First and foremost I wanted thank you for visiting my site. I have had this particular website for a number of years and though it originally started as a rolling blog of my life (what I was doing, personal writings – poems & stories, the struggles I faced, et cetera) I have committed myself to seeking out God and living a life that glorifies Him. In doing so, I have spent many a day struggling with the very items I believe we all struggle with. At the heart of these struggles is the mere commitment we’re willing to make to Him over our own personal desires.

Though an item of much contention and various theories on how to do this, I have spent numerous hours in prayer and within the pages of the Bible – God’s Word. I say all of this merely for your information and as a foundation for my apology. For those of you who know me – and if you don’t, I”d be happy to meet you sometime if you’re in the Houston area or you can follow me on twitter – I have struggled recently with a direction in my life. A number of months ago I had felled compelled to run for the United States Senate. In doing so, I found that my daily readings and spiritual life had withered slightly and that, above all else, is a good indication I was shifting my priorities around in a negative manner. Needless to say, I have been a little negligent of my commitment to posting here and so I’d like to apologize to those of you who frequent this page with a bit of frustration.

To move on from there, I will post here some information about Leviticus (the entire book) and try to get caught up on where we are in our daily reading plan (should be Numbers, Chapters 12 & 13). This may be a long post but I’ll try to be cognizant of that.

As we closed out Exodus, we learned about the Tabernacle. One thing that I’d like to continue coming back to is the Tabernacle as the importance of this “structure” is clear due to the enormous amount of detail about how it was constructed and planned out. Over the next couple of books we’ll see that a lot of what is written revolves around the Tabernacle and the nation of Israel’s responsibility for maintaining it as the place of God’s presence within their people.

Leviticus – meaning “about, or relating to, the Levites” is an important book for our understanding of the structure and how the Israelites served the Lord. Throughout the book, we learn about the laws of Sacrifices, the Priesthood, and their Sacred Feasts. If you recall, back in Exodus, God issued a number of plagues over the land of Egypt. The last plague was where God cleansed the land of all the firstborn except for those who had followed His command (ref. Exodus 11, 12, & 13). What you will see in these chapters is that God took the firstborn of all the Egyptians and in return for His deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt, He commanded that “… you shall set apart to the Lord all that first opens the womb.” This meant that all the firstborn sons of the Israelites and all the firstborn animals belonged to God. Though the firstborn animals were sacrificed, the firstborn men were redeemed by being bound into service of the Lord. God, instead, declared that the Levites were to take the place of all the firstborn to serve God. Out of the Levites, there was the son of Levi – Aaron – who would serve as Priest and all his sons would serve the same duty. All the other Levites were to be assistants to the Priests and to serve the Lord by watching over the Tabernacle, carrying it and maintaining it, setting it up and tearing it down.

Throughout the first seven chapters of Leviticus we learn about the many offerings the Israelites would perform and the specific details of how each offering was to be performed before the Lord. Starting off we have the Burnt Offering which was a voluntary act of worship to the Lord showing one’s devotion, commitment, and complete surrender to God. This offering also served as a means of atonement for any unintentional sin in general. The Burnt Offering was performed with a bull, a ram, or a male bird without blemish which was completely consumed by fire. Next was the Grain Offering. The Grain Offering was a voluntary act of worship which acknowledged God’s great power and His hand in providing for the offeror. It was a sign of devotion to God by bringing forward grain, flour, olive oil, incense, baked bread, and salt. The Grain Offering was not to include yeast or honey and was often performed in conjunction with a burnt offering or a fellowship offering. The Fellowship Offering was a voluntary act of worship and thanksgiving which included much fellowship through the means of a communal meal. This particular offering included a meal of any animal without blemish along with a variety of breads and drink. The next major offering was the Sin Offering. When one would commit a specific sin, whether intentional or unintentional, they would offer an offering based upon their stature/class within the community and the offering would serve as confession of their sin and would cleanse them of their sin, providing forgiveness. Based upon an individual’s stature/class within the community: High Priest – Bull, Leader – Goat, Common Person – Female Goat or Lamb, Poor Person – Dove or Pigeon, and Very Poor Person – a tenth of an ephah (~2.2 liters) of fine flour. Lastly, the Guilt Offering was provided as a means for mandatory atonement for sin requiring restitution. This offering was typically done with a ram or a lamb that met a certain monetary value (of which I’m uncertain).

