Joe Mandera

The Book Of Leviticus Joe Mandera

The Book of Leviticus

The Book of Leviticus is the third book of The Old Testament. It lies in the center of the Pentateuch, between Exodus and Numbers.

Today's readers are often put off by the book's lists of laws regarding diet, sacrifice, and social behavior. But within these highly detailed directives we discover the holiness-the separateness, distinction, and utter "otherness"-of God. And we learn how sin devastates humanity's relationship with their Creator.

The overall message of Leviticus is sanctification. The book communicates that receiving God's forgiveness and acceptance should be followed by holy living and spiritual growth. In Leviticus we learn that God loves to be approached, but we must do so on His terms.

Leviticus can be challenging to read, as it is filled with detailed instructions--like how to conduct various kinds of sacrifices, how to recognize various symptoms of skin disease, and other matters of ritual purity that seem to have no relevance to modern Christians. As you read Leviticus, realize that you're reading not a narrative text, but a ritual text, whose theology is expressed not in stories, but in the details of rituals and in the worldview behind them. Keep in mind that the priestly writers of the book believed certain things about God and the world. They believed God created the world in a very ordered way, with distinct boundaries, and that ritual mirrored and actualized those cosmic boundaries so that the holy God could dwell in the midst of people prone to sin without destroying them. Structure:

I. Laws on Sacrifice (1:1-7:38)
II. Institution of the Priesthood (8:1-10:20)
III. Uncleanness and its Treatment (11:1-16:34)
IV. Prescriptions for Practical Holiness (17:1-27:34)

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perfect for personal use or to give as a gift to celebrate special occasions like graduations, baptisms, birthdays, or achievementsEasy-to-read38 Pages