Probably next week we'll look at the sacrifices in chapters 1 to 7. But as I said tonight, we're going to just introduce the book. But I do want to read chapter 1 just to get our minds into this context. So beginning in verse 1. Now the Lord called to Moses and spoke to him from the tabernacle of meeting, saying, Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, When any one of you brings an offering to the Lord, you shall bring your offering of the livestock, of the herd, and of the flock. If his offering is a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish. He shall offer it of his own free will at the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the Lord. Then he shall put his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him. He shall kill the bull before the Lord, and the priests, Aaron's sons, shall bring the blood of the altar, excuse me, he shall kill the bull before the Lord, and the priests, Aaron's sons, shall bring the blood and sprinkle the blood all around on the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of meeting. And he shall skin the burnt offering and cut it into its pieces. The sons of Aaron, the priests, shall put fire on the altar and lay the wood in order on the fire. Then the priests, Aaron's sons, shall lay the parts, the head and the fat, in order on the wood that is on the fire upon the altar. But he shall wash its entrails and its legs with water. And the priest shall burn all on the altar as a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord. If his offering is of the flocks, of the sheep, or of the goats, as a burnt sacrifice, he shall bring a male without blemish. He shall kill it on the north side of the altar before the Lord. And the priests, Aaron's sons, shall sprinkle its blood all around on the altar. And he shall cut it into its pieces with its head and its fat. And the priest shall lay them in order on the wood that is on the fire upon the altar. But he shall wash the entrails and the legs with water. then the priest shall bring it all and burn it on the altar. It is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord. And if the burnt sacrifice of his offering to the Lord is of birds, then he shall bring his offering of turtle doves or young pigeons. The priest shall bring it to the altar, wring off its head, and burn it on the altar. Its blood shall be drained out at the side of the altar. And he shall remove its crop with its feathers and cast it beside the altar on the east side, into the place for ashes. Then he shall split it at its wings, but shall not divide it completely. And the priest shall burn it on the altar, on the wood that is on the fire. It is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord. Amen. As I said, matters of introduction. I want to look first at the author and title of the book. Secondly, the historical context of the book. Third, the theological emphases in the book, and then finally, the outline of the book. But in terms of the author and the title, now typically people, conservative Christians and Reformed people, accept Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch. So, since he wrote the first five books of the Bible, certainly he wrote the third book, which is the book of Leviticus. There is some external proof of that. You can turn to the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew chapter 8, the Lord Jesus references Moses as having written specifically the book of Leviticus. So in Matthew 8, 1, when he had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. And behold, a leper came and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean. Then Jesus put out his hand and touched him, saying, I am willing, be cleansed. Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus said to him, See that you tell no one, but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded as a testimony to them. Well, Moses commanded that in the book of Leviticus. And then in John 8, the woman caught in adultery. John 8, 5, specifically, Jesus' opponents cite Mosaic authorship of the book of Leviticus. Now Moses, chapter 8, verse 5, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do you say? This is a reference to Leviticus chapter 20 and verse 10. It's also repeated in Deuteronomy 22. But Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch is a settled and agreed upon sort of maxim. Now as I said, there are non-conservative scholars There are liberal scholars that have a whole elaborate way that they try to date the Pentateuch, and typically they put a lot of it after the exile. So we're not going to give them any time. This is typically referred to as higher critical methodology. It really does not do well in terms of enforcing the church and her belief concerning the word of the living and true God. Now, the book is called Leviticus. That's not the case in the Hebrew Bible. The Hebrew Bible takes these first five books, and they basically give us the title in terms of the first few words in verse 1. So they refer to the book of Leviticus under that particular word, and he called. So in verse 1.1, it says, now the Lord called, literally, and he called. Now, the title, as I said, of other books in the Pentateuch in the Hebrew Bible come from those initial words. Genesis is in the beginning, Exodus is, and these are the names, Numbers is in the wilderness, and Deuteronomy, these are the words. Now, our English version follows the Latin Vulgate, which follows the Septuagint, which calls it Leviticus, that which pertains to the Levites. And while in some sense the priests don't get a lot of attention in the book of Leviticus, it's a very and thoroughly priestly book. So it's a good apt title for this particular book, pertaining to the Levites. Now, secondly, in terms of the historical context of the book. Now, it's a multi-volume work, the Pentateuch, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. There's