The Shalamim Offerings: Leading the Celebration of Peace
7: 11-21

The shelamim offering DIG: How do Pesach and the Lord’s Supper describe a fellowship offering today? When you are particularly thankful to God, how do you show it? In what ways is this like the thanksgiving offering depicted in verses 12-14? For what are you particularly thankful for today? How will you express this thankfulness to ADONAI?

REFLECT: When have you felt most alienated from God? How important is it to you that all barriers between yourself and God be removed? Why? What do you do to rebuild a relationship with Him: Say your prayers? Read the Bible? Give more money? Give more of yourself? Or what? How does this compare to the peace offering?

The peace offerings from the perspective of the priests.

The culmination of worship, and its greatest joy, is to enter the presence of God and celebrate being at peace with Him. It is the great privilege of the priests to lead people in this; but it is also the great responsibility of the spiritual leader to make sure that it was done correctly, that purity and generosity characterized the celebration. At the heart of the spiritual life of the community, both ancient and modern, is the spontaneous, personal worship of believers. The emphasis in Leviticus 7 on spontaneous praise, payment of vow and fellowship offerings reflects true, spiritual worship. Without these, worship becomes stagnant and mere ritual; with these, however, the faith of the congregation is alive, people are encouraged and strengthened in their pilgrimage, and ADONAI is glorified.⁷⁷

Thus far I have presented the average priest’s work day in a rather tiring, or cumbersome way. I stressed some of the more difficult jobs he had to do on a daily basis. But it was not like that all the time. As our passage indicates it was not all blood and guts for the priests. Our parashah reminds us that one of the offerings which was brought daily was the shalamim offerings, or more commonly known as the peace offerings (to see link click Ak – The Peace Offerings). This portion teaches that there were actually three different kinds of salami offerings. The first was called the todah or thanksgiving offering; the second and third were called the vow and fellowship offerings respectively.⁷⁸

A blood offering always preceded any of the peace offerings, because the basis of peace between man and God is always a blood sacrifice. However, the Torah was very precise about not eating the fat or the blood of meat associated with the shelamim offering. This was very important because YHVH tells us that the life of the animal is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the bronze altar to make atonement for yourselves; for it is the blood that makes atonement because of the life (17:11). It is a matter of life for life. When the Isrealites killed an animal outside of the Tabernacle they were told to spill its blood on the ground and cover it with earth because blood symbolizes life. Today there is no bronze altar or Temple, but the blood of Yeshua makes atonement for us. The offering portion of the animal was not designated as most holy. Thus, it could have been eaten outside of the Tabernacle by members of the priests’ family within the camp of Isra’el (see the commentary on Numbers Am – The Camp of the Twelve Tribes of Isra’el). However, everyone who ate the offering had to be in a state of ritual purity.

First, there was the thanksgiving offering. When people brought the shelamim offerings for praise, they were expected to declare to the congregation what God had done for them. It was simply part of their mentality that they should not receive anything from God without publicly acknowledging Him and offering a gift in return. It can be called a thanksgiving offering to capture the idea of the worshiper’s gratitude; but the thanksgiving that accompanied the offering was more a declaration of praise given to the congregation. When the gift, the shelamim offering, was given to ADONAI, it was given back to the worshiper as a communal meal.

As an expression of his praise, then along with his thanksgiving offering he was to offer cakes of bread made without yeast and mixed with oil before cooking, wafers made without yeast and spread with oil after the cooking, and cakes of fine flour well-kneaded and mixed with oil before and after cooking. Since the offerings were made without yeast, the priest apparently offered a “memorial portion,” or a small portion of the offering, on the bronze altar. In the case of the grain offerings, the “memorial portion” would be a handful of grain, but here with the shelamim offering, it consisted of some of the unleavened cakes of bread.

However, along with his peace offering of thanksgiving he was to present an offering with cakes of bread made with yeast, because it was not to be burned on the bronze altar. It was only used for eating. He was to bring one of each of the three kinds of peace offerings as a contribution to ADONAI; it belonged to the priest who sprinkled the blood of the meat portion of the peace offerings. The cakes of bread made with yeast were then shared with the priest, the worshiper, his family and friends (7:12-14).

The Torah was very specific about when the meat accompanying a shelamim offering could be eaten. The meat of the thanksgiving offering had to be eaten on the day it was offered; he couldn’t leave any of it till morning (7:15b). If, however, his offering was the result of the second kind of peace offering, the vow offering, then, while it was to be eaten on the day of the sacrifice, what remained could be eaten on the next day (7:16a). The vow offering was brought by the worshiper to fulfill a vow. Vows might arise in various situations, for example a person in danger might make a vow to bring a sacrifice at the Tabernacle if ADONAI would rescue him from immediate danger. The Psalms often make reference to the repayment of vows. They were probably sung in conjunction with the sacrifice of a vow offering (Psalms 22:25, 66:13, 116:14, 76:11). The Nazarite vow required very specific sacrifices. It was also possible to make a vow to bring a particular type of sacrifice or donation to the Tabernacle.

We learn from the vow offering that it was not inappropriate to make vows to ADONAI. However, the one who did so needed to be sure to fulfill such a vow. Wisdom would discourage the custom of making vows without seriously thinking about it beforehand. Perhaps one might make a vow and then find himself unable or unwilling to fulfill it. In that case, it would have been better if he had never made the vow at all. The Master’s warning against taking an oath should be measured in regard to making a vow as well.

Thirdly, the fellowship offering was simply a generous, voluntary gesture. It might be brought for the pure joy of sacrificing to the LORD and drawing closer to Him (7:15a). The fellowship offering reminds us that we never need a particular reason to worship ADONAI. It is always appropriate to render Him what is due. It is always proper to seek fellowship with Him because we love Him and want to draw near to Him. In addition, if they, whose only comfort was that God would pass over their sins and cover them up (Psalm 32:1) until the Messiah comes, could render thanks unto the Holy One, how much more so can it be for us who know Him who loved us and freed us from our sin once-and-for-all, to give thanks to Him.⁷⁹

In both cases, the sacrifice had to be eaten on the day he offered it, but anything left over could be eaten on the next day. On the third day the meat would begin to turn rancid. Therefore, any meat of the sacrifice left over till the third day must be burned up because ADONAI would not accept it. It would not be credited to the one who offered it, for it was impure, or pigul, literally meaning a stench (Leviticus 19:7; Isaiah 65:4; Ezeki’el 4:14). The person who ate any of it was held responsible for their own punishment (7:16b-18).

Anyone who ate of a sacrifice from the bronze altar on the third day or later, invalidated the sacrifice. Better that the meat should be burned up than decompose and become ritually unclean. Meat which touches something unclean is not to be eaten but burned up completely. As for the meat, everyone who is clean may eat it; but a person in a state of uncleanness who eats any meat from the sacrifice of peace offerings made to ADONAI will be cut off from his people. Anyone who touches something unclean – whether the uncleanness be from a person, from an unclean animal or from some other unclean detestable thing – and then eats the meat from the sacrifice of peace offerings for ADONAI, that person will be cut off from his people (7:19-21). The sacrifices and the worship in the Tabernacle were all about life, the imperishable world and the worship of the Immortal One. That is why they were kept separate from death, corruption, and human mortality.⁸⁰

We encounter, for the first time in Leviticus, explicit references to the penalty of being cut off in Chapter 7 (also see 7:20-21 and 25-27). This penalty is usually formulated in terms of being cut off from his kin. In rabbinic literature the penalty is called karet, or “cutting off.” In priestly literature, the penalty of karet was understood to include a series of related punishments at the hand of God, ranging from the immediate death of an offender, as in 20:17, to his premature death at a later time, and even to the death of his descendants. In Mishnah Sanhedrin 9:6 and Mishnah Keritot 1:2, this penalty was characterized as mitah biydei shamayim, or “death at the hands of heaven.” Since in 7:20-21 karet is mentioned in the context as childlessness, there is the implication that it took that course as well.⁸¹

Can you picture the scene? A man comes to the Tabernacle bursting with joy because of something ADONAI has just blessed him with. There is his family and invited guests all waiting in the background as he offers up his sheep with tears of joy. The priest who assisted him was ready to call it quits after a long day of slaughtering in the hot sun. He has heard his fill of confessions of sin. He has seen enough blood to last for several lifetimes. But now the worshiper arrives, desiring just to render thanks to YHVH. All of the sudden the priest is revived. For the joy of ADONAI is his strength (Psalm 28:7). Then, after the blood sacrifice is over, the priest sits down with the happy family. They eat fresh roasted sheep and cakes to their fill. When the meal is over, perhaps with the coolness of dusk settling in and the deep blues, radiant oranges and pinks of the sunset over them, together they all sing Psalm 107, “Oh give thanks to ADONAI, for His mercies endure forever.” ⁸²

The Messianic significance: The significance of the Master’s resurrection on the third day is linked to the peace offerings. The third day was the day the sacrifice would become invalid because decomposition would begin (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Ia – The Resurrection of Lazarus: The First Sign of Jonah). In this regard, the worship system of the Tabernacle foreshadows our transformation in Messiah. In Messiah our bodies will be changed from corruptible to incorruptible. We pass from the mortal to the immortal. Our uncleanness is washed away and we enter the presence of ADONAI in perfect purity (see the commentary on First Corinthians Dw – The Rapture: Victory Over Death).

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise Your awesome grace that willingly brought peace to all who love you, Jews and Gentile. For He is our Shalom, the One who made the two into one and broke down the middle wall of separation (Ephesians 2:14). Amazing that You so loving offered peace to both Jews and Gentiles and then made the huge blessing of Your Holy Ruach to live within each believer. So that we, who were first to put our hope in Messiah, might be for His glorious praise. After you heard the message of truth – the Good News of your salvation – and when you put your trust in Him, you were sealed with the promised Ruach Ha’Kodesh. (Ephesians 1:12-13). We love and worship You with our hearts. In Your Holy Jesus’s name and power of His resurrection. Amen

Therefore, we have learned that the Master has, in one regard or another, answered to each of the sacrifices. The sacrificial system foreshadows Him and His work on our behalf. He is our korban ‘Olah, completely dedicated to God the Father (see Ao – The ‘Olah Offering); He is our korban Minhah, the bread of life (see Ap – The Minhah Offering); He is our korban Chatta’t, our means of purification (see Aq – The Chatta’t Offering); He is our korban Asham, repaying the debt we could never pay (see Ar – The Asham Offering); He is our korban Shalamim, our peace and fellowship with God (see As – The Shelamim Offering).

The Asham Offering: The Ministry of Reconciliation
7: 1-10

The asham offering DIG: Why do you think God specifies the sprinkling of blood? And the offering of all the fat? What did the priests learn from dealing with blood-day-in-and-day out? What belongs to the priest? Why is that? What is the relationship between the blood in this passage and that in Hebrews 9:11-28? How does this blood foreshadow the Messiah?

REFLECT: What is the messianic significance of the asham offering? How did the crucifixion remind the apostles of the asham offering? The fat was the best of the sacrifice, how are you offering the best of what you give to God? The asham represents indemnity to be repaid to God. In the Messianic sense, Yeshua is our asham. How is He your asham offering?

The guilt offering from the perspective of the priests.

The ministry of reconciliation includes the ability to discern genuine repentance in people, to advise them how to make restitution, and to assure them of forgiveness. These are the concerns of the aham offering. It will soon be obvious that the kind of spiritual activity envisioned in this sacrifice is hard to develop in a congregation. The asham offering covered financial matters – defrauding God or other people – sins that were often unknown to others. People made this offering only if they were genuinely convinced in their hearts to make things right. This offering was thus one of the more significant offerings for the spiritual life; its performance was evidence of true repentance because the guilty person was moved to repay what had been taken, even though it cost him more than was taken. So, the asham offering focused on the process of reconciliation, and the communication of forgiveness.⁷¹

The priest needed to assure the worshiper of their restitution and forgiveness (7:1-6): This is the mitzvah for the asham offering: it is especially holy (7:1). This asham offering is the only offering that stipulates restitution, either to the sanctuary or to any offended person. Thus, the offering satisfies not only the divine disapproval that some of the other offerings may deal with, but it also restores a measure of justice and equity in the Israelite community. As a result, ADONAI viewed it as being especially holy.⁷²

They are to slaughter the asham offering in the place where they slaughter the burnt offering, and its blood is to be splashed against all sides of the altar (7:2). One thing which certainly stands out from this parashah (see the commentary on Deuteronomy, to see link click Af – Parashah) is the frequent mention of blood. It is mentioned at least four times in this portion and one gets the impression that during the average day the typical priest saw a continuing flow of  blood. There seems to be two main teachings regarding blood.

The first is that blood was not to be eaten, “Whoever eats any blood will be cut off from his people” (7:27). This was a very serious penalty indeed, with two different forms. Sometimes it refers to being exiled from the covenant community (18:26-29), while in other instances it refers to the death penalty (Exodus 31:14; Numbers 4:18-20). In either case, the sinner was removed from the covenant community and regarded as the enemy of Ha’Shem. Later in Deuteronomy 12:13, God explains why He didn’t want them to eat blood. At this point in the life of the community, they were merely to accept this prohibition by faith. After all, Moshe couldn’t explain everything at once, nor could the Israelites understand everything at once! That is what progressive revelation is all about.

The second teaching about the blood in this parashah undoubtedly helped the children of Isra’el understand a little bit why no blood at all was permitted to be eaten. Instead of drinking it like idolaters did, the blood was to be used for atonement and cleansing. But an accidental or misuse of blood rendered one tamei (or ritually unclean), instead of putting him in a tahor (ritually clean) status (see Bk – Ritually Clean and Unclean Animals).

Because of the continual flow of blood sacrifice, the priests were always handling blood. Sometimes it was carried into the Tabernacle (6:23). Sometimes the blood was sprinkled against the wall of the bronze altar (5:9). Sometimes (in the case of a bird) it was squeezed out toward the base of the bronze altar (5:10). Sometimes the blood was poured out at the base of the bronze altar (4:25). Other times the priest dipped his finger in the blood and rubbed it onto the horns of the bronze altar or sprinkled it toward the inner veil of the Most Holy Place. For the priests it was blood, blood and more blood all day long.

What are some of the things that the priests could have learned from all this exposure to blood? It would have taught them the horrors of idolatry, reminding them to keep away from the gods of the Gentile nations. Also, the blood would have reminded the priests of the intrinsic value of life, both animal and human. Continuing along these lines, it would have reminded them that sin was horrible. To atone for it costs an innocent victim his life, represented by the blood. Thus, the continual flow of blood and use of blood on a daily basis was a constant reminder to the priest that sin was to be avoided, for it cost lives and separated people from God. But it would have also taught them that the gracious provision of atonement and cleansing from sin cost the lifeblood of an innocent victim.

Was it any wonder, then, that Yeshua told His apostles: This is what I meant when I was still with you and told you that everything written about Me in the Torah of Moshe, the Prophets and the Psalms had to be fulfilled (Luke 24:44). When they had the red image of scourging and the crucifixion fresh in their minds, they would have understood in a very vivid way how the teachings of Moshe concerning the blood sacrifices could have spoken volumes about the sacrificial blood atonement of Yeshua.⁷³

After the animal was cut up, the priest took all its fat – the fat tail, the fat covering the inner organs, the two kidneys, the fat on them near the flanks, and the covering of the liver, which he will remove with the kidneys and placed them on the bronze altar. The fat was considered the best portion and was offered back to Him. The priest will make them go up in smoke on the altar as an offering made by fire to ADONAI; it is an asham offering. The rest of the animal served as food for the priests. Every male from a family of priest may eat it; it is to be eaten in the Tabernacle courtyard; it is especially holy (7:3-6).

As with the purification offering (see Aq – The Chatta’t Offering), the priests in the case of the asham offering had to encourage the people to make such a sacrifice and then participate in their offering by directing the worship and eating the sacrifice as a sign that ADONAI had received it. It would have been difficult for the priests to discern whether the sacrifice was brought with the proper attitude: but in the case of the aham offering it would have been highly unlikely for someone to make such a costly reimbursement if unrepentant or insincere. What the priest received indicated what God received – provided that this was a faithful priest acting conscientiously on what was right.

The idea behind the guilt offering (see Am – The Guilt Offering) was the same as that of the chatta’t offering, for this too was a purification offering; only here, the type of sin covered by the offering involved reparation, and that made its application more specific. One could think about the point of the teaching in terms of a pastor or Messianic rabbi encouraging repayment or reparation of a wrong that was committed, or at least requiring that it be done as part of reconciliation.

The priest received their portion from the worshiper (when they were convinced of their sincerity (7:7-10): The asham offering is like the chatta’t offering; the same mitzvah governs them – it will belong to the priest who uses it to make atonement. It is not surprising that the priests received benefits from their ministry. They also receive benefits when confessing worshipers brought their chatta’t offerings. Not only did they eat the meat, but they also received the skins. The priest who offers someone’s burnt offering will possess the hide of the burnt offering which he has offered (7:7-8). In addition to providing clothing for the families of the priests, no doubt a lively trade could have been sustained from the skins taken from the sacrifices. ADONAI took care of those who ministered through the giving of righteous believers (First Corinthians 9:7-14); the servants of God then directed the use of what was given. The entire system was designed both for the spiritual satisfaction of the worshiper and the practical needs of the priest in service.⁷⁴

Every grain offering baked in the oven, cooked in a pot or fried on a griddle will belong to the priest who offers it. But every grain offering which is mixed with olive oil or is dry will belong to all the sons of Aaron equally (7:9-10). The reason for this is not given. However, we do know that they received portions that belonged to ADONAI. The priests themselves belonged to God in a special way and so they could eat the food that God received as an offering. This provision of food allowed the priests to focus on their duties of leading the LORD’s people in worship and teaching them His mitzvot. This principle of providing for God’s people is continued in the B’rit Chadashah as well (Galatians 6:6). YHVH is fully aware that if the needs of the shepherds are not met, they will not be able to take care of their sheep.⁷⁵

The Messianic significance: The asham offering symbolizes restitution for damages and was offered in concert with the payment of restitution. The implication is that an offense toward another person is also an offense against ADONAI. When we cheat or damage or misuse someone else or their property it is as if we have cheated, damaged and misused God. Therefore, when we settle accounts, we must repay the victim, and we must repay God. The reparation made to God is the asham, the guilt offering.

This is very similar to the Master’s teaching on bringing korbanot. If you are offering your gift at the Temple altar and you remember there that your brother has something against you, leave your gift where it is by the altar, and go, reconcile with your brother. Then come back and offer your gift (Matthew 5:23-24). The asham represents indemnity to be repaid to God. In the Messianic sense, Yeshua is our asham. Though it is upon us to make things right with our fellow man, we are completely unable to repay God the debt we owe Him for our sin, intentional or unintentional. There are not enough goats or rams to ever repay Him what we owe Him. Yeshua is our korban asham. That which we owe to God is paid in full through His sacrifice (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Lv – Jesus’ Second Three Hours on the Cross: The Wrath of God).⁷⁶

Dear Heavenly Father, You are such a wonderful and loving Father. Though we could never repay you for the debt we owe to You for Yeshua’s taking our place as our sin sacrifice (John 1:29), we offer up to You our love from a deep heart of thanks with overflowing gratitude. We rejoice in pleasing You by all we do and think, by our thoughts, our giving, and our attitudes. We count it a privilege to suffer for You, knowing that our suffering, though it may be great to us, is so small compared with all You suffered to bring us to glory (Philippians 2:5-11). We love and praise You! In Yeshua’s holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen

The Chatta’th Offering: Communicating God’s Forgiveness
6: 24-30

The chatta’th offering DIG: What was the purpose of the chatta’th offering? Who needed to offer the purification offering? Where was it to be offered? By the common people? By the priest? What were the regulations for the clothing and utensils? Why was this necessary? How did the priests assure the worshiperthat ADONAI had forgiven their sin?

REFLECT: How do you deal with each kind of sin? How does this help to mend your relationship with God? What steps does a believer today take to restore his or her relationship with YHVH and the community of fellowship? What does “washed in the blood” mean to you? How could you explain it to an unbeliever? How do you show it to others?

The Purification Offering from the perspective of the priests.

People need to know that they have been forgiven and that they can enter God’s presence with confidence; they need the reality of forgiveness, not simply the hope of forgiveness. If people come away from a worship service unsure of their standing with ADONAI, then something has gone terribly wrong. This is the subject addressed by the ritual of the chatta’th offering. In this section of Leviticus it replaces the peace offering in the order of sacrifices because it was a required offering for the priests. And it must have been a very frequent one, testifying to the fact that not a day went by in which people did not defile the holiness of God by their actions or their lifestyles.

Believers today also have to admit that we sin every day, either by what we do or don’t do, and we need regular cleansing and renewal for our fellowship and service. Just living in the corrupt world (First John 2:15-17) and coming in contact with all its defilements and influences calls for spiritual renewal on a regular basis. The Bible is very clear that such cleansing is readily available for the confessing believer.⁶⁸ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (First John 1:9).

The priests needed to ensure that worshippers found forgiveness from God alone (6:24-26): ADONAI said to Moshe, “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is the mitzvot for the chatta’th offering: the chatta’th offering is to be slaughtered before ADONAI in the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered; it is especially holy. But then the instructions for the ritual of purification started with its precise location. To stress the holiness of this special food, God stated that the priests could only eat it in a place separated from the common people. The priest who offered it for purification was to eat it in the courtyard of the Tabernacle. The point is that since forgiveness comes from God, the chatta’th offering must be brought into His Presence. It was to be slaughtered in the courtyard of the Tabernacle and eaten there.

