Background and Context of Leviticus
The book of Leviticus is an interesting one because it is primarily categorized in the legal literary genre. However, it is a book placed right in the middle of a narrative telling of the wilderness journey of the children of Israel. It also has a couple brief sections that break out of the legal genre and back into the narrative story. Being able to understand where Leviticus fits into the narrative, how it is outlined, and what connections it has to the gospel is imperative to interpreting it correctly and applying it to our lives thousands of years after the law was given.
The Sacrificial System - Leviticus 1-7
The ritual practices instituted through the sacrificial system was an important step in the children of Israel understanding the problem of their sin. Sin was a problem that affected their relationship with God and with other people. In order for those relationships to be restored and thrive, sin needed to be dealt with and taken seriously. The sacrificial system is what reminded them of this. What they may not have known at the time though, was that God was teaching them all about the sacrifice of the future Messiah, and how sacrifice truly was the only way to restore and thrive in relationship to God and others.
The Priesthood Instituted - Leviticus 8-10
The priesthood was put in place to teach the children of Israel that they also needed a go-between to mediate for them. Because of God’s holiness, not just anyone could come into His presence. God’s holiness is so pure that anything unclean in His presence will be destroyed. The only way anyone could go before the holy presence of God was to be made holy themselves. So God made a way for the priests to put on holiness to come into His presence and mediate for the people. However, some of the priestly family did not take this seriously, and upon entering God’s presence without being clean, they died. Again, they may not have known this yet, but God was teaching them of the ministry of Jesus, Our Great High Priest, who would make it possible for all people to become priests to God who were able to approach and dwell in His holy presence.
Laws for Ceremonial Purity - Leviticus 11-15
The ceremonial purity laws were put in place to set the children of Israel apart to God, and from the other nations around them. Many of these laws were not going to actually clean a person’s moral character. Jesus tells us in the New Testament that these kinds of laws were to teach a principle — that sin is pervasive. And as they kept ceremonially pure, they would worship their God in purity, unlike the pagan nations.
The Day of Atonement - Leviticus 16-17
This special day is the pinnacle of the Levitical law! It is the very center of the law, and it is one of the clearest pictures of Jesus and the gospel given in the law. This particular day of ceremony shows the seriousness of sin, the need of a substitutionary sacrifice, and the truth that salvation from our sin is only through faith in God’s provision.
Laws of Moral Purity - Leviticus 18-20
The purity laws in this section speak more to the actual moral practices of the people of God. Many of these actually still apply to the people of God today (We explore that in this lesson). Through these laws, God was teaching His people how to be set apart to Him, and He outlined that there are natural consequences that come when His ways (which are the best ways) are not obeyed.
Expectations for the Priesthood - Leviticus 21-22
In this section, God outlines for the people the expectations of the priesthood. These expectations showed that those who minister on God’s behalf to His people have a huge responsibility that needs to be taken seriously! They are held to a higher standard and held to higher accountability. We ultimately see these expectations fulfilled in the person of Jesus, who alone could perfectly live up to this higher calling.
Feasts and Festivals - Leviticus 23-27
To close out the Levitical law, the people of Israel were given a calendar schedule of festivals and celebrations that were to be observed. Each and every one of them brought to remembrance the goodness of God in their past and rehearsed the ministry and fulfillment of Christ in the future. We are not under the law of following these ritual feasts. However, God has still given us remembrances and rehearsals to practice that recall His goodness to us in His provision of salvation and look to the future consummation of His promises.
We hope that this series overview of the book of Leviticus has been helpful to you in understanding the purpose of the law for both the people of Israel at the time and for us as God’s people today!
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