A SURVEY OF THE BIBLE
(“The Book of Leviticus”) (I)
Leviticus 1:1-5; 5:5-11; 18:1-5; 26:3-4, 14-17, 46 (NASU)
“… the priest shall make atonement on his behalf for his sin which he has committed, and it will be forgiven him.”
(Leviticus 5:10)
“You are to perform My judgments and keep My statutes, to live in accord with them; I am the Lord your God.”
(Leviticus 18:4)
“These are the statutes and ordinances and laws which the Lord established between Himself and the sons of Israel through Moses at Mount Sinai.” (Leviticus 26:46)
SOME VERY BRIEF BACKGROUND INFORMATION
(1) Leviticus is the third book of the Pentateuch – and clearly picks up where the Book of Exodus left off (as we will see in a moment). Nor is there any significant time lapse between the historical content of the two books (compare Exodus 19:1 and Numbers 1:1) – for the events described in Leviticus took place during the year God’s covenant people were camped at the foot of Mount Sinai (compare Exodus 19:1 with Numbers 10:11).
The Book of Exodus closes with the completion of the tabernacle (c.f. Exodus 40:17), and the glory of the Lord filling it (c.f. Exodus 40:35). The Book of Leviticus then opens with “the Lord” calling “to Moses … from the tent of meeting” (c.f. Leviticus 1:1), and giving him all the laws and statutes that make up a vast majority of the book’s content1 (c.f. Leviticus 27:34). In fact, I think the content of Leviticus is best summed up by a verse found in chapter twenty-six (verse forty-six), which says: “These are the statutes and ordinances and laws which the Lord established between Himself and the sons of Israel through Moses at Mount Sinai” (c.f. Leviticus 26:46). (We should note in passing that, the fact God is said to have “established these statutes, ordinances and laws” “between Himself and the sons of Israel” indicates they are part of God’s covenant with His people!)
(2) The title “Leviticus” comes from a Greek translation of the Old Testament known as the Septuagint (which dates back to around 200 B.C.) – and literally means, “things concerning the Levites”.2
The Levites were, of course, the descendants of Jacob’s third son, Levi (c.f. Genesis 29:34) – of whom Moses and Aaron were two (c.f. Exodus 6:16-20). Moreover, God chose the tribe of Levi to service the tabernacle (c.f. Numbers 1:49-51), and minister to Him (c.f. Jeremiah 33:22) – with Aaron and his sons to serve as priests (c.f. Exodus 28:1-3, 41).
Since many of the laws and statutes found in Leviticus have to do with the various offerings and sacrifices the people were to bring to the tabernacle, the Levites would naturally be involved – especially the priests, since part of their duties included assisting the people with their worship (c.f. Leviticus 1-2). However, there’s also a great deal of information in the book that pertains, not just to priests and Levites, but to all God’s covenant people – as we will hopefully see3 (c.f. Leviticus 20-21).
(3) Moses is traditionally thought to have been the author of Leviticus – for reasons we went over in an earlier message,4 and will not repeat here. However, I will point out that the idea God gave the laws and statutes found in Leviticus to Moses, is mentioned over fifty times3 – like in the very last verse of the book, which says: “These are the commandments which the Lord commanded Moses for the sons of Israel at Mount Sinai” (c.f. Leviticus 27:34) – and who is more likely to have made sure they were all written down, than the one to whom they were originally given?!
A DIFFICULT BOOK FOR CONTEMPORARY AMERICANS TO APPRECIATE
(1) Leviticus is a difficult book for contemporary Americans to read, or appreciate, or even understand. Hence, many people (including some Christians) consider it to be a boring book.5
For one thing, there’s not much “action”. Two of Aaron’s sons, “Nadab and Abihu”, get zapped with “fire … from … the Lord” in chapter ten (c.f. Leviticus 10:1-2) – and a man gets stoned to death in chapter twenty-four because he blasphemed God’s name (c.f. Leviticus 24:10-23) – but that’s about it. Except for those two incidents, the rest of the book is taken up with scintillating passages about what to do if a person suspects there is a “mark of leprosy” on their house (c.f. Leviticus 14:33-57) – or what to do if a man or woman becomes unclean due to a “discharge from (their) body” (c.f. Leviticus 15:1-33).
