Leviticus

Part One: Introduction to Leviticus

The Name

"Leviticus" comes from the Greek and Latin title meaning "relating to the Levites." The book mainly concerns the priests, the sons of Aaron from the tribe of Levi, and their ministry. The Hebrew title is Vayikra, "And he called," from its first words: "And the LORD called unto Moses, and spake unto him out of the tabernacle of the congregation" (1:1). Exodus ended with God's glory filling the tabernacle (Exodus 40:34-35). Leviticus begins with God speaking from that tabernacle. Exodus tells how God redeemed a people and came to dwell among them. Leviticus tells how that people can approach Him and live as His holy people.

Author

Moses wrote Leviticus. More than any other book of the Bible, it presents itself as the direct words of God: the phrase "the LORD spake unto Moses" (or similar) begins most of its chapters, and the book closes, "These are the commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses for the children of Israel in mount Sinai" (27:34). Jesus referred to the cleansing of lepers as "the gift that Moses commanded" (Matthew 8:4; Leviticus 14). Paul quotes Leviticus 18:5 as "Moses describeth" (Romans 10:5).

Date and Setting

Leviticus was given at Mount Sinai around 1445 BC. The tabernacle was set up on the first day of the first month of the second year (Exodus 40:17), and Israel's census began one month later (Numbers 1:1). Leviticus therefore covers only about one month, the shortest time span of any of the five books of Moses. There is very little narrative: only the ordination of the priests (8-9), the death of Nadab and Abihu (10), and the stoning of a blasphemer (24:10-23).

Purpose and Theme

The key word is holy. Words for "holy," "holiness" and "sanctify" run through the whole book, together with "atonement," "clean" and "unclean." The key verse:

Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy.

Leviticus 19:2

Leviticus answers two questions:

• How can a sinful people approach a holy God? By sacrifice, through a priest, on the basis of atonement by blood (chapters 1-16).
• How should a redeemed people live before a holy God? By practical holiness in every part of life: food, family, sexuality, business, worship, time and land (chapters 17-27).

For Christians, Leviticus is not an obsolete rule book but a picture book of Christ. The New Testament letter to the Hebrews is largely a commentary on it. Every offering, the priesthood, the Day of Atonement and the feasts all point to the person and work of Jesus Christ. "For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things" (Hebrews 10:1).

Outline of Leviticus

Part Two: Chapter-by-Chapter Analysis

Section I: The Offerings (Chapters 1-7)

Chapters 1-5 describe five offerings from the worshipper's side; chapters 6-7 give the instructions for the priests ("the law of the burnt offering," and so on). The first three are "sweet savour" offerings, offered voluntarily in worship and fellowship. The last two are required offerings for sin. All five picture different aspects of the one offering of Christ (Hebrews 10:10-14).

Chapter 1 — The Burnt Offering

The burnt offering (Hebrew olah, "that which goes up") was the most basic and most frequent sacrifice, offered every morning and evening (Exodus 29:38-42). It could be a bullock, a sheep or goat, or turtledoves or pigeons, so that rich and poor alike could come (1:3, 10, 14). It had to be "a male without blemish" (1:3). The worshipper laid his hand on the animal's head, "and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him" (1:4): identification and substitution. The offerer himself killed it (1:5); the priests sprinkled the blood around the altar and burned the whole animal on the altar, "a sweet savour unto the LORD" (1:9).

The distinctive feature is that all of it was burned; nothing was kept back. It pictures Christ's total devotion to the Father: "Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour" (Ephesians 5:2). It also pictures the believer's response: "present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God" (Romans 12:1).

Chapter 2 — The Meal (Meat) Offering

The KJV calls it the "meat offering," meaning food in general; it was made of grain, not flesh. It consisted of fine flour, with oil poured on it and frankincense, baked or unbaked (2:1-7). A handful was burned as a memorial; the rest belonged to the priests (2:2-3). It had to contain no leaven and no honey (2:11), but always salt: "the salt of the covenant of thy God" (2:13). This is the only offering without blood. It pictures Christ's perfect, sinless life: fine flour, even and pure (His perfect humanity); oil (anointed by the Spirit, Acts 10:38); frankincense (His life wholly fragrant to God); no leaven (no sin, 1 Peter 2:22); no honey (no merely natural sweetness or flattery); salt (incorruptible, faithful to the covenant; compare Colossians 4:6). It also points to the Bread of life, broken and given.

