Nathaniel R. Martin

The holy God dwells with his covenant people and provides the means of cleansing, atonement, and consecration by which they may live in his presence and enjoy fellowship with him.

1. Divine Presence – God Dwelling with His People

Leviticus begins where Exodus ends: God’s glory fills the tabernacle, and the LORD speaks to Moses from the tent of meeting (Ex. 40:34-38; Lev. 1:1). God’s presence gives the book its setting and purpose: Israel must learn how to live with the holy God in its midst.

The sacrifices and priestly ministry culminate in the appearance of God’s glory (Lev. 9:6, 23-24).

6 And Moses said, “This is the thing that the LORD commanded you to do, that the glory of the LORD may appear to you.” (Le 9:6)

His presence is gracious but also dangerous when approached contrary to his command (Lev. 10:1-3; 16:1-2). The covenant promise reaches its height in God dwelling and walking among his people (Lev. 26:11-12).

The LORD spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before the LORD and died, 2 and the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron your brother not to come at any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat that is on the ark, so that he may not die. For I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat. (Le 16:1–3)

11 I will make my dwelling among you, and my soul shall not abhor you. 12 And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people. 13 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves. (Le 26:11–13)

“Leviticus distinguishes between the permanent presence of God with his people, a presence which is to regulate their whole way of life, and his visible presence in glory which is obvious on special occasions. The book similarly distinguishes between general presence within the camp of Israel and his localized presence about the ark of the tent of meeting.” – Gordon Wenham

2. Holiness – Belonging to God and Reflecting His Character

The priests must distinguish the holy from the common and the unclean from the clean (Lev. 10:10-11). Holiness concerns consecration to God: priests, offerings, sacred space, and appointed times are set apart for his service (Lev. 8:10-12; 6:25-27; 23:1-4).

10 You are to distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean, 11 and you are to teach the people of Israel all the statutes that the LORD has spoken to them by Moses.” (Le 10:10–11)

Israel’s holiness also requires conduct that reflects God’s character: “You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy” (Lev. 19:2). Justice, generosity, truthful dealing, and love of neighbor belong to this calling (Lev. 19:9-18). God sets Israel apart as his own and sanctifies his people (Lev. 20:7-8, 26).

3. Clean and Unclean – Fitness for Sacred Approach

To understand the laws of clean and unclean, it helps to see the Levitical system as mediated between two spaces: the common and the sacred.

“Everything that is not holy is common. Common things divide into two groups, the clean and the unclean. Clean things become holy when they are sanctified. But unclean objects cannot be sanctified. Clean things can be made unclean if they are polluted. Finally, holy items may be defiled and become common, even polluted, and therefore unclean…Sanctification can elevate the clean into the holy, while pollution degrades the clean into unclean. The unclean and the holy are two states which must never come into contact with each other….According to Leviticus, then,  sacrificial blood is necessary to cleanse and sanctify. Sacrifice can undo the effects of sin and human infirmity. Sin and disease lead to profanation of the holy and pollution of the clean. Sacrifice can reverse this process.” – Gordon Wenham

Purity and holiness are related but distinct: being clean does not itself mean being consecrated as holy (Lev. 10:10). Ritual uncleanness can arise without moral wrongdoing, including through childbirth, skin conditions, and bodily discharges (Lev. 12:1-8; 13:1-8; 15:16-24). Uncleanness must therefore not be equated simply with personal guilt.

A person could become unclean through things that are not themselves sinful:

• childbirth (Lev. 12)
• skin disease (Lev. 13–14)
• bodily discharges (Lev. 15)
• contact with certain animals or carcasses (Lev. 11)

31 “Thus you shall keep the people of Israel separate from their uncleanness, lest they die in their uncleanness by defiling my tabernacle that is in their midst.” (Le 15:3)

Purification protects both the people and God’s dwelling: uncleanness must not defile the tabernacle (Lev. 15:31). The Day of Atonement cleanses the sanctuary from Israel’s impurities and transgressions (Lev. 16:16, 19). Moral rebellion also defiles: prohibited sexual practices pollute the land, and idolatry defiles the sanctuary (Lev. 18:24-30; 20:1-3).

4. Ritual Sacrifice – Atonement, Consecration, and Communion

God appoints offerings through which Israel approaches him. The burnt offering makes atonement (Lev. 1:3-4); grain offerings present gifts from the produce of the land (Lev. 2:1-3); peace offerings include a shared meal (Lev. 7:11-21). Sin offerings provide atonement and forgiveness, while guilt offerings address offenses requiring restitution (Lev. 4:20, 26; 5:14-16; 6:1-7).

