Bird's-eye view
This final verse of Leviticus serves as the authoritative seal upon the entire book. It is not an afterthought but a concluding declaration that anchors everything previously written in divine authority and historical reality. The intricate laws concerning sacrifices, priesthood, purity, feasts, and vows were not the product of human ingenuity or religious evolution; they were direct, divine commands. The verse emphasizes three critical elements: the content ("these are the commandments"), the source ("which Yahweh commanded"), and the context ("Moses... for the sons of Israel at Mount Sinai"). This is God's law, mediated through His chosen prophet, to His covenant people, at the very mountain where the covenant was formally established. This verse closes the book by reminding Israel that their entire life, from the grandest festival to the most personal vow, was to be lived under the direct command of their covenant Lord. It is the foundation of their national life and the schoolmaster that would ultimately point them to Christ.
In essence, Leviticus 27:34 is the colophon that authenticates the document. It tells us that this is not a book of good ideas or helpful suggestions. It is a book of commandments. For the unbelieving heart, this is a crushing weight, a list of demands impossible to fulfill. But for the heart that has been opened by grace, this is a revelation of the holiness of God and the profound seriousness of sin, which in turn reveals the even more profound grace found in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who is the perfect fulfillment of every statute contained herein.
Outline
- 1. The Divine Seal on the Covenant Law (Lev 27:34)
- a. The Summation of the Law ("These are the commandments")
- b. The Source of the Law ("which Yahweh commanded Moses")
- c. The Subjects of the Law ("for the sons of Israel")
- d. The Setting of the Law ("at Mount Sinai")
Context In Leviticus
Leviticus 27:34 is the final, summary statement of the entire book. After the foundational laws of sacrifice (Ch. 1-7), the ordination of the priesthood (Ch. 8-10), the laws of cleanness and uncleanness (Ch. 11-15), the Day of Atonement (Ch. 16), and the Holiness Code governing daily life (Ch. 17-26), this verse brings everything to a close. Chapter 27 itself deals with vows and things dedicated to the Lord, a fitting capstone that addresses the individual Israelite's voluntary responses to God's grace. The book began with God speaking to Moses from the tent of meeting, and it ends here by grounding all these specific instructions in the foundational covenant event at Mount Sinai. It ties the particular applications of the law given "from the tent" back to the ultimate authority of the law given "at the mountain." This verse ensures that the reader leaves Leviticus not with a jumble of disconnected regulations, but with the singular impression of a holy God establishing the terms of fellowship with His chosen people.
Key Issues
- The Authority of Scripture
- The Nature of Divine Law
- The Role of Moses as Mediator
- The Covenant at Sinai
- The Relationship Between Law and Gospel
Not Suggestions, but Commandments
We live in an age that despises authority and chafes at any hint of command. Our default posture is to treat everything as a suggestion, an option, or a helpful hint for our personal journey of self-discovery. But the Bible will not have it. The book of Leviticus, and this verse in particular, stands in stark opposition to our modern sensibilities. God does not offer tips for a better life; He issues commandments. He is the sovereign Creator, and we are His creatures. He is the King, and we are His subjects. He is the Redeemer, and we are the people He has purchased.
Therefore, this final verse is a rock. It is an objective statement of fact. These laws are not up for debate or negotiation. They are not culturally conditioned ethics that we can outgrow. They are the commandments of Yahweh. This means that our response cannot be one of casual consideration. The only two possible responses are rebellion or submission. And because we are all born rebels, our only hope is for God to grant us a new heart, a heart of flesh that desires to submit. The law, in its unbending authority, drives us to the gospel. It shows us our inability to obey and points us to the only One who ever obeyed perfectly on our behalf. The authority of the law is not meant to crush us finally, but to crush our self-righteousness, so that we might flee to Christ for refuge.
