Book 3 The Book Of Leviticus
Who wrote the book of Leviticus: Moses
When was Leviticus: Moses written: Between 1446 B.C. and 1406 B.C.
Why Was Leviticus: Moses Written:
To instruct the people of Israel on what it means to be holy, how to live under the direction and leadership of God, how to live a physically and spiritually clean life, to establish laws of the land, a judicial system, and how to approach God for the purpose of repentance and seeking forgiveness for sins.
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Key Events In Leviticus:
- God speaks to Moses—giving him ALL the laws pertaining to sacrifices, offerings, treating and preventing sickness and disease, hygiene, sex, food, and legal matters.
- A more detailed description of the priesthood is given
- God strikes Nadab and Abihu dead for disobeying him
The Law of Moses was given to the Israelites for a number of reasons: spiritual guidance, procedures for worship and atonement for sins, personal hygiene, safety, societal law, judiciary procedures, and the general good of the people.
The Mosaic Law, which was given to Moses by God on Mt. Sinai, is still being adhered to by Jews (Israelites) today. The extent to which it is followed, however, depends upon the sect of Judaism a person is associated with.
- Orthodox Jews follow the Law (called the Torah) to the extent that is humanly possible.
- Conservative Jews follow the Law very closely but have allowed themselves to let go of those laws that no longer apply to modern society. For example, the laws pertaining to the uncleanliness of a woman following childbirth. A woman is not considered dirty or unclean.
- Reform Jews are much more lenient or liberal in their adherence to the Law. They follow the law with a more philosophical approach; meaning the Law is viewed more as a guide than a rule book. For example, pork and other forbidden foods in the Law are not off-limits with Reform Jews because they can now be eaten safely due to modern processing practices.
To help you understand just how thorough and detailed the Law is, we are going to look at some of the basic laws God gave his people in a number of different ‘categories’. We will also look at why God gave the people the laws he gave them.
In looking at the Law of Moses it is important to remember that everything God says and does is perfect and in accordance with his perfect plan.
Jesus himself was raised in a home that adhered strictly to Jewish Law. But at the onset of his ministry, he made it clear that his purpose was to bring fulfillment to the Law. No longer would the system of sacrifices and burnt offerings be necessary.
Jesus would be the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. So while Jesus’ death on the cross took away the need for us to follow the Law of Moses, much of the law is repeated in the New Testament; making it relevant and valid for us today.
As Jesus said, he didn’t come to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it. Our purpose, therefore, is also to fulfill the Law of Moses by living obediently to the laws and teachings of Jesus.
God speaks to Moses—giving him ALL the laws pertaining to sacrifices, offerings, treating and preventing sickness and disease, hygiene, sex, food, and legal matters.
Rather than discuss the Law, let’s look at portions of the Law. As you read through this partial list, think about the relevance and practicality of each one—the physical, moral, and social ramifications of adherence or disobedience to them.
The laws for sacrifice are given first in the book of Leviticus. This is only right since God expected and accepted nothing less than being number one in the lives of his people. The laws of sacrifice were meant to make the people contrite and penitent.
The laws of sacrifice were also meant to humble them; causing them to realize how completely inadequate they were without God’s divine protection and provision.
The Five Offerings Of Sacrifice Were:
Burnt Offering: A voluntary act of worship, atonement for unintentional sin, and an expression of commitment and complete surrender to God. A bull, ram, or male dove with no defect were the acceptable burnt offering sacrifices.
Grain Offering: A voluntary act of worship recognizing God’s goodness and provision. Grain, fine flour, olive oil, incense, baked bread, or wafers were offered. No yeast or honey was allowed to be a part of anything baked that was given as a grain offering. Drink offerings of wine were also included in the grain offerings from time to time.
Fellowship Offering: A voluntary act of worship, thanksgiving, and fellowship. Any animal without defect from a herd or flock or a variety of bread was used in the fellowship offering.
Sin offering: This was a mandatory offering that served as atonement for specific unintentional sins. It was an offering of confession, forgiveness, and cleansing from being defiled. The animal used for a sin-offering sacrifice depended upon who you were.
The priests were required to sacrifice a young bull. Leaders of families offered a male goat, the common person offered a female goat, and the poor offered either a dove or a tithe (a tenth of a portion) of fine flour.
Sacrificial Offerings had to be presented in a very precise and detailed manner. The offerings of sacrifice were also a means of providing food to the priests and their families. For example, portions of the grain offerings were burned on the altar as an offering to God, and portions were given to the priests and their families to eat.
This only makes sense due to the fact that the priests were not allowed to farm or make a living any other way, so this was God’s way of providing for them—much like we support missionaries and pay our preachers today.
Clean And Unclean Foods were a priority with God when giving his people laws to live by. God commanded the people to eat only animals with split hooves AND that chewed their cuds and fish that had fins and scales.
