Remote But Relevant
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I know what you’re thinking - Finally we’ve got a series in Leviticus - or maybe not.
Leviticus is Remote
Leviticus is Remote
Leviticus is the book that often puts an end to our new years resolutions of reading through the bible from front to back.
Genesis - Good - lots of adventure, and creation and interest.
Exodus - intrigue, slavery, freedom, miracles.
Leviticus,
Moral Laws, ceremonial laws, civil laws -
burnt offerings,
grain offerins,
fellowship offerings,
sin offerings,
guilt offerings,
priestly ordination rules,
a couple of short accounts of good and bad priests at the time -
then we’re into clean and unclean things,
purification rituals,
regulations about infections skin diseases and mould on your walls,
warnings about unacceptable sacrifices before God,
and then festivals and cerimonial laws,
the sabbath,
passover,
festivals to be observed,
day of atonement,
feasts,
year of jubilee,
rewards and judgements.
And that’s just the contents overview.
There is a full on chapter on almost all those things I’ve just mentioned 27 chapters in total.
If you like - these are the detailed law books of the Israelietes.
The surrounding books are full of historical experiences, life and adventure and the place we see all these laws being obeyed - and all is well - or disobeyed - and judgement ensues.
But this is the law books upon which life is to be lived.
I was on Jury service for 6 weeks recently on a murder trial at the Old Bailey. Listening to all the evidence and facts and accounts was reasonably interesting becasue it was about life events.
But Leviticus is more like the case study law books that the judge has studied for many years to be able to guide the jury and then decide on the right sentencing for the convicted.
Without wanting to insult any lawyers her - that side of things must be quite onerous.
So, don’t feel too bad if you find it hard work to read through Leviticus.
It does feel remote.
As well as being detailed
It was also written 3500 years ago, for a small emerging nation that is now Israel and the Jewsih people.
But more than that, we now today, also have the NT,
In other words Jesus has come.
The OT law in Leviticus was written, as we’ll see over the coming 6 weeks, to point us to the need for a saviour - the messiah.
One who would fulfil all this law perfectly.
And he has come.
It’s what we saw throughout Galatians which we’ve just finished - and partly why I thought this book would be an interesting one to cover next.
Leviticus tells the OT Israelites how to make sacrifices for their sin - but now Jesus has done that fully and finally for us.
It told them how to keep things pure/clean but Jesus has declared all things clean.
In Mark 7 he declares all food clean.
in Acts 10, Peter had to learn that hard lesson that even Non-jews - in fact all people were now ‘clean’ and able to receive the salvation of God through Jesus.
In hebrews we see how Jesus becomes both our sacrifice for all sin and our great high preist - removing the need for earthly preists to mediate between us and God.
- So there are good reasons why we should find Leviticus remote.
Supremely because Jesus has come.
BUt
we also know that every word in the Bible is useful - as Paul says in the NT specifically talking about the OT
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
So how is Leviticus relevant to us?
Leviticus is Relevant
Leviticus is Relevant
1 - Because ‘The Lord Said’
1 - Because ‘The Lord Said’
The Lord called to Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting. He said,
It is relevant becasue it is from God. God wrote it. We can of course say that of every book in the bible - it is inspired by God and written through human hands.
But even more so we must say it of Leviticus.
the phrase ‘the Lord said’ occurs 45 times in the book - averaging twice every chapter.
So there is great insight to gain into the very character of God in this book. Because we will hear him speak.
Imagine you love and respect your grandmother dearly - she was like no-one you’d ever encountered and then you find a very long letter from her mother (your great grandmother) to her all about how to live life well.
you’d want to read it wouldn’t you? It might feel bit remote, it may not all apply to you - but you’d want to glean insights into the mother of such a great woman!
Well this is the book where ‘the Lord said’.
And we would love to know Him better becasue he is The Father of the Lord Jesus whom we love.
AS we read of the life and action and saving work of Jesus in the NT, don’t we want to know more the character of His Father in Heaven.
And so we will want to listen - for The Lord Said - all that is in this book.
