The book of Leviticus when looked at as a whole set forth God’s love for His people. Having redeemed them from slavery now wanting them to walk “holy” before Him.
Warren Wiersbe in his book “Wiersbe’ s Expository Outlines on the Old Testament” wrote a section on chapters 1 -7 concerning the sacrifices. He wrote: 1. The Burnt Offering-Christ’s Complete Dedication (1; 6:8 – 13) 2. The Meal Offering – Christ’s Perfections (2; 6:14 – 23) 3. The Peace Offering – Christ Our Peace (3; 7:11 – 34) 4. The Sin Offering – Christ Made Sin for Us (4; 6:24 – 30) 5. The Trespass Offering – Christ Paying Sin’s Debt (5: 1 – 6:7) The idea behind this is to show the workings of Christ in mankind’s salvation. While these sacrifices did not forgive the sin of the individual, if they came with the proper heart and resting their faith in God’s word then their sacrifice was acceptable to God and Christ’s sacrifice forgave them of their sins (Heb.
10:1 – 14). Imagine the faith they had to have in God to believe that somewhere in the future their sins would all be forgiven by only one sacrifice, but what a sacrifice – the Son of God.
When one studies the book of Leviticus, they need to keep this idea of “holiness” in their minds. It is the focus of the book. They need to look past all the practical instructions of how to cut the animal up, who is to get what and so on (There is a place to remember this in the idea of obedience to God).
One must see (even though they know this fact) that God is holy (Lev. 10:3; 11:44, 45; 19:2; 20:7; 21:8) God is man’s model of holiness and the Christian is to try to be like God. These passages were said for the benefits of the Levites but all of God’s people were to carry them out, not just the priest and Levite.
Some today seem to believe that only Elders and preachers are the ones who are to live “holy lives”. Just as it was not the case during the Old Law it is not the case under the Law of Christ. The study of Leviticus shows that only God can make one “holy”, and that is by obedience to His will (Lev. 19:1, 2, 20:7, 8). Jehovah’s desire for His people was for them to be a “holy” nation. In order for this to happen they had to be instructed. Arron, his sons and the Levites were dedicated to serve God as priests and helpers in the service of the tabernacle. These individuals were to be “holy,” yet one soon reads of the sin of Nadab and Abihu they offered something unauthorized by God (Ex. 30:9).
They were punished for their trespass. This served as a reminder to all the people that obedience was necessary in order to be “holy” as God desired for them.
Leviticus shows how God wanted His people to live in order to be “holy” and when they failed God had a way provided for them to be made “holy” again. The same God had given man today a way to become “holy” and a way to remain “holy.” The perfect sacrifice of His Son.