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THE SETTING!
Given a choice, which book of the Old Testament would you like to study?
Now that you're thinking about the books of the
Old Testament see if you can answer the following questions:
Which book used to be the first one Jewish children studied in the synagogue?
Which book would be the last book you'd ever study on your own?
Which book has been described as the seed-bed of New Testament theology?
Which book would you consider irrelevant on this side of the cross?
Which book is more about the ordinary Israelite than is suggested by its title?
If you were reading through the Bible, which book would most likely bog you down?
The answer to each of the above question is found
in the heart of the Pentateuch. It is the book that many of us are inclined
to discount as being totally irrelevant. Our tendency to neglect this book
is understandable since the book deals with subjects that appear to be incomprehensible
and irrelevant to men and women living in the 21st century. As we see it, "You
shall love your neighbor as yourself (19:18) is the only memorable maxim is a
rather dull book. I'm speaking of the book of Leviticus.
To understand this book we need to go back to
the point where the Israelites found themselves in the desert with the
powerful and awesome God who had rescued them out of Egypt. The one who
had fought ten rounds with the gods of Egypt; winning with a knockout blow that
struck down every first born son, whether it was Pharaoh's son, the son of a
prisoner, or the son of an unknown slave girl. The one who dealt a crushing
blow to Pharaoh's army right after the Israelites had crossed the Red Sea on
dry ground.
Immediately after being rescued, as you might
imagine, they sang of God's mighty power. In Exodus 14-29 - 15:18 we read:
The people of Israel had walked through the middle
of the sea on dry land, as the water stood up like a wall on both sides. 30
This was how the LORD rescued Israel from the Egyptians that day. And the Israelites
could see the bodies of the Egyptians washed up on the shore. 31 When
the people of Israel saw the mighty power that the LORD had displayed against
the Egyptians, they feared the LORD and put their faith in him and his servant
Moses.
Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this
song to the LORD:
"I will sing to the LORD, for he has
triumphed gloriously;
he has
thrown both horse and rider into the sea.
2 The LORD is my strength and my song;
he has
become my victory.
He is my God, and I will praise him;
he is
my father's God, and I will exalt him!
3 The LORD is a warrior;
yes,
the LORD is his name!
4 Pharaoh's chariots and armies,
he has
thrown into the sea.
The very best of Pharaoh's officers
have
been drowned in the Red Sea.
5 The deep waters have covered them;
they
sank to the bottom like a stone.
6 "Your right hand, O LORD,
is glorious
in power.
Your right hand, O LORD,
dashes
the enemy to pieces.
7 In the greatness of your majesty,
you
overthrew those who rose against you.
Your anger flashed forth;
it consumed
them as fire burns straw.
8 At the blast of your breath, the waters piled up!
The
surging waters stood straight like a wall;
in the
middle of the sea the waters became hard.
9 "The enemy said, 'I will chase them,
catch
up with them, and destroy them.
I will divide the plunder,
avenging
myself against them.
I will unsheath my sword;
my power
will destroy them.'
10 But with a blast of your breath,
the
sea covered them.
They sank like lead
in the
mighty waters.
11 "Who else among the gods is like you, O LORD?
Who
is glorious in holiness like you-
so awesome in splendor,
performing
such wonders?
12 You raised up your hand,
and
the earth swallowed our enemies.
13 "With unfailing love you will lead
this
people whom you have ransomed.
You will guide them in your strength
to the
place where your holiness dwells.
14 The nations will hear and tremble;
anguish
will grip the people of Philistia.
15 The leaders of Edom will be terrified;
the
nobles of Moab will tremble.
All the people of Canaan will melt with
fear;
16 terror and dread will
overcome them.
Because of your great power,
they
will be silent like a stone,
until your people pass by, O LORD,
until
the people whom you purchased pass by.
17 You will bring them in and plant them on your own mountain-
the place you have made as your home, O
LORD, the sanctuary, O Lord, that your hands have
made.
18 The LORD will reign forever and ever!"
John Updike has said that "our brains are
no longer conditioned for reverence and awe." While this may very
well be true of anyone who has strayed from the pictures of God as revealed to
us in the Old Testament, it wasn't true of the Israelites who had been rescued
out of Egypt. They were in awe of God and out of reverence for him they
placed their trust in him.1
However, shortly after this glorious high the
realities of crossing a barren desert caught up with them at Marah. In
Exodus 15:22 - 26 we read:
Then Moses led the people of Israel away from
the Red Sea, and they moved out into the Shur Desert. They traveled in this desert
for three days without water. 23 When they came to Marah, they finally
found water. But the people couldn't drink it because it was bitter. (That is
why the place was called Marah, which means "bitter.")
Then the people turned against Moses. "What
are we going to drink?" they demanded.
So Moses cried out to the LORD for help, and the
LORD showed him a branch. Moses took the branch and threw it into the water.