Chapter 3 — The Peace Offering

The peace offering could be male or female from the herd or flock, without blemish (3:1, 6). The fat and certain inner parts were burned on the altar: "all the fat is the LORD'S" (3:16). The breast and right shoulder went to the priests, and the rest was eaten by the worshipper and his family (7:11-34). It was a fellowship meal shared by God, the priest and the worshipper, celebrating peace already established. It was offered for thanksgiving, a vow, or a freewill offering (7:12-16). It pictures Christ "our peace" (Ephesians 2:14), who "made peace through the blood of his cross" (Colossians 1:20), and the believer's communion with God and fellow believers, especially at the Lord's Table (1 Corinthians 10:16-18). The command not to eat fat or blood (3:17) is repeated in 7:23-27 and 17:10-14.

Chapter 4 — The Sin Offering

The sin offering dealt with sins committed "through ignorance" (unintentionally, 4:2). The animal depended on the sinner's position: a bullock for the anointed priest (4:3) or the whole congregation (4:13-14), a male goat for a ruler (4:22-23), and a female goat or lamb for a common person (4:27-28, 32). The greater the responsibility, the greater the offering. For the priest and the congregation, the blood was sprinkled seven times before the veil and put on the horns of the incense altar (4:6-7, 17-18), and the body was carried "without the camp" to be burned in a clean place (4:12, 21).

For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned without the camp. Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.

Hebrews 13:11-12

The sin offering pictures Christ made sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21). The burnt offering emphasises what Christ is to God; the sin offering emphasises what sin is to God, and what Christ bore in our place. Each case ends with the promise "and it shall be forgiven him" (4:20, 26, 31, 35).

Chapter 5 — Specific Sins and the Trespass Offering

Chapter 5 lists sins that required a sin offering: failing to testify as a witness, touching something unclean, and rash oaths (5:1-4). The sinner had to "confess that he hath sinned in that thing" (5:5; compare 1 John 1:9). God made provision for the poor: if a person could not afford a lamb, two turtledoves or pigeons were accepted, and for the very poorest, a tenth of an ephah of fine flour (5:7, 11). No one was too poor to receive atonement. The trespass (guilt) offering (5:14-6:7) dealt with sins that caused loss or damage, against "the holy things of the LORD" or against a neighbour. It required a ram and full restitution plus a fifth part added (5:16; 6:5). Isaiah 53:10 uses the same Hebrew word (asham) for the Servant: "when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin." Christ not only paid for our sin but restored more to God than sin ever took away. Zacchaeus' fourfold restitution reflects this principle of repentance (Luke 19:8).

Chapters 6-7 — The Law of the Offerings for the Priests

These chapters give priestly instructions for each offering. "The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out" (6:13): the altar fire, first lit by God (9:24), was kept continually burning. The priests ate portions of certain offerings in a holy place (6:16, 26). The peace offering's thanksgiving variety had to be eaten the same day (7:15). Unclean persons who ate of the peace offerings were "cut off" (7:20-21; compare 1 Corinthians 11:27-30). The priests received the "wave breast" and "heave shoulder" (7:30-34). The section ends with a summary of all five offerings (7:37-38).

Section II: The Priesthood (Chapters 8-10)

Chapter 8 — The Consecration of Aaron and His Sons

Following Exodus 29, Moses gathered the congregation at the door of the tabernacle (8:3). Aaron and his sons were washed with water (8:6), Aaron was clothed in the high priestly garments (8:7-9), and the tabernacle and Aaron were anointed with oil (8:10-12). A sin offering, a burnt offering and a "ram of consecration" were offered. Blood was put on the right ear, thumb and big toe of Aaron and his sons (8:23-24): the whole person consecrated to hear, serve and walk for God. They stayed at the door of the tabernacle seven days (8:33-35). Believers are now "an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 2:5, 9; Revelation 1:6).

Chapter 9 — The Priests Begin Their Ministry

On the eighth day Aaron offered sacrifices for himself and then for the people (9:7-21). Aaron needed to offer for his own sins first; Christ did not (Hebrews 7:26-27). Aaron lifted up his hands and blessed the people (9:22). Then:

And there came a fire out from before the LORD, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces.

Leviticus 9:24

God accepted the sacrifice by fire from heaven, as He later did for Solomon (2 Chronicles 7:1) and Elijah (1 Kings 18:38).

