Readings for today: Leviticus 5-7
Who is God? This is the ultimate question the Bible is written to answer. What kind of God is He? What qualities make up His nature and character? Can He be trusted? Is He good? Is He worthy of our love and devotion? So many have this idea that God is harsh and rigid and legalistic and pedantic. They read a book like Leviticus and it only confirms their worst fears. God is arbitrary and capricious. He is arrogant and egotistical. Why else would He need all these sacrifices? Why else would He put in place all these laws? Why else would He want His people making sacrifice after sacrifice in order to stay right with Him? Where is His grace? Where is His unconditional love? Where is His mercy? Why can’t He give them a break? What these questions reveal is the fundamental problem that plagues humanity. We think too highly of ourselves and too lowly of God. We believe, on some level, that we are in a position to judge God. We think we have the right or the standing to put Him on the witness stand and make Him defend His actions. The reality, of course, is much different.
Why doesn’t God walk away? That’s the question we should be asking. Why didn’t God just walk away when Adam and Eve sinned? Why didn’t God walk away when He flooded the earth? Why doesn’t God walk away as humanity plunges into ruin over and over again? What is it about God that keeps Him coming back? Why does God keep offering us an olive branch? Why does He make way after way after way for us to approach Him and live in relationship with Him? That’s what these laws in Leviticus are ultimately all about. Purity. Ritual purity. Sacred purity. The kind of purity we need if we are to meet with God and talk with God face to face. Without purity, we would be destroyed. His holiness would overwhelm us. That’s why He protected Moses in the cleft of the rock when His glory passed by. Even Moses couldn’t stand in God’s presence without some kind of protection!
The law of God is given to teach us the depth and breadth of our sin. The law is like a mirror for the soul. It reveals all that is sinful about us. The law also provides a way to forgiveness. A way to purity. A way to holiness. By performing the prescribed sacrifices and living intentionally within the boundaries the law set, Israel would enjoy a deep, intimate relationship with God. A relationship that would set them apart from the other tribal nations who surrounded them. They would experience the blessing of God. The favor of God. The protection of God. The provision of God. They would become a city set on a hill. A light in the darkness. Salt on the earth. And in this way, God’s reputation and glory would spread. The nations would come to Jerusalem to see this God and to know this God. They would bring their own offerings and sacrifices. This is the glorious vision God has for His people and it’s why He makes a way for them to literally dwell in His presence.
None of us live in ancient Israel. We are not governed by the same laws that governed them. So what can we draw out from Leviticus? What practical purpose does this book serve in our lives? It points us to Jesus. Jesus, our great high priest and perfect sacrifice. Jesus, the one who fulfilled all the demands of the law by offering His own life in our place. Jesus, the one whose purity and holiness is available to us by faith. Jesus, the one who covers us in His own righteousness. In Jesus, God made yet another way, the only way, for us to live in relationship with Him. And because Jesus died once for all, we no longer have a need to bring any sacrifice except the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving for all He has done.
Readings for tomorrow: Leviticus 8-10