Category Archives: Leviticus

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The Sacrifice of Thanks

God Deserves Our Gratitude

God has called us to be a thankful people. Choosing to be grateful as a life response will unleash God’s power to redeem our circumstance, good or bad, which in turn unleashes divine potential to fundamentally change us in every dimension of our lives.

The Journey // Focus: Leviticus 7:12

If you present your peace offering as an expression of thanksgiving, the usual animal sacrifice must be accompanied by various kinds of bread made without yeast—thin cakes mixed with olive oil, wafers spread with oil, and cakes made of choice flour mixed with olive oil.

It would be easy to get overwhelmed in the details of these sacrifices, but don’t miss the bigger point of this particular verse: an express of thanksgiving. Three times between Leviticus 7:11-15, the theme of gratitude was said to be an essential part of the peace offering.

Do you realize the power of our thanksgiving to God? I don’t think you really do? Nor do I—not really. We get it to a degree, but I doubt that we really grasp the transformative power that God has built into the sacrifice of our thanksgiving unto him. The habit of giving thanks is a fundamental sign of our awareness of God, his loving rule over our lives, our spiritual adoption into his family, and his constant presence in our circumstances. That’s why Ambrose, a 4th century bishop said, “No duty is more urgent than that of returning thanks.”

For reasons far beyond our ability to totally comprehend, God has called us to offer thanks to him—early and often. Let me suggest a few reasons why this is not only important to God, but self–benefiting to us:

      1. Thanksgiving will prevent the disease of self-centeredness. Becoming self-focused is pretty easy in our selfish, narcissistic, entitlement culture. Gratitude forces us to recognize that God is at the center of the universe—not us—and that it’s only by his generosity we can even take in oxygen. Jeremiah wrote in Lamentations 3:22-23, “It’s only his mercy keeping us from utter destruction. His loving-kindness begins afresh each day” Giving thanks forces us into a perspective that sees every second of life as a gift from God. Today you got a new day because he said, “Wake up; I’m loaning you the breath of life again today.” Expressing that kind of fundamental gratitude daily keeps you focused on God’s goodness and not you —it keeps God at the center and self in check.
      2. Thanksgiving will prevent the disease of self-pity. Practicing gratitude forces us into an awareness that sees God’s hand and God’s plan even in times of unfairness, disappointment and loss. King David sang in Psalm 30:11-12, “You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy, that I might sing praises to you and not be silent. I will give you thanks forever!” Thankfulness releases God’s perspective when you’d otherwise see only emotional pain behind you and hardship on the path ahead. Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Don’t worry about anything; pray about it—with a thankful heart. Then God will bless you with peace that no one can completely explain—peace that will control the way you think and feel.” Bonhoeffer wrote, “Gratitude changes the pangs of memory into a tranquil joy.” A heart of gratitude will keep the spigot open to an uneven flow: my pain for God’s perspective—and the surpassing peace that floods my soul through grateful prayer.
      3. Thanksgiving will prevent the disease of low self-esteem. It forces me to see how blessed I truly am: for what I have, not what I don’t, who I am, not who I ain’t, where I’m going, not where I’m stuck. What do we have? Salvation! That’s why Paul ended 2 Corinthians 9 with this outburst of gratitude: “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!” Who are we? James says, “Whatever is good and perfect comes to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens…He chose to give new birth to us. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession.” (James 1:17-18) Where we headed? Peter says, “How fortunate we are to have this Father! He has given new life and everything to live for, including a future in heaven! And God is keeping careful watch over both us and our future.” (2 Peter 1:3-5) No matter how down you get about your life, on your worst day you’re still an eternally-saved, heaven-bound, cherished-child of God! Gratitude anchors your self-esteem and eternal worth in that Divine reality!
      4. Thanksgiving will prevent the disease of self-perpetuating poverty. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 9:12-13, “You show gratitude through your generosity, and moved by God’s extravagance through you, those you help will respond by praying for your need.” Gratitude forces generosity. And the more you give thanks, the more God will give you to be thankful for. Andrew Murray said, “To be thankful for what we’ve received is the surest way to receive more.” God is serious about blessing our gratitude! As A.W. Tozer said, it’s, “an offering precious in the sight of God, and its one that the poorest of us can make and be not poorer but richer for having made it.”

