Notes

THE BIG IDEA

1. A. W. Tozer, The Tozer Topical Reader, vol. 1, compiled by Ron Eggert (Camp Hill, PA: Wingspread, 2009), 259.

A WORD FROM THE AUTHOR

1. A. W. Tozer, The Price of Neglect (Camp Hill, PA: Christian Publications, 1991), 24.

2. Leviticus 11:44–45; 19:2; 20:7, 26; 21:8; 1 Peter 1:15–16.

CHAPTER 1

1. Augustus H. Strong, Systematic Theology, 12th edition (Philadelphia: The Judson Press, 1949), 271.

2. There are three aspects of sanctification that should be noted: positional, practical, and perfect. Positional sanctification means that the believer is once-and-for-all set apart for God (1 Cor. 1:2; 6:9–11; Heb. 10:10). Practical sanctification is the process by which the believer daily becomes more like Christ (John 17:17; 2 Cor. 3:18; 7:1). Perfect sanctification will be our experience when we see Christ in glory (1 John 3:2). One of the “birthmarks” of a true believer is a hatred for sin and a desire to become more like Jesus Christ (1 John 2:29; 3:9; 5:4–5). We are saved to become holy in Christ (Eph. 1:4; 5:27; Col. 1:22).

CHAPTER 2

1. Hebrews 10:5–8 refers to all six of the Levitical sacrifices and states that they are fulfilled in Jesus Christ. “Sacrifice” (v. 5) refers to any animal sacrifice, which would include the peace (fellowship) offering, burnt offering, sin offering, and trespass (guilt) offering. “Offering” (v. 5) refers to the meal and drink offerings. The burnt offering and sin offering are specifically named in verses 6 and 8.

2. Even the poorest in the nation could bring a sacrifice to God. When Mary and Joseph dedicated the baby Jesus, they brought birds instead of animals (Luke 2:21–24; see Lev. 12:8; 2 Cor. 8:9).

3. The Hebrew word translated “lay in order” (vv. 7–8, 12) can be found in the prayer in Psalm 5:3 (“I lay my requests before you,” NIV). Like the sacrifices on the altar, our prayers should be orderly and “on fire” before God. Prayer is also compared to the burning of incense on the golden altar (141:2).

4. When Paul admonished Timothy to “stir up the gift of God” (2 Tim. 1:6), he used a Greek word that literally means “again—life—fire” and was saying “fan the fire into life again.” As God’s priests, believers today must keep the fire burning on the altar of their hearts and not become lukewarm (Rev. 3:15–16) or cold (Matt. 24:12).

5. In seventeenth-century England, when the KJV was translated, the word “meat” meant any kind of food, including grain, and so the translators called this “the meat offering,” even though no “meat” (animal flesh) was involved. It should be called the “grain offering,” “meal offering,” or “cereal offering.”

6. However, see Leviticus 5:11–13, where the meal offering could be presented by poor people unable to afford an animal, and God said He would forgive their sins. But keep in mind that since the meal was placed on the altar on which the daily burnt offering had been sacrificed (Ex. 29:38–42), there was “the shedding of blood.”

7. The “whole rump” mentioned in 3:9 and 7:3 refers to “the entire fat tail” of the sheep, which could weigh as much as fifteen pounds. It was considered one of the most valuable parts of the animal, and it was given entirely to the Lord.

8. The familiar adage, “Ignorance is no excuse in the sight of the law” is an adaptation of what the English jurist John Selden (1584–1654) wrote: “Ignorance of the law excuses no man; not that all men know the law, but because ’tis an excuse every man will plead, and no man can tell how to confute him.” If we define “sin” as “a violation of the known law of God,” then we’re saying that the dumber we are, the holier we should be, and this isn’t so. The Bible urges us to grow in knowledge that we might grow in grace (John 7:17; 2 Peter 3:18). Our exalted High Priest understands us and can help us in our ignorance (Heb. 5:2; 9:7).

9. The translation of Leviticus 5:6 in the KJV gives the impression that verses 1–13 are about the trespass offering, when actually they dealt with the sin offering. The trespass offering was a ram and not a female lamb or goat (vv. 16, 18; 6:6); the trespass offering included a fine, which is not mentioned here; and verses 5–9 and 11–12 clearly call this sacrifice a sin offering.