The priests needed to prevent the chatta’th offering from becoming commonplace (6:27-28): The theme of holiness here extends to the discussion of clothing and utensils. To further impress upon the priests the holy character of the meat, God added a number of warnings. The priest had to go to great lengths to ensure that the chatta’th offering was set apart, as being holy to ADONAI and not blasphemous or common. Whatever the priest touched its meat it became holy by contact. Nevertheless, if any of the blood of the sacrifice splashed on any of the priest’s clothing, he was to wash it in the bronze basin (see the commentary on Exodus, to see link click Fh – The Bronze Basin: Christ, Our Cleanser). It had to stay in the holy confines of the Tabernacle courtyard. The same mitzvah applied to the utensils used. Blood offered for sin could not be carried away in pots or clothes. It was now holy, and set apart for the chatta’th offering. The clay pot in which it is cooked must be broken; if it is cooked in a bronze pot, it must be scrubbed and rinsed in water, restored to their former status so they were no longer holy.

This was the enigma: the blood was holy but needed to be washed because anything touching it became holy; yet the blood was treated impure and needed to be washed. This was the nature of the chatta’th offering: the blood was part of the purification offering (see Al – The Purification Offering) as well as a source of impurity. In sum, the ritual was designed for the forgiveness of sins. And since the purification offering had that distinctive purpose, it was sacred. It could not be treated carelessly, as if it were ordinary.⁶⁹

The priests needed to assure the worshiper that ADONAI had forgiven their sin (6:29-30): Any priest could eat the purification offering of a worshiper. However, the blood of the priests’ own purification offering had to be taken inside the Holy Place to make atonement and the meat was to be burned up completely (6:30). The greater the violation of God’s holiness, the greater the purification required. Yet when the priest did eat the chatta’th offering of a worshiper, his eating was more than the normal priestly portion. It was a sign to the worshiper that his purification offering was accepted and his sin was covered. The priests were expected to discern the worshiper’s attitude to see if they had a truly contrite heart, a broken spirit, an awareness of the seriousness of their sin, and genuine repentance. A conscientious priest would deliberate, accepting the word of the worshiper only upon the presentation of evidence to support his claim of repentance, but hesitating if there was any doubt. If convinced, the priest would eat the purification offering and the worshiper would go home knowing that his sin had been covered. How blessed are those whose offense is forgiven, those whose sin is covered (Psalm 32:1).

The final note in the passage must not be overlooked: the priest himself gave a chatta’th offering. This stands in strong contrast to Yeshua Messiah, who did not have to make a purification offering for Himself, first, because He was the only perfect High Priest (see the commentary on Hebrews Ay – Messiah’s Qualifications as our Great High Priest). Yet all human pastors and Messianic rabbis stand before God on the same basis as the worst sinner – the shed blood of Messiah. In Isra’el the people knew that the priest himself was a sinner, for they witnessed his chatta’th offerings and his confession (which they might not actually hear, but could see). The priest may have been at the head of the people spiritually, but he was a recipient of grace like them. Leaders must certainly demonstrate righteousness by their relationship to ADONAI. But they must never lose sight of the fact that they too are sinners and that their lives must be regularly examined through God’s Word. No one can tell others to renew their hearts and cleanse their souls if they themselves do not regularly purify their hearts.⁷⁰

The Messianic significance: The chatta’th offering is brought as a purification from ritual uncleanness and the stain left behind by sin. The blood of the purification offering is brought before ADONAI as a vicarious substitute for the worshiper. In that regard, it acts as a cleansing agent. God recognizes it as the worshiper’s soul in a purified state. In the same way, when we identify ourselves in Messiah, His absolute purity compensates for our uncleanness. The precious blood of Messiah is so holy and pure that through it we are cleansed of our uncleanness, forgiven of our sin. Hence the expression, “washed in the blood.” He is our korban Chatta’th, our means of purification.

Dear Heavenly Father, You are so holy and pure! I stand amazed that You, my Father, the Sovereign King over the universe, would so graciously forgive my sins and put my sins where they cannot be found. 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). We bow before You in humble worship and in great adoration. In Yeshua’s holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen

The Minhah Offering: Assuring People of God’s Acceptance
6: 14-23

The minhah offering DIG: What was significant about the minhah offering? How was it like and unlike the ‘olah offering? As a bloodless offering, was it ever sufficient in itself (Numbers 6:14-13)? What did they imply? Why grill it? Why the specific amounts? How are these mitzvot part of the reconciliation between God and His people?

REFLECT: How would you describe your offering to God? How is it like or unlike the minhah offering described here? How does your offering help the reconciliation process? How does communion relate to the minhah offering? Would you say that your prayer life is sporadic or continual? Are you a chosen person, or a royal priest belonging to God? Why or why not?

The grain offering from the perspective of the priests.

The Church is always calling for dedication from its holy ones. But what becomes of these dedications? How can we demonstrate what dedication is? And how can it respond to the people who make such commitments to the LORD? Learning about the minhah offering will open this topic of dedication. This is the mitzvot for the minhah offering (to see link click Aj – The Grain Offering): the sons of Aaron are to offer it before ADONAI in front of the bronze altar (6:14). The officiating priest was required to follow the mitzvot regarding the minhah offering and the eating of the sacrifice in order to please God.⁶⁴

The memorial portion: From each of the minhah offerings, the priesthood was to remove a small “memorial” portion, which corresponded to the choice fats and sacrificial parts of the animal offerings that were committed to the flames of the bronze altar. The priest was to take a handful of fine flour and oil, together with all the incense on the minhah offering, and burn the “memorial” portion on the bronze altar as a fragrant aroma for ADONAI (6:15 NIV). Similar language is used regarding our prayers and acts of charity. In Acts 10, an angel from heaven told Cornelius the centurion that his prayers and alms have ascended as a “memorial” before God. Cornelius prayed regularly, and in fact, the angel appeared to him as he prayed during the time of the afternoon offering about three o’clock (Acts 10:3-4). His prayers, coupled with his generous gifts to the poor (Acts 10:2), had ascended to the heavenly altar before YHVH as a “memorial.” Once again, we see the principle of how prayer (and charity) function as a remembrance for sacrifice. In Cornelius’ case, sacrifice was not possible. As a Gentile, he was unable to enter the Temple courts to bring a sacrifice for himself. Nevertheless, his sacrifice of prayer and charity were received as a “memorial” portion, just as those Jews who offered their sacrifices upon the bronze altar. This principle is clearly taught in the B’rit Chadashah: Through Yeshua, therefore, let us offer God a sacrifice of praise continually. For this is the natural product of lips that acknowledge His name. But don’t forget doing good and sharing with others, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased (Hebrews 13:15-16).⁶⁵

The daily minhah offering: Aside from the “memorial” portion, Aaron and his sons were to eat the rest of it. Those who performed the offering received their share. It was to be eaten without leaven in a holy place; in other words, they were to eat it in the courtyard of the Tabernacle. It was not to be baked with leaven. ADONAI gave it as their portion of His offerings made by fire; like the purification offering and the guilt offering, it is most holy. The minhah offering was most holy, which simply means that it must be eaten by the priesthood within the Tabernacle courtyard. It could not be taken home to feed their families. Any male descendant of Aaron may eat from it; it is his share of the offerings for ADONAI made by fire forever through all your generations (6:16-18a).

Whatever touches those offerings must be holy (6:18b). Whatever touches the minhah offerings is similarly dedicated and must be accorded the same status. Thus, if a pan in which a minhah offering is cooked (or any food that might come in contact with a minhah offering) takes on the status of most holy. It must be treated with the same sanctity accorded to the minhah offering itself.

Though we may not all be descendants of Aaron, there is something of the priesthood and the mitzvot of the priesthood which relates to all of God’s people. We are a nation of priests. The Bible declares: You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light (First Peter 2:9). Our spiritual gifts are like the mitzvot of the minhah offering (see the commentary on First Corinthians Ch – Unwrapping Your Spiritual Gifts). No one else can fulfill them for us, they are most holy. Each spiritual gift offers us an opportunity to serve our Creator in a unique fashion. And like the minhah offering, because our spiritual gifts are most holy, they render everything that touches them most holy.

When a new high priest was dedicated: When high priests were dedicated to their office, there were special minhah offerings. On the day he is anointed into the priesthood, the high priest was to offer a special minhah offering. This is the offering for ADONAI that Aaron and his sons are to offer on the day he was dedicated: two quarts of fine flour, half of it in the morning and half in the evening, as a regular minhah offering from then on. The Sages interpreted the mitzvah to mean that the new high priest should bring this special minhah offering every day of his seven-day confirmation (see Ba – The Meal and Seven Days of Training). It is to be well mixed with olive oil and fried on a griddle; then bring it in, break it in pieces and offer the minhah offering as a fragrant aroma for ADONAI (6:19-21).

Therefore, the minhah offering by the new high priest was his “memorial” minhah offering. The high priest who will take Aaron’s place from among his descendants will offer it (6:22a). It also appears that the high priest continued to offer this minhah offering for the duration of his ministry. It was a perpetual obligation. Every day, at 9am and at 3pm, the high priest would offer the minhah offering on top of the ‘olah offering (see Ao – The Olah Offering). This constantly reminded the priests that, although they differed from the rest of the Israelites in terms of function, they were exactly the same in terms of their sinful nature and their desperate need for ADONAI and His forgiveness. The priests who remembered this need would be protected from one of the strongest temptations faced by those who lead God’s people: spiritual pride.⁶⁶

It must be entirely made to go up in smoke for ADONAI; every minhah offering of the priest is to be entirely made to go up in smoke – it is not to be eaten (6:22b-23). In contrast to the daily minhah offerings by the priesthood, which were to be eaten (6:16), the perpetual minhah offerings made by the high priest were not to be eaten. Nothing remained for the high priest to eat, it all went up in smoke. The high priest could not eat from the minhah offering when he was dedicated because it was made on his behalf. Instead, it had to be offered to YHVH and completely consumed. It all belonged to ADONAI. The high priest could only partake of an offering while functioning in his role as mediator on behalf of his people.⁶⁷

Messianic significance: The grain offering was made of bread (matzah). In the same way Yeshua said: I am the bread of life (John 6:35) and was born in Bethlehem (Hebrew: Bet Lechem, meaning the house of bread). On the day that the Master was raised from the dead, a special grain offering was offered in the Temple.

Again, consider the words of the Messiah, when He took the unleavened bread, broke it and gave it to His apostles as a “memorial” of Himself.

In the same way, the Master took the matzah that was striped and pierced (see the commentary on Isaiah Jd – Yet We Considered Him Punished, Stricken and Afflicted by God), broke it and give it to His apostles as a “memorial” portion of Himself. So, too, the grain offering was broken and shared among the priesthood with the “memorial” portion going to the bronze altar of sacrifice. This touching is the equivalent of splashing the blood against the altar. The grain offering was unleavened matzah, broken, divided and shared among the priests. In the same way, the Master broke the matzah and shared it with His apostles saying: Do this in remembrance of Me (Luke 22:19).

The grain offerings were anointed with oil prior to the baking. Oil is a symbol of the Ruach in the B’rit Chadashah. In the same way, Yeshua was anointed with the Spirit of God prior to His sacrifice on the cross.

The grain offerings were offered in conjunction with wine drink offerings (23:13), which were spilled out on the bronze altar. The grain offering was also a symbol of God’s Covenant. He took the cup of wine (see my commentary on The Life of Christ Kk – The Third Cup of Redemption) and said: Drink from it, all of you. This cup is the New Covenant in My blood, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins; do this, whenever you drink it (Luke 22:20).

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You that You gave your very best, Yeshua, Your own Son, to ransom mankind from sin. Yeshua’s willingness to become a man to offer Himself in our place is truly a remarkable and wonderful gift. Who, though existing in the form of God, did not consider being equal to God a thing to be grasped. But He emptied Himself – taking on the form of a slave, becoming the likeness of men and being found in appearance as a man. He humbled Himself – becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason, God highly exalted Him and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Yeshua every knee should bow, in heaven and on the earth and under the earth, and every tongue profess that Yeshua the Messiah is Lord – to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:6-11).

Like the grain offering, Messiah Yeshua was crushed. Yet it pleased ADONAI to bruise Him. He caused Him to suffer. If He makes His soul a guilt offering, (Isaiah 53:10). Praise Your power to raise Him from the dead (Ephesians 1:19-20) ! We had no way to save ourselves. No amount of good works would be enough to enter heaven, for perfect holiness is the only way to enter your holy heaven. Only thru Yeshua’s free gift of His righteousness to those who love and follow Him, are we able to enter heaven. 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 offer a sacrifice of praise (Hebrews 13:15), similar to the thanks of a grain offering, to Messiah Yeshua for being the Lamb of God. I love, praise and worship You. I desire to give You my life as a gift, a korban, in thanks for Your priceless gift! In Messiah Yeshua’s holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen

The ‘Olah Offering: Providing Access to God
6: 8-13

The ‘Olah offering DIG: Explain how the Sages read Hosea 14:2 to mean that prayer could substitute for sacrifice. Beginning with Cain and Abel, why do you think God chose animal sacrifice to restore broken relationships? Couldn’t God forgive sins without sacrifice? Why do you think God demanded an offering without spot, defect, disease or deformity? Why the laying on of hands? Why sprinkle the blood? Why complete burning? How does the aroma pleasing to God foreshadow Messiah (Ephesians 5:2; Phil 4:18).

REFLECT: Why do you think God put so much emphasis on blood? What lessons can be learned about the priests having to take out ashes and clean the altar? How would you define sacrifice? How do your sacrifices define your value system? What sacrifices have you, or can you, make for God (Romans 12:1-2; Hebrews 13:15)? In your experience, how has God reconciled you to Himself? By what sacrifice?

Parashah 25: Tzav (Command) 6:1 to 8:36
(See my commentary on Deuteronomy, to see link click Af – Parashah)

The Key People are Moshe, Aaron, and Aaron’s sons – the priests.

The Scene is the Tabernacle in the wilderness of Sinai.

The Main Events include ADONAI’s instructions for the ‘olah (burnt ) offering, grain offering, purification offering, guilt offering, and peace offerings; dressing Aaron and his sons in priestly garments, anointing the Tabernacle, and dedicating all that was in it; the seven-day period while the priests remained inside the Tabernacle courtyard; and Aaron and his sons doing all that YHVH had commanded by the hand of Moshe.

Parashah Tzav is almost a repeat of parashah vaYikra (to see link click Aj – The Burnt Offering). But it gives us the opportunity to examine some of the daily, seemingly insignificant tasks of the priests. This underscores the fact that the book of Leviticus was a training manual for the priests. There was one major difference, however, between the two portions. When Moshe was finished instructing the priests about the sacrifices and preparing them to function as priests in the newly constructed Tabernacle, ADONAI told him to dedicate them into this ministry by holding a formal anointing service.⁶⁰

The burnt offering from the perspective of the priests.

The continual offering: ADONAI said to Moshe, “Give Aaron and his sons this command: This is the Torah for the burnt (Hebrew: ‘Olah) offering. The word Holocaust is derived from the Greek holokauston, a translation of the Hebrew word ‘olah, meaning what goes up, or, the burnt sacrifice offered whole to YHVH. This word was chosen, and gained wide usage, because, in the ultimate manifestation of the Nazi killing program – the extermination camps – the bodies of the victims were consumed whole in the crematoria or open fires, as if they had been offered up as a burnt offering to YHVH. It is what goes up (Hebrew: ‘Olah) on its firewood upon the bronze altar all night long, until morning when the sacrifices were reduced to ashes, in this way the fire of the altar will be kept burning (6:8-9 NIV). The definite article indicates that we are speaking of the continual burnt offering originally introduced in Exodus 29:38-42a. You will recall its offering consisted of two lambs, one offered at sunrise at the first sacrifice of the day, and the other offered in the afternoon as the last sacrifice of the day. The result was that a lamb was to be continuously (Hebrew: tamid) on the bronze altar. In the same way that the twelve loaves of the bread Presence were continuously before YHVH, and the menorah continuously burned before God, a single lamb was to be continuously on the altar before God. Hence the Sages refer to the continual burnt offering as the tamid.

The morning routine in the Temple began with collecting the ashes from the previous day’s sacrifices. Parashah Tzav indicates that the ashes were to be changed every morning, getting ready for another day’s activity. It was the first daily responsibility of the priest on duty. The priest shall then put on his simple white linen clothes, with linen undergarments next to his body, and shall remove the ashes of the burnt of ‘olah offering that the fire had consumed on the bronze altar and place them beside it (6:10 NIV). The priesthood rose before dawn, cleared the ashes, stoked the fire, slaughtered a single lamb, applied its blood to the altar and then placed the lamb upon its flames. In conjunction with the morning slaughter of the lamb, the morning incense was offered on the golden altar, and the menorah was trimmed, refueled and relit within the Holy Place. This morning service was referred to as shacharit, which means morning.

Apparently, there was stiff competition for that sooty job. Even though the job was earthy and mundane, it seems like many of the priests wanted to do it. How many today run to get the job of emptying wastebaskets at their place of worship? Is there stiff competition to making sure that there is always enough toilet paper? I think you see the point. Just as the priests vied for the task of taking the ashes out, likewise, it would behoove us to want to serve Him to jump at even the most menial task.

For a moment, imagine the dismay that the Jews must have felt at the destruction of the future Temple (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Mt – The Destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple on Tisha B’Av in 70 AD). Their means of sacrifice – the sacred worship of ADONAI – was gone. How were they to sacrifice? How were they to draw near to the LORD? How were they to make atonement, and how were their prayers to be heard (see the commentary on the Life of Solomon Bn – Solomon’s Prayer of Intercession). The destruction of the Temple was a religious crisis.

The Sage’s answer to the crisis was twofold. The Oral Law (see The Life of Christ Ei – The Oral Law) states that one who studies the mitzvot of a particular sacrifice is credited with having brought the sacrifice and having their sins forgiven (Megillah 31a). More significantly, prayer was, and still is, regarded as a sufficient substitute for sacrifice. The Sages point to Hosea 14:2 as evidence that prayer is an adequate substitute for sacrifice. Take words with you, and return to ADONAI; say to Him, “Forgive our guilt, and receive us graciously; that we may present the bulls/fruit of our lips” (Hosea 14:2).

In Hosea 14:2, the Hebrew word for fruit (parim) is grammatically irregular and could possibly be read as bulls. The Sages saw here a formula from heaven to compensate for the loss of the Levitical sacrificial system. “Take words with you,” was understood to mean “to pray.” And the words, “return to ADONAI,” was understood to mean “repent.” Thus the Sage’s explanation, the one who prays and repents has his guilt removed and is received graciously. His prayers are counted as the “bulls of the lips,” as they say. According to Judaism, that act of prayer became a compensation for the loss of sacrifice, and the three daily times of prayer (sunrise, afternoon and the overnight burning of the last offering) with their prescribed liturgy became the substitute for the daily ‘olah offering.⁶¹

Modern Judaism stresses the fact that instead of “salvation,” one’s relationship with God has to be based on three elements: repentance (teshuva); good deeds resulting from repentance (tzedaka) and a life of devotion (kavanah). Judaism believes that in the same way that ADONAI saved the children of Isra’el in the past as a nation, He also promises to restore Isra’el as a nation, meaning collectively, not individually. In the Oral Law the rabbis taught, “The rest of the prayer: [Accept my] song, petition, supplication before You for Your people Isra’el, which are in need of salvation (Yoma 70a). Thus, today, Jews believe that all Isra’el will have a place in the world to come. Their only hope is in Yeshua Messiah as their Redeemer, and an honest presentation of the Gospel, otherwise they will be eternally lost.

From ashes to ashes: Then he is to take off these clothes and put on others, carry the ashes outside the camp to a place that is ceremonially clean (6:11). The priest wore his regular priestly linen when removing the ashes from the altar. But when he removed the pile of ashes from beside the altar to go outside the camp, he had to change into regular clothes. The holy and the common must not be confused (10:10). The lesson to be learned from this is that all ritual or ministry assignments should be carried out in a worthy manner, and we should humble ourselves for the glory of God, to perform demanding tasks. Moreover, the removal of the previous day’s ashes and changing clothes reminds us of the necessity of not letting the residue of the previous day affect our present lives. Yeshua taught on this principle from another angle. He taught us not to worry (carry the ashes from yesterday into our present day) because each day has enough trouble of its own (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Dt – Do Not Worry About Your Life, What Your Will Eat or Drink, or What You Will Wear).⁶²

Keep the fire going: After the instructions regarding the proper procedure for the removal of the ashes, the text returns to what truly is the main concern of the passage: the maintenance of the flame upon the bronze altar. The last menial daily job of the priesthood was to make sure that the fire did not die out. The fire on the bronze altar must be kept burning; it must not go out, even on Shabbat, because evil doesn’t take any day off. It was the priest’s duty to keep the fire lit with the carcass of the lamb smoldering on top of it. Thus, the priests needed to perform their duties diligently. The mitzvah focuses on the most difficult part of the task, keeping the fire burning all night long. Every morning the priest is to add firewood and arrange the ‘olah offering on the firs and burn the fat of the fellowship offerings on it (6:12). The animal was cut up, salted, and entirely burned. The ‘olah sacrifices were only offered during daylight hours and were left to burn during the night. Therefore, the priesthood needed to be present in the Tabernacle around the clock, tending to the sacrifices and ensuring that the fire for the bronze altar would never go out. The sacrifices were to be reduced to ash by morning. Armed with forks, shovels, and tongs, they stoked the fire, and raked the coals.

And the Ruach Ha’Kodesh repeats again for the third time: The fire must be kept burning on the bronze altar continuously, it must not go out (6:13). After all the day’s sacrifices had been brought, a second lamb of the daily tamid offering was brought, typically during the ninth hour of the day (or 3 pm). During the sacrifice of these two lambs, prayers were offered. During the Second Temple period, the daily prayer of the Amidah was offered by the priesthood and the attending worshipers in conjunction with the two sacrifices. Therefore, the time of the morning and afternoon sacrifices came to be regarded as the established times for prayer. The book of Acts makes three references of the daily tamid sacrifices and in one instance explicitly identifies it was the time of prayer (Acts 2:15, 3:1 and 10:3).

