Summary of Ritually Unclean Animals
11: 41-47

Summary of ritually unclean animals DIG: Why do you think that God chose to make dead animals and dead people ritually unclean? What was the ultimate purpose in making people ritually clean? What were they restricted to do if they became ritually unclean? How can believers defile themselves today? How would you rate your spiritual discernment?

REFLECT: During the Dispensation of Torah, God wanted the Israelites to demonstrate their holiness through a ritually “clean” diet. The Bible tells us specifically why these mitzvot were given, “Do not make yourselves unclean, do not defile yourselves with them . . . for you are to be holy, because I am holy” (11:43-45). Thus, the purpose of eating kosher was to set Isra’el aside as a separate nation (15:31). In addition, they had to be ritually clean, or holy, to participate in the sacrifices in the Tabernacle and later the Temple. The question is: How do you show yourself holy to the Lord today? How are you set apart from the world?

Crawling Things (11:41-44): The discussion of contamination through dead animals is concluded, and the Torah returns to the original topic of dietary prohibitions. A final category for forbidden creatures is introduced as swarming things that crawl on the ground, whether they be four-footed, many footed, or crawl on their bellies. This category contains everything from bugs to beetles to grubs to snakes and worms. Any creature that swarms on the ground is a detestable thing; it is not to be eaten – whatever moves on its stomach, goes on all fours, or has many legs – all creatures that swarm on the ground; you are not to eat them, because they are a detestable thing. You are not to make yourselves detestable with any of these swarming, crawling creatures; do not make yourselves ritually unclean with them, do not defile yourselves with them. For I am ADONAI your God; therefore, consecrate yourselves and be holy, for I am holy; and do not defile yourselves with any kind of swarming creature that moves along the ground (11:41-44).

The mitzvah of discernment: The chapter ends with a summary of the dietary mitzvot. For I am ADONAI your God; therefore, consecrate yourselves and be holy, for I am holy; and do not defile yourselves with any kind of swarming creature that moves along the ground. For I am ADONAI, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. Therefore you are to be holy, because I am holy. Such, then, is the mitzvah concerning animals, flying creatures, all living creatures that move about in the water, and all creatures that swarm on the ground. Its purpose is to distinguish between the unclean and the clean, and between the creatures that may be eaten and those that may not be eaten (11:44-47).

The Israelites were to purify themselves by observing the dietary mitzvot so they could access the Tabernacle/Temple and the sacrifices necessary to draw near to God. We are not given any rational explanations. It is simply a commandment of the Holy One. The Israelites were to keep the dietary mitzvot, thereby making themselves holy because God is holy (11:44). He has the right to make such mandates because He is YHVH. It wasn’t their job to understand why some animals were designated as ritually clean or unclean. Their job was to distinguish between what was ritually clean and unclean and between what things could be eaten and what things could not be eaten. But in the final analysis, today Messianic Jews and Gentiles have the freedom in Messiah to choose whether they want to eat kosher or not (see the commentary on First Corinthians, to see link click Bm – The Weaker Brother or Sister).

If the Jewish people were to keep themselves ritually clean and pleasing to ADONAI, they had to exercise discernment; this meant knowing God’s Word, respecting it, and obeying it. Fathers and mothers had to teach their children the Torah and encourage them to live holy, set-apart, lives. The priests had to teach the people and remind them of God’s mitzvot. It was when the nation of Isra’el neglected the Word of God and refused to obey it that they began to follow the abominable practices of the pagan nations around them, and this would ultimately lead to Isra’el’s discipline and exile (see the commentary on Jeremiah Ga – The Fall of Jerusalem).

The Jews had to remind themselves every hour of every day that they belonged to YHVH, the true and living God, and that belonging to the nation of Isra’el was a high and holy privilege: I am ADONAI your God; therefore, consecrate yourselves and be holy, for I am holy (11:44). In the language of the B’rit Chadashah: Lead a life worthy of the calling to which you were called (Ephesians 4:1). Obeying God’s will isn’t a burden; it’s a privilege! As Moshe reminded his people, “For what great nation is there that has God as close to them as ADONAI our God is, whenever we call on him? What great nation is there that has mitzvot and rulings as just as this entire Torah which I am setting before you today” (Deuteronomy 4:7-8)?

The Israelite during the Dispensation of Torah, like believers today in the Dispensation of Grace, was not to walk as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind (Ephesians 4:17). It was a temptation to “go along with,” and then imitate the worldly practices of the pagan nations around them. This led to Isra’el’s defilement and discipline. I fear that the Church toady is following the same philosophy and becoming more and more like the world. The Church does the most for the world when the Church is least like the world (First John 2:15-16; James 1:27).

Jews who exercised spiritual discernment would “walk in love,” and their love for ADONAI would motivate them to obey His Torah. Each morning, the observant Jew would recite the Sh’mah, the official Jewish confession of faith: Sh’ma, Yisra’el! Adonai Eloheinu, ADONAI echad [Hear, Isra’el! ADONAI our God, ADONAI is one]; and you are to love ADONAI your God with all your heart, all your being and all your resources (Deuteronomy 6:4-5). That is still the first and greatest commandment (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Jb – Which is the Greatest Commandment?).

Like Isra’el in TaNaKh, believers today must not only walk worthy of their calling and walk in love, but must also pay careful attention to how [we] conduct [our] lives – living wisely, not unwisely . . . so don’t be foolish, but try to understand what the will of the Lord is (Ephesians 5:15 and 17). We must keep our eyes open and look around carefully lest we defile ourselves. Jews who knew what ADONAI said was ritually clean and unclean, and who exercised constant caution, weren’t likely to touch something ritually unclean and defile themselves. When we walk as children of the light (Ephesians 5:8), we won’t stumble over some carcass in the darkness; God’s Word is the light that directs our path (Psalm 119:105).

What the prophet Hosea said about Isra’el in his day is true of many professing believers today: You will stumble by day, and the prophet’s will stumble with you . . . My people are destroyed by lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:5). But solid food is for the mature, for those whose faculties have been trained by continuous exercise to distinguish good from evil (Hebrews 5:15). Nothing is more rare in the Church today than discernment. The natural man knows nothing of it, and the carnal man is devoid of it. Only the spiritual man has it and we have all too far few in that category.¹⁷⁴

Haftarah Sh’mini: Sh’mu’el Bet (2 Samuel) 6:1–7:17 (A), 6:1–19 (S)
(see the commentary on Deuteronomy Af – Parashah)

Thus your house and your kingdom will be made secure forever before you; your throne will be set up forever (Second Samuel 7:17). The haftarah reading for Sh’mini concerns the tragedy of Uzzah, son of Abinadab. The Ark of God was originally placed in the Most Holy Place was being returned triumphantly on a wagon from the Philistines who had captured it. Th procession was being led by two sons of Abinadab, Uzzah and Ahio, with Ahio leading the oxen that were pulling the wagon, and Uzzah standing beside the Ark. However, when the oxen stumbled and Uzzah reached out to steady the Ark, but Ha’Shem became angry and struck him dead on the spot. King David, very afraid, decided to leave the Ark at the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. David soon learned that Obed-Edom had been wonderfully blessed by the presence of the Ark, so the decision was made to restore it to Jerusalem.

The haftarah concludes with the giving of the promise to King David. Through Nathan the prophet, ADONAI explained to David that though he cannot build an indestructible “house” for God (First Chronicles 17:4-5), God will build him an indestructible “house” (First Chronicles 17:11, 14-17). Alas, David’s son will build that house. A line of kings will come from David’s loins. Indeed, the house, the kingdom, and throne shall all be established eternally (see the commentary on the Life of David Ct – The LORD’s Covenant with David).¹⁷⁵

B’rit Hadashah reading (Hebrews 7:18-19):

Thus, on the one hand, the earlier rule is set aside because of its weakness and inefficacy (see the commentary on Hebrews Bi – The Former Priesthood Was Temporary), for the Torah did not bring anything to the goal; and, on the other hand, a hope of something better is introduced, through which we are drawing near to God (Hebrews 7:18-19). Aaron’s line endured through two Temples. Ultimately, a permanent priesthood, the spiritual priesthood of Melchizedek grants access to God’s throne in heaven (see Hebrews Be – Melchizedek Was a Type of Christ).

An early Jewish hymn sings of the eternal heavenly origin of Melchizedek, a man whose beginnings are not in the Torah, not even in the world. Melchizedek had no predecessor in office. He was the first priest, and he was the one to whom Abram tithed with Levi still in his loins (Hebrews 7:3-5; Genesis 14:17-20). Possibly the priesthood of Levi, with its mitzvot of ritual purity, could achieve some superficial wholeness in the outer man (Hebrews 7:11). But cleansing the conscience and purity of the inner man requires even more (Hebrews 9:6-10, 13-14, and 10:1-18). The order of Melchizekek (see Herbews Bf – The Order of Melchizedek and the Order of Aaron) addresses these hopes. Access to ADONAI in heaven is not lost, because Messiah clothes us in righteousness. Put off deeds of the flesh! Put on the deeds of Messiah (see the commentary on Second Corinthians Bb – Going Home).

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise Your wisdom, love, and holiness. How awesome is Your gift of righteousness to those who love You. He made the One who knew no sin to become a sin offering on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God (Second Corinthians 5:21). Thank You that Your gift of righteousness is not a coat to be taken on and put off; rather it is You, Yourself, living within those who love You.  Yeshua answered and said to him: If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our dwelling with him (John 14:23). I rejoice in Your gift of righteousness so that I can live with You in heaven. I show my joy and love for You by living my life on earth with a heart focused on pleasing You for all eternity. For I consider the sufferings of this present time not worthy to be compared with the coming glory to be revealed to us (Romans 8:18). In hard or in easy times I always want to love You and please You. In the Name of the One who sits at Your right hand. Amen

Ritual Uncleanness Through Contact
11: 24-40

Ritual uncleanness through contact DIG: What did those mitzvot have to do with the Tabernacle/Temple and its sacrifices? In what ways could a person become ritually unclean? How long would a person be ritually unclean? What was the basic purpose of the mitzvot?

REFLECT: Why do you think God set the dietary mitzvot primarily about holiness regarding the Tabernacle? Why could only people who were set-apart and holy have anything to do with the Tabernacle? What about believers today? Must they eat kosher or is it a choice?

Ritual impurity is the biblical concept that a person can be in a state which, according to the Torah, prevents the person from having any contact with the Tabernacle or Temple and its sacrifices. God was in the process of teaching His people a critical spiritual reality (to see link click Bk – Ritually Clean and Unclean Animals).

The Torah now interrupts itself and begins a new discussion aside from dietary prohibitions, and discusses ritual uncleanness through the contact of the carcasses of some ritually unclean animals. That meant that by handling a dead, ritually unclean animal that had died by any means other than being ritually slaughtered, a person became ritually unclean. Meaning, they could not have any contact with the Tabernacle or the Temple and their sacrifices. Insects did not fall into this category. Only the animals discussed here can communicate ritual uncleanness, and they do so only when dead.

Uncleanness through contact (11:24-28): The following will make a person ritually unclean; whoever touches the carcass of these animals translates ritual uncleanness. The remedy was that the person needed to be immersed in a mikvah seen here, and as a result, would be ritually unclean until evening. Then they would be ritually “clean” and could access the Tabernacle or the Temple. In addition, whoever picked up any part of the carcass was to wash his clothes for purification and be ritually unclean until evening (11:24-25). The same person could not eat of the sacrifices or, in the case of the priests, handle the holy things until sunset after immersion. Every animal that has a separate but incompletely divided hoof or that doesn’t chew the cud is ritually unclean for you; anyone who touches them will become ritually unclean. Whatever goes on its paws, among all animals that go on all fours, is ritually unclean for you; whoever touches its carcass will be ritually unclean until evening; and whoever picks up its carcass is to wash his clothes and be ritually unclean until evening – these are ritually unclean for you (11:26-28).¹⁷¹

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You that You are our cleansing. You are not a bath that wears off; but You are an inner cleansing from the defilement of sin. Just as looking into a body of water and admiring it, can never cleanse anyone: not only that, but merely admiring how wonderful You are cannot cleanse anyone. The covenant of love is signed with our heart of love and opens the door to becoming a new creation. Therefore if anyone is in Messiah, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new (Second Corinthians 5:17). There is adoption into God’s family, redemption by Messiah’s blood (Ephesians 1:4-7) and receiving of Yeshua’s righteousness.  He made the One who knew no sin to become a sin offering on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God (Second Corinthians 5:21). Thank You so much for being such an awesome and holy God – our Father! In Messiah’s holy Name and power of His resurrection. Amen

Objects and food that can become ritually unclean (11:29-38): For those living in the Dispensation of Torah (see the commentary on Exodus Da – The Dispensation of Torah), it was very practical and gave mitzvot on things from everyday life. It goes on to list several types of animals whose carcasses transmit ritual impurity. It is mostly a list of rodents and lizards – the type of thing that people might encounter in their pantry. It turns out that anything that one of those ritually unclean animals touched or fell into could also be rendered ritually unclean. The following are ritually unclean for you among the small creatures that swarm on the ground: the weasel, the mouse, the various kinds of lizards, the gecko, the land crocodile, the skink, the sand-lizard and the chameleon. They are ritually unclean crawling creatures; whoever touches them when they are dead will be ritually unclean until evening. Anything on which one of them falls when dead will become ritually unclean – wooden utensil, article of clothing, leather, sacking – any utensil used for work. The remedy: it must be immersed in a mikvah, and it will be ritually unclean until evening; then it will be ritually clean (11:29-32).

But a clay cooking pot or an oven in which a dead animal is discovered cannot be cleansed, so it had to be destroyed. If one of them falls into a clay pot, whatever is in it will become ritually unclean, and you are to break the pot. Any food permitted to be eaten that water from such a vessel gets on will become ritually unclean, and any permitted liquid in such a vessel will become ritually unclean. Everything on which any carcass-part of theirs falls will become ritually unclean, whether oven or stove; it is to be broken in pieces – they are ritually unclean and will be ritually unclean for you; although a spring or cistern for collecting water remains clean. But anyone who touches one of their carcasses will become ritually unclean. If any carcass-part of theirs falls on any kind of seed to be sown, it is ritually clean; but if water is put on the seed and a carcass-part of theirs falls on it, it is ritually unclean for you (11:33-38). In short, we learn that ordinary objects and kosher food can be rendered ritually unclean by contact with the carcasses of ritually unclean rodents or lizards. Such uncleanness was not relevant outside of a Tabernacle/Temple context.¹⁷² Therefore, without the Temple today, these mitzvot are moot.

Clean animals could make a person ritually unclean also (11:39-40): Even the carcasses of kosher animals could make an Israelite ritually unclean if the animal did not die by ritual slaughtering. If a ritually clean animal died naturally or by some means other than ritual butchering, the carcass was considered to be contaminating, transferring ritual uncleanness. If an animal of a kind that you are permitted to eat dies, whoever touches its carcass will be ritually unclean until evening. A person who eats meat from its carcass or carries its carcass is to wash his clothes for purification; he will ritually be unclean until evening (11:39-40). The person who handled it would require an immersion in a mitkvah and would be ritually unclean until evening. Again, such ritual uncleanness is only relevant when one desired to worship at the Tabernacle or the Temple, or offer any one of the sacrifices.¹⁷³ In the final analysis, today Messianic Jews and Gentiles have the freedom in Messiah to choose whether they want to eat kosher or not (see the commentary on First Corinthians Bm – The Weaker Brother or Sister).

So what are we to make of these mitzvot for Jewish and Gentile Messianic believers today? Moshe gave them so that the Israelites would be set-apart and holy. That begs the question, how are you set-apart and holy to God today? How are you doing with that? How would you rate yourself? Is there something that has become a habit that you need to stop doing? Are there things you need to add? God wants to be first in your life.

Ritually Clean and Unclean Birds and Insects
11: 13-23

Ritually clean and unclean birds and insects DIG: When did the distinction between ritually clean and unclean animals begin? Why? What did the Tabernacle have to do with being ritually clean or unclean? What was the basis for deciding if birds or insects were kosher?

REFLECT: Why do you think God set the dietary mitzvot primarily about holiness regarding the Tabernacle? Why could only people who were set-apart and holy have anything to do with the Tabernacle? What about believers today? Must they eat kosher or is it a choice?

Ritual impurity is the biblical concept that a person can be in a state which, according to the Torah, prevents the person from having any contact with the Tabernacle or Temple and its sacrifices. God was in the process of teaching His people a critical spiritual reality.

In practical terms, Leviticus 11 refers to dead things: dead animals and dead people. So, a live, ritually unclean animal, does not render it ritually unclean while alive. Thus, it is not contaminating to own a cat – at least not in Levitical terms. Only when it is dead does its carcass render a person or substance ritually unclean through physical contact. A ritually clean animal is designated as clean because after it is butchered and the blood removed, contact with its carcass does not render a person ritually unclean. On the other hand, the dead body of a ritually clean animal will render a person ritually unclean if it has died for some reason other than being butchered by ritual slaughter. Thus, a cow that dies as road kill is just as ritually contaminating as pig’s flesh.

