Author: Moses
Date: ca. 1,400 BC
Contents
Leviticus was the handbook for the priest of ancient Israel. Much attention is paid to the rules for:
- Sacrifice,
- Ritual cleansing,
- Ordinations,
- Celebrate,
- Celebrations.
Rules are also given that are not directly related to the religious institutions, but to daily life. In fact, these rules mean that all life is dominated by religion. Everything you do, even outside of worship, is an interpretation of your relationship with God. You should not divide life into the sacred and unholy categories, where only the sacred parts of life have to do with God.
God sees you as one whole and cares about your whole life:
- Work,
- Prayer,
- Relationships,
- Creativity,
- Family.
The book of Leviticus bears witness to this thought. The fact that the rules were formulated for an old, agrarian society does not mean that they are of no value to us today. Many rules will have practically little reference to present life. But those who look at the basic idea of the precepts will see that they are just as valid as they were in the time of Moses. These rules are very current. The rules of sexual purity (Leviticus 15:1-33) emphasize the sanctity of sexual intercourse and warn against free sexual intercourse. Nowadays almost everyone will agree that such a rule is necessary.
Theological Themes
The themes of the book of Leviticus are well worth a closer look.
Theme 1 is the holiness of God and His desire that His people be holy. Your whole life is dominated by this practical sanctification.
Theme 2 is your whole life belongs to God. Never think that you can leave God out of your action. He is interested in everything you do.
Theme 3 is atoning for your sins and being reconciled with God. The sacrifices God instituted made the Atonement visible and refer to the last great sacrifice of Christ Jesus. The blood of the sacrificial animals cannot completely take away sin. The blood of Christ Jesus does.
Theme 4 you have to live both vertically (GOD) and horizontally (fellow man). Your relationship with God and other people is equally important. You love your neighbor as yourself (Leviticus 19:18). Christ Jesus attaches as much importance to this commandment as to the commandment to love God with all our heart (Matthew 22:37-40). Your devotion to GOD is a total attitude to life. The book of Leviticus showed the people of Israel at that time how to live a sanctified life before God. And that applies to everyone.
Main features
- Sacrifice Settings (1:1-7:38),
- The Priesthood and the Tabernacle (8:1-10:20),
- Rules for everyday life (11:1-15:33),
- The Day of Atonement (16:1-34),
- Sanctification of life (17:1-22:33),
- Feasts, celebrations and other rules (23:1-27:34).
