Message Four God’s Economy as Revealed in Leviticus

GOD’S ECONOMY

SERIES THIRTEEN
GOD’S ECONOMY IN ALL THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE

God’s Economy as Revealed in the Old Testament

Message Four
God’s Economy as Revealed in Leviticus

Scripture Reading: John 1:14; 14:2; 1 Tim. 3:15; Lev. 1:1-6:7; 11:44-45; 19:2; 20:7, 26; Exo. 19:6; 22:31; Deut. 14:2; 26:19; 28:9

I. The divine revelation in the Bible is progressive; Genesis reveals God’s creation and man’s fall, and Exodus reveals God’s salvation and the building of God’s habitation; as a further advancement of the divine revelation, Leviticus unveils the worship and living of God’s redeemed people—Gen. 1:1, 2:6, Exo. 14:30, Lev. 11:45:

A. While Israel remained with God at Sinai for approximately eleven months, God trained them to worship and partake of Him for their enjoyment and to live a holy, clean, and rejoicing life—Exo. 19:1, cf. Num. 10:11.

B. This book shows that through the tabernacle, with the offerings, and by the priests, God’s redeemed are able to fellowship with God, serve God, and be God’s holy people living a holy life, which expresses God—Lev. 20:7, 16:3.

C. Christ is everything in the fellowship, service, and life of the people; the worship portrayed in Leviticus is a matter of contacting God by enjoying Christ as the common portion with God and with one another; the issue of enjoying Christ with God is the holy living of God’s people—cf. John 4:24 and notes.

II. The first and last verses of Leviticus indicate that the entire book is a record of God’s speaking; the speaking that began here took place in the tabernacle; in type this signifies that God speaks in the church as His tabernacle—John 1:14, 14:2, 1 Tim. 3:15:

A. According to the principle of the typology, God speaks in the church as His tabernacle; this Tent of Meeting is the oracle, the place of God’s speaking—Lev. 1:1, 27:34.

B. The preciousness of the tabernacle was God’s speaking; today the preciousness of the church is the speaking god and God’s speaking—v. 24, 1:1.

III. God trained His people to worship and partake of Him through the offerings and the priesthood; Christ is the reality of the offerings—John 1:29; 14:6:

A. The burnt offering, which was wholly for God’s satisfaction, typifies Christ as God’s pleasure and satisfaction, the One whose living on earth was absolutely for God—Lev. 1:3, Num. 28:2-3, John 7:16-18.

B. The meal offering typifies Christ in His perfect humanity as food for God and for those who have fellowship with God and serve Him—Lev. 2:1, 4; John 7:46; 18:38; 19:4, 6.

C. The peace offering typifies Christ as the Peacemaker, the One who became the peace and the fellowship between us and God by dying for us, enabling us to enjoy Christ with God and to have fellowship with God in Christ for our mutual satisfaction with God—Lev. 3:1, Eph, 2:14-15, John 12:1-3, 20:21.

D. The sin offering typifies Christ as the One who was made sin for us and who died on the cross to deal with the sinful nature of our fallen being—Lev. 4:3, 2 Cor. 5:21, Rom. 8:3, John 1:29, 3:14.

E. The trespass offering typifies Christ as the One who bore our sins in His own body and was judged by God on the cross to deal with our sinful deeds that we might be forgiven in our sinful conduct—Lev. 5:6, 1 Pet. 2:24, 3:18, Isa. 53:5-6, 10-11, John 4:15-18.

F. The wave offering typifies Christ as the resurrected One in love—Lev. 7:30, 10:15.

G. The heave offering typifies the powerful Christ in ascension and exaltation—7:32, Exo. 29:27, Eph. 1:21.

H. The drinking offering typifies Christ, the One poured out as wine before God for His satisfaction and also the One who saturates us with Himself as heavenly wine to be poured out for God’s enjoyment and satisfaction—Lev. 23:13,Exo. 29:40, Num. 28:7-10, Isa. 53:12, Phil. 2:17, 2 Tim. 4:6, Judg. 9:13.

IV. The ordinances concerning the offerings are a record of the totality of God’s economy—Lev. 1:1-6:7:

A. The sequence of the five offerings in 1:1—6:7is according to our practical experience, whereas the sequence in 6:8—7:38 is according to the total picture of God’s economy—cf. 3:1 note 1 and v. 5 note 1, par. 3, in 4:3 note 4.

