Special Study: Slavery in the Torah

Leviticus 4-7    In Leviticus 1-7, God is giving Moses instructions for the 5 main sacrifices for Israel's worship at the Tabernacle. Chapters 1-3 details the first three. Leviticus 4-6 detail the next two, the sin (or better, purification) offering and the guilt or restitution offering.  These two offerings are very similar. It even says in these chapters “the guilt offering is like the sin offering.” They both deal with inadvertent wrongdoing that needs atonement. The key difference is that guilt offerings are for matters where restitution or repayment can be made as well. Also included in these chapters are some special instructions for the priests for all five offerings.  All of this is by way of the Lord’s gracious provision, making clear what he required and how they could come before him in a way that honors his holiness.    BIBLE READING GUIDE - FREE EBOOK - Get the free eBook, Bible in Life, to help you learn how to read and apply the Bible well: https://www.listenerscommentary.com     GIVE -  The Listener’s Commentary is a listener supported Bible teaching ministry made possible by the generosity of people like you. Thank you! Give here:  https://www.listenerscommentary.com/give     STUDY HUB - Want more than the audio? Join the study hub to access articles, maps, charts, pictures, and links to other resources to help you study the Bible for yourself. https://www.listenerscommentary.com/members-sign-up   MORE TEACHING - For more resources and Bible teaching from John visit https://www.johnwhittaker.net

Leviticus 1-3   Leviticus opens like this: “Then the Lord called to Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting, saying…” This makes it clear that it is continuing the story revealed in Exodus. Exodus ended like this: 40:34 -35 - Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. So while Leviticus is a separate book in our bibles, it’s still the same story. Leviticus records events that happen immediately after the tabernacle was set up… and it provides teaching related to worship, ritual purity, and holiness all because God is now living in their midst in the tabernacle.  The situation is this… God, the holy King of heaven and of Israel, has come to live right the middle of their camp in his own sacred, royal tent. His glory filled the tabernacle and  no one can enter, not even Moses. Leviticus picks up at this point and it’s going to provide instructions on what Israel needs to do to be able to draw near to God at the tabernacle: atonement will be need; ritual purity must be attended to; and holiness in all of life must also be attended to.  This is where we’re at in the story and this is what Leviticus is all about.  So, Leviticus 1-7 begins those instructions by providing instructions for the various sacrifices. There are 5 main sacrifices (with occasional variations on some of them). But 5 main ones: Burnt offering Grain offering Peace or Fellowship offerings  Sin/Purification offering Guilt/reparation offerings  Leviticus 1-3 provides instructions for the first three sacrifices.   BIBLE READING GUIDE - FREE EBOOK - Get the free eBook, Bible in Life, to help you learn how to read and apply the Bible well: https://www.listenerscommentary.com     GIVE -  The Listener’s Commentary is a listener supported Bible teaching ministry made possible by the generosity of people like you. Thank you! Give here:  https://www.listenerscommentary.com/give     STUDY HUB - Want more than the audio? Join the study hub to access articles, maps, charts, pictures, and links to other resources to help you study the Bible for yourself. https://www.listenerscommentary.com/members-sign-up   MORE TEACHING - For more resources and Bible teaching from John visit https://www.johnwhittaker.net  

Ritual Purity and Atonement in Leviticus  Reading Leviticus can feel very foreign... we might even say it's weird. And a huge part of that is because all the rules about clean and unclean. These rules rules are addressing the state of ritual purity and ritual impurity.  Ritual impurity in the Ancient Near East (ANE) was a status rendering a person temporarily unfit to enter sacred spaces (temples) or interact with the divine. Think of it like proper protocol for entering the sanctuary and approaching the Holy…. there are just things you don’t do when approaching the Holy! So while the rules concerning ritual purity in Leviticus seem foreign to us (because they are!), to the ancient Israelite they were all very normal. In fact, an ancient Israelite might say to us, “Of course God gave us rules concerning ritual purity… it’s all very gracious of him … otherwise we’d have been in the same boat as the rest of the peoples and would not know how to approach him and enter his sacred space!” This session of The Listener's Commentary on Leviticus aims to help you understand Leviticus more by explaining ritual purity and atonement.    BIBLE READING GUIDE - FREE EBOOK - Get the free eBook, Bible in Life, to help you learn how to read and apply the Bible well: https://www.listenerscommentary.com     GIVE -  The Listener’s Commentary is a listener supported Bible teaching ministry made possible by the generosity of people like you. Thank you! Give here:  https://www.listenerscommentary.com/give     STUDY HUB - Want more than the audio? Join the study hub to access articles, maps, charts, pictures, and links to other resources to help you study the Bible for yourself. https://www.listenerscommentary.com/members-sign-up   MORE TEACHING - For more resources and Bible teaching from John visit https://www.johnwhittaker.net  