connection, there's overlap, there's interplay that occurs in those books. So if we go back to the book of Genesis, we know that the creation of the world is probably one of the primary concerns in that book, but also something that connects Genesis and Exodus and Leviticus and Numbers and Deuteronomy is the theme of God dwelling with his people. Remember back in the book of Genesis, you can turn there, Genesis chapter 3, we notice that God dwelt with his people in the cool of the day. In Genesis 3, they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. And Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. I've explained before that many see Eden as a sanctuary. It's a temple. It's a dwelling place of God with people. And Adam's primary emphasis was as a priest, not necessarily as a farmer. Though he certainly had an agrarian bent, and certainly he did engage in farming, his primary aspect or his primary vocation was a priestly one. He was to extend the garden sanctuary to encompass the earth so that the knowledge and the glory of God would fill the earth. But we know that he forfeit that. And we know that as a result of his sin, that immediate dwelling with God ceases. The book of Genesis, chapter 3, verses 20 to 24, ends with God driving them out from the Garden of Eden. So they're planted in this sanctuary, then they sin and forfeit that blessed privilege, and then they are driven out from there. In fact, Andrew Bonar, in his commentary on Leviticus, highlights this connection as he's working through the book of Leviticus. He says, the tabernacle was that tent whose two apartments, separated by the veil, formed the holy place and the most holy. This tabernacle was God's dwelling place on earth, where he met with men, the token of his returning to man after the fall. It was here that the voice of the Lord God was often heard, as in Eden in the cool of the day. So there is that obvious link in terms of dwelling in the book of Genesis and dwelling in the book of Leviticus. But we also know that there's dwelling in the book of Exodus. If we break down the book of Exodus into the three parts that we considered as we move through there, we see deliverance, demand, and dwelling. So the deliverance of Israel takes place in Exodus chapters 1 to 18. God shows his power in redeeming them from that bondage, from that slavery, from that place of consternation. And then in demand, he demands in terms of law placed upon them in chapters 19 to 23, they ratify that covenant in chapter 24. And then we have the dwelling of God with man in chapters 25 to 40. In fact, you can turn to chapter 25 in the book of Exodus just to see this theme and to see how Leviticus fits with that particular theme. Exodus chapter 25, so the new section. After deliverance and demand comes the emphasis on dwelling. So in 25.8, God is giving instructions for the tabernacle, and He says, "...and let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them." And then the same emphasis in chapter 29 at verse 45, "...I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God. And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them up out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them. I am the Lord their God." So this idea of dwelling God with man is a heavy emphasis in the book of Genesis and in the book of Exodus. Well, it certainly is in the book of Leviticus. It rallies around the concept of tabernacle. Remember, they construct a tabernacle according to Exodus chapter 40. It's completed, they erect it, they put it up, and then the book of Leviticus comes to deal with how does man enter into the presence of a holy God. So if you look back at Exodus chapter 40, you see specifically, let's see, verse 30. Whenever they went into the tabernacle of meeting, and when they came near the altar, they washed, as the Lord had commanded Moses. And he raised up the court all around the tabernacle and the altar, and hung up the screen of the court gate. So Moses finished the work." We saw that that language is very similar to what God does in Genesis chapter 2. God finished the work of creation. Here, Moses finishes the work of tabernacle. And again, the suggestion is that these are dwelling places. The earth is obviously God's footstool, but it was intended, it was initially intended, again, for Adam to extend that garden sanctuary. So this concept of dwelling. In fact, many look at the tabernacle as sort of a smaller version of the cosmos. You've got the outer court, which is the sea, you've got the inner court, which is the holy place, and then you've got that holy of holies. So you kind of have that in a mountain as well. You've got the base, you've got the midpoint, and then you have where Moses goes up to the pinnacle of the mountain to meet with God. This is something like the way the universe is set up. We have this sternalism, and then as we move closer to God, we get higher up the mountain, as it were, into heaven itself. And so the concept of sanctuary and dwelling. So then, as you move through this narrative, notice in verse 34. So Moses and Aaron had been present in there, but now that it's completed, look at what happens according to 4034. And Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting because the cloud rested above it and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. So you have the completion of the dwelling place, but you have the inability of access into the dwelling place. So Moses completes it, but Moses is not able to enter into it. One man in a very helpful book on the book of Leviticus, Michael Morales, says, if Moses is unable to enter the tabernacle, then nobody is able. And yet it is with this dire reality that Exodus closes. Yahweh God has taken up His dwelling on earth, but no human being, no Israelite, not even Moses the mediator, is able to approach this abode. So as I think I mentioned as we