Lessons from Leviticus

Lesson 1: Becoming God’s Holy People

Bible Text: Leviticus 1-7

Lesson Aim:

For kids to better understand what it means to be holy, and how they can become Holy through the works of Christ.

Bible Memory:

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (I John 1:9).

Introduction:

Today we will begin our study of Leviticus. The book of Leviticus teaches us about the laws the Israelites were required to keep in order to be holy.

What do you think it means to be holy?

Does being holy mean wearing holy jeans or clothes? Of course no!

In the Bible God had a special people, He called them His own. Does anyone know who they were? Yes, they were the Israelites, God’s chosen people. The rules God gave them in Leviticus were given to make them different from the other nations.

God calls us to be holy as well. We should not look like the world, we should be different. This should affect who we are, what we say, and what we do. It will even affect who we hang out with, and what how we dress.

But how are we made holy?

This is what we will look into today.

Bible Lesson:

Divide the class into 5 groups, and assign verses for each group to look up. Tell them to look for what the name of the offering was, what was to be offered, and the purpose of each. Give each group time to look up the information and then allow them to present it to the class.

1. Leviticus 1:1-4, 10-14:

Offering Name: Burnt Offering

Offering: Perfect male, either a bull, sheep, goat, turtledoves, or young pigeons

Purpose: Forgiveness

2. Leviticus 2:1-3

Offering Name: Grain offering

Offering: Fine flour with oil and perfume

Purpose: Expressed thanks to the Lord

3. Leviticus 3:1, 3:6-7, 3:12

Offering name: Peace offering

Offering: male or female calf, lamb, or goat

Purpose: Fellowship with people and with God

4. Leviticus 4:1-3, 4:13-15, 4:22-23, 4:27-29, 4:32-33

Offering Name: Sin Offering

Offering: a perfect bull, female goat, or lamb

Purpose: Forgiveness of unintentional sins

5. Leviticus 5:14-16

Offering Name: Guilt Offering

Offering: a Ram that is perfect

Purpose: Forgiveness of sins done to others.

Explain that in order for the Israelites to be holy they had to keep these laws. They had to offer the right sacrfices, and do all that was required of them. Did you notice anything about all the offerings? In each case, they were to offer their very best. Likewise, the Lord deserves and desires that we give Him our very best.

Ask: What do you think it would be like to still have to offer all of these sacrifices today? Why are these sacrifices no longer necessary?

Explain: this is no longer necessary because Jesus came and became the perfect sacrifice. Today, our holiness is not based upon laws we have to keep, special offerings, or sacrifices we make. Our holiness is based on the perfect sacrifice of Christ.

Share the Gospel:

But for those of you who do not know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, in God’s eyes you are still in your sin. But the Bible tells us that, all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:10) and that even when we were still sinners Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). It also tells us that we can have eternal life by believing in what Christ has done on our behalf (John 3:16). Yet, it also makes it clear that our forgiveness and salvation are not based on what we have done but only upon what Christ has done (Ephesians 2:8-9), and that it is by grace through faith. (Romans 10:9-10) says that if we confess with our moths Jesus as Lord, and believe with our hearts that God raised Him from the dead, we will be saved. And when you put your faith in what Christ has done, in God’s eyes you are holy!

For those of us who have trusted in Christ, we still mess up right? How many of you are perfect every day and never sin?? Nobody??? Come on, surely atleast one? No? No! Which is why God has made away for us to daily confess our sins to the Lord for the forgiveness of our sins that we still commit even after being saved. Does this mean we should just sin and live however we want, because we can confess it later? Abosolutley not. We seek to please the Lord and to live for Him, but when we fail, we can be made right with the Lord again through prayer.

Application:

1. Remind children that just as the Israelites were to be set apart, we are to be set apart unto the Lord.

2. Just as the Israelites were to offer the Lord their very best when they gave their offerings, the Lord desires that we give Him our very best in everything.

