Leviticus is the third book of the bible or Torah which is the Jewish book of instruction. Many people who read the bible from the start often get perplexed by the book of Leviticus. It is seen as a bit boring as opposed to the books of Genesis and Exodus because of its lack of stories, there is neither plot nor narrative. It also exposes a huge gap in culture between us now and those who lived 3,000 years ago and 2,000 miles away, the customs and practices and the rules and laws all seem weird to us now in 21st century western society. The way health issues are dealt with, the nature of sacrifices and ceremonial practices are all alien. We can soon think that none of it seems relevant because the law in that context does not apply to us today but there are still many things to learn from the book of Leviticus.
Each of the books of the Torah are different within which the book of Leviticus has a particular purpose. Genesis is a universal book about beginnings, Exodus is a national book about the Israelite s coming out of Egypt, whilst Leviticus is a tribal book mainly about the levites and the giving of the law. Numbers is again about statistics and has a national focus whilst Deuteronomy is more universal as it shapes the future of Israel in relation to other nations. Genesis covers all of past history. Exodus covers a 300 year period when the Hebrews were enslaved in Egypt whilst Leviticus covers only one month in the location of Mount Sinai
Leviticus acts as a hinge point as the Israelite's move from slavery toward nationhood. Exodus sets the scene for the camp, with the tents of the people all around the central tabernacle. Leviticus divides it into two, Gods tent and the peoples tent along with rules to govern both. Exodus explains how God deals with man whilst Leviticus outlines Mans approach to God. Exodus is about Gods deliverance from slavery whilst Leviticus is about Gods people becoming slaves to him. Exodus is about Gods grace in setting them free whilst whilst Leviticus is about how the people can give sacrifice and show their gratitude to God. Leviticus highlights that God expects something from us namely our obedience to love both him and our fellow man, that we are saved in order to serve. God promises to protect and bless them and in return he wants them to live right. He wants the Israelite's to be a distinct holy people, set apart from the pagan tribes and nations all around, to worship him, not idols.
The first part of the book describes our justification whereby we are made right with God through faith ,whilst the second part deals with our sanctification, the process by which we grow closer to God. The first few chapters are concerned with offerings and sacrifices and the later sections deal with the sanctions and vows of the people and give details about priests and worship. The books climax is in the day of atonement , the day on which two animals are sacrificed to symbolize the sins of the people. The sheep is sacrificed in the camp where they also lay their hands on a goat and confess their sins. The goat is then sent out into the wilderness to die with all the sins loaded on it. It is called the scapegoat which is a phrase still used commonly by us today.
The book describes five types of offering with the first three offerings being burnt offerings which were offered up in gratitude and worship, so an animal would be slaughtered and burnt so that God would smell it. The meal offering is kept back so that the worshippers can have a meal with God much like we do today with the communion being a meal to represent the last supper which Jesus spent with his disciples which was also a symbol of body and blood. The last burnt offering was the burning of the fat as a peace offering. The additional two offerings were guilt offerings which both involved blood but were not for gratitude but rather compensation for what they had done wrong because sin has a cost.
God also gave the Israelite's rules for worship that they must obey, in effect a calander to remind them of what to do. These included a number of feasts. Passover also known as the feast of unleavened bread was a remembrance of how God blessed them and brought them out of slavery in Egypt. On the day before Passover the lamb had to be killed at 3pm. Three days after the slaughter of the lamb they had to offer the first fruits of the harvest to God which mirrors the sacrifice of Jesus and his resurrection which brought the first fruits of human souls.
Fifty days later come the feast of Pentecost (pente meaning fifty) The feast of weeks was a celebration of remembrance and thanksgiving to mark the giving of the law on Mount Sinai. 3,000 people were put to death that day because of their intentional sin, this is mirrored in the New testament by the 3,000 people who received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost fifty days after the resurrection of Jesus.
Then came the feast of Trumpets where the Shofar rams horn is blown, which signaled a whole new round of feasts. Then came the day of Atonement when the scapegoat is pushed out of the camp with all the sins of the people upon its head.