The distinction between ritually clean and unclean animals did not originate in Leviticus or the Sinai covenant. There is evidence that pigs were regarded as ritually unclean by the Babylonians. Noah knew the difference between ritually clean and unclean animals even before the Flood. The distinction was most probably decided upon the basis of eligibility for sacrifice. Of those animals that were suitable for sacrifice, seven pairs were taken into the ark. Of those that were not, only one pair was taken.

Yet, we might wonder, if the distinction between ritually clean and unclean animals existed in the days of Noah, why is there no mention of dietary mitzvot pertaining to ritual cleanness and uncleanness until Leviticus 11? We might ask the same question in regard to the mitsvot of emissions and leprosy. These mitzvot come immediately after the story of the death of Nadab and Abihu. The death of the two sons of Aaron has sufficiently impressed us with the hazards involved in approaching Ha’Shem in the Tabernacle (to see link click Bh – The Death of Nadab and Abihu). The mitzvot of being ritually clean and unclean were all holiness and Tabernacle related. Entering into the presence of God in His Tabernacle while in the state of ritual impurity was not only a sin, it was dangerous. Thus, you will separate the people of Isra’el from their ritual uncleanness, so that they will not die in a state of ritual uncleanness for defiling My Tabernacle which is there with them (Leviticus 15:31).

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You that Your holiness is for all eternity! The angels in heaven are always singing of Your holiness. They do not rest day or night, chanting, “Kadosh, kadosh, kadosh Adonai Elohei-Tzva’ot, asher haya v’hoveh v’yavo! Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God of Hosts, who was and who is and who is to come!” (Revelation 4:8). May our lips be continually praising You, like the seraphim in heaven. Seraphim called out to another, and said: Holy, holy, holy, is ADONAI-Tzva’ot! The whole earth is full of His glory (Isaiah 6:3). In the holy name of Yeshua and the power of His resurrection. Amen

Birds (11:13-19): The Torah doesn’t give the criteria to distinguish between ritually clean and unclean birds (see Bk – Ritually Clean and Unclean Animals); rather, it gives a list of examples of ritually unclean birds. All of the ritually unclean birds share several common characteristics which the Sages used to determine the signs of a ritually unclean bird, “Any bird which seizes its prey, or parts its toes evenly (with two in the front and two in the back) is ritually unclean. However, any bird which has an extra talon and a claw, and the skin of the stomach which can be stripped off is ritually clean.” Based upon the above ruling, all birds of prey and carrion were disqualified as being ritually clean. The following birds are regarded as ritually clean in the Bible and/or most Jewish tradition: pigeon, turtle dove, palm dove, hen, chicken, turkey, quail, partridge, peacock, pheasant, sparrow, duck, and goose.¹⁶⁸

But the term used to describe those birds that were not to be eaten is not “unclean.” Instead, it is described twice as they are detestable for you. The following creatures of the air are to be detestable (ritually unclean) for you – they are not to be eaten, they are a detestable thing: the eagle, the vulture, the osprey, the kite, the various kinds of buzzards, the various kinds of ravens, the ostrich, the screech-owl (see the commentary on Jeremiah Ad – The Owl as a Symbol of Judgment), the seagull, the various kinds of hawks, the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl, the horned owl, the pelican, the barn owl, the stork, the various kinds of herons, the hoopoe and the bat (11:13-19). The eggs of ritually unclean birds are also regarded as ritually unclean.

Note on translation problems: The meaning of many of the Hebrew terms for birds and insects is uncertain. One expert in the field suggested that only forty-percent of the Hebrew terms could be identified with accuracy. I have simply followed the consensus of recent academic studies.¹⁶⁹

Insects (11:20-23): With the exception of a certain class of locust, all insects were regarded as food. The Torah describes ritually clean insects as all winged swarming creatures that go on all fours, you may eat those that have jointed legs above their feet, enabling them to jump off the ground. Specifically, of these you may eat the various kinds of locusts, grasshoppers, katydids and crickets (11:21-22). Since the description is a little vague, the Mishnah adds some further definition: And among the locusts [the ritually clean ones are the ones with] four legs, four wings and jointed legs and wings of which cover the greater part of its body (m. Chullin 3:7).

Finally, the Torah concludes that as far as creatures that crawl on the ground are concerned anyone that creeps upon the ground whether it creeps on its belly or walks on four, or numerous legs, is not kosher to eat. But the term used to describe those insects that were not to be eaten, like the birds above, is not “unclean.” Instead, it is once again described twice as they are detestable for you. All winged swarming creatures that crawl on all fours are a detestable thing for you. But other than that, all winged swarming creatures having four feet are also a detestable thing for you (11:20-23). Bees were forbidden, but honey was allowed. The Talmud explains that honey is regarded as permissible because it is not an insect or product of an insect as much as it is nectar stored and transferred by an insect. Produce must be washed to remove any insects before eating, but microscopic insects are not considered.¹⁷⁰

In the final analysis, today Messianic Jews and Gentiles have the freedom in Messiah to choose whether they want to eat kosher or not (see the commentary on 1 Corinthians Bm – The Weaker Brother or Sister).

Ritually Clean and Unclean Water Animals
11: 9-12

Ritually clean and unclean water animals DIG: When did the distinction between ritually clean and unclean animals begin? Why? What did the Tabernacle have to do with being ritually clean or unclean? What was the basis for determining if a fish was clean or unclean?

REFLECT: Why do you think God set the dietary mitzvot primarily about holiness regarding the Tabernacle? Why could only people who were set-apart and holy have anything to do with the Tabernacle? What about believers today? Must they eat kosher or is it a choice?

Ritual impurity is the biblical concept that a person can be in a state which, according to the Torah, prevents the person from having any contact with the Tabernacle or Temple and its sacrifices. God was in the process of teaching His people a critical spiritual reality (to see link click Bk – Ritually Clean and Unclean Animals).

In practical terms, Leviticus 11 refers to dead things: dead animals and dead people. So, a live, ritually unclean animal, does not render it ritually unclean while alive. Thus, it is not contaminating to own a cat – at least not in Levitical terms. Only when it is dead does its carcass render a person or substance ritually unclean through physical contact. A ritually clean animal is designated as clean because after it is butchered and the blood removed, contact with its carcass does not render a person ritually unclean. On the other hand, the dead body of a ritually clean animal will render a person ritually unclean if it has died for some reason other than being butchered by ritual slaughter. Thus, a cow that dies as road kill is just as ritually contaminating as pig’s flesh.

The distinction between ritually clean and unclean animals did not originate in Leviticus or the Sinai covenant. There is evidence that pigs were regarded as ritually unclean by the Babylonians. Noah knew the difference between ritually clean and unclean animals even before the Flood. The distinction was most probably decided upon the basis of eligibility for sacrifice. Of those animals that were suitable for sacrifice, seven pairs were taken into the ark. Of those that were not, only one pair was taken.

Yet, we might wonder, if the distinction between ritually clean and unclean animals existed in the days of Noah, why is there no mention of dietary mitzvot pertaining to ritual cleanness and uncleanness until Leviticus 11? We might ask the same question in regard to the mitzvot of emissions and leprosy. These mitzvot come immediately after the story of the death of Nadab and Abihu. The death of the two sons of Aaron has sufficiently impressed us with the hazards involved in approaching Ha’Shem in the Tabernacle (see Bh – The Death of Nadab and Abihu). The mitzvot of being ritually clean and unclean were all holiness and Tabernacle related. Entering into the presence of God in His Tabernacle while in the state of ritual impurity was not only a sin, it was dangerous. Thus, you will separate the people of Isra’el from their ritual uncleanness, so that they will not die in a state of uncleanness for defiling My Tabernacle which is there with them (Leviticus 15:31).

Regarding eatable fish and seafood, the Torah limited the Israelites to fish possessing both fins and scales. Waterlife needed to have both to be considered as food. It didn’t matter if the fish was from the oceans, the lakes, or the streams, as long as it had both fins and scales. Following the pattern with land animals, God forbid Isra’el to eat those that do not meet the condition. He also prohibits touching or using the carcass of these water animals. But the term used to describe those animals is not “unclean.” Instead, it is described three times as these will be detestable for you. Ha’Shem nowhere condemns the fish; rather, He objects to any contact with it.¹⁶⁵ Of all the things that live in the water, you may eat these: anything in the water that has fins and scales, whether in seas or in rivers — these you may eat. But everything in the seas and rivers without both fins and scales, of all the small water-creatures and of all the living creatures in the water, is a detestable thing for you. Yes, these will be detestable for you — you are not to eat their meat, and you are to detest their carcasses. Whatever lacks fins and scales in the water is a detestable thing for you (11:9-12).

Therefore, other seafoods are certainly not kosher. Shrimp, lobsters, clams, oysters and the like are all outside of the dietary mitzvot of the Torah. Furthermore, many fish are regarded as ritually unclean because they lack scales or proper scales. The traditional understanding of the “fins and scales” rule is that the scales must be easily removable and generally overlapping one another. Whales, sharks, eels and the like are therefore eliminated along with any fish that never develops scales.¹⁶⁶

Isra’el depended on the supply of fish from the Mediterranean Sea, the Sea of Galilee, and the Jordan River. Fish played a prominent part in the diet of the nation. One of the gates of Jerusalem was called the fish gate. This was where the fish from the Mediterranean were brought in, and it is interesting that this was a problem during the times of Nehemiah. The fisherman would bring in their fish on the Sabbath Day (see the commentary on Ezra-Nehemiah Cr – Nehemiah’s Final Reforms: The Sabbath had been desecrated).

The important role of fishing in the earthly ministry of the Lord is well known to the students of the B’rit Chadashah. The first apostles Yeshua called were fishermen. They were told that they were to become fishers of men. Yeshua told the parable that the Kingdom of Heaven is like a net which caught both good and bad fish (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Fd – The Parable of the Dragnet). What was the method of determining the good fish from the bad? It was not whether the fish was large or small, but would be according to the Levitical mitzvot written here. The good fish had to have both fins and scales. Now how is this like the judgment of the wicked from among the righteous in the Parable of the Dragnet? Well, the believer is the one who is empowered by the Ruach Ha’Kodesh and who is clothed in the righteousness of Messiah. Those are the two identifying marks. Those are the fins and scales, if you please.¹⁶⁷

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You that Your holiness/cleanliness is all the time. For I am ADONAI Your God, the Holy One of Isra’el, Your Savior (Isaiah 43:3a-b). For your Maker is your husband – ADONAI-Tzva’ot is His Name – the Holy One of Isra’el is your Redeemer. He will be called God of all the earth (Isaiah 54:5). Thank You that Your holiness is not haughty nor prideful, but a loving purity that graciously gives Your own holiness to those who love You. He made the One who knew no sin to become a sin offering on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God (Second Corinthians 5:21).

You see their humble and contrite heart and You respond with a holy love that is far above anything we can ever imagine! For thus says the High and Exalted One who inhabits eternity, whose Name is Holy: “I dwell in a high and holy place, yet also with a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and revive the heart of the contrite (Isaiah 57:15). Praise You for being so Awesome! In Your holy Son’s name and power of His resurrection. Amen

In the final analysis, today Messianic Jews and Gentiles have the freedom in Messiah to choose whether they want to eat kosher or not (see the commentary on First Corinthians Bm – The Weaker Brother or Sister).

Ritually Clean and Unclean Beasts
11: 1-8

Ritually clean and unclean beasts DIG: How is this chapter an extension of the principles in the previous one (to see link click Bh – The Death of Nadab and Abihu)? What was the only justification that God offered for the dietary mitzvot? What was their moral mandate? Individually, and nationally, why was it important for the Isrealites to eat kosher?

REFLECT: In Dani’el 1, we see where strict adherence to such dietary mitzvot helped strengthen God’s people and establish His purpose. However, in Acts 10:9-23, the mitzvot concerning ritually clean and unclean animals was lifted. Why do you think this is? In what sense would the removal of these mitzvot help to spread the Gospel?

Ritual impurity is the biblical concept that a person can be in a state which, according to the Torah, prevents the person from having any contact with the Tabernacle or Temple and its sacrifices. God was in the process of teaching His people a critical spiritual reality (to see link click Bk – Ritually Clean and Unclean Animals).

We have now come to the third major section of Leviticus. The subject matter is changed from the priests to the people; from offerings to God to food from man; from worship before God to the walk in this world. The change is made from the sacred to the secular without any change of pace or level. There is no thought that this is anything different. Today we make a false distinction between the sacred and the secular. We think if it is in the Church, it is sacred. Even gossip in the Church seems to be regarded as sacred (especially if it is couched as a prayer request!). If gossip is outside the Church, then it is secular. Friends, we can’t make that distinction. Why? Here, God moves right from the sacred to what many would call secular, but He makes no distinction. Neither should we!¹⁶¹

A moral mandate: There was a purity component to their observance: animals were classified as either ritually clean or unclean, and handling the carcass of some unclean animals rendered the eater unclean. But the dietary mitzvot were also primarily about holiness. At the end of Leviticus Chapter 11, ADONAI declares the dietary bans as an issue of holiness, and He commands Isra’el to keep them on the basis of the imitation of YHVH Himself. For I am ADONAI your God; therefore, consecrate yourselves and be holy, for I am holy; and do not defile yourselves with any kind of swarming creature that moves along the ground. For I am ADONAI, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. Therefore you are to be holy, because I am holy (11:44-45).

The only justification He offers for the dietary mitzvot is that He is the LORD who brought the Israelites out of Egypt; therefore, He has the right to tell them what to eat. By keeping the dietary mitzvot, the Israelites were set apart, in other words, holy. In that sense, they would be imitating deity: be holy, for I am holy (11:45). The same reason is offered to explain why we are not to eat the flesh of torn animals, “You are to be my specially separated people. Therefore, you are not to eat any flesh torn to pieces by wild animals . . .” (Exodus 22:31). So too, we are commanded not to eat the meat of any animal that has died of natural causes because we are a holy people to ADONAI your God (Deuteronomy 14:21). Therefore, the dietary mitzvot are about holiness. When Peter exhorts us to be holy, he offers us no other standard of holiness than the one provided in the Scriptures, saying: follow the Holy One who called you, become holy yourselves in your entire way of life, since the TaNaKh says, “You are to be holy because I am holy” (First Peter 1:15-16).

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You that you are both 100% love and 100% holy. Your love and holiness always work perfectly together. It is very comforting to know how great Your love is. It is also a comfort, though in a very different way to know You are holy. Your holiness means that You will never tell me to do something that is not the very best for me. You are always watching over me as my perfect Heavenly Father. Your holiness does not diminish with age. You are just as holy and wise now, as you were when Abraham was living.

Thank you for Yeshua being the lamb of God (John 1:9) and bearing our sin so that you could give your holiness to those who love and follow you. He made the One who knew no sin to become a sin offering on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21). Please help us to remember that loving You does not mean that Your gift of righteousness can be taken by someone grabbing it. Receiving the gift is a two-way street. You did everything to create the gift, but we need to receive the gift by our love (Matthew 22:37).

Receiving the gift makes us new creatures in You, “in Messiah.” Therefore if anyone is in Messiah, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new (Second Corinthians 5:17) and therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Messiah Yeshua (Romans 8:1). Being “in Messiah” means thinking and acting like You. Because You are perfectly holy, our being “in Messiah” causes us to strive with all our heart to follow You in holiness. Your holiness is Awesome! In Yeshua’s holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen

This makes sense. Remember that being holy is not the same thing as being righteous. To be holy is to be set apart. Keeping the dietary mitzvot certainly sets one apart, but it didn’t really make anyone righteous. Our righteousness comes to us through faith in Messiah. Keeping the dietary mitzvot is a different thing. Those B’rit Chadashah believers who choose to follow the dietary mitzvot (see below), live a holy life in conformity to the righteousness Messiah has already given them.

For those Jews living in the dispensation of Torah (see the commentary on Exodus Da – The Dispensation of the Torah) there was a moral aspect to the dietary mitzvot because they are YHVH’s mitzvot. The same God who said: Do not commit adultery, said: You are not to eat meat from these or touch their carcasses; they are ritually unclean for you (11:8). He made no distinction between His mitzvot. He did not relegate some to moral categories and others to ceremonial categories. The Israelites needed to obey them (not for salvation, but as their blueprint for living), so that their lives would be blessed.

The Hebrew word for the dietary mitzvot is kashrut, which is from the word kosher, meaning fit or proper. All through Leviticus 11, the Torah describes which animals are fit and proper to be eaten, and which are not. They are regarded as positive commandments numbered among the 613 mitzvot of the Torah.¹⁶²

Land animals: ADONAI said to Moshe and Aaron, “Tell the people of Isra’el, ‘These are the living creatures which you may eat among all the land animals: any that has a separate hoof which is completely divided and chews the cud — these animals you may eat’ (11:1-3).” Only mammals that both chew the cud and have a split hoof were considered permissible for consumption. These animals are characterized as herbivores possessing four stomach compartments and two-toed hooves. Examples include cattle, sheep, goats, buffalo, ibex (wild goat), gazelle, deer, wild ox and giraffe.

