Day 109: Leviticus 5-7 - The Bible Dept.

The Bible Dept. Podcast Summary: Day 109 – Leviticus 5-7

Host: Dr. Manny Arango
Episode Title: Day 109: Leviticus 5-7
Release Date: April 19, 2025

1. Introduction to Leviticus 5-7

In Day 109 of The Bible Dept., Dr. Manny Arango delves into Leviticus chapters 5 through 7, continuing the exploration of an ancient text through a modern lens. He emphasizes the importance of engaging with Leviticus to understand its relevance to contemporary Christian life, particularly in the context of the priesthood of all believers.

Dr. Manny Arango [04:30]:
"If you're a Christian, then you believe in the priesthood of all believers, that we're all priests."

2. The Priesthood of All Believers

Dr. Arango elucidates the concept that every Christian is a priest, tasked with mediating the relationship between humans and God. He draws parallels between the ancient priests described in Leviticus and modern believers, highlighting the stewardship of one's soul, spirit, mind, and body as a form of priestly duty.

Dr. Manny Arango [05:15]:
"We are mediators that we have a job of mediating the relationship between humans and God."

3. The Five Offerings in Leviticus

Building on the previous episode, Dr. Arango outlines the five types of offerings detailed in Leviticus:

Whole Burnt Offering
Grain Offering
Peace Offering
Sin Offering (including unintentional and intentional sin)
Guilt Offering

He clarifies the classification by noting that while there are technically three and a half offerings discussed earlier, chapters 5-7 complete the enumeration with all five.

Dr. Manny Arango [10:05]:
"Of these five offerings, three of these are the way that we say Lord, I'm sorry... Two of these are the way that we say Lord, thank you."

4. In-Depth on Sin and Guilt Offerings

A significant portion of the episode focuses on sin and guilt offerings, particularly in Leviticus chapter 6, verses 1-7. Dr. Arango breaks down the process required for atonement:

Restoration: The sinner must fully restore what was taken or damaged.
Addition: A fifth is added to the restitution.
Offering: An unblemished ram or equivalent is sacrificed as a guilt offering.

He underscores the dual requirement of addressing both human justice (restoration with the neighbor) and divine justice (atonement before God).

Dr. Manny Arango [12:45]:
"The person who has done something wrong has to restore that which was broken or stolen or destroyed... and bring an unblemished ram or its equivalent to make a guilt offering."

5. Modern Application: Justice and Relationship with God

Dr. Arango draws contemporary parallels, addressing the polarized views on justice and personal piety. He argues that true reconciliation requires both making things right with others and with God, rejecting the notion that one can suffice without the other.

Dr. Manny Arango [16:30]:
"God says, actually... you need to make it right with your brother or sister and you need to make it right with God."

He critiques modern extremes where either social justice or spiritual relationship is exclusively prioritized, advocating for a balanced approach that embodies both grace and justice.

6. Defining Holiness

A central theme in the episode is the definition of holiness. Dr. Arango explains holiness as being fundamentally different from anything else, emphasizing God's unique nature. He clarifies that certain human biological functions render individuals ritually unclean in the context of ancient rituals, not because they are sinful, but because they are contrary to God's holy nature.

Dr. Manny Arango [18:20]:
"God is holy because he's not like anyone else or anything else... anything that makes you unlike God, that is going to be something that is unclean."

7. Nerdy Nugget: The Essence of Holiness

In his signature "Nerdy Nugget," Dr. Arango reinforces the concept of holiness by reiterating that believers must actively pursue and maintain ritual purity. He connects this ancient requirement to modern Christian life, emphasizing continuous personal sanctification as a response to God's holiness.

Dr. Manny Arango [22:10]:
"Holiness is something that God grants me, that God gives me, and that I make a conscious decision not just to be holy, but stay holy."

8. Conclusion and Encouragement

Dr. Arango wraps up the episode by encouraging listeners to persist in their study of Leviticus, highlighting the rich insights gained from understanding ancient rituals and their application today. He expresses pride in the listeners' progress and invites them to engage further through upcoming events and resources.

Dr. Manny Arango [24:00]:
"I'm so, so, so, so, so proud of you. Till next time. Peace."

He also mentions an upcoming event in Nashville, inviting listeners to participate in live lectures based on his book Crushing Chaos, further fostering a sense of community and shared learning.