Sacrifice serves several purposes: cleansing, forgiveness, consecration, thanksgiving, and fellowship. God gives the blood on the altar for atonement (Lev. 17:11). Leviticus 9 illustrates the goal: sacrifices are offered, the people are blessed, and God’s glory appears (Lev. 9:22-24).

5. Covenant – A Redeemed People Living with Their God

Israel receives these commands as a people already delivered from Egypt. The LORD grounds their holiness and obedience in his redeeming action (Lev. 11:44-45; 19:36; 25:38, 55; 26:13). Covenant obedience responds to that redemption and governs worship, relationships, work, and care for the vulnerable (Lev. 19:9-18, 33-34; 25:35-43).

44 For I am the LORD your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that crawls on the ground. 45 For I am the LORD who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.” (Le 11:44–45)

I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. 37 And you shall observe all my statutes and all my rules, and do them: I am the LORD.” (Le 19:36–37)

Leviticus 26 sets out covenant blessings and judgments (Lev. 26:3-39). The highest blessing is God’s dwelling among his people: he will be their God, and they will be his people (Lev. 26:11-12). Even after judgment, God promises to remember his covenant when Israel confesses its unfaithfulness (Lev. 26:40-45).

How the Five Themes Fit Together

Divine presence: God dwells among Israel (Lev. 1:1; 26:11-12).

Holiness: his people must reflect his holiness (Lev. 19:2).

Purity: they must guard his dwelling from defilement (Lev. 15:31). Sacrifice: he provides atonement and cleansing (Lev. 17:11; 16:30). Covenant: all of this expresses the relationship established by the God who redeemed them (Lev. 26:12-13).

Fulfillment in Christ and the New Creation

Presence: the Word becomes flesh and dwells among us (John 1:14). Holiness: God’s people remain called to be holy (1 Pet. 1:15-16). Cleansing: Christ’s blood purifies the conscience (Heb. 9:13-14). Sacrifice: his one offering accomplishes what repeated sacrifices could not finally secure (Heb. 10:1-4, 11-14).

Covenant and access: Christ mediates the new covenant, and his people draw near through him (Heb. 9:15; 10:19-22).

The promise of God dwelling with his people reaches its consummation in the new creation, where death is removed, and nothing unclean enters (Rev. 21:3-4, 27; 22:3-5).

22 And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, 25 and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. 26 They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. 27 But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life. (Re 21:22–27)

“…one approaches the divine Majesty not only utterly purified but with a tribute.”– L. Michael Morales

“The Lord expects his people to offer themselves and the best they have as a token of their dedication and gratitude.”– Allen P. Ross

Structure of Leviticus 2:1-16

Uncooked grain offerings (2:1-3)

Cooked grain offerings (2:4-10)

Regulations for grain offerings (2:11-13)

Firstfruits of the grain harvest (2:14-16)

In the opening chapter of Leviticus, our Lord instructs Moses regarding the whole burnt offering. That offering’s central purpose was to make atonement. The grain offering would be offered alongside the whole burnt offering after it was made (Lev. 9:17), with a distinct purpose. But any Israelite could also offer it on its own (Deut. 26). The grain offering is similar to the whole burnt offering in many ways, but differs in others. Its similarity is found in remaining a burnt offering that is transformed into “a pleasing aroma to the Lord” (2:2, 9).

The difference is that it is a cereal/grain offering, not an animal. Another difference is that only a portion of the grain offering was burned, and the remainder was given to the priests to eat.

If the whole burnt offering is about atonement, then the grain offering is about dedication and gratitude to the one for whom the worshipper is atoned.

Mark Rooker summarizes the meaning of the offering: “The grain offering was a gift to the LORD that honored him as the source of life and of the fertility of the land. It represented the dedication to God of the fruit of one’s labor. In the grain offering, the worshiper offered the best to God, which signified the dedication of one’s life and work to God.”

Three repeated phrases speak to the nature of this offering.

1. The offering is a memorial.
2. The offering is pleasing the Lord.
3. The offering is most holy.

I.) The uncooked grain offering (2:1-3)

“When anyone brings a grain offering as an offering to the LORD, his offering shall be of fine flour. (Lev 2:1)

The grain offering served as a tribute to God, a gift given to the LORD out of gratitude and expressing dedication to the LORD. The word was used throughout the Ancient Near East in non-religious contexts; vassal kings paid money to their overlord (Suzerian) as tribute. Consider the helpful commentary by Gordon Wenham.

“The cereal offering is a kind of tribute from the faithful worshipper to his divine overlord. When a treaty was made, the conquered nations were expected to bring their tribute to the great king. Israel too was bound by a covenant with God, and therefore had a responsibility to express her fidelity by bringing her cereal offerings.”