3. We should daily give thanks to the Lord for becoming our perfect sacrifice.

4. We are to daily confess our sins to the Lord, so that we can have a relationship with Him.

Bible Memory Game:

Play Erase a Word:

Write the verse (I John 1:9) on the board. Allow kids to take turns coming up and erasing one word. Each time a word is erased, say the verse alound together, until all words have been erased. Then allow children turns to say the verse on their own.

Close in prayer.

Bible Text: Leviticus 16:1-34; 23:26-32

Bible Focus: Leviticus 16:11-22; 29-34

Lesson Aim: To help children to understand the day of atonement. Exploring the Old Testament view, compared to our atonement in Christ today.

Bible Memory: He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself (Hebrews 7:27).

Introduction:

Who knows what a symbol is?

Right, a symbol is something that stands for something else.

What are some symbols you know? Allow time for answers

Explain that today we will be looking at some symbolism that took place in the Old Testament that was later fulfilled in the New Testament.

Last week we looked at the five sacrificial offering the Israelites were to follow. These set the Isrealites apart from others, and were to make them holy unto the Lord.

Today we will look at a special day called the Day of Atonement.

Bible Lesson:

Has anyone ever heard of the Day of Atonement and if so do you know what it means?

The Day of Atonement was a special day set aside for the Jews. This day was observed yearly, and was a day when the special offering were made for the sins of the people.

In today’s passage we will see three groups of people: the priest, the people, and the Holy place.

Have children turn to Leviticus 16 and have someone read verses 3-6.

Ask: who was Aaron to make atonement for first? That’s right, himself. Why did he have to make atonement for himself? Exactly, because he was sinful just like you and me. Though Aaron was a priest, he still sinned and messed up. Just like the pastor of the church. He is the leader, and he has been called to preach and teach the people. Yet, he is still human, and therefore, still sins and needs forgiveness.

Have some read 15-19

Who was Aaron to make atonement for next?

Yes, for the people and for the holy places.

The Bible instructed him to slaughter a goat for the sins of the people and then to sprinkle the blood on the atonement cover, the tent of meeting, and the alter.

Now have someone read verses 9-10

Ask, has anyone ever heard of a scapegoat.

This is a common phrase in the US that is used to describe someone who takes the blame for something someone else did.

This is exactly what the scapegoat mentioned here was to do.

The priest was to get 2 goats. One goat was to be slaughtered and its blood was to cover his sins, the sins of the people, and to make holy the holy places.

The second goat was to be the scapegoat.

Have someone read verses 20-22

Explain the other goat was to take the guilt, and the sins of the people and be released to carry away the sins of the people.

Now this may seem a bit strange but it was very important to the Jews. The scapegoat carried the sins of the people away, and allowed them to be made holy and forgiven in the sight of God.

But there was a problem with this method of forgivenss. Does anyone know what it was?

Yes, it had to be done every single year!!!

The scapegoat was a symbol to represent the One who would come and take away the sins of the world, Jesus. Yet the Bible says that Jesus died, once for all. Meaning His death was enough. Therefore once we are saved and forgiven, we are saved for always.

Let’s take a look at the last few verses.

Have someone read 29-34 and explain that the Day of Atonement was then a day the Jews were to celebrate and observe yearly. Jews today, still observe this day, known as Yom Kimper. They still fast, pray, and seek forgiveness of their sins.

But we know that Jesus has fulfilled this. We no longer have to offer the blood of bulls and goats. We no longer need a scapegoat to carry away our sins. Because Jesus blood covers our sins, and His death paid in full the debt we owed. We are no longer guilty before God, if we know Jesus. Rather when God looks at us, He sees our debt paid in full.

Lets thank the Lord for being our scapegoat, and taking away our sins. Close in prayer.

Bible craft:

Give each child a piece of paper, 2 popcycle sticks, and some scraps of paper. Instruct them to glue the popcycle sticks in form of a cross on their paper. Then have them write down their sins on the scaps of paper, and then glue them to the cross. Write at the bottom, paid in full!