Animals the Israelites were allowed to eat include cows, sheep, and most fish. The Israelites could also eat insects with jointed legs that hopped—locusts, grasshoppers, and crickets, for example. The foods God allowed the Israelites to eat were clean foods. Anything else was considered unclean.
God wasn’t ‘playing favorites’ when selecting the foods suitable for consumption. All of God’s creation is precious to him and every single living thing serves useful purposes. The distinctions between clean and unclean animals were given for the safety of the people.
Clean animals are animals that don’t consume waste or carcasses—both of which harbor bacteria that would be dangerous for human consumption. To eat unclean animals would have been the same as eating meat infected with listeria, e-coli, or other life-threatening bacteria.
Laws about infectious diseases, childbirth, mold and mildew, and discharges from the body were instituted for the health and safety of everyone.
Infectious skin diseases such as ringworm, yeast infections, thrush, scabies, lice, and rashes from toxic plants were a problem for the people of Israel just like they are for us today. The people of Israel, however, didn’t have antibiotics, anti-itch creams, or steroids like cortisone to help get rid of these things.
People dealing with any of these things were removed from the general population for a period of time. They also went through a ritual of bathing and shaving their heads (if appropriate), their clothes were washed or burned, and they had to present themselves to the priest for examination in order to be declared clean so they could return to their families.
Once a person was pronounced clean, they had to offer sacrifices to God as a final step to returning to their families.
Mold, which is a fungus, causes breathing problems, rashes, headaches, and nausea, and sometimes leads to chronic and more serious health issues.
Once the item had been isolated the priests were to clean it in a specific manner and set it aside to see if the mold would die. If so, the garment could be returned to the owner after a period of time that served to ensure the mold would not return. If, however, the mold could not be cleaned from the garment, the garment was burned.
The original Hebrew text uses the word ‘leprosy’ instead of mold. Leprosy, we know, is an incurable disease of the skin that is highly contagious and even more feared. So the fact that the original text refers to mold as leprous is quite telling of the severity of the problem.
Discharges from the body were also considered unclean. The discharges included blood following childbirth and a woman’s monthly period, semen, puss from sores, and bleeding from cuts.
The uncleanliness attached to these functions was a method God used to instill practices of good hygiene in his people more than anything else. In the instance of childbirth, the required time of removal from normal duties allowed the mother to heal and rest her body—something she would not have done or been allowed to do in Egypt.
Laws about sex are of great importance to God. God went into explicit detail concerning unlawful sexual activities.
His attention to detail tells us two very important things:
God has clear and definite intentions for sex.
As you look at some of the laws regarding sex God gave the Israelites, it is obvious that God’s intention is that sex is between a husband and wife (male and female) only.
- Do not have sexual relations with your mother.
- Do not have sexual relations with your son’s daughter.
- Do not have sexual relations with your father’s sister.
- Do not have sexual relations with your brother’s wife.
- Do not have sexual relations with both a woman and her daughter.
- Do not have sexual relations with your neighbor’s wife.
- Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable.
- Do not have sexual relations with an animal and defile yourself with it.
- A woman must not present herself to an animal to have sexual relations with it; that is a perversion.
Societal laws are an absolute must in order for people to co-exist. As our creator, God knows this. As you read through some of the societal laws God gave the Israelites, consider how these same laws (or variances of them) keep our society in check still today:
- Do not steal.
- Do not defraud your neighbor or rob him.
- Do not hold back the wages of a hired man overnight.
- Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.
- Do not hate your brother in your heart.
- Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself.
- Do not mate with different kinds of animals.
- Do not practice divination or sorcery.
- Do not cut your bodies or put tattoo marks on yourselves.
- Rise in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly, and revere your God. I am the LORD your God.
Because God created the universe, he knows that if not treated with care and respect, it will not be able to ‘live up to its potential’. In order to guard against this, he commanded that every seventh year would be a Sabbath year.
During the Sabbath year, the land was to lie dormant—no crops were to be planted or harvested, the vineyards were not to be pruned, and so forth. They were to use whatever the land produced on its own during that year. They were to have faith that God would provide for their needs while giving their land the rest it needed.
In similar fashion, God established the Year of Jubilee for the Israelites. The Year of Jubilee also happened every fiftieth year. In that year all debts were canceled, the land was returned to its original owner, and slaves were returned to their families.
This ensured that no Israelite would ever be forever enslaved or without their inheritance. The Year of Jubilee was also a Sabbath Year, so the people lived on what was naturally produced by the land.
If you will remember, just prior to leaving Egypt, God commanded the Israelites to prepare and eat the first Passover Meal in preparation for leaving and in commemoration and celebration of being spared from the death angel passing over the houses of the Egyptians.
