Category: <span>Leviticus with Select Psalms</span>

Leviticus is a combination of legal pronouncements couched in the narrative of Israel’s life around Mount Sinai. By setting forth the laws for community maintenance in the Promised Land, Moses reinforced the surety of God’s promise originally given to Abraham (see Gen 12:1-3; 15:1-16). The final chapters of Leviticus provided Israel with principles of how they should be holy with their money, using it for edification and not exploitation.

In Leviticus 25, the text emphasizes that Israel’s corporate occupancy of the land was to be more highly esteemed than the opportunity to maximize individual or familial prosperity. This idea is developed under two headings. The first is “laws concerning covenant socioeconomics and the Promised Land” (Lev 25:1-34). These themes come together in that Israel was to express their stewardship in obeying a Sabbath rest for the land (Lev 25:1-7) and reflect their temporary occupancy in the land by returning land-rights to the original family of ownership at every Jubilee (Lev 25:8-24). All of this was according to the declaration of the Lord: “The land is not to be permanently sold because it is Mine, and you are only foreigners and temporary residents on My land” (Lev 25:23).

The second heading is “covenant socioeconomics and servitude” (Lev 25:25-34). Just as property could be gained and lost temporarily, one’s economic status might change over time, according to the cycles of life. Thus, God commanded that the year of Jubilee have implications for socioeconomics and servitude. Since God had redeemed Israel from Egypt, the Israelites were not to take advantage of a brother who was destitute (Lev 25:35-38). Ultimately those of Israelite ancestry had priority in the land—as evidenced by their mandated release in the year of Jubilee, even if they were owned by a foreigner. This too was according to the declaration of the Lord: “The Israelites are My slaves. They are My slaves I brought out of the land of Egypt” (Lev 25:55).

The socioeconomic stipulations of Leviticus 25 are reinforced by the theme of God’s justice expressed in Leviticus 26. God promised to both reward Israel’s obedience by giving them peace in Canaan (Lev 26:1-13) and recompense their disobedience with exile and difficulty in a foreign land (Lev 26:14-39; see 2 Kgs 17:5-8; 24:10-17). These statements of warning were followed by statements of kindness to those who acted appropriately, and in Lev 26:40-46, God vowed justice toward the penitent by dwelling among them.

Leviticus 25-27 has national socioeconomics in view, that is, commands for Israel to be holy with their money and resources that they might be God’s faithful people in God’s land. Leviticus 27 concludes the instructions for Israel’s financial stewardship in Canaan by stating that if one made a vow in accord with a time of prosperity or need, God took the vow at face value. The text details seven different objects which an Israelite, in a time of prosperity or need, would be tempted to vow and the valuation for each one’s redemption. The proceeds collected would be used to maintain the cultic regime of Israel.

Leviticus 25-27 provided the young nation of Israel with instructions for financial sanctification in Canaan. In the storyline of Scripture, this theme—like so many—is transformed from a paradigm of life in Canaan to a paradigm of life in Christ and the church. Just as Israel was to use their resources for edifying their brothers and sisters, the New Testament records that those of faith in Christ are to use their finances for the same cause. Luke described the general situation of the church in Jerusalem writing that, “There was not a needy person among them, because all those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, and laid them at the apostles’ feet. This was then distributed to each person as anyone had a need” (Acts 4:34-35). Paul wrote that this atmosphere of financial edification, especially for qualified widows (see Acts 6:1-7; 1 Tim 5:2-16), was to characterize life in the church. He urged those with wealth not to trust in their resources, and instead to be generous with what the Lord gave them so that they could lay hold of eternal life, life that is real (1 Tim 6:17-19).

Moses instructed Israel that God’s holiness was the foundation of their national identity. From His appearance on Mount Sinai in Exodus 19 through the days of Israel’s travels to the Promised Land, God wished for His people to understand holiness as the essence of His nature—and to live accordingly. Leviticus 17-24 teaches that God’s holiness was to shape not only Israel’s religious observances, but also their relationships and community interdependence. Perhaps these chapters answer the question, “How should the holy be holy in everyday life?”

