Leviticus 1-10: Why Is Leviticus in My Bible?

"The LORD called Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting..."

This morning, let me ask you a question: when is the last time you read anything in the book of Leviticus? It's probably been a while, has it not? But what if I told you that the book of Leviticus was just as inspired as the rest of scripture? 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us "ALL Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable..." What kind of scripture is inspired (God-breathed) and useful? ALL scripture (including Leviticus).

"But the book of Leviticus is boring," I hear you grumble, "and I don't understand it." Well, if I'm being honest, I've thought these things to. However, we ought not to stay there, that is, if we truly believe that Leviticus is God's inspired Word. We must fight, research, and discover the great truths that lie within these so-called boring parts of scripture, even though it may take some energy.

Let us consider first what the main point of Leviticus is all about. If you read my last devotional on the book of Exodus, you're already halfway there. After the construction of the Tabernacle (see the last half of Exodus), Moses attempts to enter it, but he can't. Thus, the very next words in scripture (that is, Leviticus 1:1, quoted above) state that God spoke to Moses "from" the Tabernacle. Because of the Israelite's transgression, Moses could not enter the place of God's presence on behalf of the Israelites because he was unclean. Thus, God guided Moses through what we see in Leviticus in order that the priests of Israel could enter into the Tabernacle.* Thus, the book of Leviticus isn't a bunch of random, boring laws and ordinances that the Israelites had to follow but we no longer have to follow. The book of Leviticus is a guidebook for how unholy people can enter into the holy presence of God, how their sins can be atoned for, and how God's people can honor him within their covenant relationship.

Now that we have the right foundation for the book of Leviticus, let us briefly examine chapters 1-10. These chapters constitute the first part of Leviticus, in which God lays out the prerequisites for how he ought to be worshiped. The second half of the book (chapters 11-17, which we will look at), will speak of how these principles are practically lived out, but we will get to that later. Let us first understand what these prerequisites and procedures are, at least briefly.

In the first seven chapters of this first section, we find laid out for us the sacrificial system. This system that God had implemented asked for five different types of sacrifices, two of which were used to praise and give thanks to God (grain and fellowship offerings) and three of which were used to atone for sin (burnt, purification, and restitution offerings). Now, let us discuss this idea of atonement, which is a very important biblical concept that will reappear at many points in the Bible, ultimately in the crucifixion of Christ, as he is the ultimate atonement for our sins. (However, let us point out that without the book of Leviticus, we would not understand the idea of atonement, and thus not understand the Gospel. Don't you see why Leviticus is important?) The Hebrew word for "atonement" is "caphar" which literally means "cover" (which makes it extremely easy to remember, since "caphar" sounds a lot like "cover," which is how I remembered it for my quiz last week). In other words, all of the sacrifices that "atoned" for the sins of the Israelites "covered" the Israelite's sin, thus taking away their sin's guilt and shame. Because of these sacrifices, the priests were allowed to enter into presence of God on behalf of the people.

In chapters 8-10, we find discourses speaking of the consecration of Aaron's sons, who would be the priests. We don't have time to go into detail here (which is why you should read Leviticus for yourself), but know that these chapters begin the themes of anointment and consecration in scripture. After the priests were anointed and consecrated, "the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. . .and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces."

So, does the book of Leviticus sound a bit more exciting now? Does it make you want to crack open its pages and read it for yourself? I hope and pray so because otherwise, these devotions are useless. In application today, let me encourage you: read the book of Leviticus. It's your Christian duty to find what God has to tell you in the pages of Leviticus. Amen!

*The first words of the next book of scripture, Numbers, tell us that God spoke to Moses "in" the Tabernacle (Numbers 1:1).