Leviticus

Leviticus. The Holy Bible. New King James Version. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1982. Leviticus continues the story of the Israelite nation from Genesis and Exodus. God took the Israelites out of oppression in Egypt, as describe in Exodus, and preparing them to be a nation when He leads them into a new land. Characteristics of the Israelite nation were to be its religion and its government. Leviticus deals with the religious and civil laws that were mostly administered by the Levites, a clan that God set aside for His service. In particular, Aaron and his descendents, part of the clan of Levi, were set aside for the priestly duties that involved the closest proximity to God. Much of Leviticus deals with the religious ceremonies the Israelites were to observe, especially the role and conduct of the priests in these ceremonies. The priests served as intermediaries between God and His people. The priests were set apart for God and were to be treated as holy, as was everything set apart for God. The people made various types of offerings as an acknowledgment of their sinfulness and their debt to God, who accepted their sacrifices to atone for their sins. The death and blood of animals substituted for the loss of life that was the consequence of sin. In Christianity, the understanding is that these sacrifices foreshadowed the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which is sufficient for the sins of all people in all times. Further, Jesus fulfills the priestly role of intermediary and advocate before God-the-Father. Because Jesus is God, He and His Father are one, Christians enjoy a direct relationship with God. Some of the chapters of Leviticus deal with moral and civil laws. These laws involve property, farming and husbandry, marriage, self-care, foreigners, protection of life, and other matters. We see embodied in these laws a principle that is emphasized throughout the Bible. Kindness to others and generosity to the needy are prized behaviors. God called the Israelites to love their neighbors. They were to pay workers promptly and not charge excessive interest on loans, even leave food in their fields for the poor to collect. They were to make gifts and loans to the poor. They were to care for widow and orphans, especially their relatives. An extraordinary requirement was that Israelites were to treat law-abiding foreigners who dwelt among them with the same love, respect, and protection of law as natives. As we see in the preceding books, God is active in Leviticus. Moses is God’s prophet and Aaron is His priest, but God is the motivating force and active agent. Leviticus, like the rest of the Bible, doesn’t depict man reaching out to God; it shows God reaching out to man. If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in Genesis The Gospels Exodus

Numbers

Numbers. The Holy Bible. New King James Version. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1982.

Numbers gets its name from the census of the Israelites that is described in its first chapter. This census counted men 20 years and over who were able to go to war. That is 603,550 potential soldiers. It’s not a stretch to image the total population exceeded 2 million.


In addition to censuses, Numbers covers history and law. The history is largely the time the Israelites spent in the wilderness before entering Canaan, the land God promised to their ancestors.

When God first lead Israel to the borders of Canaan, the Israelites sent spies in to check out the land. The spies reported that the land was rich in all the ways God promised. Ten of the twelve spies also reported that the inhabitants were powerful and couldn’t be overcome, so the people refused enter the land. God let there own words stand against them as a judgment; everyone of the Israelites age 20 and greater died as nomads over the next 40 years except the two spies who called for the people to conquer the land at the first instance. These two men, Caleb and Joshua, would be the only ones in their generation to enter Canaan.

An interesting thing about the book is that God continued to protect Israel in this period. The established kingdoms in the area became nervous about 2 million people wondering around looking for a place to settle. However, except when Israel entered unauthorized war, God never allowed a foreign power to harm them.

The Israelites had as much trouble within as without. One of these was an uprising to overthrow Moses, which God intervened to end. It should not be surprising that there was much contention amongst people who were depicted as inveterate complainers.

During this time, several laws were given and reiterated. Many of these dealt with the roles of priest and Levites. The later chapters cover laws related to inheritance and the apportionment of land to the tribes and families, which was an important matter for the soon to be conquerors.

Another issue of importance to conquerors is the size of the army they can raise. Toward the end of the book, the leaders conduct a second census. By this time, Moses, Joshua and Caleb were the only people over sixty who had been present for the first census. Of the surviving generation, there were 601,730 fighting men, so the population of Israel changed little from the beginning to the end of its time in the wilderness.

As the rebellious generation passed away, so did the great leaders of the nation: Moses and Aaron. New men were appointed to the civil and priestly leadership of Israel.

If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in
Exodus
Genesis
Leviticus