Introduction: Let’s set up the stage…

Have you read through Leviticus before? Or maybe this is your first time? I’ve read through it several times, and each time I couldn’t WAIT to finish it, ha! If I’m honest, I felt lost in a blur of sacrifices, blood, offerings, and fire wondering, “What does this have to do with me?”. I would simply skim through each chapter, chalking it up as one of the “boring books” of the Bible.

But over the past year, as I studied Scripture chronologically and dug into the languages of Hebrew and Greek, something shifted. The historical and cultural layers brought new meaning, and surprisingly, Leviticus became the book I couldn’t stop thinking about. With the Holy Spirit’s help and a side-by-side look at the Hebrew text, I began seeing stunning connections to the New Testament.

That’s when God nudged me: “Write what you see.” So I did. This study was born out of those journal entries, moments when I realized Leviticus isn’t irrelevant at all. It’s rich with meaning, foreshadowing Jesus in ways I’d never seen before.

My hope is that through this study you’ll gain a new love for Leviticus, too. We’ll uncover how every burnt offering, every drop of blood, every fire on the altar whispers the name of Jesus. And, guess what? The timing is unique because as you read each day, God is still walking me through Leviticus! That’s right, the devotion as a whole isn’t even complete as I send this first email to you!! But, God said NOW, and so I share what I do have with you. Know that each week is happening real time…and say a little prayer for me, too! Satan can be quite a poo poo head trying to get me to believe none of this matters and no one cares. I know better. And, I KNOW God didn’t have me write all the connections I was seeing between Leviticus and Jesus just for me. It’s for you, too! (Take that, Satan!)

My goal with this devotion is showing that Leviticus isn’t just about ancient rituals, it’s about a holy God who made a way for unholy people to dwell with Him. And, hidden in the seemingly endless details is a powerful foreshadowing of something, and someone, greater: Jesus, the ultimate and final sacrifice. I hope my words stay clear enough for you to see the connections between Levitical Law and Jesus.

I pray this study blesses you in a way you never saw coming, and He opens your heart to the depths of His preparation and love for none other than you.

Okay, now, let’s set up the stage for our devotion. Before we dive into Leviticus, let’s revisit where Exodus leaves off, because it sets the stage in a powerful way.

After 400 years in Egypt (Exodus 12:40), God miraculously freed the Israelites. Despite their freedom and the fact that they were no longer slaves to Pharaoh, their hearts were still enslaved to idols. Even after walking through the parted Red Sea and saw first hand God’s mighty power! I mean, could you imagine physically doing so? I can’t begin to fathom what they would have felt emotionally as they walked on dry land between giant walls of water! However, after they were freed from Egypt with the grand Red Sea exit, they quickly forgot God’s power and gathered up all their jewelry to craft a golden calf to worship while Moses met with God on Mount Sinai (Exodus 32:1–6). It was a heartbreaking betrayal to the God who just set them free.

Yet God, rich in mercy, didn’t abandon them. Instead, He drew near. But first, in order to draw near, God needed a space to dwell in. He then gave Moses very detailed instructions for building a sacred space—the Tent of Meeting—where His presence could dwell among His people (Exodus 25–31). Did you know that in this moment, for the first time in the Bible, God filled a man with his Spirit?? That’s right! He appointed a man named Bezalel and filled him with the Spirit of God (Exodus 31:1–5)!! He didn’t fill him with is spirit to preach or fight, but to create. Alongside another man named Oholiab, Bezalel began to build God’s new dwelling place. He crafted the Ark, the lampstand, the intricate curtains, each detail reflecting God’s beauty and holiness. (PS: I just love that God, our Creator, filled Bezalel with His spirit to CREATE.)

When the work was complete, God’s glory filled the Tabernacle, and He called to Moses from within it: “The Lord called Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting…” – Leviticus 1:1 And it’s here where we begin the journey through Leviticus… God with his people. He drew near even though they began to worship a pointless golden calf. We should recognize that the great detail in the creation of His dwelling place illustrated holiness and beauty….waaaaay more intricate than the golden calf they created! Every detail of His dwelling place was exact and precise. And guess what? It’s here where we have our first foreshadowing into the New Testament! Let me explain:

Jesus didn’t come to us in a cloud of fire or behind a thick curtain. He came by first dwelling in the womb of a virgin. Holy ground, set apart. Everything about His entrance into the world was intentional and beautiful, even if it didn’t look like what people expected. At the time of His birth, the Levitical law was still fully in effect, yet Jesus wasn’t introduced in a temple or a tent. He arrived in a stable: messy, ordinary, exposed (sounds a bit like us, right?). Unlike the Tabernacle, which only priests could enter, anyone could lay eyes on Jesus. No barriers. No curtains. Just God, in the flesh, among His people. The Tent of Meeting was glorious & beautiful, yes, but this baby was the glory. He didn’t need gold or embroidery to prove it. I know I’m getting ahead of myself here, but tuck this thought into your heart as we walk through Leviticus: Jesus changed everything. Not just for us, but for everyone who ever lived under the weight and wonder of “the law”. And I wonder…is there anything in your life that feels weight-y or maybe an old hurt that holds you back from the fullness of God, like sin and the law did for the Israelites?

Let me leave you with one last thought…something to help you extend compassion toward the Israelites as we walk through Leviticus. Imagine if, the next time you drove into town, the law had suddenly changed and you were now expected to drive on the left side of the road instead of the right. It would be disorienting, maybe even scary, and definitely hard to adjust to right away. I think the shift from God's glory in the Tabernacle to the arrival of Jesus in a manger might’ve felt just as jarring to those living under the old covenant. Everything they had known for centuries (sacrifices, rituals, priesthood) was suddenly flipped upside down when Jesus showed up! In the same way, think about how disorienting Levitical law must have been for the Israelites, too!! After generations of identifying as Egyptian slaves, they were suddenly given a whole new way of life: offerings, festivals, holy days, and specific instructions for how to live, worship, and relate to God. It was all so different. But here’s the key: God was setting them apart. He wasn’t just giving them rules, He was making space to dwell with them… a whisper of Christ, God with us, and now, through His Spirit, God in us. Yes, friend, we are walking Tents of Meetings!!!

(long sigh…..) God is SO cool, isn’t He?

Below is basic imagery to give you an idea of what the Israelites would have seen after Bezalel finished the Tabernacle aka Tent of Meeting. Refer back to it throughout the study if needed.

CLICK HERE to watch a less than two minute video for a really neat 3D video of the Tent of Meeting and its contents!

I am SO excited for week 1! Until then, may you see God in everything you do, see, think, and learn.

REFLECTION: Is there anything in your life…past wounds, current struggles, unforgiveness, or hidden sin…that acts like a "theoretical curtain" between you and God? What would it look like to bring that barrier into the light and allow God to gently remove it?

PRAYER: Father,
Thank You for tearing the veil and inviting me into closeness with You. Still, I confess there are things…hurts, habits, shame, or fears…that I let stand in the way of our connection. I don’t want anything to separate me from the fullness of Your presence. Show me what I’m holding onto that you’re asking me to lay down. Heal what’s wounded, restore what’s broken, and help me to walk in the freedom Jesus made possible. I want to experience the depth of Your love with nothing in the way.
Amen.

Interesting fact: at first, the “Tent of Meeting” was a simple tent set up outside the Israelite camp where Moses met with God face-to-face. When Moses entered, a pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance, signaling God’s presence. However, after Bezalel built the Tabernacle, crafted with sacred precision according to God’s instructions, it became the new Tent of Meeting. From that point on, the terms were often used interchangeably, because the Tabernacle was now the central place where God’s presence dwelled among His people.