move through Exodus, you see this heavy emphasis on the dwelling place of God. This is the dwelling place of God, this tabernacle. Now, this isn't exhaustive. We know that God is immense. We know that God fills up everything. We know that he's omnipresent. But the symbol or the visible representation of God's dwelling among men was in this tabernacle. So now this Shekinah glory fills the tabernacle, according to the end of the book of Exodus, so it's a dwelling place. But it has not yet become a meeting place. The children of Israel have not been permitted access. They cannot enter into where God is, and the book ends, Exodus ends, on a note of tension. That introduces the book of Leviticus. Notice where God is when he addresses Moses according to 1.1. So Moses is outside, God is within. And then God gives this prescription on how it is that man is to enter in. And you see, after engaging in the sacrificial system, they finally, Moses and Aaron, are able to enter into the tabernacle in Leviticus chapter 9. So what does Leviticus teach us? It teaches us that sinful man comes to a holy God through a sacrificial system. Sinful man comes to a holy God through a bloody knife and a smoking altar. So the sacrifices are emphasized in chapters 1 to 7, and then the priesthood is emphasized in chapters 8 to 10. So it's not just sacrifice, but there's also a class of men that are set apart to function as the facilitators and administrators and the ones who bring this process into fruition. They're the ones that oversee the tabernacle. They're the ones that guard the purity of the tabernacle. They're the ones that are tasked with making sure that all things are done well. Remember that Adam was told to guard the garden. Well, so are the priests called to guard the tabernacle. Later in redemptive history, you see that they're told to guard the temple. It was to be the case that they kept out anything that was impure, and it was only to facilitate man's access to the presence of God. Again, Morales says, Leviticus not only narrates not only who may enter, but how that entrance into the divine presence is made possible. So when we go through these sacrifices, the Lord willing next week, well again, not every jot and tittle, and intriguingly as you move through the sacrifices, it doesn't always tell you why. It's almost assumed that they kind of know why, but what's being prescribed is the how, the particulars, what the sacrificer is supposed to do, what the priest is supposed to do. But with reference to this elaborate system, if you follow the flow of the book, you've got the tension at the end of the book of Exodus, and then you have the resolution in the book of Leviticus. So he goes on to say, how God's dwelling may become a place of appointed meeting between God and his people. The book of Exodus ends, therefore, with the climactic infilling of the tabernacle so that it has become, in accord with the promises given in Exodus 25 and 29, a dwelling without question. What the book's ending does question, however, is how this tabernacle will come to function as a tent of meeting. In this manner, the tabernacle as divine dwelling is the height of Exodus, while the tabernacle as meeting place with Israel presents the height of Leviticus. So if the high point in Exodus was the building of the temple so that God would dwell there, the high point in the book of Leviticus is the sacrificial system and priesthood by which men now can enter in and commune with his God. So it's not just a dwelling place, but it's a meeting place as well. Now, in terms of the historical setting, we remember that they arrive at Sinai in Exodus chapter 19 at verse 1. There's a great quote from a man by the name of Dempster in a good book called Dominion and Dynasty. He says, Israel stays at Sinai for 11 months in real time, Exodus 19.1 to Numbers 10.11. and 57 chapters in narrative time. This is important given the fact that 68 chapters precede Sinai and 59 chapters follow it. Sinai is central to the Torah. So what happens here for the 11 months is central to everything that occurs in Genesis to Deuteronomy. The emphasis on the law. And with reference to the law, we know that there is the moral law, Exodus chapter 20, verses 1 to 17, and then there is the judicial law, Exodus chapter 21, 1, to Exodus chapter 23, 19, and then the ceremonial laws. And Exodus 25, all the way to the end of the book of Exodus, deals with a few hitches along the way, vis-a-vis the the anti-tabernacle episode of worshipping the golden calf, but for the most part, the emphasis is upon ceremonial law. So Leviticus extends that. It amplifies that. There's moral law, to be sure, in the book of Leviticus. There's a section on capital punishment for specific crimes against God. So it's not that there is no moral law, but the emphasis in the book of Leviticus is on ceremonial law. It's on those prefigurements that point forward to the coming Redeemer. Our confession defines ceremonial law this way. Besides this law, commonly called moral, God was pleased to give to the people of Israel ceremonial laws, containing several typical ordinances. Remember, a type is an event, a person, a place, something that points forward to a greater reality, to the anti-type. Not something that is against the type, but something that is instead of, in fulfillment of, The type. The Bible has lots of types. Types and anti-types. The book of Leviticus is typical in nature. It points forward to the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. The atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ. That doesn't just fall out of heaven in the New Testament. They were prepared for this. They were tutored in this. They understood the concept of the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, in Leviticus chapter 16. The whole idea of Israel being a sinful people and the need for a covering or a ransom price