The book of Leviticus is often not one that excites many believers when they read the Bible. Preachers hardly preach from it, Christ's followers rarely meditate on it and books are rarely written about it.
Leviticus is a record of God's instructions to Moses and Israel after His presence fell upon the nation. They are lessons on sacrifice, worship, the priesthood, ceremonial cleanness, the Day of Atonement, feasts and holy days and the Year of Jubilee. But how do these apply to us today? When the Old Testament book is mentioned, people usually think of a set of religious rites and laws or outdated practices that are irrelevant.
However, if we think of the book of Leviticus as an outdated piece of literature that has simply been "erased" because we now live in a new covenant that renders it null and void, then we miss out on some very important lessons and principles about God.
Here are just four of the several principles that we can pick up from the book of Leviticus.
The holiness and splendor of God
The overall goal of the book of Leviticus is to show the level of holiness God exists in. All the rules, regulations, preparation and sacrifices are meant to translate for us to the most realistic form what is at stake to be as holy as God.
Truth be told, even all the preparations and atonements -- no matter how tedious and costly -- could not even measure up to just how holy and beautiful God is.
The magnitude of our sin
All the sacrifices, punishments and requirements for atonement do not reflect God's legalism, but our inability to add up to the standard that He once made us to uphold. It's not that God is unfair and demanding, but that we are inadequate and undeserving of the blessing and life that God still gives us nonetheless.
We mistakenly think that God owes us and that we have all the right to demand convenience and comfort just because He is supposedly "loving." We must be reminded of our posture before God and how we do not fit the bill.
The abundance of God's love and grace
Despite the stubbornness and stupidity of the Israelites, God still provided a way for them to enjoy His presence and experience His lavish grace through the sacrifice of innocent animals. In the same way, God extends that grace to us now through the fulfilment of the law through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
Even when we deserved sin and death from the very beginning, God constantly made a way for us to experience life to the fullest even if it meant the shedding of another's blood -- first that of innocent lambs, and then later on that of Jesus Christ.
God's heart for social justice
Leviticus also gives the Israelites a set of ordinances and laws that command them to take care of the poor and weak. This shows God's heart for justice and the social welfare of even the seemingly most insignificant people. In God's eyes, no one is more and less important. He demands equality by establishing that everyone is of the same value.
