Leviticus is certainly not a book to curl up with on the sofa in front of a warm fire! In essence, it is a manual – an instruction manual to be pulled out and referred to when needed. Here we have a textbook for priests and Levites living in Old Covenant times. We may well feel that it has little or no direct relevance to ourselves.
Even for the Jews at the time of Moses, it was a reference book – for use by the priests and Levites as they carried out their ritual duties. The title of the book: Leviticus, comes from the fact that this is a document that consists mainly of laws and regulations that were the concern of the priests who came from the tribe of Levi.
Leviticus follows directly from the book of Exodus - Moses and the people are stuck in the wilderness, in the shadow of Mount Sinai, waiting, whilst the Lord is giving the Law to Moses. This book divides neatly into sections: aspects of the sacrificial system; the priesthood; and the welfare of the people, including details of the religious festivals.
The key concept that links these sections together is holiness. 'Be holy, because I the Lord your God am holy,'is a verse which is repeated several times. If we learn nothing else from its 27 chapters, then this call to holiness is a lesson well learned. Holiness comes through obedience to the laws of God, and by staying in close contact with God. The laws of Leviticus and the instructions regarding sacrifice provided a means of restoring and maintaining the relationship between God and His people.
Part 1
CHAPTERS 1 - 7 SACRIFICE
The first section of Leviticus (chapters 1 – 7) concerns the importance of sacrifice. The graphic descriptions of so much animal sacrifice, especially with all the regulations about what to do with the blood, does not fit comfortably with our 21st century sensibilities. It may feel quite barbaric, and meaningless to us, and therefore difficult to understand. However, we need to remember that we are dealing with a culture that existed over 3500 years ago, which did not share the moral and ethical understandings of our present age. Underlying the concept of sacrifice is the thought of giving up something that is significant or costly. The sacrificial system represents an attempt to take seriously the concept of holiness. If God is holy, then it is essential that we approach him by offering to Him the best that we have. The Hebrew noun for sacrifice literally means 'slaughter'. Sacrifice was not unique to Israel. Most of the surrounding nations sacrificed beasts to their gods. They saw it as a means of placating their gods, seeking their favour. However, the purpose of a sacrifice was never just to present the dead carcass of an animal to their gods. The intention was to release the potent life within the victim. The life was believed to be resident in the blood of the animal. So, it is through the shedding of blood that we see the continuation of life.
The motives of these pagan nations led to the development of religious acts. When we turn to the Hebrew nation, the major difference in Hebrew religion, as seen in the Book of Leviticus, is that sacrifice has become God's initiative. The picture we have in Leviticus is one of God asking for sacrifice because it has to do with His own nature. Sacrifice is the outward expression of holiness.
To understand why, we must consider the different types of sacrifice that God calls for. The important question that is being addressed is, 'How may an unholy people approach a holy God?' In answering this question, we see that the sacrifices, laid down in the Old Covenant all serve to point forwards towards the ultimate sacrifice: the sacrifice of the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.
To begin, Chapter One describes how sacrifices should be carried out.
· The sacrificial animal is to be a perfect beast 'without blemish'. It is the best that must be given to God, not just any inferior offering.
· Sacrifice should occur in a special place: at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. This is the place which symbolised the presence of God with the people.
· The person offering the sacrifice must lay his hand on the head of the sacrifice, to identify himself with it. The sacrifice is being made on his behalf, as if he is saying, 'I am offering myself to God'.
· The priest is to sprinkle the blood around the altar, before burning the carcass. This sprinkling represents the offering of life to God, and the union between the Lord and his people, and the burning is the ultimate sacrifice - giving the animal to the Lord.
Reading on through the early chapters of Leviticus, several different kinds of sacrifice are described. Chapter 1 offers general details concerning how to make a sacrifice. Chapter 2 describes how grain offerings are to be made. This is pointing towards the time when the Israelites will be a settled community living their own land, when grain would become as important for the welfare of the community as the rearing of livestock. For many Israelites, grain production became their principal occupation. Such offerings were acceptable to God, but just as with animal sacrifice, it was the best that must be offered to God. Three specific types of sacrifice are also described: peace, or fellowship offering, sin offering, and guilt offering. These speak of the human need for peace, (shalom) with God, and of the reality of sin and the need to ask God for forgiveness.
