Leviticus

Theme: Reconciliation; Key Verse: Leviticus 20:26 (Updated January 2006)

The Law – Torah

• The Pentateuch

  • Genesis
  • Leviticus
  • Numbers
  • Deuteronomy

Leviticus: Theme

God is holy; man is sinful; and God graciously forgives man’s sin because a blameless animal—which illustrated Christ dying for the sins of the world—died in man’s place.

Leviticus: Key Verse

Leviticus 20:26 “Thus you are to be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy.”

Leviticus: Background to events?

• The Angelic Conflict in which Satan attempts to take God’s authority.
• God’s Redemption Plan through the seed of Eve to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
• God made his unconditional covenant with Abraham to make him into a great nation and to bless the world through Abraham’s seed—specifically Jesus Christ.
• God formed the Hebrews into a nation in Egypt and later at Sinai God made them his priest nation.
• God’s redemption plan, through Israel, was on schedule, even though Satan repeatedly tried to stop God’s plan.

Leviticus: When did all this happen?

• God gave Moses the Leviticus revelation after the Israelites had left Egypt in 1445 BC, and while they were in the Sinai area.
• The Israelites left Sinai in Nisan (April), 1445 BC, after receiving the law.

Leviticus: Key Words Used

• Atonement, 55 times
• Holy, 90 times
• Priest, 178; Priests, 13; total 191 times
• Offering, 273; Offerings 58; total 331 times
• Sacrifice, 36; Sacrifices 8; 44 times
• Sin, 82 times

Leviticus: Main People

• Moses
• Aaron
• Sons of Levi

Leviticus: Narrative

• God revealed his instructions for the priestly ministry to Moses. God instructed about the offerings and sacrifices, the dedication and service of the priests, and regulations and warnings about how Israel was to live.
• Nadab and Abihu, sons of Aaron ignored God’s instructions for their priestly service and instead did it their way. They suffered ultimate discipline, the sin unto death.
• The regulations included the laws for clean and unclean, holy living, annual festivals, national blessing or discipline, and free will dedications.

Leviticus Overview

• Five Sacrifices (1-7)
• Priestly Mediators (8-10)
• Clean and Unclean (11-15)
• Day of Atonement (16)
• Holy Living (17-25)
• Blessing or Cycles of Discipline (26)
• Free Will Offerings of Dedication (27)

• Leviticus Chapter Titles: Five Sacrifices, 1-7

  • Chapter 1: Burnt Offering
  • Chapter 2: Grain Offering
  • Chapter 3: Peace Offering
  • Chapter 4: Sin Offering
  • Chapter 5: Sin and Trespass Offerings
  • Chapter 6: More on Sin and Trespass Offerings
  • Chapter 7: More on Sin and Trespass Offerings

• Leviticus Chapter Titles: Priestly Mediators, 8-10

  • Chapter 8: Dedication of the Priests
  • Chapter 9: First Priestly Service
  • Chapter 10: Nadab and Abihu

• Leviticus Chapter Titles: Clean and Unclean, 11-15

  • Chapter 11-15: Clean and Unclean

• Leviticus Chapter Titles: Day of Atonement, 16

  • Chapter 16: Day of Atonement

• Leviticus Chapter Titles: Holy Living, 17-25

  • Chapter 17: Blood, Life, Death
  • Chapter 18: Sexual Sin and Perversion
  • Chapter 19: Regulations for Life – Be Holy
  • Chapter 20: Death Penalty Sins for God’s Separated People
  • Chapter 21: Regulations for Priests – Defilement
  • Chapter 22: Regulations for Priests – Offerings
  • Chapter 23: Annual Feasts
  • Chapter 24: The Holy Place, Blasphemy, and Justice
  • Chapter 25: Sabbath and Jubilee Years

• Leviticus Chapter Titles: Blessings or Cycles of Discipline, 26

  • Chapter 26: Blessings or Cycles of Discipline

• Leviticus Chapter Titles: Free Will Offerings of Dedication, 27

  • Chapter 27: Free Will Offerings of Dedication

Leviticus: Key Doctrines

• God’s Attributes, especially holiness, (See 11.45; 19.2)
• Substitution, 1
• Sin Barrier, 1
• Hebrew calendar,
• Five Levitical sacrifices and offerings, 1-7
• Aaronic priesthood, 8-9
• Levites, 10
• Nadab and Abihu rebellion, 10
• Divine Discipline, 10
• Sin Unto Death, 10
• Human Good, 10
• Clean and unclean, 11-15
• Day of Atonement, 16
• Holy people—national values, 18-20
• Capital punishment, 20
• Sabbath and Five Annual feasts of Israel, 23
• Sabbath, 25
• Jubilee years, 25
• Cycles of discipline, 26
• Mosaic Law, 26
• Abrahamic Covenant, 26
• Free Will Vows, 27

Leviticus 1-7: Offerings

• Burnt (Voluntary)—Reconciliation
• Grain (Voluntary)—Positional Relationship with God
• Peace (Voluntary)—Fellowship with God
• Sin (Required)—Confession of Sin
• Guilt (Required)—Confession of Sin

Leviticus: Clean and Unclean, Leviticus 11

• Why the regulations? The priests were to teach the people to distinguish between holy and profane, clean and unclean (Leviticus 10.10-11; 11.47). To do this God revealed divine viewpoint about diet (Leviticus 11), disease (Leviticus 13-14), and other physical uncleanness (Leviticus 12, 15).

Leviticus: Clean and Unclean 2, Leviticus 12-15

• The laws for uncleanness and purification served to highlight 1) God’s holiness, 2) man’s sin, 3) the distinction between relationship with Yahweh (LORD) their God and religion around them, and 4) to point out Israel’s priest nation status. An unclean person was prohibited from participating in the tabernacle services.

Leviticus 23: Feasts

• Passover—Redemption
• Unleavened Bread—Separation from past to new life with God
• Firstfruits—Thanksgiving and God provides
• Pentecost—Thanksgiving and God Provides over and above
• Trumpets—Called the Lord’s attention to Israel’s need of his blessing
• Day of Atonement—God graciously forgives sin
• Booths—God gives fatherly care and protection

Leviticus 26: Cycles of National Discipline

• First—mental and physical illness, economic downturns, military losses (26.14-17)
• Second—loss of influence, drought, famine, economic failure (26.18-20)
• Third—domestic terror, culture and society breakdown, (26.21-22)
• Fourth—disease, military invasion, national vassalage, famine (26.23-26)
• Fifth—culture and social disintegration, religious anarchy, national destruction and exile (26.27-39)

Lessons for us from Leviticus

• Attributes of God
• Sin Barrier
• Fellowship with God
• Priesthood of every church age believer
• Divine good vs. Human good
• Divine Discipline
• Separation from wrong crowd and religion
• Importance of the ministry
• Ritual with reality is valuable—communion
• Cultural and societal breakdown