Some More Notes On Leviticus

Leviticus 1:1-3:17

We may note the frequent recurrence of the phrase, ‘a soothing aroma to the Lord’ (1:9, 13, 17: 2:2, 9, 12; 3:5, 16). The presence of the Lord is ‘like a fragrance that fills the air.’ Not all people welcome the presence of the Lord. To some, it is ‘the aroma of Christ’, ‘a life-giving fragrance.’ To others, it is ‘a deadly fragrance’ (2 Corinthians 2:14-16). We are to pray that our life – in every part – will be pleasing to the Lord. We are to pray that our life will bring glory to Him. This will involve our worship in the holy place. It will also involve our living for the Lord in the many and varied situations of everyday life.

Leviticus 4:1-35

The word, ‘blood’, appears often here. We may note, in particular, the phrase – in verse 25 – ‘the blood of the offering for sin.’ In the final verse, we see why ‘the blood of the offering for sin’ was shed – ‘forgiveness’ and ‘peace with the Lord.’ Reading about this, our thoughts turn towards Jesus Christ, our Saviour, who died that we might be forgiven. Out of love for us, He gave Himself for our sins so that we might have peace with God (Romans 5:8, 1).

Leviticus 5:1-7:38

In the description of different offerings, we catch a glimpse of our need and Christ’s salvation. There is ‘the offering for sin’ (5:6), ‘the guilt offering’ (6:6), ‘the fellowship offering’ (6:12), ‘the fellowship offering’ (6:12), ‘the fellowship offering of thanksgiving’ (7:15), ‘the contribution offering’ (7:34) and ‘the ordination offering’ (7:37). There is teaching here which helps us to understand our Christian experience. Christ died for our sins to remove our guilt and bring us into fellowship with God. Grateful to Him, we give ourselves to Him, confident that He has ordained that we should bear fruit for Him (1 Peter 1:3:18; John 15:16). All of this arises from the Old Testament details – the burnt offering, the grain offering’ (7:37). We must always look beyond these Old Testament sacrifices to our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Leviticus 8:1-9:24
Aaron was anointed with ‘the anointing oil’, set apart or ‘dedicated’ to the Lord for ‘holy duties’ (8:12, 30). Anointed by the Lord and dedicated to the Lord, ‘Aaron and his sons did everything the Lord commanded through Moses’ (8:36). Concerning the Lord’s commands, Moses said, ‘the Lord has commanded you to offer these sacrifices so that you may see the Lord’s glory’ (9:6). Together with Moses, Aaron was obedient to God, bringing the blessing of God to the people – ‘Then the Lord’s glory appeared to all the people’ (9:23). The principles of God’s blessing are still the same. We need the anointing of the Holy Spirit. He calls us to obedience. This is the way of receiving God’s blessing. This is the way in which the glory of God comes down upon the people of God. We receive God’s blessing when the Holy Spirit comes down upon us in His mighty power.

Leviticus 10:1-11:47

It is vital that we know ‘the difference between what is holy and what is unholy’ (10:10). God calls us to ‘be holy’. He calls us to ‘live holy lives’ (11:44). This is the central point we must see in all the unfamiliar details of ancient Jewish worship. This is the ‘permanent law’ (10:9, 15). This is the teaching which must be passed on to ‘generations to come.’

Leviticus 12:1-13:59

Again and again, we read the word, ‘clean’. Looking beyond the teaching regarding health, we may recall that ‘the blood of Jesus Christ – God’s Son – cleanses us from all sin’ (1 John 1:7). This is the cleansing everyone needs. No matter how healthy we may be, in our bodies, we are spiritually diseased, because of sin, and we need Christ’s cleansing.

Leviticus 14:1-57

We read here of our need of cleansing and of the sacrifice of a lamb as a way of removing our guilt and bringing us into peace with God (v. 21). Spiritually, we are ‘poor.’ What we have to bring to God is not ‘that much.’ It is not enough to provide for our cleansing. What we need has been provided for us – ‘the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world’ (John 1:29). He has done for us what we could never do for ourselves. ‘There was no other good enough to pay the price of sin. He only could unlock the gate of heaven and let us in.’ ‘To God be the glory! Great things He has done.’

Leviticus 15:1-16:34

Each of us is unclean before God. Each of us needs Christ who gives Himself as ‘a sin offering’ to ‘make atonement’ for us (16:16). Christ is the perfect Saviour who ‘bears all our iniquities’ (16:22). Concerning His great Sacrifice for us, the Word of God says, ‘On this day shall atonement be made for you, to cleanse you; from all your sins you shall be clean before the Lord’ (16:30).

Leviticus 17:1-18:30

Through the shed blood of Christ, we have peace with God and eternal life (17:11; Romans 5:1-2, 8-10). Having received life through Christ, we are to live a new life. We are not to live in the way of the world. We are to live as those who belong to the Lord (18:1-5: Romans 6:12:14; 12:1-21).

Leviticus 19:1-37

Again and again, we read the words, ‘I am the Lord your God’, or more simply, ‘I am the Lord’ (vs. 3, 4, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 25, 28, 30, 31, 32, 34, 36, 37). The whole point of this is that our moral practice is grounded in our spiritual worship (Romans 12:1).

