Lessons learnt from Leviticus.

So ...  I had always had this thought in mind that before I turned 20 I would want to read the entire Bible, the day came , I read my last chapter from the plan And I felt great. (Prof. Horners Bible reading plan)

I read and listened to the audio of every single chapter - but ever heard of the saying : 'quality over quantity' ? 

Now there were times I really did take in the Word as I was reading or listening to it, I would make notes and highlight and understand the intricate details , I also found out a lot of new facts. It wasn't entirely rushed, I spent hours trying to figure out the timeline of the Old Testament, and put the books and events together historically, I did character profiles on people I had hardly even known before, and I was really able to take-in the bigger picture. Not to mention, reading the WORD of God put my 'everyday life' into a great perspective, I overcame many personal struggles through the constant intake of Gods word, my life took on new paths, priorities were corrected, it was an incredible 8 months ( I would highly recommend it).

BUT 

God is more concerned about the application of what we read rather than the plan we might or might not be on. My mum made me very aware of this, and I realised that just because you are reading a plan of a huge number of chapters per day , doesn't mean you are getting the best from the WORD of God.

I'd love to think that even if I read the Bible, intricately to the best qualities I could possibly imagine for the rest of my life, that I would never fully accomplish a 'perfect understanding' . And it's true. 

But you'd better believe that I'm going to try .

One of the books I feel like I rushed though bait was Leviticus. Let's face it , it's not a thrilling adventure of David, or a romantic dream like Esther, and it's not the mind- spurring parables of Jesus. 

But that doesn't make it any less important or informative on how we could really change our lives by application. 

I read through the book again over the past few weeks, and there were some constant themes I thought were too good not to write down :

GOD WANTS YOUR VERY BEST.

Sacrifices were a huge deal to the Israelite community, it was the very foundation of being purged from sin, so extra, and I mean extra care had to be taken when presenting a sin offering to the Lord, it normally had to be a '...make with no defects...' (1'3) Which according to the agricultural currency of the day was the most prized of any flock . This had to be burned, and given to the descendants of Aaron , or completely burned as '... A special gift, a pleasing aroma to the LORD.' (1'17) 

This leads me on to the next key point, GOD IS CONCERNED ABOUT OUR WORSHIP TO HIM. He wants to help us present the best to Him, this is seen by the fact that : there even is a BOOK OF LEVITICUS , God is assisting His people to give Him the best, and here we see one of the timeless characteristics of God , being so incredible that He gives us the standard of perfection that He requires, and then helps us to get there.  There was a great deal of precision that God required but He made it so accessible to them by the clarity of His instructions that is became 'do-able'. 

God wants that for us today , He demands perfection and the Spirit of God can point us in the right direction, and carry us along. 

GOD - IN EVERY AREA.

The Israelites wouldn't just give God sheep, there was choice flour, with the best olive oil, and loaves of bread and cakes, and grains and birds (5'11) , God enable His people to SEE Him in whatever they were doing , and whatever they had present in their lives.

GOD CARES ABOUT EQUALITY

The descendant of Aaron were given specific portions of many of the sacrifices, it was called their 'rightful share' (7'35)because they did not have a set out land like the rest of the tribes, God made sure they were taken care of , and everything had to be shared equally among them (7'10).  God cares for those who commit their lives to Him, He provides for the things they need, they 'shall not want' (Psalms 23'1).

SIN IS SERIOUS. 

The LORD said : 'you must distinguish between what is sacred and what is common, between what is ceremonially unclean and what is clean' (10'10). There is a sense of separation through the whole book of Leviticus, the whole Bible has a constant theme of separating the light from dark, and righteousness from sin. Leviticus is no exception . The people had to place their hand on the sacrifices head (before it was killed) to literally transfer their sin to something that would die as a penalty . (1'4) 

So rams and goats and doves, would, temporalily release people from their sins, but can you imagine the WORTH OF JESUS over animals ?

Praise God that the life and death and resurrection of Jesus justifies, every human that has ever accepted Him (ie: placed there hands on the lambs head) to mean that from t cross to the rest of eternity, the Ultimate sacrifice has been given and we are forever justified : "Just as if I'd never sinned". 

Praise God indeed.

don't you just love, how thousands of years before the cross ever even happened, and before Jesus stepped out into the world as a human, we can see Him , and see a picture of Him in the book of Leviticus.

So whether it's a Psalms, Proverb, Judges or Genesis, 

Always remember to look out for glimpses of Jesus.

Let the Holy Spirit guide you, 

IMTAPA