Leviticus Part Two: Deep Dive
THE CONSTITUTION OF ISRAEL AND THE AMAZING JESUS MOMENTS! | KATIE HALDANE
Imagine sitting down and reading the constitution of your nation, it would be so boring and seriously the only people that would do it are those who are interested in enforcing it! Webster dictionary defines the word constitution as ‘the basic principles and laws of a nation, state, or social group that determine the powers and duties of the government and guarantee certain rights to the people in it.’
Welcome to Leviticus, the constitutional Priestly law of the Hebrews. In the Biblical story, the Hebrews are now a nation. Genesis tells us how they were created and gives us the details of the founding fathers of the nation (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph). In Exodus over a 400-year period we go from a family of 70 to a ‘people’ of 400,000 that escape Egypt. We now find ourselves in Leviticus and are a vast people that need rules, regulations and boundaries.
Separated into five parts the book contains not just laws but some narrative also. One way to structure the book is into five parts as follows:
Sacrificial law (1-7)
Laws governing Priests (8-10)
Laws for Ceremonial Purity (11-16)
Laws Governing the People’s Holiness (17-26)
Religious Vows (27)
In the last section of Exodus and the book of Leviticus, God is setting up laws and regulations to govern the Hebrews and not only to govern their daily life but answering questions like; how do they relate to God (Yahweh), how do they worship, where do they worship, what morals do they have, what offerings do they need to bring, what foods can they eat? God needs to give them practical guidelines including how do they cope with skin diseases in the camp to remain pure or childbirth, what sexual relations are permitted, what are not, what do the priests do, what festivals do we celebrate and finally what are the rewards for obedience and what punishment is there for obedience.
Luke did such a great job in the last Deep Dive going through some themes that you are going to find in the text. So, I thought in this Deep Dive we could tempt you with some facts about the sacrifices and festivals in Leviticus to give you the starting point to continue in your studies.
SACRIFICES:
There are five sacrifices found in the Leviticus; they include burnt offerings (Lev 1; 6-8-13, 8:18-21; 16:24), grain offerings (Lev 2; 6:14-23), fellowship offerings (Lev 3; 7:11-34), sin offerings (Lev 4:1-5:13; 6:24-30; 8:14-17; 16:3-22) and guilt offerings (Lev 5:14-6:7; 7:1-6). They all did different things and included different elements so as you read them try and notice the differences. Some were voluntary, some mandatory atonement. Some were purely for devotion to God and some included confession of sins. Here is a table that shows you all the different elements and purpose for each to help you in your study.
JESUS MOMENT: Now a great way to understand Leviticus is to read it with Jesus glasses on. So how do I read the sacrifices, I read it understanding how Jesus fulfilled them all. And a great book that shows you how Jesus fufills everything in the Old Testament is the book of Hebrews. So jump into Hebrew 10 to understand that Jesus is our ‘once and for all sacrifice’ as you journey through Leviticus.
FESTIVALS:
The great things about learning the festivals as you read Leviticus, is that it will transform the way you read the gospels and the New Testament. The festivals are significant moments in the life of Israel and point forward to Jesus. The festivals are found in Leviticus 23 and an expansion of the festivals are also found in Numbers 28-29. In Israel and in the world of the Ancient Near East, festivals commemorated events relating to different gods. There were numerous festivals that celebrated the god of a nation bringing in the new season or their supremacy over other gods.
Israel had festivals that celebrated and remembered all that Yahweh had done and his supremacy over the harvest and seasons. Here is a list of the festivals, where they are found in Leviticus and their corresponding mention in the New Testament to ignite your study.
Sabbath: Lev 23:3, celebrated every 7th day to bring rest for people and animals. Found in the NT Mt 12:1-14, Lk 4:16, Jn 5:9-10, Heb 4:1-11.
Sabbath Year: Lev 25:1-7, celebrated every 7th year to bring rest to the land.
Year of Jubilee: Lev 25:8-55, 27:17-24, celebrated every 50th year to cancel debts, free slaves, and return the land to the original owners.
Passover: Lev 23:5, Numbers 9:1-14, 28:16, celebrated the 1st month of Aviv 14 to remember Israel’s deliverance from Egypt. Found in the NT Mt 26:17, Mk 14:12-26, Heb 11:28.
Unleavened Bread: Lev 23:6-8, Numbers 28:17-25, celebrated 1st month of Aviv 15 to remember how the Lord brought the Israelites out of Egypt in haste. Found in the NT in Mk 14:1, Ac 12:3 and 1 Cor 5:6-8.
First-fruits: Lev 23:9-14, celebrated in the 1st month of Aviv 16 to recognise God’s bounty in the land. Found in the NT in Rom 8:23 and 1 Cor 15:20-23.
Pentecost: Ex 23, Lev 23:15-21 and Numbers 28:26-31, celebrated 3rd month Sivan 6, to show joy and thankfulness for God’s blessing of the harvest. Found in the NT in Acts 2:1-4, 20:16, 1 Corinthians 16:8.
Day of Atonement: Lev 16, 23:26-32; Numbers 29:7-11, celebrated 7th month 10, to atone for the sins of the priests and people and purify the Holy Place. Found in the NT in Rom 3:24-26, Heb 9:7, 10:3, 19-22.
Booths: Lev 23:33-43 and Numbers 29:12-34, celebrated 7th month 15-21, this one-week celebration of the harvest, living in temporary booths or shelters to remember the journey from Egypt to Canaan. Found in the NT in John 7:2 and 7:37.
A book that I would recommend that helps you study the Jewish Festivals and how they relate to Jesus is ‘Messiah in the Feasts of Israel’ by Sam Nadler. He shows how the seven annual appointed times found in Leviticus 23 begin to unfold in springtime. He states “The first three times – Passover, Unleavened Bread and Firstfruits – illustrate the redemption accomplished in Yeshua’s (Jesus’) first coming. The fourth, Pentecost, speaks of ‘the Body of the Messiah’ being established in the earth. In the fall, at the seventh month of the biblical year, we observe Trumpets, the Day of Atonement and Booths. These focus our attention on the period of time yet to come, the consummation of God’s redemptive program.” (Nadler, page 5). It is a really amazing read and a great perspective to take into account.
JESUS MOMENT: If you want to know what Jesus thinks about the Festivals read the Gospel of John. Where Jesus stands up at each Festival and pronounces the ‘I am’ declarations to fulfill them. Check out the TYB article for more help on this. There are so many more Jesus moments in Leviticus – check out Matthew 8:1-4 as you read about the unclean skin defilement in Leviticus 14. Check out Acts 10 when Peter argues with God on what to eat when you read Chapter 11: Clean and unclean food.
Can you see how important getting through Leviticus is to understand the New Testament better. So keep going – it will be worth it in the end!