Leviticus is the third book of the Bible and is part of the Torah, also known as the Pentateuch.

• It primarily focuses on the laws and regulations given by God to the Israelites through Moses.
• These laws were intended to guide the Israelites in their worship and daily living, setting them apart as God's holy people.

Sacrificial System:

• Leviticus begins with detailed instructions on various offerings and sacrifices, including burnt offerings, grain offerings, peace offerings, sin offerings, and guilt offerings (Leviticus 1-7).
• These sacrifices were a way for the Israelites to maintain their relationship with God and atone for their sins.

LEVITICUS 1:1-9
1 Then the Lord summoned Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting: 2 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When any of you brings an offering to the Lord from the livestock, you may bring your offering from the herd or the flock.
3 “If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he is to bring an unblemished male. He will bring it to the entrance to the tent of meeting so that he may be accepted by the Lord. 4 He is to lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering so it can be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him.

• Substitute Sacrifice
• God accepts a substitute sacrifice on behalf of the one He loves.
• The precedent has been set.

5 He is to slaughter the bull before the Lord; Aaron’s sons the priests are to present the blood and splatter it on all sides of the altar that is at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 6 Then he is to skin the burnt offering and cut it into pieces. 7 The sons of Aaron the priest will prepare a fire on the altar and arrange wood on the fire. 8 Aaron’s sons the priests are to arrange the pieces, the head, and the fat on top of the burning wood on the altar. 9 The offerer is to wash its entrails and legs with water. Then the priest will burn all of it on the altar as a burnt offering, a food offering, a pleasing aroma to the Lord.[1]
 
Priestly Duties:

• The book outlines the roles and responsibilities of the priests, particularly those from the tribe of Levi.
• It includes the consecration of Aaron and his sons as priests and the regulations they must follow in their service (Leviticus 8-10).

 
Purity Laws:

• Leviticus contains laws concerning ritual purity, including dietary restrictions, laws about clean and unclean animals, and regulations for dealing with skin diseases and bodily discharges (Leviticus 11-15).
• These laws were meant to teach the Israelites about holiness and separation from impurity.

LEVITICUS 11:1-8
1 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: 2 “Tell the Israelites: You may eat all these kinds of land animals. 3 You may eat any animal with divided hooves and that chews the cud. 4 But among the ones that chew the cud or have divided hooves you are not to eat these:
camels, though they chew the cud,
do not have divided hooves—they are unclean for you;
5 hyraxes, though they chew the cud,
do not have hooves—they are unclean for you;
6 hares, though they chew the cud,
do not have hooves—they are unclean for you;
7 pigs, though they have divided hooves,
do not chew the cud—they are unclean for you.
8 Do not eat any of their meat or touch their carcasses—they are unclean for you.[2]
Day of Atonement:

• One of the central events in Leviticus is the Day of Atonement, a yearly observance where the high priest would enter the Most Holy Place to make atonement for the sins of the people (Leviticus 16).
• This foreshadows the ultimate atonement made by Jesus Christ.

LEVITICUS 16:17-19
17 No one may be in the tent of meeting from the time he enters to make atonement in the most holy place until he leaves after he has made atonement for himself, his household, and the whole assembly of Israel. 18 Then he will go out to the altar that is before the Lord and make atonement for it. He is to take some of the bull’s blood and some of the goat’s blood and put it on the horns on all sides of the altar. 19 He is to sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times to cleanse and set it apart from the Israelites’ impurities. [3]
 
Moral and Ethical Laws:

• The book includes various moral and ethical laws, such as those concerning sexual conduct, social justice, and interpersonal relationships (Leviticus 17-20).
• These laws emphasize the importance of living a life that reflects God's holiness.

