The Book Of Leviticus

Sacrifices, Purity, and the Holiness of God

The Book Of Leviticus
The Book Of Leviticus

Sacrifice is at the heart of all true worship. It serves

as the consecrating ritual for participation in the
holy rites, it forms the appropriate tribute due to the
LORD, and it represents the proper spiritual
attitude of the worshiper.
---Alan Ross, Holiness To The Lord
The Book Of Leviticus
●
The sacrificial system is broken into two parts
– Sweet Aroma---those made in communion and in
celebration of communion
●
Burnt offerings (1)
●
Meal offerings (2)
●
Peace offerings (3)
– Non-sweet Aroma---those made for communion
●
Purification offerings (4)
●
Reparation offering (5)
The Book Of Leviticus
●
Sacrifices of Sweet Aroma
– The sacrifices were given as acts of love, devotion,
and consecration
– They were given to the LORD at varying times and
with other sacrifices
●
At worship services
●
During tithes and first fruits
●
Dedication services (i.e. Priest)
●
Anytime the worshiper felt the need
– They were given when a benefit from the covenant
was received
The Book Of Leviticus
●
Sacrifices of Non-sweet Aromas
– Also known as Expiatory Offerings
– Two common types of expiatory offerings
●
Purification offering
– Was brought for any defilement or any violation against God or
humans, as long as the offense had not been premeditated
●
Reparation offering
– Used for those sins that were premeditated
– Restitution had to be made---the person desiring to make things
right
– Purpose of both offerings was to make atonement for
sins, so that union with God could be restored
The Book Of Leviticus
●
Burnt Offerings
– It is the only offering in which God receives the
complete offering
– It's not normally the first offering made by the
worshiper, but the most frequent offering
●
It was made in the morning and the evening
●
It was made at each feast
– It was the basic offering made when a worshiper
desired to draw near to God
– It emphasized the essential aspect of the sacrificial
ritual
The Book Of Leviticus
●
Burnt Offerings (continued)
– The procedure of the offering (aspects will occur in
other offerings)
●
Carefully selecting the right animal
●
Placing the hand on the animal's head (transfer of sin)
●
Shedding of blood
●
Burning of the animal
●
Theological meaning of the offering
– No one can approach a holy God w/o a
substitutionary animal making atonement
– Life is in the blood
The Book Of Leviticus
●
Theological Meaning (continued)
– Sacrifice was pleasing to God
●
Meal Offering
– The meal offering was an acknowledgment that
everything belongs to God
– Worshiper is giving a portion back to God for
blessing them
●
Theological Meaning
– The main emphasis of the meal offering should be
dedication to God.
The Book Of Leviticus
●
Theological Meaning (cont)
– That which was given to the Lord was without
corruption---their best was given to the Lord
●
Peace Offering
– It was a shared meal
– It was one of the offerings that the people would
look forward to
●
It was enjoyed by those who were in right relationship
with God
The Book Of Leviticus
●
Purification Offering
– God made provision for cleansing sin and its effects
in order that people might safely enter His presence
– It was absolutely necessary given the circumstances
of a sinful life
– This offering was for sins that were not premeditated
●
This offering shows that everything is tainted with sin
and must be dealt with in order to approach God
The Book Of Leviticus
●
Reparation Offering
– Sins that were premeditated
– An offering was needed in order to bring someone
back into a right relationship with god
●
The worshiper made a sacrifice
●
The worshiper made things right with the offended
– The major point
●
God has made provision for every person to find
atonement for sin, no matter what their economic position
●
This chapter also introduces the requirement of confession
The Book Of Leviticus
●
Providing Access to God (6-7)
– God commands to keep the fire burning
●
Why does God make this command?
●
The Priesthood (8-10)
– The consecration of the priest
●
Moses is commanded to perform
– The First priestly sacrifice
●
Moses no longer allowed to perform
– The Sin of Nadab and Abihu
The Book Of Leviticus
●
Introduction To The Laws Of Purification
– These chapters deal with the problem of defilement
●
Clean
●
Unclean
– These laws deal with major areas of life
●
Food (11)
●
Childbirth (12)
●
Skin diseases (13-14)
●
Bodily discharges
– This entire section is to prepare the reader for the
atonement (16)
The Book Of Leviticus
●
Day of Atonement (16)
●
Instructions for Holiness (17-26)
– Sanctity of the Blood (17)
●
Life is in the blood
●
To pour out blood is to pour out life
●
God is the giver of life and is the only one who has the
right to take life
– Sanctity of Intimacy
●
Not to have sexual relations with those outside of Israel
– By having relations with others, they would be giving into
idolatry
●
By indulging in such relations would expel one from the
land
The Book Of Leviticus
●
By indulging oneself in these practices they would be
breaking the covenant God made with them (Mosaic)
– Those who live according to God's commands will live long
– Those who live against God's commands will be judged
– Holiness through Love
●
Moses reiterates the Law once again
●
This chapter describes how the person is to live out a holy
life on a daily basis
– It happens through loving God and your neighbor
– Devout worship
– Honesty
– Integrity
– Justice
– Charity
The Book Of Leviticus
Links to the Ten Commandments can be
● seen below:
Ten Commandments Leviticus 19
●