Leviticus 20:1-23:44

Our careful obedience to God’s Word is not to be a purely legalistic thing. We must never forget that God is the God of redemption. Our holiness is grounded in Him. He is holy, and He sets us apart as holy (22:31-33). Holy living involves both worship and service. We are to worship God (23:1-4). We must not forget the ‘poor people’ (23:22).

Leviticus 24:1-23

If our light is to be kept burning continually, we need pure oil (24:2). The emphasis here is on keeping close to God. It is only through closeness to God that our light will be kept burning. In verse 15, we read, ‘Whoever curses his God shall bear his sin.’ This is followed, in verse 16, by some words of explanation of what bearing his sin meant: ‘He who blasphemes the Name shall be put to death.’ As we read these words, our thoughts move to Another who was put to death – the sinless Saviour who bore the sins of many. ‘He died that we might be forgiven. He died to make us good, that we might go at last to heaven, saved by His precious blood.’ Through Him, we are brought close to God. Through Him, we are brought out of darkness and into light.

Leviticus 25:1-55

This chapter is full of the Lord’s instructions concerning the Jubilee to be celebrated by Israel. Why was it so important for Israel to hear and obey the Word of the Lord? – ‘The Israelites belong to Me as servants. They are My servants. I brought them out of Egypt. I am the Lord your God’ (v. 55). This is still the foundation of our call to obedience. The Lord, who calls us to obedience, has first called us to belong to Him through redemption. He has redeemed us. We belong to Him. We will serve Him.

Leviticus 26:1-46

There is blessing for those who learn to obey the Lord (vs. 3-13). There is judgment for those who persist in sinning against the Lord (vs. 14-33). The opportunity of blessing remains even

for those who are in despair and are wasting away because of sin (vs. 36, 39). God says, ‘I will remember My promise’ (v. 42).

Those who have sinned against the Lord ‘must accept their

guilt.’ This is the first step towards coming to know the

blessing of the Lord their God who says, ‘I will not reject them

or look at them with disgust’ (v. 43).

Leviticus 27:1-34

The underlying theme in this final chapter is giving ourselves to the Lord. We are to belong to Him. We are to be dedicated to Him. We are to be set apart for Him. We are to be holy. Such dedication to the Lord is to affect the whole of our life. We

learn this from the variety of details in this chapter. There can be no turning back from following the Lord. Those who turn back do themselves much harm. Through their disobedience to the Lord, they become spiritually dead. Keep up your dedication to the Lord.

Leviticus: A Call To Worship

On reading the book of Leviticus, we are struck by the strangeness of it all. It all seems so different from anything we have ever known. Are we, then, to conclude that we have nothing in common with those who worshipped the God of Israel in these far-off Old Testament times? Are we to abandon the Old Testament, especially the most difficult parts, as a waste of time?

Many people have done exactly that. They hardly ever read the Bible. When they do read the Bible, they restrict themselves to a few favourite passages. The treasures of art, architecture, music and literature are not discovered by the casual observer. It is precisely the same with the treasures of God’s Word. We must not settle for the passing glance. If we are to find treasure, we must dig for it. We must dig deep.

When we dig deep in the book of Leviticus, we will discover spiritual principles for today’s Church. There are things, in Leviticus, which are very different from life in the Christian Church today. Nevertheless, there are spiritual principles which remain constant. The underlying message of Leviticus is still relevant to us.

If we want to learn about worshipping God, we can learn a great deal from the book of Leviticus. Here are four key features of true worship:

(i) glory – ‘the glory of the Lord will appear to you’ (9:6);

(ii) cleansing – ‘he shall be clean (14:20);

(iii) thanksgiving – ‘a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Lord’ (22:29);

(iv) holiness – ‘you shall hold a holy convocation’ (23:36).

(i) ‘The glory of the Lord will appear to you.’ Can there be anything more wonderful than this? The glory of the Lord has appeared among men and women. In our sinful world, the glory of the Lord has appeared. This is not merely an event from many centuries ago. It is an event which continues to happen. Jesus Christ is Emmanuel, God with us. The glory of God has been revealed in Christ. The Old Testament revelation of God’s glory cannot compare with the fullness of glory revealed in Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the Saviour of sinners. The glory of God continues to shine brightly wherever Jesus Christ is worshipped as the Son of God and the Saviour of sinners. May the glory of the Lord appear to us. May the glory of Jesus Christ shine brightly as we gather together to worship Him. May His glory fill our lives.

(ii) ‘He shall be clean.’ Why did the Old Testament priests bring blood offerings to God? They brought these offerings so that there might be cleansing for guilty sinners. Is this not what we need today? – Cleansing from sin. Our lives have been stained by sin. We are guilty before God. What can we do? We can come to the Lord and seek His cleansing? In the Old Testament period, there was an elaborate system of sacrifices for the forgiveness of sin and the removal of guilt. Now that Christ has come and died for our sins, this complicated system of sacrifices is no longer required. We are now able to come to God the Father through Christ who died for us – ‘The blood of Jesus, His Son, cleanses us from all sin’ (1 John 1:7). ‘Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?’ – This is the question that God puts to each one of us.

(iv) ‘A sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Lord’. When we have been cleansed by the Lord, we are to give thanks to Him. In Luke 17:11-19, we read of ten lepers who were cleansed by Jesus. Only ‘one of them … praised God and gave thanks’ (vs. 15-16). Jesus said, ‘Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine?’ (v. 17). Jesus Christ has died for us so that our sins might be forgiven. Why do we, so often, take Him for granted? Why are we so slow to offer to Him our praise and thanksgiving? He calls us to remember Him, yet we, so easily, forget Him.

