More Laws and Feasts; Final Tabernacle Preparation

The theme of Leviticus might be this:

Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the Lord your God. Keep my decrees and follow them. I am the Lord, who makes you holy. Leviticus 20:7-8

As a nomadic people, their first question may have been, “how can we show the Lord our appreciation?” Instead of looking at this as a long list of things you must do (or be put to death), perhaps we should look at this narrative as an answer to prayer. So many times I ask God, “what should I do next?” What if I learned two words from Leviticus today:

Be Holy

“You are to be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own.” Leviticus 20:26

There are many festivals listed that help the people engaged throughout the year, a calendar of events to keep reminding everyone. The purposes listed in the NIV Study Bible provide a great summary for us to use as a model:

• Sabbath: Rest for people and animals
• Sabbath Year: Rest for land
• Year of Jubilee: Help for poor; stabilize society
• Passover: Remember Israel’s deliverance from Egypt
• Unleavened Bread: Remember how the Lord brought the Israelites out of Egypt in haste
• Firstfruits: Recognize the Lord’s bounty in the land
• Weeks: Show joy and thankfulness for the Lord’s blessing of harvest
• Trumpets (later: Rosh Hashanah): Present Israel before the Lord for his favor
• Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur): Atone for the sins of priests and people and purify the Holy Place
• Tabernacles: Memorialize the journey from Egypt to Canaan; give thanks for the productivity of Canaan
• Sacred Assembly: Commemorate the closing of the cycle of festivals
• Purim: Remind the Israelites of their national deliverance in the time of Esther