Introduction to Leviticus   For most of us, Leviticus is a challenging read! If Exodus was more challenging than Genesis, Leviticus ramps it up even further. The first seven chapters are procedures for sacrifices. Later,  there’s all sorts of teaching about clean and unclean foods and about behaviors that lead to ritual impurity and what to do about all that. A lot of the material in Leviticus is specifically for the priests, almost like a procedures manual.  And it all feels so…. weird and foreign (which it because it is!).   So in this recording I want to give a little backstory and introduction to Leviticus.    BIBLE READING GUIDE - FREE EBOOK - Get the free eBook, Bible in Life, to help you learn how to read and apply the Bible well: https://www.listenerscommentary.com     GIVE -  The Listener’s Commentary is a listener supported Bible teaching ministry made possible by the generosity of people like you. Thank you! Give here:  https://www.listenerscommentary.com/give     STUDY HUB - Want more than the audio? Join the study hub to access articles, maps, charts, pictures, and links to other resources to help you study the Bible for yourself. https://www.listenerscommentary.com/members-sign-up   MORE TEACHING - For more resources and Bible teaching from John visit https://www.johnwhittaker.net

The Majesty of God, Leviticus, and Other News | Spring 2026 Update When spending lots of time in Exodus and Leviticus you can't miss the majesty and holiness of God. But at the same time, there's the mercy and intimacy of God. Let's reflect on that.  Here's a link to the sermon from Acts 5 that I mention in this update: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WK7JrNb9Ays&pp=0gcJCQQLAYcqIYzv   Leviticus starts next week! So I share a few thoughts on Leviticus matters, plus a few other updates.    BIBLE READING GUIDE - FREE EBOOK - Get the free eBook, Bible in Life, to help you learn how to read and apply the Bible well: https://www.listenerscommentary.com     GIVE -  The Listener’s Commentary is a listener supported Bible teaching ministry made possible by the generosity of people like you. Thank you! Give here:  https://www.listenerscommentary.com/give     STUDY HUB - Want more than the audio? Join the study hub to access articles, maps, charts, pictures, and links to other resources to help you study the Bible for yourself. https://www.listenerscommentary.com/members-sign-up   MORE TEACHING - For more resources and Bible teaching from John visit https://www.johnwhittaker.net

Special Study: Slavery in the Torah    Laws concerning slavery appear in several places in the Torah (the Pentateuch). This can be troubling, since slavery is a persistent human evil. In this special study of The Listener's Bible Commentary, we give one guiding principle and six considerations that help us hear the slavery laws as the were intended to be heard. Our goal here is to prevent misunderstanding and promote a more full and accurate understanding because it’s too easy and too common for people to read what the Bible says through the lens of our modern experience and misunderstand what the Bible is actually communicating.    BIBLE READING GUIDE - FREE EBOOK - Get the free eBook, Bible in Life, to help you learn how to read and apply the Bible well: https://www.listenerscommentary.com     GIVE -  The Listener’s Commentary is a listener supported Bible teaching ministry made possible by the generosity of people like you. Thank you! Give here:  https://www.listenerscommentary.com/give     STUDY HUB - Want more than the audio? Join the study hub to access articles, maps, charts, pictures, and links to other resources to help you study the Bible for yourself. https://www.listenerscommentary.com/members-sign-up   MORE TEACHING - For more resources and Bible teaching from John visit https://www.johnwhittaker.net

