Leviticus 1-7

We are now entering the third book of the Torah, Leviticus. Now, Leviticus is something of a mystery for Christians, and American Christians in particular. Leviticus deals with priestly duties, what to sacrifice and how to sacrifice it, who should offer the sacrifice, and what a person should sacrifice depending on their own individual needs. Which is perplexing to us. Unless you're a Catholic or an Eastern Orthodox, you may not understand the role of a priest. Most of our meat comes from the store, and we have never killed an animal, much less slaughter and dissect one. We are often concerned of animal rights, and the thought of killing an animal because we screwed up, may sound revolting to us. So, naturally, we are inclined to misunderstand Leviticus, and to not consider it because it may make us feel unsettled. Some, for a less noble reason, don't read it because it can be repetitive and repetitive. But I assure you, there is good, Gospel in this book.

There are 5 main divisions of the book of Leviticus.
I.   Ritual Sacrifices (1-7)
II.  Ceremony of Ordination of priests (8-10)
III. Laws regarding Legal Purity (11-16)
IV. Code of Legal Holiness (17-26)
V.  Redemption of Offerings (27)

The Role of a priest.

A priest represents God to the people, and the people to God. The Priest acts as a mediator. He brings the sins of the people to God, and asks for His forgiveness, and delivers God's forgiveness to the people. Note that it is not the priest who is forgiving sins. Only God can forgive sins, but that message of forgiveness is delivered through the priest. Now there are two kinds of Priests. Regular priests, and the High Priest. This correlates to the New Testament very well. In the New Testament, the High Priest is Jesus, and the other Priests are the ministers in the church.

Did I just say that your Pastor can forgive sins? In the Catholic Church, yes, the Priest has the ability to deliver God's forgiveness to the people. But not everybody is a Catholic. One way in which a minister delivers God's forgiveness to the people is through Baptism. Also, Pastors often intercede to God for their saints. Praying that God would have mercy on them, and that God would draw closer to them, and God hears the prayers of His ministers.

Now, there is a sense in which ALL of Israel is a priest, and by extension, all of the Church are priests. God says of Israel "And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." Exodus 19:6 Peter quotes these same words in his epistle, and applies them to the church. So there is a general priesthood of believers as well. There is a sense in which all of us are priests. The people of the world look at us, and see God. We can communicate God's teachings and love to the whole world, and they may come to God through our intercession. 

Confession: Part of what the Protestant reformation lopped off from the historical church was the practice of confession. Throughout church history, confession was regularly practiced. James writes "Confess your sins one to another." And undoubtedly  they confessed their sins to the priest when they offered the sacrifice, otherwise, how would the priest know what to sacrifice, and how to sacrifice it?

Concerning Confession, C.S. Lewis writs: It is not for me to decide whether you should confess your sins to a priest or not... but if you do not, you should at least make a list on a piece of paper, and make a serious act of penance about each one of them. There is something about the mere words, you know, provided you avoid two dangers, either of sensational exaggeration - trying to work things up and make melodramatic sins out of small matters - or the opposite danger of slurring things over. It is essential to use the plain simple, old-fashioned words that you would use about anyone else. I mean words like theft, or fornication, or hatred instead of "I did not mean to be dishonest," or "I was only a boy then," or "I lost my temper." I thing that this steady facing of what one does know and bringing it before God, without excuses, and seriously asking for Forgiveness and Grace, and resolving as far as in one lies to do better, is the only way in which we can ever begin to know the fatal thing which is always there, and preventing us from becoming perfectly just to our wife or husband, or being a better employer or employee. If this process is gone throiugh, I do not doubt that most of us will come to understand and to share these old words like "contrite," "miserable" and "intolerable."
Sacrifice:
And what else must be there for forgiveness? A sacrifice. At last we address the main subject of these first seven chapters. Sacrifice. Now these bloody sacrifices, serve a purpose. They show us the very real threat of death that sin causes. Imagine living in Ancient Israel, and every day you see sacrifices happen, and you know the reason for those sacrifices is sin. Sin brings death into the world, and the sacrifices were a constant reminder of that. But the blood of bulls and rams could not take away the sins of the world forever, but they merely foreshadowed what was to come, namely the perfect and spotless lamb of God, Jesus the Messiah. God the Father sent his Son into the world, with a purpose. And that purpose was to take the sin of the world upon him. Christ is unique in that He not only is the High Priest, He is the Sacrifice as well.


"Thus the priest shall make atonement on your behalf, and you shall be forgiven." Leviticus 4:31

Atonement. At-one. Atone. To Atone for sins is to bring back together, and to make a person "at one" with God. And this is what is accomplished in the death of Jesus Christ. Sin has marred our beautiful godlike image, and it has turned all of our desires inward, so that God is not first in our priorities, but we are. This separates us from God. But Christ's death brings atonement for our sins, and makes us One with God again. This Oneness is most displayed when one is filled with the Holy Spirit.

Lamb of God
You Take Away
The Sins of the
The World. - Agnus Dei.