Secondly then, this book is relevant
becasue ‘the Lord said’ and therefore we will discover the character of our Lord God. And the key characteristic we will find is that
2 - We’ll see ‘The Lord is Holy’
2 - We’ll see ‘The Lord is Holy’
The Lord said to Moses, ‘Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: “Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.
Not wanting to steal the thunder from the rest of the series - but Lev 19v2 is the key that unlocks it all.
The Lord our God is Holy.
In fact Leviticus mentions ‘Holy, holiness or be holy’ 150 times!
Our world does not know what holiness is, we probably struggle with accepting or understanding fully what having a holy God means!
His holiness has aspects of:
majestic otherness
unapproachableness
transcendence
intense moral purity
sheer & utter
infinitely dazzling goodness
perfect justice
and we could go on.
These laws and rituals we will read in this book were not just obstacles to trip up the Israelites and put them in their place (although they do of course put people in the their place.)
But they are there because we need to see how ‘set apart'- how holy the Lord our God is.
In our culture where every person is entitled to decide who they are,
what they believe about God
and or the world
- Leviticus will remind us that no - God is Holy,
and he will declare who he is,
He will declare who we are,
And He will decide what is truth.
His Holiness wiIl elevate our reverence for Him and our trust in Him.
Even in our own Christian culture we might be tempted to
believe God owes us, rather than owns us.
or think that if we have certain emotional needs or feelings then God will need to bow to our way.
We might elevate our own opinions or interpretations of God’s word - unaware of how we are letting culture infiltrate our understanding of Who God is and what his Holiness means for us.
But Leviticus will remind us that the Lord alone is Holy.
And even our most valiant efforts at righteousness will fall short of His Holiness.
How we need a greater reverence and understanding of the Holiness of God -
so we can worship him rightly,
and understand ourselves more correctly.
Leviticus can help us with this - becasue ‘the Lord said’ I am Holy!
The 3rd reason this book is relevant is becasue of the things we’ve already touched on -
and that is our lack of appreciation for God’s Holiness, and therefore indeed our failure to wholeheartedly pursue lives of holiness ourselves.
3 - We Should ‘Be Holy’
3 - We Should ‘Be Holy’
It’s obvious, but it’s worth pointing out from the that same verse
‘Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: “Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.
Because God is Holy - His people should be holy.
There is a requirement for anyone who desires to be in God’s presence to be holy as he is holy.
Just as the bible often uses the illustration of Light and Darkness - the 2 cannot be present at the same time.
This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth.
Light and dark cannot overlap.
If it’s pitch black in a room then there is no light, and when you turn the light on there is no darkness.
You’ll have to leave the presence of the light to find darkness again.
So says God - becasue he is Holy - we should be Holy!
The context of Leviticus in the OT timeline is helpful here as well.
Leviticus was given to Moses to write down immediately after the book of Exodus.
IN Exodus, God’s people had been freed from slavery in Egypt,
and are in the wilderness on their way to the promised land..
In other words they are already people saved by Grace, freely - from slavery into freedom - as we thought about in Galatians.
And God then makes a new covenant with them on Mount Sinai.
You’ll perhaps know the stories of Moses their leader going up the mountain to meet with God - to receive the 10 commandments - for example.
He also receive instructions to build a tabernacle - a portable tent which will represent the presence of God with his people.
In exodus 25-31 The Lord gives Moses the specific plan and instructions of how to build this tabernacle - also called the ‘tent of meeting’ and in the last chapter of exodus, chapter 40
Moses sets it all up at the foot of Mount Sinai.
and then we get Leviticus.
Infact lev 1v1 actually in the original Hebrew begins with he word ‘and’
So it would have read ‘and’
The Lord called to Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting. He said,
And the very final verse of Leviticus also makes this continuation clear..
These are the commands the Lord gave Moses at Mount Sinai for the Israelites.
Why is this important?
Because is reinforces what the book is all about.
It is a description from God about how people ought to live in covenant with him.
The Holy God freely saves from slavery (for them physical slavery) modeling for us our freedom from slavery to sin).
