The Bible - Book of Leviticus

1. The Book of Leviticus – 7th
December2016
“‘Donot seek revenge or bear a grudge againstanyoneamongyour people,but love yourneighboras
yourself.I am the LORD.” (Leviticus 19:18).
It isbelievedthatMoseswasthe author of the Bookof Leviticus waswrittenbetween1440 and 1400
B.C. Because the Israeliteshadbeenheldcaptive inEgyptfor400 years,the conceptof God hadbeen
distortedbythe polytheistic,paganEgyptians.The purposeof Leviticusistoprovide instructionandlaws
to guide a sinful,yetredeemedpeopleintheirrelationshipwithaholyGod.There isan emphasisin
Leviticusonthe needforpersonal holinessinresponse toaholyGod. Sinmustbe atonedfor through
the offeringof propersacrifices(Leviticuschapters8-10). Othertopicscoveredinthe bookare diets
(cleanand unclean foods), childbirth,anddiseaseswhichare carefullyregulated (Leviticuschapters11-
15). Chapter16 describesthe Dayof Atonementwhenanannual sacrifice ismade forthe cumulativesin
of the people.Furthermore,the people of Godare to be circumspectintheirpersonal,moral,andsocial
living,incontrasttothe then-currentpracticesof the heathenroundaboutthem (Leviticuschapters17-
22).
Leviticus Chapters 1–7 outline the offerings required of both the laity and the priesthood.Chapters 8–10 describe
the consecration of Aaron and his sons to the priesthood.Chapters 11–16 are the prescriptions for varioustypes of
uncleanness.The final 10 chapters areGod’s guidelines to His people for practical holiness.Variousfeasts were
instituted in the people’s worship of God, convened and practiced accordingto God’s laws.Blessings or curses
would accompany either the keeping or neglect of God’s commandments (chapter 26). Vows to the Lord are
covered in chapter 27. The primary theme of Leviticus is God's demand for holiness in His people which is based on
His own holy nature. A correspondingtheme is that of atonement. Holiness mustbe maintained before God, and
holiness can only beattained through a proper atonement.
Much of the ritualisticpractices of worship picturein many ways the person and work of our Savior,the Lord Jesus
Christ.Hebrews 10 tells us that the Mosaic Lawis “only a shadow of the good things that arecoming” by which is
meant that the daily sacrifices offered by the priests for the sin of the people were a representation of the ultimate
Sacrifice—Jesus Christ,whosesacrificewould be once for all timefor those who would believe in Him. We can
learn this from Hebrews 10”2-4,“Otherwise, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers
would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. 3 But those sacrifices
are an annual reminder of sins. 4 It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” The holiness
imparted temporarily by the Law would one day be replaced by the absoluteattainment of holiness when
Christiansexchanged their sin for the righteousness of Christ as we learn from 2 Corinthians 5:21,“God made him
who had no sin to be sin[a] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
The practical application wecan receive from the book of Leviticus is that God takes His holiness very seriously,
and so should we. The trend in the postmodern church is to create God in our own image, givingHim the attributes
we would likeHim to have instead of the ones His Word describes.God’s utter holiness,His transcendent
splendor,and His “unapproachablelight” as we can learn from 1 Timothy 6:16,“…who alone is immortal and who
lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen. In
today’s context these may be foreign concepts to many Christians.Wearecalled to walk in the Light and to put
away the darkness in our lives so thatwe may be pleasingin His sight.A holy God cannot tolerate blatant,
unashamed sin in His people and His holiness requires Himto punish it. We dare not be flippantin our attitudes
toward sin or God’s loathingof it,nor should we make lightof it in any way.
Praisethe Lord that becauseof Jesus' sacrificeon the Cross on our behalf, we no longer have to offer animal
sacrifices asin thecaseof the Jewish temple. Leviticus is all aboutsubstitution.Thedeath of the animals was a
substitute penalty for those who have sinned.In the same way, but infinitely better, the sacrificeof our Lord Jesus

2. on the cross was the substitute for all our sins.Now we can stand before a God of utter holiness withoutfear
because He sees in us the righteousness of Christ.