4 things you can take from leviticus

why this picture?  i took it and it just inspires me.

Bible reading update for you all (because i know you are sitting on the edge of your seat dying to know how i am doing!):

i am still a bit behind my 3 chapters a day reading goal to make it through the Bible cover to cover in a year.  i did make some catch up progress in reading when a couple days i had the time to get through more than my 3 chapters.  unfortunately, the last few days i have once again been reading less than 3 chapters.  but i keep on going.  can't give up or i will never finish. (deep thought, i know.)

i went to youversion.com and set up a reading plan that started back on my first day of starting this challenge.  i am quite encouraged when i see the progress i have made, even though i am behind.  i have read 10.7 percent of the Bible so far!  now when i am only in the last chapters of leviticus, that is pretty encouraging.  i would highly recommend starting up a reading plan on the youversion site, as you can make any custom reading plan.  you can even do your reading online or on your phone and check off the chapter when you are finished to keep track of where you are in your plan.  something is so rewarding about marking the little box with a check. 

so, i didn't have very high hopes for getting much out of the book of leviticus, but i have been pleasantly surprised at how much i have taken from it so far!  it really helps that i have been reading david pawson's book, unlocking the Bible, as a companion to my cover to cover reading challenge. 

here are 4 cool facts and reasons to read leviticus to help inspire you if you are daunted by the third book of the Bible as i have been in the past:


4 things to take from reading leviticus

1. be holy as I AM holy - this is the key text to the book of leviticus and is frequently quoted and alluded to in the new testament writings.

2. the call to be holy versus just being "good" - in our culture and mindset we separate all life into either good or bad.  leviticus shows us that God doesn't separate life the way we do.  He separates life into three categories:  unclean (sinful or bad), clean and common (secular or good), and holy (sacred and godly).  what i take from this is just being good isn't what gets me to God.  He is looking for a people who will be set apart unto Him alone, even separated from that which is permissible and not considered sin. 

3. the laws for God's government - there is talk in many circles about what God's government would look like.  well, we know exactly what God's government would look like if we take a look at leviticus.  He took israel to be a people for Himself and set Himself as king over them in a theocracy and these were His laws for His nation.  no, we are not held under the law now that we are saved and being sanctified by the blood of Christ, but this is how God governed when He was the only governor of His people.  my husband compares reading through leviticus to reading through our country's constitution.  it was the "constitution" of israel.

4.  imagery of Jesus - if one is not familiar with the book of leviticus, it is difficult to fully grasp the imagery that is used in the new testament of Jesus being the sacrificial lamb for our sins.  also, there are many many places in both the gospels and in paul's letters that something is referenced from leviticus and the audience they were talking to were very familiar with it; we are not.  reading through this book makes so much more of the new testament make sense in context.



just try it for yourself

there is much much more you can get from reading leviticus, but i just wanted to help with a couple reasons to not be afraid of it any more!  and if you are reading it, i do recommend going through it at a quicker pace rather than getting stuck in it for a month.

thanks for accountability here on my bible reading challenge.  sometimes what keeps me from quitting when life gets busy and it feels daunting to keep on going is simply knowing that you all know i committed to do it.  accountability can be a powerful thing!

what is something you have taken from a time you have read leviticus?  if you have never read it before, would you give it a try just to say you did?  what other book of the Bible have you read that you were pleasantly surprised by what you got out of it because of not having high hopes for it?  

charis