Well, it is beginning to look like we may never discuss the Book of Leviticus itself, per se! But we shall, the Lord willing.

It’s just that I have been so overwhelmed by other Old Testament “Hints” that Fellowship with God (and subsequently His Fellowship with us) is the overarching THEME of the pre-Leviticus Pentateuch. And yesterday we even saw that Motif in the Psalms and Minor Prophets too!

I was reading/studying last night, after preaching at a Camp Meeting Service south of Gaffney, South Carolina, and was thrilled to see some (possible) parallels between the Garden of Eden and the Old Testament Tabernacle and thus, the Book of Leviticus! (Remember: our fellowshipping/communing with God and His reciprocal fellowshipping with us!)

In fact, that Garden in Eden may even be a “type” of the “Holy of Holies,” the very “heart” of the Old Testament system of worship! And the “Center” of the Leviticus 16 “Day of Atonement” Emphasis.

Let me show you …

God “lives” in both the beautiful Garden of Eden and the august Holy of Holies! Genesis 3:8 … “And they (Adam and Eve) heard the voice of the Lord God WALKING in the garden in the cool of the day.” Where “walking” is expressed in an intensive verb form (walking intensively and deliberately and habitually) meaning “to go to and fro!” Then in Leviticus 26:11-12 … “And I (the Lord God) will set my tabernacle among you: and my soul shall not abhor you. And I WILL WALK among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people.”

That’s a “parallel,” indeed!

Eden also seems to have faced east (Genesis 3:24 and 4:16) … as did the Tabernacle!

Eden had the Tree of Life in its midst. So did the Tabernacle, the golden lampstand/candlestick being a clear replica of such a Tree! (Perfectly designed, symmetrical!)

And both Eden and the Tabernacle (later the Temple in even more detail) were loaded with fruit … lush and verdant.

Eden is also portrayed as being “on higher ground!” And the Tabernacle/Temple was also built on a “mountain!” (Mount Moriah, to be exact.) A River cannot flow out of Eden unless it is trickling downward (Genesis 2:10)! Ands a mist went “up” from the ground/earth to water Eden (Genesis 2:6)! And in Ezekiel 28:13-14, where Lucifer is being addressed: “Thou hast been in EDEN the GARDEN of God; every precious stone was thy covering … thou wast upon the HOLY MOUNTAIN of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.” And the Tabernacle/Temple? God Himself, in Psalm 2:6 promises: “Yet have I set my king upon my HOLY HILL of Zion.” 

By the way, in the coming Millennial Temple, a river flows from it as well! Ezekiel 47:1 … “Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east.” Similar to Genesis 2:10 … “And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.”

Wow!

The point of all this holy “geography?” A Place for God to fellowship with His creation, with mankind! And for us to reciprocate!

I am excited. Leviticus, its position and content and thrust, have opened up (for me anyway) a vast new area of Bible Study!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

More tomorrow, the Lord willing.

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