Leviticus.
Ah, the book where I’d guess most people discontinue their New Year’s resolution of reading through the Bible in a year. Ha! It has a reputation of being dull and tedious to work through, not to mention that some laws tend to offend our modern perceptions. Instead of narrowing in on a specific law or passage in this book, let’s examine some lenses to use as we study the book as a whole.
Leviticus is in many ways a continuation of Exodus.
Bibleproject.com
At the end of the Exodus scroll, Moses is unable to enter the tabernacle, the holy tent where humans can be in God’s presence. But the Numbers scroll begins with, “God spoke to Moses in the tent.” What is happening here?
God meets with Moses and gives him instructions on how His nation should function. Remember that until the recording of Leviticus, the Israelites functioned in many ways as a large family and did not have formal authority in structure to rule themselves. God promised Abraham descendants as numerous as the stars, and several hundred years later, that promise no longer looked like an impossibility but a guarantee.
The twelve sons of Israel have their own family trees and become the basis for the twelve tribes of Israel. When God delivered His people from Egypt, they were too numerous to function without community laws, therefore, God gave specific commands for how His people should live and worship.
“Placed right in between Exodus and Numbers, Leviticus acts as a bridge, highlighting the need for restoration of the relationship between God and humans. This scroll is not just a long list of laws and rituals- Leviticus is a story about God’s desire to repair His relationship with Israel, so they can live with Him in a restored holy space and rest with Him as a reformed people who represent His character to all the nations.”
Bibleproject.com
As you study the pages of Leviticus, remember that God has created a whole new people group from one man, Abraham. His intention is that these people will be different from all other nations. They will be set apart.
They will be His.
Some of their laws will be in step with cultural norms for their time. Their world was vastly different than ours in terms of technology, access to resources, cultural practices and more. Even so, we know God is a masterful Creator, and with the Israelites He determined to make something entirely new. Many of His laws are dissimilar from the surrounding nations because instead of human lawmakers attempting to regulate society, God is bent on displaying His holiness and making His people like Himself.
“For I am the LORD Who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy; for I am holy.”
Leviticus 11:45
Leviticus is less about laws and more about displaying God’s perfect holiness.
He sets out describing regulations for various offerings, including sacrifices to atone for sin.
Take note of the importance of how God begins this scroll. He does not start out with a list of rules, He begins with His requirements for reconciliation.
This allows us to assume that He expects the sin of His people, but He leads with mercy.
The Hebrew word kipper means to cover, purge, make and atonement, make reconciliation (Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament). This word appears to hold a double meaning. One is the appeasement of God’s wrath, and the other is the removal of sin.
This book, possibly more than any other in Scripture, lets us look into a clear mirror. Each law allows us to see God’s level of holiness and our failing on every level. It is interesting to me that before God even begins describing each rule, He has already laid out His specifications for sacrifices. His provision to reconcile with Him does not come as an afterthought behind His laws but before. It is as if He is saying, “I know these will be overwhelming and impossible, so before you can even get worked up about it, I’ve already made a way for you to return to Me.”
Leviticus ultimately points us to God’s redemption plan. He outlined it in Genesis, promising to send a Savior so we can once again commune with Him in perfection. When you read, always look for Jesus and the need for Him in the passage. It is abundantly clear in Leviticus.
Leviticus continues into specifics of every aspect of life. God instructs how they are to orchestrate their calendar around feasts and celebrations, ritual and moral purity, private and social conduct, and more. Most scholars agree that many of the laws in Leviticus fall into the category of moral law, which still serve as either appropriate or abhorrent to God, and others are more symbolic of Israel’s uniqueness from other nations.
It is important to remember that no book of the Bible can mean to a modern reader what it was not intended to mean to its original audience. We cannot impose our twenty-first century worldview onto ancient texts.
This does not mean that all passages of Scripture, or Leviticus in particular, are easy to interpret. Leviticus is often quoted in arguments, out of context, or weaponized. Because God promises that all of His word is beneficial to us, we must seek to view complicated parts of Scripture through that lense and then allow our understanding of it build on that foundational truth, not the other way around.
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:16 & 17
When you read, notice His tone as He lays out His requirements and allow yourself to be curious about why He desires His people to be clean from their sins. Consider how he frequently states His intent to be their God and to be with them. I personally enjoy taking a pen or highlighter and marking every time I notice this intention. You will be amazed at how many marks you will find when you step back and flip through the book.
There are passages in Leviticus that are confusing and if we are brutally honest, can trigger our own trauma responses (think of the verses dealing with abuse). When God’s law appears to be unkind, we must give ourselves time to pause. Studying Scripture will reveal patterns. With time, we begin to see how God describes Himself, how His hand moves through all of history, and how He fulfills each promise He makes. We cannot look at one verse and deem Him cruel. His character is displayed in its entirety throughout all of Scripture- and He proves Himself good.
When a text seems out of place or out of character for Him, sometimes our focus should shift temporarily from forcing our own understanding to humbling ourselves. If God is God, and we are human, there will be aspects of Him and His actions that are not fully understandable. This does not mean that we brush them aside or lean so hard into blind faith that we stop studying.
We should know what we believe and why. But that does not mean that we have the answer for every question we have, and it does not mean that God is required to answer our every question.
When Job questioned God’s character and reasoning for his suffering, God did respond to him.
Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said: “Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me. Will you even put Me in the wrong? Will you condemn me that you may be in the right? Have you an arm like God, and can you thunder with a voice like His?”
Job 40:6-9
God spends several chapters asking Job where he was when God made the hidden parts of heaven and earth, but He never answers Job’s questions.
And I think that might be the point. God did not answer Job’s every point of confusion, but He did come to Job.
When Leviticus is overwhelming, I always recommend making it like a treasure hunt. Look for every time God describes His intent to be with His people. He wants to be their God. Underline every time He says He is their LORD and that He rescued them. Find the pattern– God is relational and seeks to be with His people.
In finding the cord that connects each verse of Leviticus, you might begin to see the forest again instead of being distracted by each tree. When your focus is back on God as He is, return to your questions. Study hard and read explanations from trusted theologians. Know that you are not the first person to wrestle with these passages, but also know that the whole point is that God still comes to you.
On your journey, fight against the urge to quit. Find a tree to plop down under and pray for the Holy Spirit to reveal Himself in the confusing passages. Meditate on hard chapters as you climb the rocky cliffs. If some questions go unanswered, commit to following His lead, because He has proven that He is good, even when we don’t understand.
Thankful for fellow travelers (you!) to discuss the complexities of our beliefs,
