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Leviticus
W H E R E I S G O D when I hurt? Where was he when my loved one
died or my spouse divorced me or my child rebelled and ran away from
home? Where was God when I lost my job or lost my home or lost my
faith? Lord, if you had been here, this would not have happened.
What you will be
But God was here. He is always here. That mesreading about
sage is clear throughout the Bible and crystal
clear in Leviticus. God is here with us at all
1:1–7:38
Israel’s sacrifices and
times. But where are we? Are we with him?
offerings
Whether we writhe in pain or wallow in sin,
8:1– 9:24
God does not forsake us. Even when we choose
The priests begin their
the presence of the evil one, God still does not
ministry
abandon us.
10:1-20
Leviticus is the story of God with us, the presTwo priests die for treating
ence of a holy God in the midst of unholy people.
God casually
It is also the story of what God expects of his
11:1–15:33
people and how we can measure up to those
Ceremonial cleanness and
uncleanness
expectations.
But there is a problem. God calls us to be holy
16:1-34
(Leviticus 19:1-2), but we realize, and he realizes,
The Day of Atonement and
the scapegoat
that even at our best we fall far short of his glory
and holiness. It seems almost impossible to rec17:1–22:33
Holiness in daily life
oncile a holy God and an unholy people.
Through the elaborate systems of sacrifice, we
23:1–25:55
Israel’s festivals and
learn about forgiveness, atonement, reconciliaspecial days
tion, and redemption. Before God sent his Son,
26:1–27:34
Jesus, into the world, this was the way that God
Rewards for obedience;
provided for sinful people to know a holy God
punishments for
and to walk with him daily. And after the sacridisobedience
fices came the feasts, which celebrated this new
relationship.
The sacrifices were a foretaste of a much greater sacrifice to come: the offering of Jesus on the cross for our sins so that we can be renewed, restored,
cleansed, and forgiven once and for all. And we can celebrate almost as if we
were mingling in the great feasts and festivals of the past.
Linger in Leviticus. Recommit yourself to becoming more holy so that you
can better worship our holy God. Read with the knowledge that this was not
God’s final word on how we can have fellowship with him. Remember the
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