LEVITICUS 17:10-12
10 “Anyone from the house of Israel or from the aliens who reside among them who eats any blood, I will turn against that person who eats blood and cut him off from his people. 11 For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have appointed it to you to make atonement on the altar for your lives, since it is the lifeblood that makes atonement. 12 Therefore I say to the Israelites: None of you and no alien who resides among you may eat blood.[4]
 
Festivals and Sabbaths:

• Leviticus outlines the religious festivals and Sabbaths that the Israelites were to observe, including Passover, the Feast of Weeks, the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles (Leviticus 23-25).

LEVITICUS 23:1-3
23 The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: These are my appointed times, the times of the Lord that you will proclaim as sacred assemblies.
3 “Work may be done for six days, but on the seventh day there is to be a Sabbath of complete rest, a sacred assembly. You are not to do any work; it is a Sabbath to the Lord wherever you live. [5]
 
Blessings and Curses:
The book concludes with a section on the blessings for obedience and the curses for disobedience, highlighting the covenant relationship between God and His people (Leviticus 26).
LEVITICUS 27:34
34 These are the commands the Lord gave Moses for the Israelites on Mount Sinai. [6]
Leviticus, while often seen as a book of laws, ultimately points to the holiness of God and the need for atonement and reconciliation.

• Themes that are fulfilled in the New Testament through Jesus Christ.

 
There is often confusion about the role of the Old Testament Law and how it relates to Christians today.

• I believe the Levitical laws were just for the Jewish people.
• Others say they apply to everyone who would worship God.

 
First, let’s clarify some terms.

• The Levites were the descendants of Levi, one of Jacob’s twelve sons.
• Moses was of the tribe of Levi, and when God delivered the Law to him on Mount Sinai, He marked the Levites as the tribe responsible for the primary religious duties in the nation.
• They were made priests, singers, and caretakers in the worship of God.
• In calling it the Levitical Law, we acknowledge that God revealed the Law through Moses, a Levite, and that God appointed the Levites as the religious leaders of Israel.
• The same Law is sometimes called “Mosaic” because it was given through Moses, and it is also referred to as the “Old Covenant,” because it is part of God’s promise to Abraham and his descendants.

To discover God’s purpose in the Law, we must first look at its inception, and the things God said to Moses about it.

• When Moses and the people arrived at Mount Sinai, God said,

EXODUS 19:5-6
5 Now if you will carefully listen to me and keep my covenant, you will be my own possession out of all the peoples, although the whole earth is mine, 6 and you will be my kingdom of priests and my holy nation.’ These are the words that you are to say to the Israelites.” [7]

• The first mention of the Law to the nation was as a covenant—a legal agreement between God and the people He chose.
• The Israelites were required to obey it fully if they were to receive its benefits.

 
God began His introduction to the Law with the Ten Commandments, but the entire Law encompasses 613 commandments, as detailed in the rest of the books of Moses.

• Jesus summarized the Law as having two emphases: love for God and love for neighbors (Matthew 22:37–39).
• These emphases can be easily seen in the Ten Commandments: the first four commands focus on our relation to God, and the remainder focus on interpersonal relations.
• If we think that is the whole purpose of the Law, though, we miss an important element. Many of the individual commands give detailed instruction on how God was to be worshiped and how the people were to live their lives.
• It is in those fine details that love was either shown or withheld.

 
For hundreds of years, the Israelites lived under the Levitical Law, sometimes obeying it but more often failing to follow God’s commands.

• Much of Old Testament history deals with the punishments Israel received for their disobedience.
• When Jesus Christ came, He said that He did not “come to abolish the Law or the Prophets . . . but to fulfill them” (Matthew 5:17).
• In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus took the Law to a higher level, applying it to the thoughts and intents of the heart.
• This perspective significantly diminishes our ability to keep the Law.

 
The apostle Paul gives us insight into God’s purpose for the Law in his letter to the Galatians.

• In Galatians 3:10 he says, “All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.’”
• The fine details show up again—if we don’t keep every command perfectly, we are condemned (see James 2:10).

