

tent, except for the lampstand!




Of course we have come to expect some picture of “better things”

in these rules and rituals given to Israel at Sinai and practiced

through the years until the coming of the Messiah. Here we see pictured that Jesus is the only light in this sin darkened world! John 8:12 “Then Jesus spoke out again, “I am the light of

the world. The one who follows me will never walk in

darkness, but will have the light of life.” (NET)

Notice also the involvement of the whole nation in this ritual and

in the one to follow. The Israelites are to produce this olive oil by the process of “beating” or, as it is later worded “pressed,” and to

bring it to Moses who is to pass it on to Aaron whose job it was

to keep the lamps burning. Even though there was a priesthood

that did the actual worship rituals, no one was exempted from contributing to the process.

In order to produce oil which would then produce light, the olives must be beaten or smashed in a press. How precious is olive oil?

Ask an olive! Jesus was beaten (pressed), and his body destroyed in order to become the light of the world! Gethsemane means

“olive press!” God has been drawing pictures from the very beginning! Meditative study in which the Holy Spirit is invited to

reveal “truth” uncovers and enlightens the pictures.

Leviticus 24:5-9, “You must take choice wheat flour and

bake twelve loaves; there must be two tenths of an ephah

of flour in each loaf, and you must set them in two rows,

six in a row, on the ceremonially pure table before the Lord. You must put pure frankincense on each row, and it

will become a memorial portion for the bread, a gift to the

Lord. Each Sabbath day Aaron must arrange it before the Lord continually; this portion is from the Israelites as a




perpetual covenant. It will belong to Aaron and his sons,

and they must eat it in a holy place because it is most

holy to him, a perpetual allotted portion from the gifts of the Lord.” (NET)

Verses five through nine set up the ritual of the loaves on the

golden table of “showbread.” Each loaf was to contain “two tenths of an ephah” of flour. (That is approximately six pounds).

Matthew Henry points out in his comments on Leviticus 24:5

“Every one of those cakes contained . . . two omers of fine flour; just so much manna as every Israelite gathered on the sixth day

for the Sabbath.” Exodus 16:22, And on the sixth day they

gathered twice as much food, two omers per person; and

all the leaders of the community came and told Moses. (NET)

This probably would have been unleavened bread. This opinion is based on the fact that it was considered “holy” bread and that it

was brought into the Holy Place. The text itself does not specify whether it was leavened or not. A six-pound loaf of bread,

regardless of leaven or the lack of it, would be rather large. There would be many priests serving at any given time who would

depend on the showbread (Bread of the Presence) for their food.

Again, a New Testament application is not far to seek. John

6:47-51, “I tell you the solemn truth, the one who

believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your

ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that has come down from heaven, so

that a person may eat from it and not die. I am the living

bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats from this bread he will live forever. The bread that I will give




for the life of the world is my flesh.” (NET) 1 Corinthians

10:16, “Is not the cup of blessing that we bless a sharing

in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread that we break a sharing in the body of Christ?” (NET)

In another picture the priest ate the bread each week in a holy

place. In the church / kingdom we are a royal priesthood. 1 Peter 2:9, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood,

a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may

proclaim the virtues of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” (NET) As a priest, we eat

the bread that Jesus said is his body. 1 Corinthians 11:23, 24,

“For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to

you, that the Lord Jesus on the night in which he was betrayed took bread, and after he had given thanks he

broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do

this in remembrance of me.” (NET)

Notice also that as Jesus “broke” the bread as he served it to his disciples, so Jesus, “the Bread of Life,” was “broken” for us.

What was a “ritual meal” to the original priests has become a

“ritual observance” to us, as we rarely take more than a pinch of

the bread and a sip of the fruit of the vine. Still, it is a sacred ritual and its effectiveness is always in the heart of the observant.

It can be extremely meaningful and moving or it can mean

nothing at all, depending on the frame of mind of the one

partaking.




