Leviticus 24

The most important structure in the camp of Israel was the tabernacle, the sanctuary where God dwelt and where the priests and Levites served Him. The outer covering of badgers’ skins was not impressive, but within the tent of meeting, it was beautiful, costly, and glorious. It was the tabernacle that made the camp holy and set it apart for God, just as the presence of the Holy Spirit within believers sets them apart from the world and makes them wholly God’s (1 Cor. 6:19–20; 2 Cor. 6:14–18; Eph. 1:13–14).

In this chapter, the Lord gave Moses instructions concerning three holy things: the holy oil for the lampstand (Lev. 24:1–4), the holy bread for the table (vv. 5–9), and the holy name of the Lord, which all the people were to honor (vv. 10–23).

The veil divided the tabernacle proper into two parts, the holy place and the Holy of Holies. In the holy place were three pieces of furniture: the golden altar of incense, the table of presence bread, and the golden lampstand. As the priest faced the incense altar, the table would be to his right and the lampstand to his left.

Since there were no windows in the tabernacle, it was necessary to have light in the holy place so the priests could see as they ministered there. The golden lampstand provided that light. It was hammered out of pure gold and made into one piece with a central shaft and six branches; pure olive oil fueled the lamps on the branches (see Ex. 25:31–39; 27:20–21; 30:7–8; 37:17–24; 40:24–25).

Each morning and evening, when the high priest burned incense on the golden altar, he was to care for the lights on the lampstand to make sure they would continue to burn. Special golden instruments were provided for pulling up the wicks from the oil and trimming them.

The commandment in Leviticus 24:1–4 emphasized two essentials: (1) the people of Israel had to provide the olive oil regularly, and (2) it had to be beaten and pure (Ex. 27:20–21). There was a method of extracting olive oil by heat, but beating or crushing the olives and straining out the impurities produced the best olive oil. And the God of Israel deserves the very best.

Bible students generally agree that oil for anointing is a symbol of the Holy Spirit of God who anoints God’s people for service (2 Cor. 1:21; 1 John 2:27), but this particular oil is for burning and not anointing. Zechariah 4:1–6 connects oil for burning with the Holy Spirit and identifies that lampstand as the two faithful servants of God. What does the tabernacle lampstand signify?

I personally think that the golden lampstand first of all symbolizes the Word of God, the light that God gives us in this dark world (Ps. 119:105, 130; 2 Peter 1:19). The unconverted can’t see or understand the light of the Word of God because they lack the ministry of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 2:9–16). Nobody outside the holy place could see the light from the golden lampstand, but those within appreciated its light.

Apart from the light of the Word, God’s servants can’t see where they are or what they’re doing, nor can they serve God effectively. The lampstand gave light so the priest could burn the incense on the golden altar, and apart from the Scriptures, we can’t pray effectively (Ps. 141:1–2; John 15:5; Acts 6:4). The light from the lampstand illuminated the beautiful hangings in the holy place and also revealed the bread on the golden table. The illuminating ministry of the Spirit of God makes the things of God real and clear to us.

I’d like to suggest that the lampstand could also symbolize the nation of Israel, as did the twelve loaves of bread on the golden table, which we’ll study next. God called Israel to be a shining light in a very dark world, but they had to shine first of all in His presence before they could witness to their pagan neighbors (see Isa. 58:8; 60:1–3). The tragedy is that the priesthood became wicked and failed to maintain the nation’s light before the Lord (1 Sam. 3).

Of course, Jesus is the light (Luke 2:32; John 1:4, 9; 8:12; 9:5), and only through Him can we see and appreciate spiritual things. The apostle John compared local churches to individual golden candlesticks that are supposed to shine and bear witness in their cities (Rev. 1:12, 20; see Matt. 5:16; Eph. 5:8; Phil. 2:15).

If the people of Israel didn’t bring the beaten olive oil, the lights couldn’t be kept burning in the holy place. The people might say, “Well, we can’t see the lampstand anyway, so what difference does it make?’’ The lamp wasn’t there for the people to see but for God to see and for the priest to use as he carried on his ministry. What happened in the presence of God was far more important than what happened elsewhere in the camp! Sad to say, many a local church has had its light go out before both God and the world because of the unfaithfulness of the members. They failed to pray, give, and allow the Holy Spirit to use them. If the light is to be kept burning, somebody has to provide the oil.

Not only were the people to bring the pure olive oil for the lamp, but also they were to bring the fine flour out of which twelve loaves of bread were baked each week. These were put on the golden table each Sabbath, and then the old bread was given to the priests to eat.

The size of these loaves is a mystery to us because the text doesn’t state the measure used in the recipe. The Hebrew simply reads “of two-tenths it shall be,’’ but two-tenths of what? The niv says “using two-tenths of an ephah,’’ which would be about four quarts of flour, but the word “ephah’’ isn’t in the Hebrew text. That much flour would produce a very large loaf, and it’s doubtful that twelve large loaves would all fit on the table. It’s probable that the loaves were stacked on top of one another, making two stacks of six loaves, with a small container of frankincense on top of each stack.

