The book of Leviticus is a difficult biblical book to read for most people. We have noted this reality in the first two parts of this series on Leviticus. But when people see the message of the book, lights begin to come on in their understanding. They then notice that the book says a lot about God, about people, and about the relationship between God and people. God is holy, and people are sinful. Sin is a violation of the will of God. God’s will is good and healing. When Jesus was asked for the greatest commandment, he gave two: love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and the second is love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus said that all other commands of God relate to these two. All sin against the will of God, therefore, falls into one or both of these fundamental commands of God. Because they have violated the will of God to love, sinful people cannot come into the presence of the holy God. People need an atoning sacrifice for their sins. The sacrifice must be holy and acceptable to God. Then, the holy sacrifice can reconcile the holy God to sinful people by taking the good and righteous judgment of God for the sinful people, thus restoring the relationship between God and people. For this reason, Leviticus is a very important book. It shows how people can be restored to a loving relationship with God. In the book of Leviticus we find many themes and teachings related to these two fundamental commands, but there are four major themes we need to notice.
Find previous posts on The Book of Leviticus: — Part Two — Part One —
Law
While the law of God in the Mosaic covenant is found in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, the law is most dominant in the book of Leviticus. When we think about the idea of law, we usually think about civil or criminal law and perhaps a courtroom. While the law of God given through Moses contains a good deal of that kind of law, it primarily refers to other kinds of revelation that God gives his people. The Hebrew word for law is Torah. The basic meaning of the word Torah is instruction or teaching. The Torah that the Lord gave Moses delineated how the people were to live their lives. It told them in great detail how they were to relate to the Lord and to one another. The law spelled out God’s will and revealed God’s character to his people. The law also instructed the people on what to do when they violated the law of God. There was a path to forgiveness. The law of God shows us our sins and, in so doing, leads us to the Savior, Jesus.
Holiness
The book of Leviticus is primarily concerned with the issue of holiness. Holiness is a central theme of the Bible. It weaves its way through the Bible and holds the message of the Bible together. Without a good understanding of holiness, it is impossible to appreciate the message of the Bible in any significant way. Holiness primarily refers to the fundamental character of God. God is said to be holy. The Hebrew word holy has two related meanings. The first and basic meaning of holiness is to be separate or other than. When referring to God, it means that God is separate from all that he has made. His separateness refers to his exalted majestic being. God is simply great. He is the greatest of all possible beings. No one is or can be greater than God. The second and related meaning of holiness is God’s moral perfection or his absolute goodness. This includes God’s loving kindness, grace, and mercy, as well as his righteousness and justice. The book of Leviticus deals with how such a holy God can live with and relate to an unholy people. The way an unholy people can become holy is through atonement made for them by a sacrifice. In this way, the sacrifices anticipate the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. He is the true Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, as John the Baptist Called Him. This was God’s eternal plan. We do not bring God down to us; God brings us up to Him through Jesus.
Atonement by Sacrifice
The human problem of not measuring up is an acute situation that all people experience in various ways at various times. The reality is that we don’t measure up in the most important way. We don’t measure up to God’s standards, which is his holiness. But because God desires that we be holy and have a relationship with him, he has provided a way for us to “measure up.” God’s way is not merely to just forget about it or to require some activity to make up for our shortcomings. God himself makes a sacrifice to cover our unholiness. Somebody else pays for our wrongdoing. This is not only a fundamental theme in Leviticus but in the entire Bible. A substitute takes the burden of another’s sin upon itself so that God can offer forgiveness and maintain his holiness. In the Levitical Law, the substitute is an animal, which points forward to the true and ultimate substitute, Jesus Christ. Jesus truly is God’s lamb (sacrifice) who takes our sins away.
Priesthood
The Lord appointed the tribe of Levi and the family of Aaron to be the priests for the people. Leviticus lays out the duties and guidelines for the service of the priests. The priests mediate the relationship between sinful people and the holy God to make sacrifices so that the people could enjoy the blessings of fellowship with the Lord. The priesthood is necessary to offer sacrifices that reconcile the Lord and his people. The Levitical priesthood was the promise and preparation for the true priesthood of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the priest who fulfills all the promises of the Old Covenant (Matthew 5:17; Hebrews 10:19-25). His atoning death on the cross reconciles sinful people to the holy God. As our priest, Jesus offers Himself as a sacrifice to bring us to God. His blood is the effective payment God requires for our sins against Him. Our priest loves us and serves us for our eternal good.
Conclusion
The book of Leviticus has a lot to say to us. Though it is not an easy read, it is worth the effort to receive the message of God. Leviticus lays out the way that God redeems His sinful and rebellious people. It is through the innocent one who pays for the sins of the guilty. Early on in the biblical record, God reveals the coming Savior. He gives pictures and shadows of the one who will one day come and take away sins. As the writer of the book of Hebrews says, “For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” (Hebrews 10:4). It requires the blood of the Son of God offering Himself as an atoning sacrifice to take away our sins and bring us to God. Jesus was willing to do it. He was willing to give Himself for our salvation. His love for the Father and His love for us took Him to the cross. This is the message of Leviticus and the glorious truth of salvation. Praise be unto God!