In saving us God entres into a covenant (a promise) with his people which says, in summary,
19v2
Leviticus 19:2 (NIV 2011)
“Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.
You now need to live as I am - becasue you belong to me.
That’s the deal of belonging to God,
that’s the covenant.
Leviticus shows God’s people how to live in covenant relationship with their God.
Our duty before God is to pursue holiness. To abide by His laws and rules - to be pure and clean.
Just as light and darkness cannot co-exist - nor can holiness and unholiness!
So Leviticus shows us God’s holiness and calls us to holiness.
Now that is a high calling,
but don’t worry - becasue there is one more reason we’ll consider as to why
Leviticus is relevant for us is..
4 - We’ll Hear The Gospel
4 - We’ll Hear The Gospel
After the death of Jesus at the first Easter, some of his followers were walking along the road to Emmaus and chapter 24 of Luke tells us that Jesus - now risen from the dead turned up and walked with them.
They were kept from realising who he was we’re told - presumably by God, but perhaps becasue also they couldn’t possibly began to believe a dead man would be alive again!
They tell Jesus how bizar the recent events have been - how some women had been to the tomb that morning and found it empty!
We don’t know what’s going on is the implication.
Now Jesus could have rebuked them for not believing what he had told them.
He had told them that he would rise from the dead after 3 days.
But he doesn’t - he rebukes them for not believing something else...
we had it read earlier...
He said to them, ‘How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?’ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
Jesus says the reason they did not recognise that Jesus was the saviour - was becasue they didn’t understand and believe the OT!
It’s actually a common theme in the NT - were Jesus tells us to believe the OT if we’re to understand him!
And what does Jesus do to explain the Gospel - the good news of his saving work from sin - to these people on the road to Emmaus?
He begins by teaching them about the books of Moses. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus,
Numbers Deuteronomy.
We are to read Leviticus and see the Good News - the Gospel. - That jesus is our only saviour through his death and resurrection for our sin.
Leviticus is the Gospel.
So let me briefly show you the breakdown of what we’ll look at over the coming 5 weeks and show you how they show us Jesus.
1 - Lev 1-7 Offerings
1 - Lev 1-7 Offerings
We must face up to our sin as we will see in the first 7 chapters next week
All sorts of sins require offerings, sacrifices to atone. To make us right again with God.
Unintentional sins → wilful sins → high-handed sins
and we will see that only Jesus can save us From sin.
2 - Lev 8-10 Priesthood
2 - Lev 8-10 Priesthood
we will see our need for a priest to intercede for us before God - and we will see Jesus - is our glorious High Preist.
3 - Lev 11-15 Clean & Unclean
3 - Lev 11-15 Clean & Unclean
we’ll see how we are all unclean before God - and we are to keep ourselves clean and pure - but it is only Jesus who can truely make us clean!
4 - Lev 16 The Day of Atonement
4 - Lev 16 The Day of Atonement
We’ll then see the day of atonement in chapter 16 - a glorious chapter that sees the heart of God as he makes us justly right in his sight through blood sacrifices. For the Israelietes animal sacrfices would have to do - but they point to a once for all and perfect atoning sacrficie for our sin..
Yes -you’ve guessed it the Lord Jesus.
5 - Lev 17-27 Holiness
5 - Lev 17-27 Holiness
And finally we’ll consider the great topic -holiness in 17-27. And how can we be Holy as we’re called to be - in fact must be for our Holy God?
Well we can only be holy if we are given holiness in the person of - Jesus.
Leviticus is Good News - It will show us Jesus.
So, please, do yourself a favour, and commit to read Leviticus this week. Or at least chapter 1-7 in pYoueration for next week.
YOu will hear God speak, and you will be ready to see Jesus all the more.
If you’d like a commentary to read alonside it the most accessible one is probably the BST by Derek Tidball.
To finish
Here is a great one line summary of the book of Leviticus - to help us as we read through this book together.
The Holy God calls His people to be holy, and provides atonement through sacrifice for when they are not.
Our atonement today? Jesus!
Pray