Daily Devotion | Leviticus 22 | 2026 March 12

Title: Daily Devotion | Leviticus 22 | 2026 March 12

Scripture: Leviticus 22 (ESV, reference only)

Date: 2026 March 12

Speaker: Rev. John Chen

Transcribed, translated & edited by: Joseph Wang (Yufan)

Alright, dear brothers and sisters, peace to you. We thank God for His grace that we have come to a new day to study our Daily Devotion. Today the passage we are studying is Leviticus chapter 22. Let us pray.

God, we thank You for such grace. You remind us, You warn us, and You call us to live a holy life. Lord, this is Your good and beautiful will. We ask that You would lead us, so that in the Lord Jesus Christ, relying on Your grace and the anointing of the Holy Spirit, we may live a holy life. In Christ’s name we pray, Amen.

Now let us look at today’s passage. In chapter 22 there are many things spoken about holiness. In the Chinese Union Version it mainly mentions the holiness of the holy things, but actually there are quite a number of regulations related to holiness in this chapter. Let us first go through the content of the passage briefly.

The first section speaks about holy things. Holy things must remain holy and must not be profaned. If a person has uncleanness on him, he must not touch the holy things. If he touches the holy things while unclean, he shall be cut off. Among the descendants of Aaron—Aaron’s offspring—if someone has leprosy or a discharge, he also cannot eat of the holy things. They must wait until they are clean before they may eat.

This is something we should remember. In this part, the first issue is the purity of the holy things. Verses 1 to 9 are about the holy things. These holy things cannot be approached simply because someone has the identity of being a descendant of Aaron. One cannot say, “I belong to the lineage of Aaron, I have this identity, therefore I can approach it.” That is not allowed. If he has become unclean, he must also pay attention.

So here we see that there are two kinds of requirements for cleanness. One is the cleanness of identity. In terms of identity, he must be a descendant of Aaron, meaning he must be a priest. But at the same time, he himself must remain clean. These are two separate conditions. Both conditions must be met before he can touch the holy things.

It cannot be only because he has the identity of a priest. And it cannot be only because he is ceremonially clean. These two things must come together. Only when both the identity and the state of purity are present can he approach the holy things. So the requirement for holiness here is very high.

Then the next section, from verse 10 to verse 16, speaks about who may eat the holy things. Outsiders may not eat them. However, someone who is bought with money may eat. Someone who is born in the household may eat. But if the priest’s daughter marries outside, then she cannot eat. Yet if her husband dies, or if she is divorced and returns to her father’s house, then she may again eat her father’s food. Outsiders are not allowed to eat.

If someone eats it unintentionally, what should happen? He must make restitution, adding one fifth to it.

So this is the second section concerning the regulations about eating the holy things. From this we can see the overall principle clearly: holiness. Holiness of identity, ceremonial cleanness, and strict regulations about who may eat.

Here I think verse 11 is a particularly interesting verse. It says that if a priest buys someone with his money, that person may eat. So I think this raises an interesting question about who can be brought into the household to eat the holy things. Of course, those born in the priest’s family can eat. But those who are bought with money can also eat, because they belong to the household.

I think this is actually quite clear—it points to outsiders. If you are bought with money and brought into the priest’s household, then you may eat the holy things.

When we read this regulation in Leviticus, I think Christians can clearly see that this points to Christ. We cannot eat these sacrifices by ourselves. We are all people born outside. We neither have the identity of priests, nor do we have the state of cleanness. We are not clean in our identity, and we are not clean in our condition.

But Jesus Christ has come. Jesus Christ cleanses us. His precious blood covers us and washes us. Through faith in Jesus Christ, we become people in God’s household. He has paid a price to buy us. Because He has bought us, we now belong to His household. And therefore we can also eat the sacrifices.

So I think this is quite clear. I believe God intentionally left these traces in Leviticus so that we would know why we outsiders can now share with the saints. It is because there is this regulation hidden here—the one who is bought may eat.

So we are the ones who have been bought. Thanks be to the Lord.

Then from verse 17 onward the text speaks about sacrifices—what kind of offerings may be presented. It discusses the holiness of the sacrifices. What kind of sacrifice may be offered, and what kind may not be offered.

Here it speaks about burnt offerings. The animal offered must be without blemish—a bull, a sheep, or a goat. If the animal has a defect, it cannot be offered as a burnt offering. From the herd or the flock, when presenting peace offerings, vow offerings, or freewill offerings, the sacrifice must be without blemish in order to be accepted.

Verse 22 says that animals that are blind, injured, or disabled cannot be offered as a food offering by fire. These cannot be offered.