CHAPTER 3

1. The words mean “lights [or curses] and perfections,” and the general feeling among interpreters is that the Urim and Thummim were “holy lots” that were cast to determine the will of God (Num. 27:21; 1 Sam. 28:6; 30:7–8).

2. Disobedience put the priests in danger of death (see Ex. 28:35, 43; 30:20–21; Lev. 16:2; Num. 4:15, 19–20). With great privileges come great responsibilities.

3. C. H. Mackintosh, Notes on Leviticus (Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux, 1948), 175–76.

CHAPTER 4

1. See John Wesley’s Sermon 88 “On Dress.” The phrase “next to” means “immediately following.” When people become believers, their faith ought to make a difference in the way they care for themselves.

2. According to Romans 14—15 and 1 Corinthians 8—10, Paul discussed the matter of abusing this freedom and thus offending a Christian with a weak conscience who hasn’t yet grasped the meaning of freedom in Christ. We willingly lay aside our privileges, not to lose our freedom, but to help the weaker believer gain freedom. We don’t want to keep people “babies” who ought to grow, but we must minister to them in love. You can’t force maturity. Of course, it is foolish to eat any food that makes a person ill or that harms the believer’s body, which is the temple of the Spirit of God (1 Cor. 6:19–20).

3. For an interesting study of this topic by a Christian medical doctor, see chapter 8 of None of These Diseases by S. I. McMillen (Revell, revised edition, 1984). See also the New England Journal of Medicine for May 3, 1990 (vol. 322, no. 18), 1308–15.

4. R. K. Harrison, Leviticus, Tyndale Old Testament Commentary Series (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1980), 134.

CHAPTER 5

1. Anybody looking forward to the “company” in hell needs to learn who they are. “But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone” (Rev. 21:8 NKJV). “But outside [the heavenly city] are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie” (22:15 NKJV). Contrast that crowd with the company the children of God will have in heaven (Heb. 12:22–24).

2. The number seven shows up frequently in Jewish ceremonies. It symbolizes completeness and fullness. The number eight suggests a new beginning.

3. It’s worth noting that God doesn’t put the anointing oil on man’s flesh but on the blood. The Holy Spirit goes only where the blood has been applied.

4. The priest followed a similar ritual when he cleansed the house infected with mildew or fungus (Lev. 14:49–53).

5. It’s likely that this law also applied to a man’s uncleanness from a nocturnal emission (Lev. 22:4; Deut. 23:10–11). The mark of the covenant was on the male member, and God had every right to give laws concerning it.

6. The rabbis taught that verse 24 did not refer to a husband willfully forcing himself on his wife, but to the possibility of the wife’s period beginning while they were engaged in intercourse. They couldn’t believe that a Jewish man would deliberately defile himself and disobey God just for pleasure.

CHAPTER 6

1. Israel began her religious year with Passover (Ex. 12:1–2) and her civil year with the Feast of Trumpets (Lev. 23:23–25). Unlike our modern New Year’s Day, Rosh Hashanah for the Jews is a day of fasting, confession, worship, and prayer. We would do well to follow their example instead of the example of the world.

2. John R. W. Stott, The Cross of Christ (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1986), 159.

3. Tyndale used this first in his translation of the Pentateuch, “the goote on which the lotte fell to scape” (Lev. 16:10). Today, a scapegoat is a person who gets blamed for something he or she didn’t do, or who willingly takes the blame in order to spare somebody else.

CHAPTER 7

1. Believers today aren’t under the law of Moses (Rom. 6:14; 7:4; Gal. 2:19), but this doesn’t mean we’re allowed to be lawless. As we walk in the power of the Spirit, the righteousness demanded by the law is fulfilled in us (Rom. 8:1–4). The old nature knows no law, but the new nature needs no law. The law reveals the holiness of God, the awfulness of sin, and the great need we have for God’s grace if we are going to please Him.

2. See chapter 3 of The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross by Leon Morris (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1955).

3. Since God is the author of divine law, every disobedience is an offense against Him, even if committed against people or things (Ps. 51:4). However, some offenses are more directly related to our relationship with God, people, or things. The classification is merely a convenience, not a theological statement.

