Holiness

What We Miss When We Skip the Book of Leviticus

March 25, 2024 By Ryan Higginbottom

The book of Leviticus is not popular. It is rarely quoted, rarely studied, and rarely read. It might be the most frequent place for well-intentioned Bible readers to give up their annual reading plans.

This is understandable, especially when one reads the books of the Bible in canonical order. Genesis is the book of beginnings; it is full of covenants, scoundrels, and promises. Exodus offers a narrative unlike any other—grand and sweeping in scale, with cinematic opportunities galore.

The narrative momentum slows at the end of Exodus during the construction of the tabernacle and then grinds to a halt in Leviticus. If Genesis is about how God calls his people and Exodus shows how God delivers his people, Bible readers can be forgiven for scratching their heads when opening Leviticus. Is this just how God…instructs his people?

If you’ve skipped Leviticus because you think it’s too slow, too boring, too repetitive, or just plain obsolete, you’re in good company. But, Leviticus is in the Bible for our good, and when we skip this book we miss a lot that God intends for us.

Asking the Wrong Question

When evaluating the importance of a book of the Bible, we often turn to characters, events, or doctrines. Leviticus doesn’t shine in any of these areas.

Rather, the book of Leviticus exists to answer a crucial question: How can a holy God dwell with sinful people?

At the end of Exodus, the Israelites construct the tabernacle (Exodus 35–39). This is the location on earth where God will dwell and where the people will worship him. God’s people have not dwelled with God in this way since the first days of Adam and Eve. And since the moral landscape is quite different than the beginning of Genesis, we naturally ask: How can God remain holy and live with people like this?

Leviticus aims to answer this question.

Forgiveness of Sin

Part of resolving the tension between God’s holiness and the people’s sinfulness lies in the forgiveness of sin. God had given commands to his people before Mount Sinai, but the path toward forgiveness was not always clear. In Genesis and Exodus it seems that God overlooks offenses more than he forgives them.

But in Leviticus, God makes the requirements for forgiveness clear. God tells Moses what type of sacrifice to bring along with where and when; he gives explicit (and sometimes graphic) instructions to the priests regarding these sacrifices.

The phrase that rings throughout chapters 4–6 of Leviticus should be delightful to us: “And the priest shall make atonement for him…and he shall be forgiven.” (See Lev 4:26; 4:31; 4:35; 5:10; 5:13; 5:16; 5:18; 6:7.)

Let’s not skip over this. God made a way for his people to be forgiven! This is one reason Paul Tripp says there are “few more hopeful books in all of Scripture than Leviticus.”

How to Live as God’s People

Some commentators split Leviticus in two, with the first 16 chapters focusing on ritual commands (offerings and priests) and chapters 17–27 concerned with ethical commands (laws, blessings for obedience, and punishment for disobedience).

Not every word of Leviticus fits neatly under those umbrellas, but God gives many regulations in the second part of the book. If the offerings and instructions to priests are about how God can live with his people, then the ethical commands are about how God’s people should live with him.

Further, God makes it clear that these aspects of life are related. Jeffrey Kranz points to this verse as a summary of the book.

You shall be holy to me, for I the Lord am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine. (Leviticus 20:26)

God demands holiness from the people because he is holy and he has called them to himself. His holiness is the basis for his regulations; the phrase “I am the Lord” is given almost as a punctuation to many of the laws in Leviticus 18–26.

Understanding Holiness

Leviticus is not the only place in the Bible that explains holiness, but it is one of the best.

Of all the books in the Bible, Leviticus uses the word “holy” the most—a total of 80 times in the ESV translation. Additionally, Leviticus is the leader among books of the Bible for the words “atone” (47 times), “guilt” (35 times), and “blood” (65 times). It uses “forgive” the most in the Old Testament (10 times) and its use of “sin” (93 times) is second only to the Psalms (111 times).

The point is that these words we read in the New Testament and sing on Sunday mornings are illustrated and explained primarily in Leviticus.

Understanding the Work of Jesus

The New Testament gives us plenty of reasons not yet mentioned to read Leviticus carefully. One of the two great commandments, according to Jesus—”you shall love your neighbor as yourself”—is first seen in Leviticus 19:18. And the apostle Peter quotes Leviticus when exhorts his readers to be holy in all of their conduct “since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy'” (1 Pet 1:16).

With Holy Week upon us, perhaps there is no more timely reason to read Leviticus than this. When the New Testament portrays Jesus as both priest (see Hebrews 7) and sacrifice (see Hebrews 9:11–14), when we read that our sin is forgiven because of the work of Jesus (1 John 1:7–10), we learn much of what was required and what was accomplished in this often-neglected book.