* ‘O happy day that fixed my choice’ – Is your choice fixed on Jesus?

* ‘When Jesus washed my sins away, He taught me how to watch and pray.’ – Do you want to learn to pray? ‘Lord, teach us to pray.’

* ‘High heaven that heard the solemn vow, that vow renewed shall daily hear’ – ‘All the congregation drew near and stood before the Lord’ (9:5). Will you stand before Him and renew your vows to Him? This is ‘the sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Lord.’

(iv) ‘You shall hold a holy convocation.’ We are to ‘worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.’ The holiness for which God is looking for is holiness of life which is rooted in holiness of heart. What a difference there is between the false ‘holiness’ of the Pharisees and true Christ-centred holiness of heart and life. God is calling us to seek holiness. There can be no true happiness without holiness.

Praying Through God's Word: Leviticus

Leviticus 1:1-2:16

We thank You, Lord, that Your Son, Jesus, is "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). In His death for us, we see Your love for us. Help us to come to the Cross of Christ. Help us to worship You in the beauty of holiness. Help us to celebrate Your love in the spirit of thanksgiving.

Leviticus 3:1-4:35

We thank You, Lord, that "we have peace with You through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1). We thank You that "Jesus is our peace" (Ephesians 2:14). This peace is not something that comes from within ourselves. It comes to us from outside of ourselves. It comes from above. It comes to us from You. It's given to us. It's Your gift. We cannot give this gift to ourselves. We can only receive it by faith - faith in Jesus, our Saviour.

Leviticus 5:1-6:30

We thank You, Lord, that Your salvation is greater than our sin. We look at Christ's sacrifice - He gave Himself in death for us. We are glad that He is our Saviour. He has taken our sin upon Himself. He gives Your salvation to us. Thank You, Lord.

Leviticus 7:1-38

When, Lord, we think of Jesus, crucified for us, may our hearts be filled with joyful praise and heartfelt thanksgiving.

Leviticus 8:1-36

Lord, You love us. You call us to love You. Help us, Lord, to grow in our love for You - to obey Your Word, to do Your will, to walk in Your way.

Leviticus 9:1-10:20

Lord, You are holy. We are sinners. You see our sin - and You keep on loving us. We see Jesus - and we know that You will never stop loving us. Help us, Lord, to confess our sin and to receive Your forgiveness. Lead us out of our sin and into Your holiness - and help us to give all the glory to You.

Leviticus 11:1-47

Lord, we thank You that Your call to holiness begins with Your call to salvation. We're not left to go it alone. You come to us. You come as our Saviour. You take us as we are - but You don't leave us the way You found us. You start changing us. You have great plans for us. You're making us more like Your Son, Jesus. We trust Jesus. We receive His salvation. Help us to follow Him, to be changed by Him, to become more like Him.

Leviticus 12:1-13:46

Lord, we thank You that the blood of Your Son, Jesus, cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7). We come to the Cross of Christ in our failure. At the Cross of Christ, we receive Your forgiveness. We bring our sin to the Saviour. He gives to us His salvation. Bring us, Lord, out of the darkness of our sin and into the light of Your salvation.

Leviticus 13:47-14:32

We thank You, Lord, that "the vilest offender , who truly believes, that moment, from Jesus, a pardon receives." By faith, we receive Your forgiveness - but we never earn Your forgiveness. Forgiveness is always Your gift. It's never a reward. By faith, we look away from ourselves. We look to Jesus, our Saviour. We do not say, "How great is my faith." We say, "How great is my Saviour."

Leviticus 14:33-15:33

Lord, what are we to do about our sin? What can we do about it? It keeps on spreading. We can't do anything about this. It just gets worse and worse. What can be done about this? We can do nothing - but Jesus can do something about it. He's our Saviour. He comes to us in love. He comes to us in power. He forgives our sin. He gives us a new beginning. The past is put behind us. Jesus leads us on to Your eternal glory. Hallelujah! - "This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes" (Psalm 118:23).

Leviticus 16:1-34

Lord, we sing of Jesus, Your Son. He is "the man of sorrows" (Isaiah 53:3) - but this does not make us sad. We look beyond His suffering. We see our salvation. We sing of Your salvation. With joy, we sing to You - "Hallelujah! What a Saviour!" We look at Jesus - and we ask the question, "Full atonement - can it be?" We rejoice in Your answer - "Full atonement - Yes it is!" What a a perfect Saviour we have! What a great salvation He has given to us! Help us, Lord, to say, in our hearts, "God forbid that I should ever boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Galatians 6:14).

Leviticus 17:1-18:23

We thank You, Lord, that Your Son, Jesus, died - so that we might live. He was forsaken by You - so that we might live with You. We think of Jesus, suffering for us - "In my place, condemned, He stood." We think of the blessing that He brings to us: "Sealed my pardon with His blood." Here-and-now, there's a song of praise, arising in our hearts - but there's more than that: We look forward to the full glory of Your heavenly and eternal glory: "When He comes, our glorious King, all His ransomed home to bring, then anew this song we'll sing: Alleluia! What a Saviour!"

