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LEVITICUS - A Fresh Look At An Ancient Book

 

John R. Mitchell

 

Is Leviticus a rich resource for spiritual growth or a rusty relic to be tossed aside and ignored? Why should Christians be interested in this Old Testament book? It has been written and often stated that no single book in the Bible is less read than the Book of Leviticus. What is so interesting, however, is that the Book of Leviticus quotes the words of God more than any book in the Bible. For this reason, it can't be boring, for who among us would dare to call God boring, and therefore must surely be of value to Christians today. The challenge is to unlock this wonderful book in a way that allows one to see the value, the purpose and the blessings found on these sacred pages. Leviticus is God's picture book. When read, meditated upon and approached with intent to see spiritual ideas, Leviticus unlocks and portrays, in a picture format, many Christian principles taught in the New Testament. If the old saying is true that "a picture is worth a thousand words" then Leviticus should be a book all Christians eagerly read and study for it is certainly full of word pictures valuable to all.

 

John 1:29, "The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. "

 

John 1:29 describes Christ as "The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" and

 

Hebrews 9:22, "And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission."

 

Hebrews 9:22 states  the Bible principle that "without shedding of blood there is no remission." When asked, how does a Christian proceed to explain these wonderful and powerful truths? In the first five chapters of Leviticus, Moses, quoting the words of the Lord, paints beautiful pictures of these Biblical truths so clearly.

 

Under the Law, as seen in the fourth chapter of Leviticus, when a member of the community sinned unintentionally, he was commanded to bring as a sin offering a lamb without defect. This animal had to be perfect and without defect since it was typical of Christ who, although tempted in every way as we are, was without sin. The offerer then laid his hand on the lamb's head to signify the transfer of sin and guilt to the innocent lamb. The lamb was then slaughtered by the altar and thus became a substitution in death for the one presenting the sacrifice. Some of the blood was then applied to the horns of the altar and the remainder poured out at the base of the altar. Lastly, the fat, representing the best part of the lamb, was burned upon the altar as a pleasing aroma offered up in sacrifice to the Lord. Through this elaborate ceremony the offerer's sins were atoned for and he was forgiven.

 

As one contemplates Christ, the Lamb of God, shedding His blood upon the cross, this picture of the sin offering very much comes into view. Without spot or blemish, Christ in His sinless perfection became the Lamb offered as a substitution for all sinners.

 

I Peter 1:18-19, "18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, [as] silver and gold, from your vain conversation [received] by tradition from your fathers; 19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot."

 

As Peter says in I Peter 1:18-19, "Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." When we accept Christ, confess Him as our Lord and Savior and are baptized by immersion into His Name, Christ becomes the substitution in death for us, His precious blood is appropriated to us, our sins are atoned for , and we are forgiven all our sins. What a beautiful picture the sin offering paints of Christ, and His redemptive work as He offered Himself a sin offering for all! It is in the sin offering of Leviticus that one finds the words and pictures to explain Christ as the Lamb of God and atonement by His precious blood.

 

One of the best pictures in all of Scripture of us as sinners and the washing away of our sins in baptism is found in the thirteenth and fourteenth chapters. Found here are the regulations for the diagnosis of one who had leprosy and his subsequent cleansing. As one reads through this passage, the first thing noticed is that only the priest could examine and determine that one had a leprous sore and pronounce him unclean. So it is today. It is the living and powerful Word of God that convicts one of sin, shows him that he is unclean and pronounces him as a sinner. Next one sees that a leper was placed in isolation, without the joy of fellowship with the rest of the community, and forbidden from even approaching the tabernacle of God. The Law of Moses required the leper to cover his face and cry, "Unclean! Unclean!" and all the days he had the sore he was unclean and commanded to dwell alone, outside the camp. Again, it is the same today.

 

While we are still in our sins, we, too, are excluded from the body of Christ, dwelling alone outside the camp, without the joy of Christian fellowship. As one can easily see, this thirteenth chapter paints a picture of us as sinners - cursed and pronounced unclean by Christ the High Priest, separated from the clean and forbidden from entering into the presence of God.

 

As wonderfully as the thirteenth chapter shows us to be sinners, the fourteenth chapter paints perhaps the best picture in all of Scripture of baptism washing away our sins. The first thing noticed in chapter 14 is that there was no earthly cure for leprosy; the cure had to come from God and then, only the priest could pronounce the leper clean.

 

Isaiah 64:6, "But we are all as an unclean [thing], and all our righteousness [is] as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away."

