[Note of Correction: In the Word Definitions section of this lesson, paragraph 5, beginning with Leviticus 20:7-8, the definition for “holy” begins with, “separate from human infirmity….” This part of the phrase should not have been worded this way. I certainly did not mean to confuse anyone. Being holy does not mean you are set apart from the weaknesses and infirmities of humanity. It does mean being morally set apart from sin. I’ve tried to find the dictionary, concordance or commentary where I gathered this definition, and I’m unable to trace it. Please explain this to your class. –Sis. Angela Gellenbeck]
Leviticus 20:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Again, thou shalt say to the children of Israel, Whosoever he be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that giveth any of his seed unto Molech; he shall surely be put to death: the people of the land shall stone him with stones.
3 And I will set my face against that man, and will cut him off from among his people; because he hath given of his seed unto Molech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name.
4 And if the people of the land do any ways hide their eyes from the man, when he giveth of his seed unto Molech, and kill him not:
5 Then I will set my face against that man, and against his family, and will cut him off, and all that go a whoring after him, to commit whoredom with Molech, from among their people.
6 And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people.
7 Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God.
8 And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am the LORD which sanctify you.
Ezekiel 37:21 And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land:
23b I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God.
24 And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them.
26 Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore.
27 My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
28 And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.
MEMORY VERSE: Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. —Hebrews 13:12
CENTRAL THOUGHT: God’s people were specifically commanded to set themselves apart from false gods and idolatrous, heathen practices and be holy unto God, keeping God’s statutes. Later after they had disobeyed, God promised to bring them back from their idols and the captivity to which they had been banished, and make them holy again by dwelling in their midst. He fulfilled this promise by Jesus shedding His blood upon the cross, writing His laws upon our hearts, and sending His Spirit into our hearts.
WORD DEFINITIONS
Leviticus 20:2 “that giveth any of his seed unto Molech”: either to have adulterous relations with heathen idol worshippers, or to sacrifice one’s child to the idol Molech.
Leviticus 20:3 “Profane my holy name”: “By sacrificing to an idol, when sacrifice should be offered to God; and such a sacrifice as would cause the name of God, and his holy laws, and true religion, to be blasphemed and evil spoken of among the Gentiles” (Matthew Poole’s Commentary).
Leviticus 20:5 “A whoring”: to commit fornication; be a harlot; to commit spiritual prostitution.
Leviticus 20:6 “Familiar spirits”: the root is from the word for a water bottle made of skins, referring to the muttering, chirping or hollow sound in their practice of seeking the dead for instruction. Another word for this is necromancer: “One who pretends to foretell future events by holding converse with departed spirits; a conjurer” (Webster).
Leviticus 20:7-8 “Sanctify”: to be set apart; consecrated; hallowed; and so tabooed from profane use. “Holy”: separate from human infirmity, impurity and sin; hallowed; a saint or holy person.
Ezekiel 37:23 “Dwellingplaces”: seat; assembly; dwelling place; dwelling. Some translations have “apostasies.”
Ezekiel 37:26: “Sanctuary”: sacred place; holy place.
Ezekiel 37:27: “Tabernacle”: dwelling place; specifically God’s dwelling place.
Hebrews 13:12 “Sanctify”: to make holy; consecrate; make holy; hallow; purify.
LESSON BACKGROUND
The phrase, “I am the Lord who sanctifies you,” is expressed four times in the Old Testament law. First in Exodus 31:13, in commandments concerning the Sabbath day; again in the passage in our lesson concerning the worship of Molech and dealings with familiar spirits and wizards (Leviticus 20:8); in chapter 21:8 when He speaks of the priesthood, and again in chapter 22:32 in a commandment pertaining to the hallowing of His name: “Neither shall ye profane my holy name; but I will be hallowed among the children of Israel: I am the Lord which hallow you.”
It was God’s desire and plan to have a people entirely separated unto Him from the belief in, worship of, and immoral practices of, heathen gods and goddesses. Not only were His people to refrain from idolatry, but they were to rid the promised land of the people who practiced it; the groves of trees on the hillsides and the shrines and temples within them; the images—sculpted, engraven, or painted; the music, songs and dances; the wild, immoral feasting and revelry; and the violence which accompanied it.
Idolatry was full of the mental bondages of fear and superstition; slavery and class warfare; seances and witchcraft, consultation with spirits, fortune-telling, gloomy speculation about the afterlife and suicide. God’s religion was one of spiritual freedom, joy, wholesome celebration, peaceful family life, healthy diet and hygiene, hope and peace about death, and compassion and equality for all people—whatever their nationality, skin color, gender or economic status—who would believe in and reverence God.
