Connection with Former Books. In Genesis, man is left outside of the
Garden and the remedy for his ruin is seen in the promised seed. In
Exodus, man is not only outside of Eden, but is in bondage to an evil
enemy and his escape from his bondage is shown to be in the blood of
the lamb, which is shown to be sufficient to satisfy man's need and
God's justice. In Leviticus there is given the place of sacrifice, as
an atonement for sin, and it is shown that God accepted the sacrifice
of the victim instead of the death of the sinner. It is a continuation
of Exodus, containing the Sinaitic legislation from the time of the
completion of the Tabernacle.

Contents. Except the brief historical sections found in chapters 8-10
and 24:10-14, it contains a system of laws, which may be divided into
(1) Civil, (2) Sanitary, (3) Ceremonial, (4) Moral and (5) Religious
laws, emphasis being placed on moral and religious duties.

Purpose. (1) To show that God is holy and man is sinful. (2) To show
how God can maintain his holiness and expose the sinfulness of man.
(3) To show how a sinful people may approach a Holy God. (4) To
provide a manual of law and worship for Israel. (5) To make Israel a
holy nation.

Key-Word. The key-word then is Holiness, which is found 87 times in
the book, while in contrast with it, the words sin and uncleanliness
(in various forms) occur 194 times, showing the need of cleansing. On
the other hand, blood, as a means of cleansing, occurs 89 times. The
key verse is, I think, 19:2, though some prefer 10:10 as the best
verse.