Exodus 40: Great But Not Great Enough

March 2, 2018 By Peter Krol

God’s rescued and rebellious people have been brought out of bondage and brought back to their glorious Master. They have done all he’s asked them to do in building his tent. How will Moses conclude this book?

Observation of Exodus 40:1-38

Most repeated words: tabernacle (17 times), Lord (14x), put (14), tent (14), Moses (13), set (13), meeting (12), up (12), altar (11), all (8), anoint (8), ark (8), commanded (8)

The clear focus is on the tabernacle/tent (31x), which Yahweh (14) commanded (8) and Moses (13) set (13) up (12) and put (14) in place for meeting (12) with Yahweh.

Scene 1: Yahweh’s speech to Moses (Ex 40:1-15)

Moses must erect the tabernacle exactly one year after they came out of Egypt (Ex 40:2, 17; Ex 12:1-2).
All the pieces must go in the right place (Ex 40:1-8):
- Ark
- Veil
- Table
- Lampstand
- Incense altar
- Screen door
- Offering altar
- Basin
- Court
- Screen gate
Moses must anoint (pour oil on) all these pieces, the structure itself, and the people who will serve as priests (Ex 40:9-15)

Scene 2: Moses’ obedience (Ex 40:16-33)

Moses did it, “according to all that Yahweh commanded him” (Ex 40:16). The repetition of this evaluation statement divides the steps of obedience into the following chunks:
- Tabernacle, bases, frames, poles, pillars, tent covering (Ex 40:18-19)
- Ark with tablets, poles, mercy seat, screen veil (Ex 40:20-21)
- Table with bread on north side of outer room (Ex 40:22-23)
- Lampstand with lamps on south side of outer room (Ex 40:24-25)
- Golden altar with incense in front of screen veil to inner room (Ex 40:26-27)
- Screen door, altar of burnt offering outside, with burnt offering and grain offering (Ex 40:28-29)
- Basin with water, so Moses, Aaron, and sons can wash (Ex 40:30-32)
- Court with screen gate (Ex 40:33)
I observe that the steps of Moses’ obedience exactly follow the order of Yahweh’s instructions from Ex 40:1-8.
When it’s over, we get a concluding narrative statement: “So Moses finished the work” (Ex 40:33b).

Scene 3: The aftermath (Ex 40:34-38)

Yahweh’s cloud covers the tent, and his glory fills the tabernacle (Ex 40:34).
Because of the cloud and the glory, Moses is not able to enter (Ex 40:35).
The cloud directs Israel’s camping route and schedule (Ex 40:36-38).
John McSporran (2016), Creative Commons

Interpretation of Exodus 40

Some possible questions:

Why are both tabernacle and priests anointed?
Why does the narrator record Moses’ obedience in the same order as Yahweh’s command?
Moses was able to enter (Ex 20:21, 24:18) and see (sort of: Ex 33:18-23, 34:5-8) the cloud of Yahweh’s glory. How come he can’t now enter the glory when it fills the tabernacle?
Why does the book end by relegating the glory cloud to the role of wilderness tour guide?

My answers (numbers correspond to the questions):

The priests are linked to the tabernacle by being treated in the same way—getting oil dumped on them. They are also linked by having the same purpose of the anointing: to consecrate them, or make them holy (that is, special). These special men are now linked to this special place in a special way. They work together to make “Immanuel” possible.
Exodus 35-39 showed outrageous obedience on the part of the craftsmen and people. Now we see Moses, as the leader, is just as faithful in all God’s house (Heb 3:2). Also, if God is the Creator of the new creation tabernacle in Ex 25-31, Moses is now the new creator, in God’s image. The concluding “So Moses finished the work” is fitting when compared to Yahweh’s work (Gen 2:2).
Certainly something has shifted. When things were just getting set up, Moses entered the glory to show Yahweh’s inclusion of his glorified mediator in his covenant purposes. But now that the tabernacle is erected, perhaps we have here some foreshadowing that this “new covenant” is not new enough. There must be something better than this. This can’t be the full and final relationship with Immanuel that we’ve been waiting for.
This is a fulfillment of Yahweh’s promise to go up with the people into the land he had promised them (Ex 33:14). It also shows both how dependent the people are on Yahweh’s glory to guide them, and how they are unable to enter the glory in the tabernacle (all they can do is watch and follow; they cannot enter). Finally, it ends the narrative right where it began (Ex 1:1): with the people of Israel moving from one place to another, looking for the ultimate fulfillment of Yahweh’s promises. This cannot be the end of their story.

Train of thought:

Put all the pieces together so we can dwell together.
He puts all the pieces together so they can dwell together.
But they can’t actually dwell together yet.

