Today begins the reading of one of hardest books to read in the Bible. Don't feel bad if you don't understand a lot of it. Don't worry if you think some of it is really strange. But this book is in the Bible so we should read it (at least once) and we should try and understand at least the basic meaning of the book.
Leviticus is named after the tribe of Levi. The males of the tribe of Levi were the priests in Israel. It means, "set apart." These were people devoted to worship. The theme of Leviticus is therefore a book about how sinful man can approach a holy God in worship. In fact the word "holy" occurs over 80 times in the book of Leviticus. The key verse is found in 19:1, "Be holy because I the Lord your God am holy." This verse is repeated in the NT numerous times. It is still our standard. We are to be a people set apart to worship God in our everyday life as well as on Sunday.
The book is in two parts. The first part is chapters 1-16. It is how the people were to become holy and access God. This section shows the principles of sin and how to remove it. It includes information on how the priest are to mediate between God and the people, special laws that govern Israel, and an explanation of the feasts and sacrifices. The second part of the book is in chapters 17-26, which are holiness codes. This section covers ethical and moral issues, and how-tos on maintaining a relationship with God and holiness.
Here are a few things to remember while reading this book. True worship can only happen based on blood covering. In the OT, that was done through sacrifices. In the NT, that is done through the blood of Jesus. Although, at first glance this book seems like a list of empty rules, it really does present access to God through grace, not works. Worship back then was also to be a response to God's grace and salvation. We see this in Leviticus 26:9. The emphasis of this book is on wholeness and holiness of God and the people's relationship to him, therefore anything that ferments, decays, brakes down in compassion, or shows a mixture of unrelated mediums does not support this teaching and is not permitted as a practical application of this principle. Worship rituals, forms, and traditions were to demonstrate the relationship of God and his people in the framework of the time, place, and method of the OT. Worship is to continue into the daily life and become a lifestyle.
Often people ask if we are to continue in all the practices of Leviticus, as many of them seem strange and not relevant to our time. We are to support the principals given in the paragraph above. We are to maintain the spirit and truth of Leviticus. Some of the rules continue to do that on our day. Others need a more meaningful and practical expression. Today Christians are to be set apart and holy for God, a lifestyle of worship. Others must see in our life that we have a relationship with God based on grace and holiness. We are to live out those truths in daily practical applications for the world to see. Also a by-product of some of the laws is the health and protection of the people and some of those applications wouldn't be necessary today.
Happy reading!
WB READING FOR WEEK 7:DAY ONE, FEBRUARY 12 - LEVITICUS 1-3
Read all the chapters today. Here are a few questions from all of the reading:
Read 1:4, what is the sacrifice. Who was substituted on the cross for you and made atonement for your sins? HINT: Isaiah 53:4-6)
What does a fire do to something? How can that represent cleansing?
In chapter two it says to add salt to the offerings? What are the characteristics of salt? How can that remind one of God?
What are the types of offerings being explained?
What types of sins are being covered?
Do any of your sins go uncovered today?
DAY TWO, FEBRUARY 13 - LEVITICUS 4-6
Read all the chapters today. Here are a few questions from all of the reading:
Read 4:2, can unintentional or omitted actions still be sins?
Do you need to ask God if you are being ignorant of ways you are sinning?
What offerings are being described here?
What are the sins that are being covered?
Chapter six says the fires should never go out. Who is the light of the world? Does it ever go out? (HINT: John 8:12)
The priests are the mediators for the people. Who is our mediator? (HINT: Hebrews 8:6, Hebrews 9:15)
DAY THREE, FEBRUARY 14 - LEVITICUS 7-9
Read all the chapters today. Here are a few questions from all of the reading:
How do you see the principal of "set apart" or "be holy" in these instructions?
Read 9:23-24, what does God do after the people are consecrated and holy?
How do the people respond?
What do you need to do in order to get back into right relationship with God?
How do you respond to God's presence in your life?
DAY FOUR, FEBRUARY 15 - LEVITICUS 10-12
Read all the chapters today. Here are a few questions from all of the reading:
After reading the first few verses of chapter 10, how important is it to God that the people approach him in a prepared and holy manner?
How did God stop compromise immediately?
What is the one thing that people need to do today to be seen by God as holy? (HINT: I Timothy 1:8-10)
How does God feel about compromise today?
NOTE: Many of these laws have secondary health and national protection applications also.
DAY FIVE, FEBRUARY 16 - LEVITICUS 13-14
How are you doing with this reading? Keep going we are about 1/2 way through!
Read all the chapters today. Here are a few questions from all of the reading:
In a culture that does not have great advancement in science and medicine, how do some of these laws, not only show a practical application to holiness, but also show God's love and protection to the nation?
DAY SIX, FEBRUARY 17 - LEVITICUS 15-18
Keep reading some of this goes into more detail that you might want. But again think of holiness, God's concern for his chosen people, and how the people are to live out a lifestyle of holiness and worship to God.
Read all the chapters today. Here are a few questions from all of the reading:
How do some of these laws show God's concern for every detail of life?
How do these laws show that God is concerned for a complete life in response to him, not just a once a week contact with a holy God?
Read 16:7-10, 20-22 who is our scapegoat now? (HINT: Isaiah 53:4-6)
How does the message in 18:1-5 still apply to us today?
How is God's concern with sexual relationships a practical application of how God wants to be our only God?
How important is faithfulness to God?
How do these laws keep his chosen people from getting hurt?
DAY SEVEN, FEBRUARY 18 - LEVITICUS 19-21
Read all the chapters today. Here are a few questions from all of the reading:
Again, do you see God is calling his people to a holy lifestyle, set apart, a witness to the world? Explain.
Which laws do you think are still applicable today?
Which laws are interesting to you?
Read I Peter 1:13-23, how does this add insight for today's application of Leviticus?
If God was writing Leviticus today what rules do you think he would include to remind us to be holy in response to Jesus sacrifice for us?
| DAY ONE | Feb-12 | Mark 12 |
| DAY TWO | Feb-13 | Mark 13 |
| DAY THREE | Feb-14 | Mark 14:1-31 |
| DAY FOUR | Feb-15 | Mark Mark 14:32-72 |
| DAY FIVE | Feb-16 | Mark 15 |
| DAY SIX | Feb-17 | Mark 16 |
| DAY SEVEN | Feb-18 | Mark 17 |
Always begin your time of God with prayer. Ask him for understanding and insights. You can pick out a verse, thought or feeling from the passage and think on it (mediate) on it all day. Meditating on God's word means to digest it, put it into your mind, think on it, and concentrate in different ways on the passage.
Some ways you can do this is:
1. Put yourself into the scene.
2. Emphasize different words in the verse.
3. Paraphrase the passage in your own words.
4. Pray the passage back to God if it is a prayer, song, poem, etc (personalize it).
5. Use SPACE PETS acrostic to ask some standard questions.
S - Sins to confess? Do I need to make restitution?
P - Promises to claim? Have I met the conditions(s)?
A - Attitudes to change? Am I willing?
C - Commands to obey? Even if I don't feel like it?
E - Examples to follow? One to copy or avoid?
P - Prayers to pray? Is there something I need to tell God?
E - Errors to avoid?
T - Truths about God or the Bible I need to believe?
Adapted from 12 Dynamic Bible Study Methods (Chapter 1) by Richard Warren and William A. Shell.