Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Prayer Meeting Lesson Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/pm/pm20080618.htm

THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION
Leviticus: Fellowship With A Holy God
Part III: Acceptable Living Before A Holy God, Leviticus 11:1-27:34
N. Relying Upon The Perpetual Provisions Of God's Guidance And Supply
(Leviticus 24:1-9)
  1. Introduction
    1. We believers often appreciate hearing the testimonies of elderly people of God who have walked by faith for many decades as they tell us of the great faithfulness of God's guidance and provisions in their behalf.
    2. In line with this emphasis, God revealed in Leviticus 24:1-9 in view of its wider context how important it was for the believer to rely on His provisions of spiritual guidance and provision, and that in a perpetual basis in every generation and for every need (as follows):
  2. Relying Upon The Perpetual Provisions Of God's Guidance And Supply, Leviticus 24:1-9.
    1. At first glance, the Leviticus 24:1-9 instruction on the oil for the tabernacle's lampstand and the shewbread for the table of shewbread seems to be out of place: it does not appear with the rest of the information on the tabernacle furnishings in Exodus 25-31, but exists between instructions on Israel feasts in Leviticus 23:1-44 and an unusual event regarding a sinful deed by a member of Israel's "mixed multitude" in Leviticus 24:10-23 followed by instructions regarding the sabbatical year rest in Leviticus 25:1-7 and the year of Jubilee in Leviticus 25:8-55. (J. Vernon McGee, Thru The Bible, vol. I, p. 433)
    2. However, a close look at this context reveals the great value for this positioning of Leviticus 24:1-9:
      1. We have learned that Leviticus 23:1-44 just before this Leviticus 24:1-9 instruction addressed Israel's weekly and annual feasts to predict her history relative to Creation, Christ's redemption, the Church and the establishment of the messianic kingdom. It predicted major events in God's dealings in history.
      2. Then, Leviticus 25:1-7 on the Sabbatical year rests (every seventh year) and the year of Jubilee ( every fiftieth year) described in Leviticus 25:8-55 deal with large blocks of time that occur in one generation.
      3. Finally, the Leviticus 24:10-23 event about a blasphemy by a member of the "mixed" multitude, a man whose mother was of the tribe of Dan but whose father was an Egyptian (Lev. 24:10), illustrates an event where God's people needed to lock the wrongdoer up until they had gained insight from the Lord through Moses on how to punish such a party, cf. Leviticus 24:10-12. They knew a Jew was to be executed, but not whether the Law of blasphemy applied to one who was only part-Hebrew!
      4. Thus, Leviticus 24:1-9's word on the lampstand oil and the shewbread for the table of shewbread revealed Israel's NEED to DEPEND on GOD'S PERPETUAL PROVISIONS for GUIDANCE and the SUPPLY of NEEDS THROUGHOUT her HISTORY for ALL PRACTICAL issues!
    3. Accordingly, we note the symbolic details of that Leviticus 24:1-9 instruction as follows:
      1. The people were required to provide the purest form of olive oil, beaten olive oil, for the perpetual use of the tabernacle lampstand, that it always give the highest quality of light, Leviticus 24:1-2.
      2. Every evening and morning, this oil was to service the lamps that they might always be lit, Lev. 24:3-4. This signified the need for Israel constantly to depend upon the Lord's Word for perfect insight into all practical questions that arose throughout her history relative to spiritual matters.
      3. Regarding the shewbread, the flour for this bread was to be provided by the people of God so that fresh loaves could be made every week throughout Israel's history, each loaf representing the provisional needs for a particular tribe in Israel, Lev iticus 24:5-6, 8. Pure frankincense was to be put beside the loaves presumably in separate containers to signify worship to the Lord in line with His provisions of the practical livelihood needs of His people in history, Lev iticus 24:7.
      4. The priests were to eat the older loaves at the end of their assignment to the table, signifying the regular provision of God for the livelihood needs of His people, Leviticus 24:9.
Lesson: Leviticus 24:1-9 in its wider context reveals that, throughout history, and in each generation, God's people were CONSTANTLY to seek the spiritual guidance of God's Word and to look to Him in faith for His provisions for all of their earthly practical needs.

Application: May we DEPEND on the guidance of the Holy Spirit through the written Word of God, and trust God for all livelihood needs at ALL times in EVERY generation in ALL that we face!