利未記 {li4-wei4-ji4}
Old Testament – Penteteuch
Pronunciation isn’t particularly hard for this one. It helps to slow down at first:
[li-VI-ti-kuhs]
As its name suggests, Leviticus addresses the priestly duties within the tribe of Levi. A contemporary reader may find it difficult to relate to the regulations of an ancient but newly minted nation, but Leviticus was a foundational piece of information on how God wanted His people to be.
Hundreds of years of slavery could easily erase the identity and purpose of a people, which was exactly what happened to the Israelites. Upon God’s deliverance, they were literally a clean slate. How should they proceed? How should they conduct themselves? How should they relate to God? How should they treat each other? These were not trivial questions to a people who had no idea how to run a nation.
Leviticus answers those questions and serves many critical functions of what we have today in our government, such as the legal system, medical system, religious system, vital statistics, and others. Even if we are no longer required to follow it by the letter, we can still peek into the heart of God and catch a glimpse of how meticulous, considerate, just, and good God’s laws are, especially as compared to the oppression, lawlessness, and cruelty of Israel’s neighboring nations.