Chapter 10 — Nadab and Abihu: Strange Fire

On the very day of the inauguration, Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu "offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not. And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD" (10:1-2). The same fire that accepted the sacrifice judged the disobedient worshippers. Their sin was worship in a way God had not commanded. The verses that follow (10:8-11), forbidding priests to drink wine before serving, suggest drunkenness may have been involved. Moses explained:

This is it that the LORD spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace.

Leviticus 10:3

The priests' duty was "that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean; And that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes" (10:10-11). God is not to be approached casually or in self-invented ways. "Let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: For our God is a consuming fire" (Hebrews 12:28-29). Similar judgments in the New Testament include Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11) and those who took the Lord's Supper unworthily (1 Corinthians 11:30).

Section III: Clean and Unclean (Chapters 11-15)

"Clean" and "unclean" in Leviticus are mainly about fitness to approach God in worship, not hygiene or personal sin, though they had health benefits. Uncleanness came from contact with death, disease, bodily discharges and certain animals. These laws taught Israel daily that God is holy, that sin and death defile, and that His people must be separate.

Chapter 11 — Clean and Unclean Food

Land animals were clean if they both chewed the cud and had divided (cloven) hooves (11:3); the camel, coney, hare and swine were unclean (11:4-8). Water creatures needed fins and scales (11:9-12). Certain birds, mostly birds of prey and scavengers, were unclean (11:13-19). Most flying insects were unclean, except locusts, crickets and grasshoppers (11:20-23). Touching a carcass made a person unclean until evening (11:24-40). The reason given is holiness:

For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy

Leviticus 11:44

Peter quotes this in 1 Peter 1:15-16. These food laws set Israel apart from the nations. In the New Testament, Jesus declared all foods clean ("purging all meats," Mark 7:19), God showed Peter in a vision that He had cleansed what was once unclean, pointing to the acceptance of the Gentiles (Acts 10:9-16, 28), and Paul teaches that "every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving" (1 Timothy 4:4; Colossians 2:16-17; Romans 14:14).

Chapter 12 — Purification After Childbirth

A mother was unclean seven days after the birth of a son, who was circumcised on the eighth day (12:2-3), and for a further 33 days of purifying; the periods doubled for a daughter (12:5). She then brought a lamb for a burnt offering and a pigeon or turtledove for a sin offering. "And if she be not able to bring a lamb, then she shall bring two turtles, or two young pigeons" (12:8). Mary offered "a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons" after Jesus' birth (Luke 2:22-24), showing that Christ was born into poverty (2 Corinthians 8:9). Jesus Himself was circumcised on the eighth day (Luke 2:21). The uncleanness was ceremonial, not moral: childbirth is a blessing (Psalm 127:3), but every person born into the world inherits a fallen nature (Psalm 51:5).

Chapters 13-14 — Leprosy and Its Cleansing

Chapter 13 gives the priest detailed tests for diagnosing leprosy, a term covering various serious skin diseases, as well as mould in garments (13:47-59). A leper had to wear torn clothes, leave his hair loose, cover his upper lip, and cry "Unclean, unclean," living alone outside the camp (13:45-46). Leprosy became the Bible's great picture of sin: it starts small, spreads, defiles, isolates, and makes a person an outcast, and no human remedy could cure it.

Chapter 14 gives the ritual for cleansing a leper already healed. The priest went outside the camp to examine him (14:3). Two clean birds were taken: one was killed in an earthen vessel over running water, and the living bird, with cedar wood, scarlet and hyssop, was dipped in the blood of the slain bird and let loose into the open field (14:4-7). Many see here the death and resurrection of Christ: the slain bird pictures His death in a human body (the earthen vessel), and the living bird, marked with blood and released to the heavens, His resurrection and ascension (Romans 4:25). The cleansed leper was then anointed with blood and oil on the right ear, thumb and toe (14:14-18), like the priests. The same chapter gives laws for mould ("leprosy") in houses (14:33-57).

When Jesus touched and healed lepers, He told them, "go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them" (Matthew 8:2-4; Luke 17:12-14). Jesus noted that in Elisha's day there were many lepers in Israel, "and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian" (Luke 4:27). Cleansing leprosy was seen as a work only God could do (2 Kings 5:7), so a cleansed leper presenting himself to the priest was a testimony that the Messiah had come (Matthew 11:5).

