Leviticus Notes and Background

Most people rarely every read this book or if they did once they tend to avoid it in the future or try to read through it as fast as they can to get to what appeals more to them.

Leviticus needs to be studied in order to be enjoyed because in this book like no other in the whole Old Testament are there so many pictures of Christ on every page and it is for this very reason.

Satan doesn’t want people getting a grasp of this book because it serves as a ring of keys that open so many locks of biblical understanding to its reader.

God ordained divers kinds of oblations and sacrifices, to assure his people of the forgiveness of their offences, if they offered them in true faith and obedience. Also he appointed the priests and Levites, their apparel, offices, conduct, and portion. He showed what feasts they should observe, and at what times. He declared by these sacrifices and ceremonies, that the reward of sin is death, and that without the blood of Christ, the innocent Lamb of God, there can be no forgiveness of sins.

The word “Leviticus” has as its root word “Levi.” The tribe of Levi was the priestly tribe hence we find Leviticus being mainly a collection of instructions concerning the various details of the priesthood. The main theme of the book is God’s great demand for holiness and his provisions for obtaining that holiness. The word “holy” appears 90 times in this book and every sacrifice, every command, and every act in the book has God’s holiness in mind. Leviticus is full of types and pictures that are more fully explained in the New Testament. Just as Exodus recorded such accounts as the Passover lamb and the Rock in the wilderness (types of Christ), Leviticus abounds in these types and pictures with every sacrifice, feast, and law somehow providing a pattern, shadow or a type of things to come in the NT. Out of all of the books in the Bible, Leviticus has the greatest percentage of material where God is the one actually speaking. Every chapter has God actually speaking to Moses and giving him the commands in question. The author of this book from a human standpoint was clearly Moses. Not only is this evident from the title, but if Mat. 8:2-4 is compared with Lev. 14:1-4, Jesus clearly identifies Moses as its author.