What impresses me is that the worshipers in Leviticus were learning that they would have to wait for the full realization of all that their worship involved. This waiting played a vital role in their spiritual formation as they were able to draw close to the God who had drawn close to them by moving into their community.
We do not like to wait, especially as we increase the pace of life. In our scramble for the good life, we get impatient with God, and in the process we lose quality in our relationships, both with God and with fellow-worshipers. We expect God to address our concerns on our schedules. The instructions to Israel for meaningful worship were designed to nurture their relationship with God. If they were not tuned into a lifestyle of worship, they would rush right past Him! Like the Israelites who had to exercise faith in the implications of their offerings, so we need a life of faith that simply trusts God.
I sat in the waiting room of the hospital, watching the electronic tracking board I had been instructed to keep an eye on so that I could know every stage of my wife’s surgery: it started with the case number so I could be sure I was watching ‘her’ progress; I could watch the phase of care, be it pre-operation preparation, recovery I, recovery II, and finally discharged. I realized that I didn’t need much trust in the Lord during this process; I simply needed to trust the outcome of the tracking board. Yes, I was waiting, and yes, I knew what it meant to entrust her care to the Lord, but I noticed that by knowing each stage I was waiting ‘for’ the Lord rather than waiting ‘on’ Him. I was waiting for Him to lead in certain ways, do certain things, and provide certain blessings! His timing was not the issue; the timing on the monitor was. The extra information I was receiving did not keep my focus on God. I walked away from the electronic tracking board and enjoyed a journey by faith, expressed at that time by prayer. I was reminded that I can either love God because I hope for something from Him, or I can hope in Him knowing that He loves me.
God set up the Old Testament priesthood to teach His people that atonement for sin required the provision of an innocent victim in the sinner’s place through the shedding of blood. Continual sacrifices were required because the animals were not the perfect sacrifice.
Levi was the one tribe of Israel chosen to care for the tabernacle. Aaron’s family was the one family chosen from the Levites to be priests. These priests were given the fulltime task of being in charge of the sacrifices. They were supported by the people’s tithes (taxes).One day in the year the high priest (Aaron in Leviticus) passed beyond the veil in the tabernacle that separated the holy and the ‘Most Holy Place’ and stood before the mercy seat on the ark. Leviticus 16:3 describes what was required on the Day of Atonement: “Aaron shall come into the Holy Place: with the blood of a young bull as a sin offering, and of a ram as a burnt offering.”
At the beginning of the history of the work of the priesthood there were evidences of failure. Two sons of Aaron offered unauthorized fire before the Lord: ‘Then Nadab and Abihu… each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them” (Leviticus 10:1). Aaron held his peace while ‘fire went out from the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord’ (Leviticus 10:2). Think about what it was like for a father to stand by while his sons faced divine judgment. What attribute of God stands out in this action?
Sharing:
- The strict requirements for priests remind me of military regulations, which are necessary because the military represents a country. The priests represent true worship. Their responsibilities were awesome. God’s mercy and love is shown throughout the priesthood. Like receiving discipline as a child isn’t fun, but it really is for their good.
- A definition of holiness does not help us as much as a demonstration of holiness, which is found in the priesthood.
- Levites that were handicapped were not deprived of something that was no fault of their own; God still provided for them even if they were not to represent the nation.
- Some may suggest that the judgment on Nadab and Abihu was harsh. When we understand this in light of God’s explicit instructions so that they knew exactly what was required in order to represent God’s holiness, it was an act of mercy so that their conduct did not corrupt worship. It is like letting one child in day care go their own way; the rest will follow! God did not avenge the first murder in Genesis because rules were not yet established.
- It had to be a sad, sorrowful time for Aaron to hold his peace (remained silent) while God judged his sons. It’s something hard for us to imagine. It must have been extremely difficult for the mother to watch her sons not only defy God’s orders, but to have to face the consequences. There is nothing in the story that indicates that Aaron and his wife were resentful or bitter toward God.
- What was the ‘strange fire’ the priests used? They used coals from somewhere other than the altar (Leviticus 16:2; Exodus 30:1-9). They broke the rules, and with God’s clear instructions there was no guesswork that allows for this. Reading further into the story (Leviticus 10:9) suggests that the two men may have been intoxicated.
- Can we offer ‘strange fire’ in our worship? Yes, with a wrong attitude, like Cain. We can approach God in our own selfish ways.
At the root of worship is ‘remembering’. In a biblical sense, this means not merely to recall something but also ‘to take into account in a way that causes one to act’. Besides the daily worship, the law prescribed special festivals to be observed from time to time by the congregation.
The date of every Mosaic festival gave evidence of being connected in some way or other with the number seven. So every seventh day, every seventh month, every seventh year, and last, the ‘Jubilee’ year that came after the lapse of seven times seven years, was marked by a festival.
