All my life, I feel that pastors and Sunday school teachers and other well-meaning people have pushed me away from Leviticus as if it had a plague connected with it and not a blessing for my life. However, friend, if you could just make it a plan to open up the Word of God to Leviticus, you will see God’s marvelous plan for us as humanity unfold and how his grace really is sufficient.
In Leviticus, we see how the Law of God is deeply connected with God being the God of the Promise. We can see how obedience is connected to sacrifice. We can see how the sacrifice is connected to the blessing. We can better understand the Word of God from Genesis to the Book of Revelation.
The Law of God:
When we open up Leviticus, it can be daunting because the laws are confusing. I can only imagine how confusing it was for the Israelites living at the time. It seemed like a big list of thou-shalt-nots and that would make sense as it was the Word of God given to Moses to be a directive to the Nation of Israel. It was hard to keep them, but that is why God had in place, the Day of Atonement and shows us that our walk with God in holiness as he is holy, is a day by day process and not a big, once-in-a-lifetime event. Maybe Leviticus seems like a long boring movie with bad lighting, shoddy CGI and the worst lines for characters to read ever, but it is not. It is the Word of God and the Word of God is precious and it is ever important to read so that we can understand God more and his grace.
God of the Promise:
The promises of God are the real heart of Leviticus for me and not the list of all the things I fail at. In fact, I could make that list all by myself. I know I am a sinner and were it not for the grace of God I would be a perpetual hot mess. In Leviticus 26:1-11 we read this:
The Lord continued, “Never make worthless idols or set up a carved statue or a sacred stone for yourselves. Never cut figures in stone to worship them in your country, because I am the Lord your God. Observe my days of rest as holy days and respect my holy tent. I am the Lord.“This is what I will do if you will live by my laws and carefully obey my commands:
“I will give you rain at the right time. The land will produce its crops, and the trees in the field will produce their fruit. Threshing[a] time will last until grape gathering, and grape gathering will last until planting. You will eat all you want and live securely in your land.
“I will bring peace to your land. You will lie down with no one to scare you. I will remove dangerous animals, and there will be no war in your land. You will chase your enemies, and you will defeat them. Five of you will chase a hundred of them, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand of them. You will defeat your enemies, and I will be pleased with you.
Your families will be large, and I will keep my promise to you. You will clear out old food supplies to make room for new ones. “I will put my tent among you, and I will never look at you with disgust. So I will live among you and be your God, and you will be my people. I am the Lord your God. I brought you out of Egypt so that you are no longer slaves of the Egyptians. I have broken their power over you and made you live as a free people.”
Obedience:
Obedience to God is the key to unlocking his promises. In fact, our act of obedience comes before any manifestation of the blessing. It comes first. Just like we need to seek God first. It is the first fruit of our life as a follower of Jesus. It is believing that God’s best for us is wrapped around our obedience and even when we are called to obey the Holy Spirit and the way God speaks through the Holy Spirit to us in a way we don’t understand deeply, it is awareness that we are not meant to understand all things anyhow. Just do it.
For example, let me start with the beginning. No idols. That means nothing comes before God. Nothing. Not sports, not friends, not social media, not culture, not social standing or status….nothing. Idols are things that are worthless, things that hold no eternal value. I know you like myself, have the Ten Commandments down pat and idols is also one of them. In the Old Testament, the Israelites are constantly forgetting God and making idols and it is not a surprise that the blessing didn’t follow them. This is the area that God is working in me deeply to the core of who I am, going back to see where I carelessly picked up idols and eased God out. Yes, there are many, many ways we can cut figures of stone in the days we are living in because I find that I myself build up idols within me and how I set up my days and how I spend my time, it is not about things I set out in my house that are more important. Its how I set myself UP, my posture, me before God in certain areas. God is dearly dealing with my heart alignment, my vertical alignment to him.
Sacrifice:
Obedience requires a sacrifice. So how does this involve sacrifice? Things need to go. Today, it is about mindset changes, how I use my time and heart. In Leviticus, there were many types of sacrifice. Sacrifice should cost me something, otherwise, it is not a sacrifice. What I am pressing in on right now has in a way that I didn’t expect and I have asked God if there was another way, or to reduce the season of time. Instead, God has opened up the door to me to see me as he sees me and do some renovations in my heart and spirit about certain matters. There is also a posture in the sacrifice required by God for me.
“When you sacrifice a peace offering to the LORD, offer it properly so you will be accepted by God.” Leviticus 19:5
As I think back to other ways I have “sacrificed,” I realize how my heart posture in the sacrifice was withholding me from the blessing because it was not done from a true spirit.
Blessings:
If I look at the beautiful blessings that are poured out over the Israelites in Leviticus 26, I can’t see how any of them would not want to live a life full of obedience and sacrifice to God. It just makes sense, but then I think of myself and the ways that I did not and how because of it, God had to lead me through my own wilderness until I had nothing left to offer but my obedience and sacrifice. It is not only for the blessings that are listed in Leviticus 26, but it is for all the blessings in the Word of God. They are for me, but they come with sacrifice and that sacrifice is an act of obedience. I can’t have it any other way. I would be nice, but it doesn’t work that way. What I gave up for God to do his best work in me was awkward and uncomfortable. I stumbled a bit trying to find my new feet. There is a joy in the full surrender. There is a magnificent release when you can finally sing, “I Surrender All” not “I Surrender 5/8ths.”
Grace:
When we close out Leviticus we continue reading the Word of God, we will see how the Grace of God makes sense. We can see why God got so frustrated with the Kings of Israel and of Judah and the many Israelite people who no longer followed the law. We can see the grace weaved through the Old Testament through the stories of the faithful remnant and Tamar, Rahab, Ester, Ruth, Sarah, Bathsheba come to mind first but there are oh so many more.
I like how Bible Study Tools explains it, “The word "grace" in biblical parlance can, like forgiveness, repentance, regeneration, and salvation, mean something as broad as describing the whole of God's activity toward man or as narrow as describing one segment of that activity. An accurate, common definition describes grace as the unmerited favor of God toward man. In the Old Testament, the term that most often is translated "grace, " is hen; in the New Testament, it is Charis [cavri"].
The word hen occurs around sixty times in the Old Testament. There are examples of man's favor to man, but the theological concept of importance to us is the grace of God demonstrated toward man. The term occurs most often in the phrase favor "in your (i.e., God's) sight" or "in the eyes of the Lord."”
We understand more about what the Apostles in the New Testament were preaching about when they talk of “The Law” and ever much so with Apostle Paul who did his best to follow the rules but knew nothing about grace until God found him on the Damascus Road. In the New Testament, we learn that grace is given freely and without merit. We don’t deserve it. I don’t deserve it. God willingly sent his Son, a member of the Trinity, Jesus to die for me and take my place by exchanging my sins for his pure sinless love that I might go forward like so many people did in the New Testament and share with others the same great hope. I need a redeemer. I need Jesus the Redeemer.
We have parts of our lives that are lived well and parts that are not. God wants the whole surrender from us. Not the partial. He doesn’t even want the partial credit. He wants all the glory and all the honor. He is worthy of it.
What is the story of the Bible?
It is this: Obedience requires sacrifice and sacrifice is needed to open the storehouse of blessings.
They are all interconnected.
Do what is right
Be faithful to God
Be obedient
Seek God with a whole heart, soul and mind
This is important not just when things are going well, but for times when we can’t see what God is doing and instead of freaking out, rest and believe in the faithfulness of God and his promises over us. Claim them. Worship. Pray. Repeat. This heart posture opens the gates to the storehouse of blessings that God has prepared in advance for us! That is good news.