Although the laws detailed here could be categorized into a variety of headings, perhaps one could organize the initial instructions under three “lifestyle” issues: corporate gatherings, sexuality, and social relationships. Leviticus 17 and 20 catalog specific laws about corporate gatherings and ceremonies in ancient Israel. As is the case with many points of the Levitical code, these laws were intended to set Israel apart from other nations. Holiness was also to characterize the sexuality of Israel (Leviticus 18 and 20). Leviticus 19 provides instruction for neighborliness in ancient Israel.

While the thrust of these laws was holiness in the daily living of ancient Israel, here God also reminded Israel to maintain their holiness in worship and sacrifice. Israel’s religious observances were to be governed by the concept of wholeness—as evidenced by the priests, whose holiness was related to their physical condition (Leviticus 21-22). The formal worship ceremonies were to be ordered around specific occasions and Holy Days (Leviticus 23) and centered around the tabernacle (Lev 24:1-9). The case of the man who blasphemed God (Lev 24:10-23) underscores the point that Israel was to maintain the same law for the foreigner and the descendants of Jacob. The Lord of Israel is Holy and the behavior of anyone associated with His people was to reflect Him.

The theme of practical holiness in these chapters—especially the command to love one’s neighbor as oneself (Lev 19:18)—is picked up later in the storyline of Scripture, shaping norms in the new covenant. For Jesus and the authors of the New Testament, love of neighbor is an essential expression of holy living.

(1) Jesus said that all the Law and the Prophets hang on the commands to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matt 22:37//Mark 12:30//Luke 10:27a; see Deut 6:5), and to “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt 22:39//Mark 12:31//Luke 10:27b). After Jesus washed the disciples’ feet—an act that they would later understand to prefigure the love He would show them in His crucifixion—Jesus said: “I give you a new commandment: love one another. Just as I have loved you, you must also love one another. By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35).

(2) Paul instructed the Romans that all the commands of the law were summed up in the phrase: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Rom 13:9). He exhorted the Galatians that they should not use their freedom from the Mosaic law for selfish living, but instead serve each other through love—since, again, “The entire law is fulfilled in one statement: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (Gal 5:14).

(3) In order to combat favoritism and greed in his audience, James also quoted Lev 19:18, writing: “If you carry out the royal law prescribed in Scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing well” (Jas 2:8).

(4) Peter employed Lev 19:2 as the thesis of his first epistle. To those who were enduring difficulty because of their identification with Christ, the apostle wrote: “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires of your former ignorance but, as the One who called you is holy, you also are to be holy in all your conduct; for it is written, ‘Be holy, because I am holy’” (1 Pet 1:14-15). He went on to urge his audience: “By obedience to the truth, having purified yourselves for sincere love of the brothers, love one another earnestly from a pure heart” (1 Pet 1:22).

Leviticus 11-16 states the degree of God’s purity by pointing out how easily Israelites could become ceremonially defiled. Israel’s worship leaders were warned to, “Keep the Israelites from their uncleanness, so that they do not die by defiling My tabernacle that is among them” (Lev 15:31). A means of atonement was therefore necessary for full participation in worship.

Leviticus 11 emphasizes God’s holiness by stating that Israelites could become defiled even through contact with animal life. Here various wildlife (e.g., land animals, aquatic animals, birds, flying insects, dead animals, and swarming animals), were categorized in relation to their cleanliness/uncleanness for ancient Israel. God’s holiness was further displayed in the fact that His people were defiled through even the natural processes of life (Leviticus 12-15). An Israelite’s involvement in marital relations, and the general hygiene of their skin, affected their ceremonial cleanliness. In light of the superlative degree of God’s holiness described in Leviticus 11-15, it is no wonder that a general atonement was necessary for those drawing near to God in worship. That was the purpose of the Day of Atonement described in Leviticus 16.

Leviticus 11-16 provides a window for understanding the New Testament.

