Welcome to Leviticus. The third book of God’s Word, the third book of Moses and a continuation of the Pentateuch, the 5 book of Moses. In Genesis we saw man ruined, in Exodus we saw man redeemed an in Leviticus we see man worshiping God. A beautiful progression from God that stretches over 3 books and 117 chapters. Leviticus translates “book of the Levites”, the Levites being one of the 12 tribes of Israel and the tribe that God chose to perform the worship duties within His tabernacle. Moses receives the laws of how the Lord is to be worshiped and he then delivers it to the tribe that will be performing the duties, the Levites.
Right out of the gate let’s be honest, Leviticus gets a bad rap. When most think of Leviticus, they instinctually yawn, or maybe they simply fall asleep. I’ll admit that on the surface it may not be the most stimulating narrative in all of God’s Word, but that doesn’t mean you get a pass. When you come upon a passage, chapter or even an entire book in God’s Word that you don’t see as interesting, pertinent or relevant, you can’t afford to just skip it. Everything is in God’s Word for a very specific reason, hello, that’s the reason God allowed it to make the final cut and get into the finished draft! In fact, if you really go deep, everything in God’s Word points to Jesus. Whether it be OT, NT, poetry, prophecy, narrative, law, history, wisdom or gospel, it’s all about Jesus. And if it all points to Jesus and our goal is to become more like Jesus by studying about Him, then folks, you must study it all.
But if you move beyond your preconceived notions, the book of Leviticus is actually quite fascinating. A very accurate glimpse into the history of daily living in the Israelite nation of almost 3400 years ago. And as you get to listen to the very Words of God delivered to Moses on the laws of worship, you can apply those to your very life today. It’s all about application to our lives today. God is a timeless God, His Words are timeless and His laws are timeless in their lessons.
The opening of Leviticus continues right where Exodus leaves off. In fact, it’s firmly believed that the original 5 books of Moses would have been all on one scroll, all written as one long book. Only later were they broken up into 5 separate books. So, at the end of Exodus we saw the tabernacle completed and the Holiness of God moved in. (Ex. 40) As a result, it’s now open for business, it’s time to worship. So how best to worship God in this new temple? Well, God will tell them how. He will give them very specific directions in everything they must do to properly worship Him in the tabernacle. That’s the book of Leviticus, rules for properly worshiping God directly from the mouth of God. Sounds a little more important and relevant when you hear it like that huh?
Chapter 1 this morning deals with the single most important act of worship, the sacrifice. In fact, the bronze altar of sacrifice was the very first thing you encountered as you entered the gates of the tabernacle. You see, God is righteous and cannot allow any sin into His presence, it must be dealt with first. And to do that He requires a sacrifice. Innocent, sin-free blood must be shed in the place of the sinner. There is no other way. It’s important to note though that in the OT, the sacrifice was an atonement, a mere “covering up” of sin. The OT sacrifices we will read about today would not take away the sins but would only cover them up. This process required you to “cover up” all future sins in a vicious cycle of sinning, killing, sacrificing and repenting.
As God saw this cycle being repeated over and over, He decided to bring about a New covenant, a new agreement. He would create and offer a perfect sacrifice that would not only atone for sins but completely forgive them…once and for all. He sent His only Son Jesus Christ to live in the flesh here on this planet. The Son of God walked among us, lived a prefect sin free life and was then sacrificed upon a cross to not atone for, but to fully pay the penalty for our sins. Folks, as you read through chapter one of Leviticus, focus on Jesus. Be still, meditate, and think deeply on what Jesus did for you on the Cross. It is only because of His sacrifice that any man or woman can ever hope to have an eternity with God in Heaven. Jesus is the way, the only way, and it is all because of a sacrifice like God originally defined right here in Leviticus chapter 1. See, not some dusty old boring book after all.
As we start our chapter by chapter study of the book of Leviticus, I officially challenge you. First, to read. Don’t just read the 5MC as a stand alone study, but read God's Word. The power is in His Words, not mine. Second, pray. Pray that God’s Holy Spirit would open your heart and your mind to the unbridled power of His Words. Words that can change and transform a life in any stage. Third, no skip days. Anytime that you decide to engage in a deep continual study of God’s Word, satan ear’s will be perked and he will spring into action that plan. Don’t be deterred and don’t let him win. Power through the obstacles and the diversions that will draw you away from this study and make God’s Word a priority in your life today. I challenge you to come along and stick with me for all 27 chapters in Leviticus. If you take the challenge, you will come out on other side of Leviticus changed. Folks, hear this, you cannot seriously engage God’s Word and not be changed. But you have to engage it.
Praise God for His Word and praise God for Jesus Christ. As I read about the sacrifices of bulls, sheep, goats and birds this morning and all the details of how they are to be slaughtered, flayed and revealed before the Lord before they are burned to ash, I don’t have to do that today. I don’t have to cover up my sins before God, Jesus has done that for me. In one fell swoop, Jesus paid the price of all sins that have ever been committed and ever will be committed. In the words of the famous hymn, ‘Jesus Paid it All.’ And He paid it forever. If you’ve never called upon Jesus to pay for your sins, you can do that today. He is here, He is ready, and He is willing. It’s what He came to do… Jesus came to save sinners.
God bless you, see you here tomorrow as we’ll continue on in our study of Leviticus.
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