These loaves were treated like a “meal offering,’’ complete with the frankincense (2:1–11). On the Sabbath, when the loaves were replaced, the priest would take a “memorial portion’’ from a loaf, add the frankincense, and burn it on the altar along with the daily burnt offering. The priests could then eat the old loaves, but they had to do it in the holy place (24:9).

What did this symbolize? Only the priests (the tribe of Levi) were allowed in the holy place, but the other tribes were represented there in two ways: by the jewels on the high priest’s garments (Ex. 28:6–21), and by the twelve loaves on the table. The table was called “the table of shewbread’’ (Num. 4:7), and the loaves were called “shewbread’’ (Ex. 25:30), which can be translated “bread of presence.’’ God was present with His people and they were in His presence in the tabernacle. No matter where the Jews were in the camp, they needed to remind themselves that their tribe was represented in the holy place on the golden table. The New Testament application would be Colossians 3:1ff.

From the priest’s viewpoint, the loaves reminded him that his ministry was for real people. Being somewhat isolated in the tabernacle precincts day after day, the priests could easily get “out of touch’’ with the people they were representing before God. Oil from the people fed the lamp that gave the priests light, and the bread they ate each Sabbath came from flour given by the people. The twelve loaves reminded the priests that all the tribes were represented before God and were God’s people. All of this should have made the priests more appreciative of the tribes and more anxious to serve them in the best way.

If there were only one loaf, it might be viewed as a type of Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life (John 6:35), but the imagery in John 6 is that of manna and not the loaves in the tabernacle. Matthew 6: also comes to mind: “Give us this day our daily bread.’’ Whether we need spiritual bread for the inner person or physical bread for the body, we must look to God alone.

We expect to find oil and incense in the holy place, but not bread. After all, bread is a common food. But the presence of bread in the tabernacle assures us that God is concerned about the practical things of our lives and that there’s no such thing as “secular’’ and “sacred’’ in the Christian life. It was this “presence bread’’ that David and his men ate when David was fleeing from Saul (1 Sam. 21:1–6; see Matt. 12:1–4).

It may seem strange to us that the book of Leviticus is interrupted at this point to tell about a blasphemer who was judged, but the narrative is an illustration, not an interruption. The basis for obedience to the law is the fear of the Lord, and people who blaspheme His holy name have no fear of God in their hearts.

Dishonoring God’s name (vv. 10–11). Every Jew knew the third commandment: “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain’’ (Ex. 20: nkjv). So fearful were the Jews of breaking this commandment that they substituted the name “Adonai’’ for “Jehovah’’ when they read the Scriptures, thus never speaking God’s name at all. To respect a name is to respect the person who bears that name, and our highest respect belongs to the Lord.

The blasphemer was the product of a mixed marriage between an Egyptian father and a Jewish mother from the tribe of Dan. Since the father isn’t named as being present, we wonder if he had stayed in Egypt when the mother took her son and fled, or perhaps he was dead. This much is sure: The boy didn’t grow up learning a proper respect for the Lord or His name. Even in Moses’ day, marriages between believers and unbelievers created problems for God’s people. Moses had to contend with the bad influence of a “mixed multitude’’ who left Egypt at the Exodus but who really didn’t have a heart for the things of the Lord (Ex. 12:38; Num. 11:4; see Neh. 13:23–31).

This Egyptian Jew got into a fight with a Jew in the camp (see Ex. 2:11–15), and during the fight he blasphemed the name of God. He may have cursed his adversary in the name of Jehovah or in his anger simply cursed the name of the Lord. Whatever is in our hearts will eventually come out of our lips (Matt. 12:34–35).

Of course, it’s possible to blaspheme God’s name in other ways beside swearing. Perjury dishonors God’s name (Lev. 19:12), and so does stealing (Prov. 30:8–9). Jesus taught that our lives should be so pure that we won’t need to use oaths or vows in order to make people believe us (Matt. 5:33–37). A multitude of words could be evidence that sin is present somewhere (Prov. 10:19).

Determining God’s will (vv. 12–16). If a Jew had committed the awful sin of blasphemy, Moses would have known what to do, but this man was part Jewish and part Egyptian, and the law had nothing to say about this. Taking the wise approach, Moses put the man in custody and waited for the Lord to tell him what to do.

This is the first of four recorded occasions when Moses had to seek the mind of the Lord about special problems. The second occasion had to do with some men who had been defiled by a corpse and couldn’t celebrate Passover. The Lord permitted them to celebrate the next month (Num. 9:6–14). The third occasion involved a man who had violated the Sabbath (15:32–36), and he was stoned to death. The fourth concerned the inheritance of the five daughters of Zelophehad whose question made it possible for Jewish women to inherit their father’s land (27:1–11; 36:1ff.). Note that in this last instance, one decision led to another, which is often the case when you are seeking the will of God.

Moses was humble enough to admit that he didn’t know everything and had to ask the Lord what to do. That’s a good example for leaders to follow in the church today. “The humble He guides in justice, and the humble He teaches His way’’ (Ps. 25: nkjv). God had given Israel all the laws they needed to govern their religious and civil life successfully, but Moses and the tribal leaders had to interpret these laws and apply them as new situations arose. When the leaders had no clear precept or precedent to follow, they had to seek the Lord’s direction before they could give a correct opinion.