GALATIANS 3:19-26
19 Why, then, was the law given? It was added for the sake of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise was made would come. The law was put into effect through angels by means of a mediator. 20 Now a mediator is not just for one person alone, but God is one. 21 Is the law therefore contrary to God’s promises? Absolutely not! For if the law had been granted with the ability to give life, then righteousness would certainly be on the basis of the law. 22 But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin’s power,, so that the promise might be given on the basis of faith in Jesus Christ to those who believe. 23 Before this faith came, we were confined under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith was revealed. 24 The law, then, was our guardian until Christ, so that we could be justified by faith. 25 But since that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, 26 for through faith you are all sons of God in Christ Jesus.[8]

• The Law pointed out our sinfulness, proved our inability to keep our end of the covenant, made us prisoners in our guilt, and showed our need of a Savior.
• The purpose of the Law is also revealed:

ROMANS 3:20
20 For no one will be justified in his sight by the works of the law, because the knowledge of sin comes through the law.[9]

The Levitical Law did its job well, pointing out the sinfulness of mankind and condemning us for it.
HEBREWS 7:18-19
18 So the previous command is annulled because it was weak and unprofitable 19 (for the law perfected nothing), but a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.[10]

• (for the law made nothing perfect).”
• The Law had no way of changing our sinful nature.
• We needed something better to accomplish that.

HEBREWS 10:1-4
1 Since the law has only a shadow of the good things to come, and not the reality itself of those things, it can never perfect the worshipers by the same sacrifices they continually offer year after year. 2 Otherwise, wouldn’t they have stopped being offered, since the worshipers, purified once and for all, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? 3 But in the sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year after year. 4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. [11]
 
God’s desire has always been to have fellowship with mankind, but our sin prevented that.

• He gave the Law to set a standard of holiness—and, at the same time, to show that we could never meet that standard on our own.
• That’s why Jesus Christ had to come—to fulfill all the righteous requirements of the Law on our behalf, and then to take the punishment of our violating that same Law.

HEBREWS10:11-14
11 Every priest stands day after day ministering and offering the same sacrifices time after time, which can never take away sins. 12 But this man, after offering one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God., 13 He is now waiting until his enemies are made his footstool. 14 For by one offering he has perfected forever those who are sanctified.[12]

[1] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Le 1:1–9.
[2] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Le 11:1–8.
[3] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Le 16:17–19.
[4] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Le 17:10–12.
[5] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Le 23:1–3.
[6] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Le 27:34.
[7] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 19:4–6.
[8] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ga 3:19–26.
[9] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ro 3:20.
[10] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Heb 7:18–19.
[11] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Heb 10:1–4.
[12] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Heb 10:11–14.

Review:

• Moses received The Ten Commandments

 
Exodus 21 – Laws about injuries
Exodus 22 – Social Matters
Exodus 23 – 3 Annual Festivals
Exodus 24 – Covenant Confirmed
7 He then took the covenant scroll and read it aloud to the people. They responded, “We will do and obey all that the Lord has commanded.”
8 Moses took the blood, splattered it on the people, and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you concerning all these words.”[1]
 
16 The glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. On the seventh day he called to Moses from the cloud. 17 The appearance of the Lord’s glory to the Israelites was like a consuming fire on the mountaintop. 18 Moses entered the cloud as he went up the mountain, and he remained on the mountain forty days and forty nights.[2]
 
Exodus 25-31 – Tabernacle Revealed
EXODUS 25
25 The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “Tell the Israelites to take an offering for me. You are to take my offering from everyone who is willing to give. 3 This is the offering you are to receive from them: gold, silver, and bronze; 4 blue, purple, and scarlet yarn; fine linen and goat hair; 5 ram skins dyed red and fine leather; acacia wood; 6 oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; 7 and onyx along with other gemstones for mounting on the ephod and breastpiece.,
8 “They are to make a sanctuary for me so that I may dwell among them. 9 You must make it according to all that I show you—the pattern of the tabernacle as well as the pattern of all its furnishings.[3]
 

