BIBLE BOOK GUIDE
Leviticus
27 chapters
How Israel, through sacrifice, purification, and holy living, lives as a people set apart before a holy God.
Leviticus
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Why this book was written
Written by Moses after Israel entered covenant at Sinai, Leviticus instructs the redeemed congregation of Israel on God's holiness, the handling of sin, and how they must live; its purpose is to make them a holy, priestly nation through sacrifice and statutes.
Structure
- 1–7Laws of Sacrifices
- 8–10Consecration and Service of the Priests
- 11–16Laws of Clean and Unclean
- 17–22Commands for Holy Living
- 23–27Feasts, the Sanctuary, and Vows
Major themes
Holiness and Purification
Leviticus provides detailed instructions on how Israel was to maintain holiness in body, ritual, and morality—covering clean and unclean laws, priestly purification, and separation from defilement—emphasizing that God's holiness requires a corresponding holiness in His people (Lev. 11–15).
Atonement and Intercession
The Day of Atonement (Lev. 16) stands as the book's climax, with the high priest entering the Most Holy Place once a year to atone for himself and the people, foreshadowing Christ's ultimate atoning work. The priestly mediator role pervades the book.
Sacrifice and Substitution
The five offerings—burnt, grain, fellowship, sin, and guilt offerings (Lev. 1–7)—provided substitutionary atonement, teaching that sin demands a price while revealing God's grace and forgiveness.
Holiness in Covenant Community
Leviticus 17–27 emphasizes ethical and communal life within the covenant—sexual morality, justice toward neighbors, Sabbath and Jubilee years, festivals, and faithful stewardship—calling Israel to live out its covenant identity (Lev. 17–27).
God's Sovereignty and Provision
God's detailed directions for offerings, priesthood, festivals, and land sabbaths reveal His sovereignty over every aspect of life, while Sabbath years, Jubilee, and festivals demonstrate His faithful provision and mercy.
Consecration and Service
The consecration of priests (Lev. 8–10) and the setting apart of the Levites for service show that ministering to God requires cleansing, anointing, and full dedication to His service.
How it points to Christ
Leviticus points to Christ as the ultimate High Priest and the ultimate sacrifice. He is the mediator of a better covenant (Heb. 8:6), whose one offering of His body forever accomplishes what the repeated Day of Atonement could only foreshadow (Heb. 9:11–14; 10:1–14). The offerings typify Christ: the burnt offering (perfect consecration), the sin offering (bearing the penalty of sin), and the fellowship offering (restored communion with God). The Sabbath and Jubilee years foreshadow the true rest and liberty Christ brings. The command, "Be holy, because I, the LORD your God, am holy" (Lev. 19:2), is fulfilled in believers through Christ's holiness imputed and imparted.
Key verses
- 1:3–4The burnt offering foreshadows Christ offering Himself without blemish as the substitute.
- 16:30The Day of Atonement — God's provision of atonement for the whole congregation, the supreme OT picture of redemption.
- 17:11'For the life of the flesh is in the blood' — the theological foundation of substitutionary atonement.
- 19:2'You shall be holy, for I am holy' — the central summons of the book.
- 20:7–8Holiness is God's own work, sanctifying the people from within.
- 23:5The Passover points to Christ, our Passover Lamb.
- 25:10The Jubilee year foreshadows the freedom and restoration accomplished in Christ.
- 27:30The tithe belongs to the Lord, echoing the NT principle of giving all to God.
Reflections on Leviticus
Questions for reflection
- ·How do the purity laws in Leviticus deepen your understanding of the seriousness of sin and God's demand for holiness?
- ·How does the detail of the Day of Atonement point you to Christ as the once-for-all sacrifice for your sin?
- ·As a New Covenant believer, how do you understand the relationship between grace and the call to "be holy"?
- ·How does the Jubilee command to free slaves and return inheritance reflect the freedom and restoration Christ brings in the gospel?
- ·The priest had to first atone for himself before atoning for the people (Lev. 16)—how does this show that no one can approach God on their own merit?
Want to read Leviticus start to finish? Open the reader for parallel Chinese/English text and ask anything as you go.
Start reading LeviticusLeviticus
Chapter 19
1And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,
2Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy; for I Jehovah your God am holy.
3Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father; and ye shall keep my sabbaths: I am Jehovah your God.
4Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am Jehovah your God.
5And when ye offer a sacrifice of peace-offerings unto Jehovah, ye shall offer it that ye may be accepted.
6It shall be eaten the same day ye offer it, and on the morrow: and if aught remain until the third day, it shall be burnt with fire.
7And if it be eaten at all on the third day, it is an abomination; it shall not be accepted:
8but every one that eateth it shall bear his iniquity, because he hath profaned the holy thing of Jehovah: and that soul shall be cut off from his people.
9And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleaning of thy harvest.
10And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather the fallen fruit of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am Jehovah your God.
11Ye shall not steal; neither shall ye deal falsely, nor lie one to another.
12And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, and profane the name of thy God: I am Jehovah.
13Thou shalt not oppress thy neighbor, nor rob him: the wages of a hired servant shall not abide with thee all night until the morning.
14Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind; but thou shalt fear thy God: I am Jehovah.
15Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty; but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbor.
16Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbor: I am Jehovah.
17Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart: thou shalt surely rebuke thy neighbor, and not bear sin because of him.
18Thou shalt not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people; but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: I am Jehovah.
19Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind: thou shalt not sow thy field with two kinds of seed: neither shall there come upon thee a garment of two kinds of stuff mingled together.
20And whosoever lieth carnally with a woman, that is a bondmaid, betrothed to a husband, and not at all redeemed, nor freedom given her; they shall be punished; they shall not be put to death, because she was not free.
21And he shall bring his trespass-offering unto Jehovah, unto the door of the tent of meeting, even a ram for a trespass-offering.
22And the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the trespass-offering before Jehovah for his sin which he hath sinned: and the sin which he hath sinned shall be forgiven him.
23And when ye shall come into the land, and shall have planted all manner of trees for food, then ye shall count the fruit thereof as their uncircumcision: three years shall they be as uncircumcised unto you; it shall not be eaten.
24But in the fourth year all the fruit thereof shall be holy, for giving praise unto Jehovah.
25And in the fifth year shall ye eat of the fruit thereof, that it may yield unto you the increase thereof: I am Jehovah your God.
26Ye shall not eat anything with the blood: neither shall ye use enchantments, nor practise augury.
27Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard.
28Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am Jehovah.
29Profane not thy daughter, to make her a harlot; lest the land fall to whoredom, and the land become full of wickedness.
30Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary; I am Jehovah.
31Turn ye not unto them that have familiar spirits, nor unto the wizards; seek them not out, to be defiled by them: I am Jehovah your God.
32Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honor the face of the old man, and thou shalt fear thy God: I am Jehovah.
33And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not do him wrong.
34The stranger that sojourneth with you shall be unto you as the home-born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were sojourners in the land of Egypt: I am Jehovah your God.
35Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in measures of length, of weight, or of quantity.
36Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin, shall ye have: I am Jehovah your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.
37And ye shall observe all my statutes, and all mine ordinances, and do them: I am Jehovah.