B. Legislation for the Priesthood (6:8–7:38)
them. This may partly be the reason that explanations that Moses often gave in the prescriptions for cleanness offer greater insight into the mind of God than do the ceremonies themselves. The spiritual principles in which the rituals were rooted are timeless because they are embedded in the nature of God. The NT makes it clear that from Pentecost forward (cf. Acts 2), the church is under the authority of the New Covenant, not the old (cf. Heb. 7–10).
The interpreter is challenged to compare features of this book with NT writers who present types or analogies based on the tabernacle and the ceremonial aspects of the law, so as to teach valuable lessons about Christ and New Covenant reality. Though the ceremonial law served only as a shadow of the reality of Christ and his redemptive work (Heb. 10:1), excessive typology is to be rejected. Only that which NT writers identify as types of Christ should be so designated (cf. 1 Cor. 5:7, "Christ, our Passover lamb").
The most profitable study in Leviticus is that which yields truth in the understanding of sin, guilt, substitutionary death, and atonement by focusing on features that are not explained or illustrated elsewhere in OT Scripture. Later OT authors, and especially NT writers, build on the basic understanding of these matters provided in Leviticus. The sacrificial features of Leviticus point to their ultimate, one-time fulfillment in the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ (Heb. 9:11–22).
Outline
Leviticus 1–16 explains how to have personal access to God through appropriate worship and Lev. 17–27 details how to be spiritually acceptable to God through an obedient walk.
I. Laws Pertaining to Sacrifice (1:1–7:38)
A. Legislation for the Laity (1:1–6:7)
1. Burnt offerings (ch. 1) 2. Grain offerings (ch. 2) 3. Peace offerings (ch. 3) 4. Sin offerings (4:1–5:13) 5. Guilt offerings (5:14–6:7) B. Legislation for the Priesthood (6:8–7:38)
1. Burnt offerings (6:8–13)