(2) And that leads us to the second thing that makes Leviticus difficult for many contemporary Americans to read, or appreciate – namely, the large number of “statutes and ordinances and laws”6 (c.f. Leviticus 26:46). Nor do we have to wait very long to get to the first one – since the opening chapter deals with various instructions regarding how a “burnt offering” is to be presented “to the Lord” (c.f. Leviticus 1:1-17). That’s immediately followed by more laws about grain offerings, peace offerings, sin offerings, and guilt offerings (c.f. Leviticus 2-6) – laws about which creatures may be eaten for food, and which ones may not (c.f. Leviticus 11) – as well as numerous other ordinances related to the priests, and how they were to carry out their various duties (c.f. Leviticus 21-22).
(3) Then there’s the whole matter of relevance (or the apparent lack thereof) – as in, how do all these laws (many of which sound very strange to our way of thinking, and which even a majority of Christians don’t follow) (how do all these hundreds upon hundreds of laws) relate to our contemporary world?
For example, what possible relevance can sprinkling the blood of a sacrificed goat around a bronze altar have for us today (c.f. Leviticus 3:12-13)? What possible relevance can the notion that, a woman who gives birth is to be considered unclean, and cannot enter the sanctuary until the days of her purification are completed, (what possible relevance can that) have for us (c.f. Leviticus 12:1-8)? What possible difference do laws regarding the year of Jubilee, or the redemption a slave or a piece of property, make to us (c.f. Leviticus 25:8-12, 25-31)?
Clearly there is a huge gap between the ceremonial laws by which Israel was to conduct her civil and religious affairs, and the way we do things today5 – a gap that must somehow be bridged, before the content of the Book of Leviticus will make any sense to us.
(4) There’s also the graphic nature of the book – which many people find offensive and disgusting.
For example, bulls, sheep, and goats are slaughtered – while turtledoves and pigeons have their heads rung off (c.f. Leviticus 1). As a matter of fact, word “blood’ appears over sixty times in the Book of Leviticus7 – and is poured, sprinkled, or dabbed on all kinds of objects connected with the tabernacle and its worship (c.f. Leviticus 8).
Then there are passages about bodily discharges, including menstrual cycles and seminal emissions (c.f. Leviticus 15) – as well as several references to various kinds of immoral sexual behavior (c.f. Leviticus 20) – all of which prompted one commentator to write that, “the book leaves nothing abstract.”6
(5) Finally, there’s the matter of the death penalty – which was to be applied to all kinds of offenses. For example, “(If) any man from the sons of Israel … (gave) his offspring to Molech, (he was to) be put to death …” (c.f. Leviticus 20:2). “If … anyone … curse(d) his father or … mother, he (was to) be put to death …” (c.f. Leviticus 20:9). “If … a man … commit(ted) adultery with another man’s wife … (both) the adulterer and the adulteress (were to) be put to death” (c.f. Leviticus 20:10).
Acts of homosexuality also carried the death penalty (c.f. Leviticus 20:13) – as did murder (c.f. Leviticus 24:17). And these are only some of the instances where the death penalty was to be applied.
As you can see, then, there is a great gap between the kinds of offenses to which the people of Israel were to apply the death penalty – and the kind of offenses to which we apply it today. And this gap often makes it difficult for some contemporary Americans to see why the Book of Leviticus has any value or relevance for our supposedly “more enlightened” society.
(C) BREAKING DOWN THE BOOK
(1) While not as easy to break down (or outline) as either Genesis or Exodus, the Book of Leviticus can (nevertheless) be divided into four major sections8 – beginning with chapters one through seven, which contain instructions for how five basic kinds of sacrifices were to be offered8 (c.f. Leviticus 1-7). Those offerings included (as we’ve already mentioned): the burnt offering, the grain offering, the peace offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering.
