Ah, Leviticus. Probably the single most ignored book in the Bible. While there are other books that people avoid more than Leviticus (I'm looking at you Song of Songs), it is mainly because we don't know what to do with them. Leviticus isn't avoided because we don't know what to do, it's because too often we think that Leviticus isn't worth our time.
Have you ever heard this phrase, "the canon within the canon?" Well the Bible is what we know as the canon of Scripture; meaning that the sixty six books of the Bible are universally recognized by Christians to be the divinely inspired Word of God. This places these sixty six book above all other documents. So the canon within the canon is the idea that certain books of the Bible are more important than others.
While you may not have heard the phrase "the canon within the canon," you have probably encountered the idea that some books of the Bible are more important than others. The most common form of this is the idea that the New Testament is more important than the Old Testament. How many of you have ever heard this in churches? Another way this idea presents itself is how much time you spend on certain books. If a church only studies the letters of Paul or the Gospels, the message being sent is that these books are more important than the others.
Leviticus may not be the only casualty of this type of thinking, but it is perhaps the biggest one. The idea of having a "canon within the canon" only works if the Bible's primary job is to give moral instruction. As we have established in earlier blog posts, this is simply not the case. The Bible's main focus is on revealing God to man. Every piece of Scripture works towards this goal, even Leviticus. This makes Leviticus just as important to study as Genesis, Matthew, Romans, and everything else.
Background
Like Genesis and Exodus before it, Leviticus was written by Moses. Also like the prior two books, Leviticus was written while the Israelites were camped at Mt. Sinai. Leviticus actually states this flat out, as the last verse in the book states "These are the commandments that YHWH commanded Moses for the people of Israel on Mt. Sinai." (Lev. 27:34)
The book of Leviticus is really a continuation of the book of Exodus. The last half of Exodus focuses on the rules for the tabernacle (or tent of meeting), the place among Israel where God's presence shall rest. Exodus ends with this dwelling being constructed and God's glory entering in. Leviticus picks up right after this.
One of the primary reasons that Leviticus is hard to read is the fact that this book is a book of laws. There really isn't much narrative going on in the book. This is God dictating the Law and Moses writing it down. This format doesn't really make for an exciting read. The other big reason is our confusion over what the Law is (which will be the subject for next week).
The name of the book, Leviticus, once again comes from the Greek translation of the Old Testament. Leviticus means "concerning the Levites." This name was chosen because a good portion of the book deals with specific rules for the levitcal priesthood. The Hebrew name of the book comes from the very first words of the book. Leviticus' Hebrew name is "YHWH said to Moses." Fitting, if I do say so myself.
Themes
One nice thing about the book of Leviticus is that there is one major theme for the whole book; holiness. The whole book is devoted to teaching Israel, both the priests and common folk, what it means to live with a holy God. Leviticus 19:1-2 sums it up, "And YHWH spoke to Moses saying 'Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I YHWH your God am holy.'"
Theological Point
God is holy. This is far and away one of the most important things that the Bible teaches us about who God is. According to Scripture, holiness is one of the essential attributes of God. The people of God are called to be holy. So what does that mean?
Holiness is traditionally defined as being "set apart." While good this definition isn't quite clear enough. The idea of being "set apart" has led to many churches believing that Christians shouldn't have anything to do with the outside world. Which of course makes obeying the commands of Christ rather difficult. I seek to propose a more accurate definition of holiness based on what the Bible teaches.
To be holy is to be set apart from sin. God alone is holy because God alone has not been in any way deformed, broken, or changed by sin. Society, the cosmos, and us as individuals have been changed by sin. We have been broken and deformed. How then can we expect to become holy? God makes us holy. God washes away the taint of our sin via the blood of Jesus. God fills us with HIS holiness, which we in turn reflect out to the world.
Let me be clear; set apart from sin does NOT mean unaffected by sin. Though we as Christians are made holy by God and therefore the taint of our sin is removed, the effects of sin remain. We still live in a broken world. God IS affected by our sin! The Bible, in no uncertain terms, shows us that sin makes God angry. Sin makes God grieve. Jesus lived a life untainted by sin; a holy life. Yet Jesus was affected by sin. After all he suffered and died for our sins!
Being holy doesn't mean that we don't get angry at the injustices around us. It doesn't mean that we don't grieve when we lose those we love. Being holy means being able to reflect the character of God because the Holy Spirit, through the power of Jesus' cross, has washed the corruption of sin away.
Conclusion
The whole book of Leviticus is focused on holy living. It taught the people of Israel to focus on God in every aspect of their lives. Today it teaches us what living a holy life looks like. It shows us how God wants us to treat others. It shows us how to put the welfare of the less fortunate ahead of our own. Leviticus shows us the grace and character of our holy God.
Comments
Post a Comment