Putting the Book of Leviticus in Perspective

I would never tell someone not to read the book of Leviticus, but many people have made that decision on their own. They have decided to read the entire Bible from Genesis (the first book of the Bible) straight through Revelation (the last book of the Bible). They enjoy Genesis and get caught up in the excitement of Exodus with its plagues in Egypt and the crossing of the Red Sea by the Israelites as they leave their life of slavery in Egypt.

Then they come to Leviticus and are confronted by a seemingly endless recitation of laws and regulations that seem to have no relevance to their lives in the 21st century. So they stop reading. The bad news is that there are other passages of the Bible that may seem just as irrelevant. The good news is that it is possible to approach such passages-Leviticus in particular-in a way that shows that they are very relevant. We would also do well to remember that Leviticus, the third book in the five-book Jewish Torah or Law, fills a vital role in the Jewish faith. As you read this, please keep in mind that I am a Christian and I am writing from the perspective of one who has found some valuable lessons in Leviticus.

A Helpful Starting Point. It is helpful to see the rules and regulations in Leviticus as indications that God wants a people set apart for God, and not set apart for the rest of the world. Someone once said that instead of the church helping the world to be more godly, the world has done a good job of pulling the church away from being what God wants it to be. Surveys have shown that in terms of attitudes and actions, there is often very little difference between people who claim to be believers and those who claim not to be believers.

The Theme of Holiness. The theme of holiness pervades the book of Leviticus. As I've studied over the years, I have learned that there are two primary meanings of holiness in the Bible. On the one hand, there is holiness as being "set apart for God." God chose Israel to be set apart for God alone and to accomplish God's purposes for the nation. The other meaning of holiness--the one that most people think of when they hear the word--refers to moral purity. In Leviticus, that kind of holiness comes from obeying the rules and laws that God has given to the people. Of course, when it comes to holiness, God is the standard of moral purity. A good passage to summarize the theme of holiness is Leviticus 11:44-45, in which God tells the people to be holy because God is holy.

The Breadth of Subjects Covered by Leviticus. In today's church, there is a tendency on the part of believers to restrict the Christian faith to activities at the church and to times spent alone, perhaps in private devotions. If we take Leviticus and its meaning seriously, we cannot restrict our faith to portions of our lives; our faith must affect all of what we do. Here is a partial list of the subjects covered in Leviticus:

Offerings: To express praise to God, fellowship with God, or acknowledgment of sin. We may not be called to animal and vegetable offerings, but the reasons for the offerings are just as relevant to us as they were to the Israelites.

Prohibitions against Certain Foods: Whether for health reasons or to separate themselves from other cultures that may have used the foods in worship to their gods, the Israelites are forbidden to eat certain foods. If nothing else, we can see that being God's people involves even the things we eat.

Ordination of a Priesthood: God provides mediators to facilitate God to humans and humans to God conversations. We have people called to full time ministry to help us deal with the spiritual issues of life. We also have Jesus as the mediator.

Diseases: The people are told how to handle some highly infectious diseases in order to protect themselves and to keep the Israelite camp (where God dwells) clean. In our day of rampant HIV/AIDS, isn't that something good to keep in mind?

A Special Day to Deal with Sin: A person might unknowingly commit sins. The Day of Atonement provides a way to cover over those sins and ward off God's wrath. Today, we don't need a special day to deal with sin; we have One who has dealt with it in one sacrifice and helps us to deal with overcoming the sins that still hinder our fellowship with God.

Unlawful Sexual Relations: Leviticus lists relations that are not permitted to God's people, because they are not natural relations. They are listed and they are listed specifically.

A Provision for Rest: In an era where people worked seven days a week, God provided a day of rest and said, in effect, trust me to provide what you will need on that day. When you expand that concept, you understand that God is calling us to be trusting people every day.

A Recognition that Everything Belongs to God: There are offerings and sacrifices which indicate that everything that the Israelites have (including newly born children and animals) comes from God and belongs to God. Our own relationship with God becomes much clearer when we understand our dependence on God for all that we are and have.

Christians believe that these laws were meant for the Jews, not for non-Jews. However, if you look at them carefully, you will see that if we take the spirit of the laws seriously, there is a broad application of them to our lives as Christians in the 21st century. We, too, are called to be holy as we serve a holy God. We don't observe the feasts and obey the rules in order to have fellowship with God. We have all that and much more through Jesus Christ who is "God with us."