4. We sometimes hear people calling Sunday “the Christian Sabbath,” but there’s no warrant in Scripture for this term. The Sabbath is the seventh day and speaks of rest after works. Sunday is the Lord’s Day, the first day of the week, the day of resurrection, and speaks of rest before works. The Sabbath belongs to the old creation; the Lord’s Day to the new creation.

CHAPTER 8

1. Even though our Lord’s priesthood belongs to the order of Melchizedek and not the order of Aaron (Heb. 7—9), there’s still a sense in which Aaron and his sons delineate the ministry of the great High Priest who was to come. For this reason alone, they should want to be their best and do their best.

2. Aaron wasn’t permitted to mourn the deaths of Nadab and Abihu, probably because they died from a judgment from God (Lev. 10:1), and Ezekiel the prophet, who was also a priest, wasn’t allowed to lament the death of his wife (Ezek. 24:15–18). His behavior was a sign to the people, and it gave him an opportunity to preach.

3. See Ralph Turnbull’s classic book A Minister’s Obstacles (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1972), 9.

CHAPTER 9

1. The Spirit baptized Jewish believers into the church at Pentecost and Gentile believers in the home of Cornelius (Acts 10). Thus the imagery of the two loaves was fulfilled.

2. In calling Israel a “sinful people,” I don’t mean to imply that they’re more sinful than the Gentile nations or even the professing church. At the judgment seat of Christ, the Lord will deal with the spots and wrinkles of His church, and it will be a serious and solemn hour. But to whom much is given, much shall be required, and Israel has been a nation especially blessed of the Lord.

CHAPTER 10

1. Students disagree over how long the seven lamps on the lampstand burned. Was it day and night or just from sundown to dawn? Since the sun’s rays couldn’t shine through the tabernacle boards in the frame, the veil at the front, or the coverings of animal skins and fabric, the priests must have needed light in the Holy of Holies all day long. The high priest trimmed the wicks each morning and evening, checked the oil supply, and made sure the lamps would keep burning continuously (see Ex. 30:7–8).

2. Timothy had a believing Jewish mother and an unbelieving Greek father, and he turned out well (Acts 16:1–2; 2 Tim. 1:5). Thus a mixed marriage, while not biblical (2 Cor. 6:14–18), need not automatically condemn the children to failure. However, both Timothy’s mother and grandmother taught him the Scriptures from his childhood, and this helped make a difference. Again, we aren’t told where Timothy’s father was. Perhaps he was dead or had deserted the family and therefore had no influence on his son.

3. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus dealt with blasphemy and revenge (Matt. 5:33–48), thus paralleling the topics in Leviticus 24:10–24. Perhaps both Moses and our Lord are saying, “If you have the fear of God in your heart, you won’t try to retaliate when people mistreat you.” Romans 13:1–7 is God’s statement on the place of human government in society, and 12:14–21 is God’s admonition to His people concerning personal insults and attacks.

4. Opponents of capital punishment like to quote statistics to prove that executions are not a deterrent to crime. But using statistics either to defend or oppose capital punishment is a lost cause because there’s no possible way to set up a “control” situation to test the statistics. The size and composition of the population of a state or city, plus the local laws and how they are enforced, have considerable bearing on the matter. Even the American humanist lawyer Clarence Darrow, an enemy of capital punishment, had to admit, “It is a question that cannot be proven one way or the other by statistics.” During his career, Darrow defended one hundred accused murderers, and not one was executed. See Lend Me Your Ears: Great Speeches in History, selected by William Safire (New York: W.W. Norton, 1992), 327–35.

CHAPTER 11

1. Keep in mind that the Jewish religious year began in April with Passover (Ex. 12:2); their civil year began with the Feast of Trumpets seven months later.

2. The NIV margin reads “take excessive interest,” which is what happened in the time of Nehemiah (Neh. 5). However, the rabbis interpreted this law to mean interest-free loans.

3. Alexander Maclaren, The Expositor’s Bible, vol. VI (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1940), 301.

CHAPTER 12

1. Harris, Archer, and Waltke, eds. Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, vol. 2 (Chicago: Moody Press, 1980), 814.

CHAPTER 13

1. Carl F. H. Henry, Notes on the Doctrine of God (Boston: W.A. Wilde, 1948), 110.