1. In God’s heart and in His desire God would have Christ to be four kinds of offerings to us—the burnt offering, the meal offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering—that we may enjoy Christ as peace with God in every way—1:3, 2:1, 4, 4:3, 5:6.

2. Christ’s being these four offerings consummates in peace between God and God’s people, and this peace is simply Christ Himself—Eph. 2:14.

3. Eventually, the enjoyment of Christ as all the offerings, issuing in the peace offering, will consummate in the New Jerusalem as the ultimate peace offering, (Jerusalem means the foundation of peace), in which we will enjoy the Triune God as peace for eternity—Phil. 4:7, 9.

B. We need to experience Christ as the reality of the offerings—John 1:29, 16:13, 1 John 5:6:

C. According to the record in the holy Word, the reality of the universe is Christ as the tabernacle and the offerings—John 1:14, 29, 14:6:

1. As the God-man, Christ is the tabernacle to be the dwelling place for God and man, and He is the offerings for man to enter into God—1:14, 14:20, 23, 1:29.

2. Christ as the tabernacle brings God to man, and Christ as the offerings brings man to God so that man may be united, mingled, and incorporated with God—1:14, 29.

V. God trained His people to live a holy, clean and rejoicing life—Lev. 11:44-45, 23:1-3:

A. God charged His people to have a holy living according to His holy nature—Lev. 11:44-45, 19:2, 20:7, 26, Exo. 19:6, 22:31, Deut. 14:2, 26:19, 28:9:

1. Being holy because God is holy signifies walking according to God’s holiness, living a holy life—Lev. 19:2, 20:7, 1 Pet. 1:15, 2 Pet. 3:11.

2. Leviticus reveals that in order to live a holy life, we must put off the old life and put on the new (cf. Eph. 4:17-5:21); God charged the people of Israel to put off the former Egyptian conduct (Lev. 18:3a) and not to walk in the statues of the Canaanites (v. 3b).

3. The mutual enjoyment between God and His people separates His people unto Himself from everything other than Him, making them a holy nation—Exo. 19:6.

4. Before the foundation of the world, God chose us to be holy—Eph. 1:4:

a. Holy means not only sanctified, separated unto God, but also different, distinct, from everything that is common—note 6.

b. He makes us holy by imparting Himself, the Holy One, into our being so that our whole being is permeated and saturated with His holy nature—1 Thes. 5:23.

B. In Leviticus 12—15 God trained His people to live a clean life:

1. Chapter 12 shows us the cleansing from the human impurity by birth, and chapters 13 and 14 speak of being cleansed from leprosy.

2. Chapter 15 reveals that we need to be cleansed from all unclean discharges from the human being; anything discharged from our being, including our words, is unclean

3. We need the cross of Christ to end our old life and the resurrection of Christ to give us a new beginning—Rom. 6:6, Gal. 2:29, 1 Co. 15:3, 2 Cor. 5:17.

4. We also need the water of life, which is the washing, cleansing Spirit of life embodied in the word—Eph. 5:26.

C. God trained the people of Israel to live a rejoicing life, a happy life—Phil. 4:4, 2:18:

1. The weekly Sabbath was the principal denotation of all the annual feasts; these feasts were a Sabbath, which was for God’s redeemed people to rest with god and with one another—Lev. 23:1-3.

2. The monthly new moon feast signifies that we can experience a new beginning in Christ as our joy and enjoyment with light in darkness—Num. 10:10, 28:11-15.

3. The Feast of the Passover typifies Christ as our Passover for our initial and foundational salvation—a time of rejoicing—Lev. 23:4-5, Exo. 12:2-14, 1 Cor. 5:7.

4. The Feast of Unleavened Bread typifies the entire course of our Christian life without sin—Lev. 23:6-8, Exo. 12:15-20.

5. The Feast of Firstfruits typifies the resurrected Christ for our enjoyment as a feast in His resurrection—Lev. 23:6-8, 1 Cor. 12:15-20.

6. The Feast of Pentecost typifies the enjoyment of the outpouring of the Spirit for the formation of the church—Lev. 23:15-22.

7. The Feast of the Blowing of Trumpets typifies God’s calling together of His scattered people—vv. 23-25, Matt. 24:30-31.

8. The Feast of Expiation typifies the enjoyment for the whole house of Israel after they will be gathered together by God—Lev. 23:26-32, Rom. 11:25-27, Zech. 12:10-14.

