Fascinating Leviticus

As part of our Bible Reading in a Year project, we are finishing the book of Leviticus today. Leviticus is Probably the least appreciated book of the Bible for many Christians, with its account of sacrifices, laws, and rites that can seem so foreign to us today, if not completely incomprehensible. But Leviticus is a fascinating book, a window into the spiritual life of God's people before the coming of Christ; it allows us to see the rigorous efforts made to maintain a certain purity and to be able to deal with a holy God.

Indeed, this book is about the quest for holiness. The phrase 'be holy for I am holy' recurs like a refrain in key passages. This is the key to understanding this book, where the root of the word 'holiness' recurs more than 150 times. Mind-blowing! After the fall, God found a man through whom he could raise up a people who would be a holy people, separate from the chaos and disorder that existed in the wicked and idolatrous world around them. Israel represented a microcosm, humanity under the rule of God, through whom God would come to humanity in the Person of the Messiah.

Lessons abound in Leviticus:

• The many sacrifices were for purification and atonement; and prefigure the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus.

• The laws were intended to limit man's natural tendency toward wickedness; to contain rather than eliminate the evil inclinations of the human heart; to regulate conduct in a context where wickedness is omnipresent, before the sacrifice of Jesus which would bring about a new man, a new heart.

• The festivals reflected the importance and primacy of worship offered to God; the order and proper conduct necessary in God's service. The level of detail is breathtaking, all in its importance. Obviously God has His own ideas about how He wants to be served, which contrasts sharply with the tendency of many in our time to live their Christian lives in their own way. Yet love for God cannot be used as an excuse to neglect His laws.

• Purity, sexual or otherwise, is of fundamental importance; the same goes for human relationships and the treatment of one's neighbor.

• And to top it all off, God's abundant faithfulness and constant willingness to forgive.

These laws may seem to us at times strict or permissive; however, we know that for the most part they are no longer in force under the new covenant. What was true for Israel is now true for all humanity after Christ; the means change but the end remains unchanged. Now every man can approach God and experience His holiness; all men can now be considered and treated as brothers to the extent that Christ has opened the way for us all to enter into the family of God.

Yes, Christ; reading Leviticus, one cannot but celebrate Jesus. Indeed, how can one not marvel at the extraordinary way in which, in one masterful stroke, He succeeded in fulfilling all the requirements of the Law, bequeathing to all a legacy of faith by putting an end to rigid observance of the Law while drawing our hearts to worship with passion. In this, the entire Old Testament, and more particularly this book, is the story of Jesus. And when we see Christ in Leviticus, we cannot help but end up loving this book. Ah, this Jesus...