Here is the deal: God has called us to be a thankful people. Choosing to be grateful as a life response will unleash God’s power to redeem our circumstance, good or bad, which in turn unleashes divine potential to fundamentally change us in every dimension of our lives. Sarah Ban Breathnach offered this profound thought:

You simply won’t be the same person two months from now after consciously giving thanks each day for the abundance that exists in your life. And you will have set in motion an ancient spiritual law: the more you have and are grateful for, the more will be given you.

Are you grateful? Then tell God…and don’t stop!

Going Deeper: Take five minutes to list everything for which you are grateful to God on a piece of paper. Don’t stop until the time is up. My guess you will not have exhausted the reasons when you are done.

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Being Right With God Requires Being Right With My Neighbor

Take Care With How You Treat People

Whether it was the Lord’s Prayer, the Great Commandment, the High Priestly Prayer of Jesus or any number of other passages in Scripture, you cannot deny that your relationship with your neighbor is as important to God as your relationship with him. God is clear that you honor, serve, obey and love him as you do the same with your spouse, children, customers, fellow workers and employer, just to name a few. So take great care with how you treat people.

The Journey // Focus: Leviticus 6:1-7

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Suppose one of you sins against your associate and is unfaithful to the Lord. Suppose you cheat in a deal involving a security deposit, or you steal or commit fraud, or you find lost property and lie about it, or you lie while swearing to tell the truth, or you commit any other such sin. If you have sinned in any of these ways, you are guilty. You must give back whatever you stole, or the money you took by extortion, or the security deposit, or the lost property you found, or anything obtained by swearing falsely. You must make restitution by paying the full price plus an additional 20 percent to the person you have harmed. On the same day you must present a guilt offering. As a guilt offering to the Lord, you must bring to the priest your own ram with no defects, or you may buy one of equal value. Through this process, the priest will purify you before the Lord, making you right with him, and you will be forgiven for any of these sins you have committed.”

Did you catch that? If we sin against our neighbor, we have been unfaithful to God! How is it that we miss this when it is the clear teaching of Scripture—both Old Testament and New? Yet so many people who fancy themselves as being close to God are anything but because they allow such poor relationships to exist in their relational sphere.

So let’s be very clear about this since God himself was so clear: nothing is more important to God than shalom within the family of God. We cannot harm a human relationship without damaging our heavenly relationship with the Father of us all. Likewise, if we have been harmed by another yet refuse to forgive, or forgive but somehow convince ourselves that forgiveness does not require us to participate in repairing the relationship, we are guilty of unfaithfulness to God.

Think that is too strong? Well, consider what Jesus said as he taught us how to pray God’s Kingdom and Divine will into our lives. There was an undeniable condition that Jesus added to effectively praying the Lord’s Prayer: “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (Matthew 6:14-15)

Whether it was the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13), the Great Commandment (Matthew 22:36-40) or the High Priestly Prayer of Jesus (John 17:20-25) or a any number of other passages in Scripture, you cannot deny that your relationships with your neighbor (see Luke 10:25-37 for a definition of who your neighbor is) is as important to God as your relationship with him. God’s clear expectation is that you honor, serve, obey and love him as you do the same with your spouse, children, customers, fellow workers and employer, just to name a few.

So my advice to you is, take great care with how you treat people. And as far as it is possible, as much as it depends on you, make and keep things right with everyone. (Romans 12:18) In fact, your acceptable sacrifice of worship to God (Romans 12:1-2) is contingent upon how you live out your faith with people (Romans 12:3-21).

Yeah, it’s a big deal. So get right and stay right with people. Your Father is counting on you!

Going Deeper: Read Romans 12 and meditate on verses 1-2 in light of the rest of the chapter, verse 3-21.

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Unintentional Sin Is Still Sin

What Is Sin?

To downgrade sin, or to do away with it entirely, is to show contempt for the God who is holy. When we reduce the sinfulness of sin, we do away with the need for a Savior—which is the whole point of the Bible. Yet there is a growing number of Christians today who do just that. What an affront to the doctrine of salvation, and to the cross of Christ.

The Journey // Focus: Leviticus 5:17-19

Suppose you sin by violating one of the Lord’s commands. Even if you are unaware of what you have done, you are guilty and will be punished for your sin. For a guilt offering, you must bring to the priest your own ram with no defects, or you may buy one of equal value. Through this process the priest will purify you from your unintentional sin, making you right with the Lord, and you will be forgiven. This is a guilt offering, for you have been guilty of an offense against the Lord.

“Even if you are unaware of what you have done, you are guilty and will be punished for your sin.” Wow—that’s harsh. But yes, sin is sin, no matter the good intentions or unawareness of the sinner. Sin is a very big deal to a holy God, and even though as modern readers we live at a time where the offensiveness of certain types of sin have been downgraded, if not done away with altogether, we would do well to remember that God has not changed his mind one iota regarding the matter.

