Exegesis:

Introduction: Removing deeply entrenched notions

Good day to all. We will continue to examine Leviticus Chapter 17. Leviticus contains very deep mysteries. As Christians, we are inherently priests, not to mention pastors or preachers who serve God full-time in the church. Today, many of our questions must be answered by returning to the Bible. For example, we encounter perplexing situations: some brothers and sisters deeply love the Lord, yet they are afflicted with cancer. How could they be targeted by cancer and suffer so greatly? I tell you, Christians, especially pastors, must carefully study Leviticus. Leviticus was not written for ordinary people but for those who serve God. We must understand: Christians are Levites, they are priests. So today, we will read Leviticus once again.

Over the past years, we have read Leviticus many times, assuming it had little to do with us. However, Leviticus continually reveals very deep truths. After reading it, we may find that things we previously considered self-evident in life are considered unclean in Leviticus, which is hard for us to comprehend. We must remember that if you are unclean, you cannot come to the temple to worship and offer sacrifices. Whether one is clean or unclean is a matter of utmost importance.

Sometimes we are too self-righteous, always thinking, If we follow God's word, how can we live? Many people like to say that. But remember, violating Leviticus is a serious sin. Let me review some of the previous chapters of Leviticus with you. Earlier chapters discuss some very interesting phenomena, such as childbirth making a woman unclean, which is puzzling. After a man and woman marry and engage in normal marital relations, they become unclean. This is all hard to understand.

But the issue is not how we understand it, but how God views it. Later, we discovered that those things are purely carnal. As the saying goes, A child is a piece of flesh that falls from the mother's body, which is a purely carnal viewpoint. Carnal people cannot come before God, and they are naturally at enmity with God.

If we follow human logic, some might ask Jesus some abhorrent questions: A woman married, and her husband died; then she married another, and he died as well; she married again and died again... Eventually, this woman and all her husbands went to heaven. People then asked Jesus: Whose wife is this woman? Jesus replied:

You are mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. (Matthew 22:29-30)

Many things that people consider self-evident are actually wrong! Therefore, can we restore a habit: constantly pondering the meaning that the Bible wants to convey? If you understand what the Bible says, you will be powerful.

Offering Sacrifices According to God's Commands

Leviticus Chapter 17 discusses several interesting matters. When offering sacrifices—bulls, goats, or lambs—no matter where you slaughter them, the sacrificial offerings must be brought to the entrance of the tent of meeting. If they are slaughtered elsewhere, it becomes a major problem. The result is: Bloodguilt is imputed to that man (Leviticus 17:4). Isn't that life-threatening? Furthermore, He has shed blood, and that person shall be cut off from among his people (Leviticus 17:4). Is it that serious? It is that serious! You ask me why it is so serious? I cannot answer. I can only say, We must act according to what the Lord God commands.

If you carefully consider it, even Moses did not fully understand. If he did, he would not have said: Moses did as the Lord God commanded. We are merely humans, and we cannot say: God says this, but we insist on doing that. If you tell me to go east, I insist on going west; if you tell me to go south, I insist on going north. Isn't that being argumentative? I tell you, you must do as God says. If the sacrificial offering is not brought before the Lord's tent of meeting, it becomes sacrificing to demons after whom they whore. Can you understand that? I cannot. But later I understood: Offering sacrifices must be done as God says, and it must be at the tent of the Lord God. If you slaughter and offer sacrifices elsewhere, it does not count as a sacrifice and is considered a sin.

If anyone, whether a resident alien or an Israelite, offers a burnt offering or sacrifice, and does not bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting to offer it to the Lord, that person shall be cut off from his people (Leviticus 17:9). Can you understand now? Many times, we think it's good to build an altar at home, isn't it? But it's not okay, that's not how it's done! You might think: If each of the twelve tribes of Israel builds an altar, it would be very convenient! If each family builds an altar, it would be great! Everyone on their small hillside, small hill, under a green tree, builds their own altar, how wonderful! But that is all called sinning! Even if you inscribe on that altar: The altar of the Lord God, it is useless.

Life Is in the Blood, and Life Belongs to God

Next, it talks about blood. There is life in the blood, meaning that people cannot eat blood. What happens after eating it? Eating blood means eating its life, and you must be cut off! Is it that serious? God said it is that serious! This is all about sacrificial offerings and blood. If I go a little deeper, for example, this sacrificial offering must be brought to the entrance of the tent of meeting to be slaughtered, so it is not considered a sin of bloodshed, because it is offered to God. These things are related to blood, because there is life in the blood, and eating blood must result in being cut off. I have been pondering, what does this mean? It turns out that life belongs to God. It's like our tithes belong to God, and if you take them home, they become things devoted to destruction, which will cause death.

There was a man named Achan. After crossing the Jordan River, the first battle the Israelites fought was the city of Jericho. The first battle was the first fruit, which belongs entirely to God. As a result, Achan took possession of chains, clothes, and other inexpensive items. These things cannot be taken casually, because they belong to God. Because the firstborn belongs to God, the spoils of war after the first battle also belong to God. Because Achan took the items, the Israelites later suffered a defeat. Achan thought that God would not notice and that no one would know who did it. But in the end, lots were cast before the Lord God, and Achan was chosen. Achan was then destroyed and cut off from among the people.

