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 27
1And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,
2Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When a man shall accomplish a vow, the persons shall be for Jehovah by thy estimation.
3And thy estimation shall be of the male from twenty years old even unto sixty years old, even thy estimation shall be fifty shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary.
4And if it be a female, then thy estimation shall be thirty shekels.
5And if it be from five years old even unto twenty years old, then thy estimation shall be of the male twenty shekels, and for the female ten shekels.
6And if it be from a month old even unto five years old, then thy estimation shall be of the male five shekels of silver, and for the female thy estimation shall be three shekels of silver.
7And if it be from sixty years old and upward; if it be a male, then thy estimation shall be fifteen shekels, and for the female ten shekels.
8But if he be poorer than thy estimation, then he shall be set before the priest, and the priest shall value him; according to the ability of him that vowed shall the priest value him.
9And if it be a beast, whereof men offer an oblation unto Jehovah, all that any man giveth of such unto Jehovah shall be holy.
10He shall not alter it, nor change it, a good for a bad, or a bad for a good: and if he shall at all change beast for beast, then both it and that for which it is changed shall be holy.
11And if it be any unclean beast, of which they do not offer an oblation unto Jehovah, then he shall set the beast before the priest;
12and the priest shall value it, whether it be good or bad: as thou the priest valuest it, so shall it be.
13But if he will indeed redeem it, then he shall add the fifth part thereof unto thy estimation.
14And when a man shall sanctify his house to be holy unto Jehovah, then the priest shall estimate it, whether it be good or bad: as the priest shall estimate it, so shall it stand.
15And if he that sanctified it will redeem his house, then he shall add the fifth part of the money of thy estimation unto it, and it shall be his.
16And if a man shall sanctify unto Jehovah part of the field of his possession, then thy estimation shall be according to the sowing thereof: the sowing of a homer of barley shall be valued at fifty shekels of silver.
17If he sanctify his field from the year of jubilee, according to thy estimation it shall stand.
18But if he sanctify his field after the jubilee, then the priest shall reckon unto him the money according to the years that remain unto the year of jubilee; and an abatement shall be made from thy estimation.
19And if he that sanctified the field will indeed redeem it, then he shall add the fifth part of the money of thy estimation unto it, and it shall be assured to him.
20And if he will not redeem the field, or if he have sold the field to another man, it shall not be redeemed any more:
21but the field, when it goeth out in the jubilee, shall be holy unto Jehovah, as a field devoted; the possession thereof shall be the priest's.
22And if he sanctify unto Jehovah a field which he hath bought, which is not of the field of his possession;
23then the priest shall reckon unto him the worth of thy estimation unto the year of jubilee: and he shall give thine estimation in that day, as a holy thing unto Jehovah.
24In the year of jubilee the field shall return unto him of whom it was bought, even to him to whom the possession of the land belongeth.
25And all thy estimations shall be according to the shekel of the sanctuary: twenty gerahs shall be the shekel.
26Only the firstling among beasts, which is made a firstling to Jehovah, no man shall sanctify it; whether it be ox or sheep, it is Jehovah's.
27And if it be of an unclean beast, then he shall ransom it according to thine estimation, and shall add unto it the fifth part thereof: or if it be not redeemed, then it shall be sold according to thy estimation.
28Notwithstanding, no devoted thing, that a man shall devote unto Jehovah of all that he hath, whether of man or beast, or of the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed: every devoted thing is most holy unto Jehovah.
29No one devoted, that shall be devoted from among men, shall be ransomed; he shall surely be put to death.
30And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is Jehovah's: it is holy unto Jehovah.
31And if a man will redeem aught of his tithe, he shall add unto it the fifth part thereof.
32And all the tithe of the herd or the flock, whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto Jehovah.
33He shall not search whether it be good or bad, neither shall he change it: and if he change it at all, then both it and that for which it is changed shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.
34These are the commandments, which Jehovah commanded Moses for the children of Israel in mount Sinai.