Leviticus 23:15-22
“Giving from an abundant heart”
August 30, 2009
Aim: Have members!
1A Introduction:
1B Most people live defeated lives and cannot even imagine being able to be so free as to
just give freely and with great joy!
2B 2Cor. 8:1-5
3B Are you enjoying God’s blessings on your life? Why not? Do you find yourself really
wanting to give or is it a matter of pressure and duty? Perhaps you simply do not
understand what God has given you and how you are to respond?
From Lev. 23:15-22
Message: God’s people are to live enjoying and giving out of God’s blessings
on their lives!
2A
Giving from what we enjoy from God 15-17
Vs 15Seven complete Sabbaths may signify a complete harvest, that is, all that is needed.
Vs 16the Israelites were to bring a fresh grain offering, which demonstrated dedication to
God, Lev. 2. This also demonstrated faith in God’s provision and protection as they had
to journey to the center of worship again, Bethel at first then Jerusalem.
The offering of the first fruit also required the offering signifying full dedication to
the Lord; offering of the grain (meal) offering.
Vs 15 This verse basically review what was outlined in chapter 2.
Dedication to the LORD
Purity and the best is required of gifts given to the LORD
Gifts to God are to be out of gratitude
Giving was to remind everyone of God’s goodness
Maintaining God’s ministry system, e.g. the priests.
Vs 16 Continues the review of the priest eating what is left after the memorial
portion goes up in smoke and must be unleavened, i.e. free of corruption, pure. The
priests are provided for from the gifts given by the worshippers.
Then there was the “libation” which accompanied the grain offering, (“consisting of
about two pints of unmixed wine, was poured on the grain offering as a symbol of
joy.” Ryrie Study Bible, note on Lev. 23:10-14).
Vs 17Now, the offering was to come from their “dwelling place,” not the field. Bread which
came from what they had harvested and they enjoyed; leavened bread.
Leavened? Simply looking forward to the makeup of the church? i.e. made up of
sinners?
Just simply what the people were enjoying, what the harvest produced?
“The wave offering was placed in the offerer’s hands, and then the priest placed his hands
beneath those of the offerer, moving them upward and downward, forward and backward
thereby symbolizing the consecration of the gift of God in the sight of all.” (Ross, p. 192).
This was not a show to focus on the offerer but an expression of worship that was included the
building and encouraging others to also worship the Lord.
Note: God wants us to enjoy together with Him, what He has provided!
3A Never forgetting the basis and proper attitude 18-21
Vs 18The regular burnt offering was augmented, amplified by seven one year old male labs
without defect besides the regular bull from the herd. At the very least this signified a
full and complete acknowledgment and reminder of God provisions for acceptance.
Review on Burnt Offering, from chap. 1
The burnt offering was offered at the observance of first fruits.
Cf. 1:4; Vs 4 The sacrifice was clearly a substitution, that is, the animal was taking
the place of the offerer, “to make atonement on his behalf.” By placing his hands on
the sacrifice, there is little doubt that the offerer not only knew the animal was a
substitute for him but that the offerer’s sins were being transferred over to the
sacrifice, i.e. imputation of sin.
Vs 5 The offerer had to slay the bull. The offerer probably killed the animal by
slitting the throat so as to collect the blood. It was a violent taking of the life of the
innocent animal. The blood represented the life of the animal and thus sacred to the
Lord. So it took blood to make atonement –to cover over or satisfy the righteous
wrath of God by the burnt offering.
The altar was the place of burning, the place of fire which represented the judgment /
wrath of God.
At bottom, this shows that God required blood, a life to make atonement. So the
blood figuratively cried out that a satisfying price had been extracted.
But it was also the place where man finds mercy and acceptance from God!
The burnt offering was to be accompanied by its own, customary grain offering and libation.
So this was a second grain offering, offered at the feasts of weeks (Pentecost).
Vs 19Then also, both the sin and peace offerings were to be offered at the great feast of
weeks, Pentecost!
Review of The sin (purification) offering from chap 4:
4:4 “to the door way,” the priest could not enter the presence of the Lord without a
sacrifice.
Vs 5 The priest could enter the tent of meeting, but only with blood!
Vs 6 The veil had been contaminated; defiled and had to be decontaminated! So the
unintended sins of the anointed priest defiled the veil, covering the presence of
the LORD.
The priest sprinkled the blood seven times, signifying a complete, perfect
purification.