These offerings remind us that the human race needs to be seeking reconciliation with God, but left to our own devices, we can never achieve it. The sacrifice is a means of mediation – a coming between - God and man. Humans need help from beyond our own abilities to be at peace with God. For the Jews, the elaborate sacrificial system, however barbaric it may appear to us, represents their attempt to grapple with the problem of human needs and failures. As Christians, living under the New Covenant, we know that the sacrificial system was inadequate, and would never be able to attain the complete unity between man and God. That can only be achieved by divine initiative - by God himself bridging the gulf between man's sinfulness and God's holiness. So, the sacrificial system of Leviticus, points us forwards towards the full importance of the ultimate, once for all sacrifice of Jesus Christ. It is through the shedding of His blood that we ourselves are assured of the promise of eternal life. 'Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ?' (1 Cor 10:16).
In the burnt offering of chapter 1, we read about the animal without blemish (v.3), stressing the importance of yielding everything to God. This is a costly offering, even for the poor man, who can only afford a pigeon. It points us forwards, towards Jesus, the perfect man, who alone is worthy to stand between man and God. The sacrifice of the burnt offering is an act of worship, 'an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to the Lord' (Lev 1:17) As the idea of sacrifice develops over time, the concept of it being pleasing to the Lord is one that continues. In Christian terms, the sacrifice becomes a moral activity. As early as Psalm 51, the idea that sacrifice is more about personal transformation than a rigid interpretation of the Law is coming through: 'The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.' (Psalm 51:17). As we move on to the New Testament, sacrifice is depicted in our attitude towards God. In the letter to the Hebrews, readers are encouraged to offer a 'sacrifice of praise' (13:15). Peter tells his readers to offer 'spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God' (1 Peter 2:5).
The grain offering, (Leviticus 2) the produce of the soil, is given as a token of thanksgiving, and homage to God. Even today, we celebrate Harvest Festival as a reminder of our total dependence upon God. It speaks to us of the character of Christ: what St. Paul calls 'the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth'. We too must feed on the perfect meal offering: Christ's love given to us. And we too must make the sacrifice in our hearts of holy and righteous living.
The peace offering (Leviticus 3) is shared between the altar and the worshipper, demonstrating fellowship with God. God and man are united in the symbolism of a common meal. It reminds us that Christ is our peace. 'He has made peace through the blood of his cross.'
The sin offering (Leviticus 4) depicts Christ substituting himself on our behalf. Lev 4 begins, 'If anyone sins and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord's commands'. St. Paul tells the Romans, 'All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God'. All need the sin offering, and in Christ we see a once for all sacrifice for the sins of all people. As the sin offering is a substitution for the people's sin, so too, Christ's offering of himself is a substitution for our sin.
And the guilt offering (Leviticus 5) provides a reminder that in doing wrong towards our neighbour, we also do wrong towards God. The Israelites were called to make restitution to the person they had wronged as well as to God. St. Paul tells the Colossians, 'If then, you are risen with Christ, seek then the things that are above’ (Colossians 3:1). We must live in peace with our neighbour, as well as with God.
So through the sacrificial system of the Old Covenant, which was an essential part of Jewish religion, we see the background to our New Testament understanding of what is involved in sacrifice, and we see many pictures which help us to comprehend the full significance of the ultimate, once for all sacrifice of our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Part 2
CHAPTERS 8 -15 PRIESTHOOD AND LAW
Section a) CHAPTERS 8 – 10
The first section of Leviticus (chapters 1 – 7) concerns the elaborate sacrificial system, instituted by God for the purpose of bringing God and His people together. So that this system could be enacted, it was necessary to appoint specific people to fulfil the task. Just as Moses was given the task of being the leader, and bringing the people out of Egypt, so now we read, in chapters 8 – 10, that Aaron and his sons are given responsibility to be priests - stewards of the worship of the people. Moses couldn't do it all by himself, and so here we have an early example of the exercise of different ministries within God’s people: each person called to his particular task.
This group of priests were chosen by God and appointed to the task. Moses had the task of instituting them. They had to be cleansed 'washed with water' (8:6), and then clothed with special garments. On Aaron’s turban were the words, 'Holy to the Lord' (8:9). After an appropriate sacrifice had been offered, the shed blood was used to anoint these men for service. Moses anointed them on the right ear, thumb, and big toe, symbolising the fact that they too, were sinful, and needed complete cleansing, from head to toe.
In 8:27, we read that Moses placed the whole of the offering into the hands of Aaron and the priests, thus suggesting that from then on, the priesthood was to be responsible for this entire area of responsibility.
As recipients of the New Covenant, we know that Christ Jesus himself has assumed the role of our great High Priest, and we no longer need any priestly intermediaries. We are all free to approach God directly. Peter reminds us that all believers belong to the ‘Royal Priesthood’ (1Peter 2:9). But serving as a priest is a costly business. It is perhaps significant that the two New Testament books where Christians are described as priests (1 Peter 2:5,9; Rev 1:6) were written to believers who were encountering fierce persecution. They remind us of the cost of commitment to Christ. Like the priests in Leviticus, we too, are chosen:
You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go out and bear fruit, fruit that will last. (John 15:16).
