Finally Make Sense of Leviticus with this Printable Summary
Learn how the Old Testament book of Leviticus relates to the story of Moses and the coming of Jesus with this visual summary.
The Laws of Leviticus
We last left off with the Life of Moses in the book of Exodus. Moses’ life story is actually told over the course of 4 books:
- Exodus: deliverance from Egypt
- Leviticus: laws for Israelite living
- Numbers: census of God’s people
- Deuteronomy: Moses’ final speeches
If you grew up in church, you most likely have read the stories in Exodus. But most of the time, we skip over the next three books to get to the meatier part of the story in Joshua—when the Israelites FINALLY enter the promised land.
But let’s take a moment to pause and look over what’s happening in these three books, and take our time doing so. After all, they are included in the Bible, and surely God is teaching us more than a list of old outdated rules by including these in our records.
Follow along with me and see if I can’t inspire you to dig in deeper instead of glancing over the book of Leviticus.
A Quick Summary of the Book of Leviticus
Remember back in the book of Genesis when we learned that Jacob’s 12 sons formed the 12 tribes of Israel? Well, the descendants of Levi (the Levites) were to become priests, meaning they would not receive a section of land, but would be provided for by the rest of the tribes. Their job was solely to provide guidance and be an intercessor between the Israelites and God.
Before the days of Jesus, the Israelites were to make sacrifices–constantly. There were multiple reasons they needed to do this. For example:
- Atonement for sins against the Lord / forgiveness
- Restitution to God / giving first fruits
- Thanksgiving and Praise / act of worship
- Forgiveness for unintentional sins of ignorance / purity from uncleanliness
- Guilt and Trespass offerings / fraud or mistreatment of others
Making Sense of All the Lists
In addition, there were all kinds of ceremonies and rituals–great feasts to plan that commemorated what God had done for his people:
- Day of Atonement
- The Sabbath
- The Passover
- Feast of Unleavened Bread
- Feast of Weeks
- Firstfruits
- Feast of Trumpets
- Feast of Tabernacles
- The Sabbath Year
- The Year of Jubilee
The Book of Leviticus is where each of these things is broken down and explained in detail. While we aren’t required to follow all these guidelines as Christians because of what Jesus did for us on the cross (more on that later…) it’s vital that you don’t skip these passages so that you can fully grasp the meaning and relevance of what he did by coming down to earth.
A Printable Summary of Leviticus
But for now, read through the book of Leviticus and use this handy printable to help you organize your thoughts as you go…
While the digital pages are perfect for group study, you may prefer a physcial book, covering all 39 books in the Old Testament. Grab your copy here:
Why I Keep Coming Back to the Book of Leviticus
I’m always noticing something new when I reread a book of the Bible because it builds off other parts I’ve studied. Check out these weird laws I noticed in Leviticus and what they mean:
You Might Also Like…
- Understanding the Old Testament Timeline
- Genesis Printable
- Exodus Printable
- Numbers Printable
- Deuteronomy Printable
You’ve got this!
6 Comments on Finally Make Sense of Leviticus with this Printable Summary
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I love your visual outline. It easy to get intimidated by Leviticus and want to skip over it. There is some important stuff in there! My husband is a pastor. He likes to draw out things like this for our church. They are not this pretty. lol I will show him your stuff.
Haha thank you! It helps to have your eyes see what your brain is trying to figure out! I’d love his input!
This is awesome. I did not expect to enjoy reading/learning on Leviticus. You did an awesome job in this generous illustrations without compromising the message and the teachings of the book. Keep it up Amy.
Thank you so much for the encouragement. I’m glad you enjoyed the printable!
Thank you for sharing this. I haven’t read through Leviticus in some time. #HomeMattersParty
Thanks for reading! Yes even a year ago Leviticus is something that I figured just didn’t apply and could be looked over. It’s refreshing to see it in the context of the entire Biblical story.