Leviticus 24:1-23

Leviticus

*Worship the *LORD in the Beauty of *Holiness

Leviticus

Gordon Churchyard

This commentary has been through Advanced Checking.

Words in boxes are from the Bible, except for the words in brackets (…).

Chapter 24

Rules about God’s table and *blasphemy

v1 The *LORD said (this) to Moses.

v2 ‘Tell (this) to the *Israelites. “You must bring pure *oil for the lamps (in God’s house). You must press the fruit called olives to make the *oil. Then the lamps will burn all the time (and they will not go out).

v3 Aaron must look after (the lamps) from evening until (the next morning). He must do it in front of the *LORD all the time. (These are the lamps) in the *meeting tent. They are outside the curtain which is in the *meeting tent. This is a rule for all your *descendants.

v4 Aaron must look after the lamps which are on a pure gold *lampholder. They must burn in front of the *LORD at all times.

v5 You must use the best flour and you must bake 12 loaves with it. You must use 4½ litres (of flour) for each loaf.

v6 You must put (the loaves) in two rows. (There must be) 6 in each row. (You must put them) on the table of pure gold in front of the *LORD.

v7 In each row, you must put pure *frankincense. It is (your) gift by fire to the *LORD. The *frankincense, which you burn, is a reminder of the bread.

v8 Every *Sabbath Day, (the priest) must always arrange it in front of the *LORD. It is from the *Israelites. It is an agreement that will never end.

v9 (These loaves) belong to Aaron and to his sons. They must eat them in a holy place, because they are most holy. It is their part of the *offerings that people give to the *LORD by fire. This is a rule that must continue for all time.” ’

v10 Now, there was a man whose mother was an *Israelite woman. His father was an *Egyptian. This (woman’s son) came (into the camp) of the *Israelites. Then the *Israelite woman’s son and (another) *Israelite began to quarrel in the camp.

v11 Then the son of the *Israelite woman said something bad against (the *LORD’s) name. It was a *blasphemy. They brought the man to Moses. This man’s mother was called Shelomith. She was the daughter of Dibri. She came from the *tribe called Dan.

v12 The (*Israelites) locked the man in a prison. They did not know what the *LORD wanted them to do with the man.

v13 Then the *LORD said (this) to Moses.

v14 ‘Take the man who said the *blasphemy outside the camp. Everybody who heard him must put their hands onto his head. After this, all the people must throw stones at him (until he dies).

v15 Say this to the *Israelites. “Whoever says bad things against his God is responsible for his *sin.

v16 You must kill anybody who says bad things against the name of the *LORD. All the people must throw stones at him (until he is dead). Anyone, whether he is a foreigner or an (*Israelite), must die. This is if he says bad things against the name (of the *LORD).

v17 Anyone may perhaps hit and kill someone (on purpose). The people must kill that person.

v18 Someone may hit an animal and kill it. He must give a life for a life. He must replace it.

v19 Someone may cause an injury to another person. You must do to that man what he did to the other person.

v20 It will be damage for damage, and eye for eye, and tooth for tooth. As he did to the other person, (you must) do to him.

v21 Anyone who kills (someone else’s) animal must replace it. Anyone who kills a person must die.

v22 You must have the same law for foreigners and for (*Israelites). This is because I am the *LORD your God.” ’

v23 So Moses spoke to the *Israelites. Then they took away the man who had spoken *blasphemy. They threw stones at him outside the camp (until he was dead). So the *Israelites did what the *LORD had ordered Moses to do.

Notes

Verses 2-4 The *lampholder, which held the lamps in God’s house, had 7 branches. This means that there were 7 lamps on it. The *oil is from a plant called the olive. People would burn it to provide light. These rules are also in Exodus 27:20-21. They pressed the *oil with their hands. This means that it was very pure. It did not make much smoke.

Verses 5-9 Exodus 25:30 refers to the special bread. Only the priests could eat this special bread, Matthew 12:4. We call it the ‘show bread’ because it ‘shows’ various things.

• It ‘shows’ that there were 12 *tribes (or large families) in *Israel. So it showed that God was with his people.

• The *frankincense reminded (or ‘showed’) people what God had done for them. *Frankincense is a sticky material that people get from trees. It has a sweet smell.

• They made the bread from the best flour. People must do everything as well as they can for God.

The priests put the bread on the table each *Sabbath Day. The *Sabbath Day was the 7^th day of the week.

Verses 10-12 The word ‘*blasphemy’ means ‘a bad thing that someone says against God’. The *Israelites locked the man in a prison. Then they waited for the *LORD to say what to do with the man.

Verses 13-16 and 23 The *LORD said that the man must die. The people must take him outside the camp and they must kill him there. This meant that the camp itself remained *clean. So this is what the people did.

Verses 17-22 The law here means this. If someone does damage, he must undo the damage as far as possible. If a man kills another man on purpose, the killer must die. God did not allow a murderer to pay money in order to save his life (Numbers 35:31). But for other types of damage, the person who caused the damage must pay. So if a man kills an animal, he must give another animal to the owner.

Verse 20 contains a very important and well-known law. It is called ‘an eye for an eye’. When a person causes damage to someone else, he is responsible for it. So that person’s punishment must have a proper relationship to the damage that he caused.

