Leviticus 1 | Wayfarer

“Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When anyone among you brings an offering to the Lord, bring as your offering an animal from either the herd or the flock.”
Leviticus 1:2 (NIV)

Imagine an entire nation of people wandering in the desert. Hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children; Perhaps millions with their flocks and herds. For four hundred years these people had been slaves in Egypt. They were told where to live, what to do each day, and they were given little or no choices in life. Their ancestor, Abraham, had made a covenant with God hundreds of years before, but they knew little about the God of Abraham. It had only been stories passed down through the generations.

Then, the God of Abraham showed up. He revealed Himself to Moses and miraculously delivered them out of their slavery in Egypt. Now they find themselves living in the wilderness. Everything has changed. This nation of people have an opportunity to begin a whole new way of living life together in community with their God, and with one another. It is, perhaps, the greatest social experiment in human history. It still resonates in our daily lives if we will but recognize it.

Today our chapter-a-day journey wades into perhaps the most ignored and misunderstood book in the entire Great Story. The book of Leviticus was a set of instructions for the newly appointed priests among this fledgling nation of newly freed slaves, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. There were twelve tribes of them, and God through Moses appointed one tribe, the tribe of Levi, to handle priestly duties. Within the tribe of Levi, the descendants of Aaron (Moses right-hand man) would be the official priests who handled sacrifices. Keep in mind, just a month or so ago these Levite dudes were just slaves like everyone else doing what they were told to do in Pharaoh’s construction projects. Now they are priests of the God of Moses with no earthly idea what that means or what they are supposed to be doing. Leviticus is their guidebook.

The book opens by describing the five major types of offerings (burnt, grain, fellowship, sin, and guilt) that the people will bring to God, and how the priests are to handle them. Today’s opening chapter deals with burnt offerings. There were two things I noticed immediately as I read today’s chapter.

First, it says “when” people bring a burnt “offering” followed by “if” that offering is one of three potential types (a bull, a sheep, or a bird). This is not compulsory. The burnt offering is first and foremost a choice that is made by the person or family bringing it. The Hebrew word for “offering” means literally to “bring.” It is a choice. The entire act is one of willful devotion to God.

Next, there are three potential burnt offerings representing different economic realities. A bull could only be offered by a family with herds, which were objects of great wealth in their socio-economic system. A sheep or a goat were more common and represent a more “middle class” reality among the people. Birds were relatively cheap and plentiful for those who were on the poorer end of the economic spectrum of that day. In other words, God is allowing for people across the entire socio-economic spectrum to show their devotion at whatever level they can afford. Everyone is welcome.

As I meditated on these things in the quiet this morning, I was struck by the fact that God is amazingly consistent in His message and method. He initiated everything by appearing to Moses and freeing the Hebrew tribes from slavery. Now He is asking for them to make a free and willful choice to express their devotion and gratitude by coming to God with an offering, whatever they can personally afford.

“I chose you. I loved you. I saved you. Now, I want you to choose me and here is how you can do that.”

It is the same paradigm that God would display through Jesus a few thousand years later.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
John 3:16-17 (NIV)

Or, as John would put it in one of his letters:

“We love because He first loved us.”
1 John 4:18

As I head out into a new and very busy work week, I’m reminded this morning that it is the same for me as it was for the former Hebrew slaves trying to figure out how now they should live. God has lovingly done everything for me. He has loved me, saved me, delivered me from my slavery to sin, guided me, provided for me, and blessed me. Now, I have the opportunity to choose to, in return, offer my love, gratitude, and devotion by living my life and relating to others with His love, joy, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control.

It’s my choice.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

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You shall lay your hand on the head of the burnt-offering, and it shall be acceptable in your behalf as atonement for you.
Leviticus 1:4 (NRSV)

I have blogged through the book of Leviticus only once since starting this chapter-a-day blogging journey ten years ago. That compares to the 2-3 times I’ve blogged through most of the other books in God’s Message. The reason for this is not a mystery. Leviticus is not an easy read and it’s even more difficult for most people to understand in a 21st century western culture. And yet, it’s part of the Great Story. Without it, our understanding of the story God is telling through history is incomplete.

Leviticus is ancient legal text. It’s part of what’s known as “The Law of Moses” (a.k.a. “The Books of Law” and “The Torah”) which is the first five books of what we commonly know as the Old Testament. Leviticus is a rule book and an instruction manual for the people of Israel regarding the system of sacrifices and offerings they were to make to God. As we see in today’s opening chapter, it’s a bloody affair.

The underlying reason for this gory, intricate system of sacrifices is given. If you blink you might miss it:

“…and it shall be acceptable in your behalf as atonement for you.”

The word “atonement” is not one we use much anymore. It’s a medieval word and the meaning is simple if you just break the word apart: at-one-ment. It’s to make two things one or to bring two dissonant parts into harmony.

We have to think about it in context of the story. The Great Story begins with creation, and with God placing Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve disobey God. They committed a sin by knowingly doing what they had been commanded not to do. God banishes them from the Garden. They are told that the punishment for their sin was that they would be separated from God and they would have to die a physical death. The punishment of sin was death.

In the Book of Leviticus, God is providing a prescriptive remedy for this situation. The appropriate animal, without defect, sacrificed on the altar would make temporary at-one-ment for that person and God. The person bringing the animal would place their hand on the animal and the animal became a substitutionary, sacrificial death for their sin. The death sentence God place on all of us in the Garden of Eden was transferred to the sacrifice.

This is a foreshadowing of the story. Leviticus sets the theme. The temporary sacrifices which the people of Israel made over and over again would one day be replaced by a permanent solution. The sacrifice of God’s own Son. The Lamb of God, without defect, sacrificed once for all.

This morning I’m thinking about foreshadows. I’m thinking how glad I am to have been born in the 20th century A.D. and not the 20th century B.C. I’m thinking about the long list of my own sins and acts of willful disobedience. I’m thinking about the physical death that I will eventually experience. I’m thinking about the nagging sense of loneliness, confusion, and spiritual isolation I felt before experiencing at-one-ment when I entered into relationship with Jesus and followed.