Introduction

LEVITICUS
Lesson #01
INTRODUCTION

• The book of Leviticus is part of the Law given to Moses. The first five books of the Bible are called books of Law, but the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy are the specific books of the Mosaic Law (the Law given to Moses).
• Because this book of Leviticus has so many details regarding the Law, and the intricate detail can get boring, many people do not like this book and for that it is not studied very often.
• That is unfortunate because it contains one of God’s major themes and God’s marvelous plan for all of human history.
• I am going to attempt to make this book one of your favorites as it is mine.
• The Name of the Book:

• The name Leviticus is not the original name in the Hebrew. The Hebrew Scripture calls this book by the first words of the book, vayick-rah and it is translated, “He called”.
• Those that are called by God in the New Testament are the believers.
• The word “church” ekklesia means “called out ones”.
• The name Leviticus comes from the name Levi and refers to the priesthood from the tribe of Levi. It was given this name when the Hebrew manuscript was translated into Greek in the Septuagint version.
• The Old Testament books are numbered according to the Hebrew alphabet. Therefore Leviticus has the logo of the third Hebrew letter “gimel”. This letter has the meaning of nourishment. It represents the Holy Trinity’s lovingkindness to nourish the spiritual man by teaching him holiness.
• Historical Background:

• In the book of Exodus, we find the Israelites miraculously delivered from slavery and bondage in Egypt under the leadership of Moses.
• Ten weeks after leaving Egypt, the Israelites arrived at Mt. Sinai where God gave them the Law of Moses.
• The covenant of Law given to Moses contained three elements:
• =1= Commandments expressing the righteous will of God based on the moral character of God.
• =2= Judgments governing the social life of Israel.
• =3= Ordinances governing religious life and worship.
• This part of the Law of ordinances contained the details for building the Tabernacle, and the place for worship.
• This part of the Law contained the principles and the details of religious life and worship.
• The book of Leviticus is that part of the Law concerned with religious life and worship.
• The book of Leviticus covers 1 month of time at Mt. Sinai.
• Spiritual Perspective:

• There is a unique perspective that we do not see in any English or Spanish translation of the Bible. If we could read Hebrew, we would easily be able to see it, if we knew what to look for.
• In the books of Genesis and Exodus:
• The fiftieth letter of the Hebrew text is the first letter of the word TORAH.
• The next fiftieth letter of the Hebrew text is the second letter of the word TORAH.
• The next fiftieth letter of the Hebrew text is the third letter of the word TORAH.
• The next fiftieth letter of the Hebrew text is the fourth letter of the word TORAH.
• The next fiftieth letter of the Hebrew text is the fifth letter of the word TORAH.
• The word Torah means law.
• In the books of Numbers and Deuteronomy this phenomenon occurs backwards. Instead of spelling the word TORAH forwards every fiftieth letter, these two books spell TORAH backwards every 49th letter.
• In the book of Leviticus the pattern is different. Counting forward every eighth letter spells the name of God, YHWH.
• Therefore, we have a unique pattern to the Law (the first five books of the Bible).
• Genesis > Exodus > Leviticus < Numbers < Deuteronomy
• TORAH > TORAH > YHWH < HAROT < HAROT (Torah backwards).
• The Law of Genesis and Exodus points forward to God (YHWH) .
• The Law of Numbers and Deuteronomy point backwards to God (YHWH = Jehovah).
• God is called by various names in the Bible. The name Jehovah is the covenant name for God.
• God seeks to have a personal relationship with man and accomplishes that relationship by means of a covenant.
• Therefore the book of Leviticus is the center of the Law just as the God, Jehovah, should be the center of our worship.
• The Author:

• The first five books of the Bible (the Torah) were written by Moses. That includes the book of Leviticus.
• We must remember that Moses grew up in the palace of the Pharaoh of Egypt and received his education there.
• Despite this high level of pagan education, the principles and details of the Law in Scripture do not reflect Egyptian culture.
• The worship of God that we see in the book of Leviticus is uniquely Hebrew and specifically inspired by the Holy Spirit.
• Frequent Words:

• It is always interesting to notice the most frequent words in a book of the Bible because they give us a clue to the major themes of the book.
• The frequent words in the book of Leviticus are:
• Priest
• Blood
• Sacrifice
• Offering
• Atonement (45 times). It means = to cover up by paying a price.
• These words tell us that this book is about the worship by means of animal sacrifice conducted by the priesthood in the Tabernacle and later in the Temple.
• In the Old Testament, sins were not forgiven. They were covered up by the blood of animals waiting for the coming of Christ to remove them permanently by His blood sacrifice.
• The most frequent words are:
• Holy and Holiness.
• These occur more than 150 times in the book.
• This thought of holiness occurs in a key verse and is repeated in three chapters in the book.
• The Key Verse: “Ye shall be holy for I am holy.”
• (Lev 11:44-45 Lev 19:2 Lev 20:7, 26)
• Themes:

• The major theme is: “Worship for a Redeemed People”
• Worship for the Old Testament believer contained a lot of animal sacrifice and a lot of ritual.
• Worship for us today is like what we find it in Joh 4:23 when Jesus said to the woman at the well, “ye shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth.”
• This theme of worship is exemplified in the concept of holiness.
• We need to define the word “holy”.
• The secular dictionary definition: having a spiritually pure quality; sacred or divine.
• The Biblical dictionary definition: the integrity of moral character; freedom from sin; sanctity (set apart); moral goodness.
• In the definition of the word holy, notice that the secular definition has nothing to say about sin.
• We are going to see in the book of Leviticus, God talks a lot about the awfulness of sin. The more we see the awfulness of sin, the more we can understand God’s holiness because the two are in direct contrast.
• In this New Testament age we have the concept that worship is something we do only on Sunday in a specific building. In both the Old Testament and the New Testament, worship refers to one’s lifestyle. It is everything that we do, everything we think, and everything we say.
• Read Rom 12:1
• The word “service” is the same word as worship.
• Therefore, how we live the Christian life is our worship.
• There are various aspects of holiness that we will consider in this book:
• =1= God is a Holy God.
• It is because God’s basic nature is one of holiness that none can approach God.
• It is impossible for sinful man to contemplate and fully understand the degree of holiness that makes up God’s nature.
• In this age of grace, we concentrate on God’s love. However central to God’s love is holiness.
• Read 1Joh 1:5
• John uses the word “light” to refer to God’s holiness.
• Just as a bright light chases away the darkness of sin, the holiness of God is directly opposite the darkness of Satan.
• Read 1Joh 4:8, 16
• John tells us that a person who does not live in the experience of love does not know God, because God is love.
• John tells us that God’s love is in the believer and extends outward to others.
• Read 1Joh 2:10
• John puts light and love together to show us the relationship between love and holiness.
• Love and holiness are perfectly balanced in God’s character and in his dealings with man.
• God’s holiness is an active characteristic. That active characteristic is love.
• God gave His people a holy Law:
• In that holy Law God designates what is right and what is wrong.
• In that holy Law God designates what is clean and what is unclean.
• These comparative words show us the contrast between holiness and sinfulness.
• Read Isa 17:7
• No other god has claimed to be holy. Pagan gods and idols are not holy.
• Isaiah uses this phrase “Holy One of Israel” thirty times for the God, Jehovah.
• =2= God requires a Holy Priesthood.
• The priests came from the tribe of Levi and were called by God to lead the people in the worship of a Holy God.
• Only those Levites descended from Aaron became priests. The rest of the Levites were to assist the priests in caring for the Tabernacle and later the Temple.
• The priests were to be set apart only for the service of God.
• To exemplify holiness, the priests were to wear special clothes and to perform specific ordinances of washing with water.
• Only a holy priesthood could approach the altar of a Holy God.
• The holy requirements of the priesthood simply point to the holiness of God.
• In this New Testament age of Grace, God has called believers in Jesus Christ to be a holy nation, a royal priesthood. (1Pet 2:9)
• What many New Testament believers do not consider seriously in this calling is the call to holiness.
• This is the purpose of our study of the book of Leviticus, to awaken in the New Testament believer God’s call to holiness.
• =3= God Desires a Holy People.
• Everything in the life of an Old Testament Jew was either: holy (set apart for God’s use) or common, clean or unclean, lawful or unlawful, right or wrong.
• God provided a system of cleansing from sin in order to restore a person that failed to live a holy life.
• The system of cleansing involved water, oil, and animal blood.
• The system of cleansing involved specific rituals.
• All of these specific details have spiritual meanings in the book of Leviticus and point to Jesus Christ.
• To Christ’s holiness as God without sin.
• To Christ’s redemption of a sinful people by means of His blood.
• Holiness in God’s people is an advertisement to the unbeliever of a Holy God. Therefore, holiness in believers glorifies God.
• In this New Testament age, the church is God’s holy people.
• Some of the worst evils to come into this world have been brought by an unholy church.
• =4= God Established a Holy Land.
• A Holy God chose a Holy People to live in a Holy Land.
• The Promised Land was given to the Jews, but they were to be careful not to defile the land.
• In Lev 18-27 the word “land” is used 68 times. Moses tells the people that certain sins defiled the land.
• In this New Testament age we do not usually think about sin defiling the land.
• However, in this age of environmental concerns it may be well to consider this aspect of sin.
• God established a holy agricultural calendar to care for the land and to produce blessing and provision for His people.
• =5= God Planned for a Holy Savior
• Read Heb 10:1
• This verse tells us that the Law was a shadow of things to come.
• With this verse in mind, we will study the book of Leviticus and see Jesus in every chapter.
• There are some aspects of the book of Leviticus that are prophetic.
• The types or prefigures point prophetically to Jesus Christ.
• The sacrifices and actions point prophetically to Jesus Christ.
• In a prophetic way, God’s holy agricultural calendar gives us God’s holy plan for all of human history. This prophetic calendar relates to the first and the second comings of Jesus Christ.
• Contrasts:

• We can see great contrasts between Exodus and Leviticus.

Exodus	Leviticus
God offers pardon.	God offers purity.
We see God’s approach to man	We see man’s approach to God
Christ is the Savior	Christ is the Sanctifier.
Man’s guilt is prominent	Man’s defilement is prominent.
God speaks out of the mountain.	God speaks out of the Tabernacle.
Man is made near to God.	Man is kept near to God.

• Outline of the Book of Leviticus:
• =1= Sacrifices and Jesus Christ (1-7)
• =2= The Priesthood (8-10)
• =3= Cleanliness and Godliness (11-12)
• =4= Physical and Spiritual Health (13-15)
• =5= Day of Atonement (16)
• =6= Practical Aspects of Holiness (17-20)
• =7= Holiness and Spiritual Leadership (21-22)
• =8= God’s Calendar (23)
• =9= Three Holy Things (24)
• =10= God’s Holy Land (25)
• =11= The Conditional “If” (26-27)
• Sources for our Study:

• Leviticus

by J. Vernon McGee

• Be Holy

by Warren W. Wiersbe

• The Gospel in the Feasts of Israel

by Victor Bukseazen

• The American Dictionary of the English Language

– 1828 edition by Noah Webster

• The Greatest Book on Dispensational Truth in the World

by Clarence Larkin

• The Mystery of the Menorah

by J. R Church and Gary Stearman

• The Study of Types

by Ada R. Habershon

• Margin notes by C.I. Scofield.

HOMEWORK
Leviticus 1
This is a self-study. Please do not send homework answers to the teacher forcorrection.

• Application:
• Based on the fact that a Holy God wants a close personal relationship with you, you must decide how close a relationship you want that to be. Choose a number to reflect your desire.

1 2 3                                 4 5 6 7                                8 9 10

NOT SO CLOSE         CLOSE                         VERY CLOSE

• Preparation for Lev 1
• Read Lev 1:1-17
• What animals were acceptable to God?
• Why these animals?
• Memory Verse: Ephesians 5:2