We too are cleansed:
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all wrongdoing. (1 John 1:9).
We too must be clothed in garments of righteous living:
Let us throw off the deeds of darkness and put on the armour of light. (Romans 13:12);
Put on then, garments that suit God's chosen and beloved people. (Colossians 3:12).
The priests in the book of Leviticus are given a specific responsibility. Their task is to make atonement for the sins of the people, and these chapters give plenty of instructions concerning how they should fulfil their role.
Chapter 9 describes how the priests began their ministry. We have a description of the very first occasion upon which they performed their role: making their offerings, on behalf of themselves, in order to purify themselves for their new responsibilities, and also on behalf of the people. The chapter concludes with ‘the glory of the Lord’ (v.23), appearing to the people – a sign of the holiness of God being made known to the nation.
Chapter 10 offers us some case studies concerning God’s holiness. Nadab and Abiru, two of Aaron’s sons, appear to get each other into trouble. Despite having already had first-hand experience of God’s holiness, they break the rules. They treat with indifference the clear instructions of God. Their experience serves as a warning to all believers. We must never take lightly the justice and holiness of God. Being entrusted with the things of God is an enormous privilege, but with privilege goes responsibility. The opportunity to know God is not a gift to be taken lightly. The remainder of chapter 10 continues with a similar theme. God’s love for us does not negate the importance of obedience and an earnest recognition of His holiness.
Section b) CHAPTERS 11 – 15
These chapters concern laws of purity: clean and unclean animals; laws concerning childbirth; laws concerning leprosy; laws concerning bodily discharges. Many of these regulations seem strange to us, although some have an obvious function – they are offering some basic rules of hygiene. They would appear to be an Old Testament commentary upon the English saying: ‘Cleanliness is next to Godliness.’ For a society living in close proximity to each other, in tents, and in a warm climate, the risk of disease spreading rapidly through the whole community was always very real, and these laws were essential for the prevention of disease. But they also have a deeper significance. They concern not just food, but bodily health, cleanliness, and sexual well-being, which is not just about personal morality but also about family and public relationships.
‘God was concerned about health, the dignity of the body, and the dignity of sexual experience. His commands call the people to avoid unhealthy practices and to promote healthy ones. To wash was the physical health response; to be purified or cleansed was the spiritual dignity response. This shows God’s high regard for sex and sexuality. In our day, sex has been degraded by publicity; it has become public domain, not private celebration. We are called to have a high regard for sex, both in good health and purity’ (Life Application Study Bible Footnote to Leviticus 15:32,33).
The reason for these chapters can be summarised by the Lord’s instruction:
Do not defile yourselves by any of these creatures. Do not make yourselves unclean by means of them or be made unclean by them. I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. Do not make yourselves unclean by any creature that moves along the ground. I am the Lord, who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy. (Leviticus 11: 43 – 45)
But why does the Lord seem to make some animals ‘clean’ whilst others are ‘unclean’? The Bible does not give us a definitive answer. But there are several reasonable clues:
· Hygiene: the fact that some meats, most notably pork, could carry disease if not thoroughly cooked, especially in a hot climate.
· Pagan association: the Israelites were called to worship God and to have nothing to do with the pagan worship of the surrounding nations, from which they had been called away. Therefore, in order to avoid any kind of misunderstanding, they were instructed to have nothing to do with the various kinds of meat that could be associated with pagan worship (pork being a prime example).
· Allegorical explanation: the notion that some animals were associated with certain kinds of behaviour, e.g. laziness, uncouthness, and therefore were better to be avoided.
What do the regulations in these chapters say to us? We are children of the New Covenant, so they do not have a direct binding upon us. As Paul reminds us, because of the sacrifice of Jesus, we are ‘freed from the curse of the law’ (Galatians 3:13). But the wider lessons about health, hygiene, and morality, and even avoidance of things or activities that may be harmful to our bodies, minds or souls, are still very relevant to us. Living in a world that offers numerous sensual pleasures, highlights this issue. Quite apart from the obvious sexual temptations, there are other activities, which although it may be argued are ‘permissible’, we have to ask ourselves, ‘are they helpful to us in maintaining our relationship with God, and our personal sense of morality and integrity?’
We are called to be a ‘holy people’. Each of us must consider for ourselves, what does this mean for me?
