Leviticus – All About His Holiness

Since the Mt. Sinai experience, each Israelite knew. The Great Jehovah, God of their fathers, was not a powerless idol like all the ones they’d seen in Egypt. No, this one was the real deal, a supernatural hero so authentic they weren’t even sure how to begin to know Him.

So God initiated the courtship. Drawing close in the Tent of Meeting, God described to Moses what it meant to have a relationship with their Creator. Though He longed to live with His people and they desired His presence, their sin presented an unending problem.

Holiness and depravity do not mix. It was a marriage unequally united and the repair of the broken relationship between God and His children had to be made through correcting their sinful ways. The righteous requirements had to be met through the shedding of blood—another’s life in exchange for sin’s fatal curse.

Intricate details of animal sacrifice emerged. Spotless, flawless lambs, rams, and bulls were brought to the tabernacle, slaughtered—their life’s blood a temporary fix for Israel’s continual errors. Priests, too, required cleansing and obedience along with every other element of Tabernacle worship. God’s Word was clear: without holiness, no one could see the Lord.

It seemed tedious. Bloody. How can a good God demand so much death? Leviticus makes us ask. Isn’t it unfair to reject the sick and champion impossible perfection?

Leviticus is a small glimpse into the utter holiness of God. It stops our trite opinions and cavalier attitudes toward our own sin. By the book’s conclusion, our questions change to a deeper reality. Why does such a holy God even want a relationship with sinners like us? And what hope does any human possibly have? There aren’t enough bulls in the world to cover our own sins, let alone for the world.

Leviticus is also a blueprint of God’s grace. It sets the stage for a perfect sacrificial oneness with our Creator, the kind no animal could ever attain. God would provide a Lamb, the Spotless Son of God, who would give His own perfect life to pay for the sins of His people and so save them. An immortal God offered an eternal payment to unite Himself with His people forever. Through Christ, the righteous requirements of a holy God are met, God’s people are finally one with Him.

The only question left: Are you covered by the blood of the Lamb?

What does God teach us about the His Law?

What does God say about Himself? Read Leviticus 19.

Do you know our holy God wants to have a personal relationship with you?

Why do you think God wants us to know about all those sacrifices?