As new covenant believers, we worship God in the same spirit. We come to the Lord giving of ourselves and all that we own to serve the Lord (Rom. 12:1-2; 1 Cor. 8-9). In so doing, we acknowledge God as the giver of every perfect gift (including our health and money) and dedicate ourselves in a manner that his costly, i.e., the giving of our strength, time, money, etc.

The grain offering expresses both of these realities as well. By offering grain, the worshiper acknowledges the Lord as the provider of the harvest and dedicates it in a costly way. Consider the way the offering is made in verses 1-2.

He shall pour oil on it and put frankincense on it 2 and bring it to Aaron’s sons, the priests. And he shall take from it a handful of the fine flour and oil, with all of its frankincense, and the priest shall burn this as its memorial portion on the altar, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the LORD. (Lev 2:1–2)

Frankincense was an expensive luxury. Although it was readily available, it was not cheap. Proper dedication to God does not offer simply what is left over. God does not get the margins of our time, energy, and resources. The use of frankincense shows that we faithfully dedicate ourselves to the Lord and worship Him by offering our best.

Now let’s consider the provision to the priesthood in verse 3.

3 But the rest of the grain offering shall be for Aaron and his sons; it is a most holy part of the LORD’s food offerings. (Lev 2:3)

The grain offering served the practical purpose of providing for the priesthood, as they did not own land and depended on the tithes and sacrifices of the people. It was their primary source of income.

Reflecting on this principle, Gordon Wenham writes, “The cereal offering also provided the priests with their main income. Christian laity are responsible for ensuring that their ministers and clergy receive proper provision.”

13 Do you not know that those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings? 14 In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel. (1 Co 9:13–14)

II.) Cooked grain offerings (2:4-10)

As in chapter one’s outline of various options for the whole burnt offering, God’s grace appears again in the grain offering. Not everyone could afford Frankincense, so they could offer a cooked offering, which required more time and energy but was equally acceptable and pleasant unto the Lord. Allen Mosely writes, “If we have the money to get the best, we’ll spend it, and if we don’t have the money we’ll spend the time to make our gift the best we can.”

The central theme in these verses is that those who worship God should actively exclude what corrupts and defiles our lives.

Notice the prohibition in verse 4.

4 “When you bring a grain offering baked in the oven as an offering, it shall be unleavened loaves of fine flour mixed with oil or unleavened wafers smeared with oil (Lev 2:4)

In verse 4, and again in verse 11, the Lord prohibits leaven or yeast in the offering. The reason is not stated, leaving many Old Testament scholars to conclude that it is because yeast manifests decomposition and decay. In other words, it symbolizes death. Perhaps this is right, but what is clear is that leaven in Scripture is symbolic, and when used, the symbolism is negative.

Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. (Lk 12:1)

8 Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. (1 Co 5:8)

As the church seeks to enter God’s presence in worship, we need to remove and repent of all that is unrighteous and wicked. It is not that sinners are not welcome into worship—they are. But we are to avoid thinking that our singing, giving, and serving are pleasant to God while refusing to repent and turn from sin, which we know corrupts our soul and harms the body of Christ.

For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. (Ps 51:16–17)

III.) Regulations for grain offerings (Lev. 2:11-13)

We discussed the prohibition at length above, so let’s focus on verses 12-13.

12 As an offering of firstfruits you may bring them to the LORD, but they shall not be offered on the altar for a pleasing aroma. 13 You shall season all your grain offerings with salt. You shall not let the salt of the covenant with your God be missing from your grain offering; with all your offerings you shall offer salt. (Le 2:12–13)

Let’s focus on the addition of salt to the offering. What is God communicating by the command to salt “all your offerings”

The best answer is to interpret it in the context of the salt covenant. In the Ancient world, covenants were sometimes concluded by exchanging and eating salt.

19 All the holy contributions that the people of Israel present to the LORD I give to you, and to your sons and daughters with you, as a perpetual due. It is a covenant of salt forever before the LORD for you and for your offspring with you.” (Nu 18:19)

5 Ought you not to know that the LORD God of Israel gave the kingship over Israel forever to David and his sons by a covenant of salt? (2 Ch 13:5)

Salt was not only a preservative, but was something that was easily preserved. It cannot be destroyed by fire or other means, representing the covenant’s eternality.

Gordon Wenham is again worth quoting in full: “To add salt to the offering was a reminder that the worshiper was in an eternal covenant relationship with his God. This meant that God would never forsake him, and also that the worshipper had a perpetual duty to uphold and keep the covenant.”

