The book of Leviticus is one of the most important books in the Old
Testament. This book is a set of rules that God gave to Moses, so that His
Hebrew children could learn how to live pleasing unto God. This book is the
third that Moses wrote. It is the third of the Pentateuch {5 books}.
These laws, God gave to Moses, for the people, are not just religious
laws, but civil laws as well. If the people live up to these laws, there
would be no need for a king to rule over them. God wanted to fellowship with
His people. He made a way for them to approach Him through sacrifice and
obedience.
In Leviticus we see the day to day progression of these Israelites. We
will see as long as they worship God, they stay in good standing with Him.
It is only when they wander from His instructions that they have trouble.
The Hebrew title of Leviticus is Wayyiqra, which means {and He called}.
It is also known as the {law of the priests}, and the {law of offerings}. In
the Septuagint it is titled Leuitikon, which means {that which pertains to
the Levites}. The name Leviticus indicates that it is connected with the
tribe of Levi.
These laws were definitely given to Moses. The Hebrews were camped at
the foot of mount Sinai, when Moses received these laws, which would later
be called the law of Moses. They covered religious obligations, civil laws,
moral laws, and even covered financial laws and dietary laws. A people could
live just by these laws and do very well. God really wanted to be the only
King these people needed.
These Levitical laws were given to Moses about one year after the first
passover. It would actually be about the first part of the second year of
their wanderings.
In our study here as in the other studies, we are looking into the
spiritual meaning of the Scriptures. We will see types and shadows of Jesus
in the offerings and sacrifices. Just as in the book of Hebrews, we see
Jesus Christ as our High Priest. He {Jesus} is our perfect sacrifice for all
time. Thank goodness, we do not have to keep up with all the sacrifices
today. It would be a full time job. We see Jesus as the Passover Lamb, We
see Him as the Bread, We see Him taking our sin upon His Body, that we might
take on His righteousness.
If there is a theme, that we are to partake of in this book of
Leviticus, it would be {Be ye holy, for I am holy}. God is the holy God. A
sinful person cannot approach God. We are allowed to approach Him, when we
are covered in the blood of the prefect Lamb, His precious Son Jesus Christ.
Only when we are washed in that blood are we allowed to approach the Father.
Our life is in the blood of the Lamb. We are partakers of death, until we
accept Jesus Christ as our Saviour and Lord. He is life. If we are full of
Jesus, then we are full of life.
In Leviticus we see God teaching His chosen people how to live up to
their being His chosen. We must look carefully at this book. We, too, are
the called of God. We must learn what is expected of the called of God. This
is for all of God’s people, but even more so for those called into the
ministry. God brought them out of Egypt {the world}. Have we really left
Egypt {the world}, or are we still trying to cling to the world with one
hand, and have God with the other? We have to leave Egypt before we can head
for the promised land.
We can learn the ways of God in this series of lessons, but it is a
special thing to be able to walk with God. He fellowships with the pure in
heart only.
My grandson, David, sings a praise song that says {Open my eyes Lord, I
want to see Jesus. To reach out and touch Him and say that I love Him. Open
my ears Lord and help me to listen, open my eyes Lord I want to see Jesus}.
To understand Leviticus, we must open our heart and let the Holy Spirit tell
us the hidden messages contained here.
In these lessons watch for two keys. Access to the Father and the
Holiness of God. The word Holy occurs 80 times in this book. God will also
establish in this book the special times of worship. Look in each one of
these and see Jesus. Offerings and feasts will all be types and shadows of
our Lord Jesus. Look for Jesus in the high priest and look for believers in
the priests. The symbolic meanings are tremendous in this book.
God is a God of order. In Exodus, He gave instruction for the building
of the Tabernacle. Now Moses receives the instructions for the form of
worship conducted in the tabernacle. Each sacrifice has a specific purpose.
I say one more time, try to see the message God has for us in each of the
feasts and sacrifices.
We will begin now with Leviticus 1:1 “And the LORD called unto Moses,
and spake unto him out of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying,”
This very first verse leaves absolutely no doubt who these laws were
given to, and no doubt at all who gave them. Lord, in the verse above, is
Jehovah, which means self existent or eternal One.
Leviticus 1:2 “Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If
any man of you bring an offering unto the LORD, ye shall bring your offering
of the cattle, [even] of the herd, and of the flock.”
We remember, from the study in Exodus, that the people were so
frightened by the voice of God, that they had begged Moses to talk to God
for them. The chain was God speaking to Moses and then Moses speaking to the
people. The message Moses was to give the people was from God. Moses was
just the mouth to bring it. This offering above seems to be a voluntary
offering, because of the word [if]. One of the pleasing things that the
patriarchs did everywhere they went was build an altar to God. God is
pleased when man tries to please Him. We remember, in Genesis, that Cain’s
offering was unacceptable to God, but Abel’s offering of the flock was
acceptable. Man worshipping through offerings and sacrifices was as if he
were offering himself to God. The shedding of the blood of the animal
symbolized the offering of his life to God. Leviticus 17:11 “For the life of
the flesh [is] in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to
make an atonement for your souls: for it [is] the blood [that] maketh an
atonement for the soul.” When the sacrifice was burned up, it symbolized the
fact that the person sacrificing had totally commited themselves to God. The
end result of sacrificing and making offerings is to put ourselves into a
closer moral relationship with God. We Christians do this through accepting
Jesus as our sacrifice. These Hebrews did it through sacrificing animals.
The blood of animals, or even sinful man, could never do away with sin. The
only thing it could do was cover it up. The person still had a guilty
conscience. The only way to have a clear conscience is to be washed in the
blood of Jesus Christ [the Lamb of God]. Hebrews 10:4 “For [it is] not
possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.”
Leviticus 1:3 “If his offering [be] a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let
him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary
will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD.”
This burnt sacrifice, as we said before, symbolizes the total
commitment of the person sacrificing. This is to be done of their own free
will, not of obligation. Salvation is offered to everyone, but we must
accept Jesus as our Saviour and Lord of our own free will. God does not
require it of us. It is our decision whether we commit our life to God or
not. The reason this is a male without blemish is because it is a type and
shadow of Jesus [the Lamb of God]. It shows the sinfree {without blemish]
life of Jesus. It was offered at the door of the tabernacle, because the
first step to salvation is repentance. Just inside the door was the bronze
altar. Bronze symbolizes judgment. We are all guilty of sin, before we
repent and accept Jesus as our substitute for our sin. The person bringing
this animal for sacrifice was placing his guilt on the head of this animal.
The blood that was shed symbolized turning his life over to God. The key
here is he came to God of his own free will. The blood sacrifice and the
burning of the animal, showed his dedication to God.