Try to imagine the night shift in the Temple. Unlike the daytime when the courts were full of the noise of worshipers, the glad songs of the Levites and the braying of animals, the nighttime service must have seemed strangely quiet and reverent. The only illumination other than the stars and moon was the ever hungry flame of the fire on the bronze altar. Apparently, early on in the development of the Temple liturgy, the night shift developed their own particular worship service. Psalm 134 refers to the worship service of the night-crew that tended the altar flames. Come, bless ADONAI, all you servants of ADONAI, who serve each night in the house of ADONAI. Lift your hands towards the sanctuary, and bless ADONAI. May ADONAI, the Maker of heaven and earth, bless you from Tziyon.⁶³

The Messianic significance: On the one hand, the total devotion, commitment and surrender to Messiah is seen in the fact that the fire was to be kept burning continuously. But on the other hand, the continual fire reminds us that the forgiveness of ADONAI is always available to save, and to bless, and to hear. He who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, He who watches over Isra’el will neither slumber nor sleep (Psalm 121:3b). For the generations to come, the burnt offering was made continuously on the bronze altar at the entrance to the Tabernacle before YHVH (Exodus 29:42a; Leviticus 6:13; Numbers 28:10).

The lamb was placed on the altar for the morning offering at 9 am, and it was the exact time that the Roman soldiers were pounding the nails into the wrists of Yeshua (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Lu – Jesus’ First Three Hours on the Cross: The Wrath of Man), and at 3 pm, when the afternoon sacrificial lamb was placed on the altar, it was the exact time when Messiah died (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Lv – Jesus’ Second Three Hours on the Cross: The Wrath of God). Thus, as the ‘olah offering was to display a total commitment to God, Messiah displayed a total commitment to the Father on the cross.

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You that Messiah’s sacrifice finished/ completed the payment for our sin so that I could draw near to You. I don’t have to worry if You will remember my sin. For once I’ve repented and chosen to love Yeshua as my Lord and Savior (Romans 10:9-10), I am saved from sin’s penalty and you canceled my sins as far away as east is from the west. Since east and west are always going opposite directions, our sins will never be remembered. How gracious you are! 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. As a father has compassion on his children, so ADONAI has compassion on those who fear Him (Psalms 103:11-13). Your compassion and mercy are wonderful! Your deep and tender love is beyond my comprehension. I desire to love You back in deep appreciation for all You have done for me. I pray in the Name of the One sitting at Your right hand. Amen

The Offerings from the Priests Perspective
6:8 to 7:38

What was it like to be a priest of Isra’el? Imagine waking up every day looking forward to splashing blood at the base of the bronze altar, washing bladders, and coming home every night smelling like smoke! We know from rabbinic writings that there were more than enough priests to go around and to share equally in the tremendous burden of the daily ministry. In the Soncino Edition of the English translation of the Babylonian Talmud, we find some helpful information among the explanatory notes to Yoma Chapter 11. We read, “There were twenty-four divisions of the priests. Each division consisted of four to nine families. Every week another division served in the Sanctuary, being relieved on the Sabbath. During the week they distributed the service among the families. Any one among the family whose turn came on the day could for example, if he so desired, remove the ashes from the bronze altar.”

This indicates that there were a lot of priests among whom the work was distributed. There was enough work, for example, for only one priest to be assigned to take out the ashes, one priest to clean the bronze altar, one priest to keep the wood piles built up . . . well, you get the picture. In other words, there were more priests than ministry opportunities. This information was not in this portion, but is helpful nonetheless. We can only assume that many of the basic practices of the priests were performed in the same way during the First Temple period (Solomon’s Temple), and also during the Second Temple period (Herod’s Temple). A good example of this can be seen in the commentary on The Life of Christ, to see link click Ak – The Birth of John the Baptist Foretold).⁵⁸

As we study the Torah’s complex mitzvot of sacrifice, we can easily “lose the forest for the trees.” The Torah offers great detail regarding what and how to sacrifice, but it does not grant us much in regard to their meaning and significance. Just reading the sacrificial mitzvot can seem mechanical and dull. It is sometimes difficult to see why those mitzvot should even be sacred scripture. This feeling of disconnect from the sacrificial passages is normal. It results from our unfamiliarity with the entire milieu of the Tabernacle worship system. The Torah tends to take it for granted that the larger conceptual and spiritual significance to the rituals it reports on are well known and assumed. For the most part, only the procedures are written down.

If we could see the sacrificial system service in all its glory, splendor, and elaborate choreography, we would be surprised at the exalted spiritual quality of the experience. In addition to the sacrificial rituals, we would hear the prayers of the worshipers, the confessions of the contrite, the blessings of the priesthood, and the songs of the psalms played and sung by the Levites. We would be surprised to discover a worship service not entirely unlike the contemporary Messianic congregation’s service, which is descended directly from the Tabernacle service. The synagogue prayer services are modeled after the Temple’s sacrificial service. After the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD, only the prayer services continued. The early Catholic church modeled much of her mass after the synagogue. This in turn gave rise to the protestant forms of worship services with which the modern believer is familiar. Thus, there is a line of communication between even the most contemporary Sunday morning service and the ancient Tabernacle sacrifices.

As believers, we understand well that Messiah is our ultimate sacrifice and High Priest. But this does not mean that we should neglect the mitzvot of sacrifice or the discipline of prayer which continues to memorialize the sacrifices. Rather, we should be all the more eager to study and participate because we have had the personal experience of sacrifice. We have all participated in the sacrifice of Yeshua Messiah.⁵⁹

The Guilt Offering: Evidence of Repentance
5:14 to 6:7

The guilt offering DIG: How was the guilt offering different from the sin offering? For what kind of sin is restitution possible (5:16 and 6:1-5)? Which requires a twenty percent fine? What does this teach you about God’s view of sin? What does this teach you about ADONAI’s view of the process of reconciliation? What is His desire for His followers?

REFLECT: If you were to assign a money value to your sins, what would they be worth? How far in debt would you be: (a) One week’s allowance? (b) One month’s wages? (c) Half this country’s foreign debt? (d) More than the national deficit? How can such debt be canceled: By you? Your creditors? By God? When in your experience has YHVH canceled your debt of guilt? What will it cost (see Matthew 18:21-25)?

Both of the purification offering and the guilt offering form a single picture,
to show us how we can make peace with YHVH.

Sin often takes the form of defrauding God in holy things that belong to Him or in defrauding others of their possessions. In such matters Scripture is clear that it is not sufficient just to make confession. – the wrong must be made right if at all possible. To do so was evidence of remorse and contrition. And that was the kind of response that John the Baptist meant when he called for people to produce fruit in keeping with repentance (Matthew 3:8).⁵³

The fifth and final offering is translated as a guilt offering. It is not completely distinct from the purification offering. The Torah says: The guilt offering is like the purification offering; the same mitzvah governs them (7:7). This implies they are essentially the same type of sacrifice, involving the same ritual procedures. From view of this, it is perhaps helpful to think of the guilt offering as a subset of the purification offering. The guilt offering was a specific form of the purification offering that was prescribed only for offenses which required a payment of restitution. In Hebrew, the word for guilt (asham) can be understood to mean indemnity or a reparation. The asham was brought in those cases when some sort of repayment was required by the worshipper.⁵⁴

The guilt offering was mandatory for intentional, conscious, or purposeful sin requiring restitution, the confession of a sin, and forgiveness of a sin or cleansing from defilement. It required not only a ram, but also a twenty percent fine to the wrong party. The implication was that an offense toward another person was also an offense toward God. When the Israelite cheated or damaged or misused someone else or their property it is as if we had cheated, damaged or misused God. Therefore, when they settled accounts, they had to repay the victim and God. The reparation made to God was the guilt offering.

It was not easy to distinguish between the purification offering and the guilt offering for both represented Messiah, the Substitute for the guilty sinner. Because it was not totally consumed, the bodies of both offerings were burned outside the camp of Isra’el. They were to atone for sins committed knowingly. Yet, the purification offering dealt with the root of sin, even as the guilt offering dealt with the fruit of sin. While believers have been saved, for all time, by faith in the shed blood of Messiah, we still inherit our old sin nature. That is what Paul meant when, in the sixth and seventh chapters of Romans, he wrote of the struggle between the old nature and the new nature in Messiah, the flesh and the spirit, the nature inherited from Adam and the new life received by faith in Yeshua Messiah. When Paul wrote those chapters, he put words to the struggle that all believers know far too well – what he wants to do because he loved Yeshua, he does not do; and what he does not want to do, he finds himself doing because of the weakness and frailty of his flesh (Romans 7:24). But then the great chapter eight of Romans follows, which gives the secret to victory over the flesh – the indwelling Ruach Ha’Kodesh. Thus, every need of the sinner is fully met in Yeshua Messiah. He is our Guilt Offering, giving us power and victory in our lives, even as He promised. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (First John 1:8-10).⁵⁵

First, there were violations against God’s holy things. When a person committed a violation and sinned unintentionally in regard to any of ADONAI’s holy things, or sacred property, such as gifts (Deuteronomy 15:19), sacrifices, tithes, first fruits (Exodus 34:26), or anything assigned to God. It had to do with a violation of that which belonged to God, and therefore indirectly the priesthood, since they were His representatives. It could include, for example, failure to redeem the first-born. In that case, the guilty would bring a ram from his flock as a penalty to ADONAI, one without defect. So the value of the property had to be estimated. But if he could not bring the ram itself, he could bring the equivalent value in silver, according to the sanctuary shekel (30:11-16). The rabbis teach that because the word is plural, the value had to be a minimum of two shekels. A ram was more valuable than either a lamb or a female goat, therefore, it showed that the guilt offering was a more serious offense than the sin offering. The sin offering emphasized our sin nature, but the guilt offering emphasized active sin or choices that were made. Because he needed to make restitution for what he had failed to do in regard to the holy things, He then added a fifth of the value (or twenty percent) to the original cost. Since the sin in this case was against God, the restitution was made to His representative, the priest, who made atonement for him with the ram as a guilt offering, and then he was forgiven (5:14-16).

When the priest received the ram he slaughtered it on the north side of the bronze altar, and its blood was sprinkled on all sides. All its fat was offered; the fat tail and the fat that covered the inner parts, both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the covering of the liver, which was to be removed with the kidneys. The priest then burned them on the bronze altar as an offering made to ADONAI by fire. It was a guilt offering. Any male in a priest’s family was allowed to eat it, but it had to be eaten in the courtyard of the Tabernacle because it was most holy (Leviticus 7:1-6).

There is no contradiction between twenty percent restitution here and the hundred percent restitution in Exodus 22:4-14. There, the offender did not confess his sin, but was convicted because of the evidence and therefore had to pay one hundred percent restitution. But here, the offender confessed voluntarily, which limited his restitution to twenty percent. There was, and is, a big difference between conviction and confession.

If a person sinned and did what was forbidden in any of ADONAI’s commands, even though he did not know it, he was still guilty and would be held responsible. There was no excuse, even if he didn’t realize it. He was to bring a ram from the flock to the priest as a guilt offering, one without defect and of the proper value. In that way, the priest would make atonement for him for the wrong he had committed unintentionally, and he would then be forgiven. In this case there is no restitution mentioned, because this was a sin against God alone, whereas, the previous one was against God and the priesthood who depended on the holy things. So sin against God required forgiveness but not restitution, but sin against man required forgiveness and restitution (5:17-19).

Secondly, there were violations against men in relation to money or property rights. If anyone sinned and was unfaithful to ADONAI by deceiving his neighbor about something entrusted to him or left in his care, something stolen, if he cheated him, if he found lost property and lied about it, if he swore falsely, or if he committed any such sin that people may do – he thus was guilty. He returned what he had stolen or taken by extortion, what was entrusted to him, the lost property he found, or whatever it was he swore falsely about. He made restitution in full, and added a fifth of the value (or a twenty percent fine) to it. Since the violation was against human property rights, the restitution payment and fine were given to the owner on the day he presented his guilt offering (Leviticus 6:1-6). But if the offended party was no longer living and had no surviving relative, the restitution and fine were paid to the priest (Numbers 5:8-10).⁵⁶ In that way, the priest made atonement for him before ADONAI, and he was forgiven for any of the things he did that made him guilty (Leviticus 6:7). Therefore, once restitution had been paid, God was satisfied and fellowship could be restored not only between the victim and the guilty party, but also between God and the guilty party.

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise Your gracious love that forgives the repentant sinner. How Awesome You are to not only forgive, but also to offer Yourself as the Lamb of God (Jn 1:29). What magnificent grace to die in our place as our guilt offering, rise in Victory and then prepare a home in heaven for those who love You! We exalt your exceedingly great power toward us who keep trusting Him – in keeping with the working of His mighty strength. This power He exercised in Messiah when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in heaven (Eph 1:19-20).

We say thank You with our lives and desire to serve You with a heart full of love even in the most trying of times. We follow Yeshua’s example, for He willingly left heaven’s glory (John 17:5) to come to live as a man (Philippians 2:1-10) to take our sin punishment. Yeshua was then rightly lifted up in glory and honor. God highly exalted Him and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Yeshua every knee should bow, in heaven and on the earth and under the earth, and every tongue profess that Yeshua the Messiah is Lord – to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:9-11).

Anyone can say thank you when life is easy, but when loving You is costly, we will still rejoice in being called Your children. We will continue focusing , as Yeshua did, on the joy that we will have in heaven. 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 (Heb 12:2). We push to the back of our minds the momentary trials and problems of this life. For I consider the sufferings of this present time not worthy to be compared with the coming glory to be revealed to us (Rom 8:18). Thank you for being our restitution so our fellowship with God could be restored and we can draw near God thru Messiah Yeshua. In Yeshua’s holy Name and power of resurrection. Amen

Summary and conclusion: The burnt offering (to see link click Ai – The Burnt Offering) spoke of the general need of a sinner for a sacrifice. The grain offerings (see Aj – The Grain Offerings) were not for atonement, but given in gratitude, as a tribute to the Eternal One for accepting the worshiper’s burnt offering. The peace offering was a fellowship meal enjoyed by those who knew the joy of forgiveness (see Ak – The Peace Offering). Each of these offerings provided an aroma pleasing to the LORD. Philippians 4:18 explains that the fragrant aroma meant the sacrifice was acceptable . . . well pleasing to God.

But the other two offerings – the purification offering (see Leviticus Al – The Purification Offering: Purified by the Blood) and the guilt offering (see Leviticus Am – The Guild Offering: Evidence of Repentance) – were different because they were fulfilled by Messiah’s bearing the sin of mankind. They depicted the Father’s turning His back on the Son, when He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf (Second Corinthians 5:21), at which time Yeshua cried out from the cross: My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me (Matthew 27:46)? While Messiah was the sin-bearer, Ha’Shem could not look upon Him or rejoice in Him or be pleased with Him. Therefore, the purification and guilt offerings had to be offered first. Atonement must always come before forgiveness. But when the Father raised Messiah from the dead, the sacrifice that caused Him to become sin became the sacrifice that conquered sin. The sin that put Him to death was itself put to death, and that great act of love was to God as fragrant aroma. Today, that fragrant aroma spreads its fragrance to everyone on earth who will place themselves under the grace of that sacrifice, and it will spread its fragrance throughout heaven for all eternity. In all aspects, our lives should please God (see the commentary on Second Corinthians At – A Sweet-Smelling Aroma).

Haftarah vaYikra: Yesha’Yahu (Isaiah) 6:1–7:17 (A), 6:1–19 (S)
(see the commentary on Deuteronomy Af – Parashah)

In this week’s haftorah reading, Jerusalem has been destroyed. It is no longer possible to bring offerings to the altar of ADONAI’s dwelling. Addressing the exiles, Isaiah explains that God has been weighted down by the sins of the people and by offerings which are not heartfelt: But you have burdened Me with your sins and bothered Me with your offenses (43:24c). God had not burdened and bothered His people with tiring, worn out ritual; they had burdened and bothered ADONAI with their sins and transgressions. It was as if the Ruach Ha’odesh was saying to the Israelites, “Your carefully planned rituals are useless because they do not reflect a broken heart. You are not crushed by your sin. You have no change of heart and are merely going through the motions.” Their efforts to manipulate God had failed. They had refused to release the steering wheel of their lives to the King. They were sitting on the throne of their own hearts and they stubbornly refused to get off. But even though they were sinful and stubborn, they were still the apple of His eye (Deuteronomy 32:10). God’s remedy was, and always is, grace.

So now, YHVH announces a new way – He will blot out their sins for His own glory (Isaiah 43:25). He will judge offerings given with wholeness of heart as acceptable to Him: Like a thick cloud, I wipe away your offenses; like a cloud, your sins (Isaiah 44:22a). The nation will yet fulfill its calling to glorify the LORD. Echoing the words of Isaiah 43:10, ADONAI raises up Isra’el to be his witness. Worshippers from idolatrous nations (Isaiah 44:9) become as blind and unthinking as the wood from their carved idols. But Isra’el will break out in song – its forests and trees alive, its people redeemed and glorified!

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

In this reading, the writer to the Hebrews compares the insufficiencies of the animal sacrifices compared to the sufficiency of Messiah’s sacrifice. Then he adds: Therefore, when Messiah came into the world, He says, “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You prepared for Me; with burnt offerings and purification offerings You were did not delight. Then I said, ‘Here I am – it is written about Me in the scroll – I have come to do Your will, My God’ (Hebrews 10:5-7 TLV quoting Psalm 40:6-8).” God planned the incarnation before the world came into being: You have prepared a body for Me. When Messiah was ready to be born of human flesh, standing on the edge of heaven, if you will, talking to God the Father, He acknowledged that His own body was to be the sacrifice that would be pleasing Ha’Shem.

By sacrificing His life, shedding His blood as an asham offering (see Ar – The Asham Offering: The Ministry of Reconciliation), Messiah cleanses the hearts and purges the consciences of those who believe (Hebrews 10:2). Scripture announces a new way to approach God in holiness (Hebrews 10:9-10), the perfecting (or making whole) of those who are now being sanctified (Hebrews 10:14). He has removed our sins from us as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12). This forgiveness means the complete removal of sins, making future purification offerings for sin unnecessary (Hebrews 10:17-18).⁵⁷

The Purification Offering: Purified by Blood
4:1 to 5:13  

The purification offering DIG: What difference is made between intentional (Num 15:30-31) and unintentional sin (Num 15:22-29)? Why is there little mercy shown for the defiant sinner? What distinctions are made between the communal sin and the individual sin? Why such distinctions? What does this say about God’s view of sin? Why do you think sacrifice is required for unintentional sin? What does that say about God’s nature? About human nature? What does this teach us about reconciliation?

REFLECT: What do you see as the difference between intentional and unintentional sin in your own life? How do you deal with each kind of sin? How does this help to mend your relationship with God? What steps does a believer today take to restore his or her relationship with YHVH and the community of fellowship? What does “washed in the blood” mean to you? How could you explain it to an unbeliever? 

Both of the purification offering and the guilt offering form a single picture,
to show us how we can make peace with YHVH.

God, in His grace, has made provision for our cleansing. This provision was absolutely necessary because of our old sin nature and its effects on our lives (see the community on Romans, to see link click Bm – The Consequences of Adam). Our deprived nature must be dealt with if communion with YHVH is to be maintained. Even true worshipers, people who are steadfast in their devotion to the LORD, and who seek to live in obedience to His Word, find the need for God’s gracious provision of cleansing if they are to continue in fellowship with Him.⁴⁷

The Tabernacle courtyard was shaped like a rectangle (see the commentary on Exodus Ex – The Courtyard and Gate of the Tabernacle). Inside the Sanctuary, the Most Holy Place housed the ark of the covenant and the mercy seat. Outside the Sanctuary, there was a bronze basin where the priests constantly washed and purified themselves. Then, right in front of the gate was the bronze altar of sacrifice. No one could enter the presence of God without a sacrifice. The burnt offering, the grain offering and the peace offering all have Messianic implications. First, the burnt offering emphasizes the total devotion, commitment and surrender to the Messiah. Secondly, the grain offering points to Messiah who is the bread of life. And thirdly the peace offering celebrates our peace with God after Messiah has given Himself for us.

Each of these three voluntary offerings maintained a relationship with YHVH. The peace offering, for example, was not to make peace with God but to maintain peace with God. So the question needs to be asked, “How do we make peace with God to begin with?” Or stating it another way, “How does one first enter the Temple courtyard to offer a sacrifice and have fellowship with YHVH?” Were there any requirements to be made before one might offer the burnt offering, the grain offering, or the peace offering? Yes, it was the purification and guilt offerings. This is where the Israelite found himself estranged and separated from God. How could he come near to YHHV? It was through the purification and guilt offerings. Both of these offerings form a single picture of how one makes peace with YHVH. The purification offering was prompted by the root of sin, or our old sin nature. When the Israelite sensed his separation from God, being outside the perimeter of blessing, his path back was, first, repentance, then confession through the purification and guilt offerings. Only then could he make his burnt, grain, and peace offerings.

The word translated as purification offering many times in our English Bibles is the Hebrew word chatat, which means sin. But it can be more picturesque than this, because the word carries with it the idea of missing the mark. Hence, its purpose was to help the sinner keep in check any undisciplined thinking or actions coming from his old sin nature that would cause him to miss the mark, and unintentionally sin (chatta). Such sins were often committed when one was not as careful or disciplined in their walk with ADONAI as they should have been. As a result, Leviticus mandated a purification offering (chatat).⁴⁸

Yet, it is not always so simple. There are several instances when a chatat must be brought even though there is no sin committed. For example: A woman after childbirth must bring a chatat (Leviticus 12:6); a leper, after his cleansing was mandated to bring a chatat (Leviticus 14:19); a nazarite who had come in contact with a corpse had to bring a chatat (Numbers 6:11); and a nazarite who had completed the term of his vow must bring a chatat (Numbers 6:14). None of these people had committed a sin. Therefore, the chatat should not be understood to be simply an offering for sin. Actually, a better conceptual translation for the chatat would be purification offering, and that is what I will be using. The Hebrew word chata sometimes denotes a purification instead of a sin (see the Hebrew of Leviticus 8:15, 14:49, 19:9). As we study the ritual procedure, we will see that the blood of the chatat is sprinkled in various purification rights.