A Case of Blaspheming the Name The story that follows and the instructions that follow that are

also to become “ritual.” That is to say, in such cases this is what

is to be done always in every case. While there were laws in place here - (Exodus 20:7, “You shall not take the name of

the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold

guiltless anyone who takes his name in vain.” Exodus

22:28, “You must not blaspheme God or curse the ruler of your people.” (NET)) - no specific punishment had been set

nor the manner of carrying it out. After the Lord spoke to Moses

in this regard, a set of instructions was put in place that then became the “ritual” for such crimes.

Leviticus 24:10-12, Now an Israelite woman’s son whose father was an Egyptian went out among the Israelites,

and the Israelite woman’s son and an Israelite man had a

fight in the camp. The Israelite woman’s son misused the

Name and cursed, so they brought him to Moses. (Now his mother’s name was Shelomith daughter of Dibri, of

the tribe of Dan.) So they placed him in custody until they were able to make a clear legal decision for themselves based on words from the mouth of the Lord. (NET)

One of the reasons a special revelation was needed here is that

this person who violated the law was not a full-blooded Israelite. He was of mixed origin. Consequently Moses and the people

needed to know if the laws and punishments applied to everyone

or just to Israel. God is very clear in his revelation on this matter! Note that verses fifteen, sixteen and twenty-two make it crystal

clear. “. . . whether he is a foreigner or a native citizen. . .”

This will be clarified and applied to both men and women and in




Deuteronomy 17 and to include aliens who wanted to make a

sacrifice to the Lord in Numbers 15.

Deuteronomy 17:1-20, You must not sacrifice to him a bull or sheep that has a blemish or any other defect,

because that is considered offensive to the Lord your God.

Suppose a man or woman is discovered among you—in one of your villages that the Lord your God is giving you—

who sins before the Lord your God and breaks his

covenant by serving other gods and worshiping them—the sun, moon, or any other heavenly bodies which I have

not permitted you to worship. When it is reported to you

and you hear about it, you must investigate carefully. If it

is indeed true that such a disgraceful thing is being done in Israel, you must bring to your city gates that man or

woman who has done this wicked thing—that very man or

woman—and you must stone that person to death. At the testimony of two or three witnesses they must be

executed. They cannot be put to death on the testimony of only one witness. The witnesses must be first to begin

the execution, and then all the people are to join in afterward. In this way you will purge evil from among

you. If a matter is too difficult for you to judge—

bloodshed, legal claim, or assault—matters of controversy in your villages—you must leave there and go up to the

place the Lord your God chooses. You will go to the

Levitical priests and the judge in office in those days and

seek a solution; they will render a verdict. You must then do as they have determined at that place the Lord

chooses. Be careful to do just as you are taught. You must

do what you are instructed, and the verdict they pronounce to you, without fail. Do not deviate right or left




from what they tell you. The person who pays no

attention to the priest currently serving the Lord your

God there, or to the verdict—that person must die, so that you may purge evil from Israel. Then all the people will hear and be afraid, and not be so presumptuous again.

When you come to the land the Lord your God is giving

you and take it over and live in it and then say, “I will select a king like all the nations surrounding me,” you

must select without fail a king whom the Lord your God

chooses. From among your fellow citizens you must appoint a king—you may not designate a foreigner who is

not one of your fellow Israelites. Moreover, he must not

accumulate horses for himself or allow the people to

return to Egypt to do so, for the Lord has said you must never again return that way. Furthermore, he must not

marry many wives lest his affections turn aside, and he

must not accumulate much silver and gold. When he sits on his royal throne he must make a copy of this law on a

scroll given to him by the Levitical priests. It must be with him constantly and he must read it as long as he

lives, so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and observe all the words of this law and these statutes and

carry them out. Then he will not exalt himself above his

fellow citizens or turn from the commandments to the right or left, and he and his descendants will enjoy many

years ruling over his kingdom in Israel. (NET)

Numbers 15:1-41, The Lord spoke to Moses: “Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘When you enter the land

where you are to live, which I am giving you, and you

make an offering by fire to the Lord from the herd or from the flock (whether a burnt offering or a sacrifice for




discharging a vow or as a freewill offering or in your

solemn feasts) to create a pleasing aroma to the Lord,

then the one who presents his offering to the Lord must bring a grain offering of one-tenth of an ephah of finely ground flour mixed with one fourth of a hin of olive oil.