Leviticus 18:24-19:37

Lord, You are the God of perfect holiness. You are the God of perfect love. You call us to a life of holiness. You call us to a life of love. How are to live this life of holiness and love? We need the Holy Spirit - the Spirit of love. Without Him, we cannot even begin to live this new life - the life of holiness and love. We thank You, Lord, that You have not left us to live this life in our own strength - "the Holy Spirit ... lives in us" (2 Timothy 1:14).

Leviticus 20:1-27

Lord, if we are to become holy, it must be Your doing - not our own achievement. We come to our Saviour with our sin. We receive from Him Your forgiveness - and the Spirit of holiness. Our past is put behind us. Our sins are forgiven - and forgotten. You call us on into Your future. We are being changed by Your love and Your holiness. We look back at all that You have done for us - and we say, "To God be the glory! Great things He has done." We look forward to all that You will do for us - and we say, 'To God be the glory! There is more to come  - "much more" (Romans 5:10). The best is yet to be! (1 Corinthians 2:9).'

Leviticus 21:1-22:16

Teach us, Lord, that "every virtue we possess ... every victory won ... every thought of holiness are Yours alone." Virtue, victory, holiness - Where do these things come from? They come from You, Lord. "In ourselves, there is no good thing" (Romans 7:18) - Our lives have been spoiled by our sin. We thank You, Lord, that You haven't given up on us. You haven't dismissed us as a lost cause. You keep on working in us, changing us, making us more like Jesus.

Leviticus 22:17-23:44

Lord, You call us to "worship You in spirit and in truth" (John 4:24). Where does true worship come from? - It comes from You. It comes from Your Spirit. It comes from Your Truth. We read the Holy Scriptures - and we begin to worship You. We open our hearts to the Holy Spirit - and the spirit of praise grows stronger in us. We listen to the voice of our Holy Saviour - and He leads in the pathway of true worship. True worship comes from You: "Fill Thou our life, O Lord our God, in every part with praise."

Leviticus 24:1-25:24

Lord, we hear the questions, "Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?" and "Who shall stand in His holy place?" - and we say, 'This is too much for us." We thank You, Lord, that there is Good News for us. There is One who has ascended the hill of the Lord. There is One who stand in Your holy place. Jesus has ascended the hill of the Lord. Jesus stands in Your holy place. He has ascended Your holy hill - for us. He stands in Your holy place - for us. He has "received blessing from You" - for us (Psalm 24:3-5). When , Lord, we come to worship You, help us to come in the Name of Jesus: Just as I am, without one plea but that Thy blood was shed for me ... "

Leviticus 25:25-55

Teach us, Lord, that what You have done for us is always so much greater than anything we could ever do for You. You gave Your Son, Jesus, to be our Saviour. Your Holy Spirit has come to live in our hearts. He's changing us. He's making us more like Jesus. You give us the privilege of serving You - sharing, with others, the wonderful love of Jesus. You've done so much for us. You've given so much to us. What have we done to deserve all of this? - Nothing! It's Your gift. We can only say, "Thank You, Lord."

Leviticus 26:1-46

Lord, help us never to think, "We are blessed because we are obedient." Help us always to say, "We are blessed because You love us and Jesus died for us." Your love for us, Jesus' death for us:  This is where the blessing comes from - and it's where our obedience comes from! We think of Your great love for us. We think of Jesus, crucified for us.  We say, "Lord, You love me. Help me to love You." We say, "Jesus, You died for me. Help me to live for You." This is how Your blessing comes to us - You show us how much You love us, You put Your love into our hearts, the obedience grows stronger - and so does the blessing!

Leviticus 27:1-34

What great love, Lord, You have for us. There is no love like Your love for us. It's the best love! What joy You give to us - the joy that comes from knowing that we are loved with "everlasting love" (Jeremiah 31:3). Help us, Lord, to rejoice in Your love, to be changed by Your love, to share Your love. Your love: It's the best thing we could ever receive from You - and it's the best thing we can pass on to other people!

Moral practice is grounded in spiritual worship.

Leviticus 19:1-37
Again and again, we read the words, "I am the Lord your God", or, more simply, "I am the Lord" (Leviticus 19:3-4,10,12,14,16,18,25,28,30-32,34,36-37). The whole point of this is that our moral practice is grounded in our spiritual worship (Romans 12:1).

Through the shed blood of Christ ...

Leviticus 17:1-18:30
Through the shed blood of Christ, we have peace with God and eternal life (Leviticus 17:11; Romans 5:1-2,8-10). We have received new life in Christ. Now, we are to leave our sinful past behind us. We are to live a new life as those who belong to Christ (Leviticus 18:1-5; Romans 6:12-14; Romans 12:1-2).

Christ is the perfect Saviour ...

Leviticus 15:1-16:34 
Each of us is unclean before God. Each of us needs Christ, who has given Himself as "a sin offering" to "make atonement" for us (Leviticus 16:16). Christ is the perfect Saviour, who "bears all our iniquities" (Leviticus 16:22). Concerning His great sacrifice for us, the Word of God says, "On this day shall atonement be made for you, to cleanse you; from all your sins you shall be clean before the Lord" (Leviticus 16:30).

Holy living expresses itself in both worship and service.

