Foreshadowing

Readings for today: Leviticus 5-7

From Genesis to Revelation, we see humanity rebel over and over against God. We also see God’s grace on display as He relentlessly pursues those He loves. The sacrificial system instituted by Moses in Leviticus is one movement, if you will, within a much larger play. It’s not the final movement. Rather, it points beyond itself to the climax to come when Jesus will become the Perfect, Spotless Lamb. This entire system with it’s different sacrifices and different offerings and specific instructions is given as a means to prepare God’s people for Christ. To get them ready so they will recognize Him when He appears. It’s a system designed to prepare the heart and soul for the culmination of God’s redemptive purposes.   

By reading and reflecting on Leviticus, we are reminded over and over again of the extreme penalty our sin deserves. Death seems to reign throughout this book. You can’t turn around without stumbling over the carcasses of bulls, rams, sheep, goats, and turtledoves. The sacrificial fires would have burned day and night as the people of Israel - now numbering in the hundreds of thousands - came to make their offerings. The priests must have been exhausted from all the hard work of gutting and dressing and cleaning each animal. The smell would have permeated the camp. Again, all to remind God’s people of the monumental effort it took to keep them holy before their God.  

This should only deepen our appreciation for Christ. Fully God. Fully Man. As God, He is fully able to satisfy the justice of God for all sin for all time. As Man, He is able to truly represent us. Take our place. Become our substitute. In Christ, God’s plan of redemption comes to its glorious climax! The Father making Him who knew no sin (Christ) to become sin on our behalf that we might become the righteousness of God! (2 Cor. 5:21) Because of what He has done, no more sacrifices are required. No more blood needs to be shed. We are made holy just as He is holy! This is the glory of the gospel which the Levitical sacrifices foreshadow. 

Readings for tomorrow: Leviticus 8-10

Flawless

Readings for today: Leviticus 1-4

Flawless animals. Choice grain. First fruits. Burnt offerings. Grain offerings. Peace offerings. Sin offerings. What is the point of all these sacrifices? Why did God set up the sacrificial system? What’s His purpose? First and foremost, God is communicating His holiness. The entire book of Leviticus emphasizes the holiness of God. The fact that God is set apart. He is not like us. Holiness is not just moral purity. It is a state of being. A state of wholeness. Completeness. Perfection. It communicates blamelessness and integrity. To approach a holy God, Israel must be holy. But Israel is not holy as we’ve seen so she must offer a sacrifice in her place. She must present before the Lord animals that are physically perfect. The best of her crops. The first of her fruits. She must offer to God her best as a symbol of her whole-hearted devotion and desire to walk before Him.

The sacrificial system serves several purposes in addition to reflecting God’s holiness. It symbolizes Israel’s desire for purity. Her desire to be holy even as God is holy. It inspires and motivates pure worship. Whole-hearted devotion. Worship that is sincere and from the heart. It teaches reverence and obedience. As the people of Israel present themselves before the Lord year after year, engaging in all the prescribed festivals and sacrifices, they learn what it means to be God’s people. They learn what it means to surrender to His will and walk in obedience to His commands. Finally, the sacrificial system prevents any kind of corruption or dishonor. Israelites who bring inferior gifts to the Lord will find themselves rejected. Israelites who bring less than their best to the Lord will not enter His presence. Israelites who offer up whatever is left over to God will find their relationship with God growing cold and distant.

Through Jesus Christ, all the ceremonial laws of the Old Testament were fulfilled. Jesus offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice, the spotless and flawless Lamb of God, once and for all and brought an end to the sacrificial system. However, the meaning and purpose behind the system still remains. When we come to worship, do we understand we are entering the presence of a Holy God? A God who deserves and demands nothing less than our best? The offerings we bring are a pure heart and a right spirit. Such offerings God will never despise. If we want a rich and vibrant relationship with God, we must search our hearts continually. Confess and repent of our sins. Grow in holiness and sanctification. If we do these things, just like Israel, God will meet us in a powerful way.

Readings for tomorrow: Leviticus 5-7