An important thing to note is for all of these offerings, the individual was required to bring the offering to the priest, to lay their hand upon the head of the animal and to have the priest acknowledge their offering to the Lord. Thus, the following chapters address who were to be the priests. Looking back, we can see a clear progression in the formation of the nation of Israel. Initially, all offerings were performed by the head of the family. As the nation of Israel became more organized, the Lord prescribed a place for offerings to occur, a specific manner in which these offerings were to be performed, and now He prescribes who shall oversee these offerings. As I mentioned before, Aaron was appointed as the High Priest and all of his descendants were to serve as priests. Following the pattern of the firstborn, Aaron’s firstborn was to succeed him as High Priest when that time came. Through chapters 8 & 9 we observe the solemn ceremony of the consecration of Aaron as High Priest that was detailed in Exodus Chapter 29. Aaron is dressed in the garments of the High Priest that were detailed by God in Exodus Chapter 28. Throughout Chapters 8 & 9 we see that Aaron is consecrated as well as his sons who were to serve with him in the priesthood. Aaron’s sons were clothed and partook in the sacrifices that were to be performed for their acceptance by God as priests.

One of the great demonstrations of God’s ordinances comes in Chapter 10. In Chapter 10 Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu decided to offer an offering to the Lord that was “… unauthorized …” and that “… he had not commanded …” Through this small yet distinct demonstration, God swiftly engulfed Nadab and Abihu in fire, consuming them. Their death before the Lord and before all the congregation was a warning to all the world about the importance of keeping God’s will within our hearts. It was a warning to all that no one, not even the priests of the nation of Israel, is to distort God’s commandments and Words. We are not to distort the Lord’s Word nor the Gospel of Christ with human additions or traditions.

Chapters 11 through to the end of Leviticus cover a various set of additional laws that governed the nation of Israel. Many of these revolved around cleanliness and specifically the cleanliness of animals, women after childbirth, and skin disease. As we come to Leviticus 16 we read about the day of atonement. Falling on the tenth day of the seventh month (modern day Yom Kippur) this was the most holy day of the year. There were strict rules about when the High Priest could enter before the Lord and the mercy seat. If these rules were not followed, the High Priest would surely die. The day of atonement served as a mark on the removal of sin for the nation of Israel lasting one year. More importantly, the day of atonement foreshadows the sacrifice of Christ for our eternal salvation and through His death on the cross, Jesus serves as our sacrificial atonement and replaces all as our High Priest and mediator – bridging the gap between our sinful nature and God’s divine purity.

Interestingly enough and a matter of some discussion within my circle of friends is that there is mention of great sins in Leviticus 18. Many people I have spoken with come to the conclusion that these are stated here due to the sinful behavior of the Israelites. Through further research, I found that many have come to the interpretation that these were the behaviors common in the land of Canaan, not by the Israelites but by their many neighbors. Therefore, this section is laid out as God specifically addresses that which may influence the nation of Israel and His chosen people. This same though applies to Chapters 19-20 but also indicates to us how much God was a part of all aspects of their lives. God laid out the frame-work for defining the Nation of Israel and how His chosen people were to live as people who loved God and obeyed Him. On top of these laws, Chapters 21 and 22 identify God’s expectations of the priests and how they are to maintain themselves as clean above all the people of Israel.

Thus we come to the feasts of Israel outlined in Leviticus. Before we get into the details of the individual feasts, it is interesting to note (thanks to Halley’s Bible Handbook – and you may have noticed this trend slightly) that the number seven is a significant number within the Mosaic time period. Halley’s Bible Handbook outlines the following:

Every Seventh Day was a Sabbath
Every Seventh Year was a Sabbath Year
Every Seventh Sabbath Year (7 x 7) was followed by a Year of Jubilee
Every Seventh Month was especially holy, with three feasts
There were Seven weeks between Passover and Pentacost
The Passover Feast lasted Seven days
The Feast of Tabernacles lasted Seven days
At the Passover, 14 lambs (7 x 2) were offered daily
At the Feast of Tabernacles, 14 lambs (7 x 2) and 70 bullocks were offered daily
At Pentacost, Seven lambs were offered.

We’ll revisit the number seven in the book of Revelation as well. Specifically related to what we’re reading here in Leviticus, however, is that in Chapter 23 we see that there is the Feast of the Sabbath and though the Bible doesn’t specify what is to be eaten, it does specify that every Sabbath is an appointed feast.