9. The Feast of Tabernacles typifies the enjoyment of the age of restoration to be fulfilled in the millennium—Lev. 23:33-44, Matt. 19:28, Rev. 20:4, 6.

10. According to their dispensational fulfillment, the seven annual feasts are related to the enjoyment of Christ by God’s people for the fulfillment of God’s eternal economy—cf. Lev. 23:44 note 1:

a. The more God’s people enjoy Christ and experience Christ, the more they fulfill God’s economy, and the more they are able to offer Christ to God as food; thus, Christ is God’s food in the way of fulfilling God’s eternal economy—Num. 29:39 note 1.

b. Because Christ is everything for the fulfillment of God’s economy; He is served to God by His people and enjoyed with God by them; for eternity Christ will be God’s satisfaction, and for eternity we will enjoy the Christ who satisfies God—note 1.

11. The Sabbath year typifies Christ as our rest in full—Lev. 25:1-7, 18-22.

12. The jubilee, the Pentecostal year, typifies Christ as our full release, rest, and joy by His redeeming back what we have lost in our rights and have sold in ourselves—vv. 8-17.

 

Ministry Excerpts:

AN ADVANCEMENT OF THE DIVINE REVELATION

As we come to the book of Leviticus, we first need to have a general idea about the advancement of the divine revelation. All students of the Bible know that God’s revelation in the Bible is progressive. God does not reveal anything fully in just one book of the Bible. Thus, we cannot see a complete view of God’s revelation in one book. The divine revelation advances from one stage to another stage, from one level to another level, from one point to another point. Only when we reach the last chapter of the Bible do we have a complete view of God’s revelation.

The divine revelation in the Bible advances continually. The Bible was written over a period of more than fifteen hundred years, beginning at the time of Moses and ending at the time of the Apostle John. Within this long period of time, the divine revelation was completed, and the books of the Bible were eventually arranged in a meaningful sequence. In tracing the advancement of the divine revelation, we need to follow the sequence of the Bible. Let us now consider how the divine revelation advances in the first three books of the Bible—in Genesis, Exodus, and Leviticus.

In Genesis—God’s Creation and Man’s Fall

The book of Genesis reveals God’s creation and man’s fall. According to Genesis, man fell step by step: from God to the conscience, from the conscience to human government, and from human government to rebellion. In this rebellion man forsook God and turned to the worship of idols. After man rebelled against God at Babel, God gave up the created race; however, He could not and did not forsake His purpose. Therefore, after giving up the created race, God called out a new race, a selected race, beginning with Abraham. To Abraham God promised that in him all the families of the earth would be blessed (Gen. 12:3). Eventually the race selected and called by God fell from God’s selection and calling into Egypt, that is, into the world.

In Exodus—God’s Salvation and the Building of His Habitation

The book of Exodus reveals God’s salvation and the building of His habitation. Yes, the man created by God fell, and the man selected and called by God also fell. But God is God, and He was not disappointed. Nothing can stop Him or annul His purpose. After man had fallen to the uttermost, God came in to rescue fallen man. After redeeming His fallen people, God brought them to a point where He built them together to be His dwelling place on earth. Thus in Exodus we see two main things—God’s redemption and God’s habitation.

In Leviticus—the Redeemed’s Worship and Living

In Leviticus we have the redeemed’s worship and living. We should not follow the common understanding of worship. According to the common understanding, to worship is to bow down or to hold a service with rituals. This, however, is not the denotation of worship in the Bible. In the Bible, worship denotes our contact with God to enjoy a common portion with God for our fellowship with Him. In Leviticus worship is a matter of contacting God by enjoying a common portion with Him. The issue of this is fellowship with Him and with one another in His presence. To do this is to worship God.

For many years we have been trying to practice this kind of worship. However, I must honestly say that we have not been very successful. It seems that by birth we have the concept of religious worship. Furthermore, many of us were raised in an environment of religious worship and learned to practice such worship. Eventually religious worship became a part of our being. This has hindered us from having the kind of worship revealed in the Bible.

Concerning worship, we need to have a change of concept. Whenever we come together we should have a kind of worship that is a matter of contacting God by enjoying Christ as our common portion with God and with one another. If we have this understanding of worship, when we come to a meeting we shall surely share the experience and enjoyment of Christ we have had in our daily life. We may do this by praising, by praying, or by giving our testimony.

We need to drop the religious and traditional way to worship and practice the biblical way, which is portrayed in the feasts. At the feasts there was no religious worship. Instead, there was the enjoyment of the things which the people offered to God. They enjoyed these offerings with God and with one another.

We need to have a worship that is living, real, and rich in Christ. This kind of worship requires that we experience and enjoy Christ every day. It also requires that we exercise our spirit to release whatever there is of Christ in our spirit so that we may share Him with the other saints. In such worship God enjoys Christ, and we also enjoy Him. This is an aspect of the divine revelation in the book of Leviticus.

Suppose in a meeting we contact God by enjoying Christ as our common portion with God and with one another. After such a meeting we shall be holy, for the issue of this kind of meeting is a holy daily life. Then we shall not only be holy worshippers; we shall also be a holy people living a holy daily life. This also is part of the advancement of God’s revelation in Leviticus.

According to the advancement of the divine revelation in Genesis, Exodus, and Leviticus, we go from creation through the fall to redemption, and from redemption to God’s habitation, where we worship God by contacting Him with Christ as our portion and enjoying this portion with Him and with one another. Out from this worship will issue a holy living in our daily life. Hence, in Leviticus God does not have only a habitation on earth; He also has a people worshipping Him, a people contacting Him and enjoying His Christ as a common portion with Him and with one another, with the issue of living a holy life to express God. This surely is an advancement of the divine revelation.

THE GENERAL SKETCH

Now we need to see the general sketch of the book of Leviticus. The general sketch is this: Through the tabernacle, with the offerings, and by the priests, God’s redeemed are enabled to fellowship with God, serve God, and be God’s holy people living a holy life, which expresses God. To fellowship with God means to feast with God, to enjoy Christ with God. This is possible through the tabernacle, with the offerings, and by the priests, which for us today are all a matter of Christ. The issue of enjoying Christ with God is that we become God’s holy people living a holy life. This holy living is the issue of the enjoyment of Christ. When we enjoy Christ with God, there is a result, and the result is a holy living, a living in which everything in our daily life is holy. As God’s redeemed people, through the tabernacle, with the offerings, and by the priests, we can be enabled to contact God, to fellowship with God by enjoying Christ, to serve God in Christ, and to be a holy people in Christ living a holy life.

THE CENTRAL THOUGHT

The central thought of Leviticus is that Christ is everything in the fellowship, service, and life of God’s redeemed. Dr. C. I. Scofield once pointed out that Christ can be seen in every page of this book. In Leviticus Christ is everything. He is the offerings, He is the high priest, and He is everything in the living of God’s redeemed people. Leviticus, therefore, is a book on Christ and full of Christ.

THE SECTIONS

The book of Leviticus can be divided into five sections: ordinances concerning offerings (chs. 1—7), ordinances concerning service (chs. 8—10), ordinances concerning living (chs. 11—22), ordinances concerning feasts (ch. 23), and other ordinances and warnings (chs. 24—27). (Life-study of Leviticus, msg. 1)

THE OFFERINGS IN RELATION TO THE TABERNACLE

The books of Exodus and Leviticus are closely related. Exodus ends with the setting up of the tabernacle, and Leviticus begins with the offerings. Both the tabernacle and the offerings are types of Christ. The fact that Exodus ends with the tabernacle and Leviticus begins with the offerings indicates a direct continuation. Although Exodus and Leviticus are different in nature and in their points, there is nevertheless a direct relation between them.

The Tabernacle Built and Set Up, and the Offerings
with the Priesthood Ordained

In Exodus the tabernacle was built and set up. The tabernacle was set up not only for God to dwell in but also for us to dwell in. In Leviticus the offerings (chs. 1—7) with the priesthood (chs. 8—10) are ordained.

Christ as the Tabernacle Bringing God to Man,
and Christ as the Offerings Bringing Man to God

Because our Christ is wonderful and all-inclusive, plain words are not adequate to reveal Him and describe Him. Types, which are actually pictures, are also necessary. Both the tabernacle and the offerings are types of Christ. Christ as the tabernacle brings God to man, and Christ as the offerings brings man to God. This indicates that there is a two-way traffic, a traffic coming and going. Christ comes to us as the tabernacle and He goes to God as the offerings.

The tabernacle is a sign, a figure, a type, of Christ. It was through incarnation that Christ came as the tabernacle. The Word, which was God, became flesh and tabernacled among us (John 1:1, 14). Christ is the very God incarnated to be a man; hence, He is the God-man, and this God-man is the tabernacle. As the tabernacle, Christ brought God to man. Christ’s being on earth was a matter of God embodied in a tabernacle. Here we have one aspect of the two-way traffic— God coming to us in Christ through incarnation.

John 1:29 tells us that the Christ who is the tabernacle is also the Lamb of God: “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” Christ as the Lamb of God is the totality, the aggregate, of all the offerings.

On the one hand, Christ is the tabernacle; on the other hand, He is the offerings. As the tabernacle, He has brought God to us. As the offerings, He is now bringing us all to God. Christ’s being the tabernacle is a matter of incarnation. Christ’s being the offerings is a matter of crucifixion and resurrection. Christ came in incarnation and He went through crucifixion and resurrection. This is the two-way traffic that brings God to us and brings us to God, making God one with us and us one with God.

THE CATEGORIES OF THE OFFERINGS

Now we come to the categories of the offerings. According to Leviticus, there are five main kinds of offerings, five main kinds of gifts: the burnt offering, the meal offering, the peace offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering. We need the pictures of the offerings in Leviticus to revolutionize our concept concerning service, worship, and the experience of Christ.

The Burnt Offering

The burnt offering is Christ for God’s satisfaction (1:1-17; 6:8-13). The burnt offering is for God’s food that God may enjoy it and be satisfied. This offering was to be offered daily, in the morning and in the evening.

The Meal Offering

The meal offering is Christ for the satisfaction of God’s people enjoyed together with God (2:1-16; 6:14-23). The burnt offering is for God’s eating, and the meal offering is for our eating. Our eating of the meal offering, however, is together with God. Christ should first be absolutely for God’s enjoyment, and then He should be for our enjoyment that we may enjoy Him together with God. As Leviticus 2 shows us, part of the meal offering is for God, but the main part of this offering is for us. This indicates that Christ is for our enjoyment that we may enjoy Him together with God.

The Peace Offering

The peace offering is Christ as the peace between God and God’s people for their co-enjoyment in fellowship (3:1-17; 7:11-38). The burnt offering is Christ for God’s enjoyment, the meal offering is Christ for our enjoyment together with God, and the peace offering is Christ as the peace between God and God’s people. As such an offering, Christ becomes the co-enjoyment of God and God’s people. In this enjoyment there is fellowship.

The Sin Offering

The sin offering is Christ for the sin of God’s people (4:1-35; 6:24-30). God’s intention is that there be co-enjoyment, enjoyment for Him and for us. His intention is that we may have peace with Him to enjoy Christ with Him in fellowship. However, we need to remember that we still have sin in our nature and trespasses in our conduct. Both our sin and our trespasses are condemned by God. Therefore, we need the sin offering, which is Christ for the sin in our nature. Concerning this, Christ has made propitiation.

The Trespass Offering

The trespass offering is Christ for the sins of God’s people (5:1—6:7; 7:1-10). Christ has made propitiation for our sins, our trespasses, as well as for our sin. With Christ as the sin offering and as the trespass offering, we no longer have any problems with God. We may now be at peace and in peace enjoy Christ with God.

The types in chapters one through seven of Leviticus show us how much Christ is to us. These chapters show us many fine points concerning Christ. We need to learn to be fine in experiencing Christ in all these fine points.

The Burnt Offering Being the Qualification for the Sin Offering

The burnt offering is the qualification for the sin offering. As the burnt offering, Christ is absolute for God. If Christ had not been absolute for God, He would not have been qualified to be our sin offering. Adam fell because he was not absolute for God. If he had been absolute for God, he would not have been deceived. Adam was deceived because he was not absolute for God. Eventually Christ came, and He was absolute for God and He was never deceived. This absolute One was perfect and was qualified to be our sin offering to deal with the sin in our nature. Christ’s absoluteness for God qualified Him to be the sin offering.

The Meal Offering Being the Qualification for the Trespass Offering

The meal offering is the qualification for the trespass offering. If Christ had not been perfect in His humanity but had had many defects, shortcomings, and wrongdoings, He Himself would have needed a trespass offering and thus would not have been qualified to be our trespass offering. However, in His humanity Christ was perfect, fine, and balanced; He was altogether without defects, mistakes, shortcomings, and wrongdoings. His perfection qualified Him to be our trespass offering.

The burnt offering is for the sin offering. Thus, these two offerings are linked. Likewise, the meal offering is for the trespass offering. Thus, these two offerings are linked. If Christ had not been absolute for God, He could not have been our sin offering to deal with the sin in our nature. If He had not been perfect in His humanity, He could not have been our trespass offering to take away our trespasses. Christ was absolute toward God, and He was perfect in His humanity. Therefore, He was qualified to deal with our sin and to take away our trespasses.

The Peace Offering Being the Issue of All the Other Four Offerings

The peace offering is the issue of all the other four offerings. This means that the peace offering is the totality of the other four offerings. Christ’s being these four offerings consummates in peace between God and God’s people, and this peace is simply Christ Himself. As the peace offering, Christ is the food we enjoy with God and the food God enjoys with us. In Christ as our peace offering we have co-enjoyment in fellowship.

We need to bring all these points concerning Christ as the offerings into our church life, and practice cooking Christ and presenting Christ to God in the church meetings. We all need to learn to cook Christ finely, to eat Him finely, and to present Him finely. This is the way we should study the book of Leviticus. We should not only have a doctrinal knowledge of the fine points concerning Christ; we should also learn to cook Christ, to present Christ to God, and to enjoy Christ with God as the burnt offering, the meal offering, the peace offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering. By doing this we shall be fully constituted into those who desire to enter into the tabernacle and dwell there to enjoy the contents of the Triune God. (Life-study of Leviticus, msg. 2)

TRAINING THEM TO LIVE
A HOLY, CLEAN, AND REJOICING LIFE

In the book of Leviticus we also see how God trained His people to live a holy, clean, and rejoicing life. A holy life is a life that is like God, a godly life. Here we mention a clean life, not a pure life. To be pure is to not be mixed. To be clean is to not be dirty. We do not realize how dirty we human beings are. Leviticus tells us that even our birth is dirty (ch. 12) and that every little discharge out of us is dirty (ch. 15). We need to live a clean life, a life that is not dirty. According to the Old Testament type, we have to contact God through the offerings of the bronze altar and through the laver. Paul tells us that we are cleansed by the washing (lit., “laver”) of the water in the word (Eph. 5:26). In the word of Christ there is the water of life to cleanse us. This is typified by the laver situated between the altar and the tabernacle (Exo. 38:8; 40:7). The laver is the place where we wash away our earthly defilement and are made clean.

We also need to live a rejoicing life, a happy life. We all have to be “hallelujah people,” who rejoice in the Lord always (Phil. 4:4). Sometimes the most restful thing is to sing a hymn. Singing a hymn fills us with joy and helps us to enjoy Christ as our rest. The chorus of Hymns, #308 says, “This is my story, this is my song, / Praising my Savior all the day long.” A rejoicing life is a life of enjoying God in Christ as everything; this enjoyment makes us happy and causes us to exult all the day. The Christian life should be a rejoicing life.

Living a Holy Life

In order to live a holy life, Leviticus shows us that we need to put off the old life and put on the new (cf. Eph. 4:17—5:14). The people of Israel were charged to put off the former Egyptian conduct (Lev. 18:3a). God also charged them not to walk in the statutes of the Canaanites (v. 3b) and to have God’s holy living according to His holy nature (19:2; 20:7, 26).

Living a Clean Life

In order to be kept in a clean life, we need to contact the clean people (ch. 11; Acts 10:11-15). Our contact with the wrong people can cause us to become contaminated. Leviticus 12 shows us the cleansing from the human impurity by birth. Even our birth is not clean. The source is dirty.

Leviticus 13 and 14 speak of being cleansed from leprosy. Sins such as fornication, adultery, the worship of idols, stealing, etc., are included in man’s leprous situation. Leprosy always comes from rebellion and signifies the serious sin issuing from within man, such as willful sin, presumptuous sin, and opposing God with determination.

Leviticus 15 shows that we need to be cleansed from all unclean discharges from the human being. Anything discharged out of us, including our words, is unclean. This is why we need the cross of Christ to end our old life, and we need the resurrection of Christ to have a new beginning. Also we need the water of life, which is the washing, cleansing Spirit of life embodied in the word. Whenever we come in our spirit to the word, we touch something within the word that washes us.

Living a Rejoicing Life

Leviticus reveals that we need to live a rejoicing life.

The Weekly Sabbath

The weekly Sabbath (23:1-3) was the principal denotation of all the annual feasts. All the annual feasts were a Sabbath, which was for God’s redeemed people to rest with God and with one another.

The Monthly New Moon Feast

The monthly new moon feast (Num. 10:10; 28:11-15) signifies that we can experience a new beginning in Christ as our joy and enjoyment with light in darkness.

The Annual Feasts

There were not only weekly and monthly feasts but also annual feasts (Lev. 23:2, 4-44). In our Christian life we need a weekly, monthly, and annual enjoyment of Christ.

The Feast of the Passover

The Feast of the Passover (vv. 4-5; Exo. 12:2-14) typifies Christ as our Passover (1 Cor. 5:7) for our initial and foundational salvation. This feast signifies the beginning of our regenerated life (Exo. 12:2). Our initial salvation was a time of rejoicing.

The Feast of Unleavened Bread

After the Passover, we are keeping the Feast of Unleavened Bread without sin (Lev. 23:6-8; Exo. 12:15-20). This feast lasted for seven days, typifying the entire course of our Christian life as a feast without sin. We cannot rejoice with sin. Christ is our strength to live a life without sin in our entire Christian life for our enjoyment and rest.

The Feast of the Firstfruits

The Feast of the Firstfruits (Lev. 23:9-14) typifies the resurrected Christ (1 Cor. 15:20) for our enjoyment as a feast in His resurrection. Very few are enjoying Christ in this way because they do not know His resurrection power.

The Feast of Pentecost—of the Fiftieth Day

The Feast of Pentecost (Lev. 23:15-21) typifies the enjoyment of the outpouring of the Spirit for the formation of the church in two sections, the Jewish and the Gentile, typified by the two loaves offered to God on that day (v. 17).

The Feast of the Blowing of Trumpets

The Feast of the Blowing of Trumpets (vv. 23-25) typifies God’s calling together of His scattered people, the dispersed Israelites (Matt. 24:31), to be fulfilled at Christ’s coming back (v. 30).

The Feast of Expiation

The Feast of Expiation (Lev. 23:26-32) typifies the enjoyment of God’s propitiation for the whole house of Israel after they will be gathered together by God (Rom. 11:25-27; Zech. 12:10-14). This will be fulfilled at the very time of Christ’s descending from the heavens to the Holy Land in His second coming (Rev. 1:7).

The Feast of Tabernacles

The Feast of Tabernacles (Lev. 23:33-44) typifies the enjoyment of the age of restoration (Matt. 19:28) to be fulfilled in the millennium (Rev. 20:4, 6) on the restored earth, not in the new heaven and new earth yet.

The Sabbath Year

The Sabbath year (Lev. 25:1-7, 18-22), the seventh year, typifies Christ as our rest in full for the land to rest and for the people with their servants, their maids, their hired servants, and their strangers, and with their cattle and the beasts in their land to enjoy food without laboring (vv. 4-7).

The Jubilee

The jubilee, the Pentecostal year, the fiftieth year (vv. 8-17), was a time of shouting in rejoicing. The jubilee typifies Christ as our full release, rest, and joy by His redeeming back what we have lost in our rights and what we have sold in ourselves. This is for us to enjoy Christ in His resurrection in the fullest way forever and ever.

Leviticus shows us the weekly enjoyment, monthly enjoyment, and seven annual feasts. Then it speaks of the Sabbath year and the jubilee. All these items typify the New Testament enjoyment. As New Testament believers, we should be a holy people, a clean people, and a happy people who are always rejoicing. In God’s history among His people, He trained them to worship and partake of Him and to live a holy, clean, and rejoicing life.

The rich enjoyment of Him in the weekly Sabbath, in the monthly new moon, in the seven annual feasts, in the Sabbath year, and in the jubilee, the fiftieth year Sabbath, for the greatest, highest, and deepest enjoyment of God to its fullest extent, makes His elect happy all the time so that they may become a rejoicing people on the earth. Who could invent all these most wonderful feasts, but God? Leviticus, as a record of God’s training to His elect, is also a part of God’s history, showing us what kind of God our God is. (CWWL, 1991-1992, vol. 4, “The History of God in His Union with Man,” ch. 13)