Preaching Christ from Leviticus: Foundations for Expository Sermons

By Sidney Greidanus

For pastors who take seriously the commitment to incorporate the entire Bible into their preaching, Sidney Greidanus’s books on preaching Christ from the major genres of the Old Testament have been a welcome gift. In his last such volume, Greidanus engages with the Old Testament genre of law and treats a book that is often seen as the most challenging of all: Leviticus. 

Preaching Christ from Leviticus reminds pastors and congregations that key christological themes—priesthood, sacrifice, atonement, holiness—first originated in Leviticus before they came to full flower in the New Testament with the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ and his call to holiness. Greidanus provides the basis for fully understanding these and other themes with an exacting analysis of Leviticus and then provides the foundations for ten sermons on Leviticus through topics such as the burnt offering, the ordained priesthood, the day of atonement, the sabbatical year, and the year of jubilee, as well as the commandments to be holy, to love your neighbor, and to love aliens and enemies.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Eerdmans
• Release date: Mar 11, 2021
• ISBN: 9781467461399

Sidney Greidanus

Sidney Greidanus (PhD, Free University of Amsterdam) has taught at Calvin College, Calvin Theological Seminary, and The King’s College. Since his retirement from full-time teaching in 2004, he has devoted his time to writing commentaries specifically for preachers. He is the author of many books, including Sola Scriptura; Preaching Christ from the Old Testament; and The Modern Preacher and the Ancient Text.

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

Issues in Interpreting and Preaching Old Testament Law

In his Reclaiming the Old Testament for the Christian Pulpit, Donald Gowan writes, How—and whether—to preach the laws of the Old Testament presents perhaps the most difficult theological problem we shall encounter in this book, since the place of law in the Christian life has remained one of the perennial issues of our faith since the time of Jesus himself.¹ David Dorsey echoes this sentiment: One of the most difficult portions of the Bible to utilize in Christian teaching and preaching is the corpus of Mosaic laws.²

But it would be a mistake to focus only on the difficulties of preaching Leviticus. As pointed out in the preface, Leviticus contains more direct speech by God himself than any other book of the Bible and it is placed at the heart of the Torah or Pentateuch …, which forms the foundation for all of Scripture.³ Arie Leder underscores the importance of Leviticus for Israel by observing, Without the instructions of Leviticus, Israel’s life before God has no chance of survival. She has been separated from the nations to receive the special instruction to live among the nations as God’s special people (Lev 15:31; 20:26, ‘to separate,’ or ‘to set apart’)…. Without Leviticus, Israel would be just another among many nations in Canaan.⁴

In contrast to people who think that Leviticus is all about rituals, Jacob Milgrom points out that "values are what Leviticus is all about. They pervade every chapter and almost every verse…. Leviticus does discuss rituals. However, underlying the rituals, the careful readers will find an intricate web of values that purports to model how we should relate to God and to one another."⁵

Skipping over Leviticus, as many preachers do, deprives congregations of essential biblical values on how we should relate to God and to each other. Disregarding Leviticus also deprives congregations of essential biblical foundations for understanding the work and demands of Christ. So it will be worth our while to work our way through the difficulties. Our congregations will be richly rewarded not only in better understanding the message of Leviticus and the mission of Christ but also in discovering what this book means for the church today. John Hartley summarizes its relevance: Leviticus provides an understanding of holiness-sin-atonement, the essential elements of the divine-human relationship. Furthermore, just as Israel was called to be a holy nation in order to function as a royal priesthood to the nations, the church is called to be a holy people in order that it may serve all the peoples of the world as a royal priesthood.⁶ We therefore begin working our way through the difficulties with solid hope for good and relevant outcomes.

Difficulties in Preaching Old Testament Law

The Issue of Continuity and Discontinuity

One of the problems in preaching Old Testament law is the lack of clarity in determining the continuity and/or discontinuity of God’s law, first given to Israel, for the New Testament church. For example, we are quick to invoke discontinuity when it comes to the dietary laws of Leviticus 11, which forbid the eating of pork, crab, lobster, rabbits, and water hens. We tend to do the same with laws about not reaping to the very edges of your field (Lev 19:9–10) and laws concerning religious feasts (Lev 23), Sabbatical Years, and the Year of Jubilee (Lev 25). We are a little more ambivalent about laws concerning the tithe (Lev 27:30–33). Most Christians don’t tithe, but many evangelicals do. How does one determine when a law is intended only for God’s Old Testament people or also for the church?

Our ambivalence regarding Old Testament law has led to various denominational practices: most Christian churches have worship services on Sunday, but Seventh-Day Adventists and Seventh-Day Baptists worship on Saturday (the seventh day). Most Christians don’t mind eating blood in rare steaks and blood sausage (contrary to Lev 17:10–14; cf. Acts 15:29), but Jehovah’s Witnesses refuse blood transfusions.

People have taken various positions on the issue of the continuity or discontinuity of Old Testament laws. The two extreme positions are, on the one hand, classic dispensationalism, which argues that the Jewish dispensation was characterized by law and the Christian dispensation by grace.⁷ That position does not seem to leave much room for continuity between Old Testament law and its relevance for the church today. On the other hand, theonomy or Christian reconstructionism argues for strict continuity: the Old Testament laws and penalties are still in effect today.⁸ Most denominations take positions between these two extremes.⁹

The major problem in resolving this issue is the discontinuity created by the historical-cultural gap that separates Old Testament Israel from the New Testament church. In fact, there are more gaps than just history and culture. Giving many examples, David Dorsey names five gaps between the body of Mosaic laws and the New Testament church:

First, the corpus is designed to regulate the lives of a people living in the distinctive geographical and climatic conditions found in the southern Levant [the East] and the majority of its regulations would be inapplicable, unintelligible, or even nonsensical outside that geographically limited locale…. Second, the corpus was designed to regulate the lives of a people whose cultural milieu was that of the ancient Near East…. Third, the corpus was designed to regulate the lives of people whose religious milieu was that of the ancient Near East (particularly Canaan) and would make little sense outside that world…. Fourth, the corpus lays the detailed groundwork for and regulates the various affairs of an actual politically-and geographically-defined nation…. Fifth, the corpus is designed to establish and maintain a cultic regime which was restricted to ancient Israel and has been discontinued in the Church (cf. Heb. chs 7–10).

Dorsey sums up: Virtually all the regulations of the corpus—certainly ninety-five percent—are culturally restricted, geographically limited, and cultically and politically specific, and as a result are inapplicable to, and in fact unfulfillable by, Christians living throughout the world today.¹⁰

The Issue of Law and Gospel

In the Reformed tradition the issue of continuity/discontinuity took on the form of law and gospel. In his Preface to the Old Testament (1523) Luther writes, The Old Testament is a book of laws, which teaches what men are to do and not to do … just as the New Testament is gospel or book of grace, and teaches where one is to get the power to fulfil the law…. Just as the chief teaching of the New Testament is really the proclamation of grace and peace through the forgiveness of sins in Christ, so the chief teaching of the Old Testament is really the teaching of laws, the showing up of sin, and the demanding of God.¹¹ Thus Luther saw two main functions of the law: first, usus civilis—to restrain evil in this sinful world; and second, usus paedagogicus—a schoolmaster convicting us of sin and driving us to Christ. Many Lutherans have followed Luther in advocating this limited use of Old Testament law for Christians. For example, William Thompson writes, The point of Christ’s death and resurrection is that on the cross he satisfied the demands of the law. Paul put the argument insightfully and elegantly in Romans 8:2. ‘For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death.’ … The intent of the law in Christian theology is to awaken us to our distance from the will and purpose of God; it is not to provide us with ethical instruction. The Ten Commandments do not primarily teach us how to live; they document the depth of our guilt before God.¹²

John Calvin, by contrast, advocated a third use of the law: usus tertius or, more descriptively, usus normativus. Calvin writes, The third and principal use, which pertains more closely to the proper purpose of the law, finds its place among believers in whose hearts the Spirit of God already lives and reigns…. They still profit by the law in two ways. Here is the best instrument for them to learn more thoroughly each day the nature of the Lord’s will to which they aspire, and confirm them in the understanding of it.¹³ Calvin’s positive assessment of Old Testament law is related to his view of God’s covenant: God first redeems Israel from slavery in Egypt and then makes a covenant with them at Sinai. Also in the Old Testament, therefore, God’s redemption (grace) is first and is followed by God’s law. In other words, God’s grace displayed in redemption requires a subsequent response of obedience to God’s law.

Proposed Solution: A Threefold Distinction between Old Testament Laws

Traditionally theologians made a threefold distinction between Old Testament laws: moral law (e.g., the Ten Commandments), which is valid for all time; civil law, which pertained specifically to the nation of Israel but not to the church; and ceremonial law, the sacrificial/ritual laws that were fulfilled by Christ’s sacrifice and therefore no longer hold for the church. If this distinction were valid, there would be little point in preaching Old Testament civil and ceremonial laws. Since large parts of Leviticus are ceremonial (e.g., Lev 1:1–7:38; 11:1–12:8; 16:1–17:16) and civil, much of Leviticus would be removed from the preaching agenda.

There are, however, major problems with this threefold distinction. First, as many authors have noted, it is not a biblical distinction.¹⁴ The New Testament nowhere makes this threefold distinction. And the Old Testament freely mixes so-called moral, civil, and ceremonial laws. For example, the moral law You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD (Lev 19:18) is followed by You shall keep my statutes. You shall not let your animals breed with a different kind; you shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed; nor shall you put on a garment made of two different materials (Lev 19:19). The reason the Old Testament freely mixes these categories of law is that it considered all of life to be under God’s dominion; hence every part of life was regulated by God’s law.¹⁵

Moreover, it is difficult to clearly distinguish between moral, civil, and ceremonial law. For example, is the Sabbath commandment moral, ceremonial, or civil? Are the Old Testament laws regulating feasts only ceremonial or also civil? In addition, civil legislation frequently made concrete the moral demands of the Decalogue. For example, the moral law You shall not murder (Exod 20:13) is made concrete in a civil law: "When you build a new house, you shall make a parapet for your roof; otherwise you might have bloodguilt on your house, if anyone should fall from it (Deut 22:8). Or, to take an example from Leviticus, the moral law You shall love your neighbor as yourself (Lev 19:18) is made concrete in the civil legislation regarding the Year of Jubilee: forgive those indebted to you, set Israelite slaves free, and you shall return, every one of you, to your property and every one of you to your family" (Lev 25:10).

Although Calvin used this threefold distinction of the ancient writers, he notes that ceremonial and civil laws embody moral principles that still apply to the New Testament church.¹⁶

A Better Solution: Torah

Instead of prejudging the applicability of Old Testament laws for the New Testament church with this traditional threefold distinction, a better solution is to understand all these different laws as torah—that is, God’s instruction,¹⁷ God’s teaching, for Israel’s well-being in all areas of life. For the Old Testament Israelite, torah did not have the negative connotations that law sometimes has for us today; it had the positive connotations that the word gospel has for us. Moses said to Israel, And what other great nation has statutes and ordinances as just as this entire law that I am setting before you today? (Deut 4:8). Torah is God’s gift to his people Israel.

When God saved his people from slavery in Egypt, he made a covenant with them at Mount Sinai and gave them his torah. This means that the LORD’S torah are his covenant stipulations. This perspective on torah has major implications. As Gordon Wenham puts it, "These laws are more than an abstract system of morality. They are the personal demands of the sovereign, personal God on his subject people."¹⁸ Moreover, Wenham continues, "The covenant setting of the law emphasizes that salvation is not based on works. The covenant was made with those who had already been saved from Egypt…. The priority and absoluteness of God’s grace are constantly reiterated…. Law both presupposes grace and is a means of grace. Law presupposes grace because law is only revealed to those God has called to himself. Law is a means of grace because through obedience to it the redeemed enter into a closer relationship to their divine king and enjoy more of the blessings inherent within the state of salvation."¹⁹

In addition, we should note, with Klein, Blomberg, and Hubbard, that

instead of a code in a modern sense, Old Testament laws present a select sample of illustrative cases or topics whose legal principles were to guide Israelite individuals, the larger community, and lawmakers in making decisions and in living out Israel’s worldview. Their purpose was to teach the Israelite fundamental values—what it means to live all of life in the presence of God—not to provide them with a handy legal reference tool. In short, their aim was instructional rather than judicial…. In light of this, readers must interpret Law relationally—as the guidelines that govern Israel’s ongoing life with her gracious God. In return for his protection and blessing, God expects his people to obey what the Law commands—in short, to maintain their relationship with God on a healthy footing. The Ten Commandments (Exod 20; Deut 5) express the broad, overarching ethical principles whose details the subsequent legal codes flesh out.²⁰

Exodus 20 begins, Then God spoke all these words: I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery (vv 1–2). Then follow the Ten Commandments prescribing the road Israel must follow to maintain that God-given freedom. And not only the Ten Commandments mark the road to freedom, but all God’s laws do: "You shall keep my statutes and my ordinances; by doing so one shall live: I am the LORD" (Lev 18:5; cf. Deut 30:15–20). The Creator’s torah enables God’s people to live with the grain of the universe.

Psalm 19 sings about God’s torah:

The law of the LORD is perfect,

reviving the soul;

the decrees of the LORD are sure,

making wise the simple;

the precepts of the LORD are right,

rejoicing the heart;

the commandment of the LORD is clear,

enlightening the eyes;

the fear of the LORD is pure,

enduring forever;

the ordinances of the LORD are true

and righteous altogether.

More to be desired are they than gold,

even much fine gold;

sweeter also than honey,

and drippings of the honeycomb.

Moreover by them is your servant warned;

in keeping them there is great reward. (vv 7–11)²¹

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished (Matt 5:17–18). Jesus did not abrogate the law. He fulfilled it, gave the full meaning to it.²²

Later Paul asked, Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? And he answered himself, By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law (Rom 3:31). In Romans 7:12 Paul concludes, So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and just and good.²³

Continuity in the Midst of Discontinuity

It is true that because of the progression in redemptive history, many Old Testament laws no longer hold for the church. The once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus Christ abrogated many Old Testament sacrificial laws. Also, since the Old Testament nation of Israel became the New Testament international church, there is discontinuity between some of these Old Testament laws and their application to the New Testament church. For example, instead of Old Testament dietary restrictions, Jesus declared all foods clean (Mark 7:19; cf. Rom 14:14). Later, God told Peter in a vision, What God has made clean, you must not call profane (Acts 10:15). The author of Hebrews argues that since the law has only a shadow of the good things to come, when Christ came into the world he abolished sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings (10:1–10). Paul argues forcefully that even the pre-Mosaic sign of the covenant, circumcision, which went back to the time of Abraham, was no longer required: Listen! I, Paul, am telling you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you (Gal 5:2).

Discontinuity exists because Jesus established the new covenant Jeremiah had predicted: "The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the LORD. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people" (Jer 31:31–33).²⁴

Jesus established this new covenant when he instituted the Lord’s Supper the night before he died. Jesus said, "This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood (Luke 22:20). Paul later writes to the Corinthians that God has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of letter but of spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life (2 Cor 3:6). And the author of Hebrews asserts unequivocally, In speaking of ‘a new covenant,’ he has made the first one obsolete. And what is obsolete and growing old will soon disappear" (8:13). So there are discontinuities between the old covenant and the new, between Old Testament law and New Testament law, between Old Testament Israel and the New Testament church.

But there is continuity in the midst of discontinuity. Under the old covenant Israel was saved in the exodus from Egypt. She was expected to respond by accepting the kingship of Yahweh and obeying his covenant law. Under the new covenant the new Israel is saved by the coming of Christ. She is expected to respond by acknowledging that Christ is Lord and following his teaching.²⁵

When the first church council in Jerusalem had to consider the question of whether Gentile believers should still be circumcised in the new age Jesus inaugurated, it responded, It has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to impose on you no further burden than these essentials: that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangled and from fornication. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell (Acts 15:28–29). The council found continuity in the midst of discontinuity, for the laws it considered still binding on the Gentiles were thought to go back to God’s regulations for Noah and all peoples (Gen 9:4–5).²⁶

We can approach the continuity in the midst of discontinuity from two closely related angles. First, as Jay Sklar makes clear, the LORD’S laws reflect God’s will or, as Sklar puts it, God’s values. And since his values flow from his character, and his character is perfect and constant (Mal 3:6; Heb 13:8; Jas 1:17), it should be expected that the values behind these laws will have some application today. Stated differently, these laws give us a window into the Lord’s heart, meaning there is much to learn from them for those seeking to reflect his will…. While not every law is in force today as it was originally expressed, the values embodied in every law remain valid and should be lived out by the people of God today.²⁷

Second, as Richard Averbeck notes, the LORD’S laws express God’s expectations: The law continues to demonstrate God’s expectations, though Christians live under the new covenant and have a different relationship to the Mosaic law (cf. Acts 15)…. Although Jesus fulfilled the sacrificial requirements for salvation, that does not make the ceremonial law inapplicable. On the contrary, the ceremonial worship law is especially suited for defining the expectations of the Christian faith…. The issue then is not whether the Old Testament law is applicable today, but how it is applicable.²⁸

One can find the application of these ancient laws for today by looking for the principles behind the individual laws. As Gordon Wenham puts it, The principles underlying the OT are valid and authoritative for the Christian, but the particular applications found in the OT may not be. The moral principles are the same today, but insofar as our situation often differs from the OT setting, the application of the principles in our society may well be different too.²⁹

For example, we noted above that the moral law You shall not murder (Exod 20:13) is made concrete in a civil law: When you build a new house, you shall make a parapet for your roof; otherwise you might have bloodguilt on your house, if anyone should fall from it (Deut 22:8). Most new houses in America do not have a flat roof where people can enjoy the cool of the day as they did in Israel. So the making of a parapet may not apply. But the principle underlying it, You shall not murder, still applies. How, specifically?

My wife and I recently moved to a fifth-floor apartment. Since a fall from a fifth-floor balcony could be deadly, the builder (no doubt following city code) added a solid metal guardrail: You shall not murder. Tremper Longman observes, We can immediately sense the relevance of this law today by asking the question, Where would a fence protect human life? One obvious answer is, around a swimming pool. Someone who builds a pool but fails to construct a fence around it should be held liable if a neighbor child wanders into the area and drowns.³⁰

In preaching Old Testament law, then, the preacher’s task is to push through the discontinuity to the continuity by searching for the underlying principle³¹ of which this particular law was a concrete application in Israel and to determine how this principle would be made concrete today.

Interpreting Leviticus

The English name Leviticus comes from the Septuagint Leuiticon via the Vulgate Leviticus. While many commentators translate this word as relating to the Levite, Jacob Milgrom points out that in Hellenistic times, the term ‘Levites’ meant priests, just like "the rabbinic title torat kohanim ‘the manual of the Priests.’"³² Accordingly, the book has detailed instructions for Israel’s priests. But Baruch Levine observes that "torat kohanim can also be translated as ‘instructions of (or by) the priests,’ that is, the rulings and teachings of the priests that are addressed to the Israelite people."³³ As a matter of fact, Leviticus contains both instructions for the priests and for the people of Israel.³⁴

Leviticus follows very naturally from the book of Exodus. Exodus traces God’s preparations to deliver Israel from enslavement in Egypt and describes the exodus itself and the journey to Sinai where God makes a covenant with Israel and instructs them to build a tabernacle. The book ends with the completion of the tabernacle and the glory of the LORD filling the tabernacle. Leviticus follows appropriately with instructions for priests, Levites, and laity regarding the worship services conducted at the tabernacle. Leviticus addresses how Israel was to live with God in their midst. How should they approach Him? How should they deal with personal and national sin before a holy God who dwelled among them? How should they worship and fellowship with this holy, awesome God in their midst? Leviticus provides the answers to these questions, giving practical guidelines for living with God under the terms of the Mosaic Covenant.³⁵

But Sklar rightly observes that Leviticus does more than answer questions raised by its immediate literary and historical context. It also casts a vision rooted in the Bible’s larger story and, in particular, in creation. Indeed, God’s purpose for his people in Leviticus is in many ways a return to his purpose for humanity in creation. This may be seen in terms of separation, blessing and calling.³⁶ Leviticus casts a vision that takes the Israelites back to the Lord’s intent for humanity from the beginning of the world: to walk in rich fellowship with their covenant King, enjoying his care and blessing, and extending throughout all the earth his kingdom of justice, mercy, kindness, righteousness, holiness and love.³⁷

It is ironic that many preachers skip Leviticus as presumably unimportant when the editors of the Pentateuch marked it as very important by placing it at the center of the Pentateuch. As my colleague Arie Leder explains,³⁸

In the concentric organization of the Pentateuch, parallels between Exodus and Numbers suggest that they constitute a frame for Leviticus. Parallels between Genesis and Deuteronomy not only frame Exodus - Leviticus - Numbers thematically, they also provide the beginning and conclusion of the linear sequence of the entire pentateuchal narrative. Thus, Genesis through Deuteronomy exhibits an ABCB′A′ organizational format in which Deuteronomy returns to and complements the themes of Genesis, and Numbers returns to and complements the themes of Exodus. This leaves Leviticus occupying the narrative center of the Pentateuch, as illustrated in the adapted chart below.

A—GenesisSeparation from the nations

Blessing

Seeing the land

Descendants and the land

B—ExodusIsrael’s desert journeys

Apostasy and plagues

Pharaoh and magicians

First-born/Levites

C—LeviticusSacrifices

Cleanliness

Holiness

B′—NumbersIsrael’s desert journeys

Apostasy and plagues

Balak and Balaam

First-born/Levites

A′—DeuteronomySeparation from the nations

Blessing

Seeing the land

Descendants and the land

But why did the editors of the Pentateuch consider Leviticus of central importance? For the answer we have to look to the beginning of the Pentateuch. Michael Morales observes, While Genesis 1 portrays creation as a tabernacle, Genesis 2–3 portrays the garden of Eden as something of an archetypal holy of holies—the place of most intimate communion and fellowship with YHWH God.³⁹ Tragically, because of the human fall into sin, that intimate communion and fellowship with God was lost: God exiled humanity to a place east of Eden. But God still intended to dwell in the midst of his people. Making a covenant with Israel at Sinai, he instructed them to build a tabernacle. When the tabernacle was completed, Exodus 40:34 reports, the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.⁴⁰ God dwelled in the midst of his people, a foreshadowing of the restoration of Eden and his people’s intimate communion with God.

But how can sinful humans approach the sovereign, holy God without being annihilated? Leviticus responds to that age-old longing of the human race to live in fellowship with God with the following answers: sacrifices, cleanliness, and holiness. As Morales puts it, The primary theme and theology of Leviticus (and of the Pentateuch as a whole) is YHWH’s opening a way for humanity to dwell in the divine presence.⁴¹ Toward the end of Leviticus God promises, I will place my dwelling in your midst, and I shall not abhor you. And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and you shall be my people (26:11–12).

It has been said, If a person can preach from Leviticus effectively, a person can preach from anywhere in the Bible!⁴² It is certainly true that preaching Leviticus provides preachers with many challenges. As we have seen, Leviticus contains mostly so-called ceremonial and civil laws that were directly applicable only to Israel. Preachers therefore have to inquire about the reason why God gave these laws to Israel (which is not always obvious), the principle underlying these laws, how one can move to Christ in the New Testament from these laws or their underlying principle, and how the underlying principle might be applied today.

To accomplish this, we must interpret Leviticus in four dimensions: we begin with literary interpretation because we have the literary text in front of us; from there we move on to historical interpretation, which searches behind the text for the historical situation that gave rise to (the need for) the text; then we move on to theocentric interpretation; and finally we arrive at Christocentric interpretation. We shall briefly explain each dimension and what it contributes to understanding Leviticus.

Literary Interpretation

In literary interpretation (broadly conceived as inclusive of grammatical concerns) we pay particular attention to the meaning of the words by investigating literary features such as the text’s structure, genre, grammar, syntax, figures of speech, scenes, character description, plotline, and rhetorical structures such as repetition, inclusio, and chiasm.

Leviticus begins with information vital to its interpretation: The LORD summoned Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting, saying: Speak to the people of Israel and say to them … (Lev 1:1–2). This opening provides several clues on how we ought to understand Leviticus. First, the main characters are the LORD, Moses, and Israel. Second, the scene is set at the tent of meeting,⁴³ where the LORD meets his people. The tent of meeting plays a key role in the book (the word is repeated forty-three times in Leviticus). Third, the book consists mostly of Moses’ speeches to Israel. Fourth, it was the LORD who instructed Moses on what to say (cf. Lev 26:46 and 27:34).

Repetition provides a clue to the overall theme of Leviticus. "‘Holy’ (qāḏôš) and its cognate terms, e.g., ‘sanctify,’ ‘holiness,’ occur 152 times in Leviticus (about 20 percent of the total occurrences in the OT)."⁴⁴ Five times the LORD commands Israel, Be holy, for I am holy (Lev 11:44–45 [2×]; 19:2; 20:7, 26). The overall theme of Leviticus, therefore, is that the LORD’S people should be holy because the LORD is holy.

Julie Smith points out that Leviticus relies on analogical thinking, which means that each part of the law cannot be understood on its own but only by comparing it with other parts of the law of Moses…. In Leviticus there are usually no explanations given for why something is done: rather, the explanation is to be found in comparing one part of the text with another part of the text.⁴⁵ In the following chapters we shall highlight analogical interpretation in the sections Text and Context.

Outline of Leviticus

For a quick overview of Leviticus we shall look at several proposals for its outline. Most commentators outline Leviticus as five blocks of related material:

Instructions for sacrifices (chs. 1–7)

The ordination of priests (chs. 8–10)

Laws of cleanliness (chs. 11–15)

The Day of Atonement (ch. 16)

The Holiness Code (chs. 17–27)

In The NIV Study Bible R. Laird Harris and Ronald Youngblood go into more detail on the Holiness Code by dividing Leviticus into ten categories:

The five main offerings (chs. 1–7)

The ordination, installation and work of Aaron and his sons (chs. 8–10)

Laws of cleanness—food, childbirth, infections, etc. (chs. 11–15)

The Day of Atonement and the centrality of worship at the tabernacle (chs. 16–17)

Moral laws covering incest, honesty, thievery, idolatry, etc. (chs. 18–20)

Regulations for the priests, the offerings and the annual feasts (chs. 21:1–24:9)

Punishment for blasphemy, murder, etc. (ch. 24:10–23)

The Sabbath Year, Jubilee, land tenure and reform of slavery (ch. 25)

Blessings and curses for covenant obedience and disobedience (ch. 26)

Regulations for offerings vowed to the LORD (ch. 27)⁴⁶

Rhetorical Structures

Scholars have offered several proposals that divide Leviticus into rhetorical structures. Most agree that chapter 16, the Day of Atonement, is the structural center.⁴⁷ Around that center several have suggested a chiastic structure. We shall look at only one proposal that seems quite convincing:

ACultic legislation (chs. 1–7)

BPriestly history (chs. 8–10)

CPersonal laws of uncleanness (chs. 11–15)

DDay of Atonement (ch. 16)

C′Personal moral laws (chs. 17–20)

B′Priestly legislation (chs. 21–22)

A′Cultic legislation (chs. 23–25, except history in 24:10–23)

Conclusion (chs. 26–27)⁴⁸

Narrative Structure

The overall genre of Leviticus seems to be law. But Daniel Hays argues persuasively that Leviticus not only contains legal material but also has narrative features. He writes, The Book of Leviticus is also painted on a narrative canvas against the backdrop of the encounter with God at Mount Sinai (Lev 26:46; 27:34). The Law in Leviticus is presented as part of a dialogue between God and Moses. Such use of dialogue is a standard feature of narrative. The book begins, ‘The LORD called to Moses and spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting.’ The phrase ‘The LORD said [spoke] to Moses’ occurs repeatedly throughout the book. In addition Leviticus includes numerous time sequence phrases, an indication of storyline time movement, another characteristic of narrative.⁴⁹

In fact, Christophe Nihan argues that Leviticus is "a section of a wider narrative extending from the world’s creation to Moses’ death…. These speeches are reported speeches by the Leviticus narrator and, as such, they belong fully to the wider pentateuchal narrative. Within this narrative, Leviticus presents itself as the account of a specific revelation made to Moses from inside the sanctuary (Lev 1:1) at Mt Sinai (27:34), taking place in the time span between Israel’s arrival at Mt Sinai in Exodus and the community’s sojourn in the wilderness in Numbers…. The book’s coherence is ultimately given by its narrative structure."⁵⁰

But where in Leviticus is the narrative conflict, the problem to be resolved? The usual biblical plotlines begin with a conflict that leads to a climax which is gradually resolved until full resolution is obtained and an outcome.⁵¹ Where is the conflict? Nihan has pointed out that the conflict to be resolved occurs in Exodus when the tent of meeting was completed: "Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled upon it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle (40:34–35). Moses, who had mediated between God and the people on Mount Sinai, could not enter the tent of meeting! And if Moses could not come near to the LORD, no human being could. Nihan writes, Although he [the LORD] is present among his people as promised in Ex 25:8 and 29:45, Yahweh cannot be approached, even by Moses, and the gap between God and man remains insuperable. After Ex 40, Lev 1–10 recounts the gradual abolishment of this gap."⁵² The LORD prescribes six different offerings, ordains Aaron and his sons as priests, and allows the priests to bring him offerings for the priesthood and the people. Moses and Aaron then can enter the tent of meeting, and the LORD demonstrates that he accepts the offerings. This resolves the first conflict.

