Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Prayer Meeting Lesson Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/pm/pm20010307.htm

LEVITICUS: GOD'S CALL FOR A SEPARATED WITNESS
Part II: The Path Of Walking In Fellowship With God (Leviticus 11-27)
N. Revealing The Believer's Perpetually Available And Adequate Guidance And Power For Service
(Leviticus 24:1-23)
  1. Introduction
    1. Many believers experience stretches in their walk with God where they have serious misgivings about what they should do for God, or how they can achieve what God directs or even if they can do it in a pleasing enough way to achieve God's will!
    2. Leviticus 24:1-23 offers instruction and an illustration on how these concerns are to be met (as follows):
  2. Revealing The Believer's Perpetually Available And Adequate Guidance And Power For Service.
    1. The Lord revealed the believer is perpetually supplied divine guidance for life and service, Lev. 24:1-4:
      1. God directed Moses to order the people of Israel to supply pure, beaten olive oil for the lampstands in the Holy Place of the Tabernacle, Leviticus 24:1-3a.
      2. This oil was to be available to keep the lampstand lit perpetually, Leviticus 24:3b-4.
      3. As the olive oil typifies the ministry of the Holy Spirit (Vernon McGee, Thru The Bible, vol. One, p. 433), we see this statute foretelling the Christian's perpetually available divine guidance as follows:
        1. John 14:26 reveals that God, the Holy Spirit will teach the believer all things, bringing to his remembrance all that Christ and the Word of God has said to him.
        2. This same Holy Spirit applies Scripture's truth as a divine Parent, guiding us, Jn. 14:16-18 NIV.
        3. He takes the written Word of God and applies it for guidance, 1 Cor. 2:10-13; 2 Tim. 3:15-17.
        4. Since the Holy Spirit abides in the believer perpetually, the believer always has this guiding ministry available to him, cf. John 14:16b; Ephesians 4:30.
    2. God revealed the believer always has divine power available to him for winsome and effective service:
      1. Following discussion about the olive oil for the lampstand lights, God directed Moses to command for the continual provision of the unleavened bread in the same room, the Holy of Holies, Leviticus 24:5a.
      2. This bread was to be made into 12 loaves, signifying ample provision for all of Israel's tribes, 24:5b.
      3. Each loaf contained about four quarts of flour, making it a very large loaf to signify the sufficiency of food provided, Leviticus 24:5 with Ryrie Study Bible, KJV ftn.
      4. The loaves were put on a table covered with pure gold, signifying divine provision, 24:6b & Ex. 25:24.
      5. Frankincense, a mixture with a strong, sweet odor, typifies the appeal the Holy Spirit produced in Christ and delivers in a Spirit-controlled Christian, Ibid., McGee, p. 434; Isa. 11:1-2; Gal. 5:22-23. Bowls of frankincense were placed beside the loaves, signifying this appeal.
      6. The loaves and frankincense were to be made perpetually available, and eaten by the priests, 24:8-9.
      7. These loaves signified the ample spiritual enabling the Holy Spirit would produce to make the believer both (a) appealing and (b) powerful in ministering for the Lord, cf. Acts 1:8; 2:1-4, 46-47.
    3. Then, Leviticus 24:10-23 illustrated in practical terms God's guidance and enabling typified above:
      1. A man from the carnal, mixed multitude following Israel out of Egypt blasphemed the Lord, 24:10-11.
      2. The people put the man in a prison ward, not knowing what to do, and possibly being afraid to take action as they naturally shied away from performing capital punishment on a questionable issue, 24:12.
      3. God instructed the people to transfer what guilt they might have falsely felt for this man's sin back to the man himself, and that through the laying on of hands, and then boldly to execute him, 24:13-16. In fact, God added insight on handling other questionable wrongs they faced in Leviticus 24:17-22.
      4. The people heeded this insight, emboldened by God to do His bidding from Moses' words, Lev. 24:23.
Lesson: Leviticus 24 reveals that all we believers in Christ need for GUIDANCE, ENABLING and WINSOMENESS in serving the Lord is ALWAYS AVAILABLE through dependence upon the indwelling Holy Spirit, and through our use of Scripture which the Spirit illumines and applies to us.

Application: To deal with feeling so DIRECTION LESS, so WEAK or so UNAPPEALING that we cannot do God's will well, rely upon the indwelling Holy Spirit and read Scripture: He will teach, direct, and equip us to be able and winsome enough to do God's service assignments for us!