such that they would have fellowship with the living God. So back to the Confession, containing several typical ordinances, partly of worship, prefiguring Christ, his graces, actions, sufferings, and benefits, and partly holding for diverse instructions of moral duties, all which ceremonial laws being appointed only to the time of Reformation are by Jesus Christ, the true Messiah and only lawgiver, who is furnished with power from the Father for that end, abrogated and taken away. Now turn to the book of Hebrews, Hebrews chapter 9, where you see that language. Hebrews chapter 9. In fact, the book of Hebrews is antitypical to the book of Leviticus. In other words, if you don't have any understanding of the book of Leviticus, you'll still get stuff out of Hebrews, but it won't be as rich and it won't be as wonderful in terms of what God has accomplished in the last Adam, our Lord Jesus Christ. Now notice in Hebrews 9 verse 6, Now when these things had been thus prepared, the priests always went into the first part of the tabernacle performing the services. That's the holy place. But into the second part, the holy of holies, the high priest went alone once a year, not without blood. which he offered for himself and for the people's sins, committed in ignorance. The Holy Spirit indicating this, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing. It was symbolic for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience, concerned only with foods and drinks, various washings, and fleshly ordinances imposed until the time of reformation." So the confession picks up that language here when it discusses ceremonial law to show that the time of reformation is in verse 11. But Christ came as high priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood he entered the most holy place once for all. having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the unclean sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this reason he is the mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. So when we consider those typical sacrifices in the Old Testament, and if you look over at chapter 10, specifically at verse 4, it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins. We might ask, well why that? What was the utility behind it? Well, it did maintain a cleanliness and a purity in terms of the people and the covenant that they were a part of. As well, it was in fact typical and it fed the faith of the faithful and caused them to continually look forward to the Lord Jesus Christ. Now they were not saved by the blood of those bulls and goats. 9.15 tells us how they were saved. They were saved retroactively by the work of the Lord Jesus. Notice, for this reason he is the mediator of the new covenant by means of death for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. So the book of Hebrews basically explains the book of Leviticus. The book of Hebrews basically explains the anti-types relative to the types that you see in the book of Leviticus. Not every jot and diddle, not everything in Leviticus is going to be repeated in the book of Hebrews, but the main sort of emphasis, tabernacle, priesthood, When the apostle deals with the priesthood of Christ in Hebrews chapters 5 all the way to chapter 10, 5.1 to 10.18, he's expounding on the priestly ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. He shows that distinction. He's not a son of Aaron, but his priesthood is of the order of Melchizedek. So he dots all the I's, he crosses all the T's to show us how Jesus does fulfill all that is written in the book of Leviticus in terms of saving his people from their sins. Now in terms of the actual book of Leviticus at Sinai, they're there for one month. So the book of Leviticus takes up one month. So in Exodus 40 at verse 17, we read it came to pass in the first month of the second year on the first day of the month that the tabernacle was raised up. And then in Numbers 1.1, you see that we're dealing with the same time frame, but later. Now, the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tabernacle of meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt. So, doing the math, Leviticus, they're at Sinai, the foot of Sinai, the base of Sinai, and they are there for one month. And they don't ultimately leave until Numbers 10-11, but after lots of genealogy there in Numbers 1-10. So look at Leviticus 1-1. Now the Lord called to Moses and spoke to him from the tabernacle of meeting. And then over in 25-1. Same emphasis, they're at Sinai, they've not moved anywhere, they've erected the tabernacle, it's standing, God is tutoring them, God is commanding them through Moses on how they approach Him. So 25.1, the Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai saying, 26.46, same emphasis, these are the statutes and judgments and laws which the Lord made between Himself and the children of Israel on Mount Sinai by the hand of Moses. And then 2734, these are the commandments which the Lord commanded Moses for the children of Israel on Mount Sinai. So Leviticus, they're not moving around. Leviticus, they're not, you know, fighting Ammonites. Leviticus, they're at the base of Sinai. They're receiving this legislation. The tabernacle is there. And they are gaining wisdom on how to approach God. so that the dwelling place turns into the meeting place. Now this will serve them well, obviously, in the Book of Numbers. They're going to be wandering through the wilderness. They're going to have their tabernacle. Remember that it's a mobile thing. It's not something that is a permanent fixture. That's going to await Solomon's reign when they build the temple in the land that God had given them. But in this wilderness situation, they have this mobile tent. They have different classes of Levites that are set apart to carry various aspects of it. It's designed to be put up relatively easily so that they can worship, so that