Mammals which do not possess these characteristics are regarded as ritually unclean. The Torah lists four examples of animals that possess one kosher characteristic but not the other. But you are not to eat those that only chew the cud or only have a separate hoof. For example, the camel, the coney and the rabbit are ritually unclean for you, because they chew the cud but don’t have a separate hoof; while the pig is ritually unclean for you, because, although it has a separate and completely divided hoof, it doesn’t chew the cud (11:4-7). The camel and the pig are offered as examples of ritually unclean animals. The camel and the rabbit chew cud, but do not have a separate hoof; while the pig has a separate hoof but does not chew cud. From a casual observance, a pig appears to be kosher. It has cloven hooves, but it does not chew cud. The rabbis teach that the pig is symbolic of hypocrisy. One who puts on an exterior show of righteousness is likened to a pig. “When the swine is lying down it puts out its cloven hoofs, as if to say,”I am clean” (Gen Rabbah 65:1).¹⁶³

Although the Torah says: You are not to eat meat from these or touch their carcasses; they are ritually unclean for you (11:8), and you are not to make yourself ritually unclean by touching them (11:43), these prohibitions have always been understood with respect to the violation of entering the Tabernacle/Temple while in a state of ritual uncleanness. The sages understood this as applying only to the pilgrims entering Jerusalem and the Temple for the festivals. This is made clear in the Talmud as follows: Rabbi Yitzchak said, “A man should purify himself ritually for the pilgrimage festival, as it is written: You shall not touch their carcasses (11:8). It has been taught in the same regard concerning where it says: you are not to make yourself ritually unclean by touching them (11:43). I might interpret the verse to mean that ordinary Israelites are cautioned not to touch the carcases of unclean animals. Therefore, it says in another passage: Say to the priests, the sons of Aaron . . . cautioning them against becoming ritually unclean from a corpse (21:1), but other Israelites are not cautioned. May we not then argue form the lesser to the greater (kal v’homer)? If in the case of serious ritual uncleanness, like corpse contamination, the priests are cautioned while the common Israelites are not cautioned, how much less are the Israelites to be cautioned in the case of an insignificant ritual uncleanness, like, for example, contamination from carcasses! So how should I understand the commandment that says: You shall not touch their carcasses (11:8)? I understand it to mean that you shall not touch their carcasses on the pilgrimage festivals when the common Israelite must enter the Temple compound (Rosh Ha’Shanah 16b quoting Leviticus 11:8, 43 and 21:1). Rabbi Yitzchak’s explanation may skirt the issue to some degree, but his logic formed the standard of the halachah.¹⁶⁴

In the final analysis, today Messianic Jews and Gentiles have the freedom in Messiah to choose whether they want to eat kosher or not (see the commentary on First Corinthians Bm – The Weaker Brother or Sister).

Ritually Clean and Unclean Animals
11: 1-47

The whole of Leviticus 11 is dedicated to the subject of ritually clean and ritually unclean animals. Sometimes different translations are made such as pure or impure. The ArtScroll Chumash uses the words pure and contaminated. I will be using the words ritually clean or ritually unclean, which, in my opinion, come closer to the Hebrew. It is the first discussion in a series of chapters relating to the purity codes. ADONAI declared that the priests were to distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the ritually clean and ritually unclean; so that you will teach the people of Isra’el all the mitzvot God had told them through Moshe (10:10-11). But before we can begin to learn about the dietary mitzvot we must first learn the basic distinction between ritually clean and ritually unclean. Next, with regard to food, if God declared something to be holy, then to be able to identify it, there would naturally have to be something that was common or unholy. Everything couldn’t be holy.

Ritual impurity is the biblical concept that a person can be in a state which, according to the Torah, prevents the person from having any contact with the Tabernacle or Temple and its sacrifices. God was in the process of teaching His people a critical spiritual reality.

This reality is that life does not mix with death; sin does not mix with righteousness; sacred does not mix with profane; and idolatry does not mix with Ha’Shem! In other words, the declaration of being ritually clean or unclean teaches mankind about the issues of life and death. By declaring a person ritually unclean, ADONAI was saying, in effect, “You are in a state where you have either sinned yourself or have come into contact with the realm of sin and death. I want you to know that My Kingdom is totally different from that realm. Thus, I must prohibit you from drawing near to Me in a ritually unclean state. The lesson was this: just as there were only two conditions, ritually clean or unclean, regarding offering sacrifices and drawing near to YHVH, so there are only two realms or kingdoms. One can be called the kingdom of this world, the kingdom of darkness, Satan’s kingdom, the kingdom of Adam, or the kingdom of sin and death. The second kingdom can be called the Kingdom of Heaven, the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Messiah, the kingdom of light, or the kingdom of life and righteousness.¹⁵⁸

Concepts of ritual purity and impurity are some of the most difficult of all biblical concepts to grasp. The ideas of ritual cleanliness and uncleanliness are completely removed from our Western context. They are also misleading because it seems as if ritually clean and unclean are talking about hygiene, as if a ritually unclean person is actually dirty or soiled. The terms pure and impure can be misleading because they might imply a moral state as if an impure person was less morally upright than a pure person. Ritual impurity is quite independent of physical cleanliness. It certainly does not imply sinfulness.

The Hebrew word tamei is variously translated as ritual impurity, uncleanness, defilement, and the like. Its antithesis, tahor, is translated as ritual purity or cleanliness. In an attempt to come to a definitive understanding of these terms, it is easier to say what they are not than it is to say what they are. Ritual impurity is not a physical condition in-and-of itself, but a defiling disease like leprosy could render that person ritually unclean. When discussing ritual cleanness and uncleanness, we are not speaking about dirt, grime or germs. It is not at all biological. It has nothing to do with bacterial infections or communicable diseases. Ritually clean and unclean are not health issues. The Torah didn’t quarantine lepers because they were contagious; it quarantined them because they were ritually unclean. In the same way, the Torah doesn’t forbid pork because of the threat of trichinosis or for any other health issue. If so, it should have forbidden chicken because of the threat of salmonella. The Torah forbids pork because God says it is ritually unclean. To be sure, there are real and positive health benefits for us if we follow the Torah’s dietary mitzvot. The Father has our physical bodies in mind; and modern medical science continues to validate the medical wisdom of the Torah’s dietary mitzvot. Yet the mitzvot of ritual cleanliness and uncleanliness are larger in scope than good health advice.

In short, being ritually unclean is not a physical condition; on the other hand, it is not purely a spiritual condition either. It is not sin or transgression. It is not guilt or punishment. It is in no way to be considered bad, sinful or evil. For example, a menstruating woman is considered ritually unclean. However, menstruation cannot be understood to be a sin. Crossing through a cemetery renders a person ritually unclean, yet it is regarded as a good deed to accompany the dead to burial. A ritually unclean animal such as a camel is no more shamefully or morally bankrupt than a ritually clean animal like a giraffe. Clean (tahor) and unclean (tamei) must then be understood as purely ritual states as related to the Tabernacle.

In practical terms, Leviticus 11 refers to dead things: dead animals and dead people. So, a live, ritually unclean animal, does not render it ritually unclean while alive. Thus, it is not contaminating to own a cat – at least not in Levitical terms. Only when it is dead does its carcass render a person or substance ritually unclean through physical contact. A ritually clean animal is designated as ritually clean because after it is butchered and the blood removed, contact with its carcass does not render a person ritually unclean. On the other hand, the dead body of a ritually clean animal will render a person ritually unclean if it has died for some reason other than being butchered by ritual slaughter. Thus, a cow that dies as road kill is just as ritually contaminating as pig’s flesh.

The distinction between ritually clean and unclean animals did not originate in Leviticus or the Sinai covenant. There is evidence that pigs were regarded as ritually unclean by the Babylonians. Noah knew the difference between ritually clean and unclean animals even before the Flood. The distinction was most probably decided upon the basis of eligibility for sacrifice. Of those animals that were suitable for sacrifice, seven pairs were taken into the ark. Of those that were not, only one pair was taken.

Yet, we might wonder, if the distinction between ritually clean and unclean animals existed in the days of Noah, why is there no mention of dietary mitzvot pertaining to ritual cleanness and uncleanness until Leviticus 11? We might ask the same question in regard to the mitzvot of emissions and leprosy. These mitzvot come immediately after the story of the death of Nadab and Abihu. The death of the two sons of Aaron has sufficiently impressed us with the hazards involved in approaching Ha’Shem in the Tabernacle (see Bh – The Death of Nadab and Abihu). The mitzvot of being ritually clean and unclean were all Tabernacle related. Entering into the presence of God in His Tabernacle while in the state of ritual impurity was not only a sin, it was dangerous, just as Nadab and Abihu found out. Thus, you will separate the people of Isra’el from their ritual uncleanness, so that they will not die in a state of ritual uncleanness for defiling My Tabernacle which is there with them (Leviticus 15:31).¹⁵⁹

Freedom in Messiah: The Bible tells us specifically why these mitzvot were given . . . do not make yourselves ritually unclean, do not defile yourselves with them . . . for you are to be holy, because I am holy (11:43-45). Thus, the purpose of eating kosher was/is to set Isra’el aside as a separate holy nation. Not for salvation. According to Paul when a person does any part of Torah to earn merit or keep any part of his atonement, his justification received by grace through faith and accomplished in total by the death and resurrection of Yeshua Messiah, then that becomes legalism! But, on the other hand, because the Lord has written Torah on our hearts as a new creation (see the commentary on Jeremiah Eo – I Will Make a New Covenant with the People of Isra’el), it has now become part of our basic identity. We can then join with Paul, as well as tens-of-thousands of other Jewish believers about whom it is said: You see, brother, how many tens-of-thousands (or a minimum of twenty-thousand Jewish believers in Jerusalem alone not counting the rest of the country) there are among the Jewish people who have believed – and they are zealous for the Torah. They saw no contradiction in their faith in Yeshua and their zealousness for the Torah (21:17-20).

If Paul wanted to teach against a believer, especially a Jewish believer, living according to the Torah (which would include dietary mitzvot), that would have been a good time to do so. But, in fact, he teaches the exact opposite and confirms that not only is it permissible but he himself lived that way also! Thus, if Isra’el, especially remnant Isra’el – and those who are grafted into Isra’el – see the importance of maintaining their identity as a holy nation, then why should anyone be discouraged from it?¹⁶⁰

In the final analysis, today Messianic Jews and Gentiles have the freedom in Messiah to choose whether they want to eat kosher or not (see the commentary on First Corinthians Bm – The Weaker Brother or Sister).

The Mitzvot of Purification
11:1 to 15:33

In the previous section the Israelite priests were ordained to put the final piece of the Israelite sacrificial system in place. At the end of the ordination, Aaron was commanded to teach the Israelites in all the mitzvot ADONAI had told them through Moshe, in distinguishing between the holy and the common, between the clean and the unclean (10:10). In Leviticus 11:1 to 15:33 the LORD instructs Moses and Aaron more specifically about what is considered clean and unclean.

The mitzvot of purification cannot be isolated from previous teaching concerning instruction for bringing sacrifices (to see link click Ah – The Offerings from the People’s Perspective), instruction for the priests in carrying out the sacrifices (see An – The Offerings from the Priests Perspective), or the inauguration of the priesthood (see Av – The Ordination Ceremony of the Priesthood). The purification mitzvot assumes knowledge of the sacrificial system, in that the sacrifices play a vital role in making a ritually unclean Israelite able to enter the camp and to have fellowship with other members of the covenant community.

However, these mitzvot are being discussed now because they are immediately relevant to the Tabernacle. One’s state of ritual purity determined whether or not one was able to participate in the Tabernacle services and sacrifices. In that regard, the majority of the mitzvot of purification do not have a practical relevance in today’s world. As of the writing of this commentary, the Holy Temple in Jerusalem has not yet been rebuilt. Until it is, it really makes no practical difference whether one is ritually clean or unclean.¹⁵⁵

The concern for cleanness for the Israelite was an essential part of his or her response to the holiness of God. Cleanness is thus related to holiness, but the two are not equivalent. The clean is not necessarily holy, but the holy is always clean.¹⁵⁶ Let me put it another way. What happened to the ritually unclean person? The Torah teaches that when a person was rendered spiritually unclean, he was not able to come into physical representation of the realm of life . . . God’s realm. This is pictured for us by the regulations which require a person to wait for a declaration of ritual cleanness from a priest or to be immersed in water before he could come to the Tabernacle/Temple and offer sacrifices and draw near to ADONAI. It was not that YHVH was repulsed by the person. It was, instead, the LORD teaching us through an important picture, the picture of ritual cleanness and uncleanness with their resulting consequences.

The lesson was this: just as there were two conditions, ritual cleanness and uncleanness in regard to drawing near to ADONAI, so there are only two conditions in the universe where God is King – life or death. Either one is living or one is dead; something either has to do with life or with death! The two do not mix. On a spiritual level, then, we see that Ha’Shem is life and sin is death. That which is of the realm of sin and death produces deadly results. Since sin is the ultimate cause of death, the two are very closely related. That is why ritual uncleanness comes when a person is either not living the Torah as a blueprint for living (see the commentary on Deuteronomy Bk – The Ten Words), or has come into contact with death.

The vital truths about ritual cleanness and uncleanness that we have learned so far reveal to us some of the deepest truths of the Torah. Here is what Deuteronomy 32:47 declares about the Torah: “For Torah is not an idle word for you, indeed, it is your life. Again, the LORD declares: I call on heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have presented you with life and death, the blessing and the curse. Therefore, choose life, so that you will live, you and your descendants, loving ADONAI your God, paying attention to what he says and clinging to him – for that is the purpose of your life! This depends on the length of time you will live in the land ADONAI swore he would give to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac and Jacob” (Deuteronomy 30:19-20). If one were to paraphrase these two concepts, it would be the same as stating that “these words, which are our life are written on our hearts (see the commentary on Jeremiah Eo – I Will Make a New Covenant with the People of Isra’el) once we have been immersed in Messiah, our Mikveh (pool of immersion, required for ritually unclean people to become ritually clean.)

To understand this concept even more clearly, we need to know that the Bible teaches the incredible truth that Messiah is, in reality, the Living Torah! When Messiah walked the earth, it was written of Him that He was the Torah made flesh and dwelling among us (John 1:14). He now lives in us. Thus, we can understand, in a deeper way, the passage: We have this treasure in earthen vessels (Colossians 4:7). When we are walking in who we are as new creations in Messiah (see the commentary on Second Corinthians Bd – A New Creation), the life of Messiah flows from within us. Just as it was said that the written Torah is our life, even more so, can it be said that the Living Torah is our life. This kind of life is therefore declared to be ritually clean. Therefore, Torah, through concepts of ritual cleanliness and ritual uncleanness, teaches us the realities of what is God’s life in and through us, and what is not His life on the earth.

Two Kingdoms: Let us take these ideas one step deeper. I would like to suggest that in the declaration of ritual cleanness and uncleanness, the Holy One is teaching Isra’el, and us, through a graphic object lesson, a basic lesson on the reality of life here on earth. He was teaching that there are only two realms, two kingdoms. The one kingdom can be called the kingdom of this world, the kingdom of sin and death, or the kingdom of Adam. It can be called by several different names, but all are synonymous. The second kingdom can be called the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Messiah, the Kingdom of Life, the Kingdom of Light, etc.

No matter what they are called, there are only two kingdoms. The two states of ritual cleanness and uncleanness picture these two kingdoms. In one kingdom, sin and death reign. In the other, grace, righteousness and life reign. It is important, however, to remember that there is no third kingdom . . . no middle ground. It is either black or white, though the kingdom of sin and death often tries to imitate God’s Kingdom. But if we keep in mind that something is either ritually clean or ritually unclean, it will help us to remember that even though something may look like God’s Kingdom, it is not, if it consists of sin and death.

Please note that stating that there are two kingdoms does not mean that these two kingdoms have equal power nor do they have anything equal! There is not a dualism in the universe. There is only one God in this world and He is the only absolute Sovereign. That other kingdom, Satan’s kingdom, only thinks it is equal to God’s. Moreover, that other kingdom would like to persuade us into the deception that it is equal to, and even greater than, God’s Kingdom. This is all a charade, a fake travesty. However, that other kingdom does exist and possess a lot of power. ADONAI wants us to be aware that it exists and is vying for our allegiance. That is why we need to learn about it.¹⁵⁷

The Mercy Shown to Eleazar and Ithamar
10: 12-20

The mercy shown to Eleazar and Ithamar DIG: How did Aaron react to the death of Nadab and Abihu? Why weren’t they burned up by fire from ADONAI like Nadab and Abihu were? How did their deaths affect Eleazar and Ithamar?

REFLECT: Despite all your best intentions, when was the last time you messed up in your service to the Lord? How severe was it? Did the Lord have to discipline you? What did you learn from the whole experience? How can you help others to avoid the same mistake?

The Torah displays both judgment and mercy.

Moshe had instructed Aaron to offer a male goat for a purification offering and a calf and a lamb, both a year old and without defect, for a burnt offering, and an ox and a ram for a peace offering to sacrifice before ADONAI for the people; also, a grain offering mixed with olive oil – because today ADONAI is going to appear to you (9:3-5).