You must also prepare one-fourth of a hin of wine for a

drink offering with the burnt offering or the sacrifice for each lamb. Or for a ram, you must prepare as a grain

offering two-tenths of an ephah of finely ground flour

mixed with one-third of a hin of olive oil, and for a drink offering you must offer one-third of a hin of wine as a

pleasing aroma to the Lord. And when you prepare a

young bull as a burnt offering or a sacrifice for

discharging a vow or as a peace offering to the Lord, then a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of finely

ground flour mixed with half a hin of olive oil must be

presented with the young bull, and you must present as the drink offering half a hin of wine with the fire offering

as a pleasing aroma to the Lord. This is what is to be done for each ox, or each ram, or each of the male lambs or the

goats. You must do so for each one according to the number that you prepare. “‘Every native-born person

must do these things in this way to present an offering

made by fire as a pleasing aroma to the Lord. If a resident foreigner is living with you—or whoever is among you in

future generations—and prepares an offering made by

fire as a pleasing aroma to the Lord, he must do it the

same way you are to do it. One statute must apply to you who belong to the congregation and to the resident

foreigner who is living among you, as a permanent

statute for your future generations. You and the resident foreigner will be alike before the Lord. One law and one




custom must apply to you and to the resident foreigner

who lives alongside you.’” The Lord spoke to Moses:

“Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘When you enter the land to which I am bringing you and you eat some of the food of the land, you must offer up a raised offering

to the Lord. You must offer up a cake of the first of your

finely ground flour as a raised offering; as you offer the raised offering of the threshing floor, so you must offer it

up. You must give to the Lord some of the first of your

finely ground flour as a raised offering in your future generations. “‘If you sin unintentionally and do not

observe all these commandments that the Lord has

spoken to Moses—all that the Lord has commanded you

by the authority of Moses, from the day that the Lord commanded Moses and continuing through your future

generations—then if anything is done unintentionally

without the knowledge of the community, the whole community must prepare one young bull for a burnt

offering—for a pleasing aroma to the Lord—along with its grain offering and its customary drink offering, and one

male goat for a purification offering. And the priest is to make atonement for the whole community of the

Israelites, and they will be forgiven, because it was

unintentional and they have brought their offering, an offering made by fire to the Lord, and their purification

offering before the Lord, for their unintentional offense.

And the whole community of the Israelites and the

resident foreigner who lives among them will be forgiven, since all the people were involved in the unintentional

offense. “‘If any person sins unintentionally, then he must

bring a yearling female goat for a purification offering. And the priest must make atonement for the person who




sins unintentionally—when he sins unintentionally before

the Lord—to make atonement for him, and he will be

forgiven. You must have one law for the person who sins unintentionally, both for the native-born among the Israelites and for the resident foreigner who lives among

them. “‘But the person who acts defiantly, whether

native-born or a resident foreigner, insults the Lord. That person must be cut off from among his people. Because

he has despised the word of the Lord and has broken his

commandment, that person must be completely cut off. His iniquity will be on him.’” When the Israelites were in

the wilderness they found a man gathering wood on the

Sabbath day. Those who found him gathering wood

brought him to Moses and Aaron and to the whole community. They put him in custody, because there was

no clear instruction about what should be done to him.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “The man must surely be put to death; the whole community must stone him with

stones outside the camp.” So the whole community took him outside the camp and stoned him to death, just as

the Lord commanded Moses. The Lord spoke to Moses: “Speak to the Israelites and tell them to make tassels for

themselves on the corners of their garments throughout

their generations, and put a blue thread on the tassel of the corners. You must have this tassel so that you may

look at it and remember all the commandments of the

Lord and obey them and so that you do not follow after

your own heart and your own eyes that lead you to unfaithfulness. Thus you will remember and obey all my

commandments and be holy to your God. I am the Lord

your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord your God.” (NET)