Leviticus 22:1-23:44

Our careful obedience to God's Word is not to be a purely legalistic thing. We must never forget that God is the God of redemption. Our holiness is grounded in Him: He is holy, and He sets us apart as holy (Leviticus 22:31-33). Holy living expresses itself in both worship and service. We are to worship God (Leviticus 23:1-4), but we must not forget the "poor people" (Leviticus 23:22).

The Lord calls us to be holy ...

Leviticus 20:1-21:24

The Lord calls us to be holy - because He is holy (Leviticus 20:26). We are to be like Him. He has set us apart as holy (Leviticus 21:8). We are "dedicated with the anointing oil of our God" (Leviticus 21:12). We may take this "anointing oil" as symbolic of the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. We are to "eat the food of our God - what is holy and what is very holy" (Leviticus 21:22). Here, our attention is directed towards Christ, who is our spiritual food - "the Bread of Life" (John 6).

Give me oil in my lamp. Keep me burning.

Leviticus 24:1-23

If our light is to be keep on burning continually, we need pure oil (Leviticus 24:2). The emphasis here is on keeping close to God. It is only through closeness to God that our light will be kept burning. In Leviticus 24:15, we read, "Whoever curses his God shall bear his sin." This is followed, in Leviticus 24:16, by some words of explanation of what bearing his sin meant: "He who blasphemes the Name shall be put to death." As we read these words, our thoughts move to Christ, the sinless Saviour who bore the sins of many - "He died that we might be forgiven. He died to make us good, that we might go at last to heaven, saved by His precious blood." Through Him, we are brought close to God. Through Him, we are darkness and into light.

Teach us, Lord, that "every virtue we possess ... every victory won ... every thought of holiness are Yours alone."

Leviticus 21:1-22:16

Teach us, Lord, that "every virtue we possess ... every victory won ... every thought of holiness are Yours alone." Virtue, victory, holiness - Where do these things come from? They come from You, Lord. "In ourselves, there is no good thing" (Romans 7:18) - Our lives have been spoiled by our sin. We thank You, Lord, that You haven't given up on us. You haven't dismissed us as a lost cause. You keep on working in us, changing us, making us more like Jesus.

Lord, You love us. You call us to love You.

Leviticus 8:1-36

Lord, You love us. You call us to love You. Help us, Lord, to grow in our love for You - to obey Your Word, to do Your will, to walk in Your way.

Read - And Study.

We need to study Leviticus - not just read it.

Leviticus follows on from Genesis and Exodus. In Genesis, we see man ruined. In Exodus, we see man redeemed. In Leviticus, we see man worshipping. This is a book of worship. It is a book for redeemed people. It shows them how to worship God. What is true worship? We do not begin with the worshipper. We begin with the God who is worshipped: ‘The Lord called Moses’ (1:1). Before worship, there is revelation.
God reveals Himself to us. (a) He shows us who He is. (b) He speaks His Word to us.
(a) He says to us, ‘I am the Lord’ (22:2-3, 8-9, 16, 30-33). He says to us, ‘I am your God’ (23:14, 22, 28, 40, 43). We say to Him, ‘You are our God’ (23:14).
(b) ‘The Lord spoke.’
‘The Lord said.’ ‘The Lord commanded.’
Leviticus contains many direct messages from the Lord.
In Leviticus – the book of holiness and atonement – , God reveals Himself as the God of holiness and love.
(i) Leviticus speaks much about God’s holiness. It also speaks of our call to live a holy life (11:44-45; 19:2; 20:7, 26). In Leviticus, we are given instruction concerning approaching the holy God and maintaining fellowship with the holy God.
(ii) Leviticus speaks about atonement. The shedding of blood is emphasized. This points forward to salvation through the shed blood of Christ.
Holiness and atonement – these two themes belong together in a true understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
* The holy God cannot stand sin. He has said, ‘Without holiness, no man shall see the Lord’ (Hebrews 12:14).
* The God of holiness is also the God of love. When we say, ‘God is holy’, we must never forget that ‘God is love.’ He is holy love. He is loving holiness. In Christ, God has provided a way for sin to be forgiven. In Christ, God Himself has become the Sacrifice for sin. He has taken upon Himself the punishment for sin. He has met the requirements of both His own holiness and our need for forgiveness.
Through the death of Christ for us, God has provided for our justification and our sanctification.
He imputes holiness to the believer. This is our justification. In Christ, we have received the forgiveness of our sins (Romans 3:24). He implants holiness in the believer’s heart. This is our
sanctification. In Christ, we have received new life (Romans 6:1-6).
The command – ‘Be holy’ – is also a promise
– ‘You shall be holy’ (11:45; 19:2). Why is the command also a promise? It is because the command is based on God’s gift to us. In Christ, God has given us a holy nature. Our holiness is not an inherent holiness. We are not holy by nature. Our own nature is sinful. Our holiness is a derived holiness. It is derived
from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
* Leviticus, the book of atonement, points us to Christ. Through Him, we are cleansed from all our sins. In Him, we are clean before the Lord (16:30).
* Leviticus, the book of holiness, calls us to live a holy life. The life is a life of redemption and glory.
Where does the glory of the Lord come from this? It comes from this – the Lord is working out in us His great plan of redemption.
Redemption
Every Sabbath day – in the context of worship – the people are reminded of God’s covenant (24:8). This is a continuing reminder of all that God has done (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob … redemption from Egypt). It speaks to us also of all that God will do. As well as salvation from Egypt, there is also the life of sanctification in Canaan (25:3; 20:24 – ‘a land flowing with milk and honey’ – and the life of service
(25:35). We are saved for sanctification. We are saved to serve. The Christian life is to be a life of holiness (sanctification) and love (service). Both arise form our experience of God’s salvation, an ongoing experience of the glory of God.
* In chapter 27, great emphasis is placed on holiness
(vs. 9-10, 14, 21, 23, 28, 30, 32-33). We are called to live a holy
life – ‘every devoted thing (person) is holy to the Lord’ (v.28). We are to surrender ourselves to the Lord – all our possessions are ‘holy to the Lord’ (v. 30). In giving ourselves to the Lord, we must seek to maintain the attitude of gratitude (Genesis 28:22).
* As well as holiness, there is to be love in our lives. We are to love our neighbour (19:18). We are to love the stranger (19:33-34). We are to be like the Good Samaritan. The stranger is our neighbour (Luke 10:25-37). What is our motive for loving the
stranger? It is redemption. God has redeemed us. We must not withhold His love from the stranger.
Glory
We must seek to be like Christ. Like Him, we are to live a life of holiness and love. This life of obedience is a life of entering into the glory of God (9:6; John 14:21). Sin robs us of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Salvation restores to us the glory of God
(2 Corinthians 3:18).
The contrast between the life of sin and the life of salvation is highlighted in chapter 26.
In vs. 1-13, we have God’s promises. He promises to give His
blessing to those who live in obedience to Him. In vs. 14-46, we have God’s warnings. There will be punishment for those who refuse to obey Him.
The essential character of the saved life is described in verses 1-13. We see this, especially, in verse 12 – ‘I will be your God and you shall be My people.’ In this relationship with God, we have His great promise – ‘I will make My abode among you, and my soul shall not abhor you’ (v. 11). When the Lord makes His abode in us, His glory is revealed through us (John 14:21). This glory is seen as we walk with the Lord in the ongoing experience of His salvation. We are ‘not … slaves.’ We ‘walk erect’ (v.13).
God’s purpose is for men and women to leave the life of sin and enter the life of salvation. He chastises the disobedient with a view to their returning to Him (26:18; 23). For those who return, there is the promise of grace (vs. 40-46).
The pathway to holiness begins at the gateway of grace. We travel from grace to glory. The words, ‘by grace through faith’ (Ephesians 2:8), are written over the whole course of the Christian life. At the beginning, it is ‘by grace through faith.’ At every point of the journey to glory, the message remains the same – ‘by grace through faith.’ In glory – ‘in the coming ages’ when God reveals ‘the immeasurable riches of His kindness towards us in Christ Jesus’ (Ephesians 2:7) – our joyful confession remains the same for all eternity: ‘by grace through faith.’