In this section Moses addressed Aaron and his remaining sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, regarding the eating of the sacrifices offered on the eighth day of the inauguration of the priesthood. Although of extreme importance, the central section describing the role of the priests was but an interlude in the narrative framework of this chapter.¹⁵¹ Evidently the grain offering (to see link click Aj – The Grain Offerings), which was to be offered along with the burnt offering, had not been eaten. So, Moshe said to Aaron and to Eleazar and Ithamar, his remaining sons, “Take the grain offering left from the offerings for ADONAI made by fire, and eat it without leaven next to the altar, because it is especially holy. Eat it in a holy place, because it is yours and your sons’ share of the offerings for ADONAI made by fire; for this is what I have been ordered. The breast that was waved and the thigh that was raised you are to eat in a clean place – you, your sons and your daughters with you; for these are given as yours and your children’s share of the sacrifices of the peace offerings presented by the people of Isra’el. They are to bring the raised thigh and the waved breast, along with the offerings of fat made by fire, and wave it as a wave offering before ADONAI; then it will belong to you and your descendants with you as your perpetual share, as ADONAI has ordered” (10:12-15). Moses reminded Aaron and his sons that despite the disaster of Nadab and Abihu’s death, the priestly privileges were not forfeited. By God’s command those parts of the sacrifice were their permanent due (see Au – The Wave Offering and Priestly Portion).

The first problem: Evidently right after the deaths of Nadab and Abihu there was supposed to be a peace offering (see Az – The Peace Offering Ram) that was to be brought into the Tabernacle. Then a dispute breaks out between Moshe and Aaron, El’azar and Ithamar over how the peace offering was offered. Moses says that it wasn’t offered properly and Aaron comes to his sons’ defense and says that it really was. Why are they arguing about this? There had just been a terrible tragedy, Aaron’s sons, El’azar and Ithamar’s brothers had just died, and now they were arguing about if, or how, they messed up when they offered the peace offering? Why were they debating sacrificial mitzvah now?

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise Your love and wisdom always. Thank You so much that when You look at a person, what You see as most important is the heart. But ADONAI said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or his stature. . . For God does not see a man as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but ADONAI looks into the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). The reason behind why something is done is what is most important. When Aaron and his sons did not use their right to eat the meat of the peace offering ram, they were showing their heart of humbleness and piety before You, God. They were being bowed down in grief and sadness over the sin of their brothers.

Thank You for Your modeling for us that even when You have rights, as You do as our Creator, setting aside Your right was the most unbelievable gesture. That is what Messiah did when He laid aside His right to glory in heaven (John 17:5) and took on the form of man -though still God (Philippians 2:6-11). We want to always follow You with our hearts overflowing with love for You. In the holy name of Jesus and the power of His resurrection. Amen

The second problem: Then Moshe carefully investigated (these two words mark the Torah’s exact midpoint) what had happened to the goat of the purification offering (9:3 and 15) and discovered that the entire carcass of the people’s purification offering had been burned up as if it were a burnt offering (10:16a). Evidently, El‘azar and Ithamar had placed the goat for the purification offering on the bronze altar, but possibly in their grief over the loss of their brothers, they had inadvertently allowed the entire offering to be burned up. Moshe was beside himself. Two priests had already died, two more had made a grievous mistake. It must have seemed to him that just as the priesthood had begun, they were all dying.

Thus, he became angry with El‘azar and Ithamar, the remaining sons of Aaron, and asked: “Why didn’t you eat the purification offering in the Holy Place (see Al – The Purification Offering), as you were supposed to, since it is especially holy? God gave it to you to take away the guilt of the community, to make atonement for them before ADONAI (10:16b-17). Look! Its blood wasn’t brought into the sanctuary! If the blood had been taken into the holy place, then the carcass would properly have been burned outside the camp. But that wasn’t the case. You should have eaten it there in the holy place, as I ordered” (10:18)! What is the role of the priests here? They were called upon to eat the purification offering to restore the people to ADONAI. They were to restore the boundary between God and them, which had been violated by their not eating the meat of the peace offering ram. With the eating of the peace offering, the circle is closed and the boundary restored. But they didn’t eat the meat. However, the fire from Ha’Shem didn’t come.

Aaron, Spirit-filled but heavy-hearted, answered Moshe. He reminded his brother that two of his sons had, in the beginning of the day, presented their purification and burnt offerings for themselves (see Bd – The Offerings for Aaron and the Priests) before setting out to minister on behalf of the nation. Now they are dead. Aaron and his two remaining sons alone remained in the Tabernacle as representatives of the nation, and in their grief, they had mishandled the goat purification offering.

Aaron said: Even though they offered their peace offering and burnt offering today, things like these have happened to me! As a dad, Aaron had just lost his two boys. Humanly, he was crushed. So, he said: If I had eaten the peace offering today, would it have pleased ADONAI (10:19). In other words, Aaron was asking for mercy of his grief-filled heart. When you are a high priest, your official duties almost always eclipse your role as a private individual. But not always. And for one brief moment, Aaron the human, in his own struggle with God, had to eclipse Aaron the high priest, and it was okay.¹⁵² On hearing this reply, although Moses was zealous for the Word of God, he understood the plight of his brother, and he was also moved, since El‘azar and Ithamar were his nephews. He did not condone the wrong. But Aaron’s reason for not complying made sense and was accepted by Moses: since priestly sin was involved it did not seem right in this situation to eat the meal. The Bible says that Moshe was satisfied . . . and so was ADONAI (10:20).

How did the situation here differ from the one with Nadab and Abihu (see Bh – The Death of Nadab and Abihu)? Perhaps it was the same for both. Yes, Eleazar and Ithamar did make a big mistake. But Ha’Shem did not kill them because their hearts were sincere, there was no pride or malice, so they were shown mercy and spared. Jonah made a big mistake by disobeying God and running away from Him. But because his heart was in the right place, he was spared (swallowed) and allowed to finish his task (see the commentary on Jonah Ax – The Ninevites Believed God). David committed adultery and murder, yet because he was a man after God’s own heart (First Samuel 13:14), he was forgiven (not without consequences), and Messiah will make him king of the Jewish branch of government during the Messianic Kingdom (see the commentary on Revelation Fi – The Government of the Messianic Kingdom). Peter denied Yeshua three times, but because his heart was in the right place the Lord brought him near again (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Mn – Jesus Reinstates Peter) and gave him the keys to the Kingdom that brought in the Jews (see the commentary on Acts An – Peter Speaks to the Shavu’ot Crowd), the Samaritans (see the commentary on Acts Az – The Good News Spreads to Samaria), and the Gentiles (see the commentary on Acts Bg – Peter Goes to the House of Cornelius) into the Kingdom of God. ADONAI is a God of second chances.¹⁵³

Nowhere in the B’rit Chadashah is this particular episode referred to, though there are a number of lines of theological continuity linking this passage to New Covenant teaching. The disciple must put allegiance to Messiah before the family (Matthew 8:21-22). Messianic rabbis and pastors must, like Aaronic priests, should be temperate (First Timothy 3:3 and 8). But the most striking principle endorsed by the B’rit Chadashah is that the closer a man is to ADONAI, the stricter the standard he will be judged by (Leviticus 10:3). Our Lord said: Everyone to whom much is given, of him will much be required (Luke 12:48). And Peter said: Judgment begins with the household of God (First Peter 4:17). James echoed that statement when he said: Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, since you know that we will be judged more severely (James 3:1). The tragedy of Nadab and Abihu vividly illustrates these New Covenant sayings.¹⁵⁴

The Death of Nadab and Abihu
10: 1-11

The death of Nadab and Abihu DIG: What was the sin of Nadab and Abihu? What hint do we have about the cause of their death? How did Nadab and Abihu vividly demonstrate the principle of the sacrificial system? What was the result of two dead bodies laying in the Tabernacle courtyard? What are the sobering implications for the Church today?

REFLECT: Do you relate to God more as ADONAI, your Buddy, or as Ha’Shem, your Holy God? Does YHVH seem dangerous to you? The Israelites had to personally kill their sacrifice before it was offered as a substitute. Their atonement was up close and personal. What keeps you focused on the personal sacrifice that Messiah made on the cross for you?

The death of Nadab and Abihu revealed the holiness of God before the Israelites.

Nadab and Abihu were not shamans or snake-oil salesmen who infiltrated the camp of Isra’el in order to spread the Canaanites’ superstitions among the people. They were by all appearances righteous, respectable men and godly spiritual leaders. They were priests of the one true God. And they were no middling Levites. Nadab was heir apparent to the office of high priest, and Abihu was next in line after him. These two brothers, together with the other elders of Isra’el, were privileged at Sinai to ascend the mountain partway and watch from a distance as Ha’Shem talked with Moses (Exodus 24:9-10). They were the eldest sons of Aaron. Moshe was their uncle. Aside from their father, Aaron, they are the only ones singled out by name the first time the Bible mentions Isra’el’s seventy elders who shared spiritual oversight in the Hebrew nation (Numbers 11:16-24). Scripture does not introduce them to us as sinister figures or notoriously wicked men – quite the opposite. In other words, Nadab and Abihu had seemed to be closer to God than almost anyone. No other Israelites except for Moshe, their uncle, and Aaron, their father, had ever been given higher privilege. These men seemed to be godly, trustworthy spiritual leaders and faithful servants of ADONAI – young men of renown. No doubt virtually everyone in Isra’el respected them highly.¹⁴²

The consequences of sin (10:1-7): But . . . Nadab and Abihu, sons of Aaron, each took his censer, put fire in it, laid incense on it, and offered strange fire before ADONAI, something he had not ordered them to do. At this, fire came forth from the presence of Ha’Shem and consumed them, so that they died in His presence (10:1-2).  The phraseology here is similar to that of Numbers 16:35, where it is said that God’s fire consumed Korah and his faction as they stood near the Tabernacle to offer incense that had been rejected by YHVH (see the commentary on Numbers, to see link click Cn – The Response of God). Why did they die? These verses don’t really tell us, so how can we understand their death and Ha’Shem’s wrath on them? When we encounter such difficult passages such as this one, we need to move away from the details and see how this episode fits into the context of not only the few connecting chapters, but the teaching of the whole of Leviticus and the whole of the Scriptures. Is it possible that they entered the Most Holy Place and offered strange fire? Possibly, But, their consequence seems like it was more about the attitude of their hearts rather than their actions on that day. In the next file both Eleazar and Ithamar also made very serious mistakes (see Bi – The Mercy Shown to Eleazar and Ithamar), but they were spared. What was the difference?

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You for being the God of both Love and Holiness. Both of these wonderful and powerful attributes are always working in every situation that you see and judge. You are so willing to forgive. Your love has even paid our penalty for sins. You offer forgiveness and Your righteousness (Second Corinthians 5:21) as a gift (Romans 6:23). It is a gift because we can never pay the price for our sins to be atoned; yet the gift is not free in the sense that the gift cannot be taken, nor grabbed, nor seized.

The gift is given only to those who receive the gift (Romans 5:17) by faith in You as their Lord and Savior (Romans 10:9-10) and their heart full of love for You. And He said to him: You shall love ADONAI your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment (Matthew 22:37-38). The responsibility connected with the receiving of the gift is actually a wonderful privilege. Many people want the gift, but they ignore their own privilege to love You. Thank You for being such a wise God who sees beyond the outward action, into the heart to discern the real motive for why something was done – was it done selfishly or with a heart of love for You. In Yeshua’s holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen

We need to look at the condition of the hearts of those who come near to ADONAI. No sacrifice was accepted unless there was repentance. Could it be that these two priests were not spiritually fit to bring the incense before Him (see the commentary on Exodus Fp – The Altar of Incense in the Sanctuary: Christ, Our Advocate with the Father)? From this point of view this chapter speaks volumes to us, that a sincere heart should precede any actions we take for the LORD. This is seen throughout the Scriptures. Yeshua gave us a starting point when He said: God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth (John 4:24). A hardened heart annuls any outward action that we might take for ADONAI (see the commentary on Isaiah Aj – Stop Bringing Meaningless Offerings).¹⁴³ It seems as though Nadab and Abihu didn’t approach YHVH as sinners but with a self-righteous attitude.

Moshe said to Aaron, “This is what ADONAI said: Through those who are near me I will be consecrated, and before all the people I will be glorified” (10:3a). The words of Moshe may be loosely paraphrased, “the closer a person is to YHVH, the more attention they must pay to holiness and the glory of God.” The unspoken implication was that the sons of the high priest ought to have known better than to act so presumptuously. The same theological point is made in many different ways in the TaNaKh. It is because Isra’el is God’s covenant people that she faces the covenant curses listed in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28. Holy men within Isra’el are judged by an even higher standard than the world; they are expected to carry out God’s mitzvot to the last jot and tittle. In their case, the slightest transgression tends to attract the most startling punishment. The greatest of all Isra’el’s leaders, Moses, was denied the fulfillment of his lifelong ambition for slightly deviating from Ha’Shem’s commands (see the commentary on Numbers Di – The Waters of Meribah).¹⁴⁴

It is therefore reasonable to suppose that when we draw near to God we must sanctify Him (make Him holy). That is to say, we must treat the Sacred with sanctity and we must treat the Holy with holiness. In other words, Nadab and Abihu needed to display God’s glory in the sight of the people. In that sense, the deaths of Nadab and Abihu accurately revealed ADONAI before the Israelites. His holiness was no longer a matter of theory, it was revealed, and when God’s true nature is revealed, He is glorified. And before all the people I will be glorified.” Thus, Moshe comforted Aaron that his sons did not die in vain. Their deaths were meaningful, purposeful even, in that they served to sanctify (make holy) and glorify God in the sight of all Isra’el. Aaron accepted the consolation silently (10:3b).¹⁴⁵

We should have expected the brothers of Nadab and Abihu to have buried them; instead, the task was delegated to Aaron’s cousins Misha’el and Elzafan. Moses ordered Levite relatives to carry out the bodies of the two priests for burial, but He forbade Aaron and his two remaining sons from leaving the Tabernacle. Moshe called Misha’el and Elzafan, sons of ‘Uzzi’el Aaron’s uncle, and told them, “Come here, and carry your cousins away from in front of the sanctuary to a place outside the camp, like the useless parts of sacrificial animals.” And they carried them in their tunics out of the camp, just as Moshe had said (10:4-5).¹⁴⁶

Then Moshe stepped in right away to encourage his brother to maintain the proper ritual order. He told Aaron and his sons El‘eazar and Ithamar to continue to function as priests and not to show the customary signs of mourning over the deaths of those who so blatantly disregarded the LORD’s mitzvot – even though they were his own sons, and their brothers! Don’t unbind your hair or tear your clothes in mourning, so that you won’t die and so that ADONAI won’t be angry with the entire community. Rather, let your kinsman – the whole house of Isra’el – mourn, because of the destruction ADONAI brought about with his fire. Moreover, don’t leave the entrance to the tent of the meeting, or you will die, because ADONAI’s anointing oil is on you (10:6-7). Rare are men like Job, who can mourn the loss of relatives and praise the LORD at one and the same time (Job 1:20-21).

The basis for the punishment: Moshe had just completed seven days of training and instruction for the priests (Ba – The Meal and Seven Days of Training). This was the first time the Levitical priesthood was going to be fully functional. It was graduation day! It was supposed to be a day of joy and celebration. But Nadab and Abihu turned it into a day of tragedy and mourning. Each took his censer, put fire in it, laid incense on it, and offered strange fire on the altar of incense (see the commentary on Exodus Fp – The Altar of Incense in the Sanctuary: Christ, Our Advocate with the Father) before ADONAI, something he had not ordered them to do (10:1).

Moshe explained the basis for the punishment in 10:3. By those who come near Me I will be treated as holy, and before all the people I will be honored. The crux of their sin was approaching YHVH in a careless, self-willed, inappropriate manner, without the reverence He deserved, so Ha’Shem demonstrated His own holiness through judgment. While the judgment seems rather severe, this is probably because we don’t fully appreciate the seriousness of God’s holiness. Defending His reputation for holiness required more than a slap on the wrist. The deaths of Nadab and Abihu leave us in awe of the awful holiness of the LORD.¹⁴⁷ Ha’Shem’s response was swift and deadly: Fire came forth from the presence of ADONAI and consumed them, so that they died in the presence of ADONAI (10:2).