(1) Jesus, Peter, and Paul proposed that laws regarding food cleanliness were to be set aside lest they separate Jewish and Gentile believers. Jesus chastised the Jewish leadership because they maintained many of the commands regarding external cleanliness, including food laws, but lacked love for God and people (Matt 15:1-20//Mark 7:1-23). Jesus declared all food clean, saying that a person is made unclean by what comes out of his heart and mouth, not what goes into his stomach (Mark 7:17-23). To instruct Peter that He was opening the doors of salvation to the Gentiles, the Lord gave Peter a vision of unclean animals and told Peter to eat of them (Acts 10:9-16). The Lord then told Peter to go with the delegation from Cornelius’s house and Peter there declared that God was calling Gentiles to Himself apart from observance of food laws (Acts 10:17-43). Peter went to Jerusalem and reported all the Lord had done, proclaiming that the presence of the Spirit, and not external cleanliness, distinguished the followers of Jesus (Acts 11:1-18). Yet, food laws were so pervasive in the Jewish mindset that even Peter began to follow them again when he came to Antioch—and Paul rebuked him publicly (Gal 2:11-14). Paul repeatedly warned the Jews and Gentiles in his audiences that they should abstain from following food laws if those food laws caused divisions in their churches (Rom 14:1-23; Eph 2:11-22; Col 2:16-19; 1 Tim 4:1-5).

(2) In Phil 3:5, Paul noted that he was circumcised when he was eight days old, in accord with Lev 12:3. Moses commanded that when a Jewish boy was born, he was to be circumcised at eight days old. This command codified the covenant of circumcision the Lord made with Abraham when He commanded the patriarch to circumcise Ishmael and all the males of his household (Gen 17:1-16). Paul noted that, though like many Jews he once thought circumcision to be necessary for salvation (Rom 2:25-29; Gal 2:1-10; 5:1-12; 6:11-16), the Lord opened his eyes to the superior righteousness of Christ (Phil 3:1-9).

(3) Jesus healed lepers by declaring them clean, instantly, apart from the required priestly procedures in Leviticus 13-14 that would signify that a leper had been cleansed. When Jesus healed lepers (Matt 8:1-4//Mark 1:40-45//Luke 5:12-16; 17:11-19), He urgently commanded them to go to the priests and show their new, clean status.

(4) In Hebrews 9, the author argued that Jesus’ sacrifice of Himself fulfilled what the Day of Atonement anticipated. The Day of Atonement was the annual covering of Israel’s sins, for which the high priest and his servants followed specific protocol. First, the high priest dressed in holy garments (Lev 16:3-4). Second, he offered a young bull as a sin offering for himself and his family, sprinkling its blood on the mercy seat and the altar (Lev 16:6, 11-14, 18). Next, he brought two goats as the sin offering for Israel (Lev 16:7-10)—one to be sacrificed and its blood sprinkled on the mercy seat and the altar (Lev 16:15-19), and the other released into the wilderness as a symbolic representation of Israel’s forgiveness (Lev 16:20-22). Fourth, he disrobed of the holy garments and bathed himself (Lev 16:23-24a). Likewise, the man who took the goat into the wilderness was required to wash his clothes and bathe before returning to the camp (Lev 16:26). Finally, the high priest offered his ram and the ram of Israel as burnt offerings to the Lord (Lev 16:24b-25). An additional servant assisted in the process of taking the remains of the bull and goat, which had been used as sin offerings, outside the camp and burning them there. He too needed to wash his clothes and bathe before re-entering the camp (Lev 16:27-28). While the high priest and a few servants worked on this day, it was to be a Sabbath day of consecration for the people (Lev 16:29-34). The author of Hebrews wrote that Jesus entered the tabernacle of heaven with His own blood so that He would appear in God’s presence to atone for the sins of His followers once and for all.

Psalm 66 records the transparent joy of devout Israelite worship, a direct confrontation of those who continually paint Israel as a people of heartless ritual observance. The burnt offerings and sacrifices presented at the tabernacle were the response of those who enjoyed God’s vindication (Ps 66:13-20). To aid Israel in responding to His goodness, God gave them priests who would minister at the tabernacle. Leviticus 8-10 offers a narrative of how Israel’s holy God sought to relate with His people through sinful humans. Three movements can be identified in the drama of these chapters.