IV.) The firstfruits of the grain harvest (Lev. 2:14-16)

14 “If you offer a grain offering of firstfruits to the LORD, you shall offer for the grain offering of your firstfruits fresh ears, roasted with fire, crushed new grain. (Lev 2:14)

One appropriate time to offer the grain offering was at the beginning of the harvest, during the harvest festival, when the firstfruits of the harvest were brought to the altar (Deuteronomy 26). Again, what is offered to the Lord is what is best and costly. To give the firstfruits was a sign of gratitude and devotion to the Lord.

The Grain Offering and the New Testament

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. (Ro 12:1)

15 Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. 16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. (Heb 13:15–16)

The Grain Offering and our Lord Jesus Christ

1. Jesus is our example in showing gratitude

• Jesus gave thanks before feeding the 5,000 (Matt. 14:19)
• Jesus gave thanks before feeding the 4,000 (Matt. 15:36)
• Jesus gave thanks before transforming Passover into the Lord’s Supper (Luke 22:17-19)

2. Jesus is our example in dedication.

Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’ (Heb 10:7)

3. Jesus makes our dedication possible

13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. (Ro 6:13)

4. Jesus is the firstfruits of our resurrection

20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. (1 Co 15:20)

Sermon Idea: Praying, “Your kingdom come,” is to pray for the destruction of Satan’s kingdom, the advancement of God’s kingdom of grace, the bringing and keeping of saints in it, and the Kingdom of glory to come. 

Introduction: The Gospel of Mark tells a remarkable story in which a desperate father comes to Jesus’ disciples, hoping they can heal his son, who is oppressed by an unclean spirit. The description of the suffering is devastating and traumatic.

¹⁷ And someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute. ¹⁸ And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able.” (Mk 9:17–18)

As you can imagine, this initial disappointment leads the father, in desperation, to plead with Jesus to have compassion on him and heal the boy, which Jesus does. The Lord Jesus’ command exorcises and defeats the unclean spirit. 

I bring this story to your attention because it shows what Jesus teaches his disciples about their failure. They asked him, “Why could we not cast it out?” 

²⁹ And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.” (Mk 9:29) 

The nature of the fight required more than intellect, gifting, and resources. It required more than grit, willpower, and determination. It was a battle of spiritual proportion, and so it required the chief means of spiritual work–prayer. 

All that we want to see happen in our midst, all that we hope to experience–salvation, disciple-making, church health, holiness, gospel advancement–requires prayer. 

Jesus told us in John 18:36 that his kingdom is spiritual. 

³⁶ Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” (Jn 18:36)

Wilhelmus A Brakel is certainly right when he wrote, “It originates in heaven, is of a heavenly nature, functions in a heavenly manner, and culminates in heaven. It is therefore called the kingdom of heaven.”

The second petition in the Lord’s prayer is, “Your kingdom come.”

This is appropriate if we pray for the hallowing of God’s name as Jesus taught us, because the coming of God’s kingdom is the primary way that God’s name is hallowed. 

What does it mean to pray for God’s kingdom to come? Does it mean that we pray for the rising of an empire, a castle, and an army? Does it mean we pray for the future coming of the kingdom or the present coming of the kingdom?

It is really difficult to improve upon the older understandings of this petition as found in the Baptist Catechism. Listen to how the saints who’ve gone before us reflected on this passage. 

Q 109: What do we pray for in the second petition?

A: In the second petition, which is, “Thy kingdom come,” we pray that Satan’s kingdom may be destroyed, and that the kingdom of grace may be advanced, ourselves and others brought into it and kept in it, and that the kingdom of glory may be hastened.

Since this cannot be improved upon, these four ways will serve as the outline for the rest of our time. 

I.) We pray for Satan’s kingdom to be destroyed 

The Bible often speaks of the fallen world as Satan’s kingdom through a variety of images. For example, Paul in 2 Cor. 4:4 refers to Satan as “the god of this world,” who has blinded unbelievers. In Ephesians 2:2, Satan is called the “prince of the power of the air.” Multiple times Jesus refers to Satan as “the ruler of this world” (John 12:27-32; 14:30). 

These descriptions do not mean that Satan had or has ultimate power. His kingdom is not equal to the kingdom of God. It does mean that he exercises authority and dominion over sinners. Those who are dead in sin are held captive and under the influence of Satan’s kingdom. 

We can pray for Satan’s kingdom to be destroyed because Christ has already laid a fatal blow to his rule through his death, resurrection, and ascension. The first gospel promise in the Bible is found in Genesis 3:15, where God promises that the seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent. 

²⁷ “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. ²⁸ Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” ²⁹ The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” ³⁰ Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not mine. ³¹ Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. ³² And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” (Jn 12:27–32)

The cross presses Jesus’ foot firmly on Satan’s head, and when he returns, Jesus will crush Satan’s head and destroy his kingdom.   