Key Takeaways:

Priesthood of All Believers: Every Christian has a mediating role between God and humanity, similar to ancient priests.
Five Offerings: Understanding the distinctions and purposes of the five offerings in Leviticus enhances comprehension of Biblical atonement and thanksgiving.
Holiness Defined: Holiness involves being fundamentally different from creation, requiring believers to seek purification and maintain a separate, sanctified life.
Balanced Approach to Justice and Grace: True reconciliation with God and others necessitates addressing both divine justice and interpersonal relationships.
Continuous Sanctification: Maintaining holiness is an active, ongoing process for believers, reflecting their commitment to God's unique nature.

Further Engagement:

Listeners are encouraged to continue their Biblical journey with The Bible Dept. by downloading the reading plan and engaging with additional resources available at thebibledepartment.com. For those seeking deeper interaction, Dr. Arango invites participation in live events and access to a comprehensive library of courses designed to enhance their understanding of Scripture.

Transcript

Dr. Manny Arango (0:00)

Hey, Bible nerds. This is Dr. Manny Arango and I'm your host for the Bible department podcast powered by Arma. This podcast follows a Bible reading plan we created to help you read the entire Bible in a year. You can head to the show notes or thebibledepartment.com to download our reading plan and join the journey. To all my fellow pastors, I've got a question for you. Does your city know that your church exists? Listen, I get it. You're preaching, you're leading, you're discipling, you're doing ministry. We are in the same boat. And let's be honest, social media and marketing, not your strong suit. Not mine either. And that's probably the last thing on your mind. And that's why we chose to partner with Church Candy Marketing for our church Plant the garden. We out here, y'all. They help churches get more actual guests walking through the doors on Sunday without your eye having to stress over ads or algorithms or trying to crack the social media code. Right now, Church Candy is helping nearly 400 churches reach their communities with simple invite ads. And it works. It's super effective. I can tell you from firsthand experience. So if you're tired of being your city's best kept secret, how about you do this? Go to churchcandy.com Manny and book a free consultation book a discovery call. Their team will break it all down and show you how to start seeing new faces at your church this Sunday. I'm in the trenches with you trying to grow the church. And how about we just start a whole campaign? No more empty churches. So let's partner with Church Candy and get our churches full for the glory of Jesus. Let's go, family. Welcome to day 109. We're in Leviticus chapters five, six and seven. Hey, if you've done the reading, we're about to dive in. If you have not done the reading, pause the audio, pause the video. Go do the reading. We just got Leviticus chapters 5, 6, and 7. I would say this, that if you're a Christian, then you believe in the priesthood of all believers, that we're all priests. And we've got an owner's manual designed for priests in the ancient world. And although every single thing doesn't translate into our world, we do believe that we're priests. I believe that I'm a priest. I believe that every Christian is a priest. We are mediators that we have a job of mediating the relationship between humans and God. And in addition to mediation, we steward these things. Called temples. And so we are priests. And so Leviticus may be a hard book to get through, but I encourage you to, like, lean in, try to understand as much as possible, because in the same way that the priests are doing their job every single day in a physical tabernacle, you and I are doing our job every single day in the tabernacle of our souls and spirits and minds and bodies. And so there are gonna be things that we see in the book of Leviticus that we go, oh, that's why I should pray every day. Okay. That's why I should read the Bible every day. Okay? I'm stewarding this thing called a temple. And there are. No, there. There aren't many temples in our modern world. So it's hard to draw a bridge. It's hard to know how to do this because I don't know what that is. And so Leviticus is trying to help us with that so that we can glean from that and know how to apply it to this. Okay? So Leviticus 5, 7. Remember how yesterday I said, hey, we got four types of sacrifice. Technically, it was three and a half. So today we're gonna look at all five forms of sacrifice, including from Leviticus, chapter one through four, and now five through seven, we're going to get five offerings, okay? Five kinds of offerings in the book of Leviticus. Okay? So let's recap. We're going to get the whole burnt offering we talked about yesterday and a grain offering, which we talked about yesterday, and we're going to get a peace offering, which we talked about yesterday. This is why I said we covered three and a half is because the next offering is called a six sin offering. And there's unintentional sin and intentional sin. Okay? So the fourth offering that we get is a sin offering. And the last offering that we get is called a guilt offering. Okay? So five offerings, a whole burnt offering, a grain offering, a peace offering, a sin offering, of which there are two kinds, and then a guilt offering. So today we're just gonna tackle the. That last. The last two there. Okay? Sin offerings and guilt offerings. Okay. I really, really Enjoy Leviticus, chapter 6, verses 1 through 7, because in so many ways, the priests function like pastors. So I love