Many people make a commitment to read through their Bible cover to cover. They do great until they reach the book of Leviticus. Then their eyes roll, and they feel they have entered the Biblical wasteland. Words couldn’t be drier and the relatability to what is being read seems nonexistent. What is the purpose of such a book and how is it even relevant to us today? Believe it or not, it is highly relevant and reveals how blessed we are to be living post Christ’s crucifixion than before. Let’s take a closer look and see if I can make Leviticus become relevant for you. You may just never see this book the same way again. Wouldn’t that be nice!

The Mosaic Law was comprised of 613 commandments dealing with moral and ethical issues. Most of these were tied, whether directly or indirectly, to some type of sacrifice. There were eight different types of sacrifices or offerings that were required for different things. Sometimes, more than one sacrifice had to be made simultaneously. Likely you realized from your reading of Leviticus that sacrifices were a big part of this book and were crucial to the everyday life of a Jewish citizen. It all seems so confusing. It was likely more comprehensible for a Jew of that day as they grew up with these requirements. But why? What was the purpose of such sacrifices and so much detail as to how they were to be done?

Well, fast forward to the New Testament. Because of Christ’s teachings, many started to think he was advocating for the Jews to abandon the Mosaic Law. Yet, he told them that was not the case. Actually, far from abandoning the Law, he had come to fulfill the Law: Jesus stated, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished” (Mt 5:17-18).

You may be thinking that if that was true, and he was such an advocate of the Mosaic Law, then why did Jesus argue with the Pharisees so much? The Pharisees were obsessed with keeping the Law, so shouldn’t that have been a common bond, a common thread, between them? Well, we need to look more closely as to what Jesus argued with them about. Their arguments were not about the Law but about Oral Traditions which the Pharisees elevated to be as binding as the Law itself. By doing so, they lost the true intent of the Torah, the Law. The Pharisees (and the Sadducees) had turned obeying the Mosaic Law into a list of dos and don’ts rather than about the condition of one’s heart. They taught that the doing was what made one righteous rather than an actual change of heart. Jesus was teaching the original intent of Torah, the Mosaic Law, was to expose the condition of one’s heart. Following the Law was to be a response of realizing one’s heart condition. The Pharisees were putting the cart before the horse, so to speak.

If we go back to Leviticus, we find there were eight different types of offerings required under the Mosaic Law. Why so many? What was their purpose? Did Jesus really fulfill all of them? How did he do that, and for what purpose was he to fulfill them?

To answer these questions, we need to look at each of these different types of sacrifices, their requirements, and what they represented. I think you’ll see that each addresses a matter of the heart. Each sacrifice was to be a response to a change in heart.

Let’s look at each of these sacrifices individually. I have covered them previously in another series of blog posts (Leviticus), but our emphasis in this discussion will be slightly different. I hope you join me as we discuss how Jesus Christ fulfilled each of these types of offerings and how each relates to our accepting him today.

____________

Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

Did you ever feel that the world is obsessed with the obtainment of perfection? Yet, it only seems to yield feelings of inadequacy, guilt, and depression. That can’t be good. Some then conclude we should therefore just accept ourselves as we are—you get what you see. But that doesn’t sound right either. So, what’s the solution? Let’s look back at Leviticus and see what it can tell us.

Believe it or not, perfection is God’s standard. That’s what most of Leviticus is about. Why is that? First, let’s see what God required of Israel. One of the things we see is all the purification laws imposed upon them (hence why many feel it is such a boring book). Many believe this is just so the Israelites can live more disease-free lives. That is likely a part of it. After all, these verses are dealing with such things as clean and unclean food (Lv 11), purification after childbirth (Lv 12), skin disease regulations (Lv 13), skin disease cleansing (Lv 14), and bodily discharges (Lv 15). These are certainly not good for casual reading but are very important for practical daily living. Yet, it’s more than that. How Israel dealt with these daily issues set them apart from other nations and peoples and made them unique (Lv 20:26). It drew the attention of other people to them and made them ask questions. Then, God could be brought into the conversation. It was to become part of their witnessing tool to the rest of the world. After all, Israel was charged to be the priests to the world (Ex 19:6).

