Leviticus & Numbers

As we make our way through the midst of the Pentateuch through the third and fourth book, we need to take account of what these books teach us.

 

There is much to be said about the instructions of these to accounts of Israel. We end the book of Exodus seeing that God has remembered them and has rescued them from their captors. Upon leaving Egypt, we enter the writings of the book of Leviticus.

 

Leviticus teaches us about the worship of God. In this book we see the ways that Israel was to live before their God. The instructions that were given for their worship of the God that they served, and the details of how they were to make sacrifices to atone for their sinfulness.

 

It is important that we understand the importance of this book from a theological standpoint. God has set on place how He was to be worshiped, and this must not be ignored. He had also given instruction on the way to live in holiness before Him. It is mention to us that, “Those who worship a holy God will aspire to live holy lives and appropriate the resources that a holy God makes available to them to so order their lives. (Hamilton p. 282).

 

He had brought out a people from Egypt, a people to whom He had made a promise, a people He had called His own. These people were instructed to live holy before Him because they were His people. They were reflections of Himself.

 

In the book of Numbers, we are stared in the face with utter disobedience. At every turn this same people that God had rescued and placed on them His name, were living in rebellion to His direction. 

God had led them out of bondage, but they refused to be led anywhere else. 

By consequence they wandered in the wilderness and continued to disobey they their God, and eventually, “They perished in the wilderness because of incessant sinfulness and disobedience.” (Hamilton p. 305)

 

We, like ancient Israel, have been given the accounts of the mistakes that were made, and the consequences of them. Even though these to books may not seem to be the most interesting stories, nor did they have noteworthy names, we must be careful not to ignore them. In many ways we as believers in Christ are prone to make the same mistakes like the Israelites did over and over.

 

We have been given these accounts to show us the continued goodness of God to His people, and as a warning to not take this for granted. 

We must be careful to live holy, because the God that has called us His own is Holy. We as well, must be careful to be obedient to His word in our lives. Everything that God from Leviticus to Numbers was for the good of His people. He had no desire to keep anything from them but constantly had to keep them from themselves. 

The call is that we may take heed of these books and allow our God to lead us through this life for our good, and His glory.