Praying Through God's Word: Leviticus

Leviticus 1:1-2:16

We thank You, Lord, that Your Son, Jesus, is "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). In His death for us, we see Your love for us. Help us to come to the Cross of Christ. Help us to worship You in the beauty of holiness. Help us to celebrate Your love in the spirit of thanksgiving.

Leviticus 3:1-4:35

We thank You, Lord, that "we have peace with You through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1). We thank You that "Jesus is our peace" (Ephesians 2:14). This peace is not something that comes from within ourselves. It comes to us from outside of ourselves. It comes from above. It comes to us from You. It's given to us. It's Your gift. We cannot give this gift to ourselves. We can only receive it by faith - faith in Jesus, our Saviour.

Leviticus 5:1-6:30

We thank You, Lord, that Your salvation is greater than our sin. We look at Christ's sacrifice - He gave Himself in death for us. We are glad that He is our Saviour. He has taken our sin upon Himself. He gives Your salvation to us. Thank You, Lord.

Leviticus 7:1-38

When, Lord, we think of Jesus, crucified for us, may our hearts be filled with joyful praise and heartfelt thanksgiving.

Leviticus 8:1-36

Lord, You love us. You call us to love You. Help us, Lord, to grow in our love for You - to obey Your Word, to do Your will, to walk in Your way.

Leviticus 9:1-10:20

Lord, You are holy. We are sinners. You see our sin - and You keep on loving us. We see Jesus - and we know that You will never stop loving us. Help us, Lord, to confess our sin and to receive Your forgiveness. Lead us out of our sin and into Your holiness - and help us to give all the glory to You.

Leviticus 11:1-47

Lord, we thank You that Your call to holiness begins with Your call to salvation. We're not left to go it alone. You come to us. You come as our Saviour. You take us as we are - but You don't leave us the way You found us. You start changing us. You have great plans for us. You're making us more like Your Son, Jesus. We trust Jesus. We receive His salvation. Help us to follow Him, to be changed by Him, to become more like Him.

Leviticus 12:1-13:46

Lord, we thank You that the blood of Your Son, Jesus, cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7). We come to the Cross of Christ in our failure. At the Cross of Christ, we receive Your forgiveness. We bring our sin to the Saviour. He gives to us His salvation. Bring us, Lord, out of the darkness of our sin and into the light of Your salvation.

Leviticus 13:47-14:32

We thank You, Lord, that "the vilest offender , who truly believes, that moment, from Jesus, a pardon receives." By faith, we receive Your forgiveness - but we never earn Your forgiveness. Forgiveness is always Your gift. It's never a reward. By faith, we look away from ourselves. We look to Jesus, our Saviour. We do not say, "How great is my faith." We say, "How great is my Saviour."

