Why Is Leviticus Relevant Week One: What Leviticus Says About God

Introduction

            I have in my hands a copy of Thomas Jefferson’s Bible.  As you know, Jefferson was one of our nations founding fathers, and many of the principles that guide our nation come from the Biblical texts.  However, Jefferson was not a Christian in the strictest sense, but rather a Deist, as were many of his contemporaries.  The Deists believed that there was a God, but that sometime after creating the world, He stepped back and let the people of the world take the reins themselves.  This is the “clockmaker” God, as many have described Him.  Like a clock, God creates the world and then lets it tick by its own design.

            With this theology, Jefferson set out to compose, or redact, his own version of scripture.  He liked Jesus, but as a Deist could not accept anything supernatural or miraculous.  According to Jefferson, there could be no bodily resurrection, no miracles or healings from supernatural powers.  So Jefferson simply started cutting things out.  He took his own razor blade, went through the New Testament, and created his own version of, The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth.  As you can see, Jefferson’s version is relatively slim.  

            Now I am a about to start a PhD in Southern History, so I have always been a big fan of Thomas Jefferson.  I love his approach to self-government, his attitudes towards the hard working yeomen farmers, and the diplomacy with which he guided our nation as president.  However, I am terribly and emphatically opposed to his Bible.  Who gave Jefferson such an authority?  Who is Thomas Jefferson to cut and paste from the Christian scriptures?  I, and I think I can speak for all of us, are terribly uncomfortable with Jefferson’s approach, with the authority that he assumes in creating the Jefferson Bible.

            However, I will confess this morning that, though completely unintentionally, I have often times chosen my own Bible as well.  I have fallen victim to the human tendency to create what is know as the “Canon within the Canon”.  What I mean by this is that I tend to spend most of my time in books like the Gospels, or Acts, or the Pauline Letters.  Occasionally I will venture into the waters of the Psalms or Proverbs, but rarely do I labor over Nahum or Obadiah.  They seem foreign, I don’t have a great familiarity with them, and I essentially neglect particular scriptures in favor of others.

            So this morning and over the next four weeks, I want to right that wrong.  I want for our class to immerse ourselves in what I believe is the most neglected book of the Bible, the book of Leviticus.  Now, I will admit, Leviticus is a difficult text.  There is a great deal of time spent discussing rituals and sacrifices, practices that are completely and totally foreign to twenty-first century Georgians.  But I believe that there is tremendous value contained in the twenty-seven chapters of this book.  Yes, it is kind of boring, but so is the Magna Charta, the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution of the United States.  In a way, I think these documents are intentionally boring.  They are not composed with the intension of entertaining or exciting the senses.  Leviticus was composed with the intension of dealing with the very serious manner of how the ancient Israelites were to conduct themselves in relationship with God.       

            There is a lot of language about priest and priesthoods.  Even the name, Leviticus, means Relating to the Levites”.  It is a book concerned with priests and priestly activities.  But that is perfect, because the second letter of Peter reminds us that we are “a royal priesthood”, and a, “holy nation”.  As Baptists, we believe in the priesthood of the believer, and we should take that priesthood very seriously.  So, though the book of Leviticus deals with priests, it also speaks to us.

            Finally, there is a reason we endeavor to study this text that I find fascinating.  Leviticus was the first book that Jesus would have studied as a young Jew.  In the synagogues, Jewish children were introduced to Leviticus before any other text, because it was believed that children could fully grasp the idea of holiness, and would therefore be better suited in their future lives if they established their foundation in a book concerning holiness.  Dr. Coates has been saying for weeks now that we are to be “students of Jesus”.  I agree, and as such I think it is appropriate that we put ourselves to the task of studying the book that Jesus began His education with.

            So, if you will allow me, I would like to dedicate the next four Sundays to the study of the book of Leviticus.  It is a large book, containing twenty-seven chapters, and far to large to go through verse by verse in the thirty minutes that we have together.  Rather, I would encourage you to read as much of Leviticus as you can, and in this time I will highlight four of the major themes that are present in the book.  These include, “What Leviticus Says About God” (the idea of God dwelling with God’s people), “What Leviticus Says About Humanity” (looking at the concept of “holiness”), “How Leviticus Sees the Relationship Between God and Humanity” (looking at the practices of sacrifice and purification), and finally, “How Leviticus Relates to the Christian Church” (finding Jesus in Leviticus). 

            That is a brief road map of where I would like to go, and I will provide some material and suggested readings beforehand, which should help as us we try to navigate this “strange” text.  Leviticus is a tall order, but one that I think is important.  I also think it will be tremendously rewarding, and my hope is that, in four weeks, we will be able to answer the question “Why Is Leviticus Relevant”.  So this morning, let us begin our study of the book of Leviticus with the subject of “What Leviticus Says About God”.

God Has Moved In!

            The story of Leviticus actually begins in the book of Exodus.  After God has liberated His people from captivity in Egypt, He leads them out into the wilderness where they will dwell for a generation.  In chapter twenty-five of Exodus, instructions are given concerning the construction of the Tabernacle, or the dwelling place of God.  The Ark of the Covenant is described, and in the closing verses of the book, God moves in.  The Israelites have buildt the tabernacle, they have consecrated the vestments, and God has chosen, once again, to dwell in the midst of His people.

            In the Jewish faith, the Tabernacle is extremely important.  Later, the Israelites will build the Temple, and that will hold the same importance, but for now they are nomads.  As nomads, the Israelites need a house of worship that they can erect in this time of waiting in the desert.  So, the Tabernacle is erected, and that is where God lives.  Sure, the Tabernacle is a place of worship, it is a place to offer sacrifices, but most importantly, it is God’s house.  In a very literal sense, God Himself lived in the Tabernacle.  Consequently, this building is of extreme importance. 

