Leviticus Introduction

The book of Leviticus is what is up next and there are a lot of interesting things about it that are worth discussion. TB spends 2 whole lectures (about 90 minutes) going over just the introduction to the book of Leviticus and there are a couple of points that I think are interesting to point out. First is that the name Leviticus is “after the tribe of Levi… Before Leviticus was called ‘Leviticus’, the Hebrews called it ‘Torat Kohanim’… literally priest teachings. In our western way of thinking, we might say ‘priestly instructions,’ or more to the point, Instruction of the Priests.” This means that this book was originally intended to be an instruction manual for the priests that would be officiating inside of the temple and because those priests had to be of the tribe of Levi, the book became known as Leviticus.

One interesting note that TB made was that during that time there were lots of officials or even “priests” who officiated in other religions and that those priests had often very strict behavioral codes that they had to abide by but that the practitioners of the religions didn’t have to. The difference becomes that Israel considered all the general behavioral guidelines prescribed to the priests in Leviticus to be required behavior for all of Israel to abide by. This set them apart from other cultures at the time because the whole population was considered to have the same behavioral standard instead of a separate requirement for the religious officials.

Part of the reason for that is because of the second most interesting part that TB brought up. He said that all the animal sacrifices and temple worship was only to atone for the UNINTENTIONAL sins of the people, those that were committed when the people didn’t know any better. This also means that the intentional sins that people committed were not able to be atoned for under the law of Moses. When people choose to disobey God’ commandments, knowing full well that it is a sin, those sins had no mechanism for forgiveness under the law as it was given to Moses.

This was a very eye-opening concept for me because it really put into perspective the mindset of the Israelite people when Christ came and just how different we think today. Everyone is guilty of unintentional sin, but I contest that probably everyone is also guilty of intentional sin as well throughout their lifetime at least once. It really begs the question, if you commit one intentional sin, and I have committed many, then why even try to repent and live right because if you believe there is no forgiveness then what is even the point. It also shifts the understanding of why the atonement of the Messiah was such a big deal because it would bring with it the ability to be forgiven for even intentional sin.

Finally, TB gives a powerful summary of the purpose of temple sacrifice, saying, “The sacrificial system’s purpose was NOT to extra a penalty from the wrongdoer… The sacrificial system was there to MAINTAIN your relationship with God and the REPAIR it if it got broken as a result of your sin. It was there to BENEFIT the sinner far more than to appease God. And whatever form the appeasement of God was to be, it was not about paying Him off… it was about obedience and reconciliation within His system of justice so that you could have your relationship with Him restored.”