Main point: While the tabernacle reveals the magnificent glory of God with us, there is something even more glorious yet.

Connection to Christ: These people long for the day when they can really and truly live with their God. Little did they know he would come to live with them (Matt 1:21-23). He would lead his people into yet greater obedience, as they behold the glory of his grace and truth (John 1:14).

My Application of Exodus 40

Head: I can trust God’s good purposes when I feel tension between the already and the not yet. I already have everything I need in Christ: his presence with me by his Spirit, empowering me to obey his commands. Yet, it will become even more wonderful and glorious when I can set my aside once and for all to be with him forever.

Heart: My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. If he is not with me, what hope do I have?

Hands: The grace of God teaches me to say no to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live a self-controlled, upright, and godly life (Titus 2:11-12) while I wait for my blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of my great God and Savior Jesus Christ (Titus 2:13-14). I don’t need a second helping of dessert tonight. I can restrain my harsh words to my children. I can respond to my discouragement with the hope of what Jesus is doing in the world.

Click here to see what I’m doing with this sample Bible study and why I’m doing it.

Big Bible Words: Holiness

July 12, 2013 By Peter Krol

How would you explain holiness in plain language?

My Holy Shirt

I have lots of shirts in my closet. To be exact, I have 11 short-sleeve shirts, 12 long-sleeve shirts, and 10 dress shirts. I’m thankful for these shirts, but they’re not all that important to me.

I don’t want to deplete brain power deciding which shirts to wear each morning. So I usually wear them in the order they hang in the closet (according to the season, of course). Occasionally, one of my daughters will choose my shirt of the day. Either way, I’m happy. A shirt adorns my back, and I’m on with my day.

There’s one shirt, however, I truly care about. It’s not the prettiest or highest quality shirt in my closet. But it’s the most important one. It’s special.

Holy Shirt

I acquired this shirt in Fort Portal, Uganda in 2008 from a country market. We were there to adopt our twin sons, and this shirt became one of our souvenirs.

I call it my Ugandan Papa shirt. It represents my fatherly love and identification with my sons’ heritage. I wear it only once or twice per year: on the anniversary of the adoption, and sometimes on the boys’ birthday. On those days, I don’t care if I’m at work, at church, or on a trip. I might be at home or around other people. But I’m wearing the shirt.

I don’t put it in the washing machine, because it might not hold up. If it needs to be ironed, we do so with meticulous gentleness.

If the shirt ever deteriorates, we’re going to have to go back to Uganda for another one.

This is my favorite shirt. It’s a special shirt.

That’s what it means to be holy.

It doesn’t mean “good,” although biblically holy things will also be good.

It doesn’t mean “righteous,” although biblically holy things will also be righteous.

It doesn’t mean “sinless” or “sacred” or “worthy of worship.”

It means special. A holy thing is different from everything else in its category. A “holy” shirt is more special than the other shirts. A holy ground is more special than any other ground. A holy land is more special than any other land. A holy assembly is more special than any other assembly.

A holy God is special; he’s different from all the other gods. A holy Spirit is special and unlike any other spirit. A holy people is more special and unique than any other people.

Leviticus 19:1-8 explains holiness simply. “You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy” (Lev 19:2, ESV). What does that mean? The Lord gives examples.

Revere your father and mother. They are not ordinary, common people. They are special to you (Lev 19:3).
Keep the Sabbath. It is not like every other day. It is a special day (Lev 19:3).
Do not turn to idols. They are ordinary and not special at all (blocks of wood or stone or iron with no rescuing power). Not like the LORD your God, who is special (Lev 19:4).
Peace offerings (one type of Old Testament sacrifice – think of grilled hamburgers or lamb chops) must be eaten within two days. If an Israelite kept any leftovers, he’d be treating them like all the rest of his food. He has profaned what is holy to the LORD. He didn’t treat it as special food (Lev 19:5-8).

Profanity

The opposite of holiness is profanity. Profanity doesn’t technically mean “bad words” or “curse words.” It means “common words.” Similarly, “vulgar” used to mean “common” long before its meaning morphed into “indecent,” “crude,” or “obscene.”

Leviticus 19:8 shows that you don’t have to defile something to profane it. You merely have to ignore how special it is and treat it like everything else.

So What?

The one who called you is special, so you also must be special in all your conduct (1 Pet 1:15). God is your Father and Acquitter. Christ’s blood ransomed you. You are no ordinary person (1 Pet 1:17-21).

Neither are the others who were also ransomed. They are your brothers. They are special. Now love them and remind them of how special they are (1 Pet 1:22-25).