5 Reasons to Study the Book of Leviticus

Why is this book here? What relevance does it have to anyone reading it today? Leviticus gives a deepened understanding of the holiness of God to a people who were not fully acquainted with His character. One should study Leviticus for these five reasons.

1. A Better Understanding of Sin

First, proper interpretation of the book will deepen one’s understanding of the nature of sin as an offense before the holy God. The book deals repeatedly with the obstacle of man’s sin and fallen condition. Sin is presented as affecting man’s experience in several ways.

First, sin excludes man from nearness to God (sacred space is to be maintained in order to accommodate the distance sin creates between men and God). Leviticus thus assists in rounding out the revelation of the nature of God that He personally revealed to the patriarchs in Genesis, to Moses, and to the nation in Exodus (showing the extent and excellencies of His holiness in liberating them from bondage in keeping with His promises to Abraham). Also, the tabernacle was the observable display of the Lord among His people. The establishment of His covenant with them at Mount Sinai had marked that spot as holy—a place where the Israelites had encountered the divine. But the mountain was not the permanent residence of God’s people. How then could they retain the holiness and the sanctity of this location after they left? The layout and rituals assigned to the tabernacle answer this problem (James K. Hoffmeier, Ancient Israel in Sinai [New York: Oxford University Press, 2005], 201–2). Though small in comparison to Mount Sinai, the tabernacle was portable and, more importantly, it was designed by the Lord Himself. There the encounter with the divine could take place on a regular basis. It would house, as it were, the holiness of the Mount Sinai experience and the very presence of the Lord as Israel traveled to the promised land.

God’s redemption does not excuse people from the need to be holy and distinct in their behavior.

Second, sin excludes humanity from having a true knowledge of God (it prevents proper perceptions and application of truth that honors God).

Third, sin excludes humanity from communion or fellowship with God, the Creator. God’s relationship with sinners is assumed throughout the book, including their need for reconciliation to Him.

2. A Greater Love for the Atonement

Second, exploring atonement symbolism will expand one’s understanding of the nature of the redemption God provides for sinners. The way to redemption is highlighted wherever there is substitution in the worship rituals. One life or one thing is presented in place of another. Substitution implies humanity’s guilt, the need for atonement, and the need for propitiation (satisfaction of the divine wrath against sin). Further, in God’s plan for redemption there is imputation, the transference of guilt from the guilty party to another through substitution. Then there is death. Sacrifice requires the death of the substitute (i.e., unblemished animals). The redemption God has provided is based on His righteousness and the satisfaction of that righteousness, not His pity. God’s redemption is possible only through the blood of innocent victims (cf. Heb 9:22). Redemption is intended to produce holiness. God’s redemption does not excuse people from the need to be holy and distinct in their behavior.

The animal and grain sacrifices of the OT were symbolic of the way the Lord extended His justice tempered by His mercy to sinful people. When Israel was enslaved in Egypt, their God distinguished Himself from the Egyptian gods as the God of redemption. The God who revealed these rituals for His people is the same God with whom people are to relate today. Learning about the rituals points to the character of the God behind them. He is a redeeming God who, though unseen by human eyes, desires interaction between Himself and His people. Involvement with the God of Israel focuses on sacrificial prayer, praise, and giving. These same relational and redemptive elements are found in Israel’s legislation and its symbolism. The God who brought Israel out of bondage to slavery still redeems His chosen ones from slavery. Believers today hear His call to be a “holy nation” (1Pt 2:9, though the Church is not the new Israel) and will be brought into His dwelling place at the end (Rv 21:3).

3. A Firmer Grasp of God’s Holiness

Third, one will grasp more deeply God’s desire to dwell in holiness with a holy people and grow in appreciation of the incarnation of Christ. One of the things humanity learns about God in reading the Pentateuch is that the world is in the state it is in because people are out of fellowship with the holy God. God created humanity for fellowship with Him and even created a place, Eden, where humanity could live in fellowship with Him. Eden was a “sacred space,” as John Walton has called it (Old Testament Today: A Journey from Original Meaning to Contemporary Significance [Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2004], 122–24). Leviticus gives a glimpse not only of what was lost when Adam sinned, but also a sense of the measures that must be taken to restore a temporal, earthly sacred space. As such, it is vitally instructive for one’s attempts to worship God today. Further, it foreshadows the act of Messiah taking on human flesh to tabernacle among mankind (cf. Jn 1:14).

The picture of God as found in Leviticus prepares believers for a fuller understanding of the final sacrifice of Jesus.

4. A Deep Appreciation for Sacrifice

Fourth, comprehending the sacrificial system can assist in evangelism, for it portends the Messiah’s ultimate and final sacrifice for sin. The sacrifices serve as illustrations or life lessons that depict the richness of the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ. No singular sacrifice prefigures all that was accomplished at the death of Jesus, but collectively there is a richness and a fullness that point distinctly forward to that event. Someone reading a textbook on the anatomy and physiology of sharks, but who has never seen a shark, has a wholly different appreciation of sharks than the one who has seen sharks at an aquarium. The one who has not only seen sharks, but has swum with sharks, has an even greater appreciation than one who merely casually observes them from a distance at an aquarium. The textbook presents the “shadows” of shark existence, but an encounter with a shark is the “substance.” Similarly, one can appreciate salvation without reading all of Leviticus, but to understand Jesus Christ’s sacrifice in its fullness one must understand what the Father did in bringing His Son to that moment on the cross that effected our salvation. The picture of God as found in Leviticus prepares believers for a fuller understanding of the final sacrifice of Jesus, and it can help explain why the death of Christ was needed to expiate (remove the guilt of) sin and propitiate (turn away) God’s just anger against sin.

5. A More Robust Biblical Literacy

Fifth, through Leviticus readers gain a deeper understanding of the meaning of certain Old and New Testament passages (particularly in Romans and Hebrews). Leviticus provides a framework for understanding the millennial sacrifices (Ezk 40–48). Many NT texts are better understood against the background that Leviticus provides (e.g., Paul being “poured out as a drink offering,” Php 2:17). The finality of the offering of Christ as presented in Hebrews assumes a knowledge of Leviticus (cf. Heb 7:26-28; 9:12, 26, 28).

The Lord’s desire to maintain His presence in the midst of His people prompted the record that is known as Leviticus. What that record teaches about His character is still relevant and instructional today.