This makes a good deal of sense. A chatat is often mandated for an individual that has become ritually unclean. The unclean person has not sinned, but he or she is in need of purification. Understanding a chatat as a purification offering instead of a sin offering resolves the difficulties and helps us better understand the rituals involved.

But if a chatat is actually a purification offering, why must it be brought when a person sins? Sin and ritual impurity are two very different things. Being in a state of ritual impurity is not sinful. It is a normal, human condition which begins at birth. Nevertheless, the Bible makes it clear that sin makes us unclean (see comments on Leviticus 12). Ritual uncleanness is not sin, nor is it sinful. It arises from many sources which are not sinful at all. But it is also true that sin, in some way, leaves us spiritually and ritually unclean.

When a person sins, the sin leaves a Levitical defilement, a “stain” upon the sinner which is akin to ritual impurity. Technically, this “stain” is not the same as ritual impurity. Ritual impurity is a physical state that applies to the physical body. The “stain” of the sin is spiritual in nature, but the imagery overlaps. In some sense, just as sin makes us “feel dirty,” there is a physical component in need of ritual purification. The chatat is a purification offering meant to remove that “stain” from the flesh. Obviously then, before we can fully appreciate how the chatat functions as a purification offering, we must first possess a firm grasp of the Levitical concept of ritual purity. We will talk about this later in Leviticus. ADONAI’s remedy for uncleanness is purification. We will discuss other purification rituals, but for right now it is enough to know that the cornerstone of purification is the chatat.⁴⁹

The purification offering was a mandatory atonement for unintentional sin, confessed sin, and forgiveness for sin where restitution was not required. God accepted the blood of the animal as payment for the specific sin of the offeror. It averted God’s wrath on the sinner, and ultimately directed that wrath to Messiah where He became sin for us on the cross (Second Corinthians 5:21; First Peter 2:24).

Then YHVH said to Moses, speak to the Israelites and say to them: When anyone (Hebrew: nephesh, meaning soul) sins (first mention in Leviticus) unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the 365 of My mitzvot, he must bring a purification offering to Me (4:1-2). Not for salvation, but to reestablish communion with YHVH. This points to our old sin nature and disturbs the life of the believer. It separates us from God. The first thing we note as we read this passage is that ignorance did not excuse the sinner.

The Holy Spirit presents the purification offering in a descending order, from the high priest, to the Sanhedrin (see The Life of Christ Lg – The Great Sanhedrin), to a tribal leader, to a common person, to the poor, and then to the poorest of the poor. The purification offerings were weighted according to the ability to pay. The high priest and the Sanhedrin were required to offer a young bull, a tribal leader was required to offer a male goat, a common person was to offer a female goat or lamb, the poor were expected to offer two doves or two young pigeons, and the poorest of the poor only needed to offer a tenth of an ephah of fine flour.

If the anointed priest (Hebrew: ha’cohen ha’mashich) sinned unintentionally. Normally, the high priest is called cohen ha’gadol. But it is only in Leviticus 4, 5 and 6, dealing with the purification and guilt offerings, that he is called ha’cohen ha’mashiach, with no further explanation. For us this title reminds us of the ultimate High Priest (see the commentary on Hebrews Bg – The Levitical Priesthood and the Priesthood of Jesus). David prophesied that the Messiah would be a priest forever in Psalm 110:4, “ADONAI has sworn and will not change His mind, ‘You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek’ (see Hebrews Ay – Messiah’s Qualifications as our Great High Priest).”

If the anointed priest (Hebrew: ha’cohen ha’mashich) sinned unintentionally, bringing guilt on the people, he must bring to YHVH a young bull without defect as a purification offering for the sin he has committed. He is to present the bull at the entrance to the tent of meeting before YHVH. He is to lay his hand on its head and slaughter it there before YHVH (Leviticus 4:3-4). It is interesting that the first person instructed to bring a purification offering is the high priest himself! Who would suspect that he was a sinner? The one who was to represent the people to God. Knowing this, who could possibly represent the people?

The bull was the biggest animal you could bring in the sacrificial system. When the high priest would bring a young bull to the Tabernacle, everyone would take notice. If the high priest was a sinner, then everyone must be a sinner. Reading Leviticus, one would be forced to look for another mediator, and that mediator would come in the form of the Messiah (see the commentary on Deuteronomy Dk – A Prophet Like Moshe).

If the anointed priest sinned unintentionally to bring guilt on the people, he needed to bring to God a young bull without defect as a purification offering for the sin he had committed. This was an expensive offering. He laid his hand on its head as a point of identification, and then slaughtered it. Then he took some of the bull’s blood and carried it into the Holy Place. There he sprinkled some of it seven times towards the inner veil in the Sanctuary. Then the priest put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of incense that was in front of the inner veil in the Holy Place. The rest of the bull’s blood he poured out at the base of the bronze altar. Then he removed all its fat and burned it on the bronze altar (4:3-11).

After the sacrifice, all the rest of the bull, its hide and all its flesh must be taken outside the Tabernacle to a place ceremonially clean, where the ashes are thrown, and burned in a wood fire on the ash pile (4:12). Only the more valuable innards of the bull were sacrificed on the bronze altar. Then, the remaining carcass was carted outside the Tabernacle to be burned. The book of Hebrews explains why this was the case: The high priest carries the blood of the animals into the Holy Place as a purification offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. And so Yeshua suffered outside the city gate of Jerusalem to make the people holy through His own blood (Hebrews 13:12). Just as the bull was sacrificed with many people watching, Yeshua was sacrificed outside the city gate where many people stood and watched (Luke 23:35a).

If the leaders of Isra’el, the Hebrew word adat Isra’el refers to a large body within the nation, sinned unintentionally, and did what was forbidden in any of the commandments, even though the Jewish community was unaware of the matter, the Jews would still be guilty because the adat Isra’el represented them. In rabbinic tradition, this would refer to the seventy members of the great Sanhedrin (see my commentary on The Life of Christ Lg – The Great Sanhedrin). If the Torah had been neglected to the point that the leaders of Isra’el became aware of the sin that they had committed, they needed to bring a young bull as a purification offering. The atonement was made in the same way as the atonement for the high priest. The sacrifice was slaughtered on the north side of the bronze altar. Because it was a most holy sacrifice, the priest who offered it needed to eat it and wash any blood that might have splattered onto his garment in the courtyard of the Tabernacle. Any male in the priest’s family could eat it, since women were not allowed in the courtyard. But any purification offering whose blood was symbolically sprinkled toward the mercy seat, or whose blood was applied to the horns of the altar of incense, could not be eaten. In that case, it needed to be totally burned, because it was a purification offering (Leviticus 4:13-21, 6:24-30).

When a tribal leader, the Hebrew word nasi, meaning a tribal leader or lifted up one, as seen in Numbers 34:18, sinned unintentionally, he was guilty. When he was made aware of the sin he committed, the whole community was to offer a young bull for a burnt offering, along with its prescribed grain offering and drink offering, and a male goat without defect for a purification offering (Numbers 15:22-24). He was to lay his hand on the goat’s head and then slaughter it on the north side of the bronze altar. But instead of taking the blood into the Holy Place, he took some of the blood of the purification offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the bronze altar and poured out the rest of the blood at its base. He then burned all the fat on the bronze altar, just as he burned the fat of the peace offering. This blood had not come in contact with the Holy Place, so he did not need to dispose of it outside the camp of Isra’el. When this procedure was followed in faith, the leader’s sin was atoned for and he was forgiven.⁵⁰ But more than that, the whole Israelite community and the aliens living among them were also forgiven, because when the tribal leader represented all the people, they were also unintentionally involved in the sin and needed forgiveness (Leviticus 4:22-26: Numbers 15:25-26).

When a common person sinned unintentionally, atonement was made the same way, except his offering was a year-old female goat. However, he had a choice. If he chose to bring a lamb as his purification offering, he was to bring a female without defect. The priest was to make atonement before ADONAI for the one who erred by sinning unintentionally, and when atonement had been made for him, he was forgiven. The same mitzvah applied to everyone who sinned unintentionally, whether he was a native-born Israelite or an alien (Leviticus 4:27; Numbers 27-29). It was significant that the fat burned on the altar was an aroma pleasing to God, highlighting His acceptance of the purification offering which, when brought in faith, resulted in atonement and forgiveness.⁵¹

Then the Ruach Ha’Kodesh gives four examples of sin that would require an offering. If anyone deliberately sins because they do not speak up when they hear (what we listen to) a public charge to testify regarding something they have seen (what we look at) or learned about, they will be held responsible (5:1). He witnessed or heard of a sin and kept quiet about it. Nothing is easier than doing nothing. His silence brought an innocent man to be condemned. These are seemingly small and insignificant sins. But Paul informs us: I would not have known what sin was except through the Torah. For I would not have known what it was to covet if the Torah had not said, “Do not covet” (Romans 7:7b). This is the great outcome of studying Leviticus. We also learn that sin is not only what we do, but what we do not do. What we neglect to do.

If anyone becomes aware that they are guilty – if they unwittingly touch (what we handle) anything ceremonially unclean (whether the carcass of an unclean animal, wild or domestic, or of any unclean creature that moves along the ground) and they are unaware that they have become unclean, but then they come to realize their guilt (5:2).

Or if they touch human uncleanness (anything that would make them unclean) even though they are unaware of it, but then they learn of it and realize their guilt (5:3). The concepts of clean and unclean will be more fully discussed later in this commentary (see Bk – Ritually Clean and Unclean Animals). But for now, let it suffice to say that these terms do not imply “being dirty” as in a mud stain of a white rug. Unclean has to do with coming in contact with the realm of sin and/or death. Such contact would hinder the fellowship of the Israelite with ADONAI because He has absolutely no contact with it in His realm. He is in an entirely different universe that is characterized only by life and righteousness. Whatever this kind of uncleanness means, the purification offering took it away from both the worshiper and the objects in which the Tabernacle was affected. Therefore, we can safely say the sin defiles us (and in the Dispensation of Torah, both the Tabernacle and eventually the Temple), and that the proper means of purification was animal blood.

Or if anyone thoughtlessly takes an oath (what we say) to do anything, whether good or evil (in any matter one might carelessly swear about) even though they are unaware of it, but then they learn of it and realize their guilt (5:4).

Notice the process: First, when an Israelite felt the weight of his old sin nature (however that came to be), and recognized his separated condition from God, he became aware that he was guilty in any of these matters, he then needed to repent with the help of the Ruach Ha’Kodesh. Secondly, he needed to confess his sin in whatever way he had sinned. Thirdly, he would bring his purification offering. As a penalty for the sin they have committed, they must bring to YHVH a female lamb or goat from the flock as a purification offering; and the priest shall make atonement for them for their sin (5:5-6). That is the purification offering. Yes, you must confess, but you must also bring your purification offering to God. Fourthly, the guilt offering is made.

When a poor person sinned unintentionally, if he could not afford a lamb, he was to bring two doves or two young pigeons to ADONAI as a penalty for his sin – one for a purification offering and the other for a burnt offering. Mary, the mother of Christ, obeyed this command when she took the baby Jesus to the Temple and offered her sacrifice of a pair of doves and two young pigeons (Luke 2:24). The fact that she brought a purification offering to God proved that she believed she had sinned. The worshiper was to bring both birds to the priest, who first offered the one for the purification offering. He wrung its head from its neck, not severing it completely, and then sprinkled some of the blood of the purification offering against the side of the bronze altar; the rest of the blood was drained out at its base. It was a purification offering. The priest then offered the other bird as a burnt offering in the prescribed way and made atonement for him for the sin he had committed, and he was forgiven (5:7-10).

If, however, the poorest of the poor sinned unintentionally, and could not afford two doves or two young pigeons, he was to bring a tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a purification offering instead. That was two quarts or four pints of fine flour, as much as a man ate in one day. This was a bloodless offering, but the worshiper would eventually be covered by the blood offering made on the Day of Atonement (see Ef – Yom Kippur). The writer to the Hebrews may have been thinking of this when he wrote: The Torah requires that nearly (emphasis added) everything be cleansed with blood (Hebrews 9:22a). In contrast with the fine flour brought as a grain offering, he could not put oil or incense on it because it was a purification offering. He brought it to the priest, who took a handful of it as a memorial portion. It was a bloodless offering, but the priest placed the handful of fine flour upon a bloody offering already on the bronze altar. In that way, the priest made atonement for him and he was forgiven. The rest of the offering belonged to the priest, as was the case with the grain offering (5:11-13).

In these purification offering rituals, the blood of the animal acted as the ritual cleansing agent. The purification offering is at a higher level of holiness than the other sacrificial offerings because without it, none of the other offerings are even possible. The soul it represents is so pure and precious, it cannot be removed from within the Tabernacle. Even a few drops splattered on a garment must be washed out within the Tabernacle. When the worshiper identified himself with the animal through laying on of hands, he invested his identity into the purifying blood of the animal. When the animal’s blood was applied to the bronze altar, YHVH recognized it as the worshiper’s own blood. Therefore, the worshiper was then regarded as clean and pure in the presence of YHVH because he had identified his soul in the blood of the animal. It was a symbolic gesture of purification through identification. For the life of the animal is in his blood, and God had given it to the Israelites to make atonement for themselves on the bronze altar; it was the blood that made atonement for their lives (17:11).

The Messianic Implication: The chatat is brought as a purification from ritual uncleanness and the “stain” left behind by sin. The blood of the purification offering is brought before YHVH as a vicarious substitute for the offender. In that regard, it acts as a cleansing agent. Ha’Shem recognizes it as the offeror’s soul in a pure state. In the same way, when we identify ourselves in Messiah, His absolute purity compensates for our uncleanness. The precious blood of Messiah is so holy and pure that through it we are cleansed of our uncleanness. Hence the expression: washed in the blood (First John 1:7 and 9).⁵²

The Peace Offerings: At Peace with God
3: 1-17

The peace offerings, at peace with God DIG: What was unique about the peace offering? How do the various laws fit the idea of reconciliation between God and His people: The part played by the worshiper? The priest? The blood? The fat? The fire? The altar? Why was eating any fat or blood strictly forbidden (Leviticus 17:11; Deuteronomy 12:23-25)?

REFLECT: Is there anything standing between you and God right now? If so, He wants it out of the way. When have you felt most alienated from God? How important is it to you that all barriers between yourself and God be removed? Why? What do you do to build a better relationship with Him? How do you show your deep gratitude for what God has done for you?

The peace offerings are best understood as a shared meal between God,
the priesthood and the worshiper.

The peace offering was a shared meal in which the worshiper celebrated with the priests the benefits of a peaceful relationship with God. It was a joyous time of feasting in the presence of ADONAI, made possible by the blood atonement and prompted by the blessings from the LORD. This sacrifice was probably one of the most anticipated occasions of all the rituals because of its nature as a communal meal – it was a great feast. The main emphasis of the peace offering was celebrating all the benefits of being at peace with God, indicating that all was well between the worshiper and ADONAI.⁴⁰

The peace offerings were the only sacrifices from which the worshiper received a portion. The burnt offering was completely consumed on the bronze altar. The grain offerings were either completely consumed on the bronze altar or shared among the priesthood. Only the priests ate the purification offering and the guilt offering, the worshiper had no share in them. The only offering that all parties shared in, was the peace offering.

Chapter 3 introduces the shalamim, the peace offerings. The singular form of shalem occurs only in Amos 5:22. In every other instance it is in the plural as shalamim. The Hebrew root of the peace offering (shalem) is derived from the same root as the word shalom, which means peace. It is usually preceded by the word zevach, meaning sacrifice. So literally it reads, zevach shlamin, or sacrifice of peace. Hence the translation of peace offerings. Like the burnt offering (to see link click Aj – The Burnt Offering) and the grain offering (see Ak – The Grain Offering), the peace offerings were voluntary. They could be brought as fellowship offerings or to fulfill vows or to simply rejoice in the fellowship between ADONAI and His people.⁴¹

Now that the worshiper had drawn near to YHVH through the burnt and grain offerings, he showed his appreciation by the giving of a peace offering. The peace offerings were voluntary acts initiated inside the Temple courtyard, given in deep gratitude for what God has done for him. Any animal from the herd or flock could be used. YHVH received the choicest parts on the altar. And the priesthood and the worshiper received the remainder of the meat. Thus, the shalam afforded the worshiper the experience of joining together with the priesthood in a sacred meal at which YHVH Himself was to be the honored guest.

The peace offerings were still animal sacrifices, but they differed from the burnt offering in that not all of it was burnt. The way the animal was sectioned off by the priest indicates that the intention of the one who offered it was to eat it. The Hebrew word cheleb has the general sense of “fat,” but here it refers specifically to the fat that covers or surrounds the kidneys, the liver and the intestines. Although not regarded as the choice food for humans, under normal circumstances, the cheleb was desired by YHVH. God considered it to be the richest and most valuable part of the fat. Deuteronomy 32:14, for example, refers to the finest quality of the wheat as the fat of the wheat.⁴² When they refrained from eating it they were to remember the blessings that God had given them in their own lives, and in return they reserved for Him the best of the animal.

The presentation of one of the peace offerings was conditioned on a worshiper having first met the requirements of confession and repentance (through a purification and guilt offering), and dedication (through a burnt and grain offerings). An offering from the herd was the most expensive, a lamb was somewhat expensive, and the offering of a goat was the least expensive. No birds could be offered, because the peace offering was to be used for a festive meal and a bird would not provide enough food.

If someone’s offering was a peace offering, and he offered an animal from the herd, whether male or female, he was to present before YHVH an animal without defect. He was to lay his hand on the head of his offering and slaughter it at the entrance to the Tabernacle (3:1-2a). The worshiper laid his hand on the head of his offering thereby identifying himself with the animal before personally slaughtering it in the identical manner as the burnt offering. The text indicates that the peace offering was not to be killed as if one was hunting. The Hebrew word translated slaughtered (Hebrew: ushechatov), is from the same root (Hebrew: shachat) from which we get the term for a ritual slaughter. This indicates that the peace offering was to be eaten, not just burned up in smoke.⁴³

The priest then sprinkled the blood against the base of the bronze altar. But only certain select cuts of the animal were burned on it. Then the priest cut the animal up and burned three parts on the bronze altar: all the fat that covered the inner parts or was connected to them, both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the covering of the liver, which he removed with the kidneys. Then the priest apparently placed those three parts on top of the burnt offering that was already burning on the wood (3:2b-5). The Hebrew word for kidneys comes from a Hebrew root which means to yearn. As a result, in the biblical Hebrew concept this was the seat of their emotions. “I love you with all my kidneys,” isn’t really romantic so English substitutes the word heart (Job 19:27).

If he offered an animal from the flock as a peace offering to ADONAI, he was to offer a male or female without defect. That was the general rule. Then the flexibility of the peace offering was seen in the acceptability of either a lamb or a goat without defect. If he offered a lamb, he was to present it before God. He was to lay his hand on the head of his offering and then slaughter it on the north side of the bronze altar. Then Aaron’s sons sprinkled its blood against the altar on all sides. Then the priest cut the animal up. Again not the whole offering was burnt, just certain parts. For the peace offering he was to bring a sacrifice made to YHVH by fire: first, its layer of fat, secondly, the entire fat tail, which could weigh as much as fifteen to twenty pounds by itself, cut off close to the backbone, and thirdly, all the fat that covered the inner parts or was connected to them, which included both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the covering of the liver, which he removed with the kidneys. The priest then burned them on top of the burnt offering (3:6-11). The meat of the animal was divided between the priest and the worshiper.

If the offering was a goat, he was to present it before YHVH. He was to lay his hand on its head and slaughter it in front of the Tabernacle. Then Aaron’s sons shall sprinkle its blood against the altar on all sides. Again, the priest cut the animal up, but the whole goat did not burn, but merely certain parts. The same procedure was followed as with the lamb except for the fat tail.⁴⁴ He is to present from it his offering, an offering made by fire to YHVH; it is to consist of the fat covering the inner organs, all the fat above the inner organs, the two kidneys, the fat on them near the flanks, and the covering of the liver, which he will remove with the kidneys. The priest then burned them on the bronze altar, an offering made by fire, a pleasing aroma to YHVH. Philippians 4:18 explains that the fragrant aroma meant the sacrifice was acceptable . . . well pleasing to God. Then the principle of why the fat was burned was stated: All the fat is God’s, but the meat remained for the priests and the worshiper (3:12-16).

Moses warned the Israelites not to eat any of the fat of cattle, sheep or goats. The fat of the animal found dead or torn by wild animals may be used for any other purpose (such as oil for lamps or for non-cooking purposes), but not for eating. Anyone who ate the fat of an animal had to die, because all the fat is God’s. It was a symbol of offering the best to God (Genesis 45:18). This was a lasting ordinance, literally meaning up to the end of a period of time for the generations to come, wherever the Israelites lived, they must not eat the blood of any bird or animal, because it was the means of atonement. In addition, if anyone ate blood, that person would also die (3:17). In other words, as long as the Torah was in force, the Jews were not to eat any fat or blood.

The Messianic significance: The peace offering celebrates our peace with God after the Messiah has given Himself for us. Paul illustrates the connection between partaking of the peace offering and the Pesach Seder imagery. The “cup of blessing” over which we make the blessing – isn’t it a sharing in the bloody sacrificial death of the Messiah? The third cup of the Passover Seder is called the cup of redemption, or the cup of blessing (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Kk – The Third Cup of Redemption). And the bread we break, isn’t it a sharing in the body of the Messiah (First Corinthians 10:16)? Both of these rhetorical questions begin with ouchi, which means that a “yes” answer is anticipated.

