Leviticus: A 12-Week Study
96
Leviticus: A 12-Week Study
96Paperback
-
SHIP THIS ITEMIn stock. Ships in 1-2 days.PICK UP IN STORE
Your local store may have stock of this item.
Available within 2 business hours
Related collections and offers
Overview
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781433547966 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Crossway |
| Publication date: | 06/30/2016 |
| Series: | Knowing the Bible |
| Pages: | 96 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.90(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.30(d) |
About the Author
J. I. Packer (1926–2020) served as the Board of Governors’ Professor of Theology at Regent College. He authored numerous books, including the classic bestseller Knowing God. Packer also served as general editor for the English Standard Version Bible and as theological editor for the ESV Study Bible.
Lane T. Dennis (PhD, Northwestern University) is the former president and CEO of Crossway. Before joining Crossway in 1974, he served as a pastor in campus ministry at the University of Michigan (Sault Ste. Marie) and as the managing director of Verlag Grosse Freude in Switzerland. He is the author and/or editor of three books, including the Gold Medallion-award-winning book Letters of Francis A. Schaeffer, and he is the former chairman of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association. Dennis serves as the chairman of the ESV (English Standard Version) Bible Translation Oversight Committee and as the executive editor of the ESV Study Bible. Lane and his wife, Ebeth, live in Wheaton, Illinois.
Dane C. Ortlund (PhD, Wheaton College) serves as senior pastor of Naperville Presbyterian Church in Naperville, Illinois. He is the author of Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers and Deeper: Real Change for Real Sinners. Dane and his wife, Stacey, have five children.
Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
Overview
Getting Acquainted
Leviticus — the center book of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible) — reveals the heart of Old Testament law. Portions of the law teach the holiness God requires of his people. Other portions teach the forgiveness God offers to restore sinners to holiness. The major focus of Leviticus is atonement, God's provision for forgiveness. Readers often find Leviticus difficult to understand since it is written in the language of ancient ritual, with rules about festivals, sacrifices, ritual washings, and the like. Nevertheless, rich lessons on the atonement offered through Christ will reward those who undertake its study.
As we begin our study of Leviticus, it will help to bear in mind that ritual is "acted theology." Rituals are prescribed actions whereby the Old Testament people of God expressed and passed on what they believed about sin and atonement. Their method of expressing faith (i.e., ritual) is unfamiliar to many modern readers; but as we explore the Levitical rites in this study, the truths confessed by Old Testament believers will become delightfully familiar to New Testament Christians.
Reading Leviticus is like rummaging through an old chest in the attic. Though confronted with many strange items from a bygone era, the photos you encounter present faces of ancestors with a striking resemblance to your own. Likewise, the rituals of Leviticus are unfamiliar relics of a bygone era, but in them we discern the early outlines of the same gospel we cherish as Christians. (For further background, see the ESV Study Bible, pages 211–216; available online at www.esvbible.org.)
Placing It in the Larger Story
Leviticus is the third of the five Books of Moses (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy). Exodus brought the people out of Egypt to Mount Sinai, where the tabernacle was constructed. Numbers will take the people from Mount Sinai to the border of the Promised Land. Nestled in between those two books, Leviticus takes place during the course of one month at the foot of Mount Sinai (Ex. 40:17; Num. 1:1). It was the first month of the tabernacle's operation, when the people learned lessons on communion with God, who dwelt in their midst. The book's rich descriptions of sacrifices, moral holiness, and ritual purity provided ancient Israel with a gripping vision for living at one ("atone-ment") with God.
The New Testament teaches that Jesus came to fulfill the atonement taught in the Old Testament law (Matt. 5:17). That means the rituals of the law should no longer be practiced (Heb. 8:13; 10:1), but it also means that we can gain insight into Christ's work by studying those rituals (Luke 24:27). The Old Testament law (including Leviticus) is like the blueprints of a building: once the building is finished, its blueprints are no longer needed, but they are still useful for understanding the finished product. When we study these "blueprints" of atonement, we explore the riches of what Christ came to fulfill.
Key Verse
"The life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life" (Lev. 17:11).
Date and Historical Background
It is not clear how soon Leviticus was written after the events it records. Scholars have advanced numerous theories concerning the production of the Pentateuch (including Leviticus), but there is no conclusive reason to question the testimony preserved within Scripture. Moses is identified in Leviticus itself as the one who received the laws from God contained in its pages, and Moses is elsewhere described as writing down various collections of the laws God gave at Mount Sinai (Ex. 24:4, 7; Deut. 31:9, 24). For these reasons, Moses has traditionally been recognized as the primary author of the entire Pentateuch, including Leviticus. That would mean Leviticus was originally written during Moses' lifetime, in the fifteenth or thirteenth century BC.
