Okay, this post isn't about this actual reading particularly, but Leviticus in general. Has anyone ever tried to read through the Bible in a year (or three years) and died in Leviticus? I know I've heard some of my high school girls in our d-group say that exact same thing. Everyone understands why Leviticus is in the Bible. It holds a great many of the actual laws of the Old Testament! It really does sometimes seem like it is just one long list of "Do this" and "Don't do this" and "Ye shall not" and "Ye shall" and "The consequences of...." Yeah. I can see how it's hard to read through. So, why do we have to read through it?
There are a couple of purposes for the book of Leviticus. One, it has all the Laws the Levites and the Levitical priesthood (the priesthood established through Aaron, the Levite) must obey, enforce, and perform sacrificial duties for. But really, the purpose of this book is to outline what it takes to be holy. Ever looked at this book and thought, "Yikes, who can possibly uphold all of this all the time?" Well, it's kind of the point, isn't it? Ever read Romans? It's not the whole point, to be sure; to say so seriously downplays the importance and gravity of the Old Testament Law. But one thing we do learn from the Law: that we can't possibly be holy on our own. We need God. We also see why we need Jesus particularly as our High Priest (yeah, that's Hebrews for you): the Levitical priesthood couldn't completely cut it. It had to make sacrifices again and again and again. The sacrifices were insufficient. Christ's sacrifice, however, was completely sufficient, worked for everyone for all time, for all sin. The enormity of this comparison would be missing for us as believers if it weren't for Leviticus, as well as Exodus, Numbers, Deuteronomy (Genesis, too). The Mosaic Law is the foundation for our faith. The tenets of our faith are all rooted in and built upon these laws and the requirements to keep them and to atone for them when they are broken. Jesus did say, after all, that not one bit of the Law will pass away, nor that He came to abolish it, but to fulfill it. How can we know what He is that He fulfills or how He does that if we don't know what it is or all about?
So, should we as believers read Leviticus? Yes. Absolutely. Is it difficult reading at times? Yes. Definitely. But it's worth it.
Now, I feel like I've minimized Leviticus and its sister books in the Pentateuch to only being a foothold for Christianity, and it's not, at all. But to go further into that may mean this post becomes a rant rather than a thought. Perhaps I should come back to it some other time.
For now, pay special attention to how special and precious each burnt offering was to be. It was no ordinary goat or sheep or whatever you feel like taking from your flocks. Not at all. This was a sacrifice; it was supposed to hurt. It was supposed to be unblemished, clean, pure, the best of the best. And there are several reasons for that, not just that a sacrifice is to really sacrifice something. But that, my friends, is likely another post.
Next Reading: Leviticus 3:1-17
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