GET READY
It is one thing to follow a leader like Moses, especially when God is present either in a cloud of smoke during the day or a pillar of fire at night. But what about the Israelites’ religious practice when neither Moses nor God is present to tell them what to do? Leviticus is God’s answer.
Author
Most scholars accept Moses as the author of Leviticus, the third book of the Torah. There are several instances of God dictating the worship and moral instructions which Moses recorded and pronounced to the Israelites. Even so, some students focus on the differences in subject and writing style to argue that the book is a compilation of practices that was edited together after Israel became a nation. However, there is a definite flow from the events described in Exodus leading to the building of the tabernacle to the detailed instructions for worship and sacrifice in Leviticus. Further, because many of the commandments are counter to the prevailing practices of the ancient near east, it would have been very important for the Israelites to learn the procedures and begin practicing them from the beginning.
Context
The Israelites are camped at Mount Sinai, where God has given them the Ten Commandments. Through Moses, God has guided the construction of the tabernacle to contain the tablets of the commandments and to serve as the center of the peoples’ worship [Exodus 35-40]. The tabernacle was an elaborate tent with several different spaces and altars. Most authorities believe this is two years after the Israelites left Egypt.
There is no narrative for this book. It begins with God summoning Moses to the tabernacle (also called the “Tent of Meeting”) and beginning the dictation of the rules of worship.
Structure
Leviticus is one of the hardest reads in the Bible. It seems like one long, very detailed instruction manual for practices and rituals which are foreign to a modern reader. And it jumps around from subject to subject.
A closer look reveals two primary parts:
- The basic procedures and rituals for sacrifice and worship – the peoples’ relationship with God.
- The laws (and their consequences) for establishing and maintaining the Israelites as a separate and holy people of God.
And, yes, within these two sections the commandments deal with multiple areas of worship and personal conduct.
Major Themes
As a worship handbook Leviticus provides instruction on three major doctrines of our faith:
- Sacrifice reminds us of our covenant with God and our relationship with him.
- God is holy and the people of his covenant must be holy as well.
- Because of sin the people must atone for their broken relationship with God.
These doctrines expand our understanding of who God is, who we are, and the nature of the relationship God wants with us.
DOCTRINE NOTES . . .
Sacrifice: The practice of giving or dedicating something to God acknowledges that he has given us everything we have, including life itself. Sacrifice also reminds us that we need to put God first in our lives, ahead of everything else, which we fail to do because of sin. Leviticus includes instruction on five types of sacrifice:
- Burnt offerings: cattle, oxen, sheep, goats, turtledoves or pigeons – male and “without blemish” – were burned by the priests to produce a “pleasing odor to the Lord.”
- Grain offerings: flour with oil and frankincense (a gum used as incense and perfume) in it, or unleavened bread that has been baked, griddled or fried – yeast was forbidden [check Exodus 12] – part was burned to produce a “pleasing odor to the Lord,” and the rest was for the priests.
- Peace offerings (also called “Offering of well-being”): cattle, oxen, sheep or goats – male or female without blemish – the fat around the organs was burned as a food offering.
- Sin offerings: cattle, oxen, goats, sheep, turtledoves or pigeons – male without blemish, the specific animal depended on the position of the person who sinned – the blood was poured out and the fat was burned “to make atonement.”
- Guilt offerings: a male sheep or goat without blemish – along with the restitution when appropriate (trespass, robbery, deception, fraud or false witness “to make atonement”).
Holiness: God is holy (“separated”) and requires the people of his covenant to be holy as well: You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived, and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you . . . You shall keep my statutes and my ordinances; by doing so one shall live, [Lev 18:3, 5]. The instruction covers being “clean” and “unclean,” as well as food, marriage and family, sexual behavior, and relationships with others.
Atonement: literally “at-one-ness” or reconciliation. Sin separates us from God and leads to disobedience which further divides us from our Creator. In the Old Testament God agreed to consider animal sacrifice as an adequate “payment” to maintain his covenant relationship with the Israelites – the animal’s blood in place of the human’s blood that was required: For the life of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it to you for making atonement for your lives on the altar, [Lev 17:11]. However, Christ’s sacrifice on the cross is the final and complete atonement for our sin.
GET INTO THE WORD
1. Who wrote this book? Why do some believe a different theory about authorship? What evidence supports Moses as the author?
2. Why is a book like this necessary for the Israelites at this time? What purpose does it fulfill in their religious life? In their life as a nation?
Note . . .
The priests of the Israelites came from the tribe of Levi – or Levites – which gives us the title of this book
3. Where are the Israelites when Moses writes this book? What major events have happened to them recently? How do you suppose they felt about all these instructions? How might you have felt if you had been there?
4. What are the major parts of the book? What relationships does the book deal with? Why would these directions be important for the people? What does God want to achieve with these commandments?
5. What doctrines are covered in this book? What is the primary teaching in each area? Why was it important that the Israelites understand these things? Why is it important that we understand them?
6. What are the different types of sacrifice? Why do you think God wanted so many kinds of offerings?
11: Day of Atonement — Leviticus 16:2-34
GET READY
How do you deal with an instruction manual? Do you read it through before starting the project? Or do you scan it looking for the first step, then start? Or do you just start the way it seems right to you and open the manual only when something doesn’t work?
THE WORD
16 2 The Lord said to Moses:
Tell your brother Aaron not to come just at any time into sanctuary inside the curtain before the mercy seat that is upon the ark, or he will die; for I appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat.
3 Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. 4 He shall put on the holy linen tunic, and shall have the linen undergarments next to his body, fasten the linen sash, and wear the linen turban; these are the holy vestments. He shall bathe his body in water, and then put them on.
