Closer to God

Warren Brosi

08/6/23

Dominant Thought: Leviticus describes God’s invitation to bring His people closer to Him.

Objectives:

I want my listeners to see how Leviticus fits into the overall story of God’s desire to dwell with His people.

I want my listeners to feel valued by God’s willingness to reach out to us.

I want my listeners to read the book of Leviticus by looking at God’s heart to dwell with His people.

Today, we begin a five week journey through an often neglected section of Scripture. One of my friends says the book of Leviticus is where your one year Bible reading plan goes to die. Leviticus, the third book of the Bible, is a confusing book. It feels out of date. It opens with several chapters of animal sacrifices. There’s a few chapters about priests. In the middle, there’s something special going on called the Day of Atonment, but again you have dead animals and blood. On either side of this holy day of atonement, you have a variety of laws about bodily fluids, mildew, rashes, and sexual ethics. The book closes with rules for priests, descriptions of festivals which are pretty fun and a concluding word, “These are the commands the LORD gave Moses at Mount Sinai for the Israelites” (Leviticus 27.34).

Before we go any further, I want to take a big picture at these first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. They have several names. The most common one is the Five Books of the Law. They are instructions for living with God. Generally, they are called the books of Moses. They are foundation for the relationship with God and His people. Five books. Do you notice which one is in the middle of the five: Leviticus. Leviticus is at the heart of the Law. Leviticus, I’m convinced describes the heart of God. In other words, “Leviticus describes God’s invitation to bring His people closer to Him.”

Let me take you back to the beginning. Do you remember how these five books begin? Genesis 1.1, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1-2 describe this beautiful place called Eden with animals, rivers, trees, and Adam and Eve. Genesis 3.8 describes God walking through the garden in the cool of the day. It was a beautiful perfect place. Some even think the garden of Eden is like a temple where God dwelt with His people.

But, then Eve was deceived and gave the forbidden fruit to her husband. They sinned, experienced shame, and God drove them away from the garden of Eden with “cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life” (Genesis 3.24).

From that point forward, God and humanity had to work on how to be in this relationship together. Because of mankind’s sin and God’s perfect holiness, there was this barrier in the relationship.

We saw in with Cain and Abel. We see it in the days of Noah, where man’s thoughts were only evil all the time (Genesis 6.5). The flood destroyed the people. The people build a tower to make a name for themselves and God scatters the nations.

Eventually, the tribes of Israel go down to Egypt. In fact, Genesis closes with Joseph dead and place in a coffin in Egypt.

Exodus opens with the people enslaved and crying out to God for help. God hears their cries and sends Moses. Through a series of faceoffs with the most powerful ruler at the time, Moses leads God’s people up out of Egypt through blood and water. God’ people had to kill a lamb and smear its blood on the door posts of their homes so the destroyer would not kill their first born children. They leave Egypt walk through the Red Sea on dry ground and come to Mount Sinai where God will give them the foundation of his relationship—the 10 commandments. We talked about these words earlier this summer in a message about Mt. Sinai—Who tells you who you are—you or Jesus? In Exodus 19.5-6, God calls the people his treasured possession, a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

He gives them the 10 commands on Mount Sinai amidst smoke, thunder, and lightning (Exodus 20.18-19). The people are afraid of God and stand at a distance. They tell Moses to speak to God for us or we will die (Exodus 20.19).

Moses meets with God and receives instructions for the tabernacle. It was a big tent with altars and furniture to be used in worship. God’s presence would dwell in the Most Holy Place in that tabernacle.

As Moses is meeting with God on the mountain receiving the instructions about tabernacle worship, the people become impatient and coax Moses’ brother, Aaron, to build them a golden calf idol. Something God had forbidden them to do in the 10 commandments. God becomes angry and wants to destroy the people. Remember, holy God and sinful people don’t mix very well.

Moses intercedes for the people and says to the people, “You have committed a great sin. But now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin” (Exodus 32.30).

Atonement is a key them in Leviticus and in all of the Bible. When broken down you read: At-one-ment. It carries two ideas: 1-ransom from death and 2-purification from pollution (L. Michael Morales, Who Shall Ascend the Mountain of the Lord, p. 125). A simple understanding of atonement is paying and purifying. Paying a price and purifying a vessel or person.

Exodus closes with the tabernacle built, a massive tent of meeting for God to dwell and meet with His people.

Read Exodus 40.34-38. The tabernacle is built. God’s glory fills the tabernacle, but Moses is unable to enter the tabernacle. If anyone would be able to enter, it would be Moses. We see the cloud of the glory of the Lord over the tabernacle day and night in sight of all the people.

Then, we turn to the opening words of Leviticus 1.1, “The LORD called to Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting...”

Leviticus opens with God calling out to Moses from the tent.

As we look at Leviticus, I see four ways God invites us closer to Him.

First, God invites us closer to Him through His words (Leviticus 1.1-2, and most of Leviticus). In the first two verses we see several references to God speaking. The LORD called to Moses and spoke to him…He said, Speak to the Israelites and say to them...” Five references to communication. Throughout Leviticus, you’ll see a common refrain, “The LORD said to Moses...” If all of the Lord’s recorded words were written in red, almost all of Leviticus would be red. There’s very little narrative storyline in Leviticus. It’s almost all a conversation from the Lord to Moses on how to bring people closer to Him.

