Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• Title
  The Hebrews derived the title of this book from the first word in it, wayyiqra', translated "And He [the Lord] called"(1:1). "And"or "then"is a conjunction that shows that what follows in Leviticus is a continuation of the na...
• Outline
  "At first sight the book of Leviticus might appear to be a haphazard, even repetitious arrangement of enactments involving the future life in Canaan of the Israelite people. Closer examination will reveal, however, that quite...
• I. The public worship of the Israelites chs. 1--16
  Leviticus continues revelation concerning the second of three elements necessary for any nation to exist, namely, a people (Gen. 12:10--Exod. 19), their law (Exod. 20--Num. 10:10), and their land (Num. 10:11--Josh. 24).Leviti...
• 4. The sin offering 4:1-5:13
  Keil and Delitzsch pointed out that ancient Near Easterners offered certain offerings before God incorporated these into the Mosaic Law. Moses previously mentioned burnt offerings in Genesis 12:7; 13:4, 18; 22; 26:25; 33:20; ...
• 5. The trespass offering 5:14-6:7
  The structure of 4:1-6:7 indicates that this offering has a close relationship to the sin offering. This offering removed the guilt of certain sins that involved trespassing against God. Trespassing means going beyond the lim...
• D. The Day of Atonement ch. 16
  The sacrifices and offerings that Moses described thus far in the law were not sufficient to cleanse all the defilement that the sins of the people created. Much sinfulness still needed covering. Therefore God appointed a yea...
• II. The private worship of the Israelites chs. 17--27
  The second major division of Leviticus deals with how the Israelites were to express their worship of Yahweh in their private lives."The first sixteen chapters of Leviticus are concerned primarily with establishment and maint...
• 1. Holiness of food ch. 17
  We move from public regulations in chapter 16 to intimate regulations in chapter 18 with chapter 17 providing the transition. In contrast to the first sixteen chapters, chapter 17 says very little about the role of the priest...
• 2. Holiness of the marriage relationship ch. 18
  Emphasis shifts in this chapter from ceremonial defilement (ch. 17) to moral impurity. The Lord wanted His people to be holy in their behavior and character as well as in less important ritual observances (cf. Matt. 23:28; Ro...
• B. Holiness of the priests, gifts, and sacrifices chs. 21-22
  All the people were to maintain holiness before God, but the priests had higher standards because of their privileges in relationship to God. Moses explained these higher regulations in this section of two chapters."The thrus...
• Things that profane a priest 22:1-9
  A selection of seven laws appears between a brief introduction (vv. 1-2) and a conclusion (v. 9). The priests could, of course, become defiled like any other Israelites, but no priest who had become ceremonially unclean was t...
• Persons who could not eat the sacred offerings 22:10-16
  Another list of seven laws guarded the offerings. No non-priest could eat the sacrifices the priests ate except those who had become members of the priests' households. The principle appears at the beginning and at the end of...
• The time intervals of sacrifices 22:26-33
  Seven additional laws specified the time periods that governed the offering of some sacrifices. The Israelites were not to offer oxen, sheep, and goats as sacrifices before these animals were eight days old (v. 27). It took t...
• C. Sanctification of the Sabbath and the feasts of Yahweh ch. 23
  God considered the Israelites (chs. 17-20), the priests, the holy gifts, and the sacrifices (chs. 21-22) as set apart to Him as holy. He regarded certain days and times of the year in the same way (ch. 23). This chapter conta...
• Conclusion
  Genesis reveals how people can have a relationship with God. This comes through trust in God and obedience to Him. Faith is the key word in Genesis. God proves Himself faithful in this book.Exodus reveals that God is also sov...
• Yahweh's remembrance of Israel's past 2:1-3
  2:1-2a The Lord spoke to Jeremiah and instructed him to proclaim a message to the people of Jerusalem, a message from Yahweh.2:2b The Lord recalled how His people used to love (Heb. hesed) Him devotedly when they were followi...
• Obedience as opposed to mere sacrifice 7:21-28
  This seems to be a new message from the Lord. It is a good example of prophetic indictments of Israel's sacrificial institutions (cf. 6:20; 1 Sam. 15:22; Ps. 51:16-17; Isa. 1:4-15; Hos. 6:6; Amos 5:21-24; Mic. 6:6-8).7:21 Yah...
• The food 4:9-17
  This second dramatization took place while Ezekiel was acting out the first 390 days of the siege of Jerusalem with the brick and the plate (vv. 1-8). Whereas the main drama pictured the siege as a judgment from God, this asp...
• The Zadokite priests 44:15-31
  44:15-16 The Levites from Zadok's branch of the priestly family, however, would have special privileges since Zadok and his sons had served the Lord faithfully in the past (cf. 40:46; 1 Sam. 2:35; 2 Sam. 8:17; 15:24-29; 1 Kin...
• Religious hypocrisy 4:4-5
  4:4 Ironically the Lord told these sinful Israelites to go to Bethel but to transgress, not to worship. Such a call parodied the summons of Israel's priests to come to the sanctuary to worship (cf. Ps. 95:6; 96:8-9; 100:2-4)....
• III. A promise of future blessing for the people 2:10-19
  2:10 Another prophecy came from the Lord on the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month of 520 B.C. (Kislev 24, December 18). During the two months between this prophecy and the former one (vv. 1-9), Zechariah began his ministry...
• 1. Disrespectful service 1:6-7
  1:6 This second oracle begins like the first one, with a statement by Yahweh and a challenging response (cf. Isa. 1:2-3). The first oracle appealed to the Israelites generally, but this one is addressed to the priests. The pr...
• 2. Disqualified sacrifices 1:8-10
  1:8 Furthermore the priests were offering blind, lame, and sick animals as sacrifices. These were unacceptable according to the Law (Lev. 22:18-25; Deut. 15:21). The Lord asked them if this was not evil. Of course it was. The...
• The importance of keeping the faith 2:26-27
  2:26 The "these things"in view probably refer to what John had just written (vv. 18-25)."The author concludes his attack on the false teachers with a warning and a word of encouragement for his followers."992:27 The "anointin...