VAYIKRA

“Adonai called to Moshe and spoke to him from the tent of meeting….”
Leviticus 1:1

As we begin in the third book of the Torah, I want us to just briefly come to an understanding of what the book holds. I remember reading in an old King James Version of the Bible that my dad used a comment that surprised me. In the preface of the book was a sentence reading, “Leviticus is the most boring book in the Bible.” Even now, fourteen years after reading that, those words still come to mind whenever I even hear the word Leviticus. But I want to set a new tone for the book we are about to jump into. I understand how this book to many can be boring as it seems it is just a bundle of rules and regulations, yet without these command and orders written down we would not know how to correctly serve our master.
In the book of Leviticus we see the LORD speaking more than any other book. And it isn’t that that is speaking for no reason. No, instead He is speaking to us, laying down the rules for what He desires and expects. Maybe it is for this reason Paul writes in Ephesians 5:10, “and find out what pleases the Lord.” Perhaps when we see Leviticus as a boring book we see it as such because we do not know how to apply its truths. Know that I cannot tell you all the hidden secrets of understanding Leviticus, but I can tell you that if we open our hearts, Adonai speaks to us individually.
In closing today, let me at least share a little of the background we will see over the next few weeks. First, Leviticus in Hebrew is Vayikra, meaning Adonai called. This first word in Hebrew lets us know in only a few words into the book that Adonai is calling. I am not sure about you, but when He calls – I listen. As such, Vayikra primarily deals with what we know today as sacrifices and offerings. These words should be defined as well. To define sacrifice means to say the giving up of something that is of known value to self or others. An offering is defined then as a gift which satisfies the receiver. Perhaps better defined is an explanation I found online today referring to Korban, or the bringing of oneself into a closer relationship with the Almighty. In all the events, sacrifices, and offerings we will be reading about, it is a gift unto God that opens our heart to be obedient as we yield ourselves to him. With that in mind, I am ready. I am ready to see what Adonai is speaking even then, and how those words speak to me today.

Leviticus 1:1-13