But you must notice verse 23 carefully. If a bull or a lamb has a limb that is too long or too short, it may still be offered as a freewill offering. If the animal has a defect or is not perfect, can it still be offered? Actually it can, but notice the condition in verse 23—it can be offered as a freewill offering, but not as a vow offering. If it is used for a vow offering, it will not be accepted.

Earlier in Leviticus, when we discussed the five offerings, we did not see specific categories like freewill offerings, vow offerings, or thank offerings listed separately in detail. It seems that these belong broadly within the system of peace offerings. Within that larger category there are sub-types: freewill offerings, vow offerings, and so on. I am offering willingly, or I am fulfilling a vow. These distinctions seem to exist within that larger peace offering structure.

The text does not explain every detail, and we no longer have priests standing here to explain all these matters to us. So this is our best understanding of how these offerings are categorized.

Another specific regulation mentioned is that animals with damaged reproductive organs, or animals that have been mutilated in that way, cannot be offered as sacrifices. We know that in agriculture there were certain practices with animals, though I myself have never been a farmer and have not raised cattle or sheep. But the text makes it very clear: if an animal has been altered in this way, it cannot be offered as a sacrifice.

Then in verse 26 there is another rule concerning sacrificial animals. When a calf, a lamb, or a goat is born, it must remain with its mother for seven days. Only from the eighth day onward may it be accepted as an offering by fire to the Lord. This is an important regulation.

Verse 28 also says that you shall not slaughter a cow or a sheep and its young on the same day. This is another regulation.

So when we read these passages, we see very strict requirements: the sacrifice must not have defects. This must be observed carefully. At the same time, there are also some provisions of mercy hidden in these regulations. For example, the one who is bought may eat the holy things. And certain animals with defects may still be offered as freewill offerings.

There are also mercy provisions concerning the animals themselves. You cannot slaughter the mother and its young on the same day. And when a lamb is born, you cannot immediately offer it as a sacrifice. It must remain with its mother for seven days. Only on the eighth day can it be offered.

This shows that even though animals are offered as sacrifices, it is not as though their condition is completely ignored. There are regulations that reflect mercy.

Another regulation is that if someone offers a thanksgiving sacrifice to the Lord, it must be eaten on the same day. Thanksgiving offerings must be eaten that day.

Then verse 31 says that God’s name must be kept holy.

So this is roughly the content of chapter 22. In this chapter we see very clearly God’s strict requirements for holiness. Whether it is the holy things, the identity of the people, the state of cleanness, or the sacrifices themselves, everything must remain pure and without blemish. This shows us that God has very serious requirements regarding holiness.

But within these regulations of holiness we also see God’s mercy and kindness revealed. We have already mentioned several examples.

There is another verse we must pay special attention to—verse 32: “You shall not profane my holy name, that I may be sanctified among the people of Israel. I am the LORD who sanctifies you.”

Here God explains the reason why Israel must live a holy life. The source of their holiness is God Himself. He says, “I am the LORD who sanctifies you.” Therefore you must not do these things.

Then verse 33 says that He brought them out of the land of Egypt to be their God. So from the perspective of creation, God is a holy God. From the perspective of redemption, He is also a holy God. The purpose for which He brought Israel out of Egypt was so that they would live a holy life.

Therefore, we do not need to repeat too much here, because when we have been studying Leviticus we have been repeating this point again and again. A holy life is the duty of Israel. And it is also our duty today.

God did not bring Israel out of Egypt so that they could indulge their desires. It was not merely a liberation so that they could live a so-called “free life,” indulging themselves however they wished. That idea is completely absurd.

Yet sadly, this kind of thinking is quite common among Christians. People say, “Jesus loves me. Jesus saved me.” But they do not continue the line of thinking and ask, “Saved me for what purpose?”

He saved you so that you would live a holy life. He saved you so that you would worship God in your daily life. He saved you so that you would enter into the new heavens and the new earth.

This is something many people overlook, yet Leviticus repeatedly emphasizes it. Holiness of identity, holiness of condition, who may eat the holy things, who may not eat them, what sacrifices may be offered, what sacrifices may not be offered, and how sacrifices must be presented.

All these many detailed regulations are telling us something very important: God cares about these distinctions. God carefully distinguishes between what is holy and what is not holy.

Therefore we should have no illusions. After believing in Jesus, we cannot simply live however we wish, thinking, “Jesus saved me, Jesus loves me, so it doesn’t matter how I live.”

This passage reminds us that when we face difficulties in life and begin to complain against God, thinking that God has not treated us well, we must return to the teaching of the Westminster Larger Catechism concerning the Ten Commandments. We must examine our lives carefully in light of those commandments and see how we ought to live.

As Christians we should not waver on this point. The real question is not whether we should abandon these requirements, but how we can fulfill them.

