Leviticus Series

Leviticus reveals the path to HOLINESS?

Leviticus

Key Words: Holy is used 77 times and implied over 150 times in this book.

Key Phrases: I am the Lord, 48 times, Unto (before) the Lord, 135 times.

Outline of Book:

Chapters 1-16 The way to God – Is thru holiness

Chapters 1-7 By sacrifice

Chapters 8-9 By priestly consecration

Chapter 10 By avoiding priestly violations

Chapter 11-15 By observing purification laws

Chapter 16 By annual atonement

Chapters 17-27 – The way of fellowship with God – It is through holiness

Chapters 17-22 By separation from sin

Chapter 23 By observing religious festivals

Chapter 24 By obedience in worship and true reverence

Chapter 25-26 By observing the sabbatical year and Jubilee

Chapter 27 By keeping vows and paying tithes

(Above from Unger, page 87)

Introduction of the Book:

Leviticus has to do with how we interact with God and fellowship with Him – so in essence it’s focus on worship – authentic worship which is only achieved through holiness.

Leviticus reveals that sin is what separates us from God – called un-holiness – it will always push us away from God and therefore it will cause us to lose our relationship with God and our communion with Him.

Leviticus explains and unveils the holiness of God and why man is apart from Him. It gives instruction on how to fill this void between man and God on a temporary basis. This is achieved through the sacrifices set forth in this instructional book to man from God. The book paints a picture of how redemption will happen for mankind with God.

Morgan states, “the holiness of God shines like a white, fearful light upon the whole book.” (151).

Thesis: Because God is Holy, we must be holy and understand that He gave us holiness and we need to hold onto this gift from God which came through sacrifice.

Text:

Lev. 19:2 (key verse of book)

2 "Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: `Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.

Lev. 20: 7,8

7 "`Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the LORD your God. 8 Keep my decrees and follow them. I am the LORD, who makes you holy.

Lev. 22:9

9 "The priests are to keep my requirements so that they do not become guilty and die for treating them with contempt. I am the LORD, who makes them holy.

Lev. 22:32

32 Do not profane my holy name. I must be acknowledged as holy by the Israelites. I am the LORD, who makes you holy.

Introduction:

The word holy is used 77 times in Leviticus and implied over 150 times. Morgan states, "The holiness of God shines like a white, fearful light upon the whole book." (51)

Leviticus explains and unveils the holiness of God and why man is apart from Him. Yet, it gives instruction on how to become acceptable to God and therefore, holy.

In Leviticus 19:2 Moses introduces this passage by quoting God: “Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.” For most Christians, “holiness” is a rather mystical and somewhat puzzling term. We’re willing to be holy, but we don’t quite know what holiness is. We know that God is holy. We realize that we are to be holy, as He is. But how are we to be like Him? The laws in Leviticus 19 are an expression of God’s holy character. If we want an insight into the nature of holiness, all we need to do is to meditate on some of these verses, and consider what they tell us about God.

Leviticus explains and unveils the holiness of God and why man is separated from God. He is unholy. But it also gives instruction to mankind on how to repair the separation of God and sinful individuals. In Leviticus it is repaired with a sacrifice to God, which in turn brings temporary relief and gives that person a position of holiness before God. The New Testament itself tells us how to repair the separation between sinful mankind and God. It’s by buying into the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. When we turn our life over to Jesus we then receive a new standing in the presence of God called holiness.

The surrender of a living creature was a major factor in nearly every kind of sacrificial ritual of the Old Testament.

T.S.- Lets look at the 5 sacrifices spoken of in Leviticus.

I. The Historical Background of the sacrifices for God in the O.T..

a. The five sacrifices described in Lev. 1-7:27

i. The Whole Burnt Offering – Lev. 1, called in Hebrew OLAH, “That which goes up”. In the LXX it is called the “Holocaust.”

1. We will talk more about this one in a moment.