Bible Memory: Have kids stand and repeat the verse in different ways over and over until they can say it on their own. Say it in a normal voice, say in a whisper, shout it out, say it high pitched, say it in a deep voice. Be as crazy as you like, the point is to have them say it in as many ways as possible until they have it memorized.

Close in prayer.

Bible Text: Leviticus 19

Bible Aim:

To help children to understand the importance of the law, and its fulfillment through Christ.

Bible Memory:

Be Holy because I, the Lord, your God are holy (Leviticus 19:2).

Introduction:

Who likes rules?

Then why are they so important?

What would happen if we had no rules?

Exactly, though we often do not like rules, they are important because they keep chaos from happening.

Who can tell me the 10 commandments?

Let’s look at them together, turn to Exodus 20.

Who has kept the 10 commandments perfectly? Anybody? Really, nobody! No, because we are sinful people.

Today, we will look at Leviticus 19 which gave the Israelties some additional rules they were to follow.

Bible Lesson:

Turn in your Bibles to Leviticus 19.

Allow kids to take turns reading the chapter, stopping and explaining certain rules as the Spirit of the Lord leads you.

At the end say: Whew! That is a lot of rules, rules about how to dress, how to cut your hair, what to eat and what not to eat. What you can do and what you can not do. Rules, rules rules!!!

Why were the laws given?

The laws as we mentioned before were given to set the Israelties apart. Keeping the rules, and fulfilling the obligations listed made them holy. Meaning these things made them different from the others, showing the other tribes that they were God’s holy people.

As we mentioned a few weeks ago, as Christians, God has set us apart as well. So we shouldn’t look like the world, we should be different.

What then was the purpose of the Law?

To make them holy.

But what was the problem with this?

They couldn’t keep all these laws. It just wasn’t possible, just as we can’t keep the 10 commandments perfectly either.

See, the law was given to help us see just how sinful we are. Not to leave us defeated, but to point us to the One who could keep the laws perfectly. To point us to the One who can make us holy.

Who then is the answer to our sin problem?

Jesus! Yes, He alone was perfect. He alone kept and fulfilled the law. And do you know why? So that He could fulfill the law for us.

If we could earn our own salvation by keeping a bunch of rules and doing all the right things, if this was possible. Then Jesus coming and dying would not have been necessary.

But God knew this wasn’t possible.

Turn to Ephesians 2:8-9

How are we saved according to these verses?

Yes, by grace through faith.

Not by what???

Not by works! We can’t be good enough, we can’t go to church enough, give enough money, be kind enough etc. These things can not save us.

We are saved simply by grace through faith, when we place our trust in the Lord, and ask Him to forgive us.

In all other religions, to achieve salvation, you must do certain things, obey certain rules etc. Even in Hinduism, most worship and offer sacrifices to the gods, seeking to please them, seeking Nirvana.

But in Christianity, we don’t have to do anything other than trust in what Jesus has already done!

One last question, do the laws of Leviticus, still apply today?

Yes, and no. See, in the New Testament, we are told, that Jesus came to fulfill the law, and He did. So in one sense, the laws have been fulfilled, and are no longer necessary.

Yet, on the other hand, the laws have been given to show us that we are sinners in need of a Savior.

In the New Testament, Jesus also gave us some instructions on how to live.

Everyone turn to Romans 12:9-21; and read aloud.

So do we follow these rules to get saved? No.

We follow and seek to do these things because we are saved, because we want and desire to please the Lord. Obeying God’s word doesn’t save us, but it is our way of displaying our love for the Father.

The Bible says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”

We obey God’s Word not to get things from God. We obey out of our love for the Lord and to show our appreciation for all He has done for us.

Bible Memory: Break kids into groups and give them 5 minutes to come up with a song to today’s verse. Have each group sing their song to the class.

As time allows, play Simon Says, to see who can follow the rules or not.

Close in prayer.

Bible Text: Leviticus 23

Bible Aim:

To teach children the importance of the Sabbath, why we are to keep it holy, and why we observe certain festivals and special days as believers.

Bible Memory:

There are six days when you may work, but the seventh day is a day of sabbath rest, a day of sacred assembly. You are not to do any work; wherever you live; it is a sabbath to the Lord (Leviticus 23:3).