Vs 7 Sig. of “horns of the altar of fragrant incense.” The horns represent strength and
power, cf. 1Sam. 2:2 and 10, and the altar of fragrant incense was the place of
prayer. This is where prayers of the priests were offered. So, this dubbing of the
blood signified the purification of this place of prayer and thus re-strengthening
of the weakened prayer power of the priest!
Review of the peace offering from Chap. 3.
This “offering,” or “sacrifice” “refers to an ancient type of sacrifice whose essential rite
was the eating of the meat of the offering at a feast.” (Ross, p. 114).
The “peace” is related to shalom, wholeness, health, prosperity, well-being and peace
with God.
Vs 2 Even to celebrate, it took blood, the life an animal!
The worshiper would place one hand on the animal, signifying at least identification
with the animal, i.e. a symbolic “food,” given to the Lord. Cf. vss. 11 and 16.
Vs 3 The fat represented the best, e.g. “eating the fat of the land.”
Vs 4 The Hebrews were very literal, concrete people. The heart, the kidneys, entrails
represented the very soul, the persons essence, the mind, feelings, will etc.
Vs 20 concerning the waving of the offering, Vs 30
“His own hands…” remember, the worshipper
had slain and probably cut up the animal (cf. 3:2) and now was to bring the parts to the priests.
Vs 1
Vs 21 This was to be another national festival, a holy gathering, convocation. No work was to be
done! This festival was to be observed yearly on an ongoing basis.
All of this expressed the gratitude and celebration of the worshippers that all was well because
of God’s great provision for them.
Worship Sequence in Lev.9:
Obedience  Soul Integrity  Basis; God’s blood provision  Devotion  Celebration
Obedience,
there was the call to come before God and the people are to obey that call. As the
people obey the call, God will draw near them.
Soul Integrity, in order to have integrity of heart the worshippers had to acknowledge their need for
cleansing and offer the sin offering, which includes confession.
Basis; God’s blood provision,
next came the burnt offering the purpose of which was to find acceptance before God on
the basis of sacrificial blood.
Devotion, next came the grain offering which represented the worshippers’ total devotion as the
worshippers gave their best to Lord.
Celebration, next came the peace offering which demonstrated the joy of being at peace with the
Lord.
4A Giving to spread God’s goodness 22
Vs 22 But gratitude ushers into generosity! And so, the Lord commanded the people to leave the
corners and gleanings (leftovers) in the fields for the needy and foreigners.
They had been slaves in Egypt, not they were free, fully provided for and giving to the needy
and aliens!
5A
1B
2B
3B
Some Applications
The Gospel, 23:18, never, never forget the basis of our well-being!!
Make note of the blessings we are enjoying from God and have God be a part of our
lives we are really enjoying!
Count your blessing!! Dt. 8:11-17!
Let us live as the first fruits that we are as believers in Jesus Christ, God’s work!
‘Wave” 4 times in this passage.
From James 1:17-18
Vs 17 Every good, (useful, beneficial) gift and every perfect (complete, lacking
nothing) gift comes from God. All and only good comes from Him. That is, from the
Father of illumination, revelation, life. And, there is absolutely nothing questionable or
uncertainty about Him.
“Man’s greatest strength in the hour of temptation is to look upward for the satisfaction
of his heart, undeceived by sin to reject it as neither good nor perfect, and to wait upon
God, Cf. Moses, Heb. 11:24-26. (Hodges, unpublished not, Fall 1985, p. 12).
Vs 18 Word of truth, e.g. the Gospel, cf. Col. 1:5.
The first – fruits points to the guarantee of the maintenance of humanity, (Ibid).
tina tw'n aujtou' ktismavtwn Partitive Genitive, “which is a part of” (Wallace, p. 8485), e.g. we that are presently being bread are part of the whole body of believers.
Note the birth of the Church at Pentecost, Acts 2:1-13.
Note: on the entire book of Lev., the Hebrews were to be a witness to the rest of the world as
being a peculiar, people holy people. But there worship, while incorporating similar
worship elements of the surrounding culture, were not to concentrate on pleasing the
various ethnic groups but concentrated on obeying and representing the character of
God in there worship that included all of life.
Tags: gratitude, blessings, giving, offerings, Pentecost
Abstract:
God had redeemed Israel out of Egypt, slavery and had blessed them
abundantly. Now they were to demonstrate their deep gratitude and be generous.
Indeed, God’s people are to live enjoying and giving out of God’s blessings on their
lives! And, this is to be the character and attitude of the church which was given birth
on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2 of the New Testament!