Perfection is the standard which God expects. Part of perfection is being unblemished and pure—one of the reasons for the sacrificial requirements of the animals having to be unblemished. This is also the reason for the charge to the priests to teach the people the difference between what is clean and what is unclean. It also helped to point out that this standard of perfection was a high goal—above one’s ability on their own to achieve. It would then raise the question, “How can I achieve this?” The answer came by realizing the ultimate purpose pointed to one to come who would be able to achieve this standard of perfection.

The same is true for us. We also can’t attain this level of perfection. We, like they, need to look toward the one who could, and did, achieve this perfection. God knew we couldn’t do it on our own, so he did it for us. Yet, we must accept what He did on our part. We must humble ourselves and admit we can’t do it ourselves and turn to what God did for us on our behalf, just as the Israelites had to do (2Ch 7:14). What about you? Are you willing?

____________

Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

What comes to your mind when you hear the word ‘Leviticus’? Did I hear you say, “boring?” Well, I must say, I have heard many people claim that when they decided to read their Bible all the way through, they began to falter once they reached Leviticus. Why is it such a dry book? Maybe it’s because we haven’t stopped long enough to really understand why what it’s there. For the next few posts, let’s discover some things about Leviticus and see if we can turn boring into exciting. Up for the challenge?

So, what does Leviticus mean anyway? It means the Book of the Levites. Did that clear things up? That raises the next question. Who were the Levites? Levi was one of the sons of Jacob. Remember, Jacob became Israel (Gn 32:27-28), had twelve sons, and they became the tribes of Israel. Levi had three sons: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari (Ex 6:16); their descendants, in aggregate, were called ‘clans.’ The Levites were the caretakers of the tabernacle (and later, the temple). The Gershonites took care of all the coverings and curtains; the Kohathites took care of the articles of worship; and the Merarites took care of all the hardware (Nu 3). This was important because the Israelites were nomads for forty years, so the tabernacle had to be moved from place to place as the people moved. It had to be set up and taken down many, many times. It took manpower to do that, and needed order to accomplish it speedily and efficiently.

Then, from Kohath came Aaron and Moses. Aaron became Israel’s first high priest. He and his sons were the ones to offer sacrifices. Aaron had four sons. God killed two of them (Nadab an Abihu) because of their disobedience (Lv 10:1-2). The other two were Eleazar and Ithamar (Ex 6:23). Eleazar became high priest after Aaron’s death (Nu 20:26). The high priest was usually the first son of the previous high priest. Yet, by the time of the prophet Samuel, the high priest position had switched from being a descendant of Eleazar to a descendant of Ithamar. During the reign of King David, Abiathar (descendant of Ithamar) sided against David, but Zadok (descendant of Eleazar) sided with David. In the future, when Christ returns and sets up his earthly kingdom, the descendants of Zadok will once again be the priests to lead the world in worship and sacrifice (Ek 40:46).

I think we can sum up the main duty of the Levities as follows: “You are to distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean, and you are to teach the people of Israel all the statues that the LORD has spoken to them by Moses” (Lv 10:10-11).

God had much to teach Israel and he had to retrain them in many things and though many processes and ways of worship. He needed someone to lead the people in worship, in better understanding of who God is, and to institute practices which pointed to God and not to false gods which they grew up being surrounded by in the Egyptian culture. God chose the Levites to be those to serve in that capacity.

Next time, we’ll see what some of those changes were and why. Have your practices changed since you became a Christian? I’m sure they didn’t all change suddenly, right? As you understood more, you changed more. The same was true here. Think back over all the changes God has made in you. What positive things came from that?

____________

Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens