20.5.24a - Leviticus - Drawing Near To God

We have now gone through the first two books of the Bible, and we have seen a significant transformation over 2,000+ years. In the first part of Genesis, God created man and woman in his image, kicked them out of the garden of Eden for rebelling against his command, and then he destroyed almost all of mankind because of their wickedness. Then, in the second part he made promises to bless mankind through one man’s offspring, Abraham. In Exodus, God gives us a picture of how powerful he is by saving his people from slavery in Egypt through 10 plagues and the miraculous crossing of the Red Sea. Then in the second part of Exodus, he took them to Mount Sinai to receive his law and set up a Tabernacle. Now we get to the book where most reading plans go to die, Leviticus. This is a fantastic book, once we realize why it is here and what it says.

Who Is It Written To?

Let's start with the generic question, "Who is it written to?" The name seems to indicate that this was a book for the Levites. Leviticus means, "Things pertaining to the Levites." The Levites were the only tribe of Israel who was willing to stand up for God's name after the golden calf incident. However, this book has nothing specifically to do with the Levites. Nor is this primarily written to the subset of priests (sons of Aaron) in the tribe of Levi. It is actually written to the whole congregation.

Why Is It Written?

Now we might ask, "Why is it written?" There is a reason this book follows Exodus. If we remember, Exodus 40 left off with the completion of the Tabernacle. They built everything as the Lord had commanded Moses. Then, the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle showing the people that he was going to be with them and lead them into the promised land. We might think that they immediately left Mount Sinai and came into the promised land, but they stayed at Mount Sinai for about two years. This time was spent learning how to worship and have a relationship with God. That is what the book of Leviticus is about. We will notice that it is much more of a manual than a story with a narrative.

If we remember Exodus, we can see how needed this book is. In Exodus, we saw how the people were stubborn and rebellious. They worshipped the golden calf and complained. How could God ever dwell with such unholy and sinful people? We will see this throughout the book. If we break up the book, we would see four major sections.

Instructions for Congregational Worship (1-7)Instructions on Holy Living (11-15)Remembering God’s Goodness (23-25)Blessings and Curses (26)

Sacrifices (1-7)

The book jumps right into sacrifices in Chapter 1 because they would be a primary function of the Tabernacle. Five sacrifices are outlined in the first seven chapters.

Burnt Offering - This was to be a bull, a lamb, a goat, or a bird. Each Israelite was to bring the best animal that they have and offer it as a burnt offering. Each Israelite would put their hand on the animal's head to indicate that the animal is dying for his atonement and kill the animal (1:4). The priest would then help him put the animal on the fire, and nothing would be taken from it. Being a burnt offering means that it would all be burnt up for the Lord.Grain Offering - The grain offering is a thanksgiving offering of cooked unleavened bread with oil and salt. This would be given to the priests for their work. Some of it would be burned on the altar for the Lord.Peace Offering - The peace offering would be an animal offering that would be divided up between God, the priests, and the worshipper. This offering was also called a fellowship offering since it represented the fellowship that God wants to have with his people. God's portion was thrown on top of the burnt offering, indicating that a burnt offering was required to provide a peace offering. In this offering, God received all the fat.Sin Offering - The sin offering has many layers. It is somewhat different for different people or the whole congregation, but it was an animal offering that people would make if they sinned "unintentionally." They realize they are guilty and offer an animal for those sins, and they will be forgiven of their sins. These animals provided atonement and forgiveness for individuals or the whole congregation. When priests or the entire congregation sinned, they had to offer a bull. When a leader or an ordinary person sins, they had to provide a goat.Guilt Offering - The guilt offering is a restitution offering. Some sins required additional payment. Saying, "Sorry" and giving a sacrifice was not enough. When they sinned against a brother by deceiving or stealing, part of repentance was to pay back what was taken along with a 20% fee. He also had to offer a ram to the Lord for his sin. God expected his people to be just with one another and to pay each other back, even if it was accidental (5:17).

There is a sixth offering that was made when a new high priest is anointed, but let's talk about these five. All five of these offerings have to be animals without spot or blemish. God is not happy with sacrifices that are less than perfect. He cannot accept them. He wants his people to offer up the best of what they have. But he also makes it possible for the poor to approach him in worship. If all they have is a turtle dove or a pigeon, that is what they should offer as a burnt offering. Grain and peace offerings are all about the blessings of a relationship with God. They give him thanks, and they have fellowship with him and his priests.

