Leviticus

The Book of Worship

John 1:29 the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
1 Peter 1:16 Be holy, for I am holy!

The book of Leviticus speaks of the finished work of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, on the cross, which secures our positional and practical holiness. Leviticus anticipates the life and death of Jesus. The sacrifices, festivals, rituals, and laws foreshadow God's redemptive plan. Jesus becomes the way to remove the guilt and penalty for sin through His substitutionary death on the cross. His death provides the final atonement for all sin.

2 Corinthians 5:21 God made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us so that God's righteousness would be produced in us.

The message of Leviticus directs us to the way by which God restores lost men to Himself. Both the redemptive activity of God and the response of appropriation due from man are summed up in the key verse, "Ye shall be holy unto me: for I the Lord am holy, and have severed you from other people; that you should be mine (20:26)

To accomplish salvation and restore humanity to its Maker, a means of access to God must be provided. The first half of Leviticus (chapters 1-16) presents a series of religious actions that picture the way by which God redeems the lost, separating them from their sin and its consequences. The various sacrifices (chs 1-7) were anticipations of the death of Christ on Calvary, where the Sinless One suffered the wrath of God in our place, that we might be ransomed from our guilt.

2 Cor 5:21 god made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us so that God's righteousness would be produced in us.
Mark 10:45 Even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many people.

The Levitical priests (chs. 8-10) then foreshadowed Christ's faithful service in making reconciliation for the sins of the people (Heb 2:17). The laws of cleanness (chs 11-15) were perpetual reminders of the repentance and separation from impurity that must characterize the redeemed.

Luke 13:5 Repent lest ye likewise perish.

While the climactic Day of Atonement service (Lev 16) proclaimed God's forgiveness to those who humbled themselves in faithful commitment to Christ, who would yet provide access to heaven itself.

Heb 9:24 For the Messiah did not go into a sanctuary made by human hands that is merely a copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, to appear now in God's presence on our behalf.

Salvation is not only a separation from the wrong; it involves a positive union with what is right. So, the second half of Leviticus (chapters 17-27) presents a series of practical standards to which men are to conform in holy living. These include expressions of devotion in matters of ceremony (ch. 17) and worship (233-25), but they center on matters of daily conduct (18-22). Christ himself summed up the divine law (Matt 22:37-40 by speaking of a wholehearted love for God and by quoting from this section of Leviticus, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself" (19:18)

Further Study;

Read the book of Leviticus
Look for symbols and signposts of Jesus.
Read Hebrews, especially chapter 10, to help you understand Leviticus.