Chapter 15 — Bodily Discharges

Chronic and normal bodily discharges made men and women ceremonially unclean, and whatever they touched (15:1-33). The purpose: "Thus shall ye separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness; that they die not in their uncleanness, when they defile my tabernacle that is among them" (15:31). The woman with "an issue of blood twelve years" (Mark 5:25-34) was under the law of 15:25-27, continually unclean and excluded. Instead of her touching Jesus making Him unclean, His power made her whole. Jesus reverses the flow of defilement: He is not defiled by sinners; He cleanses them.

Section IV: The Day of Atonement (Chapter 16)

Chapter 16 — The Great Day of Atonement

This chapter is the centre and climax of Leviticus. The occasion was "after the death of the two sons of Aaron" (16:1): access to God's presence is deadly unless it is by His appointed way. Aaron could not come into the Holy of Holies "at all times... that he die not" (16:2), but only once a year, on the tenth day of the seventh month (16:29-34; Hebrews 9:7).

The order of the day:

• Preparation (16:3-4). The high priest washed and put on plain white linen garments, not his garments of glory and beauty, a picture of Christ's humility and purity in His work of atonement.
• Atonement for the priest (16:6, 11-14). He offered a bullock for himself and his house. He took a censer of burning coals and incense into the Holy of Holies so the cloud would cover the mercy seat, "that he die not" (16:13), then sprinkled the bullock's blood on and before the mercy seat seven times (16:14).
• The two goats (16:7-10). Lots were cast over two goats: one "for the LORD," the other "for the scapegoat" (Hebrew Azazel, "the goat that departs" or "complete removal").
• The LORD's goat (16:15-19). It was killed as a sin offering for the people, and its blood was sprinkled on and before the mercy seat, and on the altar, cleansing the holy places from Israel's uncleanness.
• The scapegoat (16:20-22).

And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness: And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited

Leviticus 16:21-22

• Conclusion (16:23-28). The high priest changed back into his garments of glory, washed, and offered burnt offerings. The bodies of the sin offerings were burned outside the camp.
• The people's part (16:29-31). They were to "afflict your souls" (fast and humble themselves) and do no work. "For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the LORD" (16:30).

The two goats together picture one atonement. The slain goat shows that the penalty of sin is paid by death, satisfying God's justice (propitiation). The scapegoat shows that sin is carried away and removed, never to return (expiation). "As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us" (Psalm 103:12). Christ is both: He died for our sins, and He "bare our sins in his own body on the tree" (1 Peter 2:24), carrying them away. John the Baptist joined both ideas: "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1:29).

See Part Four for how Hebrews 9-10 shows Christ's superior atonement.

Section V: Holiness of the People (Chapters 17-20)

Chapter 17 — The Place of Sacrifice and the Sanctity of Blood

All sacrifices had to be brought to the door of the tabernacle, not offered in the open fields "unto devils" (goat-idols, 17:7). Worship was centralised at God's chosen place, a principle that later points to Jerusalem (Deuteronomy 12:5-14) and finally to Christ, the one meeting place between God and man (John 4:21-24). Eating blood was strictly forbidden, and the reason is given in one of the key verses of the Bible:

For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.

Leviticus 17:11

Life is in the blood; sin brings death; therefore atonement requires a life given, which means blood shed. "Without shedding of blood is no remission" (Hebrews 9:22). This is why the gospel centres on the blood of Christ: "the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin" (1 John 1:7; Ephesians 1:7; Revelation 1:5). The prohibition on eating blood goes back to Noah (Genesis 9:4) and was among the requests to Gentile believers at the Jerusalem council (Acts 15:20, 29).

Chapter 18 — Sexual Morality

"After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do" (18:3). God's people must not copy the culture they came from or the culture around them. "Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the LORD" (18:5). Paul quotes this to contrast the righteousness of the law, which requires perfect doing, with the righteousness of faith (Romans 10:5; Galatians 3:12). The chapter forbids incest in its various forms (18:6-18), adultery (18:20), child sacrifice to Molech (18:21), homosexual acts (18:22), and bestiality (18:23). The Canaanites were being expelled for exactly these practices: "the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants" (18:24-28). God's moral law on sexuality is reaffirmed in the New Testament (Romans 1:24-27; 1 Corinthians 5:1; 6:9-11, 18; 1 Thessalonians 4:3-7), along with the good news that such sinners can be washed, sanctified and justified in Christ (1 Corinthians 6:11).

