INTRODUCTION TO LEVITICUS
Leviticus - Be Holy for I am Holy
(KeyVerse= 11:45b)
The key verse of Leviticus is 11:45b: 'Be holy, because I am holy.' God is holy. He wants his people to be a holy nation and a kingdom of priests (Ex 19:5-6). But people are not holy; we are sinners. God teaches us in this book that the wages of sin is death, and that without the atoning blood there is no forgiveness of sin.
Leviticus 17:11 says that blood stands for life; God accepts a blood sacrifice as atonement for sin. Hebrews 9:22b says, 'without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.'
The Levites were appointed to be responsible for the sanctuary. Levites who were also descendants of Aaron were priests.
The whole sacrificial system looks forward to Jesus, the Lamb provided by God to take away the sin of the world (Jn 1:29). Jesus is our high priest and Jesus is the perfect sacrifice. His death gives the sacrificial system meaning and, at the same time, makes it obsolete.
Outline of Leviticus
1:1-7:38 The 5 offerings
8:1-10:20 The priesthood
11:1-15:33 Clean and unclean
16:1-34 The Day of Atonement
17:1-22:33 Holiness in life
23:1-25:55 The Sabbath, holy days, seasons
26:1-27:34 Reward and punishment
1. Instructions for the offerings (1:1-13)
Read through chapters 1-7, noticing the five types of offerings. (See 7:37,38) i) Burnt offerings. Read 1:3,4. The blood was to atone for sin; the rest was burned to represent total commitment to God. ii) The grain offering was for thanksgiving; some was burned on the altar and some eaten by the priests. Read 2:1-3. iii) A fellowship offering was made to make peace with God through the forgiveness of sin, and to express thanks to God. Read 3:1,2; 7:11,12. iv) The sin offering was made for unintentional sins. Sins were confessed, forgiven, and cleansed. v) Guilt offerings were made for sins which required restitution. Read 4:1; 22-26; 5:17-19; Heb 9:11-14.
2. An aroma pleasing to the Lord (1:9,13,17;2:9;3:5)
These sacrifices all point to Jesus, the Lamb without blemish (Eph 5:2). His death on the cross was cruel and painful. His blood atones for sin and enables us to go to God to offer acceptable sacrifices of thanksgiving and praise (Heb 13:15,16).
Application: Lord, thank you for forgiving my sins through the blood of Jesus and giving me peace with you.
One Word: Come to God through the blood