What Is The Book Of Leviticus About? A Bible Study

What is the Book of Leviticus all about? Why is it still important to the Christian today?

The Book of the Leviticus

This book, more than any other book in the Bible, is about the holiness of God.   There is no equal and even though it’s in the Old Testament, God is always concerned that His holiness is known. Most people, unfortunately, skip this book but there is such amazing and powerful symbolism about Christ and His atoning work on Calvary in the Book of Leviticus.  As the name suggests, it has much to do with the Levitical Priesthood. Written by Moses (probably between 1440-1400 B.C) it gives exact specifications for the duties and requirements for the priesthood, it points forward or looks ahead at the cross of Christ and how God requires the need for sacrifice for the sin. It is a guidebook about holy living, teaching, and worship. This book also shows us the significance of worshiping God in truth and in spirit.

The Holiness of God

As I wrote before, this book speaks more about the holiness of God than any other book in the Bible and mentions holiness 152 times. If there was one verse that encapsulates this entire book it would be Leviticus 19:2 which says “I am the Lord your God. I am holy, so you must be holy.” Part of knowing about the holiness of God is that sin is costly and it results in the necessity of the shedding of blood. Animal sacrifices pointed toward Jesus Christ Who alone can take away sins, not just cover them as was the case in the Old Testament. These sacrifices had to be repeated time and again but with Christ, one supreme sacrifice was sufficient for all time and efficient for all people. Hebrews 9:22 makes it clear that “under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.”

Reasons for Holiness

Part of the reason for this book was to keep Israel pure and living in holiness before God as Hebrews 12:14 says “Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” Many of the pagan nations surrounding Israel were doing abominable things such as sacrificing children (including infants) as a live sacrifice in the fire! This explains why Moses wrote that “Any Israelite or any alien living in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech must be put to death. The people of the community are to stone him. I will set my face against that man and I will cut him off from his people; for by giving his children to Molech he has defiled my sanctuary and profaned my holy name. If the people of the community close their eyes when that man gives one of his children to Molech and they fail to put him to death, I will set my face against that man and his family and will cut off from their people both him and all who follow him in prostituting themselves to Molech” (Leviticus 20:1-5). The historical facts are that many of the ancient, pagan religions also practiced animal sacrifices but they also made human sacrifices and in particular, sacrificed children in the fire which is about as detestable and utterly cruel as one can even imagine. These were practiced by the Inca’s, Aztecs, the Moabites (in the Middle East), the Phoenicians, and many other places around the world but were strictly forbidden by the laws of God (Leviticus 18:21, 20:3).

Reasons of Mercy

God has always been concerned with the poor like the widows and orphans and this was covered in Leviticus 19:9 which says “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest.” The reason for this is further expounded in Leviticus 23:22 “And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, nor shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.” Furthermore God was concerned for those who were estranged from their land and from their people as we read in Leviticus 19:34 “You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.”

Reasons of Justice

God is a righteous Judge and always rules without regard to social status and the Book of Leviticus gave great emphasis on having a righteous judicial system for the nation of Israel as we read in Leviticus 19:15 which says “You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor.” God is no respecter of persons and He expects us to not be a respecter of persons either. This extends into the New Testament as well as Paul writes “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:28). God is always concerned with justice.

Conclusion

The Book of Leviticus points forward to the work of Christ and focuses on the holy requirements of the priesthood (Lev 8-10), of the believers life (Lev 11-15), of practical, day-to-day applications of holiness (Lev 17-33), and the conditions for receiving God’s blessings or His curses (Lev 26-27). If you desire to learn more about the holiness of God then spend sometime in the Book of Leviticus and see just how holy God is and how He expects us to live lives that are holy and pleasing to Him, for without holiness “no one will see the Lord” (Heb 12:14b) and there is only one way to see the Lord (Acts 4:12) and here is how you achieve that holiness that God expects; “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2^nd Cor 5:21).

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Blind Chance or Intelligent Design available on Amazon.