Scholars make distinctions between feasts, festivals, and observances. The major festivals mentioned in Leviticus were, in calendar order are:- Passover, extended into the feast of Unleavened Bread
- Feast of Weeks (Pentecost) – ‘Feast of Harvest’ in Exodus 34:22
- Feast of Trumpets
- Day of Atonement
- Feast of Tabernacles (Ingathering or Booths)
Of these, three are designated as ‘great feasts’:- Passover
- Pentecost
- Tabernacles
The feasts continually reminded Israel of God’s provision of food that sustained them.The special days or observances in Leviticus are:- Feast of the Sabbath
- Sabbatical Year
- Year of Jubilee
The five offerings reminded the people to ‘”get right”. The eight feasts/festivals/observances reminded the people to “keep right”:(1) The Sabbath: “Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest” (Leviticus 23:3). The Living Bible paraphrases this as: “…the seventh day of every week- which are always days of rest in every home, times for assembling to worship, and for resting from the normal business of the week.” The fourth commandment in Exodus 20:11 gives the reason: ‘For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day.’ It was a day to celebrate the finished work of God in creation.
(2) The Feast of the Passover: “On the fourteenth day of the first month (Abib – March/April) at twilight is the Lord’s Passover. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; seven days you must eat unleavened bread” (Leviticus 23:5-6). The one-day feast of the Passover commemorated the deliverance from Egypt; followed by the Feast of the Unleavened bread for seven days. Think back to Exodus 12 for a description of these feasts.
(3) The Feast of Pentecost: “Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the Lord” (Leviticus 23:16). This was first known as the “Feast of Harvest” in Exodus 34:22, and then as the “Feast of Weeks”, because of the command to count seven weeks. The one extra day to count brought the total to fifty days, so that it was eventually known as the “Feast of Pentecost”. The whole of the year's harvest was placed under the gracious blessing of the Lord during this feast.
(4) The Feast of Trumpets: “In the seventh month (Ethanim – September/October), on the first day of the month, you shall have a sabbath-rest, a memorial of blowing trumpets, a holy convocation” (Leviticus 23:24). This was a day of remembrance. The blast of the trumpets was to announce the New Year’s Day for Israel.
(5) The Day of Atonement: “Also the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement. It shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall afflict your souls [fast], and offer an offering made by fire to the Lord” (Leviticus 23:27). Nine days after the blast of the trumpets, the people came together before the Lord to fast because of their sin; and to offer sacrifices by fire to the Lord.
(6) The Feast of Tabernacles: “The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacle for seven days to the Lord” (Leviticus 23:34). This is referred to as the “Feast of Ingathering” (Booths) in Exodus 23:16, and was the last feast of the year. The people lived in shelters made of branches, and heard the reading of the Law. This feast commemorated the journey of the Israelites in the wilderness of Sinai when the Lord brought them out of Egyptian bondage.
(7) The Sabbatical Year: “When you come into the land which I give you, then the land shall keep a sabbath to the Lord. Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard, and gather its fruit; but in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a sabbath to the Lord. You shall neither sow your field nor prune your vineyard” (Leviticus 25:2-4). This yearlong Sabbath was the year of meditation and devotion. Upon entrance into Canaan the Israelites are freed from much of their ordinary work and gave their time to being taught and trained in God’s law. The cancellation of debts and the freeing of slaves every seventh year reminded the Israelites of their deliverance from Egypt.
Sharing:- Does this seven-year cycle have any correlation to Joseph’s seven years of plenty and seven years of famine? It seems that Israel would be familiar with the concept if they remembered their history.
- Why can’t we have that year now to conserve the land? We may just save our resources and provide stability in our society with this sabbatical rest.
- A period of rest is necessary for keeping a balance in our lives, yet we continually rush forward without any relief.
(8) The Year of Jubilee: “And you shall count seven sabbaths of years for yourself, seven times seven years; and the time of the seven sabbaths of years shall be to you forty-nine years” (Leviticus 25:8). This year was celebrated every fiftieth year, and was introduced on the Day of Atonement with the blowing of trumpets. This marked the year of liberty in which family inheritances were restored to those who had lost them. All slaves of Hebrew blood were freed and the land was left uncultivated. Since all the land was to be returned to the family to whom it had been assigned in the original distribution, every tribal and family register had to be carefully kept so that the rights of all would be protected. Jubilee serves to remind the people that the land belongs to God, as well as to prevent the wealthy from amassing land.
Sharing:- The year of Jubilee gives every generation a chance to make a fortune or use it up.
- This year was a reminder to the people that the land belonged to God.
- Every generation has the chance to fail, or prosper by returning to the Lord.
- It keeps greed at bay.
The conclusion of this Book (Leviticus 26-27) is a summary of the Law, with a reward of blessing if it is obeyed, and assurance of calamity if it is disobeyed: “If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments, and perform them, then I will give you…” (Leviticus 26:3-4). “But if you do not obey Me, and do not observe all these commandments… I also do this to you…” (Leviticus 26:15-16).
Henrietta C. Mears said:“In Genesis, we see man ruined,In Exodus, man redeemed,In Leviticus, man worshipping.”
In preparation for our next session, read Numbers 1-10 and think about God’s Story as it relates God’s faithfulness in preparation for Israel’s wilderness wanderings.
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