5 He shall take from the congregation of the people of Israel two male goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering.
6 Aaron shall offer the bull as a sin offering for himself, and shall make atonement for himself and for his house. 7He shall take the two goats and set them before the Lordat the entrance of the tent of meeting; 8 and Aaron shall cast lots on the two goats, one lot for the Lordand the other lot for Azazel. 9 Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for the Lord, and offer it as a sin offering; 10but the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel shall be presented alive before the Lord to make atonement over it, that it may be sent away into the wilderness to Azazel.
11Aaron shall present the bull as a sin offering for himself, and shall make atonement for himself and for his house; he shall slaughter the bull as a sin offering for himself. 12He shall take a censer full of coals of fire from the altar before the Lord, and two handfuls of crushed sweet incense, and he shall bring it inside the curtain 13and put the incense on the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the covenant, or he will die. 14He shall take some of the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it with his finger on the front of the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat he shall sprinkle the blood with his finger seven times.
15He shall slaughter the goat of the sin offering that is for the people and bring its blood inside the curtain, and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, sprinkling it upon the mercy seat and before the mercy seat. 16Thus he shall make atonement for the sanctuary, because of the uncleannesses of the people of Israel, and because of their transgressions, all their sins; and so he shall do for the tent of meeting, which remains with them in the midst of their uncleannesses. . . .
20When he has finished atoning for the holy place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall present the live goat. 21Then Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and sending it away into the wilderness by means of someone designated for the task. 22The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to a barren region; and the goat shall be set free in the wilderness. . . .
29This shall be a statute to you forever: In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall deny yourselves, and shall do no work, neither the citizen nor the alien who resides among you. 30For on this day atonement shall be made for you, to cleanse you; from all your sins you shall be clean before the Lord. 31It is a sabbath of complete rest to you, and you shall deny yourselves; it is a statute forever. 32The priest who is anointed and consecrated as priest in his father’s place shall make atonement, wearing the linen vestments, the holy vestments. 33He shall make atonement for the sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tent of meeting and for the altar, and he shall make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly. 34This shall be an everlasting statute for you, to make atonement for the people of Israel once in the year for all their sins. And Moses did as the Lordhad commanded him. NRSV
GET INTO THE WORD
1. What is God talking about with Moses? Who is he talking about? Why [see Notes]? What instructions does God provide about entering the tabernacle?
2. What does Aaron take with him into the tabernacle? What will they be used for? Why are so many animals required for this ceremony?
3. What is Aaron supposed to do with the bull? With the ram? With the goats? How does he decide between the two goats? What will happen to each goat?
4. How does Aaron sacrifice the bull? Who is this sacrifice for? What does he take inside the curtain? What does he do with it? Why is this necessary [see Notes]? What does he do with the blood?
5. What is Aaron supposed to do next? What is the purpose of this sacrifice? Why is this necessary? Who benefits from this sacrifice?
6. What is the next part of the ceremony? What does Aaron do with the goat? Why is this part of the Day of Atonement [see Notes]? Who benefits from this ritual?
7. How does God finish his directions for this ceremony? How should the Israelites prepare for it in the future? How did Moses respond?
GET PERSONAL
How has God helped you understand the role of sin in your life? How does he give you confidence in Christ’s atonement on your behalf?
NOTES . . .
16:2. Aaron — Moses’ brother is the high priest.
Mercy seat — a sheet of solid gold covering the ark containing the tablets of the law.
16:4. Linen — the priest dresses like a servant for the initial sacrifice in God’s presence. Later he will put on the elaborate ceremonial robe for the sacrifice before the people.
16:6. Bull, ram, goats — there are actually four ceremonies involved: the priest’s sacrifice for his sins, the cleansing of the tabernacle, and the sacrifice for the peoples’ sins, and the removal of the peoples’ sins.
16:7. Cast lots — probably similar to dice – God makes his choice in the fall of the lots.
16:8. Azazel — considered the name of a fallen angel, although older translations use “scapegoat” because the goat goes away or “escapes” carrying the peoples’ sins.
16:13. Incense — several cultures believed incense represented peoples’
prayers ascending to God. On a practical level incense masked the odors of burned flesh.
16:15. Blood — the sprinkling of the blood atones for the sin, [Lev 17:11].
16:20. Finished — sprinkling the blood cleanses the tabernacle and altar or “covers” Israel’s sins, now the sins must be removed from the people by means of the scapegoat.
16:24. Burnt offering — the final step in the sacrifice is burning the animals on the exterior altar.
16:29. Statute — in the modern calendar this is the end of September.
Deny yourselves — the sacrifices are empty ritual unless the people acknow-ledge their sin and recognize the gift God is giving them (note v. 30: “atonement shall be made for you”).
16:34. Everlasting statute — Jesus completed atonement for sin by his sacrifice on the cross. The New Testament letter to the Hebrews links Passover and Atonement to the crucifixion.
Memory Verse
You shall love your neighbor as yourself, [Lev 19:18]
Lesson 12
Numbers 14: Rebellion, intercession, punishment
Comment . . .
Many folks have noted that the scapegoat in this passage is a preview of Jesus, who took the sins of all the people on his own head to the cross. Others have pointed out that Jesus is both goats — he takes the sins on himself as the scapegoat, but he is crucified like the sacrificial goat.
The treatment of the scapegoat is also a preview of what every human does regularly: we all seek something or someone to blame for our faults and failures. We want to see ourselves (and be seen by others) as “good” people. We don’t want to acknowledge — to ourselves and certainly not to God (who already knows) — that our “goodness” is mixed with any shortcomings or “sins,” so we work hard to deny our wholeness (or holy-ness). But God knows and loves all of each of us. If God accepts our both/and natures, why don’t we? Rich