The verses from Ezekiel give us God’s promise to His people which was fulfilled in the coming of Jesus and ultimately in the sending of the Holy Spirit. The fulfillment is not to be seen in some millenial age, in a literal land, with a literal sanctuary. Peter, in his message at Pentecost, definitely explained that “David” is Jesus Christ (as in Ezekiel 37:24). Many verses in the New Testament let us know that God’s tabernacle is now His church, and He dwells in the hearts of the redeemed by the infilling of the Holy Spirit.
Our memory verse so clearly brings out the fact that Jesus sanctifies us with His own blood. Jesus also says in John 17:17 that we are sanctified through His Word. Thus, the sanctifying power of Jehovah-M’Kaddesh is fulfilled in Jesus Christ and the blood of His cross, the laver of His Word and the fire of His Holy Spirit. “The Spirit, Water and the Blood agree, if we but understood, in making sinners pure and good, He takes their sin away.”
—Sis. Angela Gellenbeck
DISCUSSION:
- Molech: What was so horrible about the worship to this idol?
- Consequence: What was to be done to those who worshipped Molech?
- Wizards: What was God’s law concerning them?
- Commands: What did God tell His people to do concerning these things?
- Promise: What did God promise He would do, what name did He apply to Himself at this time, and what other prophet called Him by this same name?
- Fulfillment: In whom is the name Jehovah-M’Kaddesh revealed?
- Sanctify: In what three ways does Jehovah-M’Kaddesh make His children holy?
COMMENTS AND APPLICATION
The perversion, sorrow, and violence of idolatry are clearly represented by the terrible practice of child sacrifice, as described in the scriptures today. Matthew Henry offers this insight: “Are we shocked at the unnatural cruelty of the ancient idolaters in sacrificing their children? We may justly be so. But are there not very many parents, who, by bad teaching and wicked examples, and by the mysteries of iniquity which they show their children, devote them to the service of Satan, and forward their everlasting ruin, in a manner even more to be lamented? What an account must such parents render to God, and what a meeting will they have with their children at the day of judgment! In the midst of these laws comes in a general charge, Sanctify yourselves, and be ye holy” (Matthew Henry’s Commentary).
My heart is so overwhelmed with amazement, wonder and gratitude as I complete this lesson and consider the awesome discovery in these names! They are all pointing to Jesus Christ and what He has done for us at the cross! Thank You, Jehovah-El Roi, for seeing us in our great need; for finding us, lonely and lost on our desert way! Thank You, Jehovah-Jireh, for being the One who supplied such a great need by Your death on the cross—a substitute to take my place, redeem my soul, atone for my sins and provide the answer to every want I could ever have! Thank You, Jehovah-Rophe, for being the Healer of my soul and body; for your death on the tree that has changed my life from bitter to sweet and has delivered me from all the diseases, plagues and sorrows of sin. Thank You, Jehovah-Nissi for being my Victory, for being lifted up on the cross so I can look at You and be delivered from my enemy, Self. You are my Banner and my Miracle. Thank You, Jehovah-M’Kaddesh, for being the Lord who sanctifies me through the blood of Your cross and makes me holy and free from sin!
—Sis. Angela Gellenbeck
REFLECTIONS
“In the old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine, a wondrous beauty I see;
For ‘twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died to pardon and sanctify me.”
The concept of “the cross” goes together with the scriptural teaching that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, have been purchased at the price of Jesus’ own blood, and we are not our own (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
The Holy Spirit is always ready to bestow any spiritual blessing we stand in need of if we just simply implore in faith at the cross. “There is grace for EVERY need at the cross.” Perhaps you are a Christian who has had a definite initial experience of being “born again” and tasting the saving grace of God as you prostrated your soul in repentance at the foot of the cross. Yet, you have afterward found yourself struggling with selfish tendencies and weaknesses of the flesh. Like another old song says, “Have you by temptation often conquered been? Has a sense of weakness brought distress within? Christ will sanctify you, if you’ll claim His best, In the Holy Spirit He will give you rest.” Christ wants to grant you according to the riches of His glory to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in your inner man. He wants to show you more of His saving fullness. It’s waiting for you at the cross. Just simply present your need before Him there. As you once prostrated yourself at the cross in repentance of your sins, now prostrate yourself again in consecration to God’s will for your life. Present your body to Him a living sacrifice, as Romans 12:1 exhorts Christians to do. Consecrate to die to self and crucify your fleshly desires. Then ask Jesus to fill you with His Spirit “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it” (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24).
The final success of the Christian life will be contingent upon our staying connected to the cross, living in communion with, and following the guidance of the sweet Holy Spirit that administers the blessings of the blood that Jesus shed on the cross. We find our sanctification in embracing the cross and being always “delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh” (2 Corinthians 4:11). Yes, it is here at the precious cross where we are washed and sanctified, as well as justified, in the name of our Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God (1 Corinthians 6:11).
—Bro. Harlan Sorrell
Thank you, sister.