Leviticus 14:33-15:33

Lord, what are we to do about our sin? What can we do about it? It keeps on spreading. We can't do anything about this. It just gets worse and worse. What can be done about this? We can do nothing - but Jesus can do something about it. He's our Saviour. He comes to us in love. He comes to us in power. He forgives our sin. He gives us a new beginning. The past is put behind us. Jesus leads us on to Your eternal glory. Hallelujah! - "This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes" (Psalm 118:23).

Leviticus 16:1-34

Lord, we sing of Jesus, Your Son. He is "the man of sorrows" (Isaiah 53:3) - but this does not make us sad. We look beyond His suffering. We see our salvation. We sing of Your salvation. With joy, we sing to You - "Hallelujah! What a Saviour!" We look at Jesus - and we ask the question, "Full atonement - can it be?" We rejoice in Your answer - "Full atonement - Yes it is!" What a a perfect Saviour we have! What a great salvation He has given to us! Help us, Lord, to say, in our hearts, "God forbid that I should ever boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Galatians 6:14).

Leviticus 17:1-18:23

We thank You, Lord, that Your Son, Jesus, died - so that we might live. He was forsaken by You - so that we might live with You. We think of Jesus, suffering for us - "In my place, condemned, He stood." We think of the blessing that He brings to us: "Sealed my pardon with His blood." Here-and-now, there's a song of praise, arising in our hearts - but there's more than that: We look forward to the full glory of Your heavenly and eternal glory: "When He comes, our glorious King, all His ransomed home to bring, then anew this song we'll sing: Alleluia! What a Saviour!"

Leviticus 18:24-19:37

Lord, You are the God of perfect holiness. You are the God of perfect love. You call us to a life of holiness. You call us to a life of love. How are to live this life of holiness and love? We need the Holy Spirit - the Spirit of love. Without Him, we cannot even begin to live this new life - the life of holiness and love. We thank You, Lord, that You have not left us to live this life in our own strength - "the Holy Spirit ... lives in us" (2 Timothy 1:14).

Leviticus 20:1-27

Lord, if we are to become holy, it must be Your doing - not our own achievement. We come to our Saviour with our sin. We receive from Him Your forgiveness - and the Spirit of holiness. Our past is put behind us. Our sins are forgiven - and forgotten. You call us on into Your future. We are being changed by Your love and Your holiness. We look back at all that You have done for us - and we say, "To God be the glory! Great things He has done." We look forward to all that You will do for us - and we say, 'To God be the glory! There is more to come  - "much more" (Romans 5:10). The best is yet to be! (1 Corinthians 2:9).'

Leviticus 21:1-22:16

Teach us, Lord, that "every virtue we possess ... every victory won ... every thought of holiness are Yours alone." Virtue, victory, holiness - Where do these things come from? They come from You, Lord. "In ourselves, there is no good thing" (Romans 7:18) - Our lives have been spoiled by our sin. We thank You, Lord, that You haven't given up on us. You haven't dismissed us as a lost cause. You keep on working in us, changing us, making us more like Jesus.

Leviticus 22:17-23:44

Lord, You call us to "worship You in spirit and in truth" (John 4:24). Where does true worship come from? - It comes from You. It comes from Your Spirit. It comes from Your Truth. We read the Holy Scriptures - and we begin to worship You. We open our hearts to the Holy Spirit - and the spirit of praise grows stronger in us. We listen to the voice of our Holy Saviour - and He leads in the pathway of true worship. True worship comes from You: "Fill Thou our life, O Lord our God, in every part with praise."

Leviticus 24:1-25:24

Lord, we hear the questions, "Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?" and "Who shall stand in His holy place?" - and we say, 'This is too much for us." We thank You, Lord, that there is Good News for us. There is One who has ascended the hill of the Lord. There is One who stand in Your holy place. Jesus has ascended the hill of the Lord. Jesus stands in Your holy place. He has ascended Your holy hill - for us. He stands in Your holy place - for us. He has "received blessing from You" - for us (Psalm 24:3-5). When , Lord, we come to worship You, help us to come in the Name of Jesus: Just as I am, without one plea but that Thy blood was shed for me ... "

Leviticus 25:25-55

Teach us, Lord, that what You have done for us is always so much greater than anything we could ever do for You. You gave Your Son, Jesus, to be our Saviour. Your Holy Spirit has come to live in our hearts. He's changing us. He's making us more like Jesus. You give us the privilege of serving You - sharing, with others, the wonderful love of Jesus. You've done so much for us. You've given so much to us. What have we done to deserve all of this? - Nothing! It's Your gift. We can only say, "Thank You, Lord."

Leviticus 26:1-46

Lord, help us never to think, "We are blessed because we are obedient." Help us always to say, "We are blessed because You love us and Jesus died for us." Your love for us, Jesus' death for us:  This is where the blessing comes from - and it's where our obedience comes from! We think of Your great love for us. We think of Jesus, crucified for us.  We say, "Lord, You love me. Help me to love You." We say, "Jesus, You died for me. Help me to live for You." This is how Your blessing comes to us - You show us how much You love us, You put Your love into our hearts, the obedience grows stronger - and so does the blessing!