Outline
The outline used in this study is based on the presence of a pattern called chiasm. In a chiasm, the first half of the text presents a series of topics, which the second half repeats in reverse order. The center of the chiasm (where the two halves meet) is the focal point of the text. The following chiasm points to the Day of Atonement (IV) as the focus of Leviticus. Three topic categories are repeated in mirror image on both sides of that center: Sacrifices (I/VII), Priesthood (II/VI), and Cleanness/Holiness (III/V). The closing set of Blessings and Curses (VIII) is located outside the chiasm as a seal to close the book.
I. Sacrifices (1:1–7:38)
II. Priesthood: Its Appointment (8:1–10:20)
III. Laws of Clean and Unclean (11:1–15:33)
IV. Day of Atonement (16:1–34)
V. Laws of Holy and Unholy (17:1–20:27)
VI. Priesthood: Its Continuation (21:1–22:33)
VII. Sacrifice Festivals (23:1–25:55)
VIII. Blessings, Discipline, and Responses (26:1–27:34)
As You Get Started
Have you ever studied or heard a sermon series about Leviticus? What key lessons have you learned from Leviticus in the past, and what do you hope to gain from this study?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Have you ever studied the New Testament book of Hebrews, which offers significant interpretations for several important rituals from Leviticus? What have you learned about the Old Testament festivals and sacrifices from Hebrews or other New Testament books?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
A wedding ceremony is one setting in which rituals are still commonly practiced. As we think about how rituals express beliefs, discuss several symbolic aspects of a wedding and the truths about marriage expressed by those actions.
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Jesus came to be the "Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). How do you expect this study of Leviticus to help you grow in grace and joy in Christ?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
As You Finish This Unit ...
Read Hebrews 9:23–28 and pray for God's Spirit to enrich your faith in Christ through your study of Leviticus's shadows of his work of atonement.
Definitions
1 Law – When spelled with an initial capital letter, "Law" refers to the first five books of the Bible (see also Pentateuch). The law contains numerous commands of God to his people, including the Ten Commandments and instructions regarding worship, sacrifice, and life in Israel. The NT often uses "the law" (lower case) to refer to the entire body of precepts set forth in the books of the Law.
2 Atonement – The reconciliation of a person with God, often associated with the offering of a sacrifice. Through his death and resurrection, Jesus Christ made atonement for the sins of believers. His death satisfied God's just wrath against sinful humanity, just as OT sacrifices symbolized substitutionary death as payment for sin.
3 Sin – Any violation of or failure to adhere to the commands of God, or the desire to do so.
4 Gospel – A common translation for a Greek word meaning "good news," that is, the good news of Jesus Christ and the salvation he made possible by his crucifixion, burial, and resurrection. "Gospel" with an initial capital letter refers to each of the biblical accounts of Jesus' life on earth (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John).
CHAPTER 2Offering the Sacrifices
Leviticus 1:1–6:7
The Place of the Passage
Leviticus begins with sacrifice instructions. There were five kinds of sacrifices used in Old Testament worship: burnt offerings (1:1–17), grain offerings (2:1–16), peace offerings (3:1–17), sin offerings (4:1–5:13), and guilt offerings (5:14–6:7). These offerings were all part of a process called "making atonement" (note the repetition of that phrase throughout this passage). The process of atonement is too rich for just one kind of sacrifice to represent it, so Leviticus appoints five sacrifice rituals to express different aspects of the singular work of atonement.
The Big Picture
The people of Israel are able to enter God's presence because of the thorough system of atonement he put in place.
Reflection and Discussion
Read each of the five sacrifice sections one at a time, using the provided questions to guide your reflection after each reading.
Burnt Offerings (1:1–17)
For this offering, the entire sacrifice was burned as a "food offering with a pleasing aroma to the LORD" (vv. 9, 13, 17). God does not literally consume food (Ps. 50:13), but this sacrifice uses a common human experience to portray God's pleasure. How does the "pleasing aroma" of cooking food help you identify with the pleasure of God in this sacrifice?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
The burnt offering instructions are repeated three times, for those who bring cattle (Lev. 1:3–9), sheep or goats (vv. 10–13), and birds (vv. 14–17). What does this sequence indicate about the economic conditions in Hebrew society and equal access for all to the atonement?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Grain Offerings (2:1–16)
This is the only offering that does not involve blood, hence its traditional title "grain offering." Its Hebrew title, however, is minhah, which means "tribute." What do you think it means to bring a tribute offering (minhah) to the heavenly King upon entering his house? (Compare 1 Sam. 10:27, where the men of Israel refused to bring such a "present" [minhah] to King Saul.)
