God, in His eternal wisdom, included Leviticus in His Word and so we know it is important to read! But unlike some books - James, for example - the practical applications don't just jump off the page at first glance. Since we don't just want to TELL our children, but to SHOW them that all Scripture is God-breathed and useful (2 Tim 3:16), here are four reasons to read to them from the book of Leviticus.
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| Although here we are reading Brown Bear, Brown Bear! |
- To understand the importance of being a people set apart.
- This theme is reiterated again and again in the New Testament. Christians are meant to be different from other people, so that they can bring Glory to God and bless the rest of the world. Replace "Canaan" with "North America" and your kids will know what you're talking about - they need to follow the Lord's rules, not the culture's:
- You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived,
and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am
bringing you. You shall not walk in their statutes. You shall follow
my rules and keep my statutes and walk in them. I am the Lord your God. (Lev 18:3-4)
- Because many of the laws are obviously and easily applied in our daily situations. When you read one of these, ask your children how they this law applies in their own lives! Some obvious examples include:
- Respecting your elders: You shall stand up before the gray head and honor the face of the old man. (19:32)
- Hospitality: You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you. (19:33)
- Integrity: You shall do no wrong in judgement in measures of length or weight or quantity. (19:35)
- To re-iterate the value of children as shown throughout the Scriptures.
- In Leviticus we see that "dying childless"(20:20,21) and being "bereaved of children" (26:22) are curses given both to specific individuals and also nations who turn from God. I am NOT saying that this is always, or even normally, the case for those who can't have children - but I do believe these verses demonstrate that God LOVES children and opening the womb is one way he blesses his people (Lev 26:9). Also, when a culture as a whole rejects children, they will reap negative consequences and in that they bring God's curses on themselves.
- To point to the need for a Savior in Jesus Christ.
- Leviticus not only is great for showing us pictures of Christ's atoning sacrifice for us, but it also drives home our NEED for it. We read: "You shall be holy to me, for I the Lord am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine. (20:26 & 19:2) and we know there is NO WAY we can be holy enough for a Holy God. So He gave us Jesus, a perfect man and fully God, to stand in our place. And then we become co-heirs with Christ, and are made perfect in him. You can use Leviticus to reinforce this beautiful truth
- We often think of Leviticus as being all about the rules, but Leviticus 26:40-45 is a beautiful example of God's forgiveness and mercy towards those who repent of their sins and humble themselves before Him, which is shown to us in full in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
I really like your perspective on reading through Leviticus! I think we sometimes set ourselves up for failure with that book by going into it thinking that it will be tedious, uninteresting, etc. If we can go into it with a positive perspective and share that with our children, I think the whole family with benefit!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your kind words! Heading over to check out what interesting things you have to say now!
DeleteGreat post! I'm visiting from www.aheartforthehome.com Would love for you to follow along by Facebook. Keep up the great articles. Blessings! Jennifer
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