Leviticus is the place where God gets pracitical, translating the powerful experiences Israel has had with him into daily forms of worship, sacrifice, societal interaction, and community celebration. The many laws and regulations regarding Levitical duties, tabernacle service, holy day observances, and laws pertaining to their future life in the Promised Land have but one purpose: to establish a people and culture that uniquely and accurately reflect the nature of their holy God. Israel is not given laws for law’s sake, but guidelines for living and worship that are ultimately intended to transform the heart of individuals and the nation as a whole into conformity to God’s own heart. As much as humans hate being told what to do, the detailed stipulations found in Leviticus reveal the intimate nature of a loving God who is intensely interested in every detail of his people’s lives. Such is the nature of love. When the specifics of Leviticus are read in this light, they show us that divine love is not some romanticized abstraction, but an intimate engagement between a holy and transforming Presence and the people he has called to participate in and reflect his transcendent nature.
