Leviticus 27 Devotional
by Pastor Mark Hudson
We have read every chapter of Leviticus and some of you have read the devotions for every chapter. Here is an attempt to remind you of some of the themes we have considered. A word or phrase will start each paragraph. Each topic is worth a book-sized treatment.
Orderliness. Organization, even precision. This is something we see throughout Scripture. God brings order out of chaos. God is orderly, organized, and detail oriented. During the Exodus, the tribes camped in their section around the tabernacle (Numbers 2:1ff). The tent of meeting and all that was in it was made to God’s specifications. Aaron and his sons only wore and did what God said (Lev 8-10). The sacrifices were not come as you are, do whatever you want. God’s people were instructed how to make these sacrifices (Lev. 1-6:7). God is a precise God as the Puritans imagined. The organization and planning some think is antithetical to the Spirit is just part of who God is.
The pattern of authority is God speaking to Moses, Moses speaking (and writing) to the people or Aaron and his sons. The authority of God is front and center. The obedience of Moses follows after. This pattern is seen throughout the Bible (I Thes 2:4; Gal 2:7). We believe God spoke to His prophets, disciples, and apostles. Not always with verbal speech but as they wrote the Bible, those words were breathed out by God (II Tim 3:16) and we must be faithful messengers to repeat His Word to the world and His body, the church ( Acts 20:27; Jer. 26:2; Ez. 33:80
The presence of God was and is the pinnacle of the covenant (Ex 33:15,16). The Israelites were told why or if the presence of God would ever leave them (Dt. 28:15ff). Through Moses, the Jews were being instructed what not to do to anger God and then what to do if His presence did depart. The visible presence of God is a precious part of being a believer (Lev. 9:23-24; Josh 1:5; Heb. 13:5).
The priesthood is another dominant part of the book called Leviticus (in English) pertaining to the Levities or and He called in Hebrew). Only those from the tribe of Levi could be priests. One could not volunteer for the job if you were from another tribe. The priest, as it were, had his back to the people facing God. A prophet had his back to God facing the people. This book teaches us much about sacrifices, God’s role in the forgiving of sins in sacrifices, and who could do what in worship.
The priesthood and how Christ relates is a fascinating bit of theology combining Old and New Testaments. Only the men from the tribe of Levi could become priests. Yet Hebrews makes it clear that the Lion of Judah was a priest but far better than any priests from Levi (Heb 7:1). And Christ is the True Priest the Levites pointed to in their ministry. As we understand the priest’s ministry in Leviticus we better grasp Christ’s ministry. He is the priest and the sacrificial lamb. And His priestly work on the cross is done once not repeatedly (Heb 9:24ff). Thea Apostle Paul was even called to a priestly role (Rom. 15:16) and we certainly are ( I Peter 2:5, 9).
Holiness dominates this book. God is holy is so we must be (Lev. 11:44-45; 19:2; 20:7, 26, etc.) Although Leviticus is mostly law, not the most gripping type of literature to read, this is not a rules-based approach to holiness. We are called to be holy because God is thrice holy. Christ’s holiness is absolutely necessary for Him to qualify as the perfect sacrifice. But we are called to to holy like He is (Rom 12:1; Eph 1:4. 2:21; 5:27)
Substitution. The substitution of the animal for the sins of people is expressed when the worshipper would lay his hand on the animal prior to the death of the animal, “He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering” Lev 1:4). In the gospels, John the Baptizer calls Jesus “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world (Jn. 1:29)! I wish I knew what people talked about with their families after the sacrifices. How did they explain to their children about animals they took to the tabernacle to kill? In the New Testament, the apostles had a ready explanation for that practice. In 2 Cor 5:21, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become she righteousness of God” or in Acts 8, “ “Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he \opens not his mouth. 33 In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth.” Did God’s people understand the significance of Christ’s substitutionary death?
Forgiveness of Sins. We need to be careful that we do not give the impression that the sacrificial system automatically conferred forgiveness. These were means to an end. We find this phrase, “offering with a pleasing aroma to the LORD” in Lev 1:9 and throughout Lev. This implies that there had to be the sacrifice of the animal brought by the guilt person, a priest to administer the sacrifice, and God to accept it. God accepting a sacrifice is not automatic ( Gen 4:5, Lev. 10:1-2;)
Worship. Leviticus is a book about worship. Their experience of worship is vastly different than ours. We might never dirty our hands, let alone clothes at church. We do not bring a sharp knife or rags to clean the blood of our hands after worship. Yet they were told how to approach God, when, and how to work in harmony with the priests. The “I worship God best in my garden” is so anti-Biblical it is a wonder anyone can think it let alone say it.
There is so very much more. We have not touched on the themes of the Sabbath, the temple, the blood, redemption, and so much more.
Father, we come to you in the name of the Lamb of God, the one appointed, predestined, and chosen to live a perfect life and die as an innocent, holy, lamb of God in our place taking the full measure of Your wrath against sin. He endured that just, righteous, pent up fury of God against the sin of His people. You, Lord Jesus, weave together all that the Hebrew Bible points us to. You are in perfect harmony with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. Your kingdom runs right through my heart. Come, Lord Jesus, Come. In Christ’s glorious name. Amen.