Immature Christians want the Lord to give them rules and regulations to cover every area of life, and this explains why they’re immature. If we never have to pray, search the Scriptures, counsel with other believers, and wait on the Lord, we never will use our “spiritual muscles’’ and grow up. The Bible gives us precepts, principles, promises, and personal examples that together are adequate to guide us in the decisions of life. The motor club will give its members detailed maps for their trips, but the Bible is more of a compass that keeps us going in the right direction without spelling out every detail of the trip. “For we walk by faith, not by sight’’ (2 Cor. 5:7).

God instructed Moses what to do. The offender must be brought outside the camp where the entire assembly would stone him, for blasphemy was a capital crime in Israel (Matt. 26:65; Acts 6:11, 13; 7:58). Those who actually heard the man blaspheme would put their hands on his head to publicly identify him as the offender. The witnesses would also be the first to stone him (Deut. 17:7). In other words, the same law that applied to the Israelites also applied to the resident aliens (the “strangers’’ or “sojourners’’) who lived among the Jews (Lev. 24:16, 22). Even the “strangers’’ were not to blaspheme the name of the God of Israel.

Discerning God’s mind (vv. 17–22). The Lord further applied this legal decision to other areas of life and laid down the principle that the punishment must fit the crime (see Ex. 21:22–25; Deut. 19:21). This is known as the lex talionis, “the law of retaliation,’’ a principle that made sure the guilty offender was not punished more severely than the crime demanded. The murderer was to be put to death (Lev. 24:17, 21; Gen. 9:5–6), but the penalties for other crimes had to suit the offense.

Because this principle has been misunderstood, many people have called it cruel and unjust. They have questioned how a God of love and mercy could enunciate it. But this law was actually an expression of God’s justice and compassion, because it helped restrain personal revenge in a society that had no police force or elaborate judicial system. Apart from this law, the strong could have crushed the weak at the least offense.

The Pharisees used the lex talionis to defend their practice of private revenge, a practice that Jesus condemned in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5:38–39). Just as the lex talionis was a step forward from private revenge, so Matthew 5:38–39 is a giant leap forward from the lex talionis. However, we must keep in mind that our Lord’s instructions in the Sermon on the Mount were given for believers, not unbelievers, and for individuals, not nations. In our modern courts, the principle of “make the penalty fit the crime’’ is still practiced.

Dispensing God’s justice (v. 23). Moses and the people went outside the camp and did as the Lord commanded. Today, many sincere people, both believers and unbelievers, would have opposed killing the offender, but the sentence was carried out. It was a capital offense, and the guilty man forfeited his life.

The arguments surrounding capital punishment are many and varied, but we must not make our personal opinions or convictions a test of fellowship or spirituality. The law of Moses made a distinction between murder and manslaughter (Ex. 21:12–14) and provided six “cities of refuge,’’ where an innocent man could be protected and get a fair trial (Num. 35). This arrangement frustrated the plans of angry relatives of the dead person, people who might want to take the law into their own hands.

In the Bible, murder is considered a serious crime. Humans are made in the image of God (Gen. 1:26–27; 1 Cor. 11:7; James 3:9), and to kill a human being is to attack God’s image (Gen. 9:4–6). Life is a sacred gift from God, and only God can take it away or authorize it to be taken away. God has ordained human government and given civil authorities the power of the sword (Rom. 13:1–5). The purpose of capital punishment is not to frighten potential criminals into being good but to uphold and defend the law. It’s a declaration that men and women are special—created in the image of God—and that life is sacred in God’s sight.

Whether or not capital punishment affects the crime statistics isn’t the main issue. It’s doubtful that any of our laws are really deterrents to crime. Careless drivers still speed, people still park their cars in “no parking’’ zones, wage earners still cheat on their income tax, and burglars still steal. But would any of us want our legislatures to repeal the laws against speeding, parking illegally, falsifying one’s income tax, or stealing? Of course not! Respect for truth, life, and property are cornerstones of a just and peaceful society. Capital punishment may not decrease the number of murders any more than speeding tickets decrease the number of speeders, but it does declare that humans are made in the image of God and that life is a sacred gift.

The Bible doesn’t present capital punishment as a “cure-all’’ for crime. It presents it as a form of punishment that shows respect for law, for life, and for humans made in the image of God. To take a pragmatic or sentimental approach to the subject is to miss the point completely.

Leviticus 24 begins in the holy place of the tabernacle and ends outside the camp. It opens with oil and bread and closes with the shedding of guilty blood. But the emphasis is the same: Our God is a holy God and we must honor Him, whether in bringing our gifts or respecting His name. The Lord doesn’t execute blasphemers today, but there is coming a day of judgment when the secrets of all hearts will be revealed, and then God will “render to every man according to his deeds’’ (Rom. 2:6).

“For there is no respect of persons with God’’ (v. 11).

“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved’’ (10:13).