Question

What kind of materials are found in Leviticus? Give a simple description of this book. Also explain how Christians relate the things appearing in this book to their faith and practice.

Answer 1

• Leviticus is the middle book of the Torah or Pentateuch, preceded by Genesis and Exodus and followed by Numbers and Deuteronomy. Its central position is deliberate and symbolic. Since God created man to be a royal priest who offers up the universe to its Creator in praise and thanksgiving, and since Israel was created to be a royal priestly people through whom this original plan would be restored, it makes sense that the "how-to" manual of worship would be right at the center of the Law.
• The sacrifices by which Yahweh asks to be worshiped are the central act of the true religion that the true God has revealed. In Exodus, the Lord calls his people to become a holy nation, a kingdom of priests. Now, in Leviticus, he must specify what they need to do to attain that holiness, how they are to function as a priestly kingdom.
• The situation of Israel was desperately complicated by the covenant-breaking apostasy of the golden calf, "Israel's original sin,". God's response to this apostasy takes the form of making several changes in the law that had been given up to that point.
• Prior to the golden calf, it was God's intention that every firstborn son of the Israelites should be a priest. After the apostasy, God transfers the priesthood exclusively to the tribe of Levi, such that Levites substitute ever after for the firstborn sons.
• Moreover, while God had earlier intended a renewed intimacy between himself and each Israelite, he now exalts Moses as mediator between God and a sinful people (in this way foreshadowing the greater Lawgiver and Mediator who was to come).
• God mandated the newly ordained Levites to offer regular animal sacrifices in the tabernacle on behalf of the other tribes of Israel.
• The idea is: sacrifice the things venerated by the pagans, but eat the things that pagans deem unclean. Animals worshiped in the Egyptian cult as gods—Hathor in the form of a cow, Ares in the form of a sheep—have to be ritually slaughtered.
• Since all the pagan nations in the territory of Canaan round about the Israelites had similar idols, the Levitical code was a constant reminder to the Israelites that Yahweh is the true God to be loved and followed, and the rest are false gods to be rejected.
• Around his central theme, the worship of the thrice-holy God, the hagiographer built up a series of steps of legislative material. First came the rites to be followed when offering sacrifices; then, on a higher level, those to do with the ordination of the men whose task it would be to offer these sacrifices, the priests; higher still, the rules which show priests and people how to be "pure," that is, to be worthy to take part in worship; finally, at the very top, the rules about divine worship itself, the rules about "holiness," which is what this Law covers.
• This structure already contains a lesson of universal importance that remains part of the basic teaching of the Catholic faith.
• First, there is a definite way of worshiping God that he specifies as pleasing to him. Second, there are definite ministers who must be qualified, consecrated for, and involved in such worship.
• Third, those who are to take part in worship, whether as offering or as receiving, must be pure. Fourth, the ultimate goal is to become holy as God is holy. If we look at these negatively, we can see a similarly crucial lesson.
• First, God is not to be worshiped haphazardly, according to our whims, feelings and preferences; the Church's liturgical law must be respected. Second, not just anyone can take it upon himself to stride up to the altar and act as a priest, but a divine mandate is required, and an ordination of the priest.
• Third, there is such a thing as being "spiritually unprepared" for worship, and we have to make a conscious effort to prepare ourselves so that our participation will not be "in vain." Lastly, the worst condition of man is to be unholy, that is, lacking in grace, lacking in righteousness. This, above all else, is what we want to avoid.
• When catholics attend Mass and join ourselves spiritually to the sacrifice of the Lamb of God, they are helping to bring back the world to its original purpose, and hastening the coming in glory of the Lord Jesus Christ.
• What this means, in fact, is that the Lord is beckoning the believers to think of sacrifice, meaning the gift of self, as our basic way of life, rather than acquisition, mastery over others or self-determination—all the idols that dominate the minds of contemporary Americans and Europeans. The way of life is to be Eucharistic, which means, believers allow themselves, their time,energy, gifts, to be blessed, broken and distributed to others, to bring them life.