Meanwhile, God’s people are responsible for praying for the destruction of Satan’s kingdom. We pray for the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ to pierce through the darkness of unbelief, so that blind sinners get a glimpse of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 4:5-6).

We pray for any continuing influence of Satan’s kingdom in the world to over governments, authorities, or powers to be undone. We pray that the influence of Satan and his demons would lose influence over people’s lives, and that the power of God would extinguish at last. 

Now, do you see why I began where we did? We cannot do ministry armed with nothing but our gifts, resources, and willpower. We’ll need more than our intellect. We need to pray and stand in Christ’s strength (Eph. 6:10). 

We pray, “Your kingdom come,” because it is by the power of God and the coming of Christ’s kingdom that the devil and his works will be destroyed. 

We need to ask a question at this point. Whose kingdom do you serve? No neutral ground exists between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan. To reject Christ and his Lordship is to declare your citizenship in the domain of darkness. 

This brings us to the second element of this petition: we pray for God’s kingdom of grace to be advanced.

II.) We pray for God’s kingdom of grace to be advanced 

This is the positive side of the first element. If we pray for the destruction of Satan’s kingdom, we are also praying for the advancement of God’s kingdom of grace. 

At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, he announced that the kingdom of God was at hand, “…The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mk 1:15)

Note the declaration of the kingdom and the necessary response: repentance and belief in the gospel. God’s kingdom of grace advances, as people come to acknowledge and then submit to the lordship of Jesus Christ.

Prayer is the means through which God works to advance the gospel around the globe and that is vital, because it is the gospel that is the power of God unto salvation (Rom. 1:16)

We should learn and seek to be like Paul, who, while in prison, was overjoyed that the gospel was advancing and becoming more widely known.

12 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, 13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. (Php 1:12–13)

To pray, “your kingdom come,” is to pray that the gospel not only advances, but is embraced. As sinners come to trust Christ, they are brought into the kingdom of God under the Lordship of Christ. We need to pray toward this end. 

This brings us to the third element of the petition: we pray that we and others be brought into it and kept in it. 

III.) We pray for ourselves and others to be brought and kept in it

Entrance into the kingdom of God is not like admission into an earthly organization or club. You don’t simply put in an application or commit to paying dues. Entrance into the kingdom of God comes only by God’s grace and the gift of the new birth. Listen to what Jesus told Nicodemus. 

³ Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (Jn 3:3)

In salvation, God gives a new heart through our faith in the Lord Jesus. With that new heart we turn from Satan, sin, and darkness to the Kingdom of God. 

Listen to how Paul describes salvation in Colossians 1:13-14. 

¹³ He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Col 1:13–14)

Prayer is the means God uses not only to spread the gospel, but to draw sinners through it. If people will be saved, it will be in response to our prayers. To pray, “your kingdom come,” is to pray that the gospel finds reception in hearts ready to respond in repentance and faith. It is to pray that the Spirit calls, regenerates, and indwells sinners as they hear the gospel. 

Notice this as well. We are to pray that God keeps us in his kingdom by his grace. Make no mistake: every true believer who has entered the kingdom of God will remain there, but not because they kept themselves there. They will remain there because God faithfully keeps them. 

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, ⁵ who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (1 Pe 1:3–5)

To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ (Jud 1)

²³ Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴ He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it. (1 Th 5:23–24)

God keeps us by the use of means! The Word of God, prayer, the fellowship in the local church, and the administration of the ordinances. These are not lifeless rituals, but means of grace by which we are built up by the grace of God, conformed to Christ, and kept by the power of God.

As we are being kept by God, we look forward in hope to Christ’s return and the consummation of Christ’s kingdom. 

IV.) We pray for the kingdom of glory to come 

To pray, “your kingdom come,” is to pray for God’s kingdom and power to be fully known on earth as it is in heaven. It is to pray that God would be with us and we would be in his divine presence without limitation, separation, or restriction. 

It is to pray 1 John 3:2, ² Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. (1 Jn 3:2)

With God’s presence in the kingdom of glory comes the astonishing promise that sin, sickness, and death will no longer exist. The pains and heartaches of this fallen world and the suffering that ravages our fallen bodies will be undone. God himself will wipe the tears from our eyes. 

³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. ⁴ He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” 

⁵ And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” (Re 21:3–5)

“…Leviticus was and is one of the most important books of the Old Testament. It not only presents the entire religious system of ancient Israel, but also lays the theological foundation for the New Testament teaching about the atoning work of Jesus Christ.”– Allen P. Ross

Introduction: Many believers have tried to read the Bible in a year, only to falter and grow frustrated by Leviticus’s tedious nature. Many commands seem foreign to everyday life, and others seem plain weird. In discouragement, the reader initially presses on as long as they can, then gives up. Why is this the case? If all Scripture is breathed out by God, and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, why is it so hard to find the benefit of Leviticus? 

