Craig’s Corner-September 22, 2018
Continuing our newsletter series through the Scriptures, we now come to the book of Leviticus. I know at first glance it seems that this book holds confusion for the Christian. Why do we read of all these sacrifices? These different foods? These odd and obscure laws? Well, it all boils down to one word that is just as important today as it was back in Israel’s day: holiness.
Holiness means that God has set apart someone or something to be used for his purposes. When He freed Israel from slavery in Egypt, it was for the purpose of showing them His love and they in turn was to show that love to all of the world by living in ways that mirrored God’s. As part of His grace, God not only granted Israel freedom but also gave them His laws. The purpose was so that they could learn these laws so completely that their behavior would display the power of God and would therefore attract peoples and nations to learn about Him and follow Him too!
Generally, I would categorize Leviticus into three sections: Sacrificial system, Moral Laws, and Celebration of Justice. Each of these can teach us about holiness. Yet, before we go further let me make one important point: Leviticus is not simply about ceremonial holiness, or “getting the ritual right”, rather it is about moral holiness and godly conduct.
Sacrificial System-God prescribes different animals to be sacrificed for different sins the people commit. While this may appear strange and bizarre to us, it is meant to show us some truths about God. First, God takes sin seriously. In an age where we are tempted to downplay our wrongs and the wrongs of others, God is perfectly just and holy, judging sin so seriously that something has to be punished. However and secondly, we also see God’s love. For rather than making every Israelite die for the sins they commit, God provides them a system where an animal is given so that they are spared. Sin still costs something, but God in His mercy provides them the animals needed so they may be spared and forgiven. This points us to the ultimate sacrifice God Himself provided (and in fact became): Jesus Christ, the sacrificial lamb of God that takes away all of our sins.
Moral Laws-God is the creator, and back in Genesis, He not only made the heavens and the earth but ordered them out of chaos. God sets out His order of holiness in Leviticus with the purpose of showing the world that there is another way of living. That our culture does not have “the final say” about what is good and evil and how we should be living our lives. These laws give us a glimpse into the heart and mind of the Lawgiver, showing us what are priorities in God’s sight. It also shows that the Bible is not simply a “rulebook” for how we ought to behave in church, but that God is concerned with every aspect of life. His desire is that each and every part of our lives would wholly reflect Him, so that we would be His holy people, attracting others by His grace and to His grace.
Celebration of Justice-Finally, Leviticus does not only deal with people as individuals, but also as a collective holy nation. It explains the festivals that the Israelites were to celebrate as a community to remember and enjoy the blessings they have received from God. They were to have joy in doing this! Additionally, Leviticus prescribes how economic fairness was to be achieved and preserved. Every so often, debts were to be cancelled, land was to be returned, and slaves were to go free. This was to teach the Israelites (and by extension us as Christians) that all good gifts come from God and we must use them responsibly, and that means using them for our neighbor’s good so that we can indeed, “Love our neighbor as ourselves” (Matt. 22:36-39, but Jesus quoted this from Lev. 19:18).
All ceremonies and offerings of Leviticus and the entire Old Testament are shadows and pictures of Jesus. He is in Leviticus but in symbol and signs so look carefully to see His image.
One final word must be said about holiness. Many believers think that to be holy, one must “shut oneself off completely from the world” and so holy people are often pictured as stuffy and uptight like somone dipped in vinegar and pickled. Yet Christ calls His followers to the opposite: we can and must live our lives of faith in the world, because Christ is our source of holiness and He dwells in our hearts wherever we go. I heard it once put like this, “Holiness simply says, ‘do what you see God doing.” Holiness means “wholeness”.
Your Brother,
Craig