Meditations from Leviticus

I have a confession to make.

As much as I love God's Word, I have never had a particular affection for the book of Leviticus. It's one of those books in the Bible that I think of as dry and boring; one that I avoid reading unless absolutely necessary.

However, because I decided to undertake reading the Bible from front to back rather than skipping around to all my favorite books, Leviticus was an inevitable and unavoidable part of the process.

Well, I just recently finished this third book of the Old Testament, and much to my surprise and delight, I found that I actually enjoyed Leviticus this time through!

One of the aspects I found so fascinating was the amount of times the Israelites were commanded by God to make sacrifices in order to atone for their sins. There were burnt offerings, peace offerings, vow offerings, sin offerings, and more that they were required to make depending on the circumstances. That's a lot of animals on the altar; a lot of blood being shed...day after day, year after year, century after century.

Reading the book of Leviticus has given me a whole new appreciation for the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross...for me. He was the Lamb of God slain to take away the sins of the world. "But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God." (Hebrews 10:12) Because of Jesus and the sacrifice of blood He poured out on the "altar" of the cross, I have received full pardon for my sins. The atonement is complete. No longer is it necessary to take a lamb, goat, bull, or dove to the local priest every time I transgress God's law. What freedom! What joy! Jesus is enough. He is my Savior, my Lamb, my High Priest.

Another insight I have been meditating on from Leviticus is the importance God places on holiness. "And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean." (Lev. 10:10)

Leviticus is full of instructions from God about how He wanted things to function at the tabernacle. It was a place of holiness, a place where His presence dwelt physically. Therefore, everything about the tabernacle was to be set apart, sanctified, and kept holy. This included how things were constructed, the way the priests dressed, the way sacrifices were made, who was and was not allowed in the different parts of the tabernacle, how the priests were to wash themselves, etc.

There is a sobering account in Leviticus chapter 10 about two priests, Nadab and Abihu, who were burnt to a crisp by a devouring fire from the Lord because they offered "strange fire" totally out of line with God's commandments.

God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He does not change. While His laws have changed in many regards for Christians versus for Israelites, His character is unchanging. God is still a God of holiness who worthy of reverent worship and sanctified living. Those of us who call ourselves Christians are now the tabernacle of the living God. God dwells in us in the form of His Holy Spirit!

I am afraid, though, that holiness is a concept that is scoffed at rather than embraced throughout much of evangelical Christianity today. Where there should be differences in the attitudes, actions, and lifestyles of Christians from the rest of the world, I am sad to say that in many cases these differences are hard to see.

Holiness does not mean living a secluded life in monastery far away from the problems and concerns of the world wearing shapeless clothing and spending all our time in quiet prayer. However, it does mean giving careful thought to the choices we make, the words we use, the character we demonstrate. It means evaluating the books we read, the music we use for worship, the movies we watch, the clothes we wear, the way we spend our time on the internet. I am not advocating a legalistic lifestyle that is all rules and no heart, but neither can we embrace an "anything goes in the name of Christian liberty" attitude. Granted, there is great room for diversity as people have differing convictions and the Bible makes it clear that we are to respect those whose conscience can allow different things than ours. Nevertheless, the God we worship and serve is a God of holiness whose ways are unchanging and whose desire for us is clear: "But as He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy." (1 Peter 1"15-16) All manner of conversation in modern day English means every part of your conduct and behavior.

Okay. I'll get off my soapbox now. :-)

In conclusion, I have been greatly blessed by the book of Leviticus and have learned to not dread reading through it just because it is full of laws and instructions that seemingly don't apply to my life. There are great truths and rich treasures to be discovered in every book of God's Word...if I'm willing to seek them out.