• Ark, table & lampstand

 
THE ARK
10 “They are to make an ark of acacia wood, forty-five inches long, twenty-seven inches wide, and twenty-seven inches high. 11 Overlay it with pure gold; overlay it both inside and out. Also make a gold molding all around it. 12 Cast four gold rings for it and place them on its four feet, two rings on one side and two rings on the other side. 13 Make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. 14 Insert the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark in order to carry the ark with them. 15 The poles are to remain in the rings of the ark; they must not be removed from it. 16 Put the tablets of the testimony that I will give you into the ark. 17 Make a mercy seat of pure gold, forty-five inches long and twenty-seven inches wide. 18 Make two cherubim of gold; make them of hammered work at the two ends of the mercy seat. 19 Make one cherub at one end and one cherub at the other end. At its two ends, make the cherubim of one piece with the mercy seat. 20 The cherubim are to have wings spread out above, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and are to face one another. The faces of the cherubim should be toward the mercy seat. 21 Set the mercy seat on top of the ark and put the tablets of the testimony that I will give you into the ark. 22 I will meet with you there above the mercy seat, between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the testimony; I will speak with you from there about all that I command you regarding the Israelites. [4]
 

• Exodus 26 - Curtains & walls
• Exodus 27 – Altar, court & oil
• Exodus 28 - Priestly Clothing
• Exodus 29 – Consecration/Ordination of the Priests
• Exodus 30 - Anointing Oil, Altar & Incense
• Exodus 31 - The Sabbath

18 When he finished speaking with Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the testimony, stone tablets inscribed by the finger of God. [5]
 
Exodus 32 – Golden Calf

• The scene now changes, and we see what was happening down in the Israelite camp, while Moses was still up in the heights of Sinai receiving the instructions for the Israelites' worship.
• The people were already apostatizing (renouncing their beliefs) and were devising their own form of worship.

7 The Lord spoke to Moses: “Go down at once! For your people you brought up from the land of Egypt have acted corruptly. 8 They have quickly turned from the way I commanded them; they have made for themselves an image of a calf. They have bowed down to it, sacrificed to it, and said, ‘Israel, these are your gods, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.’ ” 9 The Lord also said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and they are indeed a stiff-necked people. 10 Now leave me alone, so that my anger can burn against them and I can destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.”[6]
 
19 As he approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses became enraged and threw the tablets out of his hands, smashing them at the base of the mountain. [7]
 
Exodus 33-34 – Covenant Renewed

• God’s Glory (Moses’ veil)

EXODUS 33
12 Moses said to the Lord, “Look, you have told me, ‘Lead this people up,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found favor with me.’ 13 Now if I have indeed found favor with you, please teach me your ways, and I will know you, so that I may find favor with you. Now consider that this nation is your people.”
14 And he replied, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
15 “If your presence does not go,” Moses responded to him, “don’t make us go up from here. 16 How will it be known that I and your people have found favor with you unless you go with us? I and your people will be distinguished by this from all the other people on the face of the earth.”
17 The Lord answered Moses, “I will do this very thing you have asked, for you have found favor with me, and I know you by name.”
18 Then Moses said, “Please, let me see your glory.”
19 He said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim the name ‘the Lord’ before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” 20 But he added, “You cannot see my face, for humans cannot see me and live.” 21 The Lord said, “Here is a place near me. You are to stand on the rock, 22 and when my glory passes by, I will put you in the crevice of the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will take my hand away, and you will see my back, but my face will not be seen.” [8]
 

