Leviticus Series

March 20, 2021

My Favorite Thing About Leviticus is also a theme = Holiness

In Exodus 19:5-6 we read: “Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, 6 you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a HOLY nation.' These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites."

The call for Israel to be holy is tied directly to 2 things: God is holy and they are His people = THEREFORE they are to be holy too.

It was God who took the initiative; HE was the One who went to Moses when it was time to put the rescue mission into action. HE was the One who sustained Israel. HE was the One who wanted to get as close to them as possible and HE was the One who gave Moses the blueprint of the Sanctuary in order to do just that.

• Exodus 25:8-9 - And let them construct a sanctuary for Me, that I may dwell among them. 9 "According to all that I am going to show you, as the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furniture, just so you shall construct it.

However, un-holy humans cannot get all that close to a HOLY God, so God also took the initiative by providing a way for that to happen ---- the result is Leviticus, which is saturated with the concept of holiness. Therefore, at its core, Leviticus tells us what holiness looks like.

It begins with the sacrificial system. Unholy, sinful humanity, who has no ability to cleanse itself, is cleansed and declared righteous ONLY through the death of an innocent creature. This process is described in Leviticus 1-7.

However, this system is not an end in and of itself. It points to a grander and more far-reaching truth – the voluntary sacrifice of Jesus that will bring unholy man back into relationship with holy God.

In Leviticus 8, the whole process of consecration for Aaron and his sons, was to set them apart {make them holy} for service to God.

Forbidding Aaron and his sons to drink intoxicating beverages was tied directly to their ability to discern between the holy and unholy / clean and unclean and to their responsibility to teach the people {10:8-11}

Chapter 11, introduces the 2nd section of Leviticus. What is brought out here is the reality that holiness from God’s perspective does not end in the spiritual realm, i.e., the priesthood or things directly related to the Tabernacle – Holiness should be seen in everyday life – beginning with what you put in your body {The theme is carried on through Ch. 15}:

• Leviticus 11:45-47 - For I am the Lord who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God; thus you shall be holy, for I am holy. This is the law regarding the animal, and the bird, and every living thing that moves in the waters, and everything that swarms on the earth, to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean, and between the edible creature and the creature which is not to be eaten.

In Ch. 18, before God outlined the next set of regulations, He answered the “why” question:

• Leviticus 18:1-4 - Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 "Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, 'I am the LORD your God. 3 'You shall not do what is done in the land of Egypt where you lived, nor are you to do what is done in the land of Canaan where I am bringing you; you shall not walk in their statutes. 4 'You are to perform My judgments and keep My statutes, to live in accord with them; I am the LORD your God.

I am the Lord your God.

I want you to be different from the culture you came from as well as the cultures where you are going.

I am the Lord your God.

The Laws are continued in Ch. 19 - 20 and to make sure there is no doubt as to the foundation of these Laws, God tells Moses: Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. {Leviticus 19:2}

• Don’t tattoo yourselves.

• Don’t force your daughters into prostitution.

• Keep the Sabbath.

• Don’t consult with mediums.

• Honor your elders.

• Don’t mistreat the stranger living in your land.

• Be honest in your business dealings.

• Do not tolerate idol worship or the consultation of mediums….

Why?

• Leviticus 20:7 - be holy, for I am the Lord your God.