Lessons from Leviticus
Hello Church,
I was reading the book of Leviticus for my daily readings and I have to confess that I’m never very excited about reading this book like I would be about Genesis or Psalms or Romans. Yet, this third book of Moses’ Law is rich with spiritual truths. Here are some things I picked up from chapters 4-5:
1. Unintentional sins are still sins that are counted against us. There are periods during our Christian lives when we become aware that a behaviour, attitude, or thought is a sin in the eyes of God. It might be holding bitter feelings toward someone, or you unknowingly gossiped about someone, or you neglected to care for the poor, or you realize that your heart had become hard to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. These are unintentional sins, or sins of which we were unaware, or sins that we had not intended to commit, but ended up breaking God’s law. We must not think that because we didn’t know they were sins, that we are not responsible for them.
2. Atonement had to be made for all sins. When a person became aware that they had sinned, he or she had to bring a female goat or a lamb as a sin offering. For ceremonial violations, they had to bring a female lamb or goat. If they couldn’t afford a lamb, then they needed two doves or pigeons. If they couldn’t afford the birds, then they had to bring about 1.6kg of the finest flour.
Imagine with me how much the moral aspect of life was interwoven into the community. Coming across a person walking along a path with a lamb or goat pulled along on a rope, going toward the tabernacle must have been a very common sight. Would people have asked, “What sin did you commit this time?” I don’t know. Dealing with sin was not only a private affair, it was also very public. There was no hiding the fact that you had sinned when you were carrying a heavy bag of wheat on the way to the tabernacle. Hundreds of people, every day, must have walked this journey. Isn’t that the same today? When we park our cars at church and walk into the building, aren’t we also going to church to deal with our sins? That’s true for each of us. It doesn’t need to be said.
For the sinner, sinning was a costly affair. It cost you the life of your animal or a sizeable portion of your grain. We can deceive ourselves into thinking that sin is free, that there is no cost to sinning, or that there are no consequences, but this is far from the truth. Sin always requires payment. Paul must have had this sacrificial system in mind when he wrote, “For the wages of sin is death.” Sin requires a life. For us today, it will either be our life or the life of our Saviour.
Also, for the sinner, giving the offering was a matter of his conscience. Most sins are private and few are public. Ceremonial violations were also largely private affairs. It would have been easy to just pretend that it didn’t happen or to brush it off. In most cases, it was up to the conscience of the individual to be truthful about his sin before God. Once he knew that he had sinned, he had to go to the animal pen, the bird cage, or the grain bin. He had to look over his inventory and select an animal, tie a rope around its neck and walk it to the tabernacle. If the person was poor, he had to go to the basket of grain, and start grinding, milling the seeds until it became the finest flour. How long would that have taken? What would have gone through his head as he was preparing this offering?
3. The priests must have been really busy. Day after day they served as mediators between God and the people, they cared for the affairs of the tabernacle/temple, they offered all the sacrifices for themselves and the rest of the Israelites, helping them to make atonement for their sins. No wonder an entire tribe was devoted to all the affairs of the temple. Can you imagine, in our society, if one out of twelve men of working age worked for the church? That’s what it would have been like.
When we get to the New Testament, we come across John the Baptist when he first saw Jesus exclaiming, “Behold, the lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world!” Then the book of Hebrews informs us about Jesus saying,
(Hebrews 7:27) Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself.
and
(Hebrews 9:12) He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.
When you’re reading Leviticus, look to how every chapter, the entire book, points to Jesus. Praise be to Jesus, our sacrificial lamb, our sin sacrifice, once and for all, so we could receive eternal redemption.
Soli Deo Gloria
Pastor Peter