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Peace Offerings (3:1–17)
The burnt offering was wholly burned on the altar. The grain offering was partially burned and partially eaten by priests. The peace offering is the only sacrifice from which the offerer himself ate a portion. This was done in the presence of God, who also received a portion on the altar (see 7:11–36). What is the significance of calling this a peace offering? (Compare Gen. 31:44–46.)
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
The previous three offerings were marked by the repeated phrase, "It shall be a food offering to the LORD." The final two sacrifice categories feature the repeated phrase, "He shall be forgiven" (Lev. 4:26, 31, 35; 5:10, 13, 16, 18; 6:7). All five sacrifices are about sin and its forgiveness, but the first three use meal imagery to emphasize communion with God restored by sacrifice, while the last two emphasize sin's removal through sacrifice.
Sin Offerings (4:1–5:13)
The sin offering treats sacrificial blood like a detergent that washes the "stains" of human sin from God's presence. It is the offensiveness of sin against God — and its removal — that this offering teaches. Look at the following verses and note how different categories of sin penetrate more deeply into God's house. What do you think about different sins causing different degrees of offense against God: a priest's sin or congregation-wide sin (4:5–7, 16–18); a ruler's or an individual's sin (4:25, 30)?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Old Testament law distinguished "unintentional" sins from "high-handed" (or deliberate) sins (see Num. 15:22–31). The sin offering removed the offense of unintentional sins (4:2, 13, 22, 27; cf., 5:14, 18). Highhanded sins could also be cleansed, but only by the intercession of the high priest on the Day of Atonement (Lev. 16:16, 21). What does the distinction between unintentional and high-handed sin suggest about God's perspective on sin? Many think that sins incur guilt only when committed intentionally; what does it imply about the true human condition that so much provision was made even for "unintentional" sins?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Guilt Offerings (5:14–6:7)
This class of offering was to repair the economic damage that sins often cause. Sin can bring loss to God's house (5:14–19) or to a neighbor (6:1–7). In Old Testament law, a person who concealed theft and was caught had to pay double or even fivefold restitution (Ex. 22:1, 4). But in this text we learn that one who confessed his sin voluntarily, restored the loss, and brought a guilt offering paid only an added fifth in penalty (Lev. 6:5). Notably, one-fifth (or 20 percent) was a typical interest rate on loans in the ancient world. What does this indicate about God's attitude toward those who repent voluntarily versus those who must be confronted about their sins?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Read through the following three sections on Gospel Glimpses, Whole-Bible Connections, and Theological Soundings. Then take time to consider the Personal Implications these sections may have for you.
Gospel Glimpses
ACCEPTED. The opening verses of Leviticus introduce its gospel orientation: "When any one of you brings an offering to the LORD [lit., draws near to the LORD with an offering], ... he shall bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting, that he may be accepted before the Lord" (Lev. 1:2–3). What a marvelous privilege it is to be invited to draw near to God and to approach him with the promise of acceptance!
LAMB OF GOD. Early in Israel's history, God taught Abraham about the sacrifice that would ultimately atone for sin. God took Abraham to the mountain where the temple would later be built (Gen. 22:2; 2 Chron. 3:1). There he was told to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac, the heir of the promised kingdom. However, before Abraham could carry through with that daunting command, God gave a ram as a substitute for Isaac. By that exchange, God taught that every animal offered at his sanctuary foreshadowed an heir greater than Isaac who would one day become the true sacrifice. Thus the author of Genesis closes that story with the statement, "So ... it is said to this day, 'On the mount of the LORD it [or "he"] shall be provided'" (Gen. 22:14). When the book of Genesis was composed, the people of God were still looking forward to the promised heir who would fulfill the sacrifice represented by all the animal offerings on the sanctuary altar. The Psalms and the Prophets also express this hope in the Coming One's sacrifice: see especially Psalm 16:8–11 (compare Acts 2:25–28); Psalm 22:1–31 (compare Matt. 27:46); Psalm 40:6–8 (compare Heb. 10:5–10); and Isaiah 53:1–12 (compare Acts 8:32–35). Although some in ancient Israel trusted the animal sacrifices themselves as the literal payment for their forgiveness (Ps. 50:7–15; Isa. 1:11), the true purpose of the sacrifices was always to point ahead to the sacrifice of Christ.