this. I'm gonna start reading in verse five of Leviticus, chapter six, if someone has sworn falsely, he shall restore it in full what he took by robbery, or what he got by oppression, or the deposit that was committed to him, or the lost thing that he found, or anything which he has sworn falsely, he shall restore it in full. Okay? So the, the person who has done something wrong has to restore that which was broken or stolen or destroyed. He has to restore it in full and shall add a third, fifth to it. Give it to him to whom it belongs on the day he realizes his guilt. And he shall bring to the priest as his compensation to the Lord, a ram without blemish of the flock or its equivalent for a guilt offering. So says, yeah, you paid your brother back, okay, but you owe the Lord because you don't just sin against your brother, you sin against the Lord. And the priest shall make atonement for him before the Lord and he shall be forgiven for any of the things that one may do and thereby become guilty. All right, So I kind of wanna walk through this three step process because I think that this is, I genuinely find this beautiful. Verses 1 through 7 lay out six sinful actions as a person can make against his neighbor, okay? Deceiving their neighbor with something left in their care, lying about lost property, robbery, cheating their neighbo wearing falsely oppression. To make this sin right, the sinner has to do three things. Restore what he took in full, add a fifth to it, and bring an unblemished ram or its equivalent to make a guilt offering. Then keyword here, then the priest shall make atonement for him. The priest is going to make atonement if you haven't gotten things right with your brother or your sister. So you can't just bring a ram to the, to the temple. And there's a lot of people, I think, who try to get right with God, but they don't want to try to get right with people or the other way around. They, they want to just, they're, they're trapped in a world of justice that is, that has removed holiness or, or godliness from it. So they think that as long as they treat their neighbor right, it doesn't matter if they've sinned against God. And God says, actually like in a, in a world and I'm not that world, not the ancient world, but in our world that is so polarized. I mean, you've got people who lean a little bit more left who are adamant that, you know, social justice is, is the end all be all. And then you've got people who lean maybe more, more conservative who would say, no, as long as people are good with God, that's all that matters. And here you have a book like Leviticus that's saying, who said that one or the other of these two was sufficient or the goal Actually, you need to make it right with your brother or sister and you need to make it right with God. And there's two different things that are required in order to do that. Your brother needs justice, like give him back what was lost and add a fifth to it. Awesome restoration. I'm gonna restore what was broken, restore what was taken and not instead. And God doesn't need that. God needs you to put a animal on the altar and sacrifice. I just don't know where we got off going, yeah, only this matters or only that matters. Where the Bible is I think pretty consistently clear that both do matter. Okay, we've got the whole burnt offering, the grain offering, the peace offering, the sin offering, and then a guilt offering. Now, of these five offerings, three of these are the way that we say Lord. I'm sorry. Two of these are the way that we say Lord. Thank you. Okay. So the grain offering and the peace offering can be done at any time. Okay. And there is a way that we say thank you, God. Thank you. Thank you for blessing me. Thank you for sustaining me. Thank you for providing. Just thank you. The sin offering, the guilt offering, and the whole burnt offering is not designed to say thank you. Those are designed to say, I'm sorry. Like, I apologize. Bible department family, it's Dr. Manny Arango. And first thing I want to say is that I'm proud of you for completing the New Testament. You did it. And now that we're in the Old Testament, I hope that looking at Genesis and Exodus from an ancient perspective and worldview has kind of like opened your eyes. Well, I got news for you. If you've enjoyed some of the interpretations that I've brought to the table from Genesis, then that's just the tip of the iceberg. This entire book, Crushing Chaos, was written from an ancient hermeneutic. I'm looking at stories like the Flood, Adam and Eve from the perspective of an ancient person. And we've got an event coming up on April 26th where I'll take a lot of the content from this book and I'll turn that content into live lectures. You don't want to miss it. You can actually register for that event right now. The link is is in the description and more than content. I think what you'll find as we gather together in Nashville are like minded believers and friends in a community of people that you don't just watch content with online, but you can get to know in person. I'd love to see you in Nashville. I'd love to hug you. High five. You And I'd love to nerd out together for one day as we come together in Nashville to learn about how to crush chaos. I'll see you in Nashville. Peace. Let's get our nerdy nugget. We really need to define holiness again and again and again and again and again by the time I get to the middle of the book, because Leviticus is a chiasm. When we get to the middle of the book, I really spend some time on, like, structural layout of the book. And I'll show you how it's a chiasm. For now, though, just know that we're crossing over from the beginning section of the book that's really about rituals, okay? Sacrifices. And