Exodus 35-40 In this section of the Bible book of Exodus, the tabernacle is built and the priestly garments are made. Since the covenant has been renewed, it’s time to build the tabernacle, fashion the priestly garments, and get everything ready for God to move in.  God gives his Spirit to two men, Bezalel and Oholiab, so that they can lead the project and the people respond with great generosity and dedication. They complete the tabernacle, all its furnishings, and the priestly garments exactly as the Lord had instructed Moses.  And at the end of the book, God moves from Mount Sinai into the tabernacle.  In this recording, we consider why so much space is devoted to the plans and construction of the tabernacle and what the theological message is in the context of the whole story of the Bible.    BIBLE READING GUIDE - FREE EBOOK - Get the free eBook, Bible in Life, to help you learn how to read and apply the Bible well: https://www.listenerscommentary.com     GIVE -  The Listener’s Commentary is a listener supported Bible teaching ministry made possible by the generosity of people like you. Thank you! Give here:  https://www.listenerscommentary.com/give     STUDY HUB - Want more than the audio? Join the study hub to access articles, maps, charts, pictures, and links to other resources to help you study the Bible for yourself. https://www.listenerscommentary.com/members-sign-up   MORE TEACHING - For more resources and Bible teaching from John visit https://www.johnwhittaker.net

Exodus 32-34, pt. 2   These chapters recount the famous "golden calf" incident, where Israel convince Aaron to set an idol in the form of gold bull and they worship it as their god who led them out of Egypt. In a real, sense this is the fall of Israel.  What makes it even more tragic and offensive is that they have just entered into their covenant with Yahweh less than 2 months ago and now they have violated that covenant. When Moses throws down and breaks the two tablets of the covenant, that action embodies what Israel has done. The covenant is broken.  So now, the threat of God's absence hangs over the camp of Israel. God has said he will not move in among... it's an act of mercy protecting them from his own holiness.  But Moses intervenes.  And God relents, agreeing to be with Moses and to go with the people.  One very important moment in part 2 is when God shows himself to Moses. He passes by and declares, "The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in faithfulness and truth; 7 who keeps faithfulness for thousands, who forgives wrongdoing, violation of His Law, and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, inflicting the punishment of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.” This is who God is and how he desires to be known. This is the most quoted passage of the Bible in the Bible. Our understanding of God should start here.    BIBLE READING GUIDE - FREE EBOOK - Get the free eBook, Bible in Life, to help you learn how to read and apply the Bible well: https://www.listenerscommentary.com     GIVE -  The Listener’s Commentary is a listener supported Bible teaching ministry made possible by the generosity of people like you. Thank you! Give here:  https://www.listenerscommentary.com/give     STUDY HUB - Want more than the audio? Join the study hub to access articles, maps, charts, pictures, and links to other resources to help you study the Bible for yourself. https://www.listenerscommentary.com/members-sign-up   MORE TEACHING - For more resources and Bible teaching from John visit https://www.johnwhittaker.net

Exodus 32-34, pt. 1   These chapters recount the famous "golden calf" incident, where Israel convince Aaron to set an idol in the form of gold bull and they worship it as their god who led them out of Egypt. In a real, sense this is the fall of Israel.  What makes it even more tragic and offensive is that they have just entered into their covenant with Yahweh less than 2 months ago and now they have violated that covenant. When Moses throws down and breaks the two tablets of the covenant, that action embodies what Israel has done. The covenant is broken.  And God's response is his just anger at their disloyalty.      BIBLE READING GUIDE - FREE EBOOK - Get the free eBook, Bible in Life, to help you learn how to read and apply the Bible well: https://www.listenerscommentary.com     GIVE -  The Listener’s Commentary is a listener supported Bible teaching ministry made possible by the generosity of people like you. Thank you! Give here:  https://www.listenerscommentary.com/give     STUDY HUB - Want more than the audio? Join the study hub to access articles, maps, charts, pictures, and links to other resources to help you study the Bible for yourself. https://www.listenerscommentary.com/members-sign-up   MORE TEACHING - For more resources and Bible teaching from John visit https://www.johnwhittaker.net

Exodus 28-31   In Exodus 28-31 God give Moses the instructions for the priests clothing and for their ordination service. Then he gives the plans for the final few items needed for the tabernacle. The section ends with God handing Moses the two tablets containing the words of the Covenant.   BIBLE READING GUIDE - FREE EBOOK - Get the free eBook, Bible in Life, to help you learn how to read and apply the Bible well: https://www.listenerscommentary.com     GIVE -  The Listener’s Commentary is a listener supported Bible teaching ministry made possible by the generosity of people like you. Thank you! Give here:  https://www.listenerscommentary.com/give     STUDY HUB - Want more than the audio? Join the study hub to access articles, maps, charts, pictures, and links to other resources to help you study the Bible for yourself. https://www.listenerscommentary.com/members-sign-up   MORE TEACHING - For more resources and Bible teaching from John visit https://www.johnwhittaker.net