When God gave Moses the instructions for the Passover, he told Moses that the Passover was to be eaten and celebrated every year at that same time—and it is. Jews and Christians around the world celebrate the Exodus from Egypt this way even still today.
Feasts and holidays were also included in the giving of the Mosaic Law. In addition to the Passover, God also instituted other feasts and holidays to be celebrated by the Israelites each year.
- The feast of unleavened bread follows the celebration of the Passover. It is a seven-day period in which no bread made with yeast is to be eaten, fire offerings were to be made to the LORD, and the people gathered for a time of worship.
- The Offering of the Firstfruits was a feast to celebrate the harvest. The first grain harvested, along with a lamb and fine flour was to be offered to the LORD as a burnt offering.
- The Feast of Weeks followed fifty days after the Offering of First fruits. This feast included burnt offerings of rams or bulls as well as grain offerings. This feast also included a time of worship and feasting for the people.
- The Feast of Trumpets was celebrated on the first day of the seventh month. The people gathered together in worship, blasted trumpets, and presented an offering of fire to the LORD.
- The Day of Atonement took place on the tenth day of the seventh month. This was a day of fasting from everything. It was a day of complete denial of all food, water, and activity as a show of complete dependence on God.
- Shortly after the Day of Atonement came a seven-day celebration called the Feast of the Tabernacles. Day one of the celebration included a worship service. Burnt offerings were made on all seven days, and the final day was a day of worship much like the first.
God is a loving and just (fair) God. In addition to the sacrifices God required for unintentional sins, there were also promises of reward for keeping the Law as well as punishments for breaking the law.
The most frequent punishments included being cut off from the people, cut off from God, or the death penalty. Restitution in the way of repayment in the value of what was taken was also required when appropriate.
As for the blessings or rewards for their obedience, God promised many things. Let’s look at what he said in Leviticus 26:3-13 to see what those promises were…
“If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands, I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees of the field their fruit. Your threshing will continue until the grape harvest and the grape harvest will continue until planting, and you will eat all the food you want and live in safety on your land.
I will grant peace in the land, and you will lie down and no one will make you afraid. I will remove savage beasts from the land, and the sword will not pass through your country. You will pursue your enemies, and they will fall by the sword before you.
Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you. I will look on you with favor and make you fruitful and increase your numbers, and I will keep my covenant with you.
You will still be eating last year’s harvest when you will have to move it out to make room for the new. I will put my dwelling place among you, and I will not abhor you. I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people.
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.”
Those are some amazing promises made by the amazing and almighty God. Isn’t it a shame Israel was too stubborn and prideful to submit? Oh, what a life they would have had if only…
A More Detailed Description Of The Priesthood Is Given
The eighth and ninth chapters of Leviticus outline details of the priests’ duties, the shares of sacrifices they are entitled to, and the need for the priests to be completely devoted to the LORD and to honoring the Law.
The symbolism between the priesthood and their job as a mediator between the people and God and that of Jesus as a mediator between us and God is obvious to those who know who Jesus is and what he did while here on earth. Jesus is now our ‘high priest’.
God Strikes Nadab And Abihu Dead For Disobeying Him
Shortly after the establishment of the Law and the priesthood, Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, who were also serving in the priesthood, disobeyed God. And as a result, God killed them. The reason God killed Nadab and Abihu was, in a word, DISOBEDIENCE.
Many people read the account of their death in Leviticus 10 and wonder why God reacted so severely. It was just fire with incense. Right? No, not right.
In the Hebrew text the ‘unauthorized fire’ is ‘strange fire’; meaning it was not offered at the request or command of God. It was not part of any offering God had instituted and was not offered in the way God had commanded the priests to take this sort of action.
In breaking so many of the rules God had set into place, Nadab and Abihu demonstrated a severe lack of respect and disregard for God and for the position of leadership they had been placed in.
God could not tolerate their lack of obedience because they were to set an example for everyone else. If God allowed these two to be so blatantly disobedient, the rest of Israel would feel free to bend whatever rules they wanted to bend…or break.
As we know from prior incidents (the golden calf) and many more to come, the Israelites did not need any encouragement to disobey God. So in some ways, God made an example out of these two wayward priests. The deaths of Nadab and Abihu were God’s way of reiterating his holiness and his insistence on complete obedience and faithfulness to him.
The final chapter of Leviticus is subtitled “Redeeming what is the LORD’S” in Bibles that have subtitles within each book.
This final section of the Law reveals what was to be done when they made commitments to God to dedicate themselves or their children to God or dedicate extra crops or livestock as offerings of thanksgiving, God declares that the monetary value he places on these things must be given as an offering.
This is worth noting because, in conclusion to the Law, God gives the people one final reminder that they are his people and all that they have is from him.