Leviticus for Dummies

If you’ve been a Christian for a little bit of time, the odds are that at some point someone challenged you to read through the Bible in a year. And if you were a Christian around the new year, the odds are that you decided this would be the year for you to read through your Bible.

Things were going great until around the end of February.

Then you hit Leviticus. And your plan went into a screeching halt.

There’s something about the book of Leviticus that makes every Christian feel, well, just a little bit dumb. And somewhere between the burnt offering and the grain offering, you begin to feel as if theology was better left for the theologians, or at the bare minimum your pastor.

Not so, my friend. I’m here to help you get through this book with confidence and joy.
As I muddle through the book of Leviticus myself, I want to share with you perspectives on Leviticus that will give you a new appreciation for it!

• If you don’t understand how difficult the law is you won’t fully appreciate the freedom that Christ gives. You think the elements of the law are difficult to keep let alone to understand? You bet! But something happened over 2000 years ago that would free us from the law. Nobody understood it better than the apostle Paul. In Galatians 3:13 he says “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.” Christ fulfilled the law so that we don’t have to. Spending a couple of weeks in Leviticus will give you a new appreciation for this and lead to praise of Jesus Christ!

• If at first glance it doesn’t make sense, look deeper and you’ll find all kinds of things that God is trying to say. You may not be quite ready to delve into it this year, but believe me when I say that every offering, and every sacrifice and every word of the book of Leviticus is put there for a reason. You won’t get it in the first or second reading, but with a little bit of study you will see exactly why God says what. It’s a little bit like your life: things don’t always make sense to the quick eye, but dig a little deeper and you will see God’s hand in every detail!

• If you don’t think you can talk to God about every little detail of your life you haven’t read Leviticus. In my reading today I came across several mentions of women’s menstrual cycles and emissions of semen. Believe me when I say there is not one topic that you can think of that God isn’t willing to hear you through. We have a God who is not afraid of what is uncomfortable or messy. You can fully trust Him. Wow.

I’ve got another week in Leviticus and I can’t wait! It’s amazing what a little perspective can do for you.

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