The Feast of the Passover is performed in conjunction with the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Done to commemorate Israel’s deliverance from the land of Egypt in Exodus. Performed in spring, beginning in the first month on the 14th day, the feast of the Passover was performed. Immediately following the feast of the passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread began on the 15th day of the first month. The Feast of Unleavened Bread was performed to commemorate the exodus of Israel from the land of Egypt. As they were commanded in Exodus, they were to take with them unleavened bread and they were to eat this bread for seven days, each day raising the bread up before the Lord in thanksgiving to His provisions. The feast of the passover and the feast of unleavened bread were celebrated at the beginning of the religious year.

The Feast of Firstfruits is also known as the Feast of Harvest and the Pentacost. This feast occurred seven weeks after the day after the feast of passover which equated to 50 days after the Passover. The premise of the Feast of Firstfruits lies directly in line with the Feast of Weeks and often these two feasts are group together as one. As the Lord commanded, all Israelites were to bring forth an offering of their crop and the increase of their flock/livestock as an offering to the Lord in thanksgiving for His provisions. These particular feasts are a very important link between another topic we’ve discussed in Genesis and Exodus which is the Tithe. What we see in the Feast of Firstfruits and the Feast of Weeks is that God commanded the people of Israel and this applies to us today that they put – God First! In this particular section of the Bible we see that God gave no option for the Israelites in that none of their crop or flock would be eaten until they offered to the Lord their tithe. In addition, we see in Leviticus 23:20 that these tithes were to be provided to the Lord who would grant them to the priests for their livelihood; that “… they shall be holy to the Lord for the priests.” I must clarify that this feast is not intended as the tithe itself as Leviticus 23:37-38 indicates that these feasts are performed in addition to the nominal tithe/offering. I merely wanted to identify the similarity of this feast with the tithe and how we are to give to God first. Another very important note in this section is Leviticus 23:22 which clearly supports the principle that we are to love our neighbors as ourselves and that we are to provide for the poor. In this paragraph, God commands the Israelites to refrain from gathering all their crop for themselves and to leave some for “… the poor and for the sojourner …” This feast lasted one day.

The Feast of Trumpets was a symbolic day of memory. Occurring on the first day of the seventh month, the day was to be a day of solemn rest in which no one was to perform any ordinary work. In addition they were to present to the Lord a food offering. This particular day was a day that marked the new year (civil year versus religious year) and is celebrated today as New Year’s Day or Rosh Hashanah. There is no specific indication of what food offering was require and this feast lasted one day as well.

The Day of Atonement I wrote about above and previously with little more to add other than it was also viewed as a day of feast for the Lord. The Feast of Booths (also known as the Feast of Tabernacles or the Feast of Ingathering), however, occurred five days after the Day of Atonement and lasted seven days. For seven days the nation of Israel was to present to the Lord a food offering. On the eighth day, there was to be an assembly of the nation and a food offering provided but no ordinary work was to be performed. For the seven days of this feast, the offering of trees and various types of trees were to be offered and simultaneously the nation of Israel was to dwell in booths to commemorate the exodus from Egypt.

We close out the book of Leviticus with some additional laws and codes of conduct but without mentioning a couple items of importance. The Sabbath Year was a year of rest for the land and occurred every seven years. Anything that did grow during this year was left to the poor and sojourner much like that discussed earlier. The glory of this activity was that God promised to provide enough in the sixth year to sustain the nation of Israel for the Sabbath year and as He promised, He provided. Additionally, any debts held against other Israelites were to be cancelled and every seven Sabbath Years there would be a Year of Jubilee. In this instance, two Sabbath Years or years of rest would come together and would begin on the Day of Atonement. All debts, regardless of nationality, were cancelled and slaves were released and any lands that had been sold were redeemed. God established this provision to cleanse the land and ensure that the land remained with the people whom He had promised it to.

Chapter 26 is a phenomenal chapter. This particular chapter encompasses so much of what we’ve read about thus far and reassures us that God will keep His promises and walk with the people of Israel if they obey His Word and His commandments. What this chapter also does is it identifies that no man could provide for himself and his family without the Lord. It provides the foundation for why dependance upon the Lord is essential and identifies that anyone who attempts to live their own way, He will not provide for them and this entire section lists out the punishment for such attitude and action.

The book of Leviticus is a great book. One that shows how glorious God is through the plan He set forth in the Nation of Israel. So much of what we read here applies to us today. Put God First in all you do. Give to God the First of all His blessings to you. Summed up in the two greatest commandments: Love God with all your heart, all your mind, and all your strength. Love your neighbor as yourself.

ESV Daily Reading Bible Halley’s Bible Handbook
ESV Study Bible