(a) The purpose of these offerings was to provide a sacrificial substitute for God’s repentant people – a substitute that would bear the penalty for their sins, and restore the broken covenant relationship between the Lord and themselves.9 The substitutionary nature of these sacrifices was underscored by the act of a sinner laying his hands on the head of the animal that was about to die in his place9 – hence, chapter one (verse four) says (for example): “He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, that it may be accepted for him to make atonement on his behalf” (c.f. Leviticus 1:4; see also Leviticus 3:2 and 4:4).
(b) Together, these five basic sacrifices looked forward to Christ’s death on the cross – to that one sacrifice, which would never have to be repeated, because it would fulfill (once and for all) everything to which the sacrifices here in Leviticus pointed (c.f. Hebrews 9-10).9
(2) The second major division of Leviticus is found in chapters eight through ten, which tell us (among other things) how Aaron and his sons were to be consecrated to the priesthood and to their work as priests8 (c.f. Leviticus 8-10).
(a) One thing that comes across in this section (especially in chapter ten, with the deaths of Nadab and Abihu) – is that the priests were to treat God as holy (c.f. Leviticus 10:3), in part, by performing their duties exactly as He had prescribed (i.e. no “strange fire” – no rituals or other acts of worship not sanctioned by the Lord!) (c.f. Leviticus 10:1). This, in turn, would set an example “before all the people” that God was to be “honored” by their obedience as well (c.f. Leviticus 10:3) (a fact that will have major ramifications when we get to the last section of Leviticus).
(b) Ultimately, of course, Jesus fulfilled (and continues to fulfill) all that the Levitical priesthood symbolized9 – even though the Book of Hebrews says He is a “high priest according to the order of Melchizedek”, rather than Aaron (c.f. Hebrews 5:10). Nevertheless, the New Testament also says that “we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God …” (c.f. Hebrews 4:14). Nor did He ever offer any “strange fire (to) the Lord” (as it were) (c.f. Leviticus 10:1) – rather, Scripture repeatedly says that He always did the will of the Father (c.f. John 4:34; 5:30; see also Hebrews 4:15).
(3) The third major section of the book (chapters eleven through sixteen) outline various rituals designed to deal with the problem of uncleanness8 (c.f. Leviticus 11-16) – not hygienic uncleanness, but ceremonial.
(a) By making a distinction between that which was clean, and that which was unclean, God was constantly reminding His people that He had made a distinction between them and all other nations on earth – that, among other things, they had been called to be “a holy nation” (c.f. Exodus 19:6) – which was a necessary prerequisite, if they were to ever become a blessing to the other nations of the earth10 (in keeping with that portion of God’s covenant with Abraham, in which He promised that “in him all the families of the earth would be blessed ) (c.f. Genesis 12:3).
(b) It’s in this section, then, that we encounter that familiar passage (which is repeated in the New Testament), where God says to His people: “be holy, for I am holy” (c.f. Leviticus 11:44) – and again: “you shall be holy, for I am holy” (c.f. Leviticus 11:45; I Peter 1:16).
(c) This is also the section that contains instructions regarding what amounted to the single most important day of the religious year for God’s people – namely, the Day of Atonement. This was the day when the high priest went behind the veil, into the holy of holies, and sprinkled blood on the mercy seat to make atonement for all his own sins as well as all those of all the people (c.f. Leviticus 16).
(d) Perhaps more than any other, this day pointed forward to the Person and Work of Jesus Christ, who by means of His own blood secured our eternal redemption11 – having dealt with all our uncleanness on account of our sins once and for all, and forever. Hence, the Book of Hebrews says (in chapter nine): 11“Christ … (our) high priest … entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; 12and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption” (c.f. Hebrews 9:11-12).