Of course we must also say that none of us can perfectly fulfill these requirements. When we stand before the law and before these regulations of purity, we must admit that we are sinners. We cannot keep God’s statutes and ordinances perfectly. We are often defiled.

But Jesus Christ, the only Savior, has fulfilled all these things for us. He died for us on the cross. He became the sacrificial Lamb for us.

This is something we must always remember: the gospel comes first, and obedience to the law comes afterward.

Scripture tells us what Jesus has done. Scripture tells us how much He loves us. The Father loves us by giving His Son. The Son loves us by dying on the cross for us. The Holy Spirit loves us by continually filling us, guiding us, and enabling us to live a holy life.

Therefore the holy life is the main battlefield. The holy life is the core. We must not deviate from it. If we deviate from this, then frankly speaking, we are failing as Christians, or we are Christians who do not understand our mission.

Once we have been redeemed and covered by the blood of Christ, we immediately receive a mission.

What mission?

To live a holy life.

This is what Leviticus and the Pentateuch, and even Exodus before it, are teaching us. Our struggle in life should be: “I have sinned again. I must repent. How can I overcome this sin?”

That is the proper state of the Christian life.

Our life should not revolve around solving worldly problems—marriage problems, work problems, parenting problems, or questions about how to become wealthy or satisfy our desires. After believing in Jesus, these are not the central questions anymore.

The real question is: how can I live a holy life on this earth?

How can I do that? By relying on the precious blood of Jesus Christ.

How can I bear witness? By constantly returning to the grace of the gospel and allowing it to transform me.

We must not misunderstand our problem or go in the wrong direction. The purpose of our life is repentance—continual repentance—so that our lives become more and more mature.

You must remember this straight line: we are sinners; Jesus Christ saves us; by faith we enter into Christ; and then from that point forward there is a straight line—the life that conforms to God’s law.

When we study Leviticus, we are reminded of this line every day. It is something we must constantly recalibrate, like aiming a rifle with three points in a straight line. If your aim shifts, the bullet will go astray.

This is the longing of our life and the goal of our living: to live within the commandments of God’s law, to live within the blessing of His law, and to live within the love that Jesus Christ has given to us.

Jesus said, “Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will dwell with him.”

This command, this straight line, must be what Christians aim at. Do not have illusions, and do not deviate.

Often when teaching, we can only cover one point at a time because we are explaining one passage at a time. Because of our sinful nature, when we hear one point emphasized, we easily become confused.

For example, when we hear that Jesus loves us and that His blood covers us, our natural instinct tends toward antinomianism. We think, “Jesus has already done everything. Jesus has already accomplished it. Then I am finished. I don’t need to do anything.”

But that is not true. As covenant people, we must continually return to God’s law, follow Him, imitate His works, and live out a holy life.

This, I believe, is what chapter 22 is telling us—how to live a holy life.

Of course, many of these regulations no longer apply in the same way today. We no longer have food laws or sacrificial rituals in the same form. But the spirit behind them still remains.

For example, the rules about who may eat the holy things—do they have nothing to do with us today? Not exactly. Think about the Lord’s Supper. Who may partake of the Lord’s Table? Who may eat the bread and drink the cup?

Those who partake must be members of the church who live a repentant life, who are recognized by the church, and who participate as communicant members. Otherwise they eat and drink judgment upon themselves.

The Lord’s Supper is meant to strengthen our life. But if it is taken improperly, it can lead to loss instead. Paul even says that some have become weak and ill, and some have died.

So in that sense, the principle still exists.

Therefore for us as Christians, it is important to understand the unity of the Old and New Testaments. We must return to God’s Word, not interpret Scripture according to our own ideas, but according to the understanding of the New Testament apostles.

Their hearts were filled with the law of God. All the moral teachings they gave the churches were within the framework of the Ten Commandments. Even though the ceremonial regulations have been fulfilled and removed, the inner requirement of holiness remains.

The spirit of holiness must still be followed.

When we read these regulations of purity, we should feel a sense of awe. We should say, “Wow, God is truly holy. God’s requirements are so serious.”

On the one hand, we become more thankful for the work Christ has accomplished. Without His grace, we could never partake of the Lord’s Table. But on the other hand, those of us who partake of the Lord’s Supper have a responsibility: to live a holy life with all our strength, to obey God’s commands.

First we must learn them, understand them, and then practice them. We must do our best, using our will and determination. We must not say, “I do not feel moved, so I cannot do it.” That kind of thinking is not acceptable.

Instead we should strive to obey.

Why?

Because verse 33 gives us the reason: “I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt.”

The purpose of God’s redemption is exactly this. He saved us so that we would live a holy life.

So do not shrink back. Lift up your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees. Run the race of the heavenly road.

This is the task God has given us.

Alright, we will stop here today. Thank you everyone.