First, when Aaron and his sons were ordained for the priesthood, purification had to be made for their sins (Leviticus 8). God had set apart Aaron and his sons for spiritual leadership at the tabernacle—leadership that was to be recognized even through their attire (Lev 8:1-13). Yet, the bulk of the chapter details the fact that Moses was to offer sacrifices that would cleanse these men of sin before they could begin serving as priests. Even their attire had to be cleansed (Lev 8:14-36). Multiple sacrifices were offered at the inauguration of the priesthood: the bull for a sin offering (Lev 8:14), the ram for the burnt offering (Lev 8:18), and the second ram as a ram of ordination (Lev 8:22). A summary of these sacrifices and the priestly anointing is described in Lev 8:30: “Then Moses took some of the blood that was on the altar and sprinkled them on Aaron and his garments…In this way he consecrated Aaron and his garments, as well as his sons and their garments.”

Second, the office of the priesthood was also inaugurated with sacrifices. Leviticus 9 begins after the week-long ordination service in which many sacrifices were offered. The key element in this chapter occurs in Moses’ interaction with Aaron—namely that Aaron was now to lead in the sacrifices (Lev 9:7-8). After Lev 9:8, the personal pronoun “he” refers to Aaron: he offered the sin offering for himself (Lev 9:8-11); he slaughtered the burnt offering (Lev 9:12-14); he presented the people’s offering (Lev 9:15-17); he slaughtered the ox and the ram as the people’s fellowship sacrifice (Lev 9:18-21); he lifted up his hands and blessed the people (Lev 9:22). The Lord showed His approval of Moses and Aaron’s priestly work by appearing before all the people and consuming the burnt offering with fire on the altar. The result? “When all the people saw it, they shouted and fell facedown on the ground” (Lev 9:24).

Third, despite the glory of the inauguration of the priesthood, Aaron’s sons acted with presumption and profaned their office (Leviticus 10). Just as fire signified God’s glory in the blessing of Aaron’s obedience at the conclusion of Leviticus 9, fire became the means of the condemnation of Nadab and Abihu in Lev 10:1-2. Leviticus 10 records that Aaron’s sons took the initiative in offering a sacrifice that the Lord had not commanded (Lev 10:1). They were presumptuous. The remainder of Leviticus 10 records that Aaron’s two oldest sons would be exemplars of how not to serve the Lord.

Leviticus 8-10 records not only the inauguration of the priesthood, but also details how it would be perpetuated through Aaron’s descendants. The priesthood is a fulcrum for understanding the storyline of Scripture. The author of Hebrews contrasted Jesus’ priesthood with the Levitical priesthood.

(1) In Heb 5:1-3; 7:26-27, he distinguished Jesus’ priestly ministry with that of the Levitical priests because, according to Lev 9:7, Aaron and his sons had to make atonement for their own sins. When Moses inaugurated the priestly ministry, he commanded Aaron and his sons to bring a burnt offering to atone for their own sins and then the sins of the people. The author of Hebrews noted that Jesus had no need to atone for His own sin, but Jesus did atone for the sins of His people. “He did this once for all when He offered Himself” (Heb 7:27).

(2) In Hebrews 5-7, the author referenced Melchizedek to contrast the priesthood of Aaron and his descendants with Jesus’ eternal priesthood. The author of Hebrews saw in Melchizedek two points of contact with the life of Christ. First, Melchizedek’s priesthood was unrelated to Aaron or the Levitical tribe. Melchizedek preceded both by hundreds of years (Gen 14:17-24). The author’s point was that the Levitical priesthood was inextricably related to the Mosaic law and needed to be continued generation after generation. Second, Jesus, like Melchizedek, was an eternal priest outside the line of Aaron. Perfection came though Jesus and not the sacrifices offered according to the law.