Chapter 19 — Holiness in Everyday Life

This chapter is the heart of the second half of the book. It begins, "Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy" (19:2), and then applies holiness to every area of life, repeating "I am the LORD" about sixteen times. It restates many of the Ten Commandments: honour parents and keep sabbaths (19:3), no idols (19:4), do not steal, lie or swear falsely (19:11-12).

• Care for the poor (19:9-10). Leave the corners of the field and the gleanings for the poor and the stranger. Ruth gleaned under this law in Boaz's field (Ruth 2).
• Fair treatment of workers (19:13). Pay wages the same day (James 5:4).
• Protect the vulnerable (19:14). "Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind" (compare Romans 14:13).
• Impartial justice (19:15). No favour to the poor or the mighty (James 2:1-9).
• No gossip or hatred (19:16-17). "Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour" (compare Matthew 18:15).

Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.

Leviticus 19:18

Jesus called this the second great commandment (Matthew 22:39), and it is quoted more often in the New Testament than any other Old Testament verse except perhaps Psalm 110:1 (Matthew 5:43; 19:19; 22:39; Mark 12:31, 33; Luke 10:27; Romans 13:9; Galatians 5:14; James 2:8). In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus showed that "neighbour" includes anyone in need, even an enemy (Luke 10:25-37). The chapter extends it to the foreigner: "thou shalt love him as thyself" (19:34).

• Separation from pagan practices (19:19, 26-31). No mixing of seed, no divination, no cutting the flesh or printing marks on the body for the dead (pagan mourning rites, 19:28), no consulting mediums.
• Respect for the aged (19:32). "Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man."
• Honest business (19:35-36). "Just balances, just weights."

Chapter 20 — Penalties for Serious Sins

This chapter sets the penalties for the sins of chapters 18-19, many of them capital: child sacrifice to Molech (20:2-5), consulting mediums (20:6, 27), cursing parents (20:9), adultery (20:10), incest, homosexual acts and bestiality (20:11-21). Under the law, the woman taken in adultery could have been stoned (John 8:5; 20:10), but Jesus, the only sinless one who could have cast the first stone, forgave her and said, "go, and sin no more" (John 8:11). The chapter repeats the purpose: "And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the LORD am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine" (20:26).

Section VI: Holiness of the Priests (Chapters 21-22)

Chapter 21 — Standards for the Priests

Because priests stood closest to God, they were held to higher standards: limits on mourning for the dead (21:1-6), marriage only to a virgin of good character (21:7, 13-15), and the high priest was not to defile himself even for his father or mother (21:11). A priest with a physical blemish could eat the holy food but could not offer the sacrifices (21:16-23). The blemish rule was not a judgment on disabled people but a picture: only a perfect priest could represent a perfect sacrifice. Christ is the High Priest who is "holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners" (Hebrews 7:26). Spiritual leaders today also face higher standards (1 Timothy 3:1-7; James 3:1).

Chapter 22 — The Holy Things and Acceptable Sacrifices

Unclean priests could not eat holy food (22:1-9). Only priests' households could eat it (22:10-16). Every offering had to be "perfect to be accepted; there shall be no blemish therein" (22:21). Malachi later condemned priests for offering "the blind... the lame and sick" (Malachi 1:8, 13). God deserves our best. Christ was offered "as of a lamb without blemish and without spot" (1 Peter 1:19). "I am the LORD which hallow you, That brought you out of the land of Egypt" (22:32-33).

Section VII: Holy Times (Chapters 23-25)

Chapter 23 — The Feasts of the LORD

God appointed "the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations" (23:2). The Hebrew word for "feasts" (moedim) means "appointed times." They begin with the weekly Sabbath (23:3), then seven annual feasts. Three of them (Unleavened Bread, Weeks and Tabernacles) required all the men to go up to God's sanctuary (Deuteronomy 16:16).

• Passover (23:5). The fourteenth day of the first month, remembering the Exodus.
• Unleavened Bread (23:6-8). Seven days, with all leaven removed.
• Firstfruits (23:9-14). "On the morrow after the sabbath" during the Passover week, the first sheaf of the barley harvest was waved before the LORD, guaranteeing the full harvest to come.
• Weeks / Pentecost (23:15-22). Fifty days after Firstfruits. Two loaves baked with leaven were waved (23:17), and the harvest gleanings were left for the poor (23:22).
• Trumpets (23:23-25). The first day of the seventh month, a memorial of blowing of trumpets.
• Day of Atonement (23:26-32). The tenth day of the seventh month, a day to afflict the soul.
• Tabernacles (23:33-44). Seven days from the fifteenth day of the seventh month, living in booths to remember the wilderness and rejoicing at the harvest.