Common Reasons for Being Disinterested in Leviticus 

1. Leviticus is perceived as an interruption of the narrative of Exodus.

2. Leviticus reads as a collection of obscure ritual regulations. 

3. Leviticus is primarily concerned with ancient Israelite worship. 

4. Leviticus is difficult to relate to Christian faith and practice.

What all of these reasons miss, however, is the book’s true heart and meaning, which the reader can grasp only by appreciating the redemptive drama unfolding not only in Genesis-Exodus, but also in Numbers-Deuteronomy. 

To fully appreciate Leviticus, readers must understand the problems posed by Genesis and Exodus. Genesis recounts the gravity of sin and humanity’s exile from God’s presence. Eden has not only been lost; life in God’s divine presence has been lost with it. 

Exodus records not only God’s great redemptive act of delivering his people from Egypt through the Passover lamb, but also the command to build the tabernacle, which would be at the center of Israel’s worship of God and a means to experience God’s presence again. Exodus, however, ends with a problem. God’s glory fills the tabernacle, and no one can draw near to Him—not even Moses. 

34 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. 35 And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. (Ex 40:34–35)

Here, in response to this exact problem, Leviticus becomes significant. 

Leviticus is not a stand-alone book with an altogether different theme than Exodus. It is the sequel to Exodus, which not only explains how Israel becomes the nation it is, but also answers and solves the problem at the end of Exodus. It’s about restoration to and life in God’s divine presence. That’s the point of Genesis-Deuteronomy. It is the point of the entire Bible. 

The Main Theme of Leviticus 

So, with L. Michael Morales, we agree that the theme and theology of Leviticus is “YHWH’s opening a way for humanity to dwell in the divine Presence.” 

Scripture begins with life in God’s divine presence (Gen. 1-2) and ends with life in God’s divine presence in the new heavens and the new earth (Rev. 21-22). 

 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God (Re 21:3)

Between these two great visions of life in God’s divine presence is God’s gracious making of a way through his covenants, laws, and sacrifices, ultimately fulfilled in the New Covenant. 

This longing for God’s presence is the Bible’s theme. Consider how it appears throughout the Psalms, for example.  

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. (Ps 16:11)

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever. (Ps 23:6)

O LORD, I love the habitation of your house and the place where your glory dwells. (Ps 26:8)

One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple. (Ps 27:4)

As to the importance of this theme of divine presence, Morales is worth quoting in full. 

“Its dominating concern, as well as the rest of the Bible, is the way in which humanity may come to dwell in the house of God. Under the Mosaic covenant, that way opened by YHWH was through the tabernacle and later temple, its priesthood and rituals—that is, through the Levitical cult. The advent of Christ would open a new and living way into the house of God; indeed, that was the goal of his taking out humanity upon himself, of his suffering, of his resurrection, and ascension.”

Leviticus as the center of the Pentateuch

The first five books of the Bible, Genesis-Deuteronomy, are a collection of Scripture known as the Pentateuch (i.e., “five-scroll). Notably, Leviticus sits at the center of these five books, underscoring its importance not only to the Pentateuch but to the rest of the Bible. 

(A) Genesis 

    (B) Exodus 

               (C) Leviticus

    (B) Numbers 

1. Deuteronomy 

The Day of Atonement as the center of Leviticus 

We cannot survey all the reasons and evidence here, but several Old Testament scholars consider Leviticus 16, the Day of Atonement, central to the book’s literary structure. Atonement means “to be reconciled,” at-one-ment. 

Lev 1-7 Sacrifices 

     8-10 Institution of priesthood                          (Approaching God)

       11-15 Clean/Unclean in daily life 

                  16 Day of Atonement                        (Judgement/Cleansing) 

        17-20 Holy/profane in daily life 

      21-22 Legislation for the priesthood.              (Communion with God) 

 23-27 Festivals/sacred time                                  Holiness 

Again, Morales is helpful. 

“How the Day of Atonement relates to the theme of YHWH’s opening a way for humanity to dwell in the divine Presence is readily recognized when the significance of the atonement is understood, namely, that it makes possible life in the divine presence.” 

The purpose of highlighting the structural nature of the Pentateuch and the structure of Leviticus is to reinforce the central theme of God’s divine presence and what it means for sinful people to dwell in it once again. 

Why should Christians care about and study Leviticus? 