(4) Finally, chapters seventeen through twenty-seven described the practical holiness required of God’s covenant people (c.f. Leviticus 17-27) – a section sometimes called, “the Holiness Code”.8 Within these last eleven chapters are all kinds of instructions regarding food, sexual behavior, criminal offenses, religious festivals, and numerous other issues.12
(a) Several phrases (representing certain basic truths) are repeated throughout this section. One is that the people were to obey the Lord by putting His laws and statutes into practice, rather than following the ways of other people. Hence, we read (in chapter eighteen): 3“You shall not do what is done in the land of Egypt where you lived, nor are you to do what is done in the land of Canaan where I am bringing you; you shall not walk in their statutes. 4You are to perform My judgments and keep My statutes, to live in accord with them …” (c.f. Leviticus 18:3-4) – and again (at the end of a list of laws having to do with human sacrifice and various forms of immorality), God said (in chapter twenty): 22“You are … to keep all My statutes and all My ordinances and do them, so that the land to which I am bringing you to live will not spew you out. 23Moreover, you shall not follow the customs of the nation which I will drive out before you, for they did all these things, and therefore I have abhorred them” (c.f. Leviticus 20:22-23).
(b) Another recurring theme in this section has to do with the importance of personal purity and holiness, which was to be patterned after God’s own purity and holiness. Hence, God says in chapter nineteen: “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy” (c.f. Leviticus 19:2) – and again (in chapter twenty): “consecrate yourselves … and be holy …” (c.f. Leviticus 20:8) – and once more: “you are to be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy; and I have set you apart from the peoples to be Mine” (c.f. Leviticus 20:26).
(c) One phrase that occurs almost fifty times13 in this last section is, “I am the Lord” – as in (chapter eighteen), “you shall (not) approach any blood relative … to uncover (their) nakedness; I am the Lord” (c.f. Leviticus 18:6) – (chapter nineteen) “You shall not go about as a slanderer among your people, (or) act against the life of your neighbor; I am the Lord” (c.f. Leviticus 19:16) – and again: “You shall rise ... before the grayheaded and honor the aged … I am the Lord” (c.f. Leviticus 19:32) – and once more: “You shall have just balances, (and) just weights … I am the Lord …” (c.f. Leviticus 19:36) – and then, in chapter twenty-six: “You shall keep My sabbaths and reverence My sanctuary; I am the Lord” (c.f. Leviticus 26:2).
What does this mean? What’s being communicated by the repetition of this phrase?
The first use of this phrase in the Book of Leviticus is found in chapter eleven (verses forty-four and forty-five) (which we quoted a moment ago) and which says: 44“I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy … you shall not make yourselves unclean with any of the swarming things that swarm on the earth. 45For I am the Lord who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God; thus you shall be holy, for I am holy” (c.f. Leviticus 11:44-45). It seems to me, then, that the phrase “I am the Lord” communicates at least two things – first, that God is holy, therefore His covenant people are to be holy as well – and second, that He is the One who redeemed His people from slavery in Egypt, therefore He deserves to be obeyed!
(d) Hence, every time the phrase is used here in Leviticus – especially in connection with one of God’s practical instructions for His people’s every-day living – it’s a reminder of why we should obey, and/or an incentive to do exactly as our Redeemer has said!
For example (chapter nineteen verse four says): “Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves molten gods” – Why not? Everyone else is doing it! – Because, “I am the Lord” (c.f. Leviticus 19:4). Because I, the Lord, am holy – and in order for you to be holy like Me, you must not turn to any form of idolatry!
Chapter nineteen, verse ten: “(Do not) glean your vineyard, (or) gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard … leave them for the needy and for the stranger” – Why? – Because, “I am the Lord your God” (c.f. Leviticus 19:10). Because I had pity on you when you were slaves and strangers in Egypt – and now you must follow My example and have pity on those around you who find themselves trapped in poverty!