The feast of tabernacles (The feast of Succoth) lasted for eight days. This feast required them to leave their homes and live in shelters where they could see the stars through the roof, to remind them of their forty years of folly in the wilderness when they could and should have reached the promised land in eleven days. Passover, Pentecost and the Feast of weeks have been fulfilled in the first coming of Jesus whilst the Feast of trumpets, tabernacles and the day of atonement are to be fulfilled as redemption is achieved by the second coming of Jesus. In addition to the feasts God put by a weekly day of rest, a special holy day to be put aside for God known as the Sabbath, this would have been particularly welcome after forty years of slavery in Egypt. There was also a festival every fifty years to be known as the year of jubilee, where everybody's bank balance was leveled up, debt cancelled and property returned to the people who originally owned it. Slaves were also set free and the poor became rich again so unsurprisingly people looked forward to the Jubilee year. The law of tithing was also introduced whereby it was required that you give 10% of your income to the poor.
Leviticus also speaks of rules for living. The principle is established as to what was to be considered Holy and clean as opposed to unholy and unclean. Holy things and unclean things were never to be in contact. Anything other than that which was holy was believed to lead to death, as opposed to that which was holy was believed to lead to life. Only by sacrifice could an unclean thing be brought back to life. It is possible to live a good life but unless it is consecrated to the lord it is not seen as holy.
The health of the body is considered important for holiness. In leviticus there are rules about haircuts, tatoos, wearing earrings as well as rules on male and female bodily discharges, rules for childbirth and regulations concerning clean and unclean food. There are warnings not to be involved in the occult, advice on dry rot in houses, teaching regarding clothing of mixed materials and special attention is to be given to the poor, the deaf, the blind and the elderly. Sex is mentioned in regard to incest, bestiality, buggery and homosexuality. All these rules and regulations are aimed at discipline and strengthening their identity as a holy people. Holiness means wholeness and so by breaking one of the laws you were weakening the whole. God did not give Moses reasons for these rules but God is shown as a God of purity not of mixed things whether it be food, clothes, seeds or animal breeding. Many of the regulations are there for good practical hygiene reasons in a hot climate. Obedience to the law giver was key even if they did not understand the reason why. It was a matter of trust.
Many of the sanctions seem harsh and barbaric to us today, 15 of the sins result in capital punishment. In trying to form a holy nation fit for the promised land, God warns that a disobedient Israel might lose its freedoms and be invaded by enemies or be driven out of the land, both of these things actually happened later. Leviticus links holiness and obedience with happiness and punishment for those who disobey him. It is in the tough times when we become strengthened and redeemed. Stories throughout the old testament link righteousness with salvation.
The old testament is in the new testament revealed and the new testament is is the old testament concealed. This is seen in the 90 references to Leviticus in the new testament but the main two are 'Be holy for i am a holy God and love your neighbour as yourself particularly the poor, the widowed and the orphaned. Leviticus contains 613 laws, not just the 10 commandments given by Moses. So how many of these should we observe today? Jesus said that i have not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it, so we believe that Jesus has satisfied the requirements of the law by his own blood sacrifice and in his teachings on matters such as food, the Sabbath and clothing and although many old testament laws are fulfilled by the new and given a deeper meaning, four things remain unchanged 1) The holiness of God 2) The sin of mankind 3)The fullness of Christ 4) The need to live a holy life.
Gods holiness balances his love and grace with justice, as shown in his hatred of sin which damages humans spiritually. Leviticus presents a God of reverence and awe who is worthy of worship. God has an emotional response to the sin that man is capable of, he gets angry but it is a righteous anger. Leviticus defines two sacred relationships. Our relationship with God and the relationship between a man and a woman. It is interesting to note that most swear words emanate from these two relationships and we can further add that the message of holiness and obedience is very counter cultural in modern society. Leviticus points to Christ through the sacrifice of the lamb which is a foreshadowing of the death of Christ on the cross. Should God deal with sin by punishing us or should he just show mercy and forgive us? Only by substituting the innocent life of his son Jesus for the guilty life of man could justice and mercy be satisfied. Atonement and blood are mentioned together because the blood is vital for life. Offerings are important because they speak of either surrender, service or serenity, these also define our relationship with God.
God is asking us to be holy through the law in the old testament but in the new testament the law moves from the material toward the moral and the spiritual. The children of Israel needed to be taught that it was not the food that went into your mouth which was unclean but rather the words that came out. The rewards and punishments also move from this life toward the next. Leviticus looks with hope toward the promised land both for the nation of Israel and for us personally.
Summary and References from Unlocking the bible - David Pawson. The bible book by book - Cris Rogers