A final thought – from St Paul. When he was considering the issue of eating meat that had been offered to pagan gods, his advice to the Corinthians was that even though these pagan idols may be of no consequence whatsoever, eating such food may be a cause of concern to a Christian brother or sister. Therefore, in our conduct, we must always consider the consequences of our actions on other believers. If our behaviour causes them to struggle with their faith, then better not to do it.
‘Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling-block to the weak. For if someone with a weak conscience sees you, with all your knowledge, eating in an idol’s temple, won’t that person be emboldened to eat what is sacrificed to idols? So this weak brother or sister, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. When you sin against them in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall’ (1Corinthians 8:9-13).
The call to holiness of living is still a very strong imperative upon us.
Part 3
CHAPTER 16 THE DAY OF ATONEMENT
The Book of Leviticus offers plenty of instructions for the priests of Israel. But chapter 16 brings us to the high point of what the priest’s ministry is about: the Day of Atonement.
But what does this word 'atonement' mean? There are two words that are often used in association with it: propitiation and expiation: words which also need an explanation! Both these words refer to some form of appeasement: making amends to an offended party, doing something to convince a person that you are sorry, and paying a penalty to cover the price of something which has been done. Both include the idea that a holy and righteous God cannot bear the presence of anything less than perfection. Propitiation contains the idea of something being done to placate God for wrongs done towards Him - a way of saying ‘I'm sorry’, whilst expiation suggests that our sins are cancelled out - covered over in order that they are now harmless, non-existent, inoperative.
It is against this background that we must approach Leviticus 16. In this chapter the regulations that have occupied the first half of the book reach their culmination. The types of sacrifice described in chapters 1-7 came to be focussed on an annual ceremony: The Day of Atonement, when the high priest, on behalf of the community, performed a ritual which was designed to restore the whole people to peace with God. The prime function of the day was to cover over sins of both ignorance and omission. Underlying the requirements of this day was recognition that individual offerings by the people are not enough. There must be a united confession of sin by the whole community, and the community, as the Lord's people, must be given absolution, because human relationships are connected, and every person is implicated in the failures of his neighbours. The Lord instructed that the high priest should perform this ritual once in a year, on the tenth day of the seventh month, a day which is held to be holy right up to the present - Yom Kippur, literally meaning, 'Day of Atonement'.
Yom Kippur is still held, on the 10th day of Tishri, the 7th month in the Jewish calendar. This is a day to stand before God, confess your mistakes and admit your sins. The point of all this is to help worshippers to recognise that there is no way that they can ever achieve perfection by their own efforts. The closest that we come, as Christians, to a day like this is Ash Wednesday, with its reminder of the reality of sin and the need for repentance. James writes in his Epistle: ‘For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.' (James 2:10)
The high priest must first make his own peace with God, including within this act atonement for the sins of the whole priesthood, thus acknowledging that even the full-time ministers of God were no less sinful than anyone else. Then, both the people, and also the whole sanctuary, were symbolically cleansed and made fit for the proper service of God. The climax of the ritual is the confession of sin on behalf of the community, made by the High Priest as he lays hands on the head of a goat, after which the goat is driven off into the wilderness - the origin of the phrase 'the scapegoat'.
This event is all about mediation – the priest and victim are consecrated by God, for the purpose of removing the weight of the sins from the people, which they cannot throw off by themselves. The price for sin has been paid - God no longer holds the sin against the people. They are cleansed.
Of course, the Old Testament sacrificial system could only be temporary. The Day of Atonement had to come round year after year. Something more permanent had to come. If the sacrifices under the Old Covenant had been sufficient, there would have been no need for the sacrifice of Christ. If we fast forward to the time of the prophet Jeremiah, we discover a new re-assurance from God:
'Behold the days are coming declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the House of Israel and the House of Judah, not like the covenant I made with their fathers in the days when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt....But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel..... I will put my law within them and on their heart I will write it....... I will forgive their iniquity and their sin I will remember no more.' (Jeremiah 31:31-33)
So, within the books of the prophets we find an anticipation of the New Covenant which is to come, and we are helped to understand that the atonement of the Old Covenant is a part of a process - a means of enabling us to understand the full significance of the once for all sacrifice of Christ, who died, once for all time, in order that we may experience God's mercy and forgiveness.
So the Day of Atonement offers a picture of reparation for sin, which reaches its fulfilment in the atoning work of Christ on the cross. Christ is both our great High Priest, who alone can make intercession before God on our behalf, and victim, our scapegoat, on whom was laid all the sins of the world. The letter to the Hebrews explains how the Day of Atonement points towards the mediation of Christ, who took upon his own shoulders, once for all, the sins of all mankind, and secured the forgiveness of human sin, not just for the next year, but for ever.