Chapter nineteen, verse thirty-one: “Do not turn to mediums or spiritists …” – Why not? Lots of other people are doing it! Why shouldn’t we? – Because, “I am the Lord your God” (c.f. Leviticus 19:31). Because I am holy – and if you are going to be holy like Me, you need to stay away from the occult!
(D) SOME CLOSING THOUGHTS
(1) There’s some debate as to which of these laws and statutes found in the Book of Leviticus still apply to Christians today. For example, do we need to pay those who work for us at the end of every day (c.f. Leviticus 19:13) – or is it okay to pay people at the end of each week – or every two weeks – or once a month? Obviously, we should not be a slanderer (c.f. Leviticus 19:16; Ephesians 4:31). But would it be sinful to wear a garment made out of two different kinds of material (c.f. Leviticus 19:19)? Should adulterers, or children who curse their parents, still be put to death (c.f. Leviticus 20:9-10)?
(2) Though some questions remain, it’s also true that some things have not changed. (a) For example, the importance of personal purity and holiness has not changed. As God’s covenant people, we are still commanded to be holy because our God and Savior is holy (c.f. Leviticus 11:44-45; 19:2; 20:26).
The Book of Ephesians says (in chapter one) that we have been chosen in Christ “before the foundation of the world, that we would be HOLY and blameless …” (c.f. Ephesians 1:4) – while chapter four says we are to “put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and HOLINESS …” (c.f. Ephesians 4:24).
Then there’s the Apostle Peter, who quotes directly from the Book of Leviticus, when he tells us Christians (in chapter one): 15“but like the Holy One who called you, BE HOLY YOURSELVES IN ALL YOUR BEHAVIOR; (Why?) 16because it is written (i.e. in the Book of Leviticus), ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy’” (c.f. I Peter 1:15-16).
What is the whole matter of sanctification, if not a striving after holiness in every aspect of our speech and conduct (c.f. I Thessalonians 4:3-7)?! Hence, the fact is, that the Book of Leviticus can actually be a great help to us in our pursuit of sanctification, and Christ-like behavior (c.f. Romans 8:29).
(b) As God’s covenant people, the responsibility to obey His laws and commands, rather than the opinions and conclusions of men, has not changed. In other words, it’s still true that we are not to follow the example of the “Egyptians” and “Canaanites” who live around us – rather, we are to obey the Lord our God (c.f. Leviticus 18:3-4)! As Peter once said: “We must obey God rather than men” (c.f. Acts 5:29) – which is exactly one of the things the Book of Leviticus teaches us (c.f. Leviticus 20:22-23)!
Besides, what was Jesus’ call to “follow Me” (c.f. Matthew 8:22; Mark 8:34), if not an exhortation to follow God’s laws and commands rather than the world’s?!
(c) Finally, the rationale for obedience has not changed – that reason being, because our God is still “the Lord”! Hence, the whole, “Do this, because I am the Lord” – or, “Don’t do that, because I am the Lord”, still applies.
The most basic and fundamental reason for obeying any command found in Scripture, is because “the Lord our God” has told us to do so! And the Book of Leviticus underscores that truth again and again and again – saying, in one way or another: “You are to perform My judgments and keep My statutes, to live in accord with them; I am the Lord your God” (c.f. Leviticus 18:4).
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1Mathison: From Age to Age (The Unfolding of Biblical
Eschatology); p. 62.
2The English Standard Version Study Bible; Introduction
to Leviticus; p. 211.
3MacArthur: The MacArthur Bible Commentary; p. 133.
4http://www.wpcpca.org/Archive/07-26-09-pm.html
5Ryken: Ryken’s Bible Handbook; p. 64.
6IBID; p. 63.
7BCS: Strong’s Concordance; Word #1818.
8Mathison: Ibid; p. 63.
9IBID; p. 64.
10IBID; pgs. 64-65.
11IBID; p. 65.
12IBID; p. 66.
13BCS: Strong’s Concordance.