 

The words of this passage show that man knows no cure for sin for, "all our righteousness is like filthy rags." Instead, our cleansing from sin comes from God alone. We are pronounced clean by Him following obedience to His divine commands. The first step in the cleansing and restoring of the leper to fellowship with God and man is the priest going outside the camp to meet and examine the leper. As in the parable of the prodigal son, God too comes and meets us. Then the priest offered two clean birds. The first was killed over fresh water, allowing the blood to run into and mix with the water. The live bird was then dipped into the water and blood, sprinkled seven times on the one to be cleansed and then released to fly away free into the heavens. This beautifully typifies Christ dying for our sins, rising from the dead and then ascending to God. Romans 6 teaches that it is in baptism that we are buried with Christ, cleansed from our sins and raised to walk in newness of life. One would be hard pressed to find a better picture in all of Scripture of a sinner being buried with Christ in baptism, cleansed by His atoning blood and raised to walk in newness of life than this passage in Leviticus 14. This picture of the leper's cleansing absolutely brings to life the following passage.

Hebrews 10:22, "Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water."

 

Pronounced clean by the priest and cleansed by the blood, the word pictures in this fourteenth chapter continues. The actions of the leper in returning to the camp demonstrates what is required of Christians as the Lord adds them to the Church and then they continue through the remainder of their Christian lives. As the leper was required to wash his clothes, shave off all his hair and wash himself in water in an effort to remove anything that could cause the leprosy to return, so we also must strive to remove anything in our lives that could cause the disease of sin to afflict and overtake us again. This is the picture the Hebrews writer had in mind when he wrote in:

Hebrews 12:1, "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset [us], and let us run with patience the race that is set before us."

 

One additional picture is painted with the leper's cleansing - faithfulness to the end. In the Bible the number seven conveys the idea of completeness and no leper could be pronounced clean in less than seven days, i.e. a complete period of time. As the leper was required to wait a complete period of time to be pronounced clean, so we must remain faithful to the end, our complete period of time, to be ultimately pronounced clean by God. As one prayerfully reads these thirteenth and fourteenth chapters, one can see clearly and vividly the Gospel as found in the teaching of the New Testament. Convicted of sin through the Word, pronounced clean by the High Priest, buried in baptism and cleansed by the blood of the innocent sacrifice, raised to walk in newness of life, laying aside of the sin that so easily ensnares, and living a life of faithfulness to the end. Leviticus - the Gospel in pictures.

 

Yet another picture is found in the twenty-first and twenty-second chapters. Here the Lord speaks to Moses and gives the exacting qualifications for His holy priesthood. Throughout these passages one idea is crystal clear, namely the Holiness of God and the purity and perfection of one who would minister and worship in His presence. As one proceeds through the verses of these chapters, one sees over and over the idea that anyone who would come and minister before the Lord must be free from immorality, must be ever conscious to avoid becoming defiled through contact with a dead body and must only take himself a wife who is a pure and moral woman. Now, we are a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own special people. If such demanding qualifications were placed on those who served under what Paul calls "the ministry of death" how much more sincere and reverent should the Christian attitude be as we approach God under what Paul calls "the ministry of righteousness?" We must strive earnestly to rid ourselves of worldly influences, to keep ourselves clean from the immorality around us, to walk care-fully to avoid becoming defiled by those who are spiritually dead and must keep the Word of the Lord ever before us so that our families are godly, always serving the Lord.

 

Chapter twenty-one concludes with a list of physical blemishes such as being blind, lame, disfigured or deformed, having festering or running sores, or any similar defect that would disqualify one from the Levitical priesthood. Without doubt the primary teaching of this passage was to show the perfection required of the high priest, typifying Christ's perfection as our High Priest. However, the spiritual application of this text is very enlightening, of great value and needs to be seen by all Christians today. As the royal priesthood, we too are not to be blind - but one with spiritual under-standing and fullest possible knowledge of the Word of God. Not lame - but one who walks as Jesus did, blameless and upright. Not disfigured or deformed - but one "who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." One without festering or running sores - without the internal corruption that leads to lives filled with bad fruit. When one reads the duties of the priest in Leviticus, and views the qualifications God demanded of those who would stand before Him, one can easily see the purity, holiness and reverence to which we must aspire as we offer ourselves as God's humble servants.

 

Through these examples, hopefully one can see that in the word pictures of Leviticus, rich and spiritual treasures can be found. Many precious truths taught in the New Testament are portrayed beautifully in the passages of this fantastic book. The truths of Christ as both Priest and Sacrificial Lamb, the declaring as unclean and subsequent cleansing of the sinner from his sins, the demands and qualifications of God's priesthood are all vividly and clearly painted before the eyes of the reader. These are but a few of the wonderful pictures found on the pages of Leviticus. For those who will with prayer and diligence take a fresh look at an ancient book, blessings beyond number are there for the taking.