they can maintain communion with God wherever they find themselves in the wilderness. And in the book of Deuteronomy, they're at the edge of the promised land, they're in the plains of Moab, they're getting ready to go in on the conquest in terms of dispossessing Canaan from the Canaanites. And basically, Deuteronomy is just a series of exhortations from Moses. Basically, Moses says, look back at what God has done, look at what God is doing, and look what God is promising to do. And there is preparation there for entering into the promised land. Even when they get into the promised land, it's not, as I said, until the time of Solomon that they have a permanent fixed temple that they then have access to God through the sacrificial system. Now, in terms of the theological emphases in the book, I would suggest the first one is the holiness of God. Not first in order of that's it, but This is a primary emphasis throughout the book of Leviticus, the holiness of God. And because God is holy, you're supposed to be holy also, Israel. In other words, you're supposed to be godly. You're supposed to be godlike, not divine, not worthy of worship. But godliness means to imitate the Lord. And if He is holy, then we must be holy. But in terms of the holiness of God, before that there is this presence of God. The fact that He is their God and they are His people. That's sort of the essence of God's covenants with His people. I will be your God and you shall be my people. Look at several passages that indicate this. Look at chapter 18, specifically at verse 2. Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, I am the Lord your God. And then verse 4, you shall observe my judgments and keep my ordinances to walk in them. I am the Lord your God. Verse 5, you shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, which if a man does, he shall live by them. I am the Lord. And then over in chapter 19, a similar emphasis in verses 3 and 4. Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and keep my Sabbaths. I am the Lord your God. Do not turn to idols, nor make for yourselves molded gods. I am the Lord your God. Dropping down to verse 10. And you shall not glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather every grape of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and the stranger. I am the Lord your God." So the presence of God with His people necessitates holiness on the part of His people. In other words, because God is our God, we're supposed to be kind to our neighbor. Because God is our God, we're supposed to revere our mothers and our fathers and to keep His Sabbaths. Because God is our God, we're supposed to do those things that are pleasing in His sight. And then over at chapter 20, same thing, verse 7. So God's presence with His people necessitates God's people obeying what He commands. And as far as the emphasis on His holiness, turn back to Leviticus 11. Leviticus chapter 11, specifically at verse 44, for I am the Lord your God, you shall therefore consecrate yourselves, and you shall be holy, for I am holy. Neither shall you defile yourselves with any creeping thing that creeps on the earth, for I am the Lord who brings you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy. Same emphasis in 19.2. 19. 2. Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them, You shall be holy, for I, the LORD your God, am holy. 20. 26. A similar emphasis. 20. 26. You shall be holy to me, for I, the LORD, am holy, and have separated you from the peoples that you should be mine. And then, of course, the most pointed lesson concerning the holiness of God is in the judgment of Nadab and Abihu in Leviticus chapter 10. So Leviticus chapter 10, beginning in verse 1, the Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them. Now that really comes to powerful sort of expression when you connect chapter 10 to everything that's gone before it. Several sacrifices, detailed legislation, this is the way you're supposed to do it. Not that way, not that way, it's not up for grabs, but this is the way you're supposed to do it. So much so that at the end of chapter 9, you see them present a sacrifice, and God approves of the sacrifice, and God sends fire down to consume the sacrifice. So now these geniuses take strange fire, or profane fire, and offer it before the Lord, which He had not commanded them. So you see the emphasis there. We're supposed to be holy as God is holy, and that means careful attention to the details of His legislation. So fire went out from the Lord and devoured them, not their sacrifice, but it devoured them, and they died before the Lord. And Moses said to Aaron, This is what the Lord spoke, saying, By those who come near me I must be regarded as holy, and before all the people I must be glorified. So Aaron held his peace. So, this emphasis on the holiness of God. You see this in 1 Peter 1, verse 16. He invokes this from Leviticus 11 to exhort new covenant Christians to be holy because the Lord your God is holy. Well, what does he do? He cites Leviticus 11. So the holiness of God is that perfection wherein He is separate from us. That's the primary emphasis in holiness and sanctification. When we go through the book and we see that they're supposed to be a holy people, a sanctified people, a consecrated people, a set-apart people. That's the primary emphasis. Now, a corollary to that is moral purity. God is set apart, He is holy other, and He is morally pure. His eye is too pure to approve of any evil. So the people of God in sanctification, the people of God in consecration or holiness are separate, but as well there's that moral purity, there's that element of godliness that they sustain. And again, that's what Peter exhorts new covenant Christians unto. So the holiness of God is certainly a primary theme, theologically, that comes to the fore in the book of Leviticus. A second one is the sacrificial system. The