1. Leviticus is Christian Scripture not only intended for those in the ancient past, but for the church today. 

For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. (Ro 15:4)

16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. (2 Ti 3:16–17)

I like the encouragement from Gordon Wenham, “…the biblical writers believed, and the Church has always accepted, that they were writing more than history. They were recording God’s word to his people. Leviticus is therefore more than a description of past historical events and more than a collection of dated laws. It tells us about God’s character and will, which found expression in his dealings with Israel and in the laws he gave them. Those who believe that God the Lord “is the same yesterday and today and forever” may look to the book’s theology for insights that are still valid and relevant.”

2. Leviticus is vital for a proper understanding of the New Testament in general, and some books like Hebrews in particular. 

4 Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law. 5 They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, “See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.” 6 But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. (Heb 8:4–6)

3. Leviticus explores the importance of holiness, a theme too often overlooked by many Christians today. 

14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy. (1 Pe 1:14–16)

14 Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. (Heb 12:14)

4. Leviticus teaches the importance of liturgy and proper worship of the triune God, a theme neglected by many evangelicals today (Lev. 10). 

Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, which he had not commanded them. 2 And fire came out from before the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD. (Le 10:1–2)

28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, 29 for our God is a consuming fire. (Heb 12:28–29)

5. Leviticus lays the foundation that sinful people can only dwell with God by the means he provides—a truth that ultimately brings us to the centrality of Christ crucified and risen. 

13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. (Heb 9:13–14)

Sermon Idea: God’s love is why He sent the Son to save the world. 

Introduction: John 3:16 is the most recognizable verse in the entire Bible. It is the first verse young children memorize; you can see it on billboards along the highway and in the stands at sporting events. In 2009, Tim Tebow even etched “John 3:16” into his eye paint for the BCS National Championship game as the University of Florida quarterback. 

It is simply familiar. This familiarity, of course, is not bad, but it can become problematic when we take these familiar truths for granted. Here is one scholar describing the potential problem. 

Familiar verses can seem like the ABCs of the Christian faith—things to move beyond in order to drink from deeper wells. But if we have this attitude, we may forget key elements of the Christian gospel and miss the deeper, varied truths that are right there. – Jarvis Williams 

This evening I want to put this familiar verse before you one more time, not as the ABC’s of the Christian faith, but as the very life-giving message of the gospel and the only hope for sinners. I want us to see the deeper, varied truths that are right here. 

This Spirit has used this single verse to convict sinners, bring repentance, and bring faith in the Lord Jesus. For that reason, I decided to begin this week with this familiar verse. My simple prayer is that God will use this evening to draw people to Himself through this familiar but crystal-clear Word. 

As we look at John 3:16, I hope to show you the greatness of God’s love, the giving of the Son, and the gift of eternal life.

I.) The greatness of God’s love 

It is hard to think of a more famous use of the word “so.” If you listen closely, you can probably even hear the stress people put on the so, when they say, “For God so loved the world…” 

This word captures the greatness of God’s love because it directs our attention to both the action and the object of God’s love. 

The word “so” captures the greatness of God’s love because it shows how God’s love is made manifest. It might he helpful to read John 3:16 in the CSB, which makes this crystal clear. 

¹⁶ For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son (Jn 3:16)

Giving His Son makes God’s love great and glorious. This act manifests His love and makes it known! This is why 1 John says that God sending His Son is love. 

⁹ In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. ¹⁰ In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 1 Jn 4:9–10.

All that we have in the gospel: the sending of the Son incarnate in Jesus Christ, his perfect sacrifice on the cross in the place of sinners, his glorious resurrection from the dead, and the grace of salvation begins with God’s great love. 

As part of discipleship, I’ll often encourage people to ask several questions about Scripture. The first one I teach them to ask is, “What do these verses teach us about God?” 

We learn that God has demonstrated his love for the world in a visible, historical, and sacrificial way. God is love, and his love is great, so he manifests it by sending the Son. 

God’s love is also great because of the object of God’s love: “For God so loved the world…”

Two important points stand out here. The world is very big, and the world is very bad. 

We need to remember that Jesus is having a conversation with Nicodemus, who is described as “a ruler of the Jews.” Nicodemus expected God to send a Messiah to save Israel and to judge Israel’s enemies. He expected that Israel would be with God in his Kingdom. God’s love for Israel was little in doubt. 

John 3:16 does not say, “For God so loved Israel…” No, the Gospel of John is teaching us the greatness of God’s love and the extent to which the gospel will reach. God’s salvation through the Messiah will not be for Israel alone, but for both Jew and Gentile. In other words, it will be for the world. God loves the world: every tribe, tongue, people, and nation. There is not a people group on planet earth that we should not labor, strive, and give to get the gospel to. God loves the world. 