Dr. Karl Menninger, the famed psychiatrist and found of the Menninger Clinic, wrote a book called Whatever Happened to Sin, in which he tells us that the word “sin” has practically disappeared from our vocabulary. And yet, the sense of guilt remains in our hearts and minds. Likewise, the outcome of sin is plainly evident in the world—both near and far. Yes, sin is still sin, even if sophisticated man says it doesn’t.

Pride is still sin. So is inappropriate anger. Cheating, too. Mistreating the poor, contempt, lying, unbiblical divorce, selfishness, gluttony, abortion, homosexuality, heterosexual lust in the heart, pornography, disrespect for authority, laziness, stinginess—you get the picture. Or, if you don’t, here is how pastor-theologian John Piper puts it:

What is sin?
It is the glory of God not honored.
The holiness of God not reverenced.
The greatness of God not admired.
The power of God not praised.
The truth of God not sought.
The wisdom of God not esteemed.
The beauty of God not treasured.
The goodness of God not savored.
The faithfulness of God not trusted.
The commandments of God not obeyed.
The justice of God not respected.
The wrath of God not feared.
The grace of God not cherished.
The presence of God not prized.
The person of God not loved.
That is sin.

We could fill page after page of a very long book with the ways, big and small, obvious and subtle, willful and intentional, that human beings violate the law of God. Sin is missing the mark, whether it is by miles or inches, and it is an offense to God, who to be true to his just and righteous character, must either punish it or find a means to forgive it.

To downgrade or to do away with sin is show contempt for the Creator and the cross of Christ. When we reduce the sinfulness of sin, we do away with the need for a Savior—which is the whole point of the Bible. Yet there is a growing number of Christians today doing just that. Far too many have been lured into a false gospel that believes, apparently as he evolves into a better, kinder deity, that God now grades on the curve, that if the person’s heart was right, or if they just didn’t know that what they were doing was wrong, that God will give special consideration when grading their final.

In reality, that is a theology of works—that we are saved by our own goodness and not by grace through faith and not of works. In other words, if a person is morally good enough, or if they were ignorant of their sinfulness, God will take their goodness and their ignorance into account. After all, how could God assign good and unwitting people to punishment, not to mention, perish the thought, eternal damnation?

What an affront to the most basic tenet of the Bible: that salvation is by grace through faith, and not by works—sola fide, justification by faith alone. The fact that even sin for which we are unware brings guilt before God and must be punished is a clear reminder of that. Obviously, all sin was a big deal to a holy God, and if his people were to live in holiness, they would need a way to deal with the sins they committed along the way.

Between Leviticus 5-7 God shows his people how to deal with their sin and guilt through a series of sin offerings. And while we may be tempted to pass over these sin offerings since we no longer live under this system—thankfully—yet there are several eternal realities that this section of Scripture teaches us. Let me offer three:

  1. God is utterly holy, and sin is a violation of his holiness—always!
  2. Man is thoroughly sinful, and therefore deserving of judgment. The fact that sin may be unintentional and unknown and still render the sinner guilty before a holy God reminds us that there is none righteous, not even on our best day. We tend to think that God judges sin based on our motives, but this clearly shows that even the littlest sin drops our standing before him. Fallen man was born with a sin nature, and since it won’t be eradicated this side of heaven, it must be atoned for—some how in some way.
  3. Forgiveness is always available. Atonement for sin is made through God’s path to forgiveness. God, in his grace and mercy, made it possible for his people to have the guilt of their sin removed so they could live in right standing before him. Of course, we now know in light of the New Testament revelation that the Old Testament system of sacrifice was a temporary placeholder until the once-for-all sacrifice of Christ was made, but it was still a beautiful picture of a God who longed to forgive, not punish, the guilt of his people. But they had to do it his way.

We still do—do it God’s way, that is! And God still longs to forgive—that is just who God is. But we block the flow of the forgiveness of the forgiving God when we join the growing trend of those removing the sinfulness of sin. We need to remember that whenever sin is removed by any other means than through repentant faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus, we have just removed the whole purpose for the Incarnation: that Jesus came to seek and to save the lost by giving his life as the ransom for their sin.

Going Deeper: Have you found yourself making excuses for sin—either yours or another’s? That in itself is sin, and a very serious one at that. Repent, and ask God to give you a heart that is hyper-sensitive to sin. Far from being a bad thing, that is a very healthy way to live and the path to Divine blessing.

