Leviticus Chapter 24
The only light in the covered tabernacle came from the one golden lampstand. Inside the Holy of Holies, the light source was God Himself, but outside in the tent of meeting the oil from olives was kept burning at all times by the priests. Also inside the tent of meeting were the twelve loaves of bread arranged in an orderly fashion on a table. These loaves also were provided by the people and were replenished weekly in time for the sabbath. The loaves were another representation of the twelve tribes of Israel.
I was thinking about the women who had the privilege of baking this bread, knowing it would be eaten by the priests. Perhaps one loaf was provided by each tribe. It must have been such an honor to be asked to bake the loaves. Perhaps they had a schedule so that several women had the opportunity to bake for the tabernacle. Of course it could have been men that baked the bread, but we are not told how the bread nor the olive oil was supplied exactly.
And then there seems to be an interruption in the chapter that does not fit with what God was instructing Moses regarding the tabernacle. Some Bible scholars have suggested that the accusation of a man blaspheming God literally happened while Moses was receiving the instructions from God. It was a matter that needed to be dealt with, and they needed God’s wisdom to exact proper judgment. The Israelites understood that the laws did not apply to foreigners and in a sense this man was a foreigner because his mother was an Israelite and his father was Egyptian. They did the right thing in seeking God’s wisdom and they put the man in a holding cell until the judgement was made.
Let's Reflect
1. From the description you read of the care of the lampstands, how often do you think the priests tended to them?
2. The twelve round and flat loaves of bread were arranged how on the table of shew bread?
3. What were the two purposes of the bread?
4. Beginning with verse 10 we find that two men got in an argument. The crime was not that they were arguing but that the one man who was half Israelite and half Egyptian did what? Apparently, it was common back in Egypt for men to do this against their many gods.
5. It is as if God chose this moment in time to teach the people a very valuable lesson. He had already given His Ten Commandments that included the command that they were not to take the Name of the Lord in vain. According to verse 16 what was God’s punishment for blaspheme?
6. God instructed the witnesses of this man’s crime to lay their hands on his head. This man knew that he was caught in his sin. The law required that there must be more than just one witness to a crime; there must be at least two or three witnesses. “By laying their hands upon his head they gave public testimony that they heard this person speak such words, and did in their own and in all the people’s names desire and demand justice to be executed upon him.” [Poole] After the witnesses put their hands on this man’s head, how was the man put to death?
7. And then God taught them what true justice was going to look like when He ruled as their King. What differences do you see between God’s justice for criminal acts and our justice system today?
Devotionals