sacrificial system. You can't read Leviticus and miss that. I mean, you're smacked in the face with it from 1.2 to 7.38. Again, it's resolving the tension that is created at the end of the book of Exodus, where God is dwelling, but nobody can enter in. So how do we resolve that tension? Well, it's the sacrificial system. And the sacrificial system assumes something. If the Bible tells us, and Leviticus highlights the perfection of God, which is holiness, then we glean from this necessity for sacrifice, man's sinfulness. And when we consider the fall of man in Genesis, Adam had communion with God in the cool of the garden. Adam had that special dwelling with God, but it was forfeit by his sin against God. In fact, turn to Genesis 3 and see the language that's involved there. Genesis chapter 3. Well first, notice in chapter 2, verse 8. Well, look at 2.3. After he's created this sanctuary, then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it he rested from all his work which God had created and made. Again, I think there's a reminiscence of that in Exodus 40, when Moses completes the tabernacle, it's the same sort of a situation. So verse 8 in chapter 2, the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." You know, that sets the stage for the covenant of works and the probation that God gives to man. When we know that the devil comes, he comes via the snake and tempts them and Adam takes the fruit and he rebels against God. And then God deals with them very graciously at chapter 3, verse 21. Also, for Adam and his wife, the Lord God made tunics of skin and clothed them. So He killed animals, took the skin off of them, and put them on man and woman, showing the need for blood atonement, showing the need for substitution. When you get to the book of Leviticus and you see the worshipper go with his animal and lay his hand on the animal and then cut the throat of the animal, there is a transference going on. There is substitutionary sort of atonement themes that come out loud and clear in Leviticus. But here in Genesis 3, notice in verse 22, then the Lord God said, Behold, the man has become like one of us. To know good and evil. I take the us there as a reference to the Trinity. To know good and evil. And now lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat and live forevermore. I think the idea here is that he doesn't want them confirmed in this state of sin. doesn't want them to take from the tree of life while they're in this state of sin. Therefore, verse 23, the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. So he drove out the man and he placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden and a flaming sword which turned every way to guard the way of the tree of life. So, man is cast out of that special dwelling place of God. It goes from meeting place to dwelling place, and Adam is out. Get the book of Exodus, same sort of emphasis. We've got the dwelling place, and yet it has not become a meeting place. And what's one of the problems in the book of Exodus? It's man's sin. It's man's rebellion. It's man's desire to make a golden calf and bow down to it and worship it and dance around it and confess that the golden calf is Yahweh that brought them out of the land of Egypt. There's this sin problem that man has, so God addresses it. Morales again says, the inability to approach God's tent is presented as a problem that needs to be overcome by divinely revealed cultic legislation and a consecrated priesthood to carry out those sacrifices. Now, cultic, as it's used often by Old Testament scholars, is not like Jehovah's Witness. Cultus simply refers to the religious apparatus, the religious dealings or doings of a people. The word cult is not necessarily bad. It's bad when you speak of a Jehovah's Witness or a Mormon, something like that. It's a pejorative term in that sense. But cult in the Old Covenant, it just simply refers to the apparatus by which they approached God through the means of sacrifice and through priesthood. So he says, let me just repeat that, the inability to approach God's tent is presented as a problem that needs to be overcome. Notice, not overcome by man's ingenuity, by man's creativity, or by man's promise that he'll always obey. It needs to be overcome by divinely revealed cultic legislation and a consecrated priesthood to carry out those sacrifices. If Leviticus teaches us anything, it teaches us the reality that it's God who makes provision to his presence. It's not man. It's not man sort of finding his way back. It's not man going through moral reformation. It's not man saying, you know, God, I really miss you. I'm going to do everything I can to sort of work my way back into your midst. No, it's God who undertakes. And again, you'll see those same themes throughout the Bible and especially in the New Covenant. Jesus left heaven for us men and for our salvation. We didn't go looking for him. He came to seek and to save that which was lost. Well, the book of Leviticus functions in that manner. God comes to seek and to save that which was lost. So there is this sinfulness of man that's presupposed by sacrifice. Why do we need to sacrifice? Because we're wretches. Why do we need to offer up blood? Because without the shedding of blood, there is no remission. And if there's no remission, then we die in our sins with no presence, no dwelling, no meeting with God whatsoever. And then in terms of the necessity of the priesthood, the historical situation, the priesthood was tasked with quite a lot of duty in this book and subsequent to this in terms of tabernacle and then temple. There's a lot of bloodshed and a lot of sacrifice made and a lot of offering given up to our God. So you've got the historical situation, the Levitical priesthood tasked with facilitating sacrifice and the worship of God according to the legislation given by God. But the obvious typical significance, all