The bread we break, isn’t it a sharing in the body of the Messiah? Because there is one loaf of bread, we who are many constitute one body, since we all partake of the one loaf of bread. Look at physical Isra’el: don’t those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar? Because there is one loaf of bread, Yeshua said: I am the bread of life (John 6:35), we who are many constitute one body, since we all partake of the one loaf of bread (First Corinthians 10:16-17). Because we are one with Messiah we are one with each other. As we come into fellowship with Messiah through the Lord’s Supper, we come into fellowship with each other in a unique way: The person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit (6:17). All believers stand on the same ground at the foot of the cross, as forgiven sinners who possess eternal life (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Ms – The Eternal Security of the Believer).⁴⁵

When the Master commanded His apostles to eat of His flesh (Matthew 26:26), He may have had some of the peace offering in mind. Such imagery is certainly present when He spoke of the matzah of the afikoemen as His body (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Kj – Breaking of the Middle Matzah). The matzah of the afikoeman was a ritual substitute for the Passover lamb – a peace offering! By partaking in Messiah, we partake in the peace offering, and we are given fellowship with God because it is a shared meal with Him. We sit, and eat and drink with Him. As Yeshua has said: If anyone hears My voice, I will come in and eat with them (Revelation 3:20). As our peace offering, His body was resurrected on the third day just as a remaining flesh of a peace offering needed to be destroyed on the third day before decomposition began.⁴⁶

Dear Heavenly Father, I praise You for the wonderful blessings You have given to me in Messiah, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Messiah (Ephesians 1:3). Our response is to offer back to You a sacrifice of praise, similar to a peace offering. 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). We offer it without obligation, but out of joy from our hearts in appreciation for You and our relationship with You – our fantastic wonderful Father, Savior and Helper.

Prayer of praise/peace offering-Praise You! You are Holy, Almighty, All-Powerful, All Wise, our Forgiving Savior and Loving Father! We rejoice in spending time reading Your Word and meditating on it so that we might live more pleasing to You. You are the Light of our life and our reason to live! Though times get hard, we can always remember that soon we will be able to praise You thru all eternity as we live with You in heaven – no tears, no pain, no sorrow (Revelation 21:4), only joy and peace. In Yeshua’s holy name and power of resurrection. Amen

The Grain Offerings: Dedicated to God
2: 1-16

The grain offerings DIG: What was significant about the grain offering? How was it like and unlike the burnt offering? As a bloodless offering, was it ever sufficient in itself (Numbers 6:14-13)? Why do you think these regulations were mandatory? What did they imply? Why without leaven or honey? Why the specific amounts? Why so fine? How are these laws part of the reconciliation between God and His people?

REFLECT: How would you describe your minhah to God? Is it systematic and regular? How is it like or unlike the grain offering described here? How does your offering help reconciliation? How do you feel about the offering plate at your place of worship? About the sermons on stewardship? In what ways are they related to the grain offering? What can you do to ensure a proper attitude toward giving where you worship?

The grain offerings were made of bread; in the same way that Yeshua is the bread of life, and was born in Bethlehem (Hebrew: Bet Lechem, meaning the house of bread).

It is fitting for those who have been accepted by God through sacrificial atonement to express their dedication to Him. And this is the relationship between the grain and the burnt offerings. The grain offering was an acknowledgment that everything the worshiper had belonged to God; and now, a portion of that substance was given back to the LORD as an expression of the belief that YHVH was the source of and the Provider of life. Thus, the main emphasis of the grain offering should be the idea of dedication to God.²⁹

The second kind of offering (Hebrew: korban, meaning something brought near) in our portion is not an animal offering, but a grain offering. The Hebrew word for the grain offering is minhah, which is often combined with the word korban, to be korban minhah, meaning to give a gift. What was its purpose? First, it was always offered after the burnt offering (Joshua 22:23; Judges 13:19 and 23; First Kings 8:64; Second Kings 16:13 and 15). It is therefore natural that the grain offering should be described immediately after the burnt offering (to see link click Ai – The Burnt Offering) in Leviticus.³⁰ It was not an atoning offering per say, but should be viewed as a dedication to God.

Second, it was not an animal sacrifice where blood was shed. Since Leviticus is clear that only blood can atone for sin, it confirms that the minhah was not an atoning offering. Lastly, the name minhah itself is used in the Scriptures to denote a gift, especially a tribute. This is how it is used, for example, in Genesis 44 where Jacob brought a minhah – a tribute – to Esau (see the commentary on Genesis Hv – Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau). Therefore, the grain offering was a gift by the worshiper to YHVH. It normally followed the burnt offering. God, having granted a temporary covering for sin through the burnt offering, the worshiper responded by giving YHVH some of the produce of his hands in the grain offering. That is what the grain offering came to be, a tribute of a faithful worship to God.³¹

The process to draw the worshiper near to YHVH began with the voluntary burnt offering, accompanied with the voluntary grain offering inside the Tabernacle courtyard. The grain offering, or minhah offering, consisted of grain, fine flour, olive oil, frankincense, baked bread, and salt. It accompanied the burnt offering (Numbers 28:7-15, Joshua 22:23 and 29; Judges 13:19 and 23; First Kings 8:64; Second Kings 16:13), and the fellowship offering (along with a wine drink offering). It was a voluntary act of worship and devotion, in recognition of God’s goodness and His provisions. It was unique in that it was the only offering of the five that was presented without the shedding of blood.

The priests had communion with God, feeding upon the same food as that which satisfied the Father’s heart. Likewise, as believer priests we feed upon the Bread of Life, Yeshua Himself. He is manna to our souls and He satisfies His Father’s heart. Therefore, we fellowship with our heavenly Father through the merits of His beloved Son and our Savior (John 6:22-66). YHVH spoke to Moses saying: I have given the grain offering to the priests as their share of the offerings made to me by fire (Leviticus 6:17). And to us He has given His one and only Son, to be food for our souls. The priests ate their portion of the grain offering in the courtyard. We enter by faith into the greater and more perfect Tabernacle that is not man-made; there, our great Meal Offering satisfies our hungry hearts (Hebrews 9:11-12).³²

There were five different kinds of minhah offerings permitted. Except for the handful of fine flour below, these cakes would resemble our modern baked pie or pizza dough. Since grain represents the fruit of our labor, the grain offering was one way for the Jews to dedicate to YHVH that which He had enabled them to produce.³³ Not only that, it seems that the Holy One showed His grace in giving the worshippers the freedom to choose several different ways of making their offering. Now ADONAI is the Spirit, and where the Ruach Ha’Kodesh is, there is freedom (Second Corinthians 3:17).

1. The regular fine grain offering. When the worshiper brought his grain offering of wheat or barley to God, it was to be of uncooked fine flour (see the commentary on Genesis Es – Abraham’s Three Visitors), literally the finest and purest wheat flour. He took a handful of fine flour (a token that the whole was given to God), poured oil on it and put incense on it before he took it to the priest probably in some sort of vessel (Numbers 7:13). The worshiper would bring it to the priest, who would then burn it as a small “memorial portion” of the whole on the altar, an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to YHVH (Leviticus 2:1-2, 6:14-15).

The minhah constantly reminds us of the Messiah. This was the most expensive and purest kind of fine flour because it was so finely crushed and refined. It was taken exclusively from the inner kernel of the wheat showing that the person was to give only their best. Like Messiah, it was to be crushed (see the commentary on Isaiah Jd – Yet It Was the LORD’s Will to Crush Him). Yeshua Himself spoke of this when He said: The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds (John 12:23-24).

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You that You gave your very best, Yeshua, Your own Son, to ransom mankind from sin. Yeshua’s willingness to become a man to offer Himself in our place is truly a remarkable and wonderful gift. Who, though existing in the form of God, did not consider being equal to God a thing to be grasped. But He emptied Himself – taking on the form of a slave, becoming the likeness of men and being found in appearance as a man. He humbled Himself – becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason, God highly exalted Him and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Yeshua every knee should bow, in heaven and on the earth and under the earth, and every tongue profess that Yeshua the Messiah is Lord – to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:6-11).

Like the grain offering, Messiah Yeshua was crushed. Yet it pleased ADONAI to bruise Him. He caused Him to suffer. If He makes His soul a guilt offering, (Isaiah 53:10). Praise Your power to raise Him from the dead (Ephesians 1:19-20) ! We had no way to save ourselves. No amount of good works would be enough to enter heaven, for perfect holiness is the only way to enter Your holy heaven. Only thru Yeshua’s free gift of His righteousness to those who love and follow Him, are we able to enter heaven. 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 offer a sacrifice of praise (Hebrews 13:15), similar to the thanks of a grain offering, to Messiah Yeshua for being the Lamb of God. I love, praise and worship You. I desire to give You my life as a gift, a korban, in thanks for Your priceless gift! In Messiah Yeshua’s holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen

The oil mentioned here was olive oil (Hebrew: shemen), it was crushed out of the olives which speaks again of the great suffering of our Messiah. At Gethsemane (which means oil press) the fruit was crushed until its bloody oil flowed (Isaiah 53:5). One can only imagine the spiritual oppression Christ was under as Satan tried to prevent Him from going to the Cross. But the minhah is also a reminder of the anointing of the Ruach Ha’Kodesh who inhabits us at the moment of salvation (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Bw – What God Does for Us at the Moment of Faith). When we walk with Yeshua and give our minhah, we are on our way to becoming sanctified by the shemen and will be ready for the Messiah when He comes (see The Life of Christ Jw – The Parable of the Ten Virgins).

The frankincense, as a symbol of prayer, was not actually mixed into the grain offering but poured over it, masking the smell of the burnt flesh of the animal. All of the frankincense was scooped up with the “memorial portion” that was placed on top of the burnt offering. It could never be given without blood, so any prayer we give today should be offered up in the name of Yeshua, our bloody Sacrifice. We might ask what did the “memorial portion” memorialize? In the simplest meaning, it was a memorial to the offender, equivalent to the sacrificial parts being removed from animal offerings and placed upon the bronze altar of sacrifice. Only a small “memorial portion” of the minhah was actually placed on the altar. The rest was given to the priests as food. Frankincense is indigestible and not very appetizing. Instead, the frankincense was offered on the side in conjunction with the grain offerings. As with the animal offerings, it was transformed into heat and smoke that rose up to YHVH as a pleasing aroma.³⁴ Philippians 4:18 explains that the fragrant aroma meant the sacrifice was acceptable . . . well pleasing to God.

In contrast with the burnt offering that was totally consumed on the altar, the rest of the grain offering belonged to Aaron and his sons. Only a small “memorial portion” of the grain offering was actually placed on the bronze altar. The rest was given to the priests as food.

It was to be eaten without leaven in a holy place. They are to eat it in the courtyard of the Tabernacle. It must not be baked with leaven, and the fact that this is repeated shows how important it was in the mind of God. I have given it to the priests as their share of the offerings made to me by fire. Any male descendant of Aaron could eat it. It was his regular share of the offerings made to YHVH by fire for the generations to come, as long as the Torah of Moses was in effect. And as a warning to laymen, God warned them not to touch any of the grain offering, or they would become holy themselves. As a result, they would have to undergo an extensive purification ceremony, something similar to the Nazarite vow. It was the most holy part of the offerings made to God by fire (Leviticus 2:3; 6:16-18).

There was also a special grain offering for the ordination of the priest. This was the offering Aaron and his sons were to bring to God on the day they were anointed: a tenth of an ephah, or two dry quarts, of fine flour as a regular grain offering, half of it in the morning, in conjunction with the morning sacrifice, and half in the evening, in conjunction with the evening sacrifice. The offering of the priest was to be mixed with oil prior to baking on a griddle; he brought it well mixed and presented the grain offering broken in pieces as an aroma pleasing to YHVH. The heir of the high priest was commanded to continue this practice. Since a priest was not to eat his own offering, it was to be burned completely on the altar (Leviticus 6:19-23).

2. Most grain offerings were not offered as raw flowers. Most were baked before being presented. They were baked immediately after being mixed with water to prevent the possibility of leavening. Passover mitzvah is still made according to this same method today. If they brought a grain offering baked in an oven, it was to consist of fine flour, cakes or wafers, made without leaven and “anointed” with oil after baking (2:4). As always, the Torah’s use of the word “anointing” turns our thoughts to the Anointed One, the Messiah.

3. If the grain offering was fried on a griddle, it was to be made of fine flour mixed with oil before baking, and without leaven. The worshiper crumbled it and poured oil on it after it was baked (2:5-6). These were, essentially, “holy” pancakes.

4. If, however, their grain offering was cooked in a pan, it was to be made of fine flour and oil mixed together before frying (2:7). The priest received the minhah from the worshiper at the gate of the Tabernacle, using his three middle fingers, he scooped some of the grain offering up and put it on top of the burnt offering on the bronze altar.³⁵

Whether baked in an oven, fried on a griddle, or cooked in a pan, the grain offering matzah was broken into pieces before being presented. This was necessary to allow the priest to scoop out the “memorial portion” and offer it on the bronze altar. Then he brought the grain offering made of these things to God. The worshiper would then present the grain offering to the priest, who carried the entire grain offering to the bronze altar and touched it to the corner (2:8). This touching was the equivalent of splashing the blood at the base of the altar. Anything that touched the altar became “most holy.” The priest then scooped out the “memorial portion” from the minhah and placed it upon the burnt offering. Upon being sanctified as “most holy” it could then be eaten only by Aaron and his sons; it was the “most holy” part of the offerings made to YHVH by fire (2:10). In the terminology of the Tabernacle sacrifices, “the most” holy part refers to sacrificial portions that could only be eaten by the priesthood and only within the Tabernacle courtyard. There were portions from the sacrifices that were not considered most holy. Those portions could be brought home and shared with the priests’ family, or in the case of the peace offering (see Ak – The Peace Offerings: At Peace with God), could be eaten by the worshiper. Failure to eat the appropriate portion of the sacrifices in the proper place and within the proper span of time would render the sacrifices themselves ineffectual.³⁶

There were several other instructions and restrictions regarding the grain offering. Every grain offering brought to God had to be made without leaven, for they were not to burn any leaven or honey in an offering made to YHVH by fire (2:11). Leaven is a symbol of sin in the Bible, and thus a separation from corruption. Leavening is actually a fermentation (decomposition) process. Honey decomposes just like leaven. Decomposition was strictly avoided in the Tabernacle. Those who came into contact with a corpse or the carcass of an unclean animal were forbidden from participating in the Tabernacle until they had undergone purification. Similarly, the meat of the animal sacrifices were to be burned with fire if they had not been eaten before the third day since the slaughter. The worship system of God was about the transformation from the perishable to the imperishable.

The minhah offering had a rather interesting ingredient added to it – salt. Stated positively, all their grain offerings were to be seasoned with salt. Stated negatively, they were not to leave the Covenant of salt out of their grain offerings. Salt was a symbol of God’s Covenant with Moses (Numbers 18:19) and God’s Covenant with David (Second Chronicles 13:5). Therefore, God said: Add salt to all five of your offerings (Leviticus 2:13; Mark 9:49-50). Salt does two things, it seasons and it preserves, in contrast with leaven and honey that spoils and decays. That is why the commandment to salt the offerings is coupled with the prohibition on allowing leaven. Both are intended to avoid fermentation. The Tabernacle sacrifices needed to be maintained in an imperishable state.

The mitzvot to salt the sacrifices, as a symbol of the covenant of salt (see Numbers Cu – Salt of the Covenant), provides us with a key for unlocking the mystery of the whole sacrificial system. It allows us a concrete basis for interpreting the sacrifices as covenantal gestures. The salting of the offerings symbolizes the eternal nature of God’s covenant with Isra’el (see the commentary on Jeremiah Eo – The Days are Coming, declares the LORD, When I Will Make a New Covenant with the People of Isra’el). Therefore, the offerings themselves represent various aspects of that same covenant. Each korban (drawing near to God) symbolized one aspect of the covenant. In this sense, the sacrifices themselves can be seen as visual dramatizations of the covenant between God and His people Isra’el.³⁷

5. If you bring a grain offering of firstfruits to YHVH, offer the crushed heads of the new grain roasted in the fire. After it was roasted, oil was put on it because it was a grain offering. Then the priest took a handful of the crushed heads and offered it as the “memorial portion,” together with the frankincense, an offering made by fire, a pleasing aroma to YHVH (2:14-16). The grain offering of firstfruits was distinguished from the other grain offerings in that it marked a particular occasion (see Ea – Resheet). The other grain offerings could be offered at any time throughout the year.³⁸

The daily grain offering: YHVH said to Moshe, “This is the offering Aaron and his sons are to bring to YHVH on the day he is anointed, and was to continue as a high priest offering. It consisted of a tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a regular grain offering, half of it in the morning and half of it in the evening (6:20). This became known as the daily grain offering, and was offered with every burnt offering at 9:00am and 3:00pm. The daily offering by the high priest illustrated his sinfulness and need for daily forgiveness. This contrasts the ministry of Yeshua Messiah, who as the sinless Son of God needed to make only one sacrifice, but it was for the sin of others: Unlike other high priests, He does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and them for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once-and-for-all when He offered Himself (Hebrews 7:27).³⁹

In conclusion, as the grain offering was a tribute of a faithful worshiper to his God, we can pay tribute to our God by acknowledging: For it is by grace that we have been saved, through faith – and this is not from ourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so we can not boast (Ephesians 2:8-9). God is honored when we offer praise to Him. When was the last time you offered a sacrifice of praise to God (Hebrews 13:15)?

The Messianic significance: The grain offering was made of bread (matzah). In the same way Yeshua said: I am the bread of life (John 6:35) and was born in Bethlehem (Hebrew: Bet Lechem, meaning the house of bread). On the day that the Master was raised from the dead, a special grain offering (the barley omer) was offered in the Temple.

Again, consider the words of the Messiah, when He took the unleavened bread, broke it and gave it to His apostles as a “memorial” of Himself.

In the same way, the Master took the matzah that was striped and pierced (see the commentary on Isaiah Jb – Yet We Considered Him Punished, Stricken and Afflicted by God), broke it and give it to His apostles as a “memorial portion” of Himself. So, too, the grain offering was broken and shared among the priesthood with “the memorial portion” going to the bronze altar of sacrifice. This touching is the equivalent of splashing the blood against the altar. The grain offering was unleavened matzah, broken, divided and shared among the priests. In the same way, the Master broke the matzah and shared it with His apostles saying: Do this in remembrance of Me (Luke 22:19).

The grain offerings were anointed with oil prior to the baking. Oil is a symbol of the Ruach Ha’Kodesh in the B’rit Chadashah. In the same way, Yeshua was anointed with the Spirit prior to His sacrifice on the cross.

The grain offerings were offered in conjunction with wine drink offerings (23:13), which were spilled out on the bronze altar. The grain offering was also a symbol of God’s Covenant. He took the cup of wine (see my commentary on The Life of Christ Kk – The Third Cup of Redemption) and said: Drink from it, all of you. This cup is the New Covenant in My blood, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins; do this, whenever you drink it (Luke 22:20).

The Burnt Offering: Accepted by God
1: 1-17

The burnt offering DIG: Why was Leviticus the first book that Jewish children would study? Beginning with Cain and Abel, why do you think God chose animal sacrifice to restore broken relationships? Couldn’t God forgive sins without sacrifice? Why do you think God demanded an offering without spot, defect, disease or deformity? What does the word korban mean? Why the laying on of hands? Why sprinkle the blood? Why complete burning? How does the aroma pleasing to God foreshadow Messiah (Ephesians 5:2; Phil 4:18)

REFLECT: How does the book of Leviticus point the way to Yeshua Messiah? Does it matter if you feel holy, or does it matter that you are declared holy and justified before God at salvation? How would you define sacrifice? Does true sacrifice have to hurt? How do your sacrifices define your value system? For whom do you make sacrifices? What sacrifices have you, or can you, make for God (Romans 12:1-2; Heb 13:15)? How do you draw near to YHVH? In your experience, how has God reconciled you to Himself? By what sacrifice?

Parashah 24: vaYikra (and He Called) 1:1 to 6:7
(See my commentary on Deuteronomy, to see link click Af – Parashah)

The Key People are Moshe, the children of Isra’el, and Aaron’s sons – the priests.

The Scene is the Tabernacle in the wilderness of Sinai.

The Main Events include YHVH calling Moses and giving instructions for bringing the various types of offerings – burnt, grain, peace, sin and guilt, and more instruction about the duties of the priests and what could be eaten.

Our Torah study now spans two books. Genesis describes the beginnings of the world, mankind, and Abraham’s family. This first book concludes as Jacob’s clan moved to Egypt to survive famine under the leadership of Joseph. Exodus continues our story, as God’s mighty hand delivered the Israelites from slavery and Moshe led them out of Egypt. The Israelites then built the Tabernacle and united as a nation, called to bring all the Gentile nations into a covenant relationship with the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Many consider Leviticus a technical and difficult book. Yet a five-year-old traditionally begins his study with this book! The call to priesthood is the child’s first exposure to Jewish education. The Midrash quotes God as saying, “Why do we start the children with Leviticus and not with Genesis? The Holy One, blessed by He, said, ‘Since the children are pure and the sacrifices are pure, let the pure come and occupy themselves with the things that are pure’ (Leviticus Rabbah 7:3).”¹⁹

When Yeshua was five years old, He began to study the book of Leviticus. In the days of the Master (and even in modern Judaism) the formal religious education of a child begins at the age of five. And it begins with the study of Leviticus. It seems like an unnatural place to begin. It would seem that a better place to start would be with the creation narrative or the story of the Flood, or the call of Abraham. Nonetheless, throughout Jewish history, the children begin their studies with the book of Leviticus. If we peer intently into the story behind the story, we can clearly see Joseph the local carpenter in Nazareth leading little five-year-old Yeshua by the hand to the synagogue. We can see Joseph smiling to himself as he stands outside the synagogue listening to the five-year-old boys beginning to chant the recitation of their first lesson. Among the chirping little voices of the school boys was the voice of little Yeshua learning His first memory verse: ADONAI called to Moshe and spoke to him from the Tabernacle (1:1).