now getting into the portion of the book that's really going to deal with priests, with the priesthood and the role of priests. So let's define holiness just one more time. Okay? God is holy because he's not like anyone else or anything else. So anything that makes you unlike God, that is gonna be something that is unclean, okay? So God doesn't defecate, okay? God doesn't urinate, he doesn't poop, okay? God didn't do that. God doesn't ejaculate, okay? So seminal fluid is gonna be something that can make someone racially unclean. God doesn't have a period. God doesn't sweat. God doesn't decay. God doesn't change, okay? So all of those things there, as you read through some of the Levitical laws, maybe thinking to yourself, there's nothing wrong with a woman on her period or a man who ejaculates. Like, there's nothing sinful about these things. I'm going to say, of course there's nothing sinful about those things in and of themselves. And sinful and unclean don't mean the same thing. Unclean means ritually impure, ritually unclean, not ritually cleansed in order to be around a perfect and holy God. Okay, so we just had an eclipse, okay? And I live here in Texas. And so people were outside just like, I mean, freaking out because of this eclipse. It was really, really cool. It was fully dark in the middle of the day. And then the sun moved out of the way and it got light again. It was really, really, really cool. People travele all over to come to Texas to watch this eclipse. And the cool thing about an eclipse is that the sun, we couldn't live without the sun, right? Like, the sun is insanely valuable. The sun provides light for plants, so they can have photosynthesis. The sun Provides energy. The sun provides all kinds of amazing things. Without the sun, we wouldn't have life. But although the sun is amazing, although the sun is great, although the sun is a gift that God's given us, if you look up at it during a full eclipse, you could blind yourself. Okay, so everybody had its glasses on. And one of the glasses are designed to protect your eyes from being damaged by something that really is a gift. The sun is amazing, the sun is great. Like, we need the sun. Without it, we couldn't survive here on this planet. But. But although it is amazing and a gift, that doesn't take away from the fact that it is dangerous inherently. And this is really at the heart of the book of Leviticus. How does a holy God who is totally other, it's not just that he doesn't sin, as said, he doesn't sleep and humans do. He doesn't do any of the things that humans have to do. He doesn't decay in any way. Not only will he never die, he's not in the process of dying right now. There's no cell in his body that is dying. I mean, he's just completely other. Holy Other. W H O L L Y wholly other. Because God is holy other. There are going to be all these things that are in innately or inherently human that God's going to say, ah, you can't do those things in my presence. Or you're gonna have to take care of uncleanness. You're gonna have to take care of bodily fluids. Like you're gonna have to deal with that stuff. It's not that it's sinful, it's that it makes you ritually unclean. And if you're ritually unclean, then that means you can't perform the rituals. And if you can't perform the rituals, that means I can't be in your presence because I'm holy. Okay, so again, we're in this cycle of how do we dwell with a God who's totally holy, even though we are not? Adam and Eve didn't have this issue until they did. And when they did have this issue, they got kicked out of the garden, which was God's grace and love towards them. Because if he had kept them in the garden, his holiness would have destroyed them, but he loved them too much to do that. My nerdy nugget, okay, for the day is just simply to define holiness, to help everyone realize that holiness is something that God grants me, that God gives me, and that I make a conscious decision not just to be Holy, but stay holy. Okay, so me becoming ritually pure is something that I have to then say. Okay, I became ritually pure through the ritual, through the ceremony of dealing with my uncleanliness. And now this is something that I have to have a radar for at all times. Here's something I really, really love about the opening that we've read earlier. Okay. That talked about restoration or restitution. Plus, add a fifth, plus offer an animal. Okay. As a sacrifice. That there's in that we see a divine mixture of grace, that the trespasser gets forgiveness. But it's not cheap grace. There's also justice. And we live in a world that says, as long as there's justice, that's all that's necessary. And that's not true. Okay, but then we. Then sometimes we live in a world that's very like, oh, God can forgive anything. There's grace for anything. And that's true, but it's just not complete. And I think sometimes we settle for extremes instead of fighting for the complete shalom wholeness that God actually wants us to have. He wants us to walk out in the divine mixture of grace and justice, grace and truth. Okay, that's my context clues, nerdy nuggets, and timeless truths for today. I hope day 109, Leviticus, chapters 5, 7 were helpful for you, and I hope that it's motivating you to continue your trek through the book of Leviticus. I love you. I'm so, so, so, so, so proud of you. Till next time. Peace. Thanks so much for joining us on the Bible Department podcast. You can find us online and learn more about the show at thebibledepartment.com and on Instagram hebible department. If you enjoyed this episode and want to dive deeper into the Bible, you can get free access to our library of courses@thebibledepartment.com we'll see you back here tomorrow.