'Since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess...... Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:14 – 16)
Part 4
CHAPTERS 17 - 27 THE HOLINESS CODE
‘Be holy, because I the Lord your God, am holy.’ (Leviticus 19:2)
We come to the last eleven chapters of Leviticus. They can be summed up in one word: holiness.
God’s people are called to be different from the nations around them: to think differently, to behave differently, to worship differently, and to relate to one another differently. This difference is quite simple: do not behave like the people in the surrounding nations, or as Paul says when he seeks to explain holiness within the context of the New Covenant:
Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2)
So what does it mean, to be holy? It includes two strains of thought.
· To be separate; distinct. ‘Moses, take off your shoes, you are standing on holy ground.’ (Exodus 3:5)
· To engage in righteous action – compassionate care; creative love; a practical outworking of our faith. ‘The Lord Almighty will be exalted by His justice, and the holy God will show himself holy by his righteousness.’ (Isaiah 5:16)
‘Holiness is the nucleus of God’s personality.’ (H.H. Stamm)
We see holiness in the power of God breaking into human life. His loving, righteous, saving presence in Israel’s midst. Jesus tells his disciples at the end of Matthew’s gospel, ‘I will be with you always, to the very end of the age.’ There is nothing detached, or remote about holiness. It is the practical outworking of faith.
What does the book of Leviticus teach us about holiness?
We learn that God has standards, and we, as people who seek to follow Him, are called to maintain His standards. There is no aspect of life that lies beyond the reach of God’s activity. Everything that we do should be submitted to God. Leviticus spells this out by addressing issues that were significant in the life of the nation of Israel. Some of these laws have been interpreted and re-applied in the New Covenant, others of them were self-evidently of great significance to a Bronze-age Middle Eastern society, but do not apply to children of the New Covenant and have been superseded by the new law of Jesus Christ. So in these latter chapters of Leviticus, we read:
· The laws about sacrifice. (Chapter 17) Sacrifices are to be done properly, with dignity, in the right places and at the right times. This sacrificial system reminds us that life is precious. Blood is the symbol of this life. For the Israelites, blood was a potent sign of the life of the creature; therefore, it was not something that should be eaten. These laws were deeply significant for Old Covenant worship, but the blood of Jesus, and his sacrifice upon the cross offers to us a once for all method of finding peace with God.
· A proper attitude towards other people (18:1 – 20:27), as expressed in sexuality, social order and relationships and family values. Don’t behave like the pagans (i.e. avoid putting the values of this world before the values of God). Avoid unlawful sexual relations. Many of these kinds of laws are re-stated in the New Covenant. As Christians, we should live in a way that respects other people.
· The standards expected within the priesthood (21:1 – 22:33). The role of the priest was to represent the people before God. For this significant task, it was self-evident that the highest standards of lifestyle should be expected. We, as Christians belong to the ‘royal priesthood’ (1 Peter 2:9). No longer do we need human intermediaries to intercede before God for us. Because of our relationship with Jesus Christ, we can approach God for ourselves. (Don’t be confused by the term ‘priest’ used by many Christian denominations – it has a totally different, albeit in this context, confusing, meaning.) But the standards of holiness still apply – to all God’s people.
· Appropriate worship (23:1 – 24:23) Even time is holy, and the people were exhorted to follow the liturgical seasons and ensure that they maintained their worship. Through their worship, they remembered what God had done for the nation, and came to understand how they should honour Him. (See The Pilgrim’s Guide to the Bible No. 14.)
· Care for the land (25:1 – 26:46). Even the land was holy to God. The Laws of the Sabbath year and the Year of Jubilee were clear indications that the land should not be abused, but should be rested in order to retain its productivity. The Jubilee (a Sabbath of Sabbaths i.e. 7 x 7 + 1 = 50) was a way of ensuring that the land was distributed equally and impartially amongst the entire nation, and that any social inequalities that had crept in would be put right before they became too large. Sadly, the Jubilee did not work in OT times any more than it has worked in the modern world.
· And finally, Leviticus ends with a chapter about vows. A vow is a promise – a commitment that we make to God, and the underlying message is that we need to be honest before God, keep our promises, and prove to be faithful with those things that He has entrusted to us.
So the message of these chapters is that holiness has to do with every aspect of life. God calls each of us to an inner, spiritual holiness. It is up to each of us, to work out in prayer, what specific sacrifices God is calling us to make. The important point is that the command to 'be holy' is a command that affects our every action. We must be willing to live in the way that God calls us to live.
Comments