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Obliterating Sin

“Making them right with the Lord!” What a power-packed phrase, wouldn’t you say! This is the great effort of God and that is the great need of man. And through God’s initiative, both through the Levitical system of sacrifice and the perfect, once-for-all sacrifice of his Son and our Savior, that has been made possible.

Going Deep // Focus: Leviticus 4:20

By this sacrifice for sin, the priest will purify the people, making them right with the Lord, and they will be forgiven.

Making them right with the Lord! So much is packed into that phrase, wouldn’t you say! That is the great effort of God and that is the great need of man. And through God’s initiative, both through the Levitical system of sacrifice and the perfect, once-for-all sacrifice of his Son and our Savior, that has been made possible.

You see, sin, that which makes us un-right with God, is number one the problem of the human race! All other problems stem from this. Both our acts of sin and our Adamic sinfulness separate us from our Creator and Provider. God is pure and cannot tolerate impurity. Nor can he bless the impure. And because God is not only holy, but also just, his justice demands punishment for sin—our sin. And the only proper punishment for sin that can satisfy an utterly holy God is death for the sinner.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. …The wages of sin is death… But I do not excuse the guilty. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children and grandchildren; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations.” (Romans 3:23, 6:23a, Exodus 34:7)

Houston, we have a problem! We are sinful and can do nothing to change that; God is holy, and cannot tolerate sin. Death to the sinner!

But God, who is rich in mercy and ceaseless in grace, has provided a way of escape for the sinner. Under the Old covenant, a sacrificial system was established that transferred the guilt of the guilty onto the sacrifice and thus absolved God’s righteous anger. Throughout the Old Testament this plan is made plain, and specifically in Leviticus 4 and 5, the phrase is repeated: offer sacrifice for sin…making them pure…they will be forgiven.

But, thank God, our Holy Creator went a step further and established a new and better covenant with his people: He sent the perfect sacrifice, his one and only Son, to be the sacrifice for our sins. And the offering up us Jesus on the cross as the atonement for our sin not only satisfied God’s righteous wrath and absolved the guilt for our sins, but the blood of his sacrifice obliterated our guilty standing before God created and perpetuated by our Adamic sinfulness. And best of all, his death was the once-for-all sacrifice to end all sin offerings—we don’t have to offer it over and over again.

And the Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all. … Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. …the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus our Lord. (Isaiah 53:6, 1 Peter 3:18, Romans 6:23b)

Hallelujah! Once cleansed, the blood of Jesus keeps on cleansing us from all unrighteousness:

But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. (1 John 1:7-9)

What a God, who made a way in the Old Covenant for his people to be made right with him, at least temporarily, until the time for the permanent, perfect offering of his Son, our wonderful, merciful Savior, who offered himself as the once-for-all sacrifice for our sin.

Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. (Psalm 32:1-2)

Blessed indeed! We have been made right with God.

Going Deeper With God: As you consider that your sin is permanently covered by Christ’s sacrifice, you may want to make this prayer your prayer: “Holy God, I thank you for Jesus, by whose sacrifice I can call you ‘Dear Father.’ By his death, I am pure and brought near to you. My sins are forgiven—all my sinful past is erased, my guilt from today is removed, my future failures have already been taken care of, my mistakes are redeemed for the glory of God. I am made right with you. How loved I am how blessed I am! I am forever grateful.”

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The God Who Can Be Deeply Pleased

Were the Old Testament sacrifices to the Lord more for the peoples’ benefit, or did the Lord really need them? We don’t really know for sure. But to be certain, God has more emotion and feeling than we realize. Perhaps he loves the scent of the love that we offer up to him in our sacrifice as we would enjoy the aroma of a sumptuous meal prepared in a home where love, affection and kindness reign. It is quite likely that God takes greater pleasure in our love for him than we realize. So on this day, remember that you can deeply please him through the love offering of your whole life for his pleasure.

The Journey // Focus: Leviticus 3:16

This sacrifice is a special gift of food, a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

Were the Old Testament sacrifices to the Lord more for the peoples’ benefit, or did the Lord really need them? When food was offered on the altar to the Lord and it was said to be pleasing to him, was it because he was hungry? Why was the aroma of the sacrifice important to God?

We don’t really know for sure. To be certain, the act of sacrifice, done in God’s way from a heart of love and obedience was indeed good for God’s people—a way to remind them of their gracious God and an act of obedience that built faith in their hearts. And for sure, sacrifice was pleasing to God when it represented a loving and obedient act of faith.

