Week 7 - Exodus 32-Leviticus 10

This week we see the Israelites engage in worshiping false God’s and starting to show their impatience waiting for God to speak. And then we continue into Leviticus…..which is no easy book to read!

Exodus 32-34

After Moses was 40 days and nights on the mountain of God the people grew

restless, and Aaron cast a golden calf for them to worship. God is very angry

with the people, and Moses intercedes with Him, so that He might not destroy

them all. God is angry with the people, but pleased with Moses, and Moses asks

God to show him His glory (He wanted to see God).

God hides Moses in a cave, or notch in the rock, and lets a remnant of His

glory pass before him. He then declares His own Name (Yahweh), and provides

definition for the meaning of His Name.

Exodus 34:6-7 NAS95 - Then the LORD passed by in front of him and proclaimed,

"The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and

abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands,

who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the

guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the

grandchildren to the third and fourth generations."

This describes the very nature of God!

After another 40 days and nights Moses goes down from the mountain, and

he is glowing so brightly that he has to cover his face in front of the people.

Exodus 35-36

Moses recounted to the people all that God had instructed on the mountain,

and then many brought gifts for the building of the Tabernacle and its furnishings.

Skilled workers were chosen to build the Tabernacle according to the plan God

gave Moses, and all the furnishings and utensils for it.

Exodus 37-38

Bezalel undertakes the construction and building of all that God had shown

Moses on the mountain - the ark of the covenant and all of the gold furnishings

and implements within the tabernacle. He then makes all of the bronze

implements that stand outside the tabernacle, and then the outer walls of the

court, and the walls of the tabernacle itself.

Exodus 39-40

Then the vestments of the High Priest are made. When all that God ordained

had been constructed and placed in accordance with the Lord’s instructions,

everything was dedicated to God (as also instructed). With the dedication of the

tabernacle, and Aaron and his sons, exactly one year after leaving Egypt, the

presence of the Lord descended upon the tabernacle, and the cloud of His glory

could be seen among them for the next 39+ years.

Leviticus 1-5:13

The book of Leviticus is largely one of instruction from God for the priests,

which sequentially followed the giving of God’s laws. In these first chapters God

provides instructions for the handling of various sacrifices, and what are

appropriate sacrifices in different cases.

In Exodus 4:25 the wife of Moses called him a “husband of blood” after God

confronted Moses, and the blood of their son’s circumcision appeased the Lord.

She might have said “you and your bloody religion!”, which we will see repeated

and repeated throughout this book of Leviticus with blood sacrifices. All of this is

confirmed by the writer of Hebrews, who pointed that in Hebrews 9:22 that

without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins.

Everything in this book will point to Jesus in various ways. It was also

designed by God to make obvious to the Jews that such sacrifices were not

sufficient to remove sin, since such sinning continued to happen, and more

sacrifices were needed year after year after year.

A greater sacrifice was needed in order to remove sin, which would only

happen with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, Who would only die

once, and thus remove the need for further blood sacrifices to temporarily cover

the sins of people.

Leviticus 5:14-7

There are sacrifices described for those who commit inadvertent sins,

however throughout the book there is no sacrifice that is prescribed for

intentional sin, which only results in consequences and punishment.

Of the animal sacrifices, the blood is poured out completely, and all of the

entrails and fat are burned before the Lord, but the edible flesh is given to the

priest who performs the sacrifice. Non-animal sacrifices (grain offerings) are

given to the priest after a sample is presented to the Lord and burned.

Leviticus 8-10

Moses oversees the anointing and ordination of Aaron and his sons as the

Lord had commanded, and after installation as Israel’s first High Priest Aaron

offers the required sacrifices for himself, and then all the people.

Nadab and Abihu, two of Aaron’s sons who had just been anointed,

presumptuously burned incense before God with fire that did not come from

God’s alter of sacrifice, and they were immediately judged and killed for their

offense. Moses tells Aaron and his two remaining sons to continue in their newly

appointed responsibilities, or they might also suffer God’s judgement. Moses

warns Aaron of what God required, saying “by those who come near Me I will be

treated as Holy”.

James warns in chapter 3 of his epistle that those who seek to teach God’s

Word, and represent God before the people, will face a stricter judgement.