– 1-2 – 19:4
– 3 – 19:12
– 4 – 19:3b
– 5 – 19:3a
– 6 – 19:16b
– 7 – 19:29
– 8 – 19:11a
– 9 – 19:16a
– 10 – 19:18
The Book Of Leviticus
– Divine Order in a Corrupt World
●
Moses encourages the people to avoid pagan religions and
practices
●
Specifically child sacrifices
– Sacrifices to the god of Molech
– Sacrifices to the god of Necronmancy
●
God will intervene if the community does not
– Holy Orders
●
Laws concerning priest
●
The standard for priests is much higher than for the
ordinary Israelite
The Book Of Leviticus
– Pleasing God in Worship (22:17-33)
●
God was to receive the best of the offerings
●
God was to receive the first of the offerings
– Feast of the Lord (23)
– Participating in Ministry (24:1-9)
●
Every single person had a responsibility to worship God
●
Each person had to contribute to the function of the
tabernacle
– Sanctifying His Name (24:10-23)
●
To blaspheme God's name will bring judgment
– Community Living (25)
– Blessings of God (26)
Feasts of the Lord
●
Passover
– Ex. 11
– Passover was a one day event
– To be observed on the 14th day of the Hebrew month
of Nisan
●
The Feast of Unleavened Bread
– It is a reminder of God's miraculous deliverance
from Egyptian bondage
– It was to represent the manna they ate in the
wilderness
●
Deuteronomy 16:3; Ex. 12:39
Feast of the Lord
– Began on the 15th day of Nisan
– Lasted 7 days
●
Sometimes referred to as
– The 8 days of Passover
– The eight days of Unleavened Bread (Luke. 22:1,7)
●
We are to live in purity before the Lord ( 1 Cor. 5:6-8)
●
Feast of First Fruits
– Marked the beginning of the cereal grain harvest
●
Barely was the first grain to ripen
●
Grain offering
– Represented the harvest as a whole
– It was a guarantee of things to come
Feast of the Lord
– It occurred on the 16th day of Nisan
●
Two days after Passover, during the feast of Unleavened
Bread
– It was seen as a time marker
●
The countdown to the Feast of Weeks
●
From the start of this feast there would be 49 days before
the beginning of the Feast of Weeks
– The term first fruits is mentioned 7 times in NT
●
It is always used in reference to a guarantee of things to
come (Rom. 8:23)
– Jesus raised from the dead on day of First Fruits
●
The beginning of the final harvest of Mankind
Feast of the Lord
●
Feast of Weeks
– Fifty days of harvest before the actual feast was to be
observed
●
There were fifty days before the coming of the Holy Spirit
(Pentecost)
●
It always fell on the Sabbath, and therefore no work was
allowed
●
Feast of Trumpets
– Occurs on 1st day of Tishri (Autumn)
– It is the only holiday that occurs on the 1st day
●
It is observed for two days
●
New moon
Feast of the Lord
– Represents a new year to be observed
– It was the sign for national repentance
●
A requirement for Jews to repent before the Messiah
comes
– Future fulfillment has to do with the second coming
of Christ
●
The “Day of the Lord” (Zeph. 1:14-16, Joel 2:31, Acts
2:20; Rev. 6:12-17)
●
The last trumpet will sound before Christ returns
●
Day of Atonement (Lev. 16)
●
Feast of Tabernacles
Feast of the Lord
●
Feast of Tabernacles
– It is the most joyous and celebrated of all the feasts
●
Celebrated God's past goodness
●
Celebrated God's current goodness
– It is mentioned more than any of the other feasts
– It was an annual reminder to the nation of Israel of
God's provision during their wilderness journey
– Occurred 15th day of Tishri
●
Five days after the Atonement
●
Last 7 days
Feasts of the Lord
– The Feast of Tabernacles represents the Millennial
Kingdom
●
The last days are referred to as the final harvest (Hosea
6:11; Joel 3:13; Mt. 13:39; Rev. 14:15)
●
Isaiah calls this period the “harvesting of olives” (Is.
24:13)
Conclusion
●
The Book of Leviticus teaches us about the
holiness of God
●
The book of Leviticus foreshadows Christ