Whole-Bible Connections
COMMUNION. The peace offering involved five steps: presentation of a spotless offering (Lev. 3:1, 6); laying hands on the sacrifice (3:2, 7–8, 13); slaughter (3:2, 8, 13); offering a portion to God (3:3–5, 9–11, 14–16); and eating a portion in God's house (7:11–36). In the New Testament, Jesus sat with his disciples at a peace offering meal (Luke 22:7–23) and revealed that he is the true sacrifice who provides for our communion at the Lord's Table. Therefore, Jesus instructed his disciples to eat a simplified peace offering meal "in remembrance of me." Now, instead of bringing an animal sacrifice, Christians approach the communion table by remembering Christ with repentance in his name (1 Cor. 11:17–34).
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "Knowing the Bible: Leviticus, A 12-Week Study"
by .
Copyright © 2015 Crossway.
Excerpted by permission of Good News Publishers.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Cover Page,
Title Page,
Copyright,
Series Preface: J. I. Packer and Lane T. Dennis,
Week 1: Overview,
Week 2: Offering the Sacrifices (1:1–6:7),
Week 3: Sharing the Sacrifice Meals (6:8–7:38),
Week 4: Introducing the Priesthood (8:1–10:20),
Week 5: Clean and Unclean Meats (11:1–47),
Week 6: Clean and Unclean Bodily Conditions (12:1–15:33),
Week 7: The Day of Atonement (16:1–34),
Week 8: Holy and Unholy Meats (17:1–16),
Week 9: Holy and Unholy Moral Conditions (18:1–20:27),
Week 10: Perfection of Priests and Sacrifices (21:1–22:33),
Week 11: Observing the Sacrifice Festivals (23:1–25:55),
Week 12: Blessings and Discipline (26:1–27:34),
What People are Saying About This
“This Knowing the Bible series is a tremendous resource for those wanting to study and teach the Bible with an understanding of how the gospel is woven throughout Scripture. Here are Gospel-minded pastors and scholars doing Gospel business from all the scriptures—this is a biblical and theological feast preparing God’s people to apply the entire Bible to all of life with heart and mind wholly committed to Christ’s priorities.”
—Bryan Chapell, Pastor Emeritus, Grace Presbyterian Church, Peoria, Illinois
“Mark Twain may have smiled when he wrote to a friend, “I didn’t have time to write you a short letter, so I wrote you a long letter.” But the truth of Twain’s remark remains serious and universal, because well-reasoned, compact writing requires extra time and extra hard work. And this is what we have in the Crossway Bible study series Knowing the Bible—as the skilled authors and notable editors provide the contours of each book of the Bible as well as the grand theological themes that bind them together as one Book. Here, in a 12-week format, are carefully wrought studies that will ignite the mind and the heart.”
—R. Kent Hughes, Senior Pastor Emeritus, College Church, Wheaton, Illinois
“Knowing the Bible brings together a gifted team of Bible teachers to produce a high quality series of study guides. The coordinated focus of these materials is unique: biblical content, provocative questions, systematic theology, practical application, and the gospel story of God’s grace presented all the way through Scripture.”
—Philip Graham Ryken, President, Wheaton College
“These Knowing the Bible volumes introduce a significant and very welcome variation on the general run of inductive Bible studies. Such series often provide questions with little guidance, leaving students to their own devices. They thus tend to overlook the role of teaching in the church. By contrast, Knowing the Bible avoids the problem by providing substantial instruction with the questions. Knowing the Bible then goes even further by showing how any given passage connects with the gospel, the whole Bible, and Christian theology. I heartily endorse this orientation of individual books to the whole Bible and the gospel, and I applaud the demonstration that sound theology was not something invented later by Christians, but is right there in the pages of Scripture.”
—Graeme Goldsworthy, Former Lecturer in Old Testament, Biblical Theology, and Hermeneutics, Moore Theological College
“What a gift to earnest, Bible-loving, Bible-searching believers! The organization and structure of the Bible study format presented through the Knowing the Bible series is so well conceived. Students of the Word are led to understand the content of passages through perceptive, guided questions, and they are given rich insights and application all along the way in the brief but illuminating sections that conclude each study. What potential growth in depth and breadth of understanding these studies offer. One can only pray that vast numbers of believers will discover more of God and the beauty of his Word through these rich studies.”
—Bruce A. Ware, T. Rupert and Lucille Coleman Professor of Christian Theology, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary