Monday, August 8, 2016
Leviticus 1:1
Monday, August 08, 2016 |
And the LORD called unto Moses, and spake unto him out of the tabernacle of the congregation.
You may be confused as you read our devotional passage for today. You might even be thinking, "why read about the system given to the children of Israel for preparing sacrifices?" I will get to that answer in a moment, but first, let me tell you that the book of Leviticus is the first book studied by all children of religious Jewish families.
In fact, if the family is of the Tribe of Levi, the priestly family, the young boys of that family would study this book for 28 years, until their 30th birthday, to prepare to do the priestly duties in the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem.
Now to your question of why read about the sacrificial system that God gave the Jewish people, since Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. That is a valid question.
The book of Leviticus not only gives us the “system of sacrifice” for the Jewish people in the first seven chapters, it gives us a “standard for priests” who are to perform these sacrifices in Leviticus 8-10. The last part of the book, chapters 11-27 reveals a “system of worship” in a Tabernacle or a Temple.
The technical interpretation of Leviticus is for the Jewish people, those in Biblical times and those in the Kingdom to come. The sacrificial system, or at least a portion of it, will be reinstated in Messiah's Temple, located in Jerusalem, in His 1000 year Kingdom, Ezekiel 45. These future sacrifices will be done in “memorial” as the Jews look back to what Jesus did for them as the sacrificial Lamb.
The sacrificial system set up in Leviticus was for the purpose of having the Jews to look forward to what Jesus would do through His death, burial and resurrection. But I haven't answered your question of why read Leviticus?
I mentioned that the technical interpretation of Leviticus is for the Jewish people past and prophetic, future. However, the spiritual application for reading Leviticus is precious. The word "holiness" is used 87 times in Leviticus.
If you want to understand the “holiness of God”, you can do so by reading this third book of the Torah, the books of the law for the Jewish people. Read the entire book sometime. It will be a real blessing to you.
One final thought. I mentioned that the boys of a religious Jewish family would start to read the book of Leviticus at two years of age and do so for 28 years until they qualify as priests on their 30th birthday.
Today in Jerusalem there are thousands of Jewish young men and even some not so young who are studying the priestly responsibilities from Leviticus as they prepare themselves to serve in a coming temple in Jerusalem.
All preparations have been made for the next temple in Jerusalem. It is not there now, but it is greatly anticipated by hundreds and thousands of Jewish people today. The preparation being made to build the next Temple, the Third Temple, in Jerusalem is one of the great evidences of the Lord's soon coming.
Keep looking up!
PRAYER THOUGHT: Help me to understand the holiness of God.