A Synopsis

“Do not make idols or set up carved images, or sacred pillars, or sculptured stones in your land so you may worship them. I am the LORD your God. You must keep my Sabbath days of rest and show reverence for my sanctuary. I am the LORD. [Leviticus 26.1-2]

Before going into the first introduction to blessings and curses upon obedience or disobedience respectively, Leviticus gives a summary of what God's people are to do. It is, in fact, a brief synopsis of the Ten Commandments.

Just as the subjects of land and slaves are addressed in Leviticus 25.24.55, so, in Leviticus 26, God is demanding a distinction be made among God's people and those who are not. Like all the Old Testament, Leviticus is shadowing "Jesus" and His followers long before Jesus' time. The significance of this fact found in Leviticus 26.1-2 is that there are only three main points made about being God's people: idolatry, the Sabbath, and God's sanctuary. It should be understood that there is a reason for this!

Idolatry is the subject of the first three of the Ten Commandments. Idolatry is the antithesis of the 1st Commandment. If a person does not get the 1st Commandment right, idolatry is the result. As would be expected, idolatry, in all its implications and symptoms, reveals the failure to "have no other god."

Then, the 4th Commandment is about the Sabbath. As concretely established in the New Testament, Jesus is the Sabbath. Every mention of the Sabbath in the Old Testament is a shadow of Jesus. The Sabbath also represents all the ceremonial requirements of the Old Testament. In keeping "the Sabbath" as "Jesus," every New Testament believer, effectively keeps all the Ten Commandments. The life of every modern-day believer cannot be separated from Jesus as fulfillment of the Ten Commandments: Jesus demands "no other god" and Jesus demands He is Lord of the Sabbath.

Interestingly enough, God mentions in Leviticus the importance of His sanctuary. His sanctuary is where He dwells. Could this then be a shadow of the last six manward Commandments since God's chosen sanctuary, in New Testament times, is the heart of man submitted to Christ?

I am suggesting here that Leviticus 26.1-2 reveals all ten of the Ten Commandments! All the Ten Commandments shadow Jesus Christ.

Father, help us to look for and see Jesus throughout the entire Bible, not just the New Testament! So be it.