EXODUS
LESSON 16
Days 1 & 2: Note references below. This is a closer look at the concept of clean and unclean.
1.Leviticus 11 with Deuteronomy 14:1-21. These chapters are on food. As you read through it, notice the distinctions between clean and unclean and the examples given. Look at how a person is affected by this and how is it that they become unclean. Also make note of anything else you find especially interesting. Write down whatever you would like to share with the group. This should be easier to understand after our study last week.
2.Leviticus 12 & 15. These chapters give instruction on body fluids, menstrual flow, post-partum cleansing, etc. Anyone who has worked in hospitals over the past 20 years has certainly seen many changes as we have come to recognize the potential for disease transmission from body fluids, although that probably isn’t the only reason God gave these regulations. Read and share if you find something interesting.
3.Leviticus 13:1-4614:1-32. Regulations for diagnosing leprosy and instructions for the leper. Chapter 14 is for the lucky leper whose disease is healed. Again, read and note anything especially interesting.
Note: One thing interesting to notice is the concept of quarantine, it is included here. This is why, in verses 12-13, if the rash breaks out all over the body, the person is pronounced clean, by that time the rash is already white (and no longer contagious). Again, anyone who has worked in the public health fields can appreciate God’s wisdom in these regulations.
4. Leviticus 13:47-5914:33-57. Quite a fascinating look at how mildew was to be regarded. Read through this and note what you find.
Days 3 & 4: Standards of Conduct, note references below.
6.Leviticus 18. This covers sexual conduct. As Christians, we are probably naïve about the extent to which today’s society needs these rules. I almost hate to ask the question this way, but…Read and note anything you find of particular interest.
7.Leviticus 19. Some of these are things we have studied before. This chapter is a collection of various regulations. Please go ahead through the chapter, even though there are so many different things in it that it isn’t easy to summarize or organize them easily. Share anything that you find in all of this that was of particular interest.
8.Leviticus 20. Here is repeated much of chapter 18, and a little of chapter 19, with punishments for the different offenses. God takes these sins seriously. (Another clue would be how much of the book of Proverbs counsels againstadultery) What lessons can we learn from what we find in this chapter?
Day 5: Note references below
9.Numbers 5:11-31. This is probably the best place to include the test for an unfaithful wife, a most unusual process. It was to be taken very seriously, as you can see by the inclusion of holy water, from the laver, and dirt from the floor of the Holy Place. Please note that a result of these actions that is translated “thigh to rot” or “thigh to waste away” is also translated “barren and miscarrying womb” and “unable to conceive”. This is another look at how important the marital relationship is to God. It also can be a reminder as to how devastating marital infidelity can be. Is there something that you learned in this that you would be willing to share?
10.Leviticus 24:10-23. This was an on-the-spot lesson in blasphemy, with something for murder and assault included. What do you find?
11.Numbers 5:5-10. How far did God want the Israelites to go in restitution? What can we learn from this?
Day 6: Numbers 6:1-21
12.This describes the Nazarite vow. Many places in Scripture refer to someone taking this vow, including Samson and Paul the Apostle. Samson was a Nazarite for life, his parents were instructed before he was born to dedicate him this way, beginning with his mother being instructed to drink no wine or fermented drink before his conception. Many Biblical scholars believe John the Baptist was also a Nazarite. Read through these verses and share what you find.
© 2000 pjw