What Is the Purpose of the Book of Leviticus?

Soon after God delivered His people from Egypt He gave Moses numerous instructions for Israel, including many details on how they could access His presence for fellowship and worship. Leviticus explains the role of worship in the nation of Israel. When Moses told Pharaoh that God required His people to sacrifice to Him and thus acknowledge His higher authority over them (cf. Ex 3:18; 5:3), God had these prescriptions for worship in mind. Whereas many read the book as a litany of outdated rituals pertaining to an alien and bygone era, when properly interpreted, it is vitally instructive on how to approach God in worship.

Some might wrongly conclude that nothing of value can be derived from the outdated rituals of the emerging nation of Israel. Does not Jesus’ death on the cross eliminate the need for animal sacrifices? Is not Leviticus outdated with its bloody rituals that have no bearing on the present day? Yet Paul wrote that all Scripture is profitable (2Tm 3:16-17). After all, Leviticus was written in the context of the struggling nation of Israel and its departure from Egypt. It had relevance then, as now, in that God’s law was given to address the kinds of daily situations the people would encounter en route to and within the promised land.