The Bible is focused on one goal: that human beings might dwell with God again. The key question that rings out over the fallen human race is, as Psalm 15:1 says: “Lord, who may dwell in your sanctuary?” The final scene of the book of Exodus begs this question with a particular sense of unresolved tension. Here we see the glory of God filling the tabernacle and Moses is unable to enter (Exodus 40:34-35). This, again, raises the question: If even Moses is unable to enter the dwelling place of God, who indeed may enter? The book of Leviticus answers this question. The answer, in summary, is that only God’s anointed high priest may enter. And as God’s ‘anointed one’ (Hebrew: Messiah) offers the right sacrifice, so too are we cleansed of guilt and able to enter also. Leviticus is a book that many people skip over but it is in fact the climactic point of the unfolding drama that has built up through Genesis and Exodus. In Hebrew literature, climactic moments are often placed at middle points and Leviticus is that middle point as the third of the five books of Moses (The Pentateuch). And within the book of Leviticus, the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16 – when the high priest enters God’s dwelling place with a sacrifice to cover the guilt of all God’s people) sits at the central point. This highlights, again, what God is most concerned about: enabling us to dwell with him. This, in other words, is a book about what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross. In this book, God invites us to draw near to him.
Ask God to draw you closer to him.
Read Exodus 40:34-38 and Hebrews 9-10