• New Tablets

EXODUS 34
29 As Moses descended from Mount Sinai—with the two tablets of the testimony in his hands as he descended the mountain—he did not realize that the skin of his face shone as a result of his speaking with the Lord., 30 When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his face shone! They were afraid to come near him. 31 But Moses called out to them, so Aaron and all the leaders of the community returned to him, and Moses spoke to them. 32 Afterward all the Israelites came near, and he commanded them to do everything the Lord had told him on Mount Sinai. 33 When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face. 34 But whenever Moses went before the Lord to speak with him, he would remove the veil until he came out. After he came out, he would tell the Israelites what he had been commanded, 35 and the Israelites would see that Moses’s face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil over his face again until he went to speak with the Lord. [9]
 
Exodus 35-40 – Tabernacle Construction

• Materials
• Skilled Artisans
• The Ark
• The Courtyard
• Moses Inspects
• God’s Glory

EXODUS 39
43 Moses inspected all the work they had accomplished. They had done just as the Lord commanded. Then Moses blessed them.[10]
 
Exodus 40:34-38 -  34 The cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 35 Moses was unable to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud rested on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
36 The Israelites set out whenever the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle throughout all the stages of their journey. 37 If the cloud was not taken up, they did not set out until the day it was taken up. 38 For the cloud of the Lord was over the tabernacle by day, and there was a fire inside the cloud by night, visible to the entire house of Israel throughout all the stages of their journey. [11]
 
 
LIVING BY FAITH
HEBREWS 11
1 Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen. 2 For by this our ancestors were approved.
3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.
4 By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was approved as a righteous man, because God approved his gifts, and even though he is dead, he still speaks through his faith.
5 By faith Enoch was taken away, and so he did not experience death. He was not to be found because God took him away. For before he was taken away, he was approved as one who pleased God. 6 Now without faith it is impossible to please God, since the one who draws near to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
7 By faith Noah, after he was warned about what was not yet seen and motivated by godly fear, built an ark to deliver his family. By faith he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
8 By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed and set out for a place that he was going to receive as an inheritance. He went out, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he stayed as a foreigner in the land of promise, living in tents as did Isaac and Jacob, coheirs of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
11 By faith even Sarah herself, when she was unable to have children, received power to conceive offspring, even though she was past the age, since she considered that the one who had promised was faithful. 12 Therefore, from one man—in fact, from one as good as dead—came offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky and as innumerable as the grains of sand along the seashore.
13 These all died in faith, although they had not received the things that were promised. But they saw them from a distance, greeted them, and confessed that they were foreigners and temporary residents on the earth. 14 Now those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If they were thinking about where they came from, they would have had an opportunity to return. 16 But they now desire a better place—a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac. He received the promises and yet he was offering his one and only son, 18 the one to whom it had been said, Your offspring will be traced through Isaac. 19 He considered God to be able even to raise someone from the dead; therefore, he received him back, figuratively speaking.
20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. 21 By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and he worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff., 22 By faith Joseph, as he was nearing the end of his life, mentioned the exodus of the Israelites and gave instructions concerning his bones.
23 By faith Moses, after he was born, was hidden by his parents for three months, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they didn’t fear the king’s edict. 24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter 25 and chose to suffer with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasure of sin. 26 For he considered reproach for the sake of Christ to be greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, since he was looking ahead to the reward.
27 By faith he left Egypt behind, not being afraid of the king’s anger, for Moses persevered as one who sees him who is invisible. 28 By faith he instituted the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn might not touch the Israelites. 29 By faith they crossed the Red Sea as though they were on dry land. When the Egyptians attempted to do this, they were drowned…
 
39 All these were approved through their faith, but they did not receive what was promised, 40 since God had provided something better for us, so that they would not be made perfect without us.[12]
 

• The greatest love story of all time…
• “Jesus, I Believe” – Big Daddy Weave

[1] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 24:7–8.
[2] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 24:16–18.
[3] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 25:1–9.
[4] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 25:10–22.
[5] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 31:18.
[6] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 32:7–10.
[7] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 32:19.
[8] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 33:12–23.
[9] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 34:29–35.
[10] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 39:43.
[11] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 40:34–38.
[12] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Heb 11:1–40.