In other words, blood and life belong to God. If you eat them, you must be cut off. People cannot eat things that belong to God, nor can they take possession of things that belong to God. Once they do, they must be cut off.

The Church Is the Sole Place to Worship God

What is this chapter really about? Although it talks about two things, it is actually talking about one thing. Our God has established a rule: one God, one faith, one baptism. In the Old Testament, there was a single place to worship God. You cannot establish any other place to worship God. Now, I tell you, today the sole place to worship God is the church. So you will find that our church does not engage in small groups or family altars. I do not allow you to take the altar home; I let you place the altar in the church. In other words, we all pray and worship toward God's temple, instead of building an altar at home and worshiping at home.

Sometimes, I find that people always replace God's logic with human logic. People always think it's good for the family to be united! But is it really good for the family to be united? Family unity is not necessarily good, because each family has its own priorities. The family is quite united, but the church falls apart. Your family is united, my family is united, and his family is also united, but the church is not united.

There is a logic in political science: When a country is very united, the world suffers. For example, Japan is a very united nation. When it united, the world suffered during World War II. So, don't be deceived by some logic. For example, our country has fifty-six ethnic groups, merged into one Chinese nation, very united, very good. But if the people of Xinjiang are very united, and the people of Tibet are very united, what will happen? That will be troublesome. It's like many places are now seeking independence. The more united they are, the more they want independence. Today, we see that this world is quite interesting. The Taiwanese are very united, and Taiwan wants to seek independence. My point is that when every family is united, the church may not be united. This is the principle of political science.

If you gradually understand, you will see a very critical thing. A pastor constantly promotes family altars, but this is not in the Bible. The Bible specifies a single place to worship God, and that is the church. Which church is God's church? The place where God is present is God's church.

So I want you to gradually understand what God says, especially in the matter of offering sacrifices. I once heard someone say this: Sacrifices do not necessarily have to be offered to the church. This person is a pastor of a church, and he said: It is okay if you use the money from offerings for charity. Is that really okay? It's not okay, because I have served in many such cases. Why do these pastors say this? Perhaps they think it sounds more generous. But in our church, what is emphasized is that sacrifices must be offered to the church. Tithes and all other kinds of offerings must be given to the church. If you take the money and use it for charity, it does not count as an offering to God and will cause great trouble.

Act as Priests According to God's Instructions

In the process of building the church, major problems will arise if we constantly follow human intentions instead of the instructions of Jehovah. For instance, doing charity might seem good, but it is not what God has ordained. When offering sacrifices to God, you must bring them to the entrance of the tabernacle; otherwise, the guilt of bloodshed will be on that person. Isn't that a matter of life and death?

Everyone must know how God instructs us to act as priests. We must act as priests according to God's instructions. However, in the Old Testament, many still acted according to their own intentions. For example, some might think it's too much trouble to go to Jerusalem and sacrifice to God in His tabernacle, a journey of over a hundred kilometers. Instead, they would find a small hill near their homes to offer sacrifices. Who knows if that small hill is a tomb? Offering sacrifices there not only fails to solve problems but also brings deep curses. Spiritually, fornication means being unfaithful, spiritually unfaithful. Committing spiritual adultery means following the devil.

We must ponder this. I am taking a great risk by saying this because many will disagree with me, but I won't argue with them. If we live long enough, we will see how God repays those who do not act according to His word. In a previous chapter, Nadab and Abihu offered strange fire, which Jehovah had not commanded, and they were immediately consumed by fire.

Today, many push for various activities without following God's instructions. When have you seen Jesus doing fundraising? When have you seen Jesus feeding and providing for the poor within Israel? I have not seen that. If Jesus did these things, then we should do them too. Jesus preached the gospel, healed the sick, and cast out demons. Jesus is about casting out demons and healing the sick today and tomorrow, and on the third day, His work will be accomplished.

I am deeply moved. When will people stop catering to the flesh? Can your charity solve the curses on people? It's useless to do anything when people live under a curse because they have disobeyed God's word. Are we helping them to disobey God's word? In reality, people simply don't want to pay the price, don't want to go to God's tabernacle, don't want to slaughter sheep and cattle for sacrifices. They slaughter cattle and sheep at home and then turn them into jerky to offer to God, but God does not eat jerky.

Removing Self-Righteousness, What God Thinks Matters Most

Today, I serve God with fear and trembling, afraid that I am serving according to my own intentions, repeating the mistakes I made in the past. I often say, God, deal with the self-righteousness within me! So, today I read the Bible very carefully, not doing things blindly.

If you see someone suffering from severe and prolonged disasters, or chronic illnesses, such as cancer, that is a curse! May God's Spirit guide us daily, preventing us from falling into self-righteousness. What God thinks is most important. How much of what we think is based on the Bible? Everything I consider self-evident is wrong. Later, I discarded everything I thought was self-evident and implemented things according to God's word.

