“The life of a creature is in the blood. . . .”
— Leviticus 17:11
We have about 30 trillion blood cells moving through about 60,000 miles of blood vessels in our bodies. And if we lose more than 40 percent of our blood, our life will be at serious risk. The words of Leviticus 17:11 are true: “The life of a creature is in the blood.”Many of our readings in Leviticus this month have mentioned something about blood. Leviticus 17 explains why. First, blood is treated with respect because it represents life, and life is a gift from God. Our culture may emphasize that we should do as we please in life. But because life is God’s gift to us, God is the rightful authority over our lives. For this reason Israel was called to safeguard the well-being of God’s creatures. We must value and protect all life against needless harm and death.The shedding of blood also symbolized how one life was given in exchange for another. Blood was God’s gift for making atonement, showing that sin was serious and would lead to being cut off from God and his people.On the night of his arrest, Jesus explained how his blood would be poured out, and his life given, for us (Luke 22:20). Though we are guilty, Jesus was cut off from his Father and his people so that we could be restored to the joy of God’s presence. God not only requires a sacrifice as payment for our sin, but he also provides it through Jesus!
Lord Jesus, your blood was poured out so that we can have full, eternal life! Though we cannot repay you for this gift, help us to live in thankfulness to you. Amen.
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What Do You Do With Your Shame?
“The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a remote place; and the man shall release it in the wilderness.”
— Leviticus 16:22
Limburger cheese has a smell that is sometimes compared to sweaty feet. Even worse, the smell can linger long after the cheese is gone!Similarly, shame can linger long after our sin has been dealt with. Shame is a result of the voice of Satan whispering into our heart that we are not good enough. When we fail in a project at work or do poorly on an exam, shame makes us feel we are worthless. When we give in to temptation, or make a parenting mistake, or let our spouse down, shame implies that our failures define us. We try to work harder, chase status symbols, and make ourselves too busy, but nothing can cover the shame we feel.In today’s reading about the scapegoat, we see that this goat was not slaughtered. Instead the people’s sins were symbolically transferred to that goat, and it was released into the wilderness, never to be seen again. The message was clear. God not only covers the guilt of his people but also removes the effects of sin—including shame—from their lives.Jesus, serving as our scapegoat, has carried our sin away so that it is never seen again. This means that when we hear Satan’s accusations, we need only to look to the Savior and remember that God, the one person who could actually accuse us, has declared that in Jesus our sins are gone forever!
Lord and God, thank you for removing not only our guilt but also our shame. Help us to know and trust that we are fully forgiven in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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What Do You Do With Your Guilt?
“This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: Atonement is to be made once a year for all the sins of the Israelites.”
— Leviticus 16:34
When I was 12 years old, I told my father a lie—and I soon found that I had to tell more lies just to keep the first lie going. It felt like something ugly had taken over my soul, and I couldn’t get rid of it. That was guilt, and most of us learn at a young age how destructive it can be. Guilt festers in our soul; it can wear us down, even physically; and it can erode our relationships. Guilt is related to a moral standard, and since we fall short of God’s standard, we all live with guilt.Leviticus 16 is the thematic center of God’s law. The Day of Atonement illustrated how God would remove the guilt of all his people. Because sin contaminated the community and everyone in it, the priest made atonement for his own sin, his family’s sin, and the sins of all the people; then he did the same for the tabernacle, since it was contaminated by the people’s uncleanness.Two goats were chosen. One was killed, and its blood was poured out to signify that the penalty of death was paid. The other goat became the scapegoat and was sent out into the wilderness.But the Day of Atonement ritual couldn’t deal fully with our guilt. No sacrifice of animals could truly pay our debt. But when Jesus cried out on the cross, “It is finished” (John 19:30)—the price for our sin was paid once for all! When we confess our sin, we can be assured that Jesus has atoned for us and that our guilt no longer counts against us!
Gracious God, in Jesus’ name we confess our sins and ask for your forgiveness. Thank you! Amen.
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Foods, Fluids, and Flesh
Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!”
— Matthew 8:3
Rules in Leviticus about skin diseases and rashes may not make for the most comfortable reading—especially if we are reading this at mealtime. And there is a lot more here about things that made an Israelite “clean” or “unclean.” This section of Leviticus includes all kinds of requirements about foods, bodily fluids, and sacrifices. These commands describe whether a person was fit for participating in worship as a part of God’s people.These laws didn’t necessarily say that a person had committed a sin, though. Rather, the person had come into contact with something that made them ritually unclean—usually a bodily fluid, a certain kind of animal, or a skin disease. When a person was “defiled,” steps were needed to restore purity—usually bathing, waiting for a period of time, and bringing an offering. An unclean person also had to take care not to touch other people because that would spread the uncleanness. These laws reminded the people that God desired holiness in all areas of life. From eating food to having children to taking care of one’s body, God’s call to holiness was always in view.Yet people could not make themselves holy. Only a priest declared whether that was so.And this is vitally good news for us. When Jesus healed people, their impurities flowed to him, and his purity flowed to them. In the great reversal that makes God’s salvation possible for us through Jesus, we are made pure once for all!
Lord Jesus, thank you that although we are not holy, you make us clean by taking our impurities away. Amen!
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The Anger of God
“[God] said: ‘Among those who approach me I will be proved holy; . . . I will be honored.’”
— Leviticus 10:3
On my first day of work at a McDonald’s restaurant, my cash drawer was short 10 dollars, and my manager wrote me up, leaving me worried about keeping my job. But I was not afraid of being struck dead. We’ve all made mistakes and had some rough days at work, so we might wonder why Nadab and Abihu were struck dead when they began to work as priests. What went wrong?Nadab and Abihu’s sin was not just a minor oversight or a misstep. After God had given detailed instructions about the priests’ responsibilities, Aaron’s sons ignored God’s rules in favor of their own. This is a pattern as old as the human race; sin begins when we decide we know better than God does. But God is holy, and we are not free to improvise our own ways of approaching or relating to God. Tragically, just as “fire came out” and consumed the offering brought by Aaron (Leviticus 9), fire came out against Nadab and Abihu and consumed them. Even Aaron was silent in response, likely indicating that he accepted God’s judgment—though he must have felt deep sorrow.Must we fear the same today? In all of history only one priest, Jesus, was flawless and worthy to enter God’s presence. And when he did that for our sake, he took the wrath of God upon himself as it broke out against him—in our place. But this is good news for us! Jesus’ sacrifice covered all our sin so that we never need to fear God’s judgment.
Holy God, it’s difficult for us to understand your holiness. Thank you for giving us Jesus so that we can be forgiven. Amen.
México