The feasts form a prophetic calendar of redemption. The four spring feasts were fulfilled at Christ's first coming, on the very days of the feasts; the three autumn feasts point to events still to come. (See the full table in Part Three.)

Chapter 24 — The Lamp, the Shewbread and the Blasphemer

Pure olive oil kept the lamps burning "continually" (24:1-4). Twelve loaves of shewbread were set on the golden table every Sabbath, eaten by the priests in the holy place (24:5-9). David and his men ate this bread when they fled (1 Samuel 21:1-6), and Jesus used the incident to teach that the Son of man is Lord of the Sabbath (Mark 2:25-28). A man, son of an Israelite mother and an Egyptian father, "blasphemed the name of the LORD, and cursed" (24:11). After seeking God's mind, Moses had him stoned outside the camp (24:13-16, 23). Jesus was later condemned on a charge of blasphemy for claiming to be the Son of God (Matthew 26:63-66). The chapter restates the law of equal justice, "Breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth" (24:20), applied equally to "the stranger, as for one of your own country" (24:22).

Chapter 25 — The Sabbatical Year and the Year of Jubilee

The sabbatical year (25:1-7). Every seventh year the land was to rest: no sowing or pruning, and whatever grew of itself was for everyone, including servants, strangers and animals. God promised a triple harvest in the sixth year (25:20-22). The land belonged to God: "for the land is mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with me" (25:23).

The Jubilee (25:8-55). After seven sabbatical cycles (49 years), the trumpet was sounded on the Day of Atonement of the fiftieth year:

And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubile unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family.

Leviticus 25:10

In the Jubilee, land returned to its original family, Israelite slaves went free, and debts were cancelled. Land sales were really leases priced by the years left to Jubilee (25:14-17). The poor could be redeemed by a near kinsman (25:25, 47-49), the law behind Boaz's redemption of Ruth (Ruth 4). Israelites who became poor were to be treated as hired servants, not slaves, "for they are my servants, which I brought forth out of the land of Egypt" (25:39-43, 55).

Jesus began His ministry reading Isaiah 61, "To preach the acceptable year of the Lord" (Luke 4:18-19), which echoes the Jubilee: He came to proclaim liberty to captives. The Jubilee began on the Day of Atonement: liberty flows from atonement. The Liberty Bell in Philadelphia bears the inscription of 25:10.

Section VIII: Blessings, Warnings and Vows (Chapters 26-27)

Chapter 26 — Blessings for Obedience, Curses for Disobedience

If Israel obeyed, God promised rain, harvests, peace, victory, fruitfulness and His presence:

And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people.

Leviticus 26:12

Paul applies this to the church as God's temple (2 Corinthians 6:16). "I have broken the bands of your yoke, and made you go upright" (26:13). If Israel disobeyed, God warned of five increasing stages of discipline, each introduced by "if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me" (26:14-39): disease and defeat; drought ("I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass," 26:19); wild beasts; war, pestilence and famine; and finally siege, cannibalism, destruction of cities and sanctuaries, and exile among the nations. All of these came upon Israel in history, under Assyria (722 BC), Babylon (586 BC), and Rome (AD 70).

During the exile, "Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths... because it did not rest in your sabbaths" (26:34-35). 2 Chronicles 36:21 says the 70-year Babylonian captivity was "to fulfil the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths." Israel had neglected about 70 sabbatical years.

Yet the chapter ends with grace. If they confess their iniquity, "Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land" (26:40-42). "I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them" (26:44). God's discipline of Israel is real, but His covenant is unbreakable (Romans 11:1-2, 26-29).

Chapter 27 — Vows and Tithes

Voluntary vows of persons, animals, houses and fields to the LORD could be redeemed at fixed valuations, usually with a fifth added (27:1-25). Firstborn animals already belonged to God and could not be vowed (27:26). Things "devoted" (cherem) to the LORD were most holy and could not be redeemed (27:28-29). The book ends with the tithe:

And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD'S: it is holy unto the LORD.

