The Requirements of a Holy God
The Requirements of a Holy God
Leviticus 1-5
“The Lord said to Moses: “When a person commits a violation and sins unintentionally in regard to any of the lord’s holy things, he is to bring to the Lord as a penalty a ram from the flock, one without defect and of the proper value in silver, according to the sanctuary shekel.”
How can sinful people approach a holy God who is untainted by sin? The Book of Leviticus is more than an outdated list of offerings and sacrifices that seem unconnected to the modern world. The book of Leviticus is a signpost, a book of rituals and sacrifices designed to reveal the severity of sin and its judgment and how grace and salvation may be realized. Perhaps more than any other book in the Old Testament, Leviticus serves as a primer of the person and work of Christ. The gospels answer the question, “Who is the Messiah?” However, Leviticus provides the foundation for answering the question, “Why must the Messiah come, and what is the purpose of his coming?” Leviticus gives us crucial insight into the severity of sin, the judgment of sin, and the means by which we can obtain forgiveness. In the book of Leviticus, we find the holiness of God and the grace of God woven as parallel threads throughout the book. The book of Leviticus serves to bridge the Old Testament and the New Testament into one common story. It answers the questions, “How can sinful humanity gain access to a holy God?” and “How are we to live in the presence of a holy God?”
In Chapter 1, we are immediately confronted with the sacrificial system and the multiple and various sacrifices the people were to bring before God. The first lesson we learn is that the effects of sin are so profound and the gravity of sin is so severe that there is not one single sacrifice that can fully portray all that is necessary for us to have a restored relationship with God. Multiple offerings were required to fully grasp the significance, importance, and scope of Christ’s death. As we shall see when we examine each of the offerings, the nuance and distinctive purpose of each sacrifice give us greater insight into the work that Christ would accomplish so that we might have a restored relationship with God. Each sacrifice served a different perspective of the scope of Christ’s redemptive work.
Second, the book of Leviticus provides the foundation for how to live a life of holiness. In 1 Peter 1, we are reminded to “be holy as God is holy”(1 Peter 1:16). This is not just a standard of morality; it is a way of life. The laws of holy living (Leviticus 17-27) reveal that the holiness of God encompasses all aspects of our lives and daily activities. Nothing in our life is “secular” that is untouched and unconnected from our relationship with God. Instead, every facet of life is “sacred,” so that in every thought and action, we are to be governed by God’s holiness and reflect His character. To ignore the book of Leviticus is to forget who God is and what he requires of us. Instead of “divorcing ourselves from the Old Testament,” we are to marry our life with the message of Leviticus, for in doing so, we discover Christ and how to live rightly before God.
Leviticus 1-5
“The Lord said to Moses: “When a person commits a violation and sins unintentionally in regard to any of the lord’s holy things, he is to bring to the Lord as a penalty a ram from the flock, one without defect and of the proper value in silver, according to the sanctuary shekel.”
How can sinful people approach a holy God who is untainted by sin? The Book of Leviticus is more than an outdated list of offerings and sacrifices that seem unconnected to the modern world. The book of Leviticus is a signpost, a book of rituals and sacrifices designed to reveal the severity of sin and its judgment and how grace and salvation may be realized. Perhaps more than any other book in the Old Testament, Leviticus serves as a primer of the person and work of Christ. The gospels answer the question, “Who is the Messiah?” However, Leviticus provides the foundation for answering the question, “Why must the Messiah come, and what is the purpose of his coming?” Leviticus gives us crucial insight into the severity of sin, the judgment of sin, and the means by which we can obtain forgiveness. In the book of Leviticus, we find the holiness of God and the grace of God woven as parallel threads throughout the book. The book of Leviticus serves to bridge the Old Testament and the New Testament into one common story. It answers the questions, “How can sinful humanity gain access to a holy God?” and “How are we to live in the presence of a holy God?”
In Chapter 1, we are immediately confronted with the sacrificial system and the multiple and various sacrifices the people were to bring before God. The first lesson we learn is that the effects of sin are so profound and the gravity of sin is so severe that there is not one single sacrifice that can fully portray all that is necessary for us to have a restored relationship with God. Multiple offerings were required to fully grasp the significance, importance, and scope of Christ’s death. As we shall see when we examine each of the offerings, the nuance and distinctive purpose of each sacrifice give us greater insight into the work that Christ would accomplish so that we might have a restored relationship with God. Each sacrifice served a different perspective of the scope of Christ’s redemptive work.
Second, the book of Leviticus provides the foundation for how to live a life of holiness. In 1 Peter 1, we are reminded to “be holy as God is holy”(1 Peter 1:16). This is not just a standard of morality; it is a way of life. The laws of holy living (Leviticus 17-27) reveal that the holiness of God encompasses all aspects of our lives and daily activities. Nothing in our life is “secular” that is untouched and unconnected from our relationship with God. Instead, every facet of life is “sacred,” so that in every thought and action, we are to be governed by God’s holiness and reflect His character. To ignore the book of Leviticus is to forget who God is and what he requires of us. Instead of “divorcing ourselves from the Old Testament,” we are to marry our life with the message of Leviticus, for in doing so, we discover Christ and how to live rightly before God.
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