But perhaps there is more. Perhaps this God has more emotion and feeling than we realize. Perhaps he loves the scent of the love that we offer up to him as we would enjoy the aroma of a sumptuous meal prepared in a home where love, affection and kindness reign. Who knows, but it is more likely than it isn’t that God takes greater pleasure in us than we realize.

May God give you a heart that gets it—a heart that so desires to please him through the pure offering of your whole life for his pleasure. After all, he truly deserves it!

Going Deeper: Make it the chief aim of your life and the sole prayer you offer today that through your life, what is offered up will be a sweet smelling aroma that is most pleasing to God. In every thought you think, every word you speak, every action you make, every breath you take, ask for the help of the Holy Spirit whether consciously or subconsciously, that you would be a sacrifice that belongs to you and that pleases him. You are my life—enable me to live it to please you. As the sacrifices in the Old Testament belonged to you, may I be that living sacrifice that belongs to you and brings pleasure to your heart.

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Foodie

Why God Took Such Delight In The Food Sacrifices

No irreverence intended, but I think God might be a foodie. It is clear from reading the detailed instructions on how he wanted the food offerings prepared that he took great delight in them. He especially loved the aroma of a well-prepared feast. Speaking of which, throughout the Old Testament, it is also clear that he was the God of the feast. On many different occasions throughout their year, the Israelites were called to enjoy festive feasts in his presence. And those feast were holy to the Lord. God loves a good meal—especially when we include him in it.

The Journey// Focus: Leviticus 2:4, 9, 13

If your offering is a grain offering baked in an oven, it must be made of choice flour, but without any yeast. It may be presented in the form of thin cakes mixed with olive oil or wafers spread with olive oil. … The priest will take a representative portion of the grain offering and burn it on the altar. It is a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord. …Season all your grain offerings with salt to remind you of God’s eternal covenant. Never forget to add salt to your grain offerings.

No irreverence intended, but I think God might be a foodie. It is clear from reading the detailed instructions on how he wanted the food offerings prepared that he took great delight in them. He especially loved the aroma of a well-prepared feast. Speaking of which, throughout the Old Testament, it is also clear that he was the God of the feast. On many different occasions throughout their year, the Israelites were called to enjoy festive feasts in his presence. And those feast were holy to the Lord.

God loves a good meal. That is probably where we get it. Humans do too. Just look at the growing number of cooking shows on TV, the proliferation of cookbooks and cooking classes, the large number of people that are now considered foodies—and that’s just in my family. People love a well-cooked meal, and they come by it naturally, because their Creator is a foodie, too!

Of course, our infatuation with food has gotten out of control. Food has become an idol—which is what we drift into when the sinful self sets devotion to God aside. That is why so many have eating disorders—too much eating, not enough eating, addiction to unhealthy kinds of eating, etc. But even then, our misuse of mealtime is an indication of a far deeper desire that can only be explained by the fact that our Creator hardwired into our DNA a desire for the right use of food.

The point of all of this is that in our modern context, we ought to redeem our enjoyment of food as a way to worship the God who, like us, enjoys a good meal, and receives it as worship when we include him in it. That is why in Leviticus 2:13 he commanded that salt always be used in the meal offering. Why? Salt was a sign of his eternal covenant with his people. It was a memorial offering—that which was to remind the worshipper of something of great importance: that God had initiated an everlasting covenant with his people, binding his immutable character to their ruthless obedience.

So how can we recapture the holiness of a good meal, or any meal for that matter, as a part of our worship before a good and gracious Creator? One simple but profound way is to pray before we eat—to offering thanks. What better way to make the meal a memorial offering? What better way to salt the food—to remember and restate the everlasting covenant that God has made with you?

Even Jesus stopped to give thanks before meals. (John 6:11) Think about that for a moment: Why would Jesus do that? In a sense, wasn’t he really saying grace to himself? What purpose did this serve?

To begin with, I think Jesus was truly grateful to his Father for the food he was about to eat. I think the Second Person of the eternal Trinity was a fundamentally grateful being. It was just who Jesus was; the overflow of his Divine nature.

But not only that, Jesus was modeling for us the appropriateness and power of gratitude. He was reminding us by his actions that it doesn’t hurt to stop and express thanksgiving to God, and one of the simplest and recurring ways to enter into gratitude is to say a simple “thank you” before each meal.