these priests point forward to the one priest, that priest celebrated in Hebrews 5 to 10, especially there in Hebrews chapter 7, where it celebrates the reality that he's the surety of a better covenant. that he's able to appease God by the sacrifice of himself. So Christ is not only the priest, but he's also the victim. He's not only the offerer, but he is the offered. He is not only the priest bringing the lamb, but he is the lamb of God himself. And then, as I mentioned earlier, there is an emphasis on substitution. Look at Leviticus chapter 1, the section that we read. Leviticus chapter 1, verse 3, if his offering is a burnt offering, I'm sorry, verse 2, speak to the children of Israel and say to them, When any of you brings an offering to the Lord, you shall bring your offering of the livestock, of the herd, and of the flock. So this is what the worshiper does. Before we get to the specific duties of the priest, this is what the worshiper does. You go out and later legislation will tell you that you're not supposed to pick the lame one. You're not supposed to pick, you know, the gimp. You're not supposed to pick the blind one. You're not supposed to pick the one that you could do very well without. No, you're supposed to pick the best. So you go out to your flock on, you know, Friday night or Saturday morning and you find something that could make you money if you sold it at the market. It could do good for you in terms of working your field or your land or whatever it is. So you need to go out and you need to find it. And then, notice in verse 3, "...if his offering is a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish. He shall offer it of his own free will at the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the Lord. Then he shall put his hand on the head of the burnt offering." Again, I think this is symbolic. You see it later in chapter 16, when the high priest takes that second goat, he lays his hands on the goat, and then he confesses the transgression of Israel. And then what does he do with that second goat? He sends it out into the wilderness. So you've got the one goat that's put to death, and then you've got the second goat that has the sins transferred, as it were. He's a substitute sent out into the wilderness, never to come back. That's the doctrine of expiation. It functions alongside of atonement. The idea is the removal of guilt. And so you take your sacrifice, you bring it to the tabernacle, you put your hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him. He shall kill the bull before the Lord, and the priest Aaron's son shall bring the blood and sprinkle the blood all around on the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle and meet it. So you take your animal, you take it to the tabernacle, you put your hand on it, and then you cut its throat, and then you hand it over to the priest. So there's that emphasis on your participation in this bloody sacrifice. There is this emphasis on you, as it were, transferring your guilt to this particular sacrificial animal, and then it being offered up to the living and true God. One commentator, R. Laird Harris, says, in the individual rite, the worshipper brought his sacrificial offering to the tabernacle forecourt, laid his hand upon it in a manner implying that it represented the offerer himself, and then slaughtered the animal. So substitution, and this is not brand new in the Bible. Genesis chapter 22, the Lord will provide for himself. That scene where Abraham takes Isaac up to Mount Moriah to offer him up as a sacrifice. He is convinced that the Lord will in fact provide. And then the Day of Atonement, you can turn there to see that emphasis in terms of substitution. You've probably heard that word, yom kippur, it simply means day of atonement. And the word kippur means to make atonement. It may be derived from the Hebrew word kopher, meaning ransom price. A kopher is the money a man condemned to death can pay to escape the death penalty. Kipper to make atonement could then be literally translated to pay a ransom for one's life. To pay a ransom for one's life. So you pay or you slaughter or you provide in the stead of you. and the second goat, chapter 16, verse 20. And when he has made an end of atoning for the holy place, the tabernacle of meeting, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat. Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions concerning all their sins. putting them on the head of the goat, and shall send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a suitable man. The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to an uninhabited land, and he shall release the goat in the wilderness." So, substitutionary atonement. When you read the book of Isaiah, specifically Isaiah 53, the suffering servant doesn't go there for his own sin, he goes there for us. He's a substitutionary curse-bearer. He is a substitutionary wrath-bearer. He takes our place. In my place, condemned he stood, the hymn writer says. And so all of that is here in the book of Leviticus, prefiguring the glory of Jesus Christ. And then a third theme that looms large in the book of Leviticus is the purity of man. And by purity of man, I mean with reference to the cult, with reference to the old covenant, with reference to his relation to God and to his community. There's laws concerning cleanliness and uncleanness, and there's purity and ritual involved. so that you don't just sort of wander into the presence of God. You don't just sort of wander in amongst the children of Israel. There's certain regulations that you need to abide in terms of being a covenant citizen. So I would suggest that the purity of man is seen in the maintenance of the covenant relationship. And remember, it's a covenant of works. It's a covenant of works wherein We need to obey in order to maintain that status. So they had to maintain status