One of the descriptions of Jesus is He is the word (John 1.1). In John 1.14, we read, “The word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.” The word for made His dwelling is “pitch a tent.” Jesus pitched a tent on earth for a season to communicate the grace and truth of the Father. He would later ascend, the same word for the first offering we’ll study in Leviticus, and send us the Holy Spirit to guide us, comfort, encourage, and help us.

As you read Leviticus, I hope you listen for the voice of the Father, Son, and Spirit.

Second, God invites us closer to Him through His priests (Leviticus 9.23-24). The priests were a chosen family from Moses’ brother Aaron. The priests were anointed and set apart to represent God to the people and the people to God. The priests were on the front lines offering the gifts of the people to God. They had special clothes and special responsibilities. If they didn’t follow through as God directed, they could die. We have an example of two men who didn’t regard with honor and respect and fire from the tent of meeting consumed them (Leviticus 10.2).

In Leviticus 9.22-24, Aaron offering the sin offering, the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings to God. Those different offerings essentially had two messages from the people to God: I’m sorry and Thank you. As you read the offering descriptions ask yourself, “Is this offering about saying, ‘I’m sorry’ or ‘thank you’?”

After the offerings, Moses and Aaron enter the tent of meeting. They came out and blessed the people, the glory of the Lord appeared to all people. Fire came down and consumed the offerings on the altar. Listen to how the people respond, “When all the people saw it, they shouted for joy and fell facedown” (Leviticus 9.24).

The book of Hebrews describes Jesus as our priest.

Hebrews 4.14-16 describes Jesus as our great high priest who has ascended into heaven. The writer instructs us that we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we ahve one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet He did not sin. With that we can approach God’s through of grace with confidence. We can come closer to God through Jesus. We can come closer with confidence, not by our performance, but by our high priest who is both the sacrificer and the sacrifice.

Third, God invites us closer to Him through His heart (Leviticus 11.45; 19.1, 14).

In Leviticus 11.45, God declares His relationship with His people, “I am the Lord, who brought you up out of Egypt (a possible allusion, up from the dead) to be your God (relationship); therefore be holy, because I am holy.

Then, in Leviticus 19.1, The Lord speaks to Moses once again with this message to the people, “Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.”

To be holy is to be set apart or unique. God is set apart, unique, powerful. There’s no one like Him. He is holy.

Some illustrate the word holy by comparing it to the sun. It is unique and set apart. The sun is the source of life. Without the sun, we would die. The sun is good. And yet, if we get too close to the sun or spend too much time in the sun without protection, then we could die or get burned.

In a similar way, since God is holy, we must come to Him in a way that will not destroy us. The story of Leviticus describes how to come closer to God without getting burned like Nadab and Abihu in Leviticus 10.

God invites us closer to Him through His heart which is holy: set apart. So, as you read through those strange lists of rules and instructions, remember these are God’s instructions of how to approach Him. He is calling His people to holy living or unique living. We are to be different than the nations or people around us who do not claim to have a relationship with God. That’s why God will instruct His people to live in sexual purity. He wants us to live holy lives like Him.

The interesting thing about the purity laws in Leviticus is the warnings about moral and ritual impurity. Moral impurity is sinful choices we make that dishonors God or our neighbors. In Leviticus 19.18, God instructs His people, “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.”

Ritual impurity happened when you came in contact with something dead or representing death: dead bodies, blood, or bodily fluids. Those were anything morally wrong, but when they touched something unclean or connected to death, then the people would have to wait before coming closer to God.

When Jesus arrives, the reverse happens. When Jesus touched the leper or the sick, they were made well. They were cleansed. He raised people who were dead. Jesus, the Holy One, cast out demons and made sick people well.

Jesus would send the Holy Spirit to live with us as followers of Jesus. As Christians, we would not longer need to go to a tabernacle or a temple to meet God, we are now called the temple of God. God lives inside of us.

In Revelation 4, John experiences a vision and sees a throne. It’s the dwelling place of God. As he looks upon the throne of God, he ears these living creatures chant day and night, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is and is to come” (Revelation 4.8).

Then, as you move to the final pages of Scripture in Revelation 21, we see a new heaven and a new earth and we hear a voice from heaven say, “Behold, God’s dwelling place is now among His people, and he will dwell with them and be their God” (Revelation 21.3).

Fourth, God invites us closer to Him through atonement (Leviticus 16.30).

If Leviticus is placed at the center of those first 5 books of the Law to show us the heart of God, then the center of the center may have something important to teach us, too. In Leviticus 16, we learn about this special day that happened once a year. It is called the Day of Atonement. Our Hebrew friends call it, “Yom Kippur.” Remember to atone is to pay and purify. A debt has been paid and something has been made clean. We’ll read more about this day later in the series, but a simple overview is on one day a year, the high priest could enter the Most Holy Place in the tabernacle to present blood to cover the sins of the people. Two goats would be used. One goat would be sacrificed and a second goat would symbolically receive the sins of all the people and be led away from the camp into the wilderness. This second goat is called the scapegoat. So, on the day of the atonement, everyone would have a clean slate once day each year.

The cousin of Jesus, John the Baptizer, introduces Jesus to the world, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.”

As we look over the message of Leviticus, the heart of the God on display. We see how God invites us closer to Him through: His Word, His Priests, His Heart, and His atonement. In Leviticus 1.1, we move from God speaking to Moses “from” the tent of meeting to the beginning of Numbers, where we read, in Numbers 1.1, God speaks to Moses “in” the tent of meeting. Exodus closes with Moses unable to enter the tent of meeting. Leviticus describes God’s invitation to bring His people closer to Him.