Consecrate The Priests (8-10)

In the next section, we see all of Israel gather for the first consecration of the priesthood. Aaron and his sons will be priests who serve the Lord at the Tabernacle all the days of their life. They dress them in the outfits and anoint them as commanded by the Lord. Then Aaron and his sons lead the people in making a burnt offering, a sin offering, and a peace offering.

Leviticus 9:23--24 (ESV) --- 23 And Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting, and when they came out they blessed the people, and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. 24 And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the pieces of fat on the altar, and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.

The entirety of chapters 8-9 have had the repeated theme, "As the Lord commanded Moses." Then God comes down with fire and consumes the burnt offering. He was showing that he is pleased with the people's obedience. But then something horrible happened.

Leviticus 10:1--3 (ESV) --- 1 Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them. 2 And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. 3 Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.’ ” And Aaron held his peace.

God struck two of Aaron's sons because they failed to glorify God. They offered "strange fire" to the Lord. The ESV says, "unauthorized fire" before the Lord. This indicates that they were failing to worship God as he has prescribed. How important is it that God finds obedience in those who draw near to him for worship? God expects those who draw near to sanctify him and to revere him. This is not just another powerless God. They are drawing near to the creator of the universe! He is the one who kicked mankind out of the garden because they rebelled against his first command. We can't do that! He wants them to have the utmost respect for his ways if they're going to have a relationship with him.

Instructions for Holiness (11-22)

After this, God reveals that he has made some things holy, some things clean, and some things unclean. Israelites could become unclean by touching a certain animal or by contacting a corpse. They could become unclean by having a child or by having a disease or discharge. These are all things that God as determined to be unclean.

Leviticus 19:1--2 (ESV) --- 1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.

Leviticus 20:7--8 (ESV) --- 7 Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am the Lord your God. 8 Keep my statutes and do them; I am the Lord who sanctifies you.

Leviticus 20:25--26 (ESV) --- 25 You shall therefore separate the clean beast from the unclean, and the unclean bird from the clean. You shall not make yourselves detestable by beast or by bird or by anything with which the ground crawls, which I have set apart for you to hold unclean. 26 You shall be holy to me, for I the Lord am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine.

He wanted them to be different from all the nations around them by obeying his commands. Separate and holy are the same thing. Holiness is mentioned more in this book than anywhere in the Bible (92 times). What is holiness, and why is it so important to God that his people be clean and holy? These commands make God's people distinct from the nations around them. Failing to keep them would make the people polluted. Chapters 11-15 describe things that are not sinful, but are unclean. Chapters 17-20 describe holiness in terms of abstaining from certain sins that are an abomination to the Lord (Sexual sins, child sacrifice, eating blood, etc.) Amid these commands is the command to love your neighbor as yourself. Chapters 21-22 give special rules for priests to stay holy because the Lord has sanctified them, especially.

In the middle of all of these instructions for holiness, we find Chapter 16. This entire chapter is about the day of atonement. Atonement is the second word that is used multiple times in this book (51 times). Not only would they have sacrifices going on for atonement throughout the year, but they would also have one day of the year completely dedicated to atonement. The high priest would take blood into the Most Holy place to offer it to make atonement for the sanctuary, the tent of meeting, the altar, the priests, and the people of the assembly.

Statutes Forever (23-25)

In the next sections of the book, we find more rules that have the common phrase, "a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings." These are commands that are intended to keep the people focused on the goodness of God. Chapter 23 describes the feast days of the people. The feast days were a time when the whole congregation would come together to remember and celebrate the work of God to redeem them and care for them. Chapter 24 describes the lamp and the bread in the Tabernacle, punishment for Blasphemy, and punishment for murder. Chapter 25 describes rules about the Sabbath years, Jubilee, and redeeming a poor brother who is in slavery.

Blessings and Curses (26)

Then, in Chapter 26, we see a description of God's intentions to bless his people if they will keep all of these statutes and remain faithful. God also intends to correct his people when they stray and to bring them back in relationship with him. If they refuse to obey he will punish them repeatedly until they are kicked out of the land.

Vows (27)

The last chapter is about making vows and fulfilling them. The people have agreed to the covenant of the Lord, and if they decide that they want to make a vow, they will have to go through with it.

Why Do We Care?

In Genesis, we see that the relationship between God and man is broken. Man can no longer draw near to worship God. That's where Leviticus comes in. Leviticus is the proposed solution to the Genesis 3 problem.