The reason for our aversion to Leviticus is largely based upon our revulsion at the thought of animal sacrifice. Within the mainstream of Christianity, there exists an unconscious reluctance to acknowledge that YHVH is a God who not only chose to be worshiped through the sacrifice of animals but, in fact, took pleasure in the aroma of the burning meat rising from the bronze altar. We have so sanitized and white-washed YHVH that the demand for animal sacrifice seems to contradict everything we have made God into. The mitzvot of sacrifice are disturbing to us. When the biblical text begins to teach us about priests throwing blood around and cutting out the fat surrounding the diaphragm and the two kidneys, we tend to become nauseous rather than blessed. We quickly explain the sacrifices were only to teach the Israelites about Yeshua, and we comfort ourselves with the notion that the B’rit Chadashah abolishes such sacrifice.

But this statement is a gross oversimplification. There are five different classifications of sacrifice, each brought for different reasons. There are dozens of types of bread offerings, wine offerings, water offerings, additional offerings, complex ritual procedures and chapters and chapters of text. There are the procedures for ordaining priests and instructions for their satisfaction and purification. The Bible is not stingy on details concerning the ritual sacrifices. But of what value is it for us to profess that Messiah fulfills the sacrifices when we know virtually nothing about those same sacrifices? To simply dismiss it all by saying, “Yeshua fulfilled the sacrifices,” does a great disservice to the text and to the Master Himself. If we truly believe that Yeshua’s death and resurrection fulfilled the institutions of sacrifice, then we as believers are all the more obligated to invest our energy in studying those institutions. Only to the extent that we understand those institutions can we hope to understand the work of Messiah.

As we begin to study the mitzvot of sacrifice, we will do well to remember that the sacrificial service is the method that God chose. Regardless of our own personal preferences, it is the method of worship which has been ordained from heaven. Sacrifice is a universal religious reflex. Humanity is apparently hardwired to recognize our need for atonement in the face of the Divine. The Torah puts form, structure and definition around that God-given impulse. Whether or not we think the rituals are rational is quite irrelevant. YHVH ordained it. Therefore, we should be less concerned about why sacrifices were (or are) necessary and more concerned with what YHVH intends to communicate to us by our obedience to His commandments.²⁰

Only to the extent that we understand the different sacrifices,
can we hope to understand the work of Messiah.

The problem with holiness: The Hebrew text of Leviticus begins with the letter vav, a conjunction indicating continuity with the text that precedes it. In other words, Leviticus is a continuation of Exodus, and Exodus ended with a holiness problem. To understand the book of Leviticus and the sacrifices detailed within it, we must recognize something about the holiness of God. We must appreciate the problem of holiness.

In the last chapter of Exodus, Moshe and Isra’el encountered the problem of holiness. It was the first day of the first month of the year, two weeks short of a full year since Isra’el left Egypt. The Tabernacle had been completed according to all its specifications. Moses lit the menorah. He put out the twelve loaves of the bread of the presence. He lit the incense and even made the first sacrifice (Exodus 40:34-35). It seemed that the Tabernacle had been a success. The Sh’khinah glory had taken up residence within it. Yet, there was a fundamental problem with the entire Tabernacle concept. Even if God could dwell among the Israelites in a holy place, that didn’t mean that the Israelites could have any communion or fellowship with Him. YHVH was still holy. Mankind was still unholy. How could unholy mankind come near to the holy God? This was the problem Moshe faced at the end of the book of Exodus. The Holy One had taken up residence in the Tabernacle, but He was unapproachable. Even Moses couldn’t come near to Him there.

Throughout every age, this has been the passion and frustration of mankind. We have an innate desire to be near to God. We thirst to stand in His presence and to drink from the radiance of His glory. We hunger for communication with Him. We crave His companionship and long for His approval. More than anything, our souls desire to be near to God. The soul of mankind is like an abandoned child crying out for her father.

The riddle of it all is that even though we so greatly desire communion and fellowship with God, every natural inclination of our heart is opposed to God. We are unable to come near to Him. He is life; we are death. He is pure; we are polluted. He is infinite; we are finite. He is holy; we are common. It is impossible to enter into His Presence. This is the plight of mankind in our day, even as it was in the days of Moshe.

The end of Exodus was a cliffhanger. It left us with the question, “How are the Isrealites supposed to approach God? How are they to come near to Him?

And He called: And YHVH (Yud-Hay-Vav-Hay) called Moses and spoke to him from the Tabernacle (1:1). YHVH is known as the Tetragrammaton, which is always the name that the Torah uses when God’s Name is associated with the Levitical sacrifices. We must call attention to the fact that Moshe acts very differently in this book. He is far from being that vibrant and argumentative character that we find in other books of the Torah. In the previous book of Exodus, for instance, we meet a strong person that converses, and even argues with God. But in Leviticus, he takes a back seat, he’s quiet. His words and actions are only in response to what God asked him to do. While his name is mentioned some 86 times in this book, he is always in a submissive position. YHVH spoke to Moses is repeated 28 times. And then we read phrases like: Moses took, Moses brought . . . as YHVH commanded.

The text of Leviticus begins with God calling Moses. Prior to this, YHVH had spoken to Moshe from atop Mount Sinai face-to-face. Now the presence of God was within the Tabernacle, and from within the Tabernacle, His voice sought out Moses. The Hebrew name of this portion is vaYikra (and He Called). God’s call to Moshe was in response to his inability to enter the Tabernacle. Thus, YHVH called to him to explain how He could be approached.

Drawing near: In Exodus, we learn that the Husband (God) built a House (the Tabernacle) to have fellowship with His Bride (Isra’el). But there was a problem. The Bride (Isra’el) was composed of human men and women – sinful at birth. The Scriptures are clear when they insist that sinful people cannot come into the presence of a holy God. Thus, the holy God, out of grace and mercy established a way of approach – through sacrifice. Because sin is the main obstacle for intimate fellowship between God and mankind, God instituted a just way to deal with sin, making it possible for the worshiper to bring a sacrifice, which, if offered in the right spirit, would be the medium whereby people attain nearness to the divine.

He wanted Moses to speak to the Israelites and say to them, “If a man will bring near (Hebrew: karav) an offering to YHVH. The Hebrew verb karav means near. All the verbs that derive from the root of the word qarab (korban, kerev) mean to come near. Right at the outset of the book we see God using a mediator. The plan of redemption that will be revealed begs for a mediator. This can only be the Messiah as He answers all the requirements in Leviticus. Without Him you would sink into despair as you read the demands of the mitzvot in this book. Therefore, the need for such a mediator can be seen throughout Leviticus . . . and it begins right here. From something brought near (Hebrew: korban) from either the herd, the flock or two doves or pigeons” (1:2). All these have something in common. First, they were easy to catch so the Israelites didn’t have to be running all over the place trying to catch their sacrifice, or go out in a boat and fish for it. Secondly, they were submissive, passive animals. These sacrifices point to the Messiah who submitted to the will of the Father as He stood silent before His accusers (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Lj – Jesus Before the Sanhedrin in the Upper Story of Caiaphas’ House).

The word offering is from the Hebrew word korban, which is translated in English as either sacrifice or offering. But neither of those words accurately expresses the concept. The word sacrifice implies that the person bringing it is required to deprive himself of something in order to satisfy someone else’s need or whim, and offering implies a form of tribute or gratuity. However, YHVH gets no satisfaction by inflicting deprivation on His children, and He is not in need of tribute nor gifts. A korban is not merely a sacrifice or an offering. A korban, then, should be defined as something brought near. The reason it is so named is that the person bringing the korban does so in order to come closer to God.

Drawing near to God is the purpose of the Tabernacle sacrificial service. The Hebrew expression to draw near to something implies that there is no longer any distance between the one drawing near and the object. Rather, to draw near is to have arrived at the goal. For example, the declaration in the gospel that the Kingdom of Heaven is near should be understood as the Kingdom of Heaven is now. It is the same with worship. To draw near to God is to enter communion with Him. It implies entering His very presence. In as much as His presence resided in the Tabernacle on earth, the worshiper was able to draw near and enter into His presence through the offering of a korban – something brought near.

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise Your wonderful love that is willing to draw me near You. You are such a gracious God! I love You for Your gracious heart. I love You even during hard times of trial on earth, for my gaze is focused on all how long eternity is rather than the brevity of life on earth. For our trouble, light and momentary, is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison (Second Corinthians 4:17). I look forward to praising You in heaven thru all eternity! I pray in the Name of the One sitting at Your right hand. Amen

Propitiation: A korban is a very different understanding of sacrifice than we ordinarily think of it. We normally think that the Israelites brought sacrifices merely to pay the penalty for their sins. When a man deserved the death penalty, a sacrifice was made for him, and the unfortunate cow or sheep or goat was slaughtered instead of the man. The fact is that Ha’Shem is justified in punishing people for their sin. After all, what one earns from sin is death (Romans 6:23). So God provided a sacrificial system to provide a way for humans to atone for their sin. This is called propitiation, the averting of God’s wrath by means of the substitutionary sacrifice. The sinner brought his sacrifice, the death of the animal appeased Ha’Shem. Of course, all this foreshadowed the sacrifice of Messiah on the cross which satisfied every claim of YHVH’s holiness and justice so that God is free to act on behalf of sinners. In Torah, then, the death of the animal is not only a substitution for the death of the sinner. The death of the animal is also a substitution to bring the worshiper near to YHVH. It is, therefore, a method by which God could be approached.²¹

Therefore, the process to draw the worshiper near to YHVH by means of the voluntary burnt offering, started inside the Tabernacle courtyard. It was the most fundamental of all the offerings. It was a sacrifice from the herd, the flock, or an offering of birds, depending on how much you could spend. But since everyone has a sin nature and is equally guilty of sinning, from the high priest to the common person, each would make an offering. It was usually preceded by a purification and/or guilt offering, and was voluntary for private sin, but mandatory for public sin. The sacrifice was to have no spot or blemish. It was distinct from all the other sacrifices, because except for the skin of the herd and the head of the bird, it was totally consumed, with its smoke continually rising upwards to heaven. And as such, was an expression of total devotion, commitment and surrender to God.

The word Holocaust is derived from the Greek holokauston, a translation of the Hebrew word ‘olah, meaning what goes up, or, the burnt sacrifice offered whole to YHVH. This word was chosen, and gained wide usage, because, in the ultimate manifestation of the Nazi killing program – the extermination camps – the bodies of the victims were consumed whole in the crematoria or open fires, as if they had been offered up as a burnt offering to YHVH.

After sin had been confessed and temporarily covered (Psalm 32:1) through the purification offering (to see link click Al – The Purification Offering) and the guilt offering (see Am – The Guilt Offering), then the worshiper brought his burnt offering to the Tabernacle. Messiah is our burnt offering today. Because we have put our faith in His sacrifice for us, the Father sees us washed of all sin and cleansed white as snow (Isaiah 1:18). All our imperfections and guilt are now hidden forever from His sight, covered by Messiah’s shed blood. Having identified ourselves with Yeshua by faith, we must leave to Him the priestly work of sprinkling His precious blood, as it were, against the bronze altar on all sides, presenting His burnt offering to YHVH on our behalf.²²

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank You for planning before the creation of the world that Messiah would die in my place to make me holy (Ephesians 1:4), have His righteousness (Second Corinthians 5:21) and come and live with Him in heaven (John 14:1-3). You knew the great pain and shame He was willing to suffer so He could offer Himself as a holy, eternal sacrifice. You even approved of His sacrifice knowing the great cost. For by one offering He has perfected forever those being made holy (Hebrews 10:14). I desire to thank You for Your deep love by living a life pleasing to You in all I do, say and think. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable before You, ADONAI, my Rock and my Redeemer (Psalms 19:15). In Yeshua’s holy name and power of resurrection. Amen 

Explicitly, the burnt offering is mentioned in the B’rit Chadashah in Mark 12:33 and Hebrews 10:6-8, but implicitly, it is seen in Luke 2:23-24 and 17:14.

The burnt offering is the oldest of the five offerings, already found in Genesis 8:20-22. The offering needed to be costly. The rich man had to give more than the poor man. What he brought to sacrifice was determined by his economic status, and a progression of the most valuable to the least valuable, from the herd, to the flock, to the bird, is seen.

As the animal was slaughtered, the priest caught the blood in a pan and sprinkled it on the bronze altar. The animal was then cut up, salted, and entirely burned. Normally, semikhah, or the laying of the hands on the head of the dead animal, and viduy, or the confession of sin, accompanies this sacrifice (although in the case of the bird offering, the semikhah is not performed). The burnt offering must only be offered during daylight hours and must burn through the night. The priest, therefore, needed to be present at the Tabernacle around the clock, tending to the sacrifices and ensuring that the fire would be kept burning continuously.²³ This mitzvah refers only when the bronze altar in the wilderness was actually set up, but not to the time during which it was transported.

If the offering was a burnt offering from the herd, the worshiper was to offer a year old male without spot, blemish, disease or deformity. This is repeated over-and-over in Leviticus, and once again points us to the Master. For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Messiah, a lamb without spot or blemish (First Peter 1:18-19). The worshiper was to bring his sacrifice to the entrance of the Tabernacle , so that it could be accepted by YHVH (1:3). It was as if YHVH was there with open arms to accept the repentance of the worshiper. Right from the beginning of the book we find God pictured as the caring Shepherd. As explained in Malachi 1:6-10, blemished animals were less than suitable as gifts to present before the king. This is an important principle of korban substitution. Because the human being is blemished (spiritually and physically) and therefore unfit to enter the presence of the King, an unblemished substitute is sent on his behalf.

At the gate: The worshiper would take their korban to the gate (see the commentary on Exodus Ez – The Gate of the Tabernacle: Christ, the Way to God). Regardless of category, the offering had to be ceremonially clean, usable for food, and domesticated. Wild game was not permissible for sacrifice. It is important to understand that the sacrifices were not for the purpose of salvation. The korban was about life, not death. The righteous of the TaNaKh brought their korban in faith that YHVH would accept it. Without faith it accomplished nothing. The way to a relationship with God was the same in the Dispensation of Torah as it is in the Dispensation of Grace . . . by faith/trust/belief in YHVH.

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise Your steadfast and costly love that accepts our faith, gifts us with eternal life, and cleanses our consciences from sin. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not from yourselves – it is the gift of God.  It is not based on deeds, so that no one may boast (Ephesians 2:8-9). Praise you that Messiah’s payment was eternal and complete – a costly one time perfect offering. He entered into the Holies once for all – not by the blood of goats and calves but by His own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. . . so also Messiah, was offered once to bear the sins of many (Hebrews 9:12, 28a). I desire to live my life pleasing You in gratitude for Your costly gift of love. In your holy Son’s Name and power of His resurrection. Amen

Laying on of hands: Therefore, the worshiper laid his hand on the head of the burnt offering as a means of identification (as well as confession and prayer). As he identified himself with the sacrificial, he symbolically transferred his sin to the animal, emphasizing the concept of substitution. Life for life. And the result was that it would be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him, temporarily covering his sin (Psalm 32:1). It freed the worshiper from the consequences of sin and protected him from God’s wrath. That is why the worshiper personally slaughtered the young bull. Leviticus began with a description of the sacrifice of a bull for a burnt offering (1:4-5a). But the bull was the most expensive of possible sacrifices. The common Israelite was not likely to be able to afford the sacrifice of a young bull. Financially, it would be something like offering up a new truck as a sacrifice. A less expensive alternative for a burnt offering was a sheep or a goat. The procedure for sheep or goats was identical to that of the young bull. It was just a smaller animal.

The blood ritual: How did sacrificing bring the Israelite closer to YHVH? How did the sacrifices work? The worshiper, not the priest, did the actual slaying of the animal. In order for it to be a kosher sacrifice, tradition tells us that the slaying had to be relatively painless. The knife was sharpened to a razor fine edge. A single notch or jag in the blade made it invalid for sacrifice. After inspecting the knife, the worshiper drew the blade across the neck of the animal. In the Torah, blood contains the living soul of a creature. Whether human or animal, we all possess a living essence. The spark of life which animates our flesh. When the blood leaves the body, life leaves with it: For the life of the creature is in the blood, and I have given It to you on the altar to make atonement for yourselves; for it is the blood that makes atonement because of the life (17:11). Thus, it was the animal’s soul that the priests applied to the altar. But because of the laying on of hands, the blood/soul was not identified as the animal’s but as the worshiper’s. That meant that every time a sinner wanted to have their sin temporarily covered, every time they wanted to draw close to God, they had to kill an animal. For their entire life. Thank God that Messiah’s sacrifice was eternal (see the commentary on Hebrews Cd – Messiah’s Sacrifice was Once For All Time).

Then Aaron’s sons, the priests, caught the blood in a bowl and brought it to the bronze altar and sprinkled it on all sides. The only portion of the burnt offering which was not consumed on the altar was the hide of the animal. These were retained by the priesthood (7:8). The ancient holy scrolls were recorded on the parchment mead from the skins of the sacrificed animals. The rest of the animal was cut to pieces so as to make it light enough to be carried to the altar (in several trips) and small enough to be completely burned. Then the priest took the burnt offering, cut it into pieces, and arranged the pieces, including the head and the fat, on the burning wood. After washing the inner parts and the legs with water, the priest burned all of it on the altar (1:5b-9).²⁴ Think of the number of animals and birds that would need to be sacrificed for over two million people for forty years!

If the offering to YHVH was a burnt offering of birds, he was to offer two doves or pigeons. The small size of the bird required a simplification of the sacrificial ritual, so the priest did everything. The ritual procedure for a bird was necessarily different. There was, of course, no laying on of hands, but the transfer of identity was understood. The bird was not slaughtered with a knife. Instead the priest performed a difficult ritual called melikah where he used the sharpened nail of his thumb to cut the bird’s nape. With one swift move of his thumb, the priest cut through the bird’s spine and esophagus, nearly severing its head. The blood was not collected, but was drained from the bird’s body directly onto the bronze altar. The crop and skin (with most of the feathers) were thrown aside on the ash pit before the bird was placed on the altar. It was a burnt offering, an offering made by fire. The phrase pleasing to YHVH, literally meant the smell of rest. It emphasized God’s approval and acceptance of the sacrifice. Like Abel’s sacrifice (Genesis 4:4), YHVH looked with favor on the Israelite who brought a burnt offering. God received the bird offering from the poor with the same appreciation as He received the bull from the affluent man, an aroma pleasing to YHVH (1:14-17).²⁵ Philippians 4:18 explains that the fragrant aroma meant the sacrifice was acceptable . . . well pleasing to God. This offering once again points to the Messiah as Miryam could not afford a lamb, so she offered a pair of young pigeons one for a burnt offering and one for a purification offering (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Au – Jesus Dedicated in the Temple).

The Messianic significance: The total devotion, commitment and surrender to Messiah is seen in the fact that the fire was to be kept burning continuously. It was to continue burning on the bronze altar throughout the night, till morning, twenty-four hours a day, except when traveling in the wilderness. It could not go out. The priests were to offer one-year-old lamb on the bronze altar in the morning and another at twilight. This spoke of the fact that the people needed a constant reminder that someone was needed to take their place and that their sin merited death. There had to be the shedding of blood for sin.²⁶ Every morning the priest was to add firewood, arrange the burnt offering on the fire and burn the fat of the peace offerings on it. This was considered one of the five key duties of the priesthood. The first lamb was offered with a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with a quarter of a hin of oil from pressed olives, and a quarter of a hin of wine as a drink offering. Thus, the daily offerings contained the basic parts of the people’s daily diet: meat, flour, oil and wine.²⁷ The second lamb, sacrificed at twilight, was offered with the same grain and drink offerings as in the morning. After the morning sacrifice, the priest put on his white linen clothes, with linen undergarments and removed the ashes of the burnt offering that the fire had consumed on the bronze altar and placed them beside the altar. Then he took off his priestly linen clothes and put on regular clothing and carried the ashes outside the camp to a place that was ceremonially clean (Exodus 29:38-41; Leviticus 6:8-12).

For the generations to come, the burnt offering was made continuously on the bronze altar at the entrance to the Tabernacle before YHVH (Exodus 29:42a; Leviticus 6:13; Numbers 28:10). Isra’el was to be reminded day after day, year after year, century after century, that a holy God would accept them only on the basis of the sacrifice of the promised Savior, who was to offer Himself without blemish or defect. Thank God! The fire went out over two thousand years ago. Never again would our Savior suffer.²⁸ Having made one offering, sufficient for all time, He sat at the right hand of God, because His work was finished (Hebrews 10:11-12)

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You that Messiah’s sacrifice finished/ completed the payment for our sin so that I could draw near to You. I don’t have to worry if You will remember my sin. For once I’ve repented and chosen to love Yeshua as my Lord and Savior (Romans 10:9-10), I am saved from sin’s penalty and you canceled my sins as far away as east is from the west. Since east and west are always going opposite directions, our sins will never be remembered. How gracious you are! 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. As a father has compassion on his children, so ADONAI has compassion on those who fear Him (Psalms 103:11-13). Your compassion and mercy are wonderful! Your deep and tender love is beyond my comprehension. I desire to love You back in deep appreciation for all You have done for me. I pray in the Name of the One sitting at Your right hand. Amen

The Offerings from the People’s Perspective
1:1 to 6:7

There are five different offerings connected with Isra’el’s worship of ADONAI. When viewed as a whole, they point to the one perfect offering of Messiah. When considered individually, they show the different aspects of the ministry of Yeshua, as the Sacrifice sufficient for the need of every human soul. And because Messiah can be seen in each of these offerings, it should come as no surprise to us that the gospel can also be seen.

Before we study the five different kinds of offerings, we need to look at a brief summary of the ritual for those offerings which involve blood sacrifice. There might be a slight variance in each case, but the broad outline for their offering is basically the same. The study of this ritual is important because it has a bearing on the fulfillment of the sacrificial system as recorded in the B’rit Chadashah. As Messianic believers, we acknowledge Yeshua was our ultimate sacrifice. Hebrews specifically says: For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sin (Hebrews 10:4).