Divine punishment has to be more severe at the beginning of a new Dispensation (see the commentary on Acts At – Ananias and Sapphira Lie to the Ruach). What was the sin of Nadab and Abihu? What could have motivated them to do such a thing? They had just spent seven days alone with their father, going over the teaching which Moses so carefully imparted to them about the proper way to do work in the Tabernacle. In addition, they had just been witnesses to the awe-inspiring arrival of the Sh’khinah glory into the Tabernacle as well as the miraculous fire from above as it consumed the burnt offering on the bronze altar. And, do not forget the awesome worship which arose up to the Eternal One from the entire House of Isra’el.¹⁴⁸

Through the death of Nadab and Abihu, we are reminded that the fear of ADONAI is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 1:7). If God is to be approached, He must be approached on His terms, not on ours. The writer to the Hebrews warns us to offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:28-29). Nadab and Abihu are proof that this statement was not just symbolic. YHVH is dangerous. He holds life and death in His hands and owes nothing to anyone. If we are to enter into His presence, we must do so with some form of atonement to cover us. Nadab and Abihu were atoned for by way of sacrificial services and their dedication into the priesthood. But their atonement was efficacious only up to the boundary of their specified service. Once they stepped over that boundary, the atonement of the sacrifices failed them. They encountered Ha’Shem face to face, so to speak, without protection, and since no one can see YHVH and live (Exodus 33:20), their souls returned to their Maker.

In the same way that God consumed the sacrifice on the bronze altar with a holy fire, He consumed Nadab and Abihu. Like the sacrifices, they were brought near to Him. In fact, they came too close to Him, and they became an inadvertent human sacrifice.

You can imagine how stunned everyone must have been, especially Aaron, at the sudden deaths of his two sons. Compounding the emotional trauma was the fact that this tragedy came so closely after one of Isra’el’s – and Aaron’s – greatest moments of joy. It is interesting to see how Moshe’s leadership ability really shines here. He seemed to know how to be firm, decisive and, yet, compassionate.

This was the function of the sacrifices (Hebrew: korbanot). Remember that a korban is something brought near. One was to draw near to God by the vicarious means of the animal sacrifices (which were consumed by fire on the bronze altar), not by means of direct contact with Ha’Shem. Nevertheless, Nadab and Abihu vividly demonstrated the principle of the sacrificial system. If there was any question about the need to send a korbanot on one’s behalf, it was settled by Nadab and Abihu’s misadventure. Thus, through the death of Nadab and Abihu, the holiness of YHVH was demonstrated before the entire nation of Isra’el.

As the time for the first sacrificial service drew near the nation was in utter disarray. The Sanctuary and courtyard were rendered ritually impure from corpse contamination (see Bk – Ritually Clean and Unclean Animals). This was the highest level of impurity; the “grandfather of impurities” if you will. The corpse confers such a high degree of impurity that if the corpse had been in a tent, everything in the tent, even things which were not touching the corpse, would become impure. The purification offering was not eaten because it was burnt up by mistake, and the grain offering remained uneaten (10:13-14). What a mess.

Instructions for the priests (10:8-11): Then, we read a very touching moment in the text. Only here in Leviticus does God speak to Aaron directly and by himself; elsewhere it is always with or through Moses. This shows the importance of what follows, and that Aaron, despite his son’s misdeeds, was still high priest, able to mediate between YHVH and mankind.¹⁴⁹ It’s as if God was saying to Aaron, “I know your heart. You will be my high priest.” God said: Don’t drink any wine or other intoxicating liquor, neither you nor your sons with you, when you enter the Tabernacle, so that you will not die (10:8-9a). It seems to be an assurance from the LORD that although He had to take his two sons and even prohibit Aaron from showing the customary mourning signs, nonetheless, He still loved Aaron and cared how he felt. So, Aaron was given the privilege of hearing the comforting voice of the Eternal One.

This is to be a permanent regulation through all your generations, so that you will distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean; and so that you will teach the people of Isra’el all the mitzvot ADONAI has told them through Moshe” (10:9b-11). The priests were not just men who offered sacrifices, but were also teachers. To teach the people meant to teach the people the Torah, which included both teaching the revealed mitzvot and making decisions about difficult cases not explicitly covered in the Sinai revelation (see the commentary on Deuteronomy Dg – Judges).¹⁵⁰

The Judgment and Mercy of ADONAI
10: 1-20

History tells us again and again of people who had auspicious beginnings filled with promise and yet who, in an unguarded moment, suddenly fell. The nature of their errors might seem relatively mild at first glance: a leader loses his temper and strikes the rock instead of speaking to it (Num 20:9-13); sinful hands touch the holy things of God’s sanctuary (2 Sam 6:6-8); unauthorized fire is burned in the holy place (Lev 10:1). These events might seem small in our estimation – but this is not God’s estimation, for their error turns what was a place of salvation into a place of judgment. Many calamities have fallen on the house of the LORD in the shape of apostasies, false doctrines, unholy living, and reckless rebellion. Leviticus 10 is the report of such a mistake.

On their graduation day, the first day on the job, Aaron’s two sons, Nadab and Abihu, brought strange fire into the Holy Place in their censers – something that ADONAI had not commanded them to do. Immediately, the fire of Ha’Shem destroyed them for their disobedience. The divine judgment was swift and final. It had to be so because their violation of the Sanctuary and the priesthood came at the very beginning of the Israelites ability to draw near to ADONAI. Without such an immediate response, the corruption of the offerings would have been rapid and perhaps unstoppable. And yet the priesthood survived this judgment; it did not come to an end because of their disobedience, as the aftermath of the episode showed. On the contrary, these verses turn out to be a confirmation of Aaron’s high priesthood and a reinforcement of his duties.¹⁴¹ Therefore, despite such a negative beginning, Leviticus 10 does end positively. This chapter is divided into two sections: The Death of Nadab and Abihu – 10:1-11 (to see link click Bh), and The Mercy Shown to Eleazar and Ithamar – 10:12-20 (Bi). The Torah displays both judgment and mercy.

The Appearance of the Sh’khinah Glory
9: 22-24

The appearance of the Sh’khinah glory DIG: Why was it necessary to have a mediator? Who is our mediator today? What does the fact that the bronze altar was heaped with offerings point to? What is important about Moses and Aaron coming out of the Sanctuary? What is the priestly blessing intended to do? What was the reaction of the people to the Sh’khinah?

REFLECT: The bible says, “For there is one mediator between God and mankind, the man Messiah Yeshua (First Timothy 2:5). When was the last time you felt especially in need of your Mediator? How did He help you through that time? How has He helped you since? When was your “tongues of fire” moment? How do you remember it? How can you help others?

Then the Sh’khinah glory of ADONAI appeared to all the people.

In order for the ritual to be properly presented to ADONAI (to see link click Be – The Offerings for the People of Isra’el), there had to be a mediator. And so the next step in the working out of the pattern of worship, before the Sh’khinah glory appeared, was the necessary work of the high priest. The bronze altar was heaped with purification, the burnt, and peace offerings. In the sequence of events recorded for this inaugural service (see Bb – The Beginning of the Priestly Service), Aaron came down from the bronze altar, raised his hands toward the people, and blessed them (9:22).¹³⁶

The priestly benediction: Then Moses and Aaron went together into the Holy Place to apply the blood on the gold altar of incense (see the commentary on Exodus Fp – Altar of Incense in the Sanctuary: Christ, Our Advocate with the Father), and to pray for YHVH to fulfill His promise to bless the people by appearing to them. Then they both came out and Aaron blessed the people (9:23). If we weren’t paying attention, it would be easy to miss the significance of that achievement. The priesthood and the sacrifices were a success! The proof is that Moses and Aaron were able to enter into the Sanctuary. They were able to draw near, entering into the very Presence of ADONAI. It was the first time anyone had been able to enter the Sanctuary since Exodus 40:34-35. Now we read that Moshe and Aaron entered the Sanctuary, emerged from it and again blessed the children of Isra’el.

This is known as the Aaronic Priestly Blessing. It was, and is, intended to put the Name of ADONAI upon the people of Isra’el. Traditionally, the priests blessed the people every morning after morning burnt offerings at the Tabernacle (and later the Temple). When recited, the priest raised his hands with the palms facing outward and the thumbs of his outspread hands touching. The four fingers on each hand are split into two sets of two fingers each (thus forming the letter Shin, an emblem for Shaddai).¹³⁷ ADONAI said to Moshe, “Speak to Aaron and his sons, and tell them that this is how you are to bless the people of Isra’el: you are to say to them, ‘May ADONAI bless you and keep you. May ADONAI make His face shine on you and show you His favor. May ADONAI lift up His face toward you and give you peace’ (Numbers 6:22-26).”

This blessing is known by three different names, It is called the “Priestly Blessing” because the priesthood was commanded to bless Isra’el with it. Each day, following the daily, continual burnt offering, the priests would recite this blessing over the Israelites. It is also called duchaning (the going up to the platform) because in Temple times, the priests would first ascend to a platform (duchan) before conferring the blessing. The third name by which this blessing is called is “the lifting of the hands” because in Temple times, the priests would lift up their hands and make the sign of the Hebrew letter shin with their fingers (made famous by Spock on Star Trek). The shin is an accepted Jewish abbreviation for the Name of God. This was practiced in Temple times to fulfill the commandment: In this way they are to put My name on the people of Isra’el, so that I will bless them (Numbers 6:27).¹³⁸

The appearance of the Sh’khinah glory: The Aaronic blessing was immediately followed by a startling manifestation of the presence of ADONAI. Then the Sh’khinah glory of ADONAI appeared to all the people (see the commentary on Isaiah Ju – The Glory of the LORD Rises Upon You)! Fire came forth from the presence of ADONAI, consuming the burnt offering and the fat on the altar (9:24a). In consuming the sacrifices, YHVH signaled His approval. He had brought Isra’el near. Their korbanot (things brought near) had been accepted. Fire shot out from inside the Sanctuary and consumed the heap of sacrifices that Aaron and his sons had laid upon the bronze altar.¹³⁹

Dear Heavenly Father, You are the Light of the world! Your glory is magnificent! Someday soon, all who love You, will live with You in Your eternal home in heaven (John 14:1-3). I thank You so much for all it cost You, the great pain and shame of my redemption, by Yeshua’s death and resurrection. I desire to live as a bright light for You, shining out by my acts of love that tell others of Your holy love and also of Your righteous judgment for those who love themselves as more than they love You. And the testimony is this – that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.  The one who has the Son has life; the one who does not have Ben-Elohim does not have life (First John 5:11-12). You are my joy! In Yeshua’s holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen

When all the people saw it. When the Hebrew text tells us that all the people saw it (9:24b), the Hebrew idiom means the vast majority, not necessarily every single individual. Nevertheless, the fire was such that it made an impression on the whole nation. It was not a little fire. Nor could it have been merely a fire on the bronze altar if all the people saw it. It had to be visible even on its way down from the LORD in order for a gathering of some two million to have seen it.

They shouted (Hebrew: vaiyaronnu) for joy (9:24c): Then we are told that the people sang a glad song. The root of the Hebrew word in this text is ranan. It is used elsewhere to signify ringing cries, especially in prayers and joy. Targum Onkelos rendered it, “and they praised.” Putting it all together, it seems that when all the people saw the Sh’khinah and the fire, they shouted a great noise of praise and worship, a sound of joy.

No matter when God’s fire came down from heaven to consume an offering it always had the same reactions from the people. And fell (Hebrew: vaiyippelu) on their faces to worship the LORD in reverence and awe (9:24d). They worshiped with the same fervency as when they first came out of Egypt. It truly was a time of national unity in their devotion to the God who redeemed them and entered into a personal relationship with them. Between the Sh’khinah and blessing, the children of Isra’el must have felt so accepted and intimate with the LORD. God was dwelling with His people, and His people had access to His Presence.

The goal which ADONAI set for Isra’el in the words: Let them build Me a Sanctuary, that I may dwell among them (Exodus 25:8) was achieved at last. The appearance of the Sh’khinah glory within the Sanctuary and descent of the heavenly fire were the culmination of the miraculous events signaling that intimacy had been established between the nation of Isra’el and her God. The supreme dignity of Isra’el as the chosen people was being confirmed by the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jaob Himself.

Tongues of fire: There was another time in Isra’el’s history when fire came down from ADONAI in a miraculous way. The instance is recorded in Acts Chapter 2 (see the commentary on Acts Al – The Ruach Ha’Kodesh Comes at Shavu’ot). And it happened when the people of Isra’el were worshiping at the Temple – also offering the prescribed sacrifices! The fire on that day was the visible manifestation of the coming Spirit of God to empower the Jewish believers in Yeshua to share the Good News of Messiah with thousands of other Jews who had come to Jerusalem to celebrate Shavu’ot from all over the Diaspora. As a result, because Ha’Shem gave the Jewish believers a supernatural spiritual gift to speak the languages of the worshipers from all over the world, about 3,000 Jewish people came to have their sins atoned for by trusting in Yeshua the Messiah. On that occasion, as in Leviticus Chapter 9, fire miraculously came from the LORD, there was atonement for sins, and great blessing came upon the people of Isra’el.

It would have been wonderful to write at this point, “and they lived happily ever after.” But as the text indicates, it was not meant to be In fact, some commentators say that right from the beginning of this parashah (see the commentary on Deuteronomy Af – Parashah) we have a hint that it was not all going to be singing and rejoicing from then until eternity. The midrash speaks of this when it says, “Whenever the words vayehi bimei (literally, now it came about (as seen in Leviticus 9:1), or and it came to pass in the days of) are used in Scripture, there is misfortune connected to it (Vayikra Rabba 11.7). Sadly, such is the case here in Leviticus (see Bh – The Death of Nadab and Abihu).¹⁴⁰

The Offerings for the People of Isra’el
9: 15-21

The offerings for the People of Isra’el DIG: Why is the order of the sacrifices significant? Why was every kind of sacrifice offered except the guilt offering? What does this say about Aaron’s role of restoring the people to a right relationship with ADONAI? Why was the goat offering necessary? Why was it offered before the burnt offering?

REFLECT: The order of the sacrifices shows us that we must deal with our sin first, before we can dedicate ourselves totally to the Lord? When have you wanted spiritual growth, but were not ready to give up a particular sin? What helped you move toward repentance and greater dedication? How do you live out complete dedication and commitment to God?

We must first deal with our sins before we can dedicate ourselves totally to the Lord.

The goat purification offering (9:15): Having offered the sacrifices for himself and his sons, Aaron was ready to minister on behalf of the people (to see link click Bd – The Offerings for Aaron and the Priests). A goat was brought as a national purification offering. Then the people’s offering was presented. He took the goat of the purification offering which was for the people, slaughtered it and offered it for sin, like the earlier purification offering. Why a goat? Since it was a sacrifice on behalf of the entire nation, one might suppose it should have been a bull as seen in Leviticus 4 (see Al – The Purification Offering). The national purification offering mandated a bull when the entire nation inadvertently sinned in regard to a particular command (a situation which could easily arise through a mistake in reckoning the calendar or a misruling by the Sanhedrin). In that event, the blood of a bull was to be brought inside the Sanctuary, and the meat of the purification offering was to be burned outside the camp. Yet here, in Leviticus 9, the purification offering on behalf of the entire nation was a goat, not a bull. Furthermore, its blood was not to be brought into the Sanctuary, it was to be eaten by the priesthood (10:16-18). This seems to be a contradiction.

But a third passage which reconciles Leviticus 4 and Leviticus 9 is Numbers 15:22-25, “If by mistake you fail to observe all these mitzvot that ADONAI has spoken to Moshe, yes, everything that ADONAI has ordered you to do through Moshe, from the day ADONAI gave the order and onward through all your generations, then, if it was done by mistake by the community and was not known to them, the whole community is to offer one young bull for a burnt offering as a fragrant aroma to ADONAI, with its grain and drink offerings, in keeping with the rule, and one male goat as a purification offering. The priest is to make atonement for the whole community of the people of Isra’el; and they will be forgiven; because it was a mistake; and they have brought their offering, an offering made by fire, to ADONAI, and their purification offering before ADONAI for their mistake.” This Numbers passage mandates a goat instead of a bull for a national purification offering and makes no mention of bringing the goat’s blood into the Sanctuary.

What then is the difference between the national purification offering of Leviticus 4 and the national purification offering of Numbers 15? Aside from being a different animal, the primary difference is that the blood of the bull in Leviticus 4 is brought inside the Sanctuary, whereas the blood of the goat in Numbers 15 is not. Thus, the bull was not to be eaten by the priesthood, but the goat was. This seeming discrepancy is easily explained. The bull of Leviticus 4 is offered on behalf of both the entire nation and the priesthood. Therefore, it must be a bull and the priests are not to have a share in eating it, because it was offered on their behalf as well. The goat of Numbers 15, however, is offered on behalf of the nation but not on behalf of the priesthood. Therefore, it need not be a bull (because it was not offered for the anointed priest), and it was to be eaten by the priesthood (because it was not offered on their behalf).¹³²

The burnt offering and additional offerings (9:16-17): Following the sacrifice of the purification offering of a goat, Aaron offered up the burnt offering (see Ai – The Burnt Offering). There is a general pattern to be observed in these ceremonies. The purification offering is made first to provide ritual purification and atonement. It signifies that as we approach ADONAI, purification must be dealt with first. Then, the purification offering is followed by the burnt offering, which symbolizes dedication and commitment to God. We live out this second step in relationship with God by turning our lives over to Him completely. Only then, following the purification offering and the burnt offering, are we ready to enjoy fellowship with God as symbolized by the shared meal of the peace offering.