In the past, I thought it was difficult to implement things according to God's word, to go out and preach the gospel, heal the sick, and cast out demons—how unscientific and embarrassing! Those past thoughts were deadly. I thank God that He severely punished me but thankfully did not crush me. Later, I diligently acted according to God's word. I don't encourage everyone to do things blindly; we must act according to the words of the Bible.

I come from a computer background. If a computer program is not 100% correct, it cannot run. Even if it is 100% correct, there will occasionally be bugs, and the code must be repeatedly modified. Some people say, Teacher, 99% of what I do is the same as yours. But in computer programming, even if only 1% is incorrect, it cannot run; even if there is 1/1000 or 1/10000 incorrect, the program cannot run. Actually, I am not the standard; only the Bible is the standard. So, we must know that we cannot play with family altars, nor can we replace God with charity or community care.

Once, I met a sister who was from Taiwan and working in Singapore. She was very unlucky, crying her eyes out in front of me. I felt sorry for her, so I led her in prayer. As soon as I prayed, God's word came to me, saying, This person is not a giver. I said to her, Sister, you are not a giver. She said, That's not right, I do give. If she gave, how could she be so unlucky? Later, she admitted that she had used the money meant for offerings for charitable purposes. Isn't that courting death? Never do such a thing.

In the Old Testament, slaughtering cattle and sheep and worshipping does not mean offering to God; it is offering to demons. Just because you think it is Jehovah's altar does not mean it is God's altar, or that what you think is God's temple is God's temple. God's temple is not a place you designate; it is a place that God designates. Today, the place God designates is the church!

Constantly Reflecting on Oneself, Knowing the Truth Sets One Free

Our brothers and sisters must react quickly. If God makes you very unlucky, you must reflect on yourself. God will not make mistakes, nor will demons. Only we ourselves make mistakes by not acting according to God's word. If I get sick, I will first tell everyone: I did something wrong. Although I don't know what I did wrong, if I pray and seek God, He will surely tell me.

Never serve God in a way that caters to the flesh. This generation needs God's light, God's glory, God's revelation; it needs to be freed from selfishness and self-righteousness; it needs to break the bondage on people and bring them out of these self-righteousnesses and curses; and then enter into God's truth. The Bible says: It is the truth that sets us free, doesn't it?

The most important thing in a sacrifice is the blood of the Lamb. The precious blood of Jesus Christ is powerful. A sister in her forties couldn't spit phlegm since she was a child. When the phlegm reached her throat, she just couldn't spit it out, resulting in many illnesses. Yesterday, as I was leading in prayer, she spat out a lot of rotten stuff. After she finished spitting, she told her pastor that she felt particularly good. This is clear proof that God is with us.

Of course, there are still some things we haven't figured out, but that's okay, we strive to pursue them. From childhood to adulthood, I have had a very big advantage: I know when I do things wrong, and I know when I do things right. I'm not the kind of person who doesn't know when I'm wrong or when I'm right; who doesn't know how I'm right or how I'm wrong. Once what I do is different from what Jesus did, I know I haven't done things right, and I must be like Jesus.

As a result, a demon-possessed person said: Whoever says he is like Jesus, that person should be cursed. He believes that no one can be like God, nor can anyone strive to be like God. If I don't strive to be like God, how can so many people be delivered? I don't want to be a good person; I just want to be a sinner before God, using the precious blood of Jesus Christ to cover my transgressions so that God will count me as a righteous person. I am nothing. If people say I am a mangy dog, I will say I am just a pile of dog excrement, and it is God who transformed me from stinky dog excrement into what I am today. What grace this is! What precious salvation!

Summary: Life Belongs to God, Completely Dedicate Ourselves to God

Why does God not allow people to eat blood? Not because there are toxins in the blood or it is unhealthy to eat, but because the blood belongs to God. All life comes from God, the life of animals also comes from God. Sacrifices belong to God, and both blood and life belong to God. We have to eat what belongs to God, aren't we courting death?

So, it's not a question of whether to eat blood or not in the New Testament. Eating or not eating blood is not that important. What is important is to know that the source of all life is God. All things belong to God, and all things come from God. Our God is the Lord of life, and it is right that we worship Him, and it is right that we offer sacrifices to Him. So this chapter is not about the sacredness of blood, but about: Life belongs to God! There is a hymn that sings very well, called Only to Gain You. The person who wrote this song is truly amazing!

Your grace leads us to the most holy place, prostrate in Your glory. I have nothing to boast of, only to boast of knowing You, my Lord, my King, my only one. This is my heartfelt desire. Brothers and sisters must know: Our God is the Lord of life, and our lives belong to God. We should implement things according to God's word, and we should serve Him according to God's word. I have nothing, only my life to offer to You.

So today, it is not about offering cattle and sheep to God, but about dedicating ourselves to God. If you still love the world, you cannot serve God. Know that God is most holy, our God is the Lord of life. If we don't return to Him, where will we get life? If money can give you life, then go find money. When money is useless, where will you go? Today, let us leave everything behind for God, because He is the Lord of life. I also long that brothers and sisters can listen to God's heart, gaining what Jesus Christ wants us to gain because He is the Lord of life, and our lives completely belong to Him, which is as it should be.

May God bless everyone!