A couple of bulbuls made their nest in my hanging pot. The two chicks flourished, and then, both chicks flew away abruptly. The parents gave chase, but couldn’t locate the chicks in the midst of all the trees. The next few days, the bulbuls flew around tweeting & calling… They came with beaks full of food and sat at the nest tweeting… but no answering call came from the chicks… It was quite heart breaking to watch…

The Hebrew name for Leviticus is Vayikra which means HE CALLED.

In Genesis we see how Man got separated from God… and how that gulf between God and Man widened as Man got entrenched in his rebellion against God… It also reveals the Father Heart of God who keeps coming after us, calling us back to Himself. As I watched those bulbuls, God showed me the anguish with which He comes after us, calling us, reaching out to nourish us, desiring to protect us…

Leviticus tells the story of God’s plan to bring His people back to Him. Like the bulbul chicks, we made a choice to be independent of God and go our own way. SIN is our desire to be ‘god’, to be in charge of our own lives. It is the refusal to acknowledge God’s right to be the King of our lives. As a result, we refuse to obey His laws, or pick & choose what/when/how we will obey. All our sinful actions & words come from the heart attitude of rebellion & independence from God.

Rebellion is high treason, and is worthy of death. But, God loves us, and does not want us to die. He created us for fellowship with Him… to love Him and enjoy being loved by Him. So He made a way for both Justice ( which demanded that the offender should die) & Mercy ( which pleaded for the offender to live) to be fulfilled.

In Leviticus we see the ‘sneak preview’ of God’s plan of salvation which would be fulfilled in Jesus. Every sacrifice, every offering reveals the mercy of God by which He would accept the death of another in our place.

🔶 The worshipper would lay his hands on the sacrifice. [ lay hands on = samak Hebrew = lean with full weight on]. The worshipper leant on the sacrificial animal, signifying that the animal was bearing the weight of the worshipper’s sins.
✝ Jesus, the sinless Lamb of God, went to Calvary bearing the weight of the sins of the whole world. Every sin – past, present & future was laid on Him. [Rf 1 Jn 2:2, Heb 9:28, Col 1:14, 1 Pt 3:18]

🔶 The burnt offering was completely consumed by the fire, signifying total dedication to God. Lev 1
✝ Jesus offered Himself completely without reservation to God. Phi 2:5-8

🔶 The penitent worshipper would partake of the peace offerings. Signifying forgiveness & reconciliation with God.
✝ As we partake of Communion, we partake of Jesus the Peace Offering made on our behalf to God, through Whom we receive forgiveness & reconciliation with God. [Mt 26:26-28, Eph 2:14-16, Rom 5:10-11]

🔶 The priests would get a portion of certain offerings which the worshippers brought. It was partly to provide for the priests who did not get any inheritance of their own. It was partly to signify that as Intercessor/Mediator he was standing in fellowship with the worshipper before God. [Lev 2:3, Lev 6:25-30]
✝ When we partake of Communion, we declare that though we are many, we are made one with God & each other, because we partake of the Body & Blood of Jesus who stands as our only Mediator before God on our behalf. [1 Cor 10:17, 1 Tim 2:5]

🤝 Leviticus outlines for us God’s ultimate purpose for Man – FELLOWSHIP – with God and with one another.
🕊 🤝 In the Church, that sketch has been filled in & ‘coloured’ as through the Holy Spirit we experience fellowship with God & each other.
💫🤝 BUT, it is only in Heaven that we will see the fullness of God’s ultimate purpose of unbroken fellowship being fulfilled.

⛲In the meantime, here on earth, He has given us the privilege of having a foretaste of that joy, so that we can tell others and bring them in to partake of the joy of fellowshipping with God.

Abba Father, thank You for never giving up on us. Thank You for calling out to us again & again. As we read through this book, help us to discover Your love & grace in deeper ways. Help us to fall in love with You all over again, so that we would be those who are always bubbling over with the Good News of what You have done for us. In Jesus Name. Amen.

Alice D.