These chapters record the sacrifices and offerings the Israelites were to perform in worship. Israel’s worship was full of work—reminding them that every area of life was to be devoted to God. The bulk of Leviticus 1-7 describes the five specific offerings which appeased God’s wrath against the sin of His people. These can be divided into two categories, voluntary offerings and mandatory offerings.

There were three voluntary offerings, given by Israelites throughout the year as expressions of commitment to God. The burnt offering (Leviticus 1) was the most common offering. While offered daily for the sins of the nation (see Numbers 28), here the burnt offering was set forth as a means for individual worship and cleansing. While the burnt offering promised atonement, the grain offering (Leviticus 2) was the Israelite’s voluntary confession that God was their provider. The fellowship offering (Leviticus 3) was to be burned as a pleasing aroma to the Lord (Lev 3:5, 16). Additionally, this sacrifice was given as a confession offering, a free-will offering, or to fulfill a vow, and was associated with a meal (see Lev 7:11-38).

The Lord set forth two mandatory offerings. The sin offering (Leviticus 4) was for the purpose of satisfying God’s wrath when people sinned unintentionally. That the sin offering was to be given by the anointed priest (Lev 4:3-12), the whole community (Lev 4:13-21), or those recognized as leaders among the people (Lev 4:22-26) demonstrates that both those of position and the common Israelite were culpable before God. The sin offering satisfied God’s wrath against unintentional violation of His law and the uncleanliness of the people (Lev 5:1-13). The restitution offering (Lev 5:14-6:7) was intended to cover the defiling of holy things, touching prohibited objects, and thievery. Since these sacrifices constituted so much of the national and cultural fabric of young Israel, God gave them priests to assist them in their worship (Lev 6:8-7:27). These chapters repeat much of the material in Leviticus 1-5, but here the text also details the role of the priests in making each offering acceptable to God (Lev 6:8, 14, 24).

While the sacrifices of Leviticus 1-7 were laborious and required the utmost reverence from both worshiper and priest, they were yet temporal sacrifices. The Old Testament sacrifices could only appease God for sins previously committed and thus had to be offered day after day. In the storyline of Scripture, these are fulfilled in the once-and-for-all sacrifice of Christ. Jesus, Paul, and the author of Hebrews referenced commands Moses wrote in Leviticus 1-7 in order to teach their audiences about the new covenant and those who minister in it.

(1) Jesus and Paul echoed Lev 7:35-36; 8:31 when they taught that those who minister the gospel are worthy of compensation for their work. The priests were God’s gift to help the individual Israelites offer sacrifices—and these sacrifices were a means of provision for the priests (Lev 7:28-38). When Jesus sent out the twelve, He prohibited them from extra provisions saying that those who work to proclaim the message of His kingdom are to be recompensed accordingly (Matt 10:10). Even though Paul refused payment from the Corinthians, he told them that those who labor for the advance of the gospel, like himself and the other apostles, were to be compensated for their work (1 Cor 9:13-14). Paul told Timothy to establish a structure for the church in Ephesus to pay its elders (1 Tim 5:17-18).

(2) In Heb 10:1-17, the author emphasized the uniqueness of Jesus’ self-offering in light of the repeated sacrifices priests offered in the old covenant. The author of Hebrews argued that the repeated sacrifices offered by Israel’s priests demonstrated that those sacrifices were not effective to take away sins. In his mind, if a sacrifice were able to atone for sins, it would need to be offered just once. This Jesus did by offering Himself, perfecting forever those who are being sanctified (Heb 10:14).

(3) In Heb 13:11-13, the author recalled the location of where the remains of the sacrifice were burned and employed it to call his audience to testify of Jesus. Moses commanded that the remains of the sin offering and of the Day of Atonement offering were to be burned outside the camp (Lev 4:12; 8:17; 16:27). The author of Hebrews exhorted his readers to remember that Jesus was sacrificed outside the city gates of Jerusalem. He wanted the followers of Jesus to leave behind any structures of their religion that did not adhere to Jesus and proceed in devotion to Jesus, testifying of Him outside the camp of their religious heritage.