Why Leviticus? In Togo?

When did you last prepare a sacrifice?

I’m hoping the answer is never – especially if it’s an animal or human one.

The book of Leviticus has a lot to say about sacrifices, none of which apply to us today because Jesus paid the ultimate sacrifice for our sinful nature. And if you want to remind yourself once again of some of the many reasons that we can be thankful for that, have another read through Leviticus.

Now, imagine for a moment that you lived in an animist culture, where you believed that every rock, tree, animal and river has a spirit and that sacrifices were a regular necessity – a way to please or appease the spirits.

An everyday part of life

For the Ifè people of Togo, sacrifices are an everyday part of life. Which is why the book of Leviticus would be so helpful to them. Yes, they’ve had the New Testament since 2009, which is fantastic, but they are yet to have the Old Testament. Edoh Kaleb Agounkey, one of the Ifè Bible translators, expresses their need perfectly when he says: ‘There are many stories in the Old Testament which help us to understand the New Testament.’

Imagine how different our times with God’s Word would be if we couldn’t look back to read about the heroes of the faith who appear in Hebrews?

Kaleb continues: ‘The sacrifices written about in the Old Testament are actually very similar to the animist sacrifices that are done in traditional Ifè life. Reading what the book of Leviticus has to say about sacrifices will help our people to understand what they were before coming to Christ, and how they have changed since coming to Christ. So it is very important for our people to have all of the Bible translated into Ifè.’

A life changed

Beatrice is one of those people. Beatrice and her husband sometimes visit the church in a local town, because Ifè is spoken there. They normally attend the church in their own village, but Beatrice in particular has found that hearing the Scriptures in Ifè has really helped her grow in her faith. She has only recently given her life to the Lord; she didn’t understand much and was still authorising her parents to make sacrifices on her behalf to the spirits in her home village. But hearing God’s Word in her own language helped her to understand that she must not take part in the ancestral practices, and she no longer allows her parents to make sacrifices for her. She says: ‘Never again will I ever authorise a spirit to watch over me, over my children or over my husband, unless it is God alone.’

God gave us all of the Bible, so we want all people to have all of the Bible, not just the New Testament or a Gospel. We want them to be able to go to the Psalms for comfort or to lament. Or to be able to read about Ruth, Rahab and Tamar, who all appear in the genealogy of Jesus. Or read the prophecies of the coming Messiah that appear in Isaiah, Micah, Jeremiah, and many other parts of the Old Testament.

I can’t use the Old Testament

Pastor Kodya Odah, an Ifè pastor, can’t read the Old Testament. ‘I’m facing a big challenge in my ministry,’ he says. ‘Since I can’t speak or read French – the official language of Togo – I can’t use the Old Testament.’ So Kodya is praying that God will help Wycliffe and its partners to translate the Old Testament into Ifè so he too can have access to the entire Bible.

Next time you read a book from the Old Testament, can you pray for the Ifè people? Plus the millions of other people around the world who are still waiting for the whole Bible in the language that they understand best.