Dear Heavenly Father, how wonderful to feel Your great love, but we must also remember that You are holy. You cannot ignore sin. Some people see as a blind man sees and they say that You allow everyone to come to live eternally with You within heaven. But, if everyone from earth went to heaven – then there would be no difference between earth and heaven, for sin would still be there. The full truth is this: The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some consider slowness. Rather, He is being patient toward you – not wanting anyone to perish, but for all to come to repentance (Second Peter 3:9). How important it is to repent. Repentance turns the sinner away from their sin and causes them to humbly run into Your loving arms. How wonderful that You accept our repentance. Thank you! In the holy name of Messiah Yeshua and by the power of His resurrection. Amen

The burnt offering was presented, and he offered it in the prescribed manner. The grain offering was presented; he took a handful of the dough and made it go up in smoke on the bronze altar, in addition to the morning’s burnt offering (9:16-17). Aaron offered the bull on behalf of the people along with the grain offerings (see Aj – The Grain Offerings: Dedicated to God), which typically accompanied burnt offerings, not to mention the grain offering of the anointed priest. The Torah also mentions that all of these sacrifices were, of course, in addition to the daily burnt offering, which began the sacrificial services of the day.¹³³

Two peace offerings (9:18-21): After the sacrifice of the burnt offerings was made, only the ox and ram for the peace offering remained (see Ak – The Peace Offerings). Again, Aaron officiated in the blood service and offered the bronze altar portions and fats on the altar. He slaughtered the ox and the ram, the people’s sacrifice as peace offerings; Aaron’s sons brought him the blood, which he splashed against all sides of the bronze altar, and the fat of the ox and of the ram – the fat tail, the fat which covers the inner organs, the kidneys and the covering of the liver. They put the fat on the breasts, and he made the fat go up in smoke on the bronze altar. The priestly portions of the breast and right thigh he waved before the LORD as a wave offering. The breasts and right thigh Aaron waved as a wave offering before ADONAI, as Moshe had ordered (9:18-21). These were to be eaten by Aaron and his sons as their share from the peace offerings. We assume the rest of the portions of the ox and the ram were to be eaten by the tribal leaders.

Four offerings were brought on behalf of the people. A goat as a purification offering to cleanse the bronze altar, a young bull as a burnt offering, a grain offering, and an ox and a ram as peace offerings. These were fairly modest offerings in comparison with those offered at the principle feasts (see the commentary on Numbers Fa – The Mitzvot of the Offerings), and negligible compared with those brought by Solomon at the dedication of the Temple (see the commentary on The Life of Solomon Bo – Fire from Heaven). However, it’s not the quantity, but the variety that is the point here. On Aaron’s first day in office he offered every kind of sacrifice, except the guilt offering, which was reserved for specific offenses. This indicates that the purpose of these sacrifices was not to atone for specific sins, but for the general sinfulness of the nation, to dedicate the entire nation to draw near to ADONAI according to His appointed means, and to pray for God’s blessing on them.¹³⁴

The order of the sacrifices is significant: The purification offering was first to show that the priority was cleansing the Holy Place due to defilement and sin. Then the worshipers would find full acceptance in the presence of God through the atoning effect of the burnt offering. And this prompted their dedication to the LORD, as expressed through the meal offering. Finally, the worshipers could enjoy celebrating peace with ADONAI with the communal meal of the peace offering. When Aaron had completed all the sacrifices, he and his sons and the people of Isra’el were forgiven, dedicated wholly to ADONAI and in fellowship with Him.¹³⁵

The same is true for us today. We must first deal with our sins before we can dedicate ourselves totally to the Lord. Then we can enjoy fellowship with Him.

The Offerings for Aaron and the Priests
9: 8-14

The offerings for Aaron and the priests DIG: Why do you think the sacrifice of Aaron’s sin was made before the one for the people’s sin? Why did Aaron put blood on the horns of the golden altar inside the Holy Place? How is Yeshua related to Aaron and his sons?

REFLECT: Hebrews 7:11-28 tells us that Yeshua Messiah is now our High Priest. How does that affect your walk with Him? How would you explain God’s process of reconciliation to someone who did not understand it? With whom will you share it this week?

Aaron’s actions in carrying out these sacrifices served
as a public admission of his own sinfulness and need for forgiveness.

A bull for a chatta’t offering: So, Aaron approached the altar and slaughtered the bull-calf for the chatta’t offering (to see link click Aq – The Chatta’t Offering: Communicating God’s Forgiveness) which was for himself and his sons (9:8). The bull-calf that Aaron used is referred to as the egel, the same word used for the golden calf (see the commentary on Exodus Gq – The Golden Calf Incident). So, it seems that one egel atoned for the other! The rabbis ask, “Why was an egel chosen for Aaron’s chatta’t offering?” God wished to show by means of this bull-calf that Aaron would be forgiven his role in the sin of the golden calf incident. Aaron and his sons offered their chatta’t offering according to the same procedure Moshe had followed during the seven-day orientation. The sons of Aaron caught the blood in bowls and presented it to him; and Aaron dipped his finger in the blood and put it on the horns of the golden altar in the Holy Place (see Exodus Fp – Altar of Incense in the Sanctuary: Christ, Our Advocate with the Father). Because the priests would ordinarily minister inside the Sanctuary, potentially, they might defile it; thus, the blood of their chatta’t offering was brought inside as a cleansing ritual. So far, Aaron and his sons had not been in the Sanctuary. They could not have defiled it.¹³⁰

Dear Holy Heavenly Father, Praise Your love and holiness! I so enjoy being loved by You and thinking of You as a great God of love – which you are; but You are also holy. Your love never ignores sin. Your holiness and love work together. Praise You that Your own arm brought righteousness. Now when ADONAI saw it, it was displeasing in His eyes that there was no justice. He saw that there was no one – He was astonished that no one was interceding. Therefore, His own arm brought salvation for Him, and His righteousness upheld Him (Isaiah 59:15c-16).

Thank You that though all have sinned (Romans 3:23), You paid the way for those who love You and have put their faith in You as their Lord and Savior, to have Messiah’s righteousness (Second Corinthians 5:21) and to be accepted into Your family. For if you confess with your mouth that Yeshua is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart it is believed for righteousness, and with the mouth it is confessed for salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever trusts in Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of all – richly generous to all who call on Him. For “Everyone who calls upon the name of ADONAI shall be saved” (Romans 10:9-13).

Praise You so much for opening the door of being in Your family (Ephesians 1:5,10,12) to people of all races, all ages, male and female. For you are all sons of God through trusting in Messiah Yeshua.  For all of you who were immersed in Messiah have clothed yourselves with Messiah. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female – for you are all one in Messiah Yeshua (Galatians 3:26-28). We are so thankful that You are a Great God of both Love and Holiness! In the holy name of the One who sits at Your right hand, and by the power of His righteousness. Amen

Continuing with the ritual, Aaron’s sons caught more blood from the bull-calf in bowls and brought it to him, which he splashed it against all sides of the altar. Then Aaron’s sons skinned and divided the ram according to the prescribed ritual procedure. The son’s handed the pieces to their father, the fat, the kidneys and the covering of the liver of the purification offering, who in turn arranged them on the bronze altar as ADONAI had ordered Moshe. The meat and the skin were burned up completely outside the camp (9:10-11).

A ram for an ‘olah offering: Following the chatta’t offering, Aaron and his sons slaughtered a ram for their ‘olah offering (see Ao – The ‘Olah Offering: Providing Access to God), which recalls the sacrifice of Isaac (see the commentary on Genesis Fo – Abraham Saw a Ram Caught by Its Horns, So He Called that place The LORD Will Provide). Aaron’s sons skinned and divided the ram according to the prescribed ritual procedure. They brought Aaron the ‘olah offering, piece by piece, and the head; and he made them go up in smoke on the bronze altar. He washed the inner organs and the lower parts of the legs and made them go up in smoke on top of the burnt offering on the altar (9:12-14). Aaron’s actions in carrying out these sacrifices served as a public admission of his own sinfulness and need for forgiveness.¹³¹ Having completed the priestly offerings, they were then ready to turn their attention to the sacrifices on behalf of the people of Isra’el (see Be – The Offerings for the People of Isra’el).

On the Eighth Day
9: 1-7

On the eighth day DIG: What was the significance of the ministry of the priesthood beginning on the eighth day? What function was served by the various sacrifices? What impressions do they leave you with? What was ironic about Aaron offering a bull-calf?

REFLECT: How excited were you on your first day on the job? What do you think Aaron and his sons were feeling? Why were both the chatt’at and ‘olah offerings made? How would you feel outside the Tabernacle waiting with over two million people for the Sh’kinah to appear?

Parashah 26: Sh’mini (Eighth) 9:1 to 11:47
(See my commentary on Deuteronomy,to see link clickAf – Parashah)

The Key People are Moshe, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, Mishael and Eltsafan, Eleazer and Ithamar.

The Scene is the Tabernacle in the wilderness of Sinai.

The Main Events include Aaron’s first offerings; Moshe and Aaron entering the Tabernacle; the Sh’khinah glory appearing; fire consuming the burnt offering; the people falling on their faces; Nadab and Abihu offered strange fire and dying; Eleazer and Ithamar distinguishing holy and unholy and pure from impure.

It was the eighth day of the first month. On each of the previous seven days, the sacrificial services had been officiated by Moshe. He had performed the functions of the priesthood, offering the sacrifices, applying the blood and even eating the priestly portion of the sacrifices. But on the eighth day, he prepared to turn those responsibilities over to his brother Aaron, and his four sons: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.¹²³

The first day on the job (9:1-4): Now it came about (Hebrew: vayehi) on the eighth day, Moshe called Aaron, his sons and the leaders of Isra’el, and said to Aaron, “Take for yourself a bull-calf (Hebrew: egel, the same word used for the golden calf) for a chatta’t offering (to see link click Aq – The Chatta’t Offering: Communicating God’s Forgiveness). Jewish commentators have long noted the irony of this command to Aaron. The first sacrifice he had to offer is a bull-calf, as if to atone for his sin in making the golden calf (see the commentary on Exodus Gr – Aaron Made an Idol in the Shape of a Calf), while ram for a ‘olah offering (see Ao – The ‘Olah Offering: Providing Access to God), recalled the same animal offered by Abraham instead of Isaac (see the commentary on Genesis Fl –Abraham Tested). Both were to be offered without defect before ADONAI (9:1-2). The sinfulness of mankind certainly underlined this command. For seven days sacrifices had been offered to purge Aaron’s sins in the ordination service. Yet in the first services that he conducts, Aaron offered sacrifice both on his own and the people’s behalf.¹²⁴

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise Your love, holiness and wisdom. Thank You that Your holiness seeing sin in man’s heart, and knowing that there was nothing man could do to pay his sin penalty; You Yourself willingly bore our sin and shame on the cross, that You might be able to give Your righteousness to all who love and follow You as their Lord and Savior (Romans 10:9-10). He made the One who knew no sin to become a sin offering on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God (Second Corinthians 5:21). We love to live our life as a love offering back to You! In Jesus’ holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen

Then Aaron and his sons were to perform their first priestly service on Isra’el’s behalf by bringing a purification offering, two burnt offerings, two peace offerings and a grain offering on behalf of Isra’el. In addition, to these special offerings, the daily burnt offering of one lamb for the morning continual burnt offering would also be required. Following that, Aaron was to tell the people of Isra’el, “Take a male goat for a purification offering and a calf and a lamb, both a year old and without defect, for a burnt offering, and an ox and a ram for peace offerings, to sacrifice before ADONAI also, a grain offering mixed with olive oil. This was a memorable occasion, not only because it began the daily offerings, but also because something very special would happen. Moses told Aaron, “Today ADONAI is going to be seen by the people” (9:3-4).¹²⁵

The offerings were made for the whole nation and served as a means of atonement for every one of the Israelites. Aaron offered every type of sacrifice except the asham offering (see Ar – The Asham Offering: The Ministry of Reconciliation). His purpose was to atone for the general sinfulness of the nation, to dedicate the whole nation to the worship of the LORD, and to pray for ADONAI’s blessing on His people.

The order of the sacrifices is enlightening. The purification offering was first to show that the priority was cleansing the Tabernacle due to defilement and sin. Then the worshippers could find full acceptance in the presence of God through the atoning effect of the burnt offering (see Ai – The Burnt Offering). And this prompted their dedication to ADONAI as expressed through the grain offering (see Aj – The Grain Offering). Finally, the worshippers could enjoy celebrating peace with God with the communal meal (see Ak – The Peace Offering). Each sacrifice foreshadowed some aspect of the sacrifice of Yeshua Messiah in the B’rit Chadashah.¹²⁶

Come near (9:5-7): The whole nation was gathered at the entrance to the Tabernacle so that the Sh’khinah glory might appear. The Torah commanded that all Isra’el appear before ADONAI (Exodus 23:17) and promised that in doing so they would behold His Sh’khinah glory. All eyes were on the new priests. They brought what Moshe had ordered before the Tabernacle, and the whole nation approached and stood before ADONAI (9:5). Moshe said, “This is what ADONAI has ordered you to do, so that the Sh’khinah glory of ADONAI will appear to you” (9:6), just as His glory appears when the Tabernacle was completed (see the commentary on Exodus Hh – The Glory of the LORD Filled the Tabernacle). The Sh’khinah glory is the visual manifestation of God’s glory (see the commentary on Isaiah Ju – The Glory of the LORD Rises Upon You). This is important because it provides another helpful way for us to understand the manifestation of ADONAI in Messiah Yeshua. When He came to earth to dwell in bodily form, John 1:14 states: The Word became a human being and lived with us, and we saw His Sh’khinah, the Sh’khinah of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth. Now in our passage in Leviticus, we can see another illustration of what John meant when he said: And we saw His Sh’khinah, and how the Eternal One was revealed in the person of Yeshua.¹²⁷

This is important because it provides another helpful way for us to understand the manifestation of ADONAI in Messiah. When Yeshua came to the earth in bodily form, John 1:14 states: The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us, and we saw His Sh’khinah gory, the Sh’khinah of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth. In both John Chapter One and Leviticus Chapter Nine, we are told that seeing the Sh’khinah glory is likened to seeing an appearance of Ha’Shem Himself. Thus, based on what happened in Leviticus Chapter Nine, we can now understand a little more of how the Eternal One was revealed in the person of Yeshua.¹²⁸

The sacrifices are termed korbanot, that is, things brought near. The entire sacrificial procedure is about the mechanics of making the approach into the presence of God on earth. Moses assured Aaron and all Isra’el that on that day ADONAI will appear to them (9:4). The sacrifices were meant as a means to draw Isra’el near to Him. They were also necessary to cover and protect (and atone for) Isra’el and the priesthood. If Isra’el and her priest were to withstand the presence of God in their midst, they would need atonement to protect them. Moshe stated this explicitly, saying to Aaron, “Approach the bronze altar, offer your chatta’t offering and ‘olah offering, and make atonement for yourself and the people. Up until this time, it was Moshe who was doing the sacrifices. Then Moshe invited Aaron to take over and begin the ministry for the first time. To present the offering of the people and make atonement for them, as ADONAI ordered” (9:7).¹²⁹

The Beginning of the Priestly Service
9: 1-24

Leviticus 9 is the most detailed, narrative description of a worship service in the entire Bible. In this chapter, Aaron and his sons were then ready to function and officiate as priests. Their seven days of ordination into the priesthood were complete, and the eighth day was their first day on the job, so to speak. Finally, the Tabernacle was ready to be put to the test. Until that point, no one had been able to enter it. So absolute was ADONAI’s holiness and so intense was His Sh‘khinah glory that even Moshe was unable to enter. No one was able to draw near to God. But then, through the medium of the sacrificial offerings and the ordained priesthood, Isra’el was ready to try.¹²²

The Meal and Seven Days of Training
Leviticus 8: 31-36

The seven days of training DIG: What parts of the ordination ceremony were seven days long and which were offered daily? Why was a bull sacrificed each day? Is the ordination to ministry a “once-for-all-time” event or is it a continual process? Why was the concept of holiness so important? Have you ever been set aside for special service to the LORD?

REFLECT: What parts of the ordination ceremony listed here would you want included for your ordination into ministry? Read Judges 17:5 and 12. Perhaps you have been ordained for service as a leader, elder, servant, children’s worker, musician, or usher. Has God “filled your hands” to serve Him? Explain the role of a wholehearted ministry to ADONAI.

