What do you think of when you hear the word Leviticus? You get really excited right? You can't wait to hear what I have to say about this action-packed adventure in the Bible, right? Ha. Yes, I know. Leviticus is not usually known for it's excitement. It is sorta one of those skim-through-as-fast-as-possible-to-say-you-actually-did-read-the-entire-Bible kinda books. At least that has been my experience with Leviticus until quite recently. I can say that I have read through Leviticus a few times in my life, but honestly, I'm not so sure if I could tell you much about it once I got through with it.
So, in the last couple of weeks I have been reading Leviticus. The night that I finished Exodus, I turned the page and gave Leviticus a good, long, blank stare. "Oh boy," I thought. "Good to see you again Leviticus." I have to admit to you now, I really wanted to just skip over the next 28 chapters and move on to a new book. However, something in me just wanted to find purpose in these seemingly boring 28 chapters. I believe that everything in the Bible is true, and that everything in there is there for a reason. I don't think that God would have a useless book just thrown in the Bible just to add to the number of pages. So, I read Leviticus. I took my time. I thought about it. I didn't scan through it. I researched a little on it. I would like to share with you what I learned and how I came to believe that indeed Leviticus is not useless or boring. If you have ever looked at the first page of Leviticus, sighed, and began trying to justify skipping over the entire book-this blog is for you.
Leviticus means pertaining to the Levities. The Levities were a family that descended from Levi, a son of Jacob. (one of the forefathers of the Israelite nation) The Levities were the guys in charge of the Tabernacle. (or later the Temple-the place of worship.) They were the ones to oversee worship and help the people follow God's laws. Some Levites became priests, like Aaron and his sons. So, basically the book was written primarily to guide the Levities in their very important job. Not action-packed like Joshua and his conquering of the promised land. Not poetic and inspirational like Psalms. Not historical and intriguing like Esther. But, still with a purpose. A guide. A book of instruction. A book that to me, points out the holiness of God.
The book addresses customs, feasts, laws and offerings. It tells the Levities how God wants these things to take place. So, you may be wondering, "What does that have to do with me? I'm not a Levite." That is exactly what I was thinking too. Because of Jesus' sacrifice and resurrection, we as Christians no longer have to follow these customs. We don't have to offer sin offerings of a male lamb on the alter in the Tabernacle anymore. So what does that have to do with me?
Everything. See, the book of Leviticus illustrates to me how very holy God is and how very seriously God takes sin. For example, if an Israelite sinned he would go through very time-consuming and costly rituals in order to receive forgiveness. He would first bring one of his bulls to the Tabernacle. The Levite priest would take that bull and kill it. Then he would take the blood of the bull and sprinkle it seven times in front of the curtain of the sanctuary. Then he would put blood on the front of the alter and pour the rest at the base of the altar. Then he would take all the fat out of the inner parts and around the kidneys and burn it on the altar. Then he would take the rest of the bull's body outside the camp and burn it in a wood fire until it was ashes. Sounds kinda gory huh? And difficult. I just summed up one paragraph for you. There are more paragraphs similar to this one that I won't summarize for you or else we would be here all day. The book is jammed packed with paragraphs just like this one, explaining difficult, time-consuming, and costly sacrifices that must be made in order to receive forgiveness of sin.
I think as modern-day Christians we forget how serious sin is to God. We quote a simple and thoughtless prayer of "God, forgive my sins" and move on. In the Old Testament, people recognized the seriousness of sin. I need to recognize the seriousness of Jesus' sacrifice of himself in order that I can have salvation. I no longer have to do those rituals. I can have a personal relationship with him. This is wonderful.
So, in the last couple of weeks I have been reading Leviticus. The night that I finished Exodus, I turned the page and gave Leviticus a good, long, blank stare. "Oh boy," I thought. "Good to see you again Leviticus." I have to admit to you now, I really wanted to just skip over the next 28 chapters and move on to a new book. However, something in me just wanted to find purpose in these seemingly boring 28 chapters. I believe that everything in the Bible is true, and that everything in there is there for a reason. I don't think that God would have a useless book just thrown in the Bible just to add to the number of pages. So, I read Leviticus. I took my time. I thought about it. I didn't scan through it. I researched a little on it. I would like to share with you what I learned and how I came to believe that indeed Leviticus is not useless or boring. If you have ever looked at the first page of Leviticus, sighed, and began trying to justify skipping over the entire book-this blog is for you.
Leviticus means pertaining to the Levities. The Levities were a family that descended from Levi, a son of Jacob. (one of the forefathers of the Israelite nation) The Levities were the guys in charge of the Tabernacle. (or later the Temple-the place of worship.) They were the ones to oversee worship and help the people follow God's laws. Some Levites became priests, like Aaron and his sons. So, basically the book was written primarily to guide the Levities in their very important job. Not action-packed like Joshua and his conquering of the promised land. Not poetic and inspirational like Psalms. Not historical and intriguing like Esther. But, still with a purpose. A guide. A book of instruction. A book that to me, points out the holiness of God.
The book addresses customs, feasts, laws and offerings. It tells the Levities how God wants these things to take place. So, you may be wondering, "What does that have to do with me? I'm not a Levite." That is exactly what I was thinking too. Because of Jesus' sacrifice and resurrection, we as Christians no longer have to follow these customs. We don't have to offer sin offerings of a male lamb on the alter in the Tabernacle anymore. So what does that have to do with me?
Everything. See, the book of Leviticus illustrates to me how very holy God is and how very seriously God takes sin. For example, if an Israelite sinned he would go through very time-consuming and costly rituals in order to receive forgiveness. He would first bring one of his bulls to the Tabernacle. The Levite priest would take that bull and kill it. Then he would take the blood of the bull and sprinkle it seven times in front of the curtain of the sanctuary. Then he would put blood on the front of the alter and pour the rest at the base of the altar. Then he would take all the fat out of the inner parts and around the kidneys and burn it on the altar. Then he would take the rest of the bull's body outside the camp and burn it in a wood fire until it was ashes. Sounds kinda gory huh? And difficult. I just summed up one paragraph for you. There are more paragraphs similar to this one that I won't summarize for you or else we would be here all day. The book is jammed packed with paragraphs just like this one, explaining difficult, time-consuming, and costly sacrifices that must be made in order to receive forgiveness of sin.
I think as modern-day Christians we forget how serious sin is to God. We quote a simple and thoughtless prayer of "God, forgive my sins" and move on. In the Old Testament, people recognized the seriousness of sin. I need to recognize the seriousness of Jesus' sacrifice of himself in order that I can have salvation. I no longer have to do those rituals. I can have a personal relationship with him. This is wonderful.
Okay, so the purpose of this blog is not to preach to you. I just want you to give Leviticus a chance. You just might learn something. I did.
Wow! Kinda makes me want to go back & read it now. OK, maybe not right now, but it makes me proud to read these words from my daughter. Thanks, you make my day more days than you know!
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