Leviticus

Leviticus 24: The lamp and the holy Name

Begin in prayer

Before we read Leviticus 24, where God commands pure oil for the lamps and twelve cakes on the gold table, and judges a man who blasphemed His holy Name, let us bow our heads. Ask the Lord to teach us to revere His Name and trust in Jesus.

“Arise, shine; for your light has come, and Yahweh’s glory has risen on you.

Isaiah 60:1

Father in heaven, please open our eyes as we read Your Word. Show us that Jesus is the true Light and Bread of life, and teach us to reverence Your holy Name and trust in Christ, who bore our curse on the cross. Make us more like Jesus. And please bless our family as we worship You together. In Jesus' name, Amen.

See where we're going

In Leviticus 24 the LORD commands Israel to bring pure olive oil so Aaron can keep the lamps on the pure gold lampstand burning continually. Next, twelve cakes of fine flour are set in two rows on the gold table every Sabbath, and eaten by Aaron and his sons. Then a fight breaks out in the camp, and the son of an Israelite woman and an Egyptian father blasphemes the Name and curses. At the LORD's command he is stoned outside the camp, and God gives one law of just restitution for native-born and foreigner alike.

As you read Leviticus 24, look for the answers:

Reflect together

Key truth

God sets continual light and bread in His house and guards the honor of His holy Name.

Leviticus 24 moves from the quiet beauty of the holy place to a sudden crime in the camp. Inside the Tent, Israel supplied “pure olive oil beaten for the light” so Aaron kept the lamps burning continually (verses 2 to 4). On the pure gold table stood twelve cakes with frankincense, renewed “Every Sabbath day” and eaten by the priests (verses 5 to 9). Those ceremonial furnishings pointed to Jesus, the Light of the world and Lord of the Sabbath (John 8 verse 12, Matthew 12 verse 8). Then in verses 10 to 16, a man blasphemed the Name during a fight, and he was stoned outside the camp. Verses 17 to 22 add Israel's judicial law of proportional justice, “eye for eye, tooth for tooth,” with one law for foreigner and native-born. That civil rule restrained private revenge in Israel's courts (Matthew 5 verses 38 and 39). And as Paul testifies in 1 Timothy 1 verse 13, Christ died to save even blasphemers who repent and believe.

How does Leviticus 24 show us that God sets continual light and bread in His house and guards the honor of His holy Name?

Pure oil keeps the lamps burning, and twelve loaves stand every Sabbath.

Israel brought pure olive oil to keep the lamps burning “from evening to morning before Yahweh continually” (verses 2 to 4). Every Sabbath, twelve cakes of fine flour were set on the gold table and eaten by the priests (verses 5 to 9). These ceremonial shadows point to Jesus, the Light of the world and Lord of the Sabbath (John 8 verse 12).

Blaspheming the LORD's holy Name brings death under Israel's law.

During a fight in the camp, Shelomith's son “blasphemed the Name, and cursed” (verses 10 and 11). Moses waited for the LORD's word, and God commanded that the blasphemer be stoned “out of the camp” (verses 12 to 16). That civil death penalty belonged to Israel as a nation, yet the third commandment abides forever. Christ suffered outside the gate to save even blasphemers who repent and trust Him (1 Timothy 1 verse 13).

God gives one standard of proportional justice for native-born and foreigner alike.

Verses 17 to 21 give Israel's judges the rule of restitution, death for murder, and “eye for eye, tooth for tooth.” God set this judicial limit for courts so punishment fit the crime, not for personal revenge (Matthew 5 verses 38 and 39). Verse 22 commands “one kind of law for the foreigner as well as the native-born.”

Memorise

You shall have one kind of law for the foreigner as well as the native-born; for I am Yahweh your God.

Leviticus 24:22

Looking to Jesus in my life

Ask yourself in your heart, have I treated God's Name lightly, and am I trusting Jesus for mercy?

In Leviticus 24, the pure gold lampstand shone through the night and twelve loaves stood before the LORD every Sabbath. Then in the camp, a man “blasphemed the Name, and cursed.” Verse 15 says, “Whoever curses his God shall bear his sin,” and he was taken “out of the camp” and stoned.

Have we always honored God's holy Name with our lips and hearts, or loved our neighbor without anger? Before God's one righteous law, our sins deserve eternal death, and we cannot pay “life for life” to ransom ourselves. That is why the Eternal Son of God came into the world as the true Light. Jesus honored His Father's Name in every word, yet He was condemned for blasphemy, led outside the gate, and crucified in the place of sinners. He gave His life as a ransom and rose on the third day. He paid the ransom in full, and that saves even the chief of sinners.

As Paul wrote, even a former blasphemer obtains mercy through Christ. Turn from your sin and rely on Jesus today. Everyone who trusts Him is forgiven and brought into God's light.

Parent's note

Tell your children that God's Name is holy, and Jesus suffered outside the gate to forgive sinners who have dishonored God's Name. Please do not tell them they are saved just because they grew up in a Christian home. Call each child to turn from sin and trust Jesus, and pray that God would give them a new heart.

Pray together

Now please close your time together in prayer. Thank God that Jesus gave His life as a ransom to show mercy even to blasphemers and sinners who repent, and bring the heart question to Him. Every child can pray, so let each one say a short prayer if they want to.

although I was before a blasphemer, a persecutor, and insolent. However, I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.

1 Timothy 1:13

Holy Father, hallowed be Your Name. Forgive us for every careless word, every angry fight, and every time we have failed to honor Your Name. Thank You that Jesus, the Light of the world, suffered outside the gate to pay our ransom with His own life. Please show us Your mercy through faith in Jesus, and keep our tongues pure this week. Amen.