Intro to Leviticus and the Book of Acts

So our journey begins! Our Year with the Bible begins on Valentines' Day, hopefully our love for God's Word will grow.

Now we begin with some daunting material, Leviticus, as well with some familiar readings from the Book of Acts. In this space I hope to provide some notes to help clarify what is happening in the readings. They are not meant to be exhaustive, and in some cases I may not write anything and just let the Word speak for itself. Of course, if questions do come up, feel free to leave a comment on the blog or email me.

First, let's set the table for Leviticus. In a nutshell, Leviticus is the priests manual for Israel, it is very much a how to kind of book. There are two major sections of Leviticus, the first is the Priestly Code, which focuses on the role of the priesthood to keep Israel holy. Much of this takes place through the process of offering sacrifices, which means at times Leviticus is rather bloody with rather graphic displays of sacrifices. The second half is made up of the Holiness Code which involves how individuals can remain "clean."

Behind Leviticus is the understanding that God is Holy, while Israel is not. Leviticus is written as a means to bridge that divide. It is the priests job to help maintain this balance, to eliminate the impurities of sin and trespass that will occur within Israel. Sacrifice becomes a means in which something of value takes the place of the transgressor to be offered as a gift to God. Through these rites, a balance can be maintained.

It was originally believed that Leviticus was written at the time of the journey in the Wilderness but more historical study believes that the book is a post exilic work that attempts to create a theology that will allow Israel to remain in the Land.

The Book of the Acts of the Apostles is a more familiar read to most of us. It is seen as the second half of the Luke-Acts book, the author of Luke is also the author of the Book of Acts of the Apostles. Acts, for the most part, centers on the characters of Peter and Paul as they begin to spread the Word of the Good News. Behind the activity of Peter and Paul is the Holy Spirit that is guiding the actions of all. The book begins with the formation of the church through the act of Pentecost and then discusses the spread of the Good News through Judea, Samaria and then Hellenized world.