Leviticus 26:11--12 (ESV) --- 11 I will make my dwelling among you, and my soul shall not abhor you. 12 And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people.

Through sacrifices and holy living, God will dwell with his people. But he will also bring punishments on his people if they refuse to listen and obey his commands. These curses are repeated over and over again for emphasis.

Leviticus 26:14--20 (ESV) --- 14 “But if you will not listen to me and will not do all these commandments, 15 if you spurn my statutes, and if your soul abhors my rules, so that you will not do all my commandments, but break my covenant, 16 then I will do this to you: I will visit you with panic, with wasting disease and fever that consume the eyes and make the heart ache. And you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. 17 I will set my face against you, and you shall be struck down before your enemies. Those who hate you shall rule over you, and you shall flee when none pursues you. 18 And if in spite of this you will not listen to me, then I will discipline you again sevenfold for your sins, 19 and I will break the pride of your power, and I will make your heavens like iron and your earth like bronze. 20 And your strength shall be spent in vain, for your land shall not yield its increase, and the trees of the land shall not yield their fruit.

Leviticus 26:40--46 (ESV) --- 40 “But if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers in their treachery that they committed against me, and also in walking contrary to me, 41 so that I walked contrary to them and brought them into the land of their enemies---if then their uncircumcised heart is humbled and they make amends for their iniquity, 42 then I will remember my covenant with Jacob, and I will remember my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land. 43 But the land shall be abandoned by them and enjoy its Sabbaths while it lies desolate without them, and they shall make amends for their iniquity, because they spurned my rules and their soul abhorred my statutes. 44 Yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not spurn them, neither will I abhor them so as to destroy them utterly and break my covenant with them, for I am the Lord their God. 45 But I will for their sake remember the covenant with their forefathers, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God: I am the Lord.” 46 These are the statutes and rules and laws that the Lord made between himself and the people of Israel through Moses on Mount Sinai.

We see how God was willing to bear with these people patiently as they tried to figure out how to serve the Lord and remain faithful. When they messed up, he would forgive them. He would remember his covenant with them and keep them going. But if they want to avoid the curses, they will need to confess their sins, offer the sacrifices, and seek the Lord.

When we come to the New Testament, the principles of Leviticus help everything to make sense. There is so much of the New Testament I want to think about with you, but I will try to summarize. We were redeemed to be a holy people who worship the Lord and walk with him. Exodus helps us understand how we were redeemed as we go through baptism and how Jesus gives us the law of the covenant. Leviticus helps us understand how Jesus, like Moses, gives us access to God through his atoning sacrifice and through teaching us to be holy.

Our Sacrifice

We can't worship God without atonement for our sins through perfect sacrifice. Jesus is our burnt offering, sin offering, and guilt offering. He is also our peace offering that gives us fellowship with God. He is the atonement for all our sins.

Hebrews 10:10--14 (ESV) --- 10 And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

Our Holiness

What about holiness? How do we become holy? Notice that the sacrifice of Jesus perfects for all time and sanctifies us for the priesthood. There is a sense in which Jesus makes us holy. In the New Testament, we also see that we are supposed to be a holy nation. We can't be holy enough to enter into the presence of God on our own, but we can do that at any moment because of Jesus' sacrifice.

Hebrews 10:19--25 (ESV) --- 19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Without holiness, we will not see the Lord. How do we do become that holy? No amount of holy living will ever make us worthy of entering God's presence. But the Hebrew writer says the blood of Jesus gives us access. We could now go to a million other New Testament passages with that understanding, and everything will start to make more sense. Tonight, I plan to look at Hebrews 10 and 11 to start understanding holiness better.

Conclusion

Leviticus is an explanation of how a sinful Israel can be in fellowship with a Holy God. God temporarily allows for animal blood to atone for sins, and he sanctifies his priests and his people as they live holy lives. The most amazing part of all of this is that God wants to have a relationship with man again, and he makes it possible. He doesn't just say, "Be holy, for I am holy." He creates a way for that to be possible, but in Leviticus, we see the cost of that relationship is more than we could ever pay. They received some of the blessings, but they also became disobedient and received the curses. We need something better. Jesus shows us that God pays the total debt we owe and brings about reconciliation. He transforms our hearts through pouring out his love on the cross so that we would submit our lives to him and worship in Spirit and Truth. Are you enjoying the blessings of Christ sacrifice? Has he made you holy to enter the throne room with boldness and the full assurance of faith?