We don’t know exactly what Jesus said in his prayers, but it was likely short and sweet. On several occasions we were simply told that he “gave thanks.” He acknowledged God in that moment, drawing attention to the Heavenly Provider and reminding both himself and those who were within earshot of his dependence on and gratitude to a Creator who was also our providing Father.

And that is something you and I can do too, each time we sit down (or drive through) for a meal. We can give thanks. As redundant and useless and perfunctory as it may seem, there is power in this simple act. It is an offering pleasing to God, an aroma that is worship to him.

Going Deeper: The next time you say grace before your meal, remember the renewal of the everlasting covenant that your simple prayer expresses.

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Why Leviticus?

Holiness, That's Why!

Holiness paves the way to walking in God’s favor. Holiness opens the door to living in harmony with God’s people. Holiness creates the space to celebrate the wonder of God who fashions human beings into his very own people. When we get holiness right, we ourselves become a sacred offering—a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

The Journey // Focus: Leviticus 1:3, 9, 10, 13, 14, 17

When you present an animal as an offering to the Lord… It is a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

For years in my annual journey through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, coming to the book of Leviticus was like my semiannual trip to the dentist to get my teeth cleaned. It was a necessity, but not one I took pleasure in. When it came to Leviticus, I endured it; I didn’t enjoy it—until I began to understand God’s loving intent in laying out in detail the role of the Levites and priests along with the offerings and feast in the national life of his newly formed community, Israel.

This fledgling nation is now camped at the foot of Mt. Sinai. They will be here for about two years for teaching and training and learning when, where and how to meet with God. Moses was their leader, their representative before God and God’s spokesman to them. He is the essential author of the first five books of the Bible, including this one, Leviticus. The title is actually derived from a Latin word that simply means, pertaining to the Levites.

Now understand that the book doesn’t specifically pertain to the Levites, although in a general sense, the tribe of Levi was entrusted with the ceremonial worship of God and the physical care of the Tabernacle. But in a particular sense, Leviticus deals with a certain segment of the Levites, the Priests, and how they were to guide the people into communion with God through a system of offerings, and to a lesser extent, through several religious feasts they were to observe throughout the year.

The key verse has to be Leviticus 19:2, a verse that really captures the heart of Leviticus: “Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.”

Obviously, from the verse, we see that holiness is the real theme of Leviticus. In fact, the word holiness appears more in Leviticus than in any other book, to the tune of 152 times. Now holiness may be defined in different ways, depending on who you ask, but from this book, what does holiness really mean, and what is the purpose of a book about holiness?

Here is the answer, as I see it: we were created in God’s image (which includes holiness), and were made for close relationship with him (which requires holiness). When that image was shattered and fellowship broken by sin, we were rendered unholy, left incomplete and in need of restoration. Levitcus is about that restoration to fellowship and spiritual wholeness and relationship through holiness.

How can that happen; how can an unholy people have fellowship and relationship with a holy God? Leviticus shows us the way. There are three interconnected requirements laid out in Leviticus that we need to observe to be restored to holiness:

  1. First, we are restored to God by taking care of the sin that separates a holy God from an unholy people, which is accomplished through a system of sacrificial offerings, described for us in Leviticus 1-10. (Vertical worship) Of course, as New Testament believers, the Old Testament system of sacrifice has been replaced by the once-for-all sacrificial death of Jesus.
  2. Second, we are restored to fellowship by worshipping God with our daily lives. We take care of sin, then we walk with God. Communion with the living God is the essence of worship; worship is the offering of everyday life to God. That’s why we read of purity laws and rules for living in community with one another in Leviticus 11-22. (Horizontal worship)
  3. We are restored to relationship with God through celebration. The last few chapters, Leviticus 23-27, give us instructions for the celebratory feasts these people were to observe. You see, an essential part of relationship with God is partying—celebrating God by remembering what he has done, thanking him for his goodness, and rededicating our lives for his purpose. That is what the feasts were for. (Vertical and horizontal worship)

The bottom line to Leviticus, and to all the Bible’s teaching on holiness, is that it paves the way to walking in God’s favor. Holiness opens the door to living in a way that produces harmony among God’s people. And holiness creates the space to celebrate the wonder of this God who is fashioning human beings into his very own people.

When we get holiness right, we ourselves have become a sacred offering—a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

Going Deeper: Think of holiness in terms of your worship—your vertical relationship with God, your horizontal relationship with God’s people, and your vertical/horizontal celebration of God’s goodness in the community of the saints. Now, does one of these areas need some attention?