Introduction:

Bring a special food to share with the class that you and your family have on a special occasion.

Ask: What are some special holidays or festivals we celebrate as Christians?

Why do we celebrate these holidays?

Yes, we celebrate Christmas to remember the birth of Jesus, and Easter to remember the resurrection of Jesus. And on these special days, we do special things, eat special foods, sing special songs etc.

We do these things to make these days special and to set them apart.

Today we will learn about the Sabbath, a special day unto the Lord, and how we can keep it holy. We will also take a look at some of the special festivals the Israelites were to celebrate unto the Lord.

Bible Lesson:

Turn in your Bibles to Leviticus 23.

Have someone read verses 1-3

Discuss what the Sabbath is, and why we are to keep it holy.

What are some practical things we can do to keep the Sabbath as a special day?

1. Go to church

2. Spend time in prayer

3. Sing to the Lord

4. Memorizing Scripture

5. Fellowshipping with other believers

What are we not suppose to do on the Sabbath??? That’s right, we aren’t suppose to work.

Does anyone know why?

In the beginning it says God created the world in 6 days right? And what did He do on the seventh day? Yes, He rested.

He did no work.

Likewise, God wants us to set this day apart as a special day to Him. We aren’t to work or go to school, or study for test etc. It is to be a special day, a day different than all of our other days, where we worship and think upon the things of God.

There were some other special days the Israelties were to celebrated.

Break kids into 6 groups and assign the different festivals to each group.

Group 1: The Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread (Lev 23:4-8)

Group 2: Offering of the Firstfruits (Lev. 23:9-14).

Group 3: The Festival of Weeks (Lev.23:15-22).

Group 4: The Festival of Trumpets (Lev. 23:23-25)

Group 5: The Day of Atonement (Lev. 23:26-32).

Group 6: The Festival of Tabernacles (Lev. 23:33-44)

Have kids write down what the festival was for, why it was celebrated, and what the people were to do. Then allow each group to present their information.

(Teachers notes)

Group 1: The Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread (Lev 23:4-8)

-Twilight on the 14^th day of the first month. (Passover)

-15^th day (Unleavened Bread)

-For seven days not to eat bread made with yeast

-On first day have special service and do no work.

-for seven days present a food offering to the Lord and on the 7^th day have another special service and do no work.

Purpose: Though the purpose wasn’t mentioned here, they were to celebrate the Passover to remember how God had delivered them from the Egyptians.

Group 2: Offering of the Firstfruits (Lev. 23:9-14).

-After first harvest, they were to bring sheaf of the first grain unto the Lord.

-They were to wave the sheaf before the Lord, and offer a lamb as a burnt offering.

-They were not to eat any bread or have any new grain until they first offered it to the Lord.

Purpose: Was to show thanks and gratitude to the Lord for what He had given to them.

Group 3: The Festival of Weeks (Lev.23:15-22).

-After 7 full weeks from Offering of First Fruits, on the day after the 7ths Sabbath, they were to bring an offering of new grain to the Lord. They were to bring two loaves of bread made with the finest flour and yeast, as a wave offering to the Lord.

-Along with the bread, they were to bring 7 perfect male lambs as an offerings. One was to be offered as a sin offering, and 2 for fellowship offerings.

-On this day they were to have a special assembly and do no work.

-When reaping their harvest they were to leave some grain for the widow, the alien, and the poor. This was God’s way of meeting the needs of the people.

Group 4: The Festival of Trumpets (Lev. 23:23-25)

-First day of the 7^th month, a special assembly was to be held and they were to do no work.

-They were to blast the trumpets, and present a food offering to the Lord.

Group 5: The Day of Atonement (Lev. 23:26-32).

-10^th day of the 7^th month.

-Hold a sacared assembly and deny self, and present a food offering to the Lord.

-Do no work, it is a sabbath rest.

Group 6: The Festival of Tabernacles (Lev. 23:33-44)

-15^th day of the 7^th month and it is to last 7 days.

