Week 9: Leviticus 1 – 10 and Psalms 57 – 63
As we make our way into Leviticus, I want to first acknowledge that you are not alone if these passages feel very foreign or archaic to you as a modern reader of the Bible and New Testament Christian. The rules and regulations for holy living as laid out in the book of Leviticus feel so distant from us because of what Jesus accomplished on our behalf. The whole book of Hebrews, along with many other New Testament passages, reveal how Christ fulfilled all of the laws that governed the sacrifices and ceremonies, the priesthood and the requirements for cleanliness. Because of Him, His sacrifice and atoning priesthood are ever present in the Heavenly tabernacle, in the very presence of God, on our behalf. The atonement for our sin has been made, once for all, and the rituals of Leviticus are no longer required for us to experience the blessings of God. Take a look at this beautiful passage:
“For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer Himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then He would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.” Hebrews 9:24-26
The detailed procedures of Leviticus do deserve our careful attention because of what they reveal about the sufficiency of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. A close examination of what was required to make atonement for the sins of God’s people lends such depth, breadth and beauty to our appreciation and understanding of Jesus’ ministry to us. The book of Leviticus is meant to impact us, leaving an impression on our hearts and our devotion toward God, just as it was meant to do for its original audience.
As I mentioned in a previous post, Peter, my little boy was running into some kindergarten level “learning and growing” opportunities at school. With a couple of visits to the principal’s office, he has begun to realize for himself that choosing respect and obedience work out much better in the end than the alternative!
Peter’s teacher provides a monthly calendar with a star that marks each day that the student was respectful of the classroom and playground rules. If there was an infraction of any sort, there is a hand written note, rather than the star, on the particular day that it occurred. To help motivate Peter to turn from the trending occurrences of notes, we told him that he would be rewarded for receiving a star for each day of a whole month.
February was shaping up to be a great month for Peter. He had made it to the last week on the February calendar and there was not a single note from the teacher! He was thinking about the coming reward and could hardly sleep in the anticipation of it! He was so proud of himself, as were Tyson and I. He explained to us that he loved the feeling of not having to go to the principal’s office and deal with the subsequent consequences. Victory was near, and he could taste it!
But then…defeat. February 25th, with just three days left to go, he got off the bus and had a sheepish smile that always alerts me that something is not quite right in his world. I gave him a big hug and asked how his day was. He said he’d had a good day. And then I asked him, “Did you get a star on your calendar today?!” His head fell; his little shoulders slumped. “No,” he said, “I got a note.”
My heart sunk like a ton of bricks. He was so disappointed. “Oh, Petey,” I said, as I wrapped him in my arms, “I’m so sorry.” He hung heavy in my embrace as the confession of his defeat made the disappointment all the more real. After a good long hug, we walked inside. As I followed behind him, I watched his little hand wipe tears away from his eyes, his head still hung.
My boy felt the consequences of his disobedience that day because it cost him something. The reward for his clean record was so close, which made the loss of it that much more painful. Of course, this little life lesson opened the door to all kinds of Gospel conversations, but the aspect I want to hone in on is how the cost of Peter’s disobedience impacted him.
The book of Leviticus reveals the cost of sin to God’s people. This perhaps falls flat on us, having never been witness to the tedious rituals presented in Leviticus. The sacrificial system was personally taxing. The animals that were slaughtered on behalf of the people were precious possessions to them, both economically and affectionately. It was a bloody, gruesome process that would not leave a person unscathed.
God had given them the Law in Exodus, laying out His clear expectations for what it meant to be His set apart people. It did not take long for the Law to begin exposing the sin and disobedience of the people’s hearts. As God laid out the cost that sin would bear on His people in Leviticus, there was a shift in the way the people of Israel responded to Him.
In Leviticus 9, God told Moses to instruct the people to bring offerings to Him and prepare for Him to appear to them (9:3-6). It is reminiscent of Exodus 19 when God told Moses to instruct the people to consecrate themselves and prepare for Him to appear on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people (Exodus 19:10-11). In Exodus 20, the response of the people once they had seen the glory of God on Mount Sinai was to draw away in fear (20:18-21). But the people respond differently to God’s glory in Leviticus 9 as they are gathered around the tabernacle. In both cases, God shows Himself as a consuming fire, in smoke and flame. In Exodus, they draw back and ultimately turn to the golden calf, a much safer and manageable “god.” It was clear that they did not yet understanding God and His heart for them. As God revealed Himself in Leviticus, the people worshiped and fell on their faces at the same consuming fire of God’s glory. What was the difference?
Was it that they had begun to understand what sin costs? Had the weight of their sin begun to sink in as they brought their animals to the priests to be slaughtered. In seeing the shed blood and the exchange of an innocent life for their own, perhaps the mercy and the kindness of God became more evident to them.
Just as with the Israelites, when we do not face our guilt and the penalty for it, His mercy gets lost on us. We too, pull away from God and begin to justify our sinful behaviors that manifest in all sorts of ways. When we turn aside to our own “golden calves,” is it not that we too misunderstand who God is and His heart for us?
By His grace, the Holy Spirit does the work of opening our blind eyes to see all of the ways we have fallen short of keeping His perfect law. Simultaneously, we are met with more grace than we could have ever imagined as we see that Jesus has paid the full penalty of all of it. With our sin laid bare in the light of His grace, worship of Him is our natural and heartfelt response.
Just as my Peter found comfort in my reassuring embrace as he realized what his disobedience had cost him, we can find even greater comfort in the arms of Christ, spread open on the cross, welcoming us to be washed in His outpouring of grace for us. As the Holy Spirit reminds us of the cost of our sin that has been paid in full, may we find ourselves face to the ground in awe of His amazing grace towards us.