Leviticus Wordled

Our church is reading through the entire Bible in chronological order this year in an effort to gain fresh perspective on the entire redemptive plan of God as it unfolds in scripture. As we finish up Leviticus I find myself surprised at the portrait of God I find there.

I had always been told that the Old Testament God of the Law was harsh, cold, wrathful, demanding, and not much fun at all. That is not the picture I get from Leviticus at all. I find there a God not much different than the One of the New Testament -- full of grace, ready to show mercy and compassion on anyone who truly wants to know Him. He is compassionate, generous, genuinely concerned for the health and well-being of His people. He is caring and compassionate towards the poor, the widow, the helpless, the stranger.

I find a God who loves celebration, encourages rest and restoration, and has a plan to bring about renewal. I find a God interested in freeing slaves, redeeming and rescuing those in bondage, and revealing Himself to any who will sincerely and humbly seek Him. I guess what I really find in Leviticus is... Jesus.

For grin and giggles I decided to Wordle the entire book of Leviticus. I had a hunch what the main key words would be but I wanted to see it for myself. I wasn't disappointed.

The biggest word in Leviticus is LORD, which is the translation of the Hebrew YHWH, the personal covenant Name of God. I AM. The God Who Is, Who Was, and Who Always Will Be. Eternal. Unchanging. Ever present.

Next is Offering. This is both a verb and a noun. It suggests that we acknowledge God as the source of everything we have and that we worship Him by giving it back into His hands to use for His glory. It speaks of sacrifice. We declare His worth to us by what we are willing to give up in order to gain Him.

Third is priest, one who represents God to the people and the people to God. The mediator. The go-between. It implies that there is tension and conflict on the relationship with God but that He is willing to do whatever it takes to restore that relationship.

There are others: holy, unclean, people, blood, sin, altar. These are all words you would expect to find in the Gospel. We just don't expect to find the gospel in Leviticus. It never ceases to amaze me that Jesus is everywhere in scripture if we take the time to look for Him.