These offerings merely interest only payments that temporarily “covered” sins. But for all who have put their faith in Him . . . we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Yeshua the Messiah once and for all time (Hebrews 10:10 and 12). Only the coming of Christ could do that. But it would cover the sin of the Israelite who loved God only for a short time, until he felt the deep sense of sin gnawing at him again. Then he would return to the Tabernacle, or later the Temple, with another sacrifice in hand. This happened over and over again for his entire lifetime. It was a bloody, smelly business. One can only imagine the flies in the desert around all the blood. But he would never forget that a blood sacrifice was needed for his sins to be forgiven. And once his sins were covered, he would be at peace with God.

1. The Substitute (4:3): Mankind was guilty, whether intentionally or unintentionally. Sin is sin. Missing the mark is not acceptable to a holy God. But ADONAI, out of grace and mercy, provides a substitute, that is, an acceptable sacrifice to take the guilty person’s place. The substitute represents the offender. In like manner, we are told that Yeshua was given as the sinner’s Substitute. When He died, He was the God-given acceptable One who died representing the sinner. Yeshua is the lamb unblemished and spotless . . . chosen before the foundation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for our sakes (First Peter 1:19-20).

2. Confession (4:4a): When the guilty sinner brought the animal for sacrifice, he first placed his hands on the animal’s head like the High Priest did on Yom Kippur (to see link click Al – The Purification Offering: Purified by Blood). When he was doing so, he was confessing his own personal sin and unworthiness to receive grace. In like manner, the B’rit Chadashah says: If we acknowledge our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (First John 1:9).

3. Identification (4:4b): A second lesson from the laying on of hands is that it teaches the concept of identification. By means of this act, the animal was designated as the representative or substitute of the man or woman who brought the sacrifice. For all practical purposes, the sacrifice was now identified with the offer’s sin. In Romans, Paul wrote that it was through the Ruach Ha’Kodesh that the sinner was identified with the death of Yeshua (Romans Br – The Significance of the Messianic Mikveh). In other words, when Yeshua died, it was as if God’s Spirit took our guilty hands and placed them on Him who was the sacrifice. In that act Yeshua truly represented all sinners who believed in Him.

4. Blood Death (4:4-5): God’s Word teaches us that the life of the creature is in the blood . . . for it is the blood that makes atonement because of the life (17:11). If no blood is shed, no atonement is made; hence, the sacrifice must not only have died, but it had to be a bloody death. Many times throughout the B’rit Chadashah we are told that in Yeshua we have redemption through His blood (Ephesians 1:7). Yeshua could not have been the sinner’s sacrificial substitute unless He died a bloody death. And Hebrews teaches that Yeshua has appeared once in order to do away with sin through the sacrifice of Himself (Hebrews 9:26b). He took His own blood into the heavenly Tabernacle and placed it on the Holiest Place of all (see the commentary on Hebrews Bv – The Superiority of Messiah’s Sacrifice).

5. Exchange of Life (4:20): When the sinner slew the sacrifice, the sacrifice died bearing the sins which were confessed upon it. But the marvelous thing is that the guilty sinner lived! For that particular area of his life, the sinner could consider himself righteous. And if that is true for mere animal sacrifices, how much more it is true for the holy Messiah of Isra’el who offered Himself once and for all (Hebrews 10:10). The Bible teaches that God made Yeshua, who knew no sin, to be sin on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (Second Corinthians 5:21). Not only that, but Romans teaches us that for the sinner who has trusted Yeshua, there was a death. Our old sin nature was nailed to the cross with Yeshua. But because of the resurrection of Messiah, a new creation now lives (see the commentary on Romans Bs – The Application of the Messianic Mikveh)!¹⁷

But we must remember that all the mitzvot regarding the sacrifice of animals is only a veil (see the commentary on Exodus Fj – The Outer Veil of the Sanctuary). This book is very much like the Tabernacle. Observing it from the outside it looks very plain and ordinary, but only go past the veil and look inside, the Sh’khinah glory of God Himself is revealed. Such is the book of Leviticus.¹⁸

The Mitzvot of the Offerings
1:1 to 7:38

At the start of Leviticus, we are immediately confronted by detailed and graphic mitzvot concerning animal sacrifices which for some, could be very offensive. Without hesitation, the book explains how the offender should slaughter the animal, how he should skin it and cut it into pieces. But what are we to discover behind this first, uninviting, aggressive description of the sacrifices and the overwhelming amount of blood? The moment we discover that Leviticus is not really a book, but a mirror, one will begin to grasp its message. YHVH is holy and He requires our purity. What is most offensive here is not the animal sacrifice . . . but our actions, our sins which have caused our separation from Him. And the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Messiah Yeshua our Lord (Romans 6:23). Leviticus demands that we evaluate the causes and consequences of our own sins and then draw closer to God. We need to understand that Leviticus is much more than these sacrifices and offerings, for behind them stands our Messiah with open arms.¹⁶

The Torah is filled with various mitzvot of one kind or another. The term mitzvot is a general term used to refer to any commandment given by ADONAI. Mitzvot can be further divided into the subcategories of statues and ordinances. Leviticus preserves the balance between obedience to God’s statues (Hebrew: hachukkim, meaning to write into law permanently) and ordinances (Hebrew: ham mishpatim, meaning a judgment of the court).

It is also important to understand that there was no permanent atonement for sin in the Dispensation of Torah (see the commentary on Exodus, to see link click Da – The Dispensation of Torah), only a temporary covering offered in faith. In Psalm 32:1, David said: How blessed are those whose offense is forgiven, those whose sin is covered. A sacrifice offered while just going through the motions was not accepted by ADONAI, just like going through the motions of going to church would be today (sitting in the garage doesn’t make you a car; therefore, sitting in a place of worship, doesn’t make you a believer).

And there was no offering for intentional sin. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins (Hebrews 10:4). If Ha’Shem had allowed a sacrifice for intentional sin, this would be the same as giving permission to sin. The implication would be that the sin offering was a penalty for the sin. In that case, one could sin abundantly, knowing full well that it would be covered by offering a goat the next day. Kind of like a Catholic confession. Say a few hail Mary’s and you’re ok. But the burnt offering is not a penalty for sin either, be it intentional or unintentional. The only recourse the Torah commands for intentional sin is the same that the Master commands to us – repentance.

Should Christians Study the Torah?

Often Christians think that the “Old Testament” is virtually irrelevant today, since the doctrines of the Church are made explicit in the New Testament writings. However, this is a serious mistake, as the following facts will demonstrate:

1. Yeshua and all His apostles were Torah-observant Jews. The Scriptures that they studied, loved, and quoted were the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings, in other words, the Jewish TaNaKh. Indeed, Messiah quoted from the scroll of Deuteronomy (from the Torah) more than any other book in the Scriptures. As a child, Yeshua would have studied the Torah and memorized it with other Jewish children. In addition, each morning God the Father taught God the Son. Adonai ELOHIM had given Me the ability to speak as a man well taught, so that I, with My words, know now to sustain the weary. Each morning He awakens My ear to hear like those who are taught (Isaiah 50:4).

When asked what was the greatest commandment of YHVH, Yeshua quoted the Shema: Love ADONAI your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength (6:5), and then He added the commandment: Love your neighbor as yourself (Leviticus 19:18). Both of these mitzvot come directly from the Torah.

Indeed, Yeshua said that He did not come to abolish the Torah or the Prophets, but to fulfill them (see the commentary on The Life of Christ, to see link click Dg – The Completion of the Torah). When He was further asked which ones, He replied by citing the Ten Words (see the commentary on Deuteronomy Bk – The Ten Words) and appealed to the man to follow Him (Matthew 19:18-21).

2. Messiah said that the TaNaKh plainly testifies of Him (John 5:39). As His followers, we should understand what this means and how we indeed bear witness of Him (Matthew 2:2 and 27:11). In addition, studying the Torah, we can more fully appreciate the glory and grace as revealed in the Person and Ministry of our Lord. For example, we can more fully savor the role of the sacrificial system and how Yeshua fulfilled all of ADONAI’s holy requirements on our behalf as our Great High Priest (see the commentary on Hebrews Ay – Messiah’s Qualifications as our Great High Priest) of the B’rit Chadashah.

3. When two disciples were on their way to the town of Emmaus discussing the implications of the crucifixion of Yeshua three days earlier, who but the Master Himself appeared alongside them and taught them from the TaNaKh? Then, starting with Moshe and all the prophets, He explained to them the things that can be found throughout the TaNaKh concerning Himself (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Mh – On the Road to Emmaus). Again, as His followers, we should likewise be able to recount how Yeshua is revealed in the TaNaKh.

4. The “Church” was born on the Jewish holiday of Shavu’ot (Pentecost) among the Jewish people in Jerusalem. Peter’s sermon during the festival (see the commentary on Acts An – Peter Speaks to the Shavu’ot Crowd) was entirely Jewish, quoting from the Prophets and David, which would have meant little to any Gentiles if they were present at all. It is likely, therefore, that the 3,000 people who were saved that day would have all been Jewish. The earliest members of the new messianic community met regularly in the Temple. Note that Peter and John are recorded to have gone to the Temple for prayer during the time of the afternoon sacrifices (Acts 3:1). Even after they were imprisoned for preaching the Good News, and miraculously escaped, an angel told them to go, stand in the Temple court and keep telling the people all about this new life (Acts 5:20)! This produced much spiritual fruit, and twenty-five years later, tens-of-thousands (or a minimum of twenty-thousand Jewish believers in Jerusalem alone not counting the rest of the country) Jewish people were believers – and were zealous for the Torah. They saw no contradiction in their faith in Yeshua and their zealousness for the Torah (Acts 21:17-20).

5. Later, when the Jerusalem Council wrote their letter to the Gentiles regarding their relationship to the Torah (see the commentary on Acts Bt – The Council’s Letter to the Gentile Believes), they advised them to at first abstain from those things that would make them abhorrent to the Jews, with the assumption that they would later go on to study the Torah of Moses and other scrolls (books) in the TaNaKh.

6. Paul was raised a Torah observant Jew who studied under the famous Rabbi Gamaliel in Jerusalem (Acts 22:3). Rabbi Sha’ul (see the commentary on Acts Bm – Paul’s First Missionary Journey) was well established in the Jewish leadership of his day, and even had a relationship with the Sanhedrin High Priest of Isra’el (Acts 9:1-2). But even after his conversion on the Damascus Road (see the commentary on Acts Bc – Sha’ul Turns from Murder to Messiah), he still identified himself as a Jew. In Acts 23:6, he confessed: I am (not was) a Pharisee. He even declared that concerning the observance of the Torah he was blameless, which indicates that he took the Nazarite vow (Acts 18:18), lived in observance of the Torah (Acts 21:23-24), and actually offered sacrifices in the Temple (Acts 21:26). Notice that Paul not only paid for his own sacrifices in order to be released from his Nazarite vow, but also paid for the sacrifices of four other Jewish believers! Notice also that this was performed at the explicit request of James, the head of the Messianic community in Jerusalem, and the half-brother of Yeshua.

Paul regularly attended synagogue: After passing through Amphipolis and Apollonia, Sha’ul and Sila came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue. According to his usual practice, Sha’ul went in; and on three Shabbats he gave them drashes from the Tanakh (Acts 17:1-2). And when Paul later wrote to the Gentile churches: All Scripture is God-breathed and is valuable for teaching the truth, convicting of sin, correcting faults and training in right living (Second Timothy 3:16), he was referring to the Jewish Scriptures, since the B’rit Chadashah had not yet been compiled for the Church.

Indeed, to understand Paul’s writings, we need to remember his training as a rabbi when he quotes the Scriptures in his writings. For example, when he wrote: And they all drank the same drink from the Spirit – for they drank from a Spirit-sent Rock which followed them, and that Rock was the Messiah (First Corinthians 10:4), he was quoting from a story later written in the Talmud (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Ei – The Oral Law), that from the time that Moshe struck the rock at Horeb and brought forth water until the death of Miriam (Numbers 20:1), this water-giving rock “followed the children of Isra’el through the desert and provided water for them each day” (Taanit, 9a Nava Metizia, 86b).

7. Many Christian denominations profess to believe in the authority of both the “Old Testament” and the New Testament Scriptures, while, in reality, relegating the study of the 39 books (or the TaNaKh) to the dustheap of history. Ask yourself, “When was the last time my pastor taught through any of these 39 books?” If the TaNaKh is taken seriously at all, it assumes the intent of the text is also applicable to the Gentile Church.

This is both shortsighted and inconsistent, since it is impossible to understand the B’rit Chadashah writings while ignoring the cultural and theological context of which it is a part. Not only that, it must be remembered that the Greek text and the B’rit Chadashah derives its authority and reliability from the Jewish Scriptures, and not the other way around. Too many Christian theologians go at this backwards, reading the B’rit Chadashah (and especially ideas credited to Paul) as the interpretative filter for the study of the Hebrew text. Theologians of the Western traditions must consciously remember that there are three rules when interpreting Scripture: Context, context, context. Replacement theology and implicit anti-Semitism have no place in biblical interpretation.

So yes, for these and many other reasons, it is important, even vital, for Christians to study the Torah as part of the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27).¹⁵

The Bible and Homosexual Practice

I hold no ill-will against homosexuals; however, a rigorous critique of same-sex intercourse can have the unintended effect of bringing personal pain to homosexuals, some of whom are already prone to self-loathing. This is why it needs to be stated right up front that to feel homosexual impulses does not make one a bad person. Whatever one thinks about the immorality of homosexual behavior, or about the abhorrent of elements within the homosexual lobby (see The Marketing of Evil, by David Kupellian, WND Books, Nashville, TN, 2005), homosexual impulses are just like all other sinful impulses of the flesh (Romans 7:14-25). A homosexual impulse cannot give birth to sin unless one gives in to it (James 1:13-15). The person with homosexual temptation, or practice, should evoke our concern, sympathy, help, and understanding, not our scorn or hatred. Homosexuality is not an unforgivable sin (see the commentary on The Life of Christ, to see link click Em – Whoever Blasphemes Against the Holy Spirit Will Never Be Forgiven). We should love the sinner, but hate the sin.

A distinction in one’s head, on the one hand, and one’s heart, on the other hand, are two different things. For homosexuals, a denunciation of homosexuality may feel like an indictment of homosexuals. Regrettably, some of this pain may be unavoidable in the hope of doing away with the greater pain of living outside God’s redemptive plan. There can be no complete transformation so long as homosexuals live in a fantasy world, including the false belief about the Bible’s view of homosexuality. When a homosexual holds out hope that something in the teachings of Yeshua, or in the Scriptures generally, speaks positively about homosexuality, naturally there is going to be disappointment and sadness upon the discovery that nothing of the sort exists. Homosexuality is not a civil rights issue; it is a sin issue.

One is reminded here of Paul’s sober remembrance of his tearful letter to the Corinthian believers (Second Corinthians 7:8-10). For Paul, causing them sorrow was not the objective. In reality, Paul regretted that they had to feel any sorrow at all, though from Paul’s perspective it was unavoidable. The objective was rather to wake up the Corinthian believers to the seriousness of the matter at hand so that the end result might be something greater than emotional tranquility . . . the salvation of those involved.

Introduction: I want to make two main points. First, there is clear, strong, and credible evidence that the Bible unequivocally defines same-sex intercourse as sin. Second, there exist no valid hermeneutical arguments, derived from either general principles of biblical interpretation or contemporary scientific knowledge and experience, for overriding the Bible’s authority on this matter.⁵

A. The Witness of the TaNaKh: Anyone wanting to know about the witness of the TaNaKh (or the Old Testament) to homosexual practice would expect to focus primarily on two texts: first, the narrative of the description of Sodom and Gomorrah (see the commentary on Genesis Eq – The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah) and, second, the section of Leviticus known as the Holiness Code in Leviticus 18:22-23 and Leviticus 20:13. Indeed, attention to these texts is justly deserved. Yet a proper treatment of homosexual practice in the TaNaKh requires expanding the discussion to other key areas.

1.  The Genesis creation stories (Genesis Chapters 1-2). The creation stories do not speak directly to the issue of homosexual practice. However, they do supply us with the broader context of ADONAI’s grand purposes at creation. As such, important implications for acceptable sexual practice arise out of them. The pinnacle of God’s creative work is human beings as creatures capable of receiving and carrying out commands from YHVH in relation to the rest of creation.

The creation of human beings corresponds closely to the attention given Sabbath rest in Genesis 2. This is so because only human beings, made in the image of YHVH and given the task of ruling the creation on His behalf (Psalm 8:5-8), are capable of, first, responding to ADONAI’s command to rest after every six days from the work of subduing the earth, and secondly, consciously worshiping the Creator on the seventh day. The pinnacle of God’s creative work is thus human beings as creatures capable of receiving and carrying out commands from Ha’Shem in relation to the rest of creation. Populating the earth is a precondition for ruling it, and procreation is a precondition for filling the earth. Males and females complementing each other is thereby secured in the divinely sanctioned work of governing creation. Then God said, “Let us make man in Our image, after Our likeness! Let them rule over the fish . . . birds . . . cattle . . . wild animals . . . and over crawling creatures that crawl on the land. God created him in His image, in the image of God He created him, male and female He created them (Genesis 1:26-27). The family unit, and procreation, are vital for God’s people to discern His will for the created order and for communicating His will to the next generation.

In Genesis 2 the human is made even more of a focus of God’s attention than in Genesis 1. Adam is formed before the plants and animals (Genesis 2:5). Then ADONAI Elohim formed the man out of the dust of the ground and He breathed into his nostrils a breath of life (Genesis 2:7). YHVH delayed the creation of plants and animals until the creation of Adam. Animals were for the specific purpose of providing companionship and support for Adam. Yet, they were found to be unsuited for that role (Genesis 2:18-20). The solution that Ha’Shem arrived at was not the creation of another Adam, a duplication of the first, but rather to build a companion from Adam’s own rib (Genesis 2:21-22). The unique complementary relationship is stressed by Adam’s response when his helper was presented to him. This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. This one is called woman, for from man she was taken this one (Genesis 2:23). Only a being made from Adam can be someone with whom Adam longs to reunite in sexual intercourse and marriage, a reunion that not only provides companionship, but restores Adam to his original wholeness.

This is the very point made by the Ruach ha’Kodesh in the next verse: This is why a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife; and they become one flesh (Genesis 2:24). The sexual union of a man and a woman in marriage, of two complementary beings, in effect makes possible a single, complete human being. So important is the notion of “attachment” and “clinging” taken, that the marital bond between a man and a woman takes precedence even over the bond with the parents who physically produced them. This provides the context for the God-ordained marriage relationship. Nothing is said about the legitimacy of homosexual relationships. The bottom line is that healthy things reproduce. Healthy plants reproduce, healthy animals reproduce, and healthy humans reproduce. Homosexual relationships cannot reproduce. Therefore, by the way God has set up the universe, they are unhealthy. Hence, we can see that from the very start of creation, the male and the female are “perfect fits” from the standpoint of divine design and blessing. Male and male, female and female, are not.⁶

2. Ham’s act and Noah’s curse (Genesis 9:20-27). Moshe tells us the story of how it came to be that the Canaanites were subjugated by the Israelites. What was Ham’s horrible crime? Was that slavery merely because Ham saw his father’s private parts? I think not. The curse resulted from Ham’s incestuous, homosexual rape of his father. There are six reasons for this conclusion.

First, the act took place inside Noah’s tent. What was Ham doing inside his father’s tent? Possibly the tent was understood to be off-limits to the sons, explaining why Shem and Japheth were outside and unaware. The cloak was Noah’s, why was it outside the tent? Ham brought it with him when he came outside the tent. But why would he bring his father’s cloak outside? You would think that would be the last thing he would want to do! It was the evidence he needed to establish the dominance of his lineage over that of his brothers.

Second, when Noah woke up from his wine, he learned what his youngest son had “done to him” – not the expression one would expect to describe an unintended glance or even voyeurism. The Bible says that Noah was uncovered in his tent (Genesis 9:21). Noah was drunk and passed out. Who uncovered him? The continuation in 9:22, then Ham, Canaan’s father, saw his father’s private parts (which need not be separated from 9:21 with a period) intimates that Ham committed the unspeakable act.

Third, and most important, the language of uncovering and seeing the nakedness connects with similar phrases referring to sexual intercourse. Leviticus uses the phrase uncover the nakedness of to point to incest (Leviticus 18:6-18, 20:11 and 17-21). In Leviticus 18:19 the same phrase is used for sexual intercourse with a woman during her menstrual cycle. The same phrase is used elsewhere in the Bible of prostitution and adultery, and of rape and/or public exposure for adultery (Ezekiel 22:10; Deuteronomy 22:30). In Leviticus 20:17, the expression sees his/her nakedness is used to describe sibling incest; in other instances, the phrase seeing the nakedness of merely implies an opportunity for rape.

Fourth, the claim that the text is concerned with Ham’s homosexual rape of his father is bolstered by the depiction of homosexual rape in a Mesopotamian omen text and the Egyptian myth of Horus and Seth; in other words, as attempts at emasculating, disgracing, and demonstrating one’s power over a rival. By raping his father, taking his cloak outside and telling his brothers of the act, Ham was attempting to establish his right to succeed his father as patriarch.

Fifth, the brothers’ actions in covering their father’s nakedness and taking great pains not to look at him is compatible with an interpretation of seeing their fathers’ nakedness as sexual intercourse. The brother’s actions play on the broader meaning of the phrase. Not only did the brothers not see their father’s nakedness in the sense of having sex with him, but also, they did not even dare to see their father’s nakedness in a literal sense. Where Ham’s act was exceedingly evil, their gesture was exceedingly pious and noble.

Sixth, and possibly the most important, understanding Ham’s action as incestuous, homosexual rape of his father explains the severity of the curse on Canaan. According to Leviticus 18:24-30, 20:22-26, the reason Ha’Shem decided to vomit out the Canaanites from the Land was their participation in such abominable practices as incest and homosexual intercourse, which is singled out for special attention as an abominable practice.