Leviticus 27:30

The tithe goes back to Abraham (Genesis 14:20) and Jacob (Genesis 28:22). Malachi 3:8-10 rebukes Israel for robbing God in tithes. Jesus affirmed tithing while rebuking those who neglected "judgment, mercy, and faith" (Matthew 23:23). New Testament giving is to be regular, proportionate, generous and cheerful (1 Corinthians 16:2; 2 Corinthians 9:6-7). Ecclesiastes 5:4-5 warns not to make vows rashly. The book closes: "These are the commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses for the children of Israel in mount Sinai" (27:34).

Part Three: Christ in Leviticus

The Offerings and Christ

Every offering pictures some aspect of Christ's one sacrifice (see the table at the end of chapter 7). Hebrews explains that the many animal sacrifices could never take away sin (Hebrews 10:4), but Christ "by one offering... hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified" (10:14). The offerings show:

• What Christ is to God: perfectly devoted (burnt offering) and perfectly pure (meal offering).
• What Christ is to us: our peace and fellowship with God (peace offering).
• What Christ did for our sins: became sin for us (sin offering) and paid the full debt with more besides (trespass offering).

Aaron and Christ: The Greater High Priest

The Day of Atonement Fulfilled

The Feasts of the LORD: God's Prophetic Calendar

The spring feasts were fulfilled to the day: Christ died at Passover, lay in the grave during Unleavened Bread, rose on the day of Firstfruits, and sent the Spirit on Pentecost. Bible teachers who hold a premillennial view expect the autumn feasts to be fulfilled just as literally at His second coming; others apply them spiritually to the church age and the eternal state. All agree the feasts point to Christ. "Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ" (Colossians 2:17).

Other Pictures of Christ in Leviticus

• The two birds (14:4-7). The death and resurrection of Christ.
• The kinsman-redeemer (25:25, 47-49). Christ who became our kinsman to redeem us (Hebrews 2:14-17; Ruth 4).
• The Jubilee (25:10). Christ proclaiming liberty to captives (Luke 4:18-19).
• The shewbread (24:5-9). The bread of life; God's people kept in His presence.
• The continual fire (6:13). Christ's sacrifice ever availing; the Spirit's fire in the believer.
• The cleansed leper (14). Christ cleansing the sinner and making him a priest to God (Revelation 1:5-6).

Part Four: Key Passages in Depth

Leviticus 17:11 — The Life Is in the Blood

This verse is the foundation of the Bible's doctrine of atonement. It teaches three things. First, the nature of blood: life is in it. Second, the purpose God gave it: atonement, a substitute's life for the sinner's life. Third, the power of blood: "it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul." This explains why the cross was necessary and why the New Testament speaks so often of "the blood of Christ": it means His life given in death as our substitute (Romans 5:9; Ephesians 2:13; Colossians 1:20; Hebrews 9:14; 1 Peter 1:18-19; Revelation 5:9).

Leviticus 19:2 and 1 Peter 1:15-16 — Be Holy

Peter applies Leviticus directly to Christians: "But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy." Holiness means being set apart for God and separated from sin. The believer is holy in position (sanctified in Christ, Hebrews 10:10), is called to become holy in practice (2 Corinthians 7:1), and will be made perfectly holy at Christ's return (1 John 3:2). "Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14).

Leviticus 10 — The Danger of Self-Invented Worship

Nadab and Abihu were priests, sons of the high priest, who had seen God's glory on the mountain (Exodus 24:9-11). They were not judged for ignorance but for presumption: they offered what God "commanded them not." The principle is that God determines how He is to be worshipped. Jesus taught that true worshippers "worship him in spirit and in truth" (John 4:24) and rebuked worship based on "the commandments of men" (Matthew 15:9).

Hebrews 9-10 — The Commentary on Leviticus

Hebrews explains why the sacrificial system has ended. The old covenant sacrifices were:

• Shadows, not the reality (10:1).
• Repeated, proving they never finished the work (10:1-3, 11).
• Insufficient: "it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins" (10:4).
• External: they purified the flesh but could not cleanse the conscience (9:9-10, 13-14).

Christ's sacrifice is real, once for all, sufficient, and cleanses the conscience. Therefore "where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin" (10:18), and believers have "boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus" (10:19). To return to the old sacrifices after Christ would be to reject the only sacrifice that saves (10:26-29).

Part Five: The Major Teachings of Leviticus

1. The Holiness of God

God is utterly pure and separate from sin, and His presence is both a blessing and a danger. Leviticus 10 shows that His holiness consumes what is unholy, and Leviticus 16 shows that only the way He provides allows sinners into His presence.