But the conflict flares up again in Leviticus 10: "Now Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, each took his censer, put fire in it, and laid incense on it; and they offered unholy fire before the LORD, such as he had not commanded them.⁵³ And fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD" (vv 1–2). Nadab and Abihu defiled the tent of meeting by offering unholy fire before the LORD and then polluted the tent with their corpses.⁵⁴

The LORD responded by telling Aaron, "You are to distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean (Lev 10:10). In reverse order, the following chapters in Leviticus teach just that. The LORD gives detailed laws on how to distinguish between clean and unclean (Lev 11–15), reaching a climax on the Day of Atonement when the high priest may enter the holy of holies, the most holy place, to make atonement for the people of Israel once in the year for all their sins" (Lev 16:34).⁵⁵ Chapters 17–22 continue with the LORD’S instructions concerning the holy and the common, reaching a climax with the institution of the Sabbath and other festivals (Lev 23–25). In the outcome of the narrative the LORD promises blessings for obedience and punishments for disobedience (Lev 26). Thus we can picture Leviticus as a complex plot:

Historical Interpretation

In historical interpretation we ask, Who wrote this text, to whom, when, where, and why? These questions focus on the identity of the author, the original addressees, the approximate period of writing, the social and geographical setting, and the goal or purpose for writing. Leviticus says some thirty times (see n. 62 below) that the LORD instructed Moses what to say to God’s covenant people Israel. Whether Moses himself wrote the text or one or more scribes did and whether additions were later incorporated remain open questions.⁵⁶

When and where did the events recorded in Leviticus take place? Brevard Childs observes that the book of Leviticus has been given a definite historical setting as instructions to Moses in the context of the Sinai covenant. Even elements of the narrative are continued from the previous book (Lev 8–9 join Exod 29). The final chapters look forward to the imminent entrance into the promised land and connect smoothly with the book of Numbers.⁵⁷

Childs points out the importance of the link of Leviticus with the Sinai covenant: The canonical effect of structuring the book of Leviticus in such a way as to connect all the material directly to the revelation at Sinai is of crucial importance in understanding its role as authoritative scripture for Israel. The laws of Leviticus which stemmed originally from very different periods, and which reflected remarkably different sociological contexts, are subordinated to the one overarching theological construct, namely, the divine will made known to Moses at Sinai for every succeeding generation.⁵⁸ For preaching purposes, therefore, we need not get sidetracked into the maze of different theories regarding the original historical settings of individual laws; we can concentrate on the meaning of these laws in their canonical context and culture.⁵⁹

As to the question of why Leviticus was written, Raymond Dillard and Tremper Longman suggest, The purpose of the book is to provide guidelines to priests and laypeople concerning appropriate behavior in the presence of a holy God, thus the emphasis is on communicating information, not on subtle or artificial literary plays.⁶⁰ Baruch Levine broadens the book’s purpose by linking it to God’s purpose for Israel: Leviticus takes its cue from the covenant charge delivered in Exodus 19:5–6: ‘Indeed, all the earth is Mine, but you shall be My kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ How Israel was to realize the divine program is the burden of the Book of Leviticus.⁶¹

Theocentric Interpretation

In theocentric interpretation we ask, Where is the LORD God in this text? It is clear that Leviticus centers on the LORD, for the LORD is the subject, the source, of all the laws and most of the messages. The introductory phrase The LORD said to [spoke to] Moses is repeated some thirty times.⁶² Seventeen of the twenty-seven chapters begin with the formula ‘And the Lord said….’ Leviticus, more than any other OT book, claims to be a divine word for humanity.⁶³ Moreover, in some forty of the laws obedience is motivated by the phrase I am the LORD.⁶⁴ Furthermore, the covenant relationship and the law as an expression of that relationship are presented in the Old Testament as the revealed will of God.⁶⁵

The LORD is not only the subject of the messages but also the object of Israel’s worship at the tabernacle.