Can Leviticus Actually Be Good News?

It was said of Willie Mays that his glove was the place where triples went to die. I suppose it could be said that Leviticus is the place where Bible reading plans go to die.

Many a person has begun a Bible reading plan at the start of a new year with high hopes and the best of intentions. Things generally begin well. The stories found in Genesis keep things moving along and the mighty acts of God in Exodus usually keep the reader on track. 

Then something happens. That something is Leviticus. With all of its detail and minutiae regarding ceremonial law, many a reader simply loses interest. What, after all, does all of it have to do with the Gospel?

Against the backdrop of this reality comes a new commentary on Leviticus  by Dr. Jay Sklar from IVP's Tyndale Old Testament Commentary series. Jay is Professor of Old Testament at Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, where I took two semesters of Hebrew from him. As unbelievable as it may seem, each class period could truly be classified as a devotional experience. If a man can turn the study of Hebrew into a devotional experience, he can no doubt show us how the Gospel sings in Leviticus. That, after all, is what it is intended to do. 

He begins by pointing us to a vital, though often overlooked fact: Leviticus can only be properly understood in light of the story that immediately precedes it.

The story immediately before Leviticus is one in which the Lord redeems the Israelites from slavery in Egypt and enters into covenant relationship with them. They are to be his ‘treasured possession’ who are to fulfill a special role: being a ‘kingdom of priests and a holy nation’, and in this way spreading the Lord’s kingdom of justice, mercy, goodness and love in all the earth. What is more, they are to do this with the Lord himself dwelling in their midst in the tent of meeting. If you were an Israelite, all of this would lead to some burning questions: How in the world can the holy and pure King of the universe dwell among his sinful and impure people? How can he live here, in our very midst, without his holiness melting us in our sin and impurity? And how can we live as his people in such a way that we really do extend his holy kingdom throughout the earth?

Leviticus answers these questions.

But that’s not all Leviticus does.

(I)t also 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.

And all the while Jay reminds us, “If what we see in the Old Testament  is an acorn, what we see in Jesus is a magnificent oak. This is especially true for the themes of Leviticus.”

I am very thankful to have this commentary on my bookshelf and I highly recommend that you do the same.

Jay Sklar on Delighting in Leviticus

Dr. Jay Sklar was one of my favorite professors when I was a student at Covenant Theological Seminary.  I had him for a number of classes and he actually preached at my ordination.

Perhaps the highest compliment I can pay him is to let you know what he accomplished in my two semesters of Hebrew.  I know it's April Fool's Day, but I'm not kidding when I tell you that taking Hebrew from Jay was an experience that I can only describe as "devotional."  Amongst the vocabulary and the parsing and the paradigms, Jay always found a Christ-exalting way to point us to the glory and grace of God.

Jay contributed to the study notes for Leviticus in the ESV Study Bible and is currently working on a commentary on Leviticus for the Tyndale Old Testament Commentary series from IVP.  Today over at The Gospel Coalition blog, Collin Hansen interviewed Jay and shares the details in a piece entitled Daring to Delight in Leviticus.  In it we learn how to have a truly Christ-centered view of the book of Leviticus, and we get a glimpse at the joy this unlocks to us:

It’s only when we understand the sacrificial system of Leviticus that we can understand what it means that Jesus came and “made purification for sins” (Heb 1:3; cf. Lev 4). It’s only when we understand Leviticus that we can understand his atoning sacrifice wipes away every vestige of sin and impurity so powerfully that we can walk “with confidence into the holy place by the blood of Jesus” (Heb 10:19; cf. Lev 16 and esp. 10:1-3!). And it’s only when we understand Leviticus that we can understand that the sinlessness and purity and power of Jesus the Great High Priest is immeasurably beyond that of any levitical priest that ever lived (Heb 7:26-28; cf. Lev 9:7; 16:6)!

Click here and read Jay's other thoughts on such questions as why Leviticus is often difficult for us, what we must understand about Leviticus in its original context before we can apply it to our lives (as Jay had us recite before every class, "Context is King!"), and what exactly it means to preach Leviticus in proper relationship to Christ and the gospel.