-Live in temporary shelters for 7 days

-First day do no work

-other days special sacrifices

The purpose in each and every festival was to “remember.” They did these things to remember what God had done for them. Likewise, we celebrate Christmas and Easter, etc. to remember what Christ has done.

And just as we celebrate special holidays to remember, we should set aside the Sabbath as a special day to the Lord, taking time to remember what Jesus has done on our behalf.

Bible Memory:

Practice Bible memory over and over and allow kids to put actions to the words. Have a competition to see who can come up with the best actions.

Craft:

Pass out 6 popcycles to each child, and demonstrate how to put them together to make a church. Give each child a paper to take on the back of their church, that fills in the whole. On the paper have kids write, “Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.”

Allow them to decorate .

Close the class in prayer.

Bible Text: Leviticus25

Bible Aim:

To teach children that God is a God of second chances. Even though we mess up, He gives us the chance to start again.

Bible Memory:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me to preach the Gospel to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord (Luke 4:18-19).

Introduction:

Have you ever wished you could start over again? Have a re-do? Allow time for answers.

Like take a test again?

Take back an unkind word you said?

Not tell that lie?

Sure we all have. There are days when by noon, I just want to go back to bed and start over again, because I have messed up so many times already.

In today’s lesson, we will look at a two special times called the Sabbath year, and the Year of Jubilee. This was a special year, when God allowed for everyone to start again.

Bible Lesson:

Break kids into two groups.

Tell them they are going to be investigative reporters today. Each group is to research their topic, and present the facts to the class.

Group 1: Sabbath Year (Lev. 25:1-7)

Group 2: The Year of Jubilee (Lev. 25:8-55)

Instruct them to explain what it was, why it was done, and what they were to do in order to observe these days.

Brief Summary of Sabbath Year:

God instructs them concerning the promised land, that they are to give the land a sabbath rest, every 7 years. Meaning on the 7^th year, they are not to plant any crops, they are to do no farming, the land is to be at rest. They were not to plant, nor harvest during the 7^th year. For 6 years they were to grow their crops, prune their vineyards etc, but then they were to give the land a rest. During the 7^th year they could only eat what the land produced on its own.

Wow, this meant they had to prepare for this year of rest right? They had to trust that God would provide for them. They had to be good stewards of their crops, and believe God could and would take care of them. Sounds easy right, but I’m sure it was not easy. I’m sure many thought they might die of starvation. Yet, God was and is faithful, we can trust Him to take care of us. Just as He wanted them to know.

Give a brief summary of the Year of Jubilee:

This special time happened every 50 years. And during this time, several things took place. All Israelites who were servants to other Israelites were given their freedom. All debts people owed were cancelled. Land that had, had to be sold for economic reasons, was returned to its owner. And during this year, no food was to be grown, instead the ground was also to be given a rest.

Explain the why:

God instructs them to bring about redemption for all the people in one of these ways reminding them that they are His servants, and that all they have belongs to Him. For He is the One who brought them out of Egypt. He is the One who provided for them for 40 years in the wilderness. All they are and all they have belongs to Him.

Ask: How does God redeem us today?

He has redeemed us through Jesus. All that we owed was paid in full by Jesus. We are redeemed, and we get the chance to begin again when we get saved. Even as Christians, when we mess up, we get the chance to begin again, for the Bible makes it clear that He is faithful to forgives us when we confess our sins.

Our God is a God of second, third, fourth, and 100^th chances etc. Though we fail Him and are unfaithful, He is always faithful.

Let us give thanks to the Lord for His redemption, and for all the chances He gives us to be forgiven.

Bible Memory:

Write verse on the board and play Erase a Word, until all words have been erased and kids know the verse well. Prior to class, write the words individually on slips of paper. Make about 4 or 5 sets depending on group size. Divide kids into groups and then say, On your mark, get set, go! Allow kids to raise to get the jumbled words into the correct order. The first group to get their verse together is to stand and quote it together without looking. Continue until all groups finish and stand to quote the verse.

Close in prayer.