This made the water good to drink. It was there at Marah that the LORD laid before
them the following conditions to test their faithfulness to him: 26 "If
you will listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right
in his sight, obeying his commands and laws, then I will not make you suffer
the diseases I sent on the Egyptians; for I am the LORD who heals you."2
It was here at Marah that the Lord reminded them
that he was a covenant-making God. He had made a covenant (an agreement)
with Noah, with Abraham, and now makes a covenant with Israel through Moses.
This is where the Israelites, if they have any
smarts at all, ought to be getting a little bit nervous. Up to this point
God had asked very little of them. Yes, he had asked them to smear blood
on the top and sides of their door frame so that the "destroyer" would
pass over their homes and spare their firstborn. When asked to do this
they bowed before the Lord and did exactly as he had instructed them. But
other than this simple act, the Lord had asked nothing of them.
Now at Marah the Lord began making a covenant
with them. When you have a covenant with God, you no longer have an indescribable,
remote, and unapproachable Deity. You have a God you can count on! So
here at Marah the Israelites and God officially entered into a kind of story
together. He would be their God, a God anxious to bless them, to heal them,
and they would be a responsive people.
This story, of course, is a love story. From
the very beginning God chose them not because they were larger and stronger than
the other tribes. Nor did he choose them because of their moral superiority. He
simply chose them out of his love for them and because of his agreement with
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.3
Two months later, after some ups and downs, they
came to Mt. Sinai. It was here where God spelled everything out for the
nation of Israel. The entire law was predicated upon the words in
Exodus 19:1 - 8 where we read:
The Israelites arrived in the wilderness of Sinai
exactly two months after they left Egypt. 2 After breaking camp at Rephidim,
they came to the base of Mount Sinai and set up camp there.
Then Moses climbed the mountain to appear before
God. The LORD called out to him from the mountain and said, "Give these
instructions to the descendants of Jacob, the people of Israel: 4 'You
have seen what I did to the Egyptians. You know how I brought you to myself and
carried you on eagle's wings. 5 Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant,
you will be my own special treasure from among all the nations of the earth;
for all the earth belongs to me. 6 And you will be to me a kingdom of priests,
my holy nation.' Give this message to the Israelites."
Moses returned from the mountain and called together
the leaders of the people and told them what the LORD had said. 8 They
all responded together, "We will certainly do everything the LORD asks
of us." So Moses brought the people's answer back to the LORD.
Then, jumping clear over to Leviticus 26:46 we
read:
These are the laws, regulations, and instructions
that the LORD gave to the Israelites through Moses on Mount Sinai.
To enable them to fulfill their calling as a holy
nation, God gave them this body of regulations and rituals. The regulations
guided them into a way of life that put them in sharp contrast with the nations
around them, for only when they were set apart from the world would they be useful
in God's plan to restore his blessing to the world. And even when they
failed to live according to the will of God, they were told that they could avail
themselves of the divine provision for full reconciliation in the covenant through
the rituals.
This covenant/treaty background of the law highlights
two important features. First and foremost, the law was given in the context
of grace. God gave the law to Israel after they had been redeemed from
Egypt; not as a means for securing their redemption. His call to Israel
to be a holy nation preceded the revelation of the law at Mt. Sinai, but only
obedience could make holiness a living reality.
Second, though Israel had been saved from Egyptian
bondage and called to be God's people, this did not mean they were free to do
as they pleased. They were set free from bondage to do as they ought
and what they ought to do was spelled out for them in clear Hebrew. It
was spelled out in Exodus 20 - 23 and in this little book called Leviticus -
God's Guidebook to Worship.4
1 Philip Yancy in his book The Bible Jesus Read believes
we need to have the "Emmaus Road" experience in reverse. The
disciples knew Moses and the Prophets but could not conceive how they might
relate to Jesus. We know Jesus but many are losing their grip
on Moses and the Prophets. (p.25).
2 Up to this point the best advice the Israelites had probably
been given to prevent disease was "wash your hands." This
is good advice but this first law that God gave them is far more beneficial
than simply washing your hands. In fact, in 1977, Dr. S.I. McMillen wrote
an entire book based on this one verse, v. 26, demonstrating the benefits of
obedience. His book is entitled None Of These Diseases.
3 Deuteronomy 7:7 - 8 reads: "The
LORD did not choose you and lavish his love on you because you were larger
or greater than other nations, for you were the smallest of all nations! 8
It was simply because the LORD loves you, and because he was keeping the oath
he had sworn to your ancestors. That is why the LORD rescued you with such
amazing power from your slavery under Pharaoh in Egypt.
4 The covenant was presented to the people with the manifestation
of God's presence and it was ratified by sprinkling of sacrificial blood offered
at Mt. Sinai and by the sharing of a communal meal in God's presence. See
Exodus 24!
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