Loving Leviticus
I am surprised, and somewhat embarrassed to admit, that I prefer blogging to journaling. I am not as careful or as patient in my writing when no one else is looking - and I need the discipline for the education of my own soul. Writing forces me to slow down, to think, to gel half-baked thoughts into words. Writing invites me to explore connections which, frankly, I would miss if I were reading without a written response to the text.
My Holy Week post on penance is a prime example. That little sermon was an exhortation to my own soul. I needed to rejoice in what the Spirit was showing me in Exodus, and put penance into practice in my own life. What I did not know at the time is that the Spirit was preparing my heart for the treasures of Leviticus - treasures which had seemed dull or irrelevant in the past. For the first time in my life, I am excited about Leviticus! The book is changing my relationship with the Trinity.
There are no opening pleasantries in Leviticus. The book opens with a long set of instructions concerning offerings.
Now the Lord called to Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When anyone of you brings an offering to the Lord, you shall bring your offering of livestock from the herd or the flock. ……… And he shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, so that it may be accepted for him to make atonement on his behalf. Then he shall slaughter the bull before the Lord; and Aaron’s sons the priests shall offer up the blood and sprinkle the blood around on the altar that is at the doorway of the tent of meeting……And the priest shall offer all of it up in smoke on the altar as a burnt offering, an offering by fire as a pleasing aroma to the Lord.
Burnt offering, sin offerings, grain offerings, thank offerings are all covered in Leviticus, and the instructions for each type of sacrifice ends with a similar assurance - the sacrifice made by a priest on the altar will be “a pleasing aroma to the Lord.” What a beautiful image - the LORD pleased with the offering of man! Pleased by penance. Pleased by sacrifice. Pleased by man’s pursuit of Him. Pleased to forgive. Pleased to draw near. God and man at peace at the altar, happy in their relationship together.
Coming out of Holy Week, thinking about the gift of penance as a pursuit of God, I was struck in a new way by the grace expressed in the sacrificial system. We know that God did not become “full of grace” in the New Testament. Grace is His nature. Grace has always been the path of salvation. But grace is hard for the heart and mind to grasp. So the LORD, in His kindness gave us signs - rituals, sites, sounds, smells, ways to demonstrate our gratitude, sorrow, love and repentance.
The first gift God gave His people was naming the sacrifice they should offer- an animal from one’s herd or grain from one’s field. The gift could be as small as a pigeon or as large as a bull depending on a person’s means, but the gift was always a meaningful sacrifice. It was a relinquishing of some part of one’s livelihood, and I am sure the tangible nature of the gift helped drive this point home far more than running a credit card. Surrendering a portion of one’s wealth demonstrates the value one puts on a relationship with God. It is an act of trust in God to provide, and trust always moves the heart of God.
Another commonality in each of these sacrifices is the role of the priest. The sons of Levi received the gifts of their kinsmen and offered them according to the Law. The priests lived on portions of these offerings which formed a bond of mutual dependence between the tribe of Levi and their brethren. This system was a powerful reminder that the people of God are a community. When individuals seek a right relationship with God, the whole community is blessed.
Finally, there was the noise, the sight, the blood and the smoke of the sacrifice which served as signs to the faithful. The people could see the smoke rising from their sacrifice; they could hear the promise of the priest that the smoke was, “a pleasing aroma to the LORD.” They could see the community around them and rejoice in the favor of God.
It is the Father’s will that the days of the Tabernacle and Temple have come to an end. “Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises.” (Heb. 8:6) But the writer of the Hebrews emphasizes that this new covenant is built upon the old. There is a reality in heaven upon which instructions for the tabernacle were based. Everything that happened in that tabernacle pointed forward to the New Covenant sealed on the Altar which stands before the Throne of God. “But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.” Truly, we are the recipients of grace upon grace.
And yet, I confess, I have often struggled to rest in that grace. I have wondered if my repentance was truly a pleasing aroma to the LORD. I have feared, at times, the Lord’s patience would one day run out because there are surely sins I have committed more than 70 times 7. There are seasons in which despair has hovered over my soul, threatening to choke the joy of God’s salvation.
The sacrament of confession has helped a lot. Having a priest witness my repentance, offering the humbling sacrifice of naming my sins aloud, doing the relational repairs asked of me have changed my heart. I have experienced deliverance in this sacrament. But today I know the LORD is wanting to take my faith deeper. He is inviting me to come before the Throne of Grace by faith. I can imagine my Great High Priest Jesus standing before the Throne every time I repent, or give thanks, or write a check, or bake a meal for guests. With the eyes of my heart, I can see Jesus take the offering in His hands. I see Him place it on the altar before the Father and sprinkle it with His own blood. Then I see Him take fire from the censer before the Throne. He mixes incense with my prayer, and the prayers of all the saints. We come together, like the people of Israel at the tabernacle. We are united under a High Priest who knows our weakness and is One with the Father. The Father always receives the Son’s sacrifice with joy. God is pleased with our sacrifice! He is with us! We are at peace. Our offerings are a pleasing aroma before His Throne.