There were seven main steps to the dedication of the Tabernacle and the priests. The sixth step was the meal (8:31-32): ADONAI instructed Aaron and his sons to cook and eat the rest of the peace offering ram of ordination within the courtyard of the Tabernacle. They were to eat it along with the remainder of the breads. Whatever was not eaten was to be burned. Moshe said to Aaron and his sons, “Boil the meat at the door of the Sanctuary; and eat it there with the bread that is in the basket of dedication, as I ordered when I said that Aaron and his sons are to eat it. Whatever is left over of the meat and bread you are to burn up completely (8:31-32). This meal sealed the covenant with the priests and God.¹¹⁶

There were seven main steps to the ordination of the Tabernacle and the priests. The last step was seven days of training (8:33-36): Do not leave the entrance to the Tabernacle for seven days, until the days of your ordination are fulfilled; for He will ordain you through seven days (8:33). The phrases are fulfilled; for He will ordain in the Hebrew literally reads, He will fill your hand. It was an idiom that meant investing with an office. They were to be invested with the office of the priesthood. The parashah ends (see the commentary on Deuteronomy, to see link click Af – Parashah) with the seven-day ordination ceremony. An ordinary peace offering was not designated as “most holy” and could be eaten anywhere in the camp of Isra’el. However, Aaron and his sons were not to leave the Tabernacle courtyard at all for seven days. Being elevated for divine service requires a Shabbat with ADONAI.¹¹⁷

According to Jewish tradition, each day Moses would gather all of Isra’el to the Tabernacle, wash Aaron and His sons, robe them in their priestly clothing, and anoint them with oil. Moshe then anointed the Tabernacle, its contents, the bronze altar and the bronze basin. This tradition says that the entire procedure was repeated for seven consecutive days. Each day Moses would reassemble priests and repeat the sacrifice of a bull for a purification offering to make atonement for them (Exodus 29:35), and it also purified the bronze altar (see the commentary on Exodus Gh – Bring a Bull to the Front of the Tabernacle and Slaughter It There), the first of two rams for a burnt offering (see Ay – The Burnt Offering Ram), and the ordination ram for a peace offering (see Az – The Peace Offering Ram). Afterwards Moshe taught the priests their various duties.

What has been done today was commanded by ADONAI to make atonement for you. You are to remain at the entrance to the Tabernacle, day and night for seven days, indicating that the ordination was thorough and complete, thereby obeying what ADONAI ordered done, so that you may not die. For this is what I was commanded (8:34-35). If they left the holy place and went out to a non-holy place (anywhere outside the Tabernacle courtyard (see the commentary on Exodus Ex – The Courtyard and Gate of the Tabernacle), they were disregarding the holiness of the ordination process and also risking death.

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You for being so Holy and loving! It is wonderful to feel Your great love, but it is also important to remember that You are holy and you want me to be filled with Your joy as I live my life lovingly obeying You. Though Your love is so very great, love never overrides Your holiness. Please help me to always remember that our relationship is a two-way loving relationship. It is not just about receiving the gift of Your love and then walking away and doing what I please – no, that is not a covenant relationship of love. Yeshua said that the most important commandment was to love God with all your heart. And He said to him: You shall love ADONAI your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment (Matthew 22:37-38). It is a joy to please You and to use my thoughts, time and money in ways that make You feel my love for you. In Yeshua’s holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen

The priests underwent this weeklong rite of passage to move from one life, to an entirely new life of the priesthood. The drawn-out, yet complete process of one week, impressed on them the importance of entering and following the ministry as obedient servants of ADONAI. Moshe explained that the ordination rituals were performed to provide atonement for the priests so they wouldn’t die. Since they would be serving in the presence of Ha’Shem, they would be in need of extra measures of atonement. The entire ritual was celebrated to show that the Aaronic priesthood was an institution of YHVH, existing by His will and meant to serve His purpose. Neither Aaron nor his sons were ready to be priests apart from what was done in the ordination: as sinners they needed atonement, as common men they had to be ordained and set apart, and as ordinary men they had to be empowered.¹¹⁸

God’s grace was particularly evident in Aaron’s appointment as the high priest. For the very one who had been the chief sinner (see the commentary on Exodus Gr – Aaron Made an Idol in the Shape of a Calf) then became the chief mediator for the people of God. Servants of God in all ages are in desperate need of the cleansing provided by ADONAI to be available and useful in His service. Believer-priests can still serve God today provided they be cleansed by means of the Ruach Ha’Kodesh and the Word (John 13:10; Ephesians 5:26; Titus 3:5; and Hebrews 10:22). The contrast between the sinful lives of the future high priests and the life and work of our Great High Priest, Yeshua Messiah, to which the high priests pointed, was not lost on the writer to the Hebrews (see the commentary on Hebrews Be – Melchizedek Was a Type of Christ).¹¹⁹

The concept of holiness jumps out at us as we read this passage. It is important to understand that holiness is not inherent in creation, but comes only from God. He alone is the source of holiness. There is nothing innately holy in the materials of the Tabernacle, or in the cloth or the materials of the priest, or the priesthood itself. They were common things and common people. But what made them different was that they were set apart for the purposes of a holy God.

One of the primary names for the righteous of the TaNaKh is the holy ones (Deut 33:2-3; Job 5:1; Psalms 16:3, 34:9; Zechariah 14:5). This is also true in the B’rit Chadashah, in which the word often translated saint literally means holy one (Romans 1:7; First Corinthians 1:2; Ephesians 1:1). Now people in their natural state are common and, indeed, fallen (Genesis 3:1-24). For someone to be called a holy one, the work of God must have taken place in that person’s heart. It is God who changes something, or someone, from common to holy. It is His work, and His glory that He does such things. Why should God allow you to enter His heaven? God is holy, sees every heart and judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart (Hebrews 4:12). A holy heart is what is needed to enter a holy heaven. God wants to give you that holy heart, if willing to love and follow Him as your Lord and Savior. If you merely respect Yeshua as a good person, that is not enough. A heart of love towards God is needed for God to make you holy. Make a wise choice to follow the ADONAI who loves you so very much! You will never be sorry when you choose to love and to follow God with all your heart!

It is fun to speculate what Aaron and his sons may have talked about while together in such an unusual setting for the seven-day period. Probably none of them ever dreamed they would ever find themselves in such a lofty position, nor would they have considered themselves unworthy of it. I can just hear one of them saying, “Abba, is there really forgiveness for my sins?” And another, “Father, why does there have to be so much blood?” Then I imagine Aaron trying to answer, saying, “I don’t know exactly how to answer you. But we need to take God at His Word. If He says the blood atonement covers our sins, then we need to believe Him.”

The question was then, would they listen to the words of Ha’Shem and act on them? This leads us to the next parashah, where we see that two of Aaron’s sons should have listened to their Abba’s advice and taken God’s Words more seriously. But for now, at least, Aaron and his sons were obedient and did everything ADONAI commanded through Moses (8:36).¹²⁰

Haftarah Tzav: Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 7:21–8:3; 9:23-24
(see the commentary on Deuteronomy Af – Parashah)

Let the boaster boast about this: that he understands and knows Me – that I am ADONAI, practicing grace, justice and righteousness in the Land; for in these things I take pleasure, says ADONAI (Jeremiah 9:24). Sacrifices alone will not please Ha’Shem. But Isra’el thought, “The Temple, the Temple will protect us” (see the commentary on Jeremiah Cc – False Religion is Worthless). They did not believe God would let His holy Temple be destroyed. Jeremiah uttered the shocking command: Eat the ‘olah (Jeremiah 7:21)! The prophet denounced the people for burning their sons and daughters in fire – which I never commanded (Jeremiah 7:31). YHVH concludes ever so softly that the wise, the strong, and the rich should not glory in wisdom, strength, or riches. For only in the intimacy that comes from knowing ADONAI may one boast (Jeremiah 9:22-23). How ironic that the LORD told Jeremiah in advance that the people would neither listen nor repent of their sins (Jeremiah 7:24). Yet when repentance is missing, the chatta’t (purification) offering fails to purify even unintended sin. Devastating consequences would follow (Jeremiah 7:28 to 8:3).

The B’rit Chadashah reading: Hebrews 9:28

So also the Messiah, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to deliver those who are eagerly waiting for him (Hebrews 9:28). The blood of Messiah provides access to God, by purifying, dedicating, and sanctifying a New Covenant priesthood. Under the Old Covenant (see the commentary on Exodus Da – The Dispensation of the Torah), the sacrificial blood of animals temporarily covered the sins of the faithful (Psalm 32:1). Intentional sins were not covered, however, and so conscience was not purged. The repetitive nature of the Yom Kippur ritual, to effect the removal of sins year-after-year only increased problems of conscience as the intentional sins of the nation piled up during the year. Furthermore, only the high priest, the formally clothed and anointed priesthood of the nation, had direct access to the living presence of God. In contrast, Messiah’s once-and-for-all sacrifice decisively purges the conscience (Hebrews 9:13-14). His death, ascension, and appearance “before the face of God” forever changes the nature of worship. Now a royal priesthood has unlimited access to ADONAI.¹²¹

The Peace Offering Ram
Leviticus 8: 22-30

The peace offering ram DIG: Why apply blood to the right ear lobes, the right thumbs and their right big toes? Do you think the ordination process could have taken place without any of that? Why? Why was the ordination ram sacrificed differently than the first one?

REFLECT: How do you know when you are at peace with God? Who has to surrender? How is that done? What offering have you made to God to have peace with Him? How have you been serving the Lord with your ordination as royal priest, belonging to Him (First Peter 2:9)?

There were seven main steps to the ordination of the Tabernacle and the priests. Part of the sixth step was the wave offering of a ram (8:22-29): The third sacrifice was literally the ordination ram. The word translated ordination is miluim which literally means filling. The actual term used to describe the priestly ordination is the filling of the hands. And the ordination ram was literally called the ram of filling. The rituals of the ordination were meant to fill the hands of Aaron and his sons with the ministry of priesthood (8:22a).¹⁰⁹

The ram was for a peace offering, but its ritual procedure was very different than that of the typical peace offering. Once again Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head, symbolically transferring the sins of the priests to the sacrifice. But after slaughtering it, and before splashing its blood at the base of the bronze altar, Moses took some of its blood and put it on the lobes of the right ears of Aaron and his sons (symbolizing their hearing), on the thumbs of their right hands (symbolizing their service), and on the big toes of their right feet (symbolizing their walk), signifying that they were cleansed and purified (8:22b-24). Later, priests would follow the same ritual as part of a cleansing ceremony for leprosy (14:14). So, this seems to be an act of cleansing and purification. Aaron went first, and only after he was finished were his sons brought to go through the same ritual. That separation underscores the supreme importance of the high priest within the priesthood of Isra’el.¹¹⁰ Moses again sprinkled the blood against the altar on all sides.

Moses would later write: The life of the creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life (Leviticus 17:11). The blood that secures atonement symbolizes both propitiation (appeasing God’s wrath) and expiation (forgiving and removing the sins of God’s people). The blood applied to the altar represented God’s acceptance of the priestly sacrifice. Willingness to hear and obey was symbolized by the application of blood to the lobes of the right ears of Aaron and his sons. Putting the blood on the thumbs of their right hands and on the big toes of their right feet symbolized readiness and ability to serve (just as cutting off those thumbs and big toes symbolized the effective removal of those qualities as in Judges 1:6-7).¹¹¹

First, Moses took the fat, the fat tail, and the fat around the inner parts, the covering of the liver, both kidneys with the fat round them, and the right thigh from the ordination ram (8:25). These were to be sacrificed on top of the burnt offering ram that had already been laid on the bronze altar (to see link click Ay – The Burnt Offering Ram).

Then, from the basket of unleavened bread he took a cake of bread, and one made of oil, and a wafer; he put these on the fat portions and on the right thigh. He put all these in the hands of Aaron and his sons and waved them before ADONAI as a wave offering. The rabbis teach that Moses then put the right thigh in the hands of Aaron, and then his sons individually, then placed their own hands underneath Aaron’s hands and moved both up and down. Waving it up symbolized giving it to God, and waving it back down symbolized God giving it back to the priest (8:26-27). Even though it was done with Moshe’s assistance, the wave offering that filled their hands was their first priestly function. Perhaps this is why the entire ordination ritual is called the filling of the hands and the ram of ordination is literally called the ram of filling. At any rate, it was a dramatization of their ordination.¹¹²

The breast was Moshe’s share, because he was the officiating priest. However, Ha’Shem explained to him that this would be a unique event. Later, after the ordination ceremony and assuming the full duties of the priesthood, the breast would belong to Aaron, his sons and their families to eat. It would be the contribution the Israelites were to make to ADONAI from their peace offering. After the waving, Moses took those portions from the hands of Aaron and his sons and burned them on the bronze altar on top of the burnt offering ram as an ordination offering, a pleasing aroma, an offering made to the LORD by fire (8:28-29).

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise you for being so wonderful! Thank You that You have given me the privilege of being a priest for You. You also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house – a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Messiah Yeshua (First Peter 2:5). As Your priest I receive great joy as I offer You the sacrifice of praise.  Through Yeshua then, let us continually offer up to God a sacrifice of praise – the fruit of lips giving thanks to His name (Hebrews 13:5). It is so encouraging and uplifting when I look up to You and focus on how very awesome You are as my loving Father. I love to offer You the sacrifice of praise from my lips and from my actions of love for You. In Yeshua’s holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen

There were seven main steps to the ordination of the Tabernacle and the priests. The seventh step was anointing with blood and oil (8:30): With Aaron and his sons thus prepared, the time had arrived for the ordination of those men to the priesthood. Moses then took some of the oil of ordination and some of the blood from the bronze altar and sprinkled the oil and the blood on Aaron and his garments and on his sons and their garments. So he ordained Aaron and His garments and his sons and their garments (8:30). I imagine that the people were shocked at this. But this would be a prophecy of Yeshua’s First Coming. As our High Priest His blood would be shed and the Spirit of God, being pictured as the oil, would come and indwell believers on a permanent basis after the first Shavu’ot (see the commentary on Acts Al – The Ruach Ha’Kodesh Comes at Shavu’ot) after Yeshua’s resurrection.¹¹³

That sprinkling was the only anointing ritual the regular priests received. The combination of the blood and oil were also the consummate signs of the priesthood. Blood then covered all aspects of the scene; the horns, the sides and base of the bronze altar, the priests’ right ear lobes, thumbs and big toes; and the priests themselves along with their garments. And the oil pointed to the Ruach Ha’Kodesh who would guide them. All had been purified and set apart for service to God.

It is hard to believe that Isra’el would not have been extremely impressed with the truth that the element of blood was absolutely essential to her purification and atonement. Here the priests were having blood put on their right ear lobes, right thumbs and right big toes, and having it sprinkled on their clothing, and then splattered on the rest of their bodies. In front of them was the bronze altar that was covered with blood – on the top where the horns were, on the sides and all around the base. The entire sacrificial system of Isra’el was bloody. Flavius Josephus, a former Jewish general, turned Jewish writer and Roman citizen of the first century AD, told of one specific Passover during the reign of Nero where the Hebrews offered 256,500 lambs as sacrifices. The blood flowed everywhere, and must have been on everything and everyone.

The writer to the Hebrews gets to the heart of the issue when he says: In fact, the Torah requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness (Hebrews 9:22). But in His mercy, ADONAI graciously sent His Son Yeshua Messiah to shed His blood for His people. As the writer says: The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God (Hebrews 9:13-14). Thus, we no longer need the bloody priesthood and the bloody sacrifices of the Tabernacle, for the Messiah has come, once for all, to shed His blood for eternal purification and eternal atonement.¹¹⁴

As believers in Messiah, we too have been anointed with the blood of Yeshua as our High Priest of a better Covenant (see the commentary on Hebrews Bm – A Better Covenant)! And we too have been anointed with the sacred oil of the Ruach that symbolizes the presence of the aroma of ADONAI in our lives. As followers of Yeshua we are therefore truly a chosen race (First Peter 2:9). May God be pleased to help us serve Him faithfully.¹¹⁵

The Burnt Offering Ram
Leviticus 8: 18-21

The burnt offering ram DIG: How was the burnt offering different from the sin offering? Why did they lay their hands on the head of the sacrifice?

REFLECT: Is ordination for all believers, or only for the professional ministry? Is your ministry a pleasing aroma, an offering made to ADONAI?

There were seven main steps to the ordination of the Tabernacle and the priests. Part of the fifth step was the offering of a burnt offering ram: Following the purification offering (to see link click Ax – Aaron’s Purification Offering), a ram for a burnt offering was brought to the courtyard of the Tabernacle. Unlike sacrifices that were consumed by the worshiper and the priests, the burnt offering was to be entirely consumed on the bronze altar. Once again, Aaron and his four sons laid their hands on its head symbolizing the transference of their sin to the sacrifice. These animals were dying a substitutionary death. They were not guilty of the sins of Aaron and his sons. But since the priests were not to die, the animals took their place. Once again, the unusual feature is that it was Moses who performed the priestly side of the ritual and the priests-to-be took the part of the ordinary worshipper.¹⁰⁶

Though they were described very briefly, putting the animal to death was the central and most important act in the sacrificial process. The Hebrew word for altar literally means the place of slaughter, and the location of the bronze altar in the center of the eastern half of the Tabernacle courtyard made it the focus of attention when sacrificial offerings were brought to God (see the commentary on Exodus Ex – The Courtyard and Gate of the Tabernacle). Similarly, the cross became the altar on which Jesus died (Philippians 2:8) for our sins (First Corinthians 15:3), substituting Himself for us just as animals had earlier been substituted by offerings for themselves or others (Genesis 22:13). That the cross is central to the New Covenant proclamation of salvation is clear when Paul said: I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified (First Corinthians 2:2; Galatians 6:14).¹⁰⁷

Again Moshe slaughtered the ram and splattered its blood against all four sides of the altar. Then he cut the ram into pieces and washed the inner parts, and the legs, and put them with the head and the other pieces. After it was cut up, the entire ram was burned on the bronze altar. Everything went according to standard procedure. It is a burnt offering to ADONAI, a pleasing aroma, an offering made to ADONAI by fire (Ex 29:15-18; Lev 8:18-21). The blood of the burnt offering, given as a ransom for their sins, made it possible for them to enter the Holy Place at peace with YHVH. The point is that whoever represented God in ministry surely must have experienced full atonement: forgiveness of sin and acceptance with Him.¹⁰⁸

All who believe in Yeshua Messiah are saved (Acts 16:31), not because of what we have done but because His blood purifies us from every sin (First John 1:7). Indeed, He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for our sins but also for the sins of the whole world (First John 2:2; Romans 3:25).

