Leviticus is closely related to the book of Exodus. Exodus records how the Israelites were rescued from Egypt, received God's law and built the tabernacle. The tabernacle was a portable sanctuary, or place of worship, signifying God's presence among the people. Exodus concludes with God's visible presence settling over and filling the newly constructed tabernacle. Leviticus contains the laws and instruction God gave Moses during the two months between the completion of the tabernacle and Israel's departure from Mount Sinai.
Leviticus was written to instruct Israel's people and their priests about how to approach God through atoning sacrifices. This book also clearly outlines God's standard of holy living for His chosen people. "Holy" refers to moral and spiritual purity, wholeness and godly character. It implies a separation from evil and complete dedication to what God says is right.
Leviticus contains two major themes: atonement and holiness. Chapters 1 - 16 describe God's Old Testament method of dealing with sin, and the separation it caused between God and people. Through various sacrifices, He made a way for the people of Israel to receive forgiveness and maintain a relationship with Him.
Chapters 17 - 27 present a series of practical standards for moral purity and holy living. Over and over, God commands, "Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy". The Hebrew words for "holy" occur over 100 times in this book. To the people, this meant living in moral and spiritual purity and obedience. This required separation from evil and dedication to what God says is right. As followers of God, their lives were to be unusually and positively different from those who would occupy the lands around them. True holiness is not simply a matter of avoiding sin and evil. True holiness is a matter of pursuing what is right and doing the positive things God desires. Leviticus ends with a challenge from Moses related to the rewards of obedience and specific instructions about fulfilling special vows to God.
Four major features characterize Leviticus. 1. Spiritual revelation that comes as a direct word from God. This is emphasized more in Leviticus than in any other book of the Bible. At least 38 times it clearly states that the Lord spoke to Moses. 2. Instruction concerning the sacrificial system and substitutionary atonement is given in great detail. Chapter 16 is the primary chapter in the Bible describing the Day of Atonement. 4. Leviticus stresses the theme that the people of Israel were to fulfill their God-given destiny.
Because of the double emphasis on blood atonement and holiness, the content of this book still relates to the people of God who are under the new covenant. The New Testament teaches that the atoning blood of sacrificial animals was a "shadow of the good things that are coming" (Hebrews 10:1). This means that the Old Testament sacrifices pointed to Christ's sacrifice for sin. New Testament followers of Christ can fulfill God's command to be "holy" in all areas of life (1 Peter 1:15) by accepting the forgiveness and the power for living that Christ provides. The Bible talks about the spiritual cleansing (Heb. 9:14; 1 John 1:7; Rev. 7:14) and power (1 Co. 1:18) that are available because of Christ's sacrifice.
No comments:
Post a Comment