As we come out of Exodus and begin breaking into Leviticus, I have to admit, I always get a little…uneasy. For someone who feels deeply and desires meaningful connection, I often tie my experiences to my emotions. This is not a prescribed way of living, but I know myself well enough now to recognize that I do this often. I’ve learned over time to not just stop and ask what it is that I’m feeling, but also why I’m feeling what I’m feeling. I enjoy being introspective and appreciate cathartic experiences.
So when I open Leviticus, I brace myself and prepare to potentially feel a lack of engagement with the text. This is not to say that the text is not engaging, but rather to say that I know ahead of time that my heart and my head will likely struggle to connect. The good news about the Word of God is that my emotions don’t dictate the effectiveness or usefulness of Scripture. The Bible was not written so that I can get warm fuzzies everytime I open it – it was given to me that I might know my Creator more and make Him known.
Leviticus is full of insights about our God. Though the first few chapters are repetitive lists and laws, these lists and laws reveal important characteristics that inform our view of God, the world, our sin, and our relationship to him.
- He is holy; we are not. Perhaps the most obvious thing that the law teaches us is how disconnected we are from God. He is holy and righteous, and by nature we are sinful. God doesn’t change, and he couldn’t stoop to the Israelites’ level, so the solution was to give them a means of propitiation for their sins and align them with his will. While we no longer live under the law, we must understand what it meant to the Israelites and what it means for us as Christians today. “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.” (Romans 3:20).
- He takes sin seriously. Earlier this week when we were finishing Exodus, chapters 31 and 35 stopped me in my tracks (literally – I was listening to it on audio while taking a walk). The penalty for doing work on the Sabbath was to “be put to death” (31:15, 35:2). I consider my own life, and how cavalier I am with my time, especially when I think of forsaking my to-do list and simply resting and worshiping God. God’s holiness requires obedience, and his righteous nature is not as careless as I might be. Sin breaks the heart of God, and he cannot excuse it. Chapters 4-6 of Leviticus outline specifically how the people were to make amends for their sins, both intentional and unintentional, which creates plenty of opportunity for the Israelites to name and claim their sins.
- He takes sacrifice seriously. Because our sin carries the weight of separation from God, it only makes sense that the atonement would be just as weighty. The laws outlined in the first few chapters of Leviticus give extensive instruction for sacrifices with many stipulations and specifications. We have known since Genesis that God does not accept all offerings (Genesis 4:3-7); the motivation and execution of every sacrifice was to be carefully regarded. The sermon urged us Sunday to “take the knife in our own hand”–consider what it meant to kill an innocent animal and spill its blood. This is not a tidy image that holds up well under scrutiny. It is messy and gut-wrenching. Thankfully, Jesus paid the ultimate sacrifice for us on the cross and we no longer live under these requirements, but Jesus’ righteousness is imparted to us instead (1 Corinthians 5:21).
- He delights in our obedience. We see the phrase “a pleasing aroma to the Lord” repeated throughout the laws (1:9, 1:13, 1:17, 2:2, 2:9, 2:12, just to name a few!). As indicated in the previous point, God can either accept or reject offerings. When the Israelites kept the commands God had given them, it pleased God. He was happy to accept right sacrifices. Now our bodies and souls serve as our living sacrifices (Romans 12:1). We know that our works will not save us, but also that our faith without works is dead (James 2:17).
- He desires reconciliation. How beautiful and gracious was God to offer a sacrificial system so that the Israelites had the opportunity to make atonement for their sin? God knew the Israelites would go astray often, yet foreknowledge of their sin did not diminish his desire to stay with his people. If you knew in advance all the ways that someone would let you down, would you give them any place in your life? Even before Jesus was prophesied about, we see God’s desire to be with his people and bring them back to himself over and over again.
Leviticus is not an easy read. The Old Testament, and even the Bible itself, is not a passive document. The text can be difficult to break down and relate to, but the work of understanding is work worth doing. As you continue reading through Leviticus this next week, consider how the laws inform your awareness of God and his plan of redemption. Where do you see glimpses of Jesus in the sacrificial system? What does the lifestyle reflected in Torah law tell us about God and his plans for his people? How does it set them apart? Use cross references to find connections between Old Testament laws and New Testament commands or teachings of Jesus. Learn to embrace the struggle of growing in knowledge through Leviticus.
“And he is before all things and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of the cross.” Colossians 1:17-20
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