Something more needs to be said here. It is not just that the world is big. It is also bad. Here, the greatness of God’s love is amazing. God’s love for the world is not a love for an obedient, righteous, and holy world. It is love for the world that is wicked, rebellious, and sinful.

In fact, this is why John tells Christians not to love the world: “world,” in John’s gospel, refers to fallen, sinful humanity. Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. (1 Jn 2:15)

 God loved the world when the world did not love God. 

⁸ But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Ro 5:8)

This brings up an important practical point. The gospel will not be good news to you, and God’s love will not be great in your eyes, unless you are convicted that you are part of a wicked, rebellious world in need of salvation. 

Scripture is clear that every person in the world is in need of salvation, because all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Ro 3:23)

In 1 John, we are told that denying that we have sinned makes God a liar and means his word is not in us. All of us, without exception, are members of the world God loved by sending his Son, which means we all need a Savior. 

The gospel will not be sweet to you until you realize how necessary it is. 

The gospel is the good news that God loved the world that sinned against God. The manifestation of that is the giving of the Son. Let’s look at verse 16 again.

II.) The giving of God’s Son 

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

The phrase “only Son” carries great weight in the ESV, or “only-begotten Son” in other translations. “Son” is a royal title in the Bible, but when it refers to Jesus, it means more. It speaks to Jesus’ shared divine nature with the Father. He is the eternally-begotten Son of God.  

¹⁴ And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (Jn 1:14)

We see the greatness of God’s love in giving the Son at two levels. The first is the incarnation. The eternal Son of God is sent into the world by becoming flesh and dwelling among us.

The second giving is Jesus’ offering as a sacrifice on the cross in the place of sinners. We know both are in view because John 3:16 is sandwiched between John 3:14-15 and John 3:17. 

In John 3:14-15, Jesus told Nicodemus that just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so also must the Son of Man be lifted up. This clearly references the cross. Jesus will be lifted up by his substitutionary death on the cross, so that all who look to him in faith will be saved. 

John 3:17, we are told that God sent the Son into the world. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. (Jn 3:17)

The “giving” mentioned in 3:16 includes both sending the Son and sacrificing the Son. God’s love results in the mission of the Son of God, who leaves the glories of heaven, humbles himself by becoming human, and is sacrificed on the cross, dying in the place of sinners.

Great love and a great cost. These two themes led Isaac Watts to pen When I Survey the Wondrous Cross. 

See from His head His hands His feet

Sorrow and love flow mingled down

Did ever such love and sorrow meet

Or thorns compose so rich a crown

Were the whole realm of nature mine

That were an offering far too small

Love so amazing so divine

Demands my soul, my life, my all

Since Jesus is the one whom God sent to accomplish the mission of salvation, belief in Him brings salvation. Let’s consider the final point—eternal life. 

III.) The gift of eternal life 

The purpose of giving His only Son is that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. Notice that although not all will respond to the gospel, the gospel is offered to everyone. Many will hear—“whoever believes in him” — but will not believe. 

The Bible places the blame for that unbelief squarely on the unbeliever. They sin because they love the darkness, and in their sin they hate Christ’s light. 

¹⁹ And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. ²⁰ For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. (Jn 3:19–20)

The end for those who do not believe is perishing. It is to be eternally separated from God, so that eternity is defined as death or perishing rather than life. 

That doesn’t have to be your story. Hear the call of the gospel. For all who believe in Jesus, there is eternal life. 

Eternal life is sharing in God’s life through faith in Jesus Christ. It is a life of quality and quantity. It includes the future resurrection and eternity with God in heaven, but also includes real, spiritual resurrection life the moment someone is saved. 

Those who place their faith in Jesus Christ can live content in the present while also hoping for the future. Listen to Jesus’ words to Martha in John 11. 

²⁵ Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, ²⁶ and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. (Jn 11:25–26)

The comfort that these truths can bring to the Christian is many, and if taken seriously, will anchor your heart in the midst of the most difficult moments. 

The hope of eternal life transforms a fear of death, so that we can say with Paul, “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”  

Eternal life means we can say, “To live is Christ and to die is gain.”

When I was in North Carolina, one of my members had a heart attack. While talking to the doctor, he said, “To live is Christ and to die is gain,” to which the doctor responded, “Do you have a death wish?” 

The answer, of course, is no! The hope of eternal life means we don’t live like the world, grieve like the world, or even die like the world.

Hope in eternal life means that we can answer the first question of the Heidelberg Catechism with confidence in every word.

Q. What is your only comfort in life and in death?

1. That I am not my own,¹ but belong—body and soul, in life and in death²—to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ….Because I belong to him, Christ, by his Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life⁹ and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him.

Hear the familiar words one more time. 

¹⁶ “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (Jn 3:16)

Amen.