Leviticus 24:13-16, Then the Lord spoke to Moses: “Bring the one who cursed outside the camp, and all who heard

him are to lay their hands on his head, and the whole

congregation is to stone him to death. Moreover, you are to tell the Israelites, ‘If any man curses his God he will

bear responsibility for his sin, and one who misuses the

name of the Lord must surely be put to death. The whole congregation must surely stone him, whether he is a

foreigner or a native citizen; when he misuses the Name

he must be put to death. (NET)

The witnesses had to verify their claim by laying their hands on

the head of the offender and then the whole camp had to

participate in the stoning. That would have made quite a pile of stones! No doubt, it also served as a memorial to remind the

nation of what happens to those who take the Name lightly!

Leviticus 24:17-22 “‘If a man beats any person to death, he must be put to death. One who beats an animal to

death must make restitution for it, life for life. If a man

inflicts an injury on his fellow citizen, just as he has done it must be done to him—fracture for fracture, eye for eye,

tooth for tooth—just as he inflicts an injury on another

person that same injury must be inflicted on him. One

who beats an animal to death must make restitution for it, but one who beats a person to death must be put to

death. There will be one regulation for you, whether a

foreigner or a native citizen, for I am the Lord your God.’” (NET)




Verses seventeen through twenty-two contain the famous, “eye

for eye, etc.” statements. They are perfect illustrations of “pure justice” unmodified by mercy or grace. Those who refuse Jesus’ atoning sacrifice will face God on the basis presented here! The

fourth chapter of Amos addresses those who continue in their

sinful ways and have rejected the salvation provided by The Lord. Verse 12 puts it this way:

“Therefore this is what I will do to you, Israel. Because I will do this to you,

prepare to meet your God, Israel!” (NET)

Leviticus 23, Then Moses spoke to the Israelites and they brought the one who cursed outside the camp and stoned

him with stones. So the Israelites did just as the Lord had

commanded Moses. New English Translation (NET)




Questions

on

Leviticus 24:1-23

1. Describe Daniel’s prayer ritual. __________________________

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2. What habitual ritual is ascribed to Jesus in Luke chapter four? _

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3. Who was to produce the oil for the lamps in the Tabernacle

and how was it to be done? ______________________________ _____________________________________________________

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4. In John’s vision of the New Jerusalem, who is the source of light? ________________________________________________




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5. What does the name “Gethsemane” mean? _______________ _____________________________________________________

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6. Approximately how much did each of the loaves on the golden table weigh? __________________________________________

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7. After they were in the “presence of the Lord” for seven days,

what became of these loaves? ____________________________

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8. What was placed on each loaf as it lay in the Tabernacle and

then was later burned? __________________________________




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9. What did the amount of fine flour correspond to in Israel’s experience? ___________________________________________

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10. How did Jesus apply this ritual to himself in John chapter six?

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11. In what ritual does the church follow the ritual in the

Tabernacle? ___________________________________________

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12. What did Jesus do to the Passover bread before he served it

to the disciples and how is that pictured in his passion? ________




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13. What determines how vivid and moving partaking of the Eucharist or Communion is in today’s setting? ________________

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14. What instructions had God given for the punishment of one

who misuses or takes the Name of the Lord in vain? __________

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15. How was this case further complicated? _________________

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16. What exceptions to God’s laws were to be made based on

gender or blood lines? ___________________________________




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17. What was the penalty for this person’s sin and how was it to be administered? _______________________________________

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18. How did the witnesses have to identify themselves and

confirm their testimony? _________________________________

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19. Who had to participate in the execution by stoning? ________

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20. What is lacking in a justice system that calls for an “eye for

an eye?” ______________________________________________




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21. If we reject Jesus’ atoning sacrifice, what will we face in the Judgment? ____________________________________________

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Regulations for the Lampstand and Table of Bread A Case of ...biblestudyworkshop.com/download/old/leviticus... · Commentary and Questions by Pat Andrews Landmark Publications, Inc.,