The Book Of Leviticus

The Book of Leviticus is not a list of rules, a best practices handbook for the ancient Israelite. Levitical rules do not unfold as an instruction booklet does, languages separated by creases. Only one language is in Leviticus--the language of God. After the Israelites breathe in this germinal language, they begin to adhere to the Law. Although the bulk of Leviticus contains the Law, the primary purpose of Leviticus is not legislative. Leviticus is not a constitution or law document used as a record, a primary source for historians. Leviticus is a living witness to God's elevation of the Israelites from slaves to members of God's Israel, and from members to priests.

The first narrative portion of Leviticus depicts the ordination of Aaron and his sons. Unlike Moses, who was ordained on Mt. Sinai, Aaron and his sons must be consecrated before offering sacrifice to the Lord. Moses cleanses them with water and dresses them in garments according to God's command in Exodus. Neither of these actions consecrates them. It is the anointing oil that imparts God's holiness to the Dwelling and the priests-in-training: oil parts water as Moses' staff parted the Red Sea. The image of Moses pouring the anointing oil on Aaron's head connotes a sacred connection between the Lord and the rest of Israel. The connection is not royal or pagan: Moses is not a king or deity. The connection is sacred, directly from God.

During the ordination, Moses sacrifices several animals. With every sacrifice, Aaron and his sons must lay their hands on the animal's head, a symbolic emollient before the slaughter. The anointing oil is reserved for the priests and the altar, as its function is to consecrate whatever it touches. The animals do not need consecration; ...

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...a blasphemer has broken one of the statutes and act on that recognition. The blasphemer is brought before Moses who renders a judgment given by the Lord: stoning to death. The Israelites transport the blasphemer outside their camp, lay their hands on his head, and stone him to death. In carrying out this legislation, the Israelites become the Lord's arm of justice with an obedience stronger than any physical entity on earth. Thus they lay the foundation for Israel, a foundation unbroken for millennia.

If Leviticus ended without a narrative of the Israelites' acceptance of the Lord's statutes, it would be another petrified law code, an archaic measure for an archaic time. The narrative pearls contained within Leviticus give credence to its legislative blades. Israel accepts God's statutes and stands as a witness to God, sans debate, sans electorate, sans signature.