Leviticus 27:1-34

What great love, Lord, You have for us. There is no love like Your love for us. It's the best love! What joy You give to us - the joy that comes from knowing that we are loved with "everlasting love" (Jeremiah 31:3). Help us, Lord, to rejoice in Your love, to be changed by Your love, to share Your love. Your love: It's the best thing we could ever receive from You - and it's the best thing we can pass on to other people!

Set Free For God's Future

"a sin offering ... an atonement ... clean" (Leviticus 12:8).

We read the words of the book of Leviticus. We feel like we're out of our depth. We don't really know what to make all of this. We read about " a sin offering", we read about "an atonement", we read about being made "clean" - We read all of this, and the light begins to shine. It's the light of Jesus, our Saviour. We think of Him. We think of His death upon the Cross. We know that He died for us. We know that He loves us - and we rejoice in His love. Do we need to understand all that there is in the book of Leviticus? No! We catch a glimpse of Jesus - and His "sin offering." Our hearts are filled with joy, as we think of His "atonement." This a new beginning for us - "the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1:7).  It's a new beginning. We're set free from our past. We're set free for God's future.

What is God's future? What great plan does He have for us? - This is what He says to us, "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians; I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with heads held high" (Leviticus 26:13).

What God has done for us in the past is not all that He will do for us. We must never forget what He has done for us in the past. the Exodus from Egypt was a great event. It was an event of salvation. The death of our Saviour was an even greater event. this is the event of our salvation. without His death for us, we could never be saved. he took our place. He died our death. He took our sin upon Himself. He died that we might have life - the new life of those who have received the forgiveness of their sins, the eternal life which will be filled with joy forevermore. Following our entry into this new life and before our entry into God's everlasting Kingdom, there is a journey that each of us must make. It will be a different journey for each of us. We must make our own journey. My journey will not be your journey. Your journey will not be my journey. In my journey, I am not alone. In your journey, you are not alone. The Lord is with you. The Lord is with me.

What kind of journey will it be? It will be a hard road. How hard? In what way will it be hard? No-one really knows. We know that there will be "enemies" - but we know that the Lord has given us his promise: "When they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them ... I am the Lord their God" (Leviticus 26:44).

What a great promise this is! We have many enemies - but there is one enemy who is more determined than all of the rest of them, put together. Our great enemy is Satan. God's Word teaches us that Satan is a determined enemy. It also teaches us that he's a defeated enemy. we look at Satan - and we look at Jesus. We see what Satan is trying to do to us. We look at what Jesus has done for us. At the Cross, we learn that Jesus has succeeded - and we learn that Satan has failed. Jesus has triumphed over Satan. Can we doubt that Jesus' victory over Satan will be a complete victory? Can we doubt that Satan's defeat will be a total defeat? At the Cross, we catch a glimpse of the final victory. In our hearts, we know that God's Word is true: "Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 15:57).

Hear And Obey The Word Of The Lord.

Leviticus 25:1-55

This chapter is full of the Lord's instructions concerning the Jubilee to be celebrated by Israel. Why was it so important for Israel to hear and obey the Word of the Lord? - "The Israelites belong to Me as servants. They are My servants. I brought them out of Egypt. I am the Lord" (Leviticus 25:55). This is still the foundation of our call to obedience. The Lord, who calls us to obedience, has first called us to belong to Him through redemption. He has redeemed us. We belong to Him. We will serve Him.

We thank You, Lord, that "we have peace with You through our Lord Jesus Christ"

Leviticus 3:1-4:35

We thank You, Lord, that "we have peace with You through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1). We thank You that "Jesus is our peace" (Ephesians 2:14). This peace is not something that comes from within ourselves. It comes to us from outside of ourselves. It comes from above. It comes to us from You. It's given to us. It's Your gift. We cannot give this gift to ourselves. We can only receive it by faith - faith in Jesus, our Saviour.

We thank You, Lord, that Your salvation is greater than our sin.

Leviticus 5:1-6:30

We thank You, Lord, that Your salvation is greater than our sin. We look at Christ's sacrifice - He gave Himself in death for us. We are glad that He is our Saviour. He has taken our sin upon Himself. He gives Your salvation to us. Thank You, Lord.

When, Lord, we think of Jesus ...

Leviticus 7:1-38

When, Lord, we think of Jesus, crucified for us, may our hearts be filled with joyful praise and heartfelt thanksgiving.

Lord, You call us to "worship You in spirit and in truth."

Leviticus 22:17-23:44

Lord, You call us to "worship You in spirit and in truth" (John 4:24). Where does true worship come from? - It comes from You. It comes from Your Spirit. It comes from Your Truth. We read the Holy Scriptures - and we begin to worship You. We open our hearts to the Holy Spirit - and the spirit of praise grows stronger in us. We listen to the voice of our Holy Saviour - and He leads in the pathway of true worship. True worship comes from You: "Fill Thou our life, O Lord our God, in every part with praise."

What great love, Lord, You have for us.

Leviticus 27:1-34

What great love, Lord, You have for us. There is no love like Your love for us. It's the best love! What joy You give to us - the joy that comes from knowing that we are loved with "everlasting love" (Jeremiah 31:3). Help us, Lord, to rejoice in Your love, to be changed by Your love, to share Your love. Your love: It's the best thing we could ever receive from You - and it's the best thing we can pass on to other people!