In Leviticus 14:33 – 26:26, we have a great emphasis on the practicality of true holiness. These chapters cover all sorts of relationships with people and everyday situations. If we really love God with all of our heart, mind and soul, it will be evidenced by how we relate to other people. True spirituality is lived out in the warp and woof of everyday life.
For example, Israel was to treat and look at the alien among them in the same way that the LORD had cared for the Israelites when they were aliens in Egypt. God had compassion on them and in love He redeemed them from Egyptian slavery. They were to reflect God’s character/holiness by treating the aliens in their land with equity and fairness. (Lev. 19:33,34). A biblical holiness deals with the nitty-gritty of everyday life. Holiness is reflected and lived out in mundane things like using honest scales and weights in the daily transactions of economic life (Lev. 19:35,36). Over and over in Leviticus we read that the Israelites are to be holy because their LORD God is holy. They are not to defile the land of Canaan (the Promised Land) by their day-to-day behavior.
Leviticus 23 is a very important passage in the history of Israel. Here we have “the appointed Feasts of the LORD,” which they are to observe faithfully as a lasting ordinance. In these Feasts, not only was Israel giving thanks for agricultural blessings but also spiritual blessings from God’s hand (i.e. Passover celebrated God’s deliverance from Egyptian bondage). The regular observance of these Feasts is one reason why the Jewish people have had such a strong identity as a people and have been able to withstand horrendous persecution over their history.
The 7 feasts of Leviticus 23 are also types or foreshadows of the Person and Work of Jesus Christ. Passover speaks of the substitutionary death of the Lamb of God. Christ died on the day of Passover. The Feast of Unleavened Bread speaks of the holy walk of the believer (1Cor. 5:6-8) made possible by Christ’s redemption. The Feast of Firstfruits speaks of Christ’s resurrection as the firstfruit of the resurrection of all believers (1Cor. 15:20-23). Christ rose on the day of Firstfruits. The Feast of Weeks/Pentecost speaks of the sending of the Holy Spirit after Christ’s ascension. The Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement and the Feast of Tabernacles speak of events associated with the 2nd coming of Christ. This may be why these 3 are separated by a long gap from the first 4 in Israel’s annual cycle. (Bruce Wilkinson)
As we are proceeding through our 90-day journey through the Scripture, we are understanding more and more Jesus’ words to the 2 travelers on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24:25,26: “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer and then enter his glory”? The next verse says: And beginning with Moses (the first 5 books of the Bible) and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. This is the Good News of Jesus. Pastor John
Click here for tomorrow’s reading of Leviticus 26:27 – Num.8:14.