Some Bible students think that the person responsible must suffer the same damage. For example, if the person damages someone else’s eye, his own eye must suffer damage. But *Jewish Bible students do not agree. They say that there is no record of any such punishment ever in *Jewish history. Numbers 35:31 shows that people paid money as a punishment (but not for murder). So ‘an eye for an eye’ really means this: There is a more severe punishment if the damage is worse. The punishment is less severe if the damage is minor. And the judge must deal with everyone alike, whether they are important or not.

Jesus referred to this law in Matthew 5:38-42. He explained it and he emphasised it. The purpose of the original law was to put a limit on the person’s punishment. But Jesus said that God’s people should not show cruelty, but kindness. They should want to forgive other people. And they should not even want all that they have a legal right to claim. Jesus said words that mean this: ‘You must not even fight back.’

Something to do

1. Read about Samuel in 1 Samuel 3:1-21. Notice verse 3, where the *LORD’s lamp is still burning. This house of God was in Shiloh, not in Jerusalem. The *LORD had several houses before the *Israelites built his house in Jerusalem.

2. Study these verses. Christians should be like a light at all times: Matthew 5:16; Ephesians 5:8; Philippians 2:15.

3. Read about the occasion when David and his soldiers ate the ‘show bread’, in 1 Samuel 21:1-7 and Mark 2:25-26.

worship ~ to praise someone (usually God). You tell him that you believe him to be very, very great. Also, you love him and you will obey him.
LORD ~ a special name for God. In the Hebrew Bible it translates YHWH. YHWH probably means ‘he is always alive’. So the word LORD (which means ‘master’) is not a proper translation.

Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke.

Jews ~ another word for the Israelites.

Israelites ~ the LORD’s people whom Moses led out of Egypt. Afterwards, they lived in the countries called Judah and Israel.

Judah ~ the name of the southern part of the country where the Jews went to live.

Israel ~ the name of the country where the Jews went to live, especially the northern part of that country.
holiness ~ the quality of somebody who is holy, or very, very good.

holy ~ very, very good; only God is really holy. Or, a description of something that belongs to God.
blasphemy ~ bad words that a person says against God; an insult against God.
Israelites ~ the LORD’s people whom Moses led out of Egypt. Afterwards, they lived in the countries called Judah and Israel.

LORD ~ a special name for God. In the Hebrew Bible it translates YHWH. YHWH probably means ‘he is always alive’. So the word LORD (which means ‘master’) is not a proper translation.

Judah ~ the name of the southern part of the country where the Jews went to live.

Israel ~ the name of the country where the Jews went to live, especially the northern part of that country.

Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke.

Jews ~ another word for the Israelites.
oil ~ a type of oil that comes from an oily fruit called the olive. People used this oil in their food and they burnt it in lamps.'meeting tent ~ the special tent where God met with Moses. The priests could enter it to worship; they burnt sacrifices on the altar in front of it.

worship ~ to praise someone (usually God). You tell him that you believe him to be very, very great. Also, you love him and you will obey him.

sacrifice ~ something that people burned on an altar for God; or to burn on an altar for God. People also gave sacrifices to false gods.

altar ~ a special table where the priests burned incense, grain and animals.

incense ~ a material that gives a good smell when people burn it.
descendant ~ members of your family who live after you live.
lampholder ~ an object that holds a lamp.
frankincense ~ a sticky material that has a sweet smell; people get it from trees. They use it as incense.

incense ~ a material that gives a good smell when people burn it.
offering ~ gift.
Egyptians ~ people who come from Egypt; Egypt is a country in north Africa.
tribe ~ a very large family.
sin ~ to do wrong things; not to obey God’s rules. Or, the things we do when we sin. Evil thoughts, words and deeds are all sin, whether we do them on purpose or not.
Israel ~ the name of the country where the Jews went to live, especially the northern part of that country.

Jews ~ another word for the Israelites.

Israelites ~ the LORD’s people whom Moses led out of Egypt. Afterwards, they lived in the countries called Judah and Israel.

LORD ~ a special name for God. In the Hebrew Bible it translates YHWH. YHWH probably means ‘he is always alive’. So the word LORD (which means ‘master’) is not a proper translation.

Judah ~ the name of the southern part of the country where the Jews went to live.

Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke.
frankincense ~ a sticky material that has a sweet smell; people get it from trees. They use it as incense.

incense ~ a material that gives a good smell when people burn it.
clean ~ suitable for God or for God’s people. A clean person could go to God’s house to worship him.

worship ~ to praise someone (usually God). You tell him that you believe him to be very, very great. Also, you love him and you will obey him.
Jewish ~ a word that describes Jews and what they do.

Jews ~ another word for the Israelites.

Israelites ~ the LORD’s people whom Moses led out of Egypt. Afterwards, they lived in the countries called Judah and Israel.

LORD ~ a special name for God. In the Hebrew Bible it translates YHWH. YHWH probably means ‘he is always alive’. So the word LORD (which means ‘master’) is not a proper translation.

Judah ~ the name of the southern part of the country where the Jews went to live.

Israel ~ the name of the country where the Jews went to live, especially the northern part of that country.

Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke.