February 22, 2026 Holy God, Holy Lives: When God Moves In | Leviticus 1:1-9

Today, we are beginning our Lenten series Holy God, Holy Lives as the 40-day Lenten period in the church year begins this Wednesday, a time of reflection as we journey to the cross on Good Friday and Jesus’ resurrection on Easter. We will begin by reflecting on Leviticus 1:1-9, When God Moves In. Leviticus is all about our holy God calling for his people to be holy as he is. It’s a book of sacrifices pointing to Jesus, and a book that reveals through laws and images, how serious our sin is and how great God’s grace is. We will begin by looking at a sacrifice of atonement.

Transcript

When God Moves In

Leviticus 1:1–9

We’re in the season of Lent in the church year, the time of year where we are encouraged to slow down and reflect on our faith and Jesus’ journey to the cross on our behalf, and to the resurrection and hope that comes in the resurrection. Lent lasts for 40 days, reflecting Jesus’ time in the wilderness, not counting Sundays, which are counted as little Easters. Lent is a time of confession and repentance, this is why Leviticus is so applicable during Lent, as Leviticus is about change being slaves to being free; into a people shaped by who God is. Leviticus reveals to us how God’s presence transforms every area of our lives, calling us to live as holy people; “Be holy as I am holy,” found in Leviticus 19:2, “Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.” 

As part of our faith formation emphasis, you’re being encouraged to focus on your prayer life during Lent, on time with God. Holy is about being separated from the world and being devoted to God, and becomes linked with the character of God’s people. Paul describes this way in Colossians 3:12, “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”

Leviticus is set at the foot of Mount Sinai. The tabernacle’s being built and Aaron and his sons have been chosen as priests. Israel’s been shown what it means to be God’s people through the 10 Commandments and laws given to them. Now in Leviticus, God’s giving them sacrifices and images to show them the depth of their sin and God’s commitment to them. The sacrifices point ahead to the promised Messiah; the one coming to save God’s people and make them right with God once again. 

The Lord calls out to Moses from the tent of meeting. The tent of meeting is where the Lord meets with Moses to teach Moses and the people the way of the Lord. Exodus 33:7–11 shows us what the tent of meeting was, “Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the “tent of meeting.” Anyone inquiring of the Lord would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp…. As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the Lord spoke with Moses…. The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend.” 

The Lord tells Moses,“Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When anyone among you brings an offering to the Lord, bring as your offering an animal from either the herd or the flock. “‘If the offering is a burnt offering from the herd, you are to offer a male without defect. You must present it at the entrance to the tent of meeting so that it will be acceptable to the Lord. You are to lay your hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on your behalf to make atonement for you.” The first offering the Lord talks about with Moses is a burnt offering. This offering can be either a bull of a male lamb or kid. The important requirement is that it’s “a male without defect.” 

Scholar R. Jamieson writes in his commentary that God uses a process that they would have been familiar with from their time in Egypt, “No animal was allowed to be offered that had any deformity or defect. Among the Egyptians, a minute inspection was made by the priest; and the bullock having been declared perfect, a certificate to that effect being fastened to its horns with wax, was sealed with his ring, and no other might be substituted. A similar process of examining the condition of the beasts brought as offerings, seems to have been adopted by the priests in Israel.” We hear an echo of this process in John 6:27 when Jesus is talking to the people after feeding the 5,000, “Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.” The Lord demands that we bring him our best, just as he sent his best, Jesus, as a sacrifice for our sin so we can experience eternal life with God. 

Israelites who wish to bring burnt offerings to the Lord need to follow the Lord’s instructions to ensure that they’re acceptable to the Lord. This first offering here is a voluntary offering, it’s not one of the offerings demanded by the Lord. But even our voluntary offering has to come from our best. This is a burnt offering, a sacrifice of atonement through the blood of the offering, an offering that’s completely consumed in the fire. This shows the seriousness of our sin, how sin prevents us from being in the presence of God. Sidney Greidanus writes, “sinful humans cannot approach the holy God dwelling in the tent of meeting without being consumed.” God’s holiness means that anything that’s tainted by sin is not fit to be in his presence and there are serious consequences to sin. 

Sin’s a part of all our lives. The doctrine of total depravity reminds us that every part of our lives is touched by sin, there’s no part of our life that’s perfect; reminding us of our need for a saviour. This doesn’t mean that we’re the worst that we can be, it simply means that there’s no part of our life free from our sin, showing us that we cannot become holy through our own effort, but only through the work and grace of God. In Old Testament times, God makes it possible to come into his presence through sacrifices that need to be repeated over and over again; a temporary measure until the coming of the Messiah.  

This burnt offering is an offering to make atonement for their sin. Atonement’s all about reconciliation and the repairing of the relationship between God and humanity. In Christianity, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ reconcile believers to God; his sacrifice cleanses us and makes us righteous before him. Atonement is about healing and restoration as Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 (NLT) shows us, “Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.” 

 Mark Gladman, in his article our Lenten Prayer guide opens with, encourages us to ask ourselves “Where do I need God’s healing love? Where have I been resisting transformation?” Our sin has a way of becoming entrenched in our hearts and lives so much that we don’t even recognize it anymore. It takes time with God to recognize just how great our need for the atoning work of Jesus on the cross really is. This Lent, you’re encouraged to be still with God in prayer, opening your hearts, minds, and souls to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Spending time with God, just like spending time with a spouse or dear friend or mentor, is how you really get to know someone, it’s how their influence is able to help you become more than you are right now. Most people only call on God when they need something; that’s not God’s plan; he wants to be in constant touch with us; that’s why we’ve been given the Holy Spirit. 

In the tent of meeting and the tabernacle, God moves into the middle of the people of Israel, meeting them where they’re at, accepting them for who they are, working to transform them into his holy people. They’re constantly reminded of his presence through the cloud of smoke by day and the pillar of fire at night. While slaves in Egypt, the Israelites had grown used to thinking that gods belonged in temples and didn’t really care for people, but God is revealing himself to them as a God who is present, a God who lives among, and with his people. Now they have to reflect deeply on what it means for a holy God to be with them all the time, giving them strength through his presence when they encounter enemies or challenges. It’s like having a friend with you when you’re going through a hard time, a friend who knows your story intimately and loves you. Their presence gives you the strength to get through it. 

In this burnt offering, we see a number of features of our sin and God’s holiness that we’ll be touching on in the coming weeks: the need for a mediator between God and us, uncleanliness, the importance of blood in the sacrifices, the cost of atonement, and the glory of God revealed in leading us to new life and holiness. We’ll see that God offers us holiness we’re unable to earn on our own. Holiness is not about following all the rules so we’re good enough for Good, holiness is something we chase after because our God is holy and keeps coming after us, in the wilderness, in Jesus, and now through the Holy Spirit. It’s through Jesus we’re made holy.