Why Leviticus Now?

The more law-centered books of the Bible used to intimidate me. I would skirt around Leviticus saying to myself, There was a time and a place for all that, and that was left in history. I reasoned that, since the coming of Christ did away with the Old Covenant, I didn't have to pay attention to any of the rules before that. While it is true that Christ's birth was the New Covenant that did away with the ways of the old, I was missing the point. There is so much to be learned about the consistency and character of God by reflecting on the laws of the Old Covenant--insight that could not be gained if I continued to disregard it. In recent months I have been able to look at it in a new light. I took an Old Testament class last semester, and the way my teacher walked through these more challenging books helped me see the way these books are PERMEATED with evidence of the Father's love for us.

I used to interpret these rules as a very structured and rigid way for God to keep His distance from us. Kind of like busy work to keep the Israelites from actually achieving closeness with Him. (Which, given the circumstances, He had every right to do. The Israelites deserved nothing but His wrath for their countless betrayals and lack of faith.) Thankfully for us, this is not the case! In fact, quite the opposite is true. The Father loved His people so much that He desired closeness with them. He wanted to push past their many sins and faults and touch them with His mercy. He desired for them to know Him and make Him their God. However, because of their broken and fallen state, the Lord required that they approach Him in a very specific way so that His wrath would not be unleashed upon them, for the Lord is also a just God and cannot allow corruption in His presence. Or, rather, corruption cannot stand to be in HIS presence. His very essence is holiness--searing and blinding light that penetrates even the deepest darkness. If they had tried to approach him casually without making atonement for their sin, they would have surely been obliterated. And He knew this.

In every ritual, law, and sacrifice there is evidence of love. Leviticus is all about intentionality. The intentionality of the Lord, providing His children with a way to be close to Him. In the very first verse of the first chapter, it is obvious that God is being intentional with His people. "The Lord called Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting..." (Lev. 1:1) Moses could not approach the tent of meeting or be in the presence of God yet, but the Lord was gracious. He called out to Moses from afar, making it known that He wanted His people to be able to come closer and know Him better. The laws of Leviticus were put into place to bring the people into the tent of meeting.

Throughout the chapters, the Lord gives many instructions on the offering of sacrifices as atonement for sins, even sins committed unintentionally! (Leviticus 4!) He knows well the sinful nature of His children, yet it does not deter Him. He also has sacrifice options for those who cannot afford the choicest animals or oils. The Lord does not favor the wealthy. He made it so that even the humblest and lowliest of His children could approach Him and partake in sacrifice. 

I like how specific the instructions for offering turtledoves and pigeons are. When tearing the bird in preparation for the offering, the priest was always instructed to "...not sever it completely". This is reminiscent of how, even in our sin, the Lord does not completely sever us off from Himself!

Chapter 8 is all about the consecration of the priests, which sets a good example for how we should approach the Father and conduct ourselves. Verses 6-9 touch on the priests being washed publicly, a humbling experience that reminds us how we too must be cleansed before approaching Him. After being cleaned, they are clothed not with their own clothes, but with garments ordained by the Lord. Now that they had been washed and made new, He didn't want them to step back into the dirty clothes of their past; He provided them with new and fresh articles to clothe themselves. Reminds me of Ezekiel 36:26 "And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh." God takes the old and replaces it with the new as an act of sanctification!

Verses 23-24 Describe Moses placing the ram's blood on the right ear, thumb, and toe of Aaron and his sons. This is a powerful and symbolic calling to live differently through the Father's covenant. In His renewal we can HEAR new truths, we are called to DO new works for His glory, and we can WALK uprightly in His love and Word. The application of the blood specifically to the right side represents our need to use the best of our strength and abilities to serve Him. When it comes to the Lord, we should always strive to give our best.

In the New Covenant, we don't need a priest to approach God for us. We can communicate with Him directly through prayer and the study of His word. We can act as our own priests. With these new privileges also come new challenges--are we living in a way becoming of a priest? Are we setting ourselves apart, committing our mind, body, and soul to His purposes? My challenge to myself and to you today is this: reflect on the love of the Father, look for evidence of His love in the more intimidating or harder-to-approach books of the Bible, and accept the priestly calling: hear, do, and walk in His truths.