in terms of this covenant that they were a part of. One man, William Dumbrell, says the regulations relating to clean and unclean in chapters 11 to 15 reinforce the underlying thesis of the book of Leviticus, that holiness, which belongs to God by nature, must be reflected in the life of the elect people. So when we move through this legislation, some of it seems very odd. I'm not going to lie to you. You've read Leviticus. You're probably scratching your head along the way saying, well, you can't really relate to that. Well, there's a reason why. We're not in an Old Covenant theocratic setting. We're not at the base of Sinai standing next to the tabernacle. We're in a completely different, not completely different in the sense that there's no connection. But the New Covenant is not like the Old Covenant. It's better. It's founded on better promises, and it affords a better hope. It has a better mediator. It has a better high priest. It has a superior one to effect the salvation of all those whom the Father had given Him. So there's a lot in the book of Leviticus that probably we're not going to get because we're not there. We're not connected. We're not a part of it. We read through it and, you know, this long treatment on sores and leprosy and, you know, emissions and those sorts of things that strikes us as all very odd. But again, they're maintaining a purity or a cleanliness level such that they can maintain status in terms of God and the covenant community. And then, not only the maintenance of the covenant relationship, but also the separation from the pagan nations. That's another thing that comes out in terms of them being like God. They're supposed to be different from the nations around them. If you turn to Leviticus 18, you can see that specifically stated. Leviticus 18, this is sort of the rationale as to why they're not to engage in incestual relationship. Because the heathen do this, the pagans do that. Notice in 1824, do not defile yourselves with any of these things, for by all these the nations are defiled, which I am casting out before you. For the land is defiled, therefore I visit the punishment of its iniquity upon it, and the land vomits out its inhabitants. You see, God doesn't have truck with wicked people. When they engage in lawlessness, then the land vomits out its inhabitants. Don't miss that language in the book of Revelation. When Jesus says that he'll vomit out the Laodiceans for their lukewarmness, Old Covenant, it was the land that vomited out covenant breakers. New Covenant, it's the Lord Jesus who threatens to cast out. And then notice verse 26, You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations, either any of your own nation or any stranger who dwells among you. For all these abominations the men of the land have done, who were before you, and thus the land is defiled. Lest the land vomit you out also when you defile it, as it vomited out the nations that were before you. For whoever commits any of these abominations, the persons who commit them shall be cut off from among their people. Therefore you shall keep my ordinance, so that you do not commit any of these abominable customs which were committed before you, and that you do not defile yourselves by them. I am the Lord your God." As I've shared before, when they act like the Canaanites, they get vomited out of the land, just like the Canaanites. So this is an arbitrary on God's part. It's not a capriciousness on God's part. When Israel apes the Canaanites, then the land is going to vomit them out through Assyria and through Babylon. So God's standard, God's holiness applies with reference to Israel like it applies with reference to the Canaanites. And then finally, in terms of the outline of the book, basically there's four major sections. First, the laws concerning sacrifice. That's chapter 1, verse 1 to chapter 7, verse 38. Then you've got the institution of the priesthood, 8.1 to 10.20. Third, you've got the uncleanness and its treatment, 11.1 to 16.34. And then finally, prescriptions for practical holiness in 17.1 to 27.34. So it's as if the paradigm is to have status with God and then to maintain status with God. Now remember, it's a covenant of works. So it's not altogether the same as the covenant of grace, but there are similarities. You see sort of a justification motif in terms of sacrifice and substitutionary atonement for our acceptance with God. And then you see that sanctification element where they engage in purity, where they engage in cleanliness, where they engage in those things to maintain that relationship. And again, we can't press that too hard. Because Jesus is the covenant head. Jesus fulfills the righteousness of God. He fulfills the substitutionary curse bearing. But you see some similarities. Not only acceptance with God, but maintenance of that relationship in terms of the conduct placed upon them. And then, of course, within those four categories, there's a whole host of things in terms of various legislation with reference to the people of God. Well, I'll close in a word of prayer, and if there's any questions or comments, we can deal with that. Our Father in heaven, we thank you that this book addresses how can sinful man stand in the presence of a holy God. And though it is a covenant of works, the answer remains the same. Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission. And we thank you for the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. We thank you for the blood of Christ that brings forgiveness of all of our sins. And we just rejoice that all these types are fulfilled in that great antitype and in the gospel of our salvation. Help us as we move through this book to have a constant reminder of your holiness, a constant reminder of the glory of Jesus Christ as our High Priest. And may we indeed worship and glorify and honor you. and we pray through Christ the Lord. Amen.