Instructions From God

            So it is, with such an important location, the Israelites are to take great caution in how they approach and conduct themselves within the Tabernacle.  That is what the sacrifices are all about.  The first seven chapters of Leviticus are dedicated to sacrifices for this very reason.  There are a variety of sacrifices described; instructions give to the priests, to the rulers, and to the common people.  Not only are the individuals to be clean and holy, but also so is the structure itself.  With the exercise of great caution the Israelites endeavor to honor God’s Tabernacle.

            Now, in the coming weeks we will look at what these sacrifices entail and how they relate, but suffice it to say for now that these sacrifices are a way of attaining holiness.  Throughout the book of Leviticus we hear the refrain “For I am the Lord your God; sanctify yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy” (Leviticus 11:44).  What that means is, God is holy, He requires holiness, and therefore we must become holy if we are to come before Him.  When you read the list of sacrifices and rituals, this seems an impossible task and perhaps it was, but God is making an effort.  God wishes to dwell with His people, in their very midst, and the rituals and sacrifices are the way He is going to make it possible for that to happen.

God Is Present

            On the ground, this takes two special forms.  The sacrificial instructions say that the Israelites are to bring their sacrifices, “to the LORD” (Leviticus 1:13), implying that God is present in worship.  We are told that the odors of the sacrifices are, “pleasing to the LORD” (Leviticus 1:9), implying that what the Israelites were offering mattered.  In this church, we have begun the “Give Two” campaign, in which our members are to give two dollars every Sunday.  This will assist the church financially, it will help cultivate and maintain good habits, but most importantly, it teaches us and the children of this church that what we bring before God matters.  I was speaking with Christ Burns about the campaign, and he told me a story about how, as a child, his father would always give him a quarter to place in the offering plate.  He told me of how this made him feel like he was a part of the worship service, and that he was giving something to God.  In Leviticus, we read that sacrifices are made to God, and that these sacrifices are pleasing to God.  What is offered to God matters because God is present in the midst of the Israelites’ worship.

            However, God is not limited to one place, and instructions are given throughout the book of Leviticus concerning the camp, the people, and the community that has been established.  How the Israelites live is important, because God is with them in their lives.  “I am the LORD your God” (Leviticus 11:44), we hear throughout the book of Leviticus.  “Make yourselves holy, because I, the LORD your God, am holy.”  God is concerned with the holiness of the Israelites because He is present with them, both in the Tabernacle and in their everyday lives.         

New Creation

            So what does all of this have to do with God?  We know that God is holy, and we know that God wants us to be holy, but I think there is something more to be gleaned from these verses.  Do you remember the Garden of Eden?  Before the fall I mean, when Adam and Eve were walking around in the garden, living side by side with God.  That was the whole purpose right, for God to dwell with humanity?  But something went wrong, humanity sinned, and the relationship was severed.  And throughout the Bible we read of the consequences of this initial sin.  But we also see a theme developing.  God doesn’t give up on His people.  God makes every effort, time and time again, to dwell in the midst of His children.  We see it in the garden, we see it in the Incarnation, and we look forward to it in the New Jerusalem.  Leviticus is one of those attempts.  God isn’t giving the Israelites a set of rules or laws to govern themselves, as if He were a clockmaker.  No, God wants to be a part of the Israelites lives, to dwell in their midst, and to remind them that He has created them to be in relationship with their God.  This book is about a new creation, a nation and a people drawn out of Egypt to live with their God.  But, true to form, humanity doesn’t get it.

            I want to turn to chapter 10, and read the first three verses to you.  God has given His instruction, the Tabernacle and the people have been prepared, and Aaron gets up and celebrates the first worship serve in God’s house.  And then we read,

Now Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, each took his censer, put fire in it, and laid incense on it; and they offered unholy fire before the Lord, such as he had not commanded them.  And fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord.  Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord meant when he said, ‘Through those who are near me I will show myself holy, and before all the people
I will be glorified’” (Leviticus 10:1-3).

After all of that work, after all that instruction, Aaron’s sons bring forth an unholy sacrifice.  They have been instructed and told time and time again that this is a serious matter.  This is a precise matter, and Aaron’s sons choose to go their own way.  Like Adam and Eve, Aaron’s sons thought their way would be superior to the way that God had told them.  Sadly, this is a story that we can all relate with.    

Conclusion

            At this point, I think I would have given up.  God has brought the people out of Egypt, He has brought them into the wilderness and protected them all the way.  All He wants to do is dwell in their midst, and He has given them detailed instructions as to how to make it possible.  And they messed it up, they ignored God’s instructions and forced God’s hand.  If it were me, I think I would have had enough.  But I’m not God, and God is not so quick to throw in the towel.

            The story of Leviticus doesn’t end with chapter ten, and the story of the Israelites doesn’t end with the book of Leviticus.  For centuries to come God will make every effort to dwell with His people, even to the point of taking on human form.  Time and time again humanity will get it wrong, and time and time again God will respond with more grace, and more mercy, and yet another attempt to reconcile and dwell with His people.  If the book of Leviticus tells us one thing about God, it is that God wants desperately to live amongst His people.  We fall short, but He never does. 

These rules and regulations are not polite suggestions for how to live civilly in a new land, they are instruction for how to create a context of holiness in which God Himself might dwell.  We read this text, we look at what it tells us about God, and we are reminded that we fall well short of the mark.  But we are also reminded that God is constantly working in our lives, looking past the inadequacies of humanity, and sharing His love and grace in an effort to be a part of His people.  Like the Israelites, we are God’s people, and the same God who reached out to His people in Leviticus reaches out to His people in Gainesville.  We read texts like this, and we are encouraged that we worship and serve a God who wants to be a part of our lives, and as much as we desire to know God more, He desires for us to do so.