Have you ever watched a fantastic film that you wanted to see again and again? The story of God's rescue plan through Jesus Christ's death, burial, and resurrection is just like that. It's so wonderful that the Bible talks about it repeatedly. One fascinating aspect of the salvation story is that it's predicted and described long before Jesus was born. This is the main point of Leviticus.
If you read Leviticus, you might think it's just a guide for priests on how to make different kinds of sacrifices, which can seem very old-fashioned and strange. The book provides detailed information about the steps and rules for these sacrifices.
Unlike many other books in the Bible, Leviticus is not a story. Instead, it serves as a detailed guide for God's people, Israel, on how to worship Him. It provided specific instructions that were to be followed closely.
A key theme in this book is that God is holy. Humans are not holy, and so people must be cleansed before they can approach God. The Bible explains how human beings came to sin and why they are unclean before a perfect Creator. However, we discover that God has designed a way for us to be cleansed and approach Him. This is pictured in the animal sacrifices described in Leviticus. You may ask - why should an innocent animal die in my place? It's a good question, which is vividly answered by the sacrifice of animals. Sin always leads to death - the Bible says 'the wages of sin is death,' and 'sin when it is finished ends in death,' James 1. 15. But in Leviticus, God shows how His people can come to Him. He requires an animal—often a lamb or a bull— to die in place of the person so they can approach God. Someone must die for us to have life. That person is the Lord Jesus Christ, who is foreshadowed in the sacrifices mentioned in the book of Leviticus.
Leviticus explains that sacrifices serve to pay for sins and to establish a relationship with God. Each sacrifice illustrates what Jesus would ultimately do for us on the cross many years later.
This book can be tough to read, but it helps us understand why Jesus, God's promised Son, needed to die. He is the perfect 'Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world,' John 1. 29.
A friend of mine once thought he had to make sacrifices to be right with God after reading the book of Leviticus. He later realised that Jesus is the one sacrifice for sin forever, allowing us to have salvation and peace with God. I hope you discover this, too.
All photos courtesy of Unsplash
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