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You for Your willingness to endure such awful shame and pain for us, so our sins could be completely forgiven. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His mercy for those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. (Psalms 103:11-12). Thank you for opening the door to all who receive you. But whoever did receive Him, those trusting in His name, to these He gave the right to become children of God.  (John 1:12).

How awesome that when I asked You to be my Lord and Savior I was saved from sin’s punishment. For if you confess with your mouth that Yeshua is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart it is believed for righteousness, and with the mouth it is confessed for salvation (Romans 10:9-10). How wonderful that salvation not only saves me from punishment, but also clothes me in Messiah’s righteousness so I can live in heaven with You eternally! He made the One who knew no sin [Messiah] to become a sin offering on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God (Second Corinthians 5:21). Praise Your great love! In Yeshua’s holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen

Aaron’s Purification Offering
8: 14-17

Aaron’s purification offering DIG: Why did the Holy Place need to be purified? Why did Moshe sprinkle seven times? What was the difference in the three offerings? Why were they in that order? How did the sacrifice of the bull prefigure Christ’s sacrifice? How and why did Moses deviate from the prescribed ritual in Leviticus 4? What was the purpose?

REFLECT: Were these rituals mainly for God’s benefit, the priests’ benefit or the people’s benefit? Why? How do we cleanse ourselves of our sin today (First John 1:9)? In what ways are we, as B’rit Chadashah priests, set apart today to draw near to ADONAI? In response to all the Messiah has done for you, what holy and pleasing sacrifice can you offer to God?

A critical part of the ordination ceremony
was the offering of a bull for a purification offering.

The order of offerings: After being washed in the bronze basin, dressed with the sacred garments and anointed with holy oil (to see link see Aw – The Ordination of Aaron and His Sons), the ordination service started. They were to bring a purification offering followed by a burnt offering followed by a peace offering. This was the Tabernacle standard. The purification was offered first to provide ritual purification and atonement. It signifies that as we approach ADONAI, sin must be dealt with first. We cannot skip straight to the peace offering. The purification offering was followed by the burnt offering. It symbolizes our ordination as a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and God’s special possession (First Peter 2:9 NIV). The second step in relationship with God is to turn our lives over to Him completely. Only then, following the purification and burnt offerings are we ready to enjoy fellowship with God as symbolized by the shared meal of the peace offering.¹⁰¹

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank You for the joy that we can approach you. Too often we forget the great cost that had to be paid so mankind could approach our holy and Almighty God. You didn’t just speak, nor snap your fingers for our sin to be gone. You willingly and knowingly suffered shame and pain for our sin.  Let us run with endurance the race set before us, focusing on Yeshua, the initiator and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross, disregarding its shame; and He has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:1c-2). I praise and thank You so very much for opening the door for me to come near to You. But now in Messiah Yeshua, you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of the Messiah (Ephesians 2:13). In Yeshua’s holy Name and power of His resurrection. Amen

There were seven main steps to the ordination of the Tabernacle and the priests. Part of the fourth step was the purification offering of a bull: A critical part of the ordination ceremony was the offering of a bull for a purification offering. This was significant for two reasons. First, because it demonstrated the fact that priests were people too. They sinned like anyone else. In order to approach Ha’Shem, especially for the ministry He called them to do, their sin had to be atoned for. Second, the offering of a bull, the most expensive of the sacrificial animals, showed the dignity and importance of the office of the priesthood.¹⁰²

We have already learned the procedures for the purification offering offered by an anointed priest (see Al – The Purification Offering). After being slaughtered, its blood was to be carried into the Holy Place, sprinkled seven times on the inner veil (see the commentary on Exodus Fq – The Inner Veil of the Sanctuary: That is Christ, His Body) and then smeared on the four horns of the Altar of Incense (Exodus Fp – Altar of Incense in the Sanctuary: Christ, Our Advocate with the Father) purifying it. But having so recently learned the mitzvot of the purification offering, it is surprising to see Moses significantly deviate from the prescribed ritual in Leviticus 4.

Then a young bull for the purification offering was brought into the Tabernacle courtyard. Moshe officiated as the priest at that time. Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the bull (8:14). At three separate occasions in the ordination ceremony Aaron and his four sons laid their hands on the heads of each of the animals, in each case symbolizing the transfer of sin from the worshiper to the sacrifice (especially see Leviticus 16:21-22).

You will find as you go through the Word of God that the children of God have always been conscious of the fact that we are sinners. For numberless evils surround me; my iniquities engulf me – I can’t even see; there are more of them than hairs on my head, so that my courage fails me (Psalm 40:12). Friend, do you feel that you are that kind of a sinner? ADONAI can do something for you if you are like that. After all, if you don’t get sick enough to go to the doctor, you won’t ever go to him. If you aren’t sure that you are a real sinner , you are not likely to go to the Messiah. For my iniquities loom high over my head as a heavy burden, too heavy for me (Psalm 38:4). So, if you have a load that is too heavy for you, get someone else to carry it for you. There is Someone who says: Come to Me, all of you who are struggling and burdened, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28). And don’t try to fool God. He knows all about you anyway; so you might as well tell Him the whole story.¹⁰³

Then, Moses slaughtered the bull and caught its blood in a bowl. But instead of carrying the blood into the Holy Place and sprinkling it seven times on the inner veil and smearing its blood on the four corners of the Altar of Incense, he carried it to the bronze altar (see Exodus Fa – Build Altar of Acacia Wood Overlaid with Bronze). After it had been slaughtered, Moshe took the blood and put it on the horns of the bronze altar all the way around with his finger, thus purifying it. The remaining blood he poured out at the base of the bronze altar and dedicated it, making atonement for it (8:15). The point is that whoever represented God in ministry surely must have experienced full atonement: forgiveness of sins and acceptance by God.¹⁰⁴

This was a purification offering for both Aaron and his sons. By failing to bring the blood into the Holy Place, it would seem that Moshe made a mistake. But in fact, it was not an error. He carried out the procedure according to the mitzvot ADONAI had given him in Exodus 29:12-14. But why should this purification offering be different from the one in Leviticus 4? The reason for the variation in the procedure was that Moses was unable to enter the Holy Place because he himself was not a priest and did not have access to it. At that time, Aaron and his sons had not entered the Holy Place. It was therefore not necessary to apply the purification blood inside.

Then all the fat around the inner parts, the covering of the liver, and both kidneys with the fat around them, was taken and burned on the bronze altar (see At – God’s Claim to the Best of Life). But the bull’s flesh and its hide and the rest of the animal were burned outside the camp (8:16-17). This requirement is rephrased in Ezeki’el 43:21.

Jesus’ death freed us from our sins by His blood (Revelation 1:5), but it also represented an act of ordination on His part. Yeshua Messiah gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God (Ephesians 5:2). Although we ourselves will never be able to die for another person and remove their sins, we can, in response to all that Christ has done for us, offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God (Romans 12:1). Such is the very least that we should be willing to give to God’s dear Son, who is at the same time our great High Priest and our Sacrifice (Hebrews 4:14 to 5:10, 6:19 to 7:28, 8:3, 9:1-28, 10:10, 14, 21-22; First Timothy 2:5).¹⁰⁵

The Ordination of Aaron and His Sons
8: 1-13

The ordination of Aaron and his sons DIG: Why was it important to assemble the whole nation to witness this ceremony? What part did Moshe play in it? For believers, what was significant about the first step of the priestly ordination being immersion? Moshe not only anointed the priests, but he also anointed the Tabernacle. What was the significance of this? When we follow the oil, how does it foreshadow the ministry of the Messiah?

REFLECT: The bull was the most expensive offering for the Israelites. What is your offering? Has God set you apart for any area of service? If so, what is that service? Why is it such a serious thing to be set apart for ministry? What might be some consequences of not doing ministry in the power of God’s Spirit and the authority of His Word? Why is it so important that ordination, or any call to service, be confirmed by other mature believers?

There were seven steps to the full ordination of the priests and the Tabernacle.

After the Tabernacle was completed, Isra’el was now ready to “come near” YHVH in His Tabernacle through the medium of the sacrifices. Only one thing was lacking: a confirmed priesthood to facilitate the sacrificial services. Each sacrifice served one of two purposes. It functioned either to confirm the priest (to set him apart and make him holy) or to purify the priest (ritual cleansing from Levitical uncleanness). The two concepts are not completely unrelated. To serve as a priest before ADONAI, the man needed to be both set apart as holy and in a state of ritual purity.⁹³ Aaron and his sons were confirmed by a series of sacrifices and offerings, an anointing with oil (30:30-33), and the donning of the tunics, headbands and sashes. The entire ceremony is neatly summarized here. The end of this section begins to focus on Aaron’s descendents, not just his own sons, but in perpetuity: The priesthood was theirs by a lasting ordinance.

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You for Your great love! Thank You for the joy of serving You and for the privilege of being priests who honor You. But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the One who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light (Second Peter 2:9). What a privilege it is to offer back to You our love honoring Your Word and praising You. Through Yeshua then, let us continually offer up to God a sacrifice of praise – the fruit of lips giving thanks to His name (Hebrews 13:15). Praise You for You are Holy, Almighty, All-powerful, All-wise, Forgiving Savior, Loving Father! It is a joy to meditate on Your wonderful character! In Yeshua’s holy Name and power of His resurrection. Amen

ADONAI said to Moshe, “Take Aaron and his sons with him, the garments, the anointing oil (see Exodus 22-33 for its composition) the bull for the sin offering, the two rams and the basket of matzah (8:1-2). Together these elements form the essentials for the ordination of the priests. All of them carried an extremely high price in ancient Isra’el. They formed some of the most valuable commodities available. This reflects the importance of giving our best possessions to God (to see link click At – God’s Claim to the Best of Life).⁹⁴

The community must be a witness (8:1-5): And assemble the entire (Hebrew: kol, meaning the all, in its entirety, including women and children) community at the entrance to the Tabernacle to witness the ordination of Aaron and his sons. The sages point out that it would have been a miracle for all Isra’el to fit at the entrance of the Tabernacle (8:3). Rabbi Eleazar said, “There were 600,000 men of Isra’el. This is one of the instances of the lesser containing the greater . . . Rabbi Yosef Chalaphta said, “The court was one hundred cubits long and fifty cubits wide, and yet did all Isra’el stand within? They stood crowded together, yet when they prostrated themselves, they all had plenty of room” (Leviticus Rabbah 10:9).⁹⁵ However, the entire community was probably outside the gate of the Tabernacle (see the commentary on Exodus Ex – The Courtyard and Gate of the Tabernacle); inside the courtyard was restricted to the priesthood. Because these men had spiritual authority over the people, it was imperative that the entire community witness their ordination as priests in order to be convinced that they were actually called to be priests by God Himself. This is the point of all ordination services: it is God who calls people and confirms them to ministry. Both the one entering ministry and the congregation must acknowledge this from the outset if ministry is to function properly.⁹⁶

Other momentous occasions in the history of the nation witnessed by the entire community included the invitation to bring gifts to build the Tabernacle (Exodus 35:1), the national census (Numbers 1:18), the ordination of the Levites (Numbers 8:9), and the water from the rock (Numbers 20:8).⁹⁷ Moshe did as ADONAI ordered him, and the whole community was assembled at the entrance to the Tabernacle. Then Moses said to the community, “This is what ADONAI has ordered me to be done” (8:4-5). In other words, Moses did not pick Aaron as the high priest because he was his brother. He was merely confirming the one whom God had already chosen. Moses functioned as the mediator between YHVH and the priesthood during the ordination; but after the ordination, Aaron assumed the duties of the high priest. There were seven steps to the full ordination of the priests and the Tabernacle.

The first step was immersion (8:6): Moses brought Aaron and his sons and washed them in water. Most Jewish commentators assume that complete immersion is the intended meaning here, as was the custom in the Second Temple period on through to the present day. The immersion was a purification right, a ritual cleansing from Levitical uncleanness. In order to maintain the biblically required level of Levitical purity, a ritual immersion into a mikvah would be from then on, a daily routine for the priesthood. The Torah does not tell us about a mikvah in the Tabernacle outer court; we are only told that the priests were washed with water. Isra’el’s source of water at Mount Sinai was the brook that came down from the mountain (Deuteronomy 9:21).

For believers it is significant that the first ritual of the priestly ordination was immersion. Immersion into a mikvah was a sign of repentance and identification with Messiah’s death and resurrection is also the first step we undergo when we come to faith in the Master (see the commentary on Romans Bs – The Application of the Messianic Mikveh). It is the beginning of our service to Him as a royal priesthood (First Peter 2:9). We are immersed into Him just as the priests in their day were immersed into the water of the spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Messiah (First Corinthians 10:4).⁹⁸

The second step was formal dressing of Aaron as the high priest (8:7-9): Following Aaron’s immersion, Moses dressed him in the clothing of the high priest. Aaron was dressed in his white linen undergarments, robe, ephod, the breastpiece that contained the Urim and the Thummim (see the commentary on Exodus Fw – The Clothing of the Levitical Priesthood), the turban on his head with the golden plate or sacred diadem with the name of God on it (see Exodus Gc – Make an Engraved Plate: Holy to the LORD). Upon his shoulders and over his heart were the names of the sons of Isra’el. Aaron’s sons were then dressed in tunics and sashes with headbands on them. They were confirmed for the ministry just as their father had been so honored, so that they would also serve as priests for all generations to come (Exodus 29:4-6, 40:12-16).

The third step was anointing with oil (8:10-13): Then Moses turned his attention to the ordination of the Tabernacle and its furnishings. With holy anointing oil in hand, he took the oil of ordination and sprinkled the Sanctuary and everything in it, thus, anointing everything to the priesthood. He sprinkled some on the altar seven times, anointing the bronze altar with all its utensils and the bronze basin to confirm them (Leviticus 8:10-11). Then he went out into the courtyard of the Tabernacle and sprinkled some of the oil on the bronze altar seven times, confirming it with all its utensils, and he also confirmed the bronze basin with its foot stand. This means that by putting a little oil on the objects, Moses set them apart for the priests to use only for the LORD’s service.

The sages note in the Midrash and Talmud that this oil was specially prepared by Moshe in the desert through a process that depended on a sequence of miracles. The resulting quantity of oil was sufficient to anoint Aaron, his sons, and the Tabernacle itself during the seven days of ordination. There was also enough to anoint every high priest in the following generations as well as some of the kings.

After the ordination of the Tabernacle, Moses anointed Aaron, the high priest. Moses took some of the oil and poured it on Aaron’s head, ordaining him and setting him apart for the office of high priest (8:12), symbolizing the empowerment of the Ruach. Psalm 133:2 apparently refers to this momentous occasion. It seems clear that the anointing of oil was a symbol of the Spirit of God coming upon the priests to empower them for service. We know, for example, that when Sha’ul and David were anointed, the Spirit came upon them to empower them for service (First Samuel Chapters 10-16). In addition, the Hebrew word for “anoint” is the word from which we get the word “Messiah.” The Messiah was the special Anointed One, empowered with the Ruach to be our eternal High Priest.⁹⁹

Then Moses brought Aaron’s sons forward, put tunics on them, tied sashes around them and put headbands on them (see Exodus Gd – Make Tunics, Sashes and Headbands for Aaron’s Sons), ordaining them for the priesthood as Ha’Shem commanded (8:13). Unlike their father’s garments, the priestly garments of regular priests were simply white linen, likened to the garments given to the righteous in the book of Revelation (Rev 19:8). Everything was then in place to offer the ordination ceremony’s three main sacrifices: Aaron’s Purification Offering (see Ax), The Burnt Offering Ram (see Ay), and The Peace Offering Ram (see Az).

When we follow the oil in these verses it foreshadows the coming of the Messiah. First, in 8:10, Moshe sprinkled the Tabernacle and its furnishings. That foreshadowed Messiah coming out of the Tabernacle in heaven to the earth (Hebrews 8:5). Then in 8:11, the oil moves to the courtyard and the bronze altar of sacrifice. That foreshadowed Messiah as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). Finally, in 8:12, we see the oil being poured on the head of the high priest. That foreshadowed Yeshua as our great High Priest (see the commentary on Hebrews Ay – Messiah’s Qualifications as our Great High Priest).¹⁰⁰