God’s Plan for Forgiveness Found in Leviticus (Leviticus 1-7)

A Few Thoughts to Consider

Why read Leviticus, and what do the sacrificial systems in this book teach us about God?

At first glance, of all the books of the Bible, Leviticus seems like one to avoid. To the modern reader, the text seems archaic and irrelevant. But there is good reason to read Leviticus because it helps us understand the unchanging nature of God.

Leviticus was probably written between 1440 and 1400 B.C. Given that much of the content deals with priestly matters and priests came from the tribe of Levi, the title “Leviticus” makes sense. Situated in the middle of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible), Leviticus has a direct connection to the surrounding books. As God establishes a relationship with his covenant people to make them a blessing to the nations, he chooses to reveal himself in human terms and physical illustrations the Israelites will understand.

Leviticus isn’t just for priests. It was and is a book for everyone. As Gordon Wenham writes, “Leviticus is a book of laws set within a narrative framework…Leviticus is therefore more than a description of past historical events and more than a collection of dated laws. It tells us about God’s character and will, which found expression in his dealings with Israel and in the laws he gave them.”^[1]

Chapters 1-7 deal primarily with sacrifice for sins. Through offering a sacrifice to God, the Israelites acknowledged Yahweh was above all others. John Hartley notes, “The sacrificial system showed human sinfulness, and the limited means which God had adopted for restoring the sinner to fellowship with himself. The sinner needs to repent and be forgiven if he is not to die in his sin.”^[2]

This was a message the Israelites needed to hear in their day, and it is one we need to hear in ours.

A Meditation to PRAY

Praise | Lord, thank you for desiring me to come to you and be forgiven. Even before I was born, you were creating a way of salvation for me.

Release | I give you my inclination to do things my way. Show me how to walk according to your perfect plan, and forgive me when I think I can do life by myself.

Ask | Give me your eyes to see beyond the superficial to what lies at the heart of every man and woman -a deep need for you.

Yield | I surrender my will today. Help me to live a life of service to you with eternity always on my mind.

A Challenge to Act Like Christ  

Only as we understand Leviticus can we fully appreciate Christ’s sacrificial death. Because of his death, we can have eternal life (John 6:47). Also, Leviticus helps us understand what Hebrews 7 means when it says Jesus is our great High Priest. Jesus did what no human High Priest could. As R.K.  Harrison notes,

In his death Jesus fulfilled the levitical concept of the sin offering…Just as the tabernacle symbolized God’s presence in the midst of Israel, so the incarnation of Jesus Christ is an assurance that God is present continuously in human society. The priests and the sacrifices which they presented were a foreshadowing of the larger work of Christ for human salvation…The atonement achieved on Calvary meant that the strict levitical prescriptions for sacrifice and holiness had been superseded for the Christian by the indwelling of God’s Holy Spirit…Because Jesus Christ lives in the believer by faith, the true living sacrifice to God comprises the daily presentation of the life in the service of Christ and his kingdom.^[3]

Leviticus also helps us understand 1 Peter 2:9, which says believers are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

Like the Israelites, we must treat sin seriously. It’s not cute to have secret sins and areas of our lives not conformed to Christ’s image. Being a follower of Jesus is serious business. It’s identifying with his death and sacrifice for sins and committing to follow the ways he wants us to live.

^[1]Gordon J. Wenham, The Book of Leviticus, New International Commentary on the Old Testament. Accordance electronic ed. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1979), 15-16.

^[2] John E. Hartley, Leviticus, vol. 4, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1992), lxx.

^[3]R. K. Harrison, Leviticus: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 3 of Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries. IVP/Accordance electronic ed. (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1980), 32-34.