2. The Seriousness of Sin

Sin defiles the sinner, the community, the land and even the sanctuary (15:31; 16:16; 18:25). Even unintentional sins need atonement (4:2). Sin is not only against people but "against the LORD" (6:2).

3. Atonement by Substitutionary Sacrifice

The worshipper laid his hand on the animal (1:4; 16:21), identifying with it, and its death was accepted in his place. The word "atonement" (kaphar, "to cover" or "to ransom") appears dozens of times. The New Testament presents Christ as the fulfillment: "Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many" (Hebrews 9:28).

4. Priesthood and Mediation

Sinners need a mediator to approach God. Aaron's priesthood was real but temporary and imperfect. Christ is the perfect and permanent High Priest (Hebrews 7-10), and through Him all believers are made priests who offer spiritual sacrifices: praise, good works and giving (Hebrews 13:15-16; 1 Peter 2:5, 9).

5. Holiness of Life

Holiness reaches every part of life: diet, health, sexuality, family, business, justice, care for the poor, respect for the elderly, and treatment of foreigners. There is no sacred/secular divide; all of life is lived before the LORD ("I am the LORD" repeated throughout chapters 18-26).

6. Love of Neighbour

Leviticus 19:18 shows that the Old Testament law was not merely ritual but deeply relational. Jesus and Paul both summarise the whole law in love (Matthew 22:39-40; Romans 13:8-10; Galatians 5:14).

7. Separation

God "severed you from other people, that ye should be mine" (20:26). The clean/unclean distinctions, food laws and moral laws marked Israel off from the nations. In the New Testament, separation is no longer about food but about holiness of heart and conduct: "be ye separate... and touch not the unclean thing" (2 Corinthians 6:17).

8. God's Ownership

God owns the land (25:23), the firstborn (27:26), the tithe (27:30), and His people (25:42, 55). We are stewards, not owners. "Ye are not your own... For ye are bought with a price" (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

9. Rest, Liberty and Restoration

Sabbaths, the sabbatical year and the Jubilee show God's concern for rest, release and restoration, all fulfilled in Christ, who gives rest to the weary (Matthew 11:28) and liberty to the captive (Luke 4:18).

10. Covenant Faithfulness

Even in judgment, God does not break His covenant (26:40-45). This guarantees Israel's future restoration (Romans 11:26-29) and the believer's security in the new covenant (Hebrews 13:5).

Part Six: Connections — How Leviticus Links to the Rest of the Bible

Leviticus Quoted and Cited in the New Testament

Leviticus in the Old Testament

Themes That Run from Leviticus Through Scripture

Part Seven: Practical Lessons

• Come to God only through Christ. Every approach in Leviticus required a sacrifice; ours is Christ (John 14:6; Hebrews 10:19-22).
• Take sin seriously, including "small" and unintentional sins. God provided atonement even for sins of ignorance (4).
• Confess sin specifically. "He shall confess that he hath sinned in that thing" (5:5; 1 John 1:9).
• Make restitution where you have wronged others. Repentance includes putting things right (6:4-5).
• Worship God His way, with reverence. Strange fire is still strange fire (10; Hebrews 12:28-29).
• Give your whole self. The burnt offering held nothing back (1; Romans 12:1).
• God deserves our best. No blemished offerings (22:20; Malachi 1:8).
• Holiness is practical. It shows in how you treat workers, the poor, the disabled, the elderly and strangers (19).
• Love your neighbour as yourself. Including the foreigner (19:18, 34).
• Be different from the culture around you. "After the doings of the land... shall ye not do" (18:3).
• Rest and trust. Sabbath rest and the sabbatical year required faith that God would provide (25:20-22).
• Remember God's faithfulness even in discipline. He remembers His covenant when His people repent (26:40-45).

Part Eight: Key Verses to Memorize

Conclusion

Leviticus can look like a book of ancient rituals, but it is one of the clearest pictures of the gospel in Scripture. It shows a holy God who wants to dwell among His people, a sinful people who cannot approach Him on their own, and God's gracious provision of sacrifice, priesthood and atonement so they can draw near and live as His holy people. Every lamb, every drop of blood, every priestly garment and every feast pointed forward to Jesus Christ, the Lamb without blemish, the great High Priest, and the true Day of Atonement. What the old sacrifices could only picture, Christ accomplished once for all. And the call of Leviticus remains the call to every believer:

Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy.

Leviticus 19:2