8 “‘Count off seven sabbath years—seven times seven years—so that the seven sabbath years amount to a period of forty-nine years. 9 Then have the trumpet sounded everywhere on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement sound the trumpet throughout your land. 10 Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you; each of you is to return to your family property and... Read more

Leviticus 23 offers a list of seven different sacred assemblies the Israelites were to follow. They included the Sabbath, Passover, Offering of the Firstfruits, Festival of Weeks, Festival of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and Festival of Tabernacles. Why were these days set apart as sacred? To worship the Lord. In our modern world, holidays are considered a time to rest or celebrate. Yet the word “holiday” originally referred to a holy day. The Catholic Church set apart several days as... Read more

The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron and his sons to treat with respect the sacred offerings the Israelites consecrate to me, so they will not profane my holy name. I am the Lord.” -Leviticus 22:1-2 God is holy. So is his name. Everything associated with the Lord is holy, or set apart. A major reason behind the lists of rules in Leviticus was to teach the Israelites the holiness of God. Christians are no longer bound by this law,... Read more

The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them…” -Leviticus 21:1 Spiritual leaders face tougher standards. Jewish priests could marry, but only certain women. They could eat only certain foods. They had rules for their speech, their hair, and even their clothing. Nothing was unimportant. This principle of higher standards for those who represent God endures today. We may not be priests, but if we follow Christ, we represent him to others.... Read more

“You are to be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own.” -Leviticus 20:26 The reason for God’s many laws in Leviticus is clearly given in Leviticus 20:26: “You are to be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own.” Israel was to be set apart form the nations. They were to... Read more

“Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.” -Leviticus 19:1 The opening words of Leviticus 19 express the heart of the chapter: “Be holy because I, the Lord you God, am holy.” His holiness is the reason we are to crave holiness. We follow his principles to be more like him. Why? Because he alone is perfect. If God was unholy or imperfect in some way, we might have an excuse to follow someone or something else. But... Read more

“Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the nations that I am going to drive out before you became defiled.” -Leviticus 18:24 Leviticus 18 is one of those chapters you can use the grab the attention of a guy who shows zero interest in the Bible. Just start reading the chapter out loud among a group of men and watch the attention level change. Most people cannot even believe the words are actually in... Read more

“This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: Atonement is to be made once a year for all the sins of the Israelites.” -Leviticus 16:32 Leviticus 16 is dedicated to details related to the Jewish Day of Atonement. Once each year, on the seventh day of the tenth month, a sacrifice was made on behalf of the people of the Lord. Why? From their vantage point, they realized they were sinners in need of forgiveness. Atonement was a ceremony... Read more