In fact, some things in Leviticus can be downright embarrassing; like
the list of people whose nakedness must not be uncovered, or the list of
defects which would disqualify people from eating the holy bread.
I've tended to counsel new Christians to read the New Testament before
tackling the Old. This is partly because I didn’t want them getting into
Leviticus too soon in their Christian life. For years, I would read it with an
attitude of: “Praise God I’m living under the New Covenant through Jesus! I
don’t have to follow all this stuff.”
But there is another way for Christians to read Leviticus.
The third book in the Bible sets up a system of holiness. Unclean things
had to be dealt with. Sin had to be atoned for. Those who would represent God
to the people had to be pure and holy. But we live in an age where people have
lost the sense of the extreme holiness and majesty of God. Nothing is sacred in
modern Western society. Nothing is held in reverence.
In Jesus, we have grace. The New Covenant far exceeds the Old. But the
God we serve is the same God that Moses served. The God who refused to dwell
among uncleanness only dwells with us because of the perfect sacrifice of
Christ. The God who placed strict limits on who may approach Him in the
tabernacle is the same God who now allows us into His presence by the new and
living way that Jesus has made (Hebrews 10:20).
In the book of Leviticus, God commanded Israel to: “Be holy for I am
holy” (11:44) but the same theme is carried over into the New Testament (1
Peter 1:16). We conclude, therefore,
that Leviticus reminds us that we serve a VERY holy God. The New Covenant in
Christ Jesus in no way weakens the holiness of God or our obligation to live
holy lives. The purpose of the New Covenant is to make it possible for us to
live in such holiness.
No comments:
Post a Comment