Verse by Verse Commentary
34 These are the commandments...
The verse begins with a demonstrative pronoun, "These." This points backwards, gathering up not just the laws about vows in chapter 27, but the entire corpus of legislation in the book. All of it, from the instructions for the burnt offering to the regulations for tithing, is being presented as a unified whole. And this whole is designated as "the commandments." The Hebrew word is mitzvot, which refers to direct orders from a superior. This is not a collection of folk wisdom or the minutes from a committee meeting. This is the legal code of the kingdom of God, delivered from the throne. This establishes the nature of the material. We are dealing with binding law, not helpful advice. For Israel, this was the constitution of their nation, the very fabric of their society. For us, it is a revelation of the character of God and the standard of perfect righteousness that Christ fulfilled.
...which Yahweh commanded Moses...
Here we have the source and the mediator. The ultimate author of these laws is Yahweh, the covenant name of God. This is the God who revealed Himself to Moses in the burning bush, the God who brought Israel out of Egypt with a mighty hand. His very name signifies His self-existence and His faithfulness to His promises. The laws are authoritative because He is the authority. But God did not shout these laws indiscriminately from heaven. He "commanded Moses." Moses is the chosen intermediary of the Old Covenant. He stands between God and the people, receiving the law from God and delivering it to Israel. This authenticates the law. It did not bubble up from the collective consciousness of the people; it came down from God through His designated prophet. This is a pattern that finds its ultimate fulfillment in Christ, the great prophet and the mediator of a new and better covenant, who does not just deliver the law but embodies it.
...for the sons of Israel...
This phrase defines the recipients of the law. These commandments were given specifically "for the sons of Israel." They were the terms of the covenant that God made with this particular people whom He had redeemed from slavery. This was their national charter, the thing that set them apart from all the other nations of the earth. It was their great privilege to have the very oracles of God. Now, this does not mean the law has nothing to say to us. As the Westminster Confession puts it, the moral law remains binding, and the ceremonial and civil laws still instruct us in their general equity. The principles of holiness, justice, and worship revealed here are timeless because the God who gave them is timeless. But we must always remember the original context. This law was for Israel in its distinct role in redemptive history, a role that has been fulfilled and transformed by the coming of the Messiah, who has created a new Israel, the Church, from every tribe and tongue and nation.
...at Mount Sinai.
Finally, the verse anchors the giving of the law to a specific place and a specific event in history: Mount Sinai. This is not mythology or abstract philosophy. This is history. God descended upon a real mountain in a real desert and entered into a formal covenant with a real people. Sinai was where the thunder and lightning of God's awesome holiness were displayed. It was where the covenant was ratified with blood. By concluding the book with this reference, the text reminds Israel that their entire system of worship and life, detailed so meticulously in Leviticus, is grounded in that terrifying and gracious encounter with the living God. All the subsequent instructions given from the Tent of Meeting are an outworking of the covenant established at the mountain. For the Israelite, to disregard the laws of Leviticus was to disregard the God of Sinai. It was to break the covenant at its very root.
Application
The final verse of Leviticus is a bulwark against theological liberalism and antinomianism. Against the liberal, it insists that the Bible is not man's thoughts about God, but God's commands to man. It is divinely revealed, authoritative, and true. Against the antinomian (the one who believes the law has no place in the Christian life), it insists that God's commandments matter. Grace does not abolish the law; it establishes it by writing it on our hearts and empowering us to obey.
So how do we apply this verse? First, we receive all of Scripture as God's authoritative command. We do not get to pick and choose the parts we like. We submit to the whole counsel of God. Second, we recognize that we cannot obey these commands in our own strength. The sheer weight and holiness of the law revealed in Leviticus should drive us to our knees in repentance. It is a schoolmaster, as Paul says, to lead us to Christ. Third, having come to Christ, we look back at the law with new eyes. We see it not as a ladder to climb to God, but as a beautiful portrait of the righteousness that has been given to us in Christ. And fourth, empowered by the Spirit, we seek to live out the principles of this law. We pursue holiness, not to be saved, but because we have been saved. We love God's law because it reveals the character of our Father. This final verse of Leviticus, therefore, does not leave us in the desert of Sinai under a covenant of works, but points us forward to the grace of Golgotha and the power of Pentecost.