The thrust of Genesis 9:20-27 can be seen in the fact that the Canaanites deserved to be driven from the Land and made slaves because they were, and had always been, avid masters of immoral activity. Therefore, the punishment fits the crime. Just as Ham committed a heinous act with his seed (sperm), so too the curse fell on his seed (son, descendants).⁷

3. The story of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:4-11). In Genesis 18, Abraham is visited by three “men,” who were actually the pre-incarnate Messiah and two angels. After Abraham’s and Sarah’s show of hospitality to the visitors (Genesis 18:1-8), and an assurance from one of the visitors that Sarah would give birth to a son (Genesis 18:9-15). ADONAI appeared to Abraham and told him that the two angels were being sent to see if the outcry against the people of Sodom and Gomorrah concerning their grievous sin was true (Genesis 18:20-21, 19:3). In the meantime, Abraham secured from YHVH an agreement not to destroy Sodom (the residence of his nephew Lot) if ten righteous people could be found (Genesis 18:22-33). When the two angels arrived, only Lot acted hospitably by taking the visitors into his home and exhibited further kindness (Genesis 19:1-3).

The scene depicted in the next two verses is almost unbelievable, for the true nature of Sodom’s sin is clearly revealed. Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom, both young and old, surrounded the house (19:4). The word that these two men were in the city had spread very quickly. This was not an obnoxious minority, they were all there, both young and old. But there was not one righteous man to protest.

They called Lot in a not too subtle way: Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them (19:5). The name that has been put on this sin from that day to this is sodomy. Let there be no mistake about this. ADONAI hates homosexuality and says so in both Covenants. The TaNaKh says: Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; this is hateful, or detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads (Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13; also see Judges 19:16-23; First Kings 14:24, 15:12 and Second Kings 23:7).

Today gay theology starts with the undeniable truth that everyone, and in particular gay men and women, are included in God’s love. But then gay theology parts ways with the truth by its application. Like the men of Sodom, they preach a Gospel of inclusiveness (Galatians 1:1-9). The gay church cannot tell this truth: While the Gospel is for everyone and must be proclaimed to everyone, it does not include everyone. The ugly truth is that most will hear the Gospel, but never accept it . . . the Gospel divides (Matthew 10:35-66). The way between those who believe and submit and those who refuse and rebel is clear. This is the root of contention between the true believer and those who live a homosexual lifestyle and have not submitted to Yeshua Messiah. There will always be a conflict between true believers and the world around them (Mathew 7:13-14, 13:3-7; Mark 4:3-7; Luke 8:5-7

Paul said: Do not be deceived. God cannot be mocked. And that is what these men of Sodom were doing, mocking ADONAI. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature he will reap destruction (Galatians 6:7-8a, also see Job 4:8; Proverbs 1:31-33 and Hosea 8:7, 10:12). The Bible calls homosexuality, sin. There is no homosexual gene. That’s the big lie of today. If there were a gay gene then homosexuals wouldn’t have to take any responsibility for their depravity. They want to play the persecuted minority instead of facing their wicked actions. Make no mistake, as we approach the last days this shameless, evil epidemic of homosexuality will do nothing but increase. Like the men of Sodom, they will force you to make a stand. I beg you to make your stand with God and His Word. Thus, just as Canaan was cursed for Ham’s homosexual sin, the people of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed as a result of their homosexual sin.

4. Unlike stories, mitzvot are not open to interpretation, they are to be followed. Moses did not hand down the Ten Suggestions. The two mitzvot below occur in the context of a larger section in the TaNaKh referred to as the Holiness Code (Leviticus Chapters 17-26).

You are not to lie down with a man as with a woman – that is an abomination (Leviticus 18:22).

If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination, and they shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be on them (Leviticus 20:13).

Six features are important for interpretation of these two mitzvot. First, Leviticus 18:22 occurs in a larger context of forbidden sexual relations that primarily outlaw incest (Leviticus 18:6-18), and also prohibits adultery (Leviticus 18:20), child sacrifice (Leviticus 18:21), and bestiality (Leviticus 18:23). These prohibitions continue to have universal validity in contemporary society.

Secondly, the degree of revulsion associated with the homosexual act is suggested by the specific attachment of the word abomination, indicating an obvious violation of boundaries established by Ha’Shem. In the concluding summary in Leviticus 18:24-30 all the practices in the chapter are described as abominations.

Thirdly, the penalty of death is extreme (Leviticus 20:13). Homosexual activity was not merely prohibited, but also regarded as a capital offense. In Leviticus Chapter 18, homosexual intercourse is listed along with other forbidden sexual acts for which an individual should be cut off (Hebrew: karath) from the people (Leviticus 18:29). Failure on the community’s part to take such an action against offenders would lead to the expulsion of the whole community from the land of Canaan, just as the previous inhabitants had been expelled for such abominable practices (Leviticus 18:24-30).

Fourthly, unlike the banning of homosexual rape in Middle Assyrian Laws, the mitzvot in Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13 are unqualified and absolute. They neither penalize only oppressive forms of homosexuality nor excuse either party to the act. The question of whether the homosexual relationship is between an adult man and an adolescent boy does not enter the picture. The prohibition applies not only to the Israelite but also to the Gentile who lived among God’s people (Leviticus 18:26). There were no exceptions, including cultic prostitution.

Fifthly, contrary to the current trend of Jewish and Christian acceptance and accommodation of homosexuality, the entire context of the Holiness Code stresses the distinctive holiness of the people of God. The children of God are to imitate the holiness and purity of ADONAI and not the abominable and defiling practices of the world (Leviticus 18:1-5, 24-30, 19:2). The mitzvot of YHVH, and not the consensus of the surrounding culture, must shape the behavior of God’s people. The relation of the universal Church made up of Jews and Gentiles (Ephesians 2:14) is, at least in part, supposed to be reforming rather than conforming.

Sixthly, as we shall see in C. The Witness of Paul, the prohibition against homosexuality is carried over into the B’rit Chadashah. The position adopted by Paul is not an anomaly but is consistent with the TaNaKh. The two covenants are in agreement.

Does the book of Leviticus in general, and specifically the Holiness Code, have any contemporary meaning to us today since we now live in the Dispensation of Grace and not the Dispensation of Torah? Obviously, on the one hand, one cannot say, “It is in the book of Leviticus, so obey it.” But on the other hand, it would be a mistake to regard the mitzvot of the Holiness Code as irrelevant purity regulations for us today. Indeed, most of Leviticus Chapters 18-20 can be thought of as an expanded commentary on the Ten Commandments, which should be thought of as God’s blueprint for living (see the commentary on Exodus Dj – The Ten Commandments). Believers today do not have the option of simply dismissing a command because it belongs to the Holiness Code. The same God who gave us the commandments in the Dispensation of Torah, continues to regulate our conduct through the Ruach today.⁸

B. The Witness of Yeshua: Messiah made no direct or explicit comments on homosexual intercourse, just as He made no direct comments about many other important subjects. So, many proponents of homosexual relationships put a positive spin on the silence of Yeshua as regards to homosexual behavior. In a large sense, however, the Lord was not silent about homosexual behavior inasmuch as the likely data speaks loud and clear about Yeshua’s perspective. Four points confirm this claim.

1. The absolute stance against homosexual conduct, both in ancient Isra’el and the Judaism of Yeshua’s day, makes it highly unlikely that Messiah’s silence on the issue ought to be understood as acceptance, particularly given that Yeshua is the Word (John 1:-14), and the Author of the TaNaKh, which includes the Holiness Code. Silence on the subject could only have been understood by His apostles and disciples as acceptance of the basic position embraced by all Jews. Moreover, Messiah stated: Do not think I have come to abolish the Torah or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish, but to complete. Yes indeed! I tell you that until heaven and earth pass away, not so much as a yud or a stroke will pass from the Torah – not until everything that must happen has happened (Matthew 5:17-18; Luke 16:17 CJB). At several points, Yeshua did prioritize the Torah’s core values and even amended the Torah by closing loopholes and expanding its demands. But at no time did He overturn a specific prohibition of the Torah, let alone a prohibition of sexual behavior serious enough to warrant the death penalty, which is exactly what He would have had to do with regard to the prohibition against homosexual behavior in Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13.

Although Yeshua does not explicitly refer to homosexual intercourse, implicit references do exist. In Mark 7:21-23, Messiah interprets His saying about what defiles a person as follows: For out of the heart come evil thoughts – adultery . . . sexual immorality (Greek: porneiai) . . . lewdness . . . These are what defile a person (Matthew 15:19-20; Mark 7:21-23). No first-century Jew could have spoken of porneiai (plural) without having in mind the list of forbidden sexual offenses in Leviticus 18 and 20, which included homosexual intercourse. We also see an implicit reference to homosexual intercourse in Yeshua’s response to the rich young ruler who inquired about the requirements of eternal life (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Il – The Rich Young Ruler). Yeshua began by reciting portions of the Ten Commandments, including the prohibition of adultery, which would implicitly reject all homosexual intercourse.

2. Messiah’s appeal to Genesis 1:27 and 2:24 in his discussion of divorce in Mark 10:1-12 confirms His embrace of an exclusively heterosexual model of monogamy. Yeshua, then, understood that marriage was ordained by Ha’Shem from the beginning of creation, as the union of man and woman, not of a man and another man, or a woman with another woman. The creation texts authorized only one type of sexual union. It would have been a foregone conclusion for Messiah that homosexual relationships and bestiality, both forbidden in Leviticus, were unacceptable. The whole point of Yeshua’s stance in Mark 10:1-12 is not to broaden the Torah’s openness to alternative forms of sexuality, but rather to narrow and constrain sexual activity other than a monogamous lifelong marriage to a person of the opposite sex.

In Genesis 2:18-24, Adam is literally dismembered. His side is split open in order to provide for him the companionship of a complementary being. Marriage between a man and a woman reunites these representatives of two genders into one flesh, and is not simply a union of two individuals. The missing part of man is found in women and vice versa. Sexual intercourse or marriage between members of the same sex does not restore the disunion because it does not reconnect complementary beings. An alternative pattern of sexuality requires an alternative creation myth. In short, there simply is no place in the Genesis account to accommodate a basis for same-sex unions.

3. Yeshua’s positions on other matters having to do with sexual ethics were generally more – not less – rigorous than those of His surrounding culture. The impression one gets from Matthew 5:27-32 is that Messiah took sexual sin very seriously – in some respects more seriously than the prevailing culture in first-century Palestine. He regarded all sexual activity (thoughts and deeds) outside of lifelong marriage to one person of the opposite sex capable of jeopardizing one’s entrance into the Kingdom of God. In relation to our own cultural context, Yeshua’s views on sex represent, on the whole, a very conservative position. Those who find in the gospel’s a Yeshua who is a prophet of tolerance, who forgives and accepts all (except, perhaps, the intolerant), regardless of behavioral change, is revisionist history at its worst.

Therefore, it is highly unlikely that Messiah would have held some sort of secret acceptance of homosexuality in the face of uniform opposition within the Judaism of His day. The portrayal of a Yeshua who was open to homosexual practice is simply not true. All the evidence points to the opposite conclusion. Why then, did Yeshua not make an explicit statement against homosexual conduct? The obvious answer is that He didn’t encounter any openly homosexual people in his ministry, and thus had no need to call anyone to repentance for homosexual conduct. He also didn’t address other sexual issues such as incest or bestiality, but that hardly indicates a neutral or positive stance on it.

What is clear from the evidence that the texts do offer is the historical Messiah is no defender of homosexual behavior, or was even homosexual Himself as some modern-day homosexual supporters’ state. On the contrary, Yeshua, both in what He says and what He fails to say, remains squarely on the side of those who reject homosexual practice. At the same time, the model of Yeshua’s behavior toward sexually immoral people can be compared with the model of His behavior toward those who routinely exploit others for economic gain. The Church can, and should, recapture our Lord’s zeal for all the lost and sick of society, including those engaged in homosexual practice. It is not unforgivable. To be more specific, it means visiting their homes, eating with them, speaking and acting out of love rather than hate, communicating the Good News, throwing a party when they repent and return home, and then reintegrating them fully into the community of faith.⁹

C. The Witness of Paul: As we have seen, the TaNaKh is unanimous in its rejection of homosexual practice. Yeshua also rejected homosexuality. These are important witnesses for believers to consider, but they are not by themselves conclusive. Yeshua did not speak directly to the issue. However, He confirms the authority of the witness of the TaNaKh against homosexuality. This lays a firm foundation for us, but the Bible is not finished in its objection to homosexuality. It is left, then, to Paul to provide clear instruction for the churches of his day, and ours, on homosexuality.

1. Romans 1:24-27: With good reason these verses are commonly seen as the central text for the issue of homosexual conduct on which believers must base their moral doctrine. This is true for several reasons. It is the most substantial and explicit discussion of the issue in the Bible. It is located within the B’rit Chadashah. It makes an explicit statement not only about homosexuality among men, but also among lesbians. It is also the most difficult text for proponents of homosexuality to refute.

Therefore, refers back to the reasons Paul has just given (see the commentary on Romans, to see link click Al – The Evidence Against the Pagan Gentile). God has given them up, literally, God handed them over (as punishment for rejecting the general revelation that is available to them) to the vileness of their hearts’ lusts, to the shameful misuse of each other’s bodies (1:24). There comes a point of no return. YHVH will not violate the free will of the pagan Gentile and force him to do something he does not want to do. And after the Ruach Ha’Kodesh has wooed someone, and that person says, “No,” and hardens their heart over and over and over and over again. ADONAI finally says, “Alright, this breaks My heart, but I am going to accept that you want nothing to do with Me.” And like Pharaoh, Ha’Shem hardens his heart (Exodus 9:12). Ha’Shem doesn’t condemn anyone to hell. But they end up there because they have chosen their own destiny by rejecting the Ruach Ha’Kodesh.

They have exchanged the truth of God for a lie. And after a while they couldn’t discern the truth from the lie of the Adversary. Scripture often speaks of God as being the Truth, as Yeshua described Himself (John 14:6). To reject YHVH, the Father of Truth, is to become vulnerable to Satan, the father of lies (John 8:44). Paul goes on to say that when people turned from God and His truth, they then worshiped and served created things, rather than the Creator. Perhaps unable to continue discussing such vile things without “coming up for air,” as it were, Paul inserts a common Jewish doxology about the true God, the Creator, praised be He forever. Amen (1:25). He could not resist adding that refreshing thought in the sea of filth he was describing. That word of praise to ADONAI served, by utter contrast, to magnify the wickedness of idolatry and all other ungodliness.

From idolatry to immorality is just one short step. Homosexuality was rife throughout the first-century Roman Empire, as it is today. This is why the “Gay Liberation movement” can gain wide acceptance as it seeks equality, and approval of homosexuals and their behavior. It is why the Metropolitan Community Church, with tens of thousands of members in the United States, can refuse to condemn homosexual behavior as sin, yet seek acceptance as a Christian denomination. It is why unbelievers condemn the Christian community when it rejects MCC’s claim and refuses to recognize homosexuality as an “alternative lifestyle.”

Multitudes of activists have succeeded in their goal of transforming society. As public relations campaigns go, it’s been an unqualified success (see The Marketing of Evil by David Kupelian). But, because of the mitzvot in the TaNaKh, homosexuality has never been accepted as a part of Judaism. Nevertheless, direct quotes from the Bible regarding homosexuality are routinely condemned as “hate speech.” Their campaign will not end until believers and other traditionalists opposing homosexuality are shut up, discredited, and utterly silenced – and all because of a little factor they’ve forgotten about in their cleverness, namely, there is something wrong with homosexuality. Simply put, it is unnatural and self-destructive.¹⁰

For this reason, because of mankind’s rejecting the true God for false gods of their own making, God has given them up to degrading passions, so that their women exchange natural sexual relations for unnatural. And likewise, the men, giving up natural relations with the opposite sex, burn with lust for one another, men committing shameful acts with other men, and receive in themselves the due penalty for their perversion (1:26-27). There is a burning level of lust among homosexuals that defies description and is rarely known among heterosexuals. The homosexuals of Sodom were so passionately consumed with their lust that they ignored the fact that they were struck blind while still trying to get to the two angels to have sex with them (Genesis 19:11). Those ancient people were so morally perverse that in the Bible the name Sodom became a byword for immoral godlessness, and sodomy, a term derived from the name, became throughout history a synonym for homosexuality and other forms of sexual deviation.¹¹

2. First Corinthians 6:9-11: Don’t you know that unrighteous people will have no share in the Kingdom of God? Don’t deceive yourselves – people who engage in sex before marriage, who worship idols, who engage in sex after marriage with someone other than their spouse, who are effeminate (Greek: malakoi, meaning soft to the touch) or engage in homosexuality (Greek: arsenokoitai, meaning male-bedders, using the same language as Leviticus 18:22), who steal, who are greedy, who get drunk, who assail people with contemptuous language, who rob – none of them will share in the Kingdom of God (6:9-10). Paul’s purpose here is not to give a laundry list of sins that will indicate one has lost their salvation. There are no such sins. Since we can do no work to gain our salvation, we can do no work to lose our salvation. The only unforgivable sin is the rejection of the Ruach Ha’Kodesh (Matthew 12:31). Rather, he is giving a list of unbelievers who are typical of the unsaved, unrighteous, unjustified. If they had not accepted Yeshua Messiah as their Lord and Savior, none of them will share in the Kingdom of God.

Paul can hardly bring himself to conclude on the preceding note of warning, especially since it might leave the impression that the Corinthians were actually among the wicked. He brings the whole matter to a close by reaffirming:¹² Some of you used to “do” these things. The Bible never uses homosexuality as a noun, it is always, used as a verb. An action, not a state of being. But (Greek: alla) you have cleansed yourselves, but (alla) you have been set apart for God, but (alla) you have come to be counted righteous through the power of the Lord Yeshua the Messiah and the Spirit of our God (6:11). The tenses of the verbs indicate a completed action. And the repeated word but (alla) before each verb in the Greek adds emphasis to their break with the past and has been included in my translation even though it may sound awkward in English.¹² Now, because of all that God had done for them (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Bw – What God Does for us at the Moment of Faith), they had an obligation to God to use their bodies for His service and His glory. The Corinthian church, as churches today, had ex-fornicators, ex-adulterers, ex-homosexuals, ex-thieves, ex-alcoholics, and so on. Though many believers have never been guilty of these specific sins, every believer was sinful before he or she was saved. Every believer is an ex-sinner, so to speak. And Messiah came for the purpose of saving sinners (Matthew 9:13). The great strength of the gospel is that no person has sinned too deeply or too long to be saved.¹³

3. First Timothy 1:8-10: We know that the Torah is good, provided one uses it in the way the Torah itself intends.  One of the purposes of the Torah is to show people their sinfulness (see the commentary on Galatians Bm – The Torah Became our Guardian to Lead Us to Messiah). In the context of false teachers who said that salvation was obtained through rigid observance of the 613 mitzvot in the Torah (see Galatians Ag – Who Were the Judaizers?), Paul provided a striking list of examples that seems to be intentionally based on the Ten Words (see the commentary on Deuteronomy Bk – The Ten Words) with three triads. Paul declared that we are aware that Torah is not for a person who is righteous. The first grouping deals with sins against ADONAI, those who are heedless of Torah and rebellious, ungodly and sinful, wicked and worldly. The second grouping represents violations of the fifth, sixth, and seventh mitzvot: for people who kill their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral – both heterosexual and homosexual (Greek: pornos, from where we get pornography). The third grouping pictures the sins of the eighth, ninth, and tenth mitzvot, who are slave traders, liars, perjurers, and anyone who acts contrary to the sound doctrine. These verses make clear that certain behavior, including certain sexual behaviors, cannot be a part of the life of a faithful believer. Paul notes that, while believers have freedom in Messiah (see the commentary on Romans Bu – The New Freedom in Messiah), we need to live according to God’s Word and not according to our old sin nature.

Paul directly addresses the issue of homosexuality, and rejects such behavior for the believer and unbeliever alike. With regard to Romans 1:24-27, both idolatry and homosexuality are singled out by Paul as particularly clear and revolting examples of the suppression of the truth of God’s Word. In addition, people who engage in homosexual behavior do so in spite of the obvious . . . the parts fit and function appropriately male to female and not male to male or female to female.¹⁴ It is important to understand that ADONAI created healthy things to reproduce: healthy plants reproduce, healthy animals reproduce, and healthy humans reproduce. Homosexuals do not reproduce and therefore homosexuality is a perversion of God’s intended design.

D. The Biblical Witness: Pro-homosexual apologists often claim that biblical prohibitions against same-sex relationships are only found in the TaNaKh. They paint a picture of “the God of the Old Testament” as being “the mean God,” and picture Yeshua as “the good God” of the New Testament going around kissing babies and accepting everyone’s lifestyle because He is the God of love. “Love is love,” you’ve probably heard that one before. But like everything else in the marketing of evil, this is a total lie. On the one hand, there are eleven biblical texts condemning homosexuality in the Bible. Seven in the TaNaKh: Genesis 19:1-11; Leviticus 18:22, 29-30; Leviticus 20:13; Judges 19:16-24; First Kings 14:24; First Kings 15:12, and Second Kings 23:7, and four in the B’rit Chadashah: Romans 1:18-32; First Corinthians 6:9-11; First Timothy 1:8-10, and Jude 7. These are some of the words that the Spirit of God uses to describe homosexual behavior: detestable, cut-off, defiled, a wicked thing, vile, an outrageous thing, the wrath of God, godlessness, without excuse, fools, sinful desires, impurity, degrading their bodies, unnatural relations, inflamed with shameful lust and acts, penalty, sexually immoral, perverse, rebellious, ungodly and unholy. On the other hand, there are no positive examples of homosexual relationships in the Bible. These scriptures from both the TaNaKh and B’rit Chadashah are quite sobering.

We must remember that homosexuality in the Bible is always used as a verb and not a noun. Because of our fallen nature, we all have thoughts in our minds that we shouldn’t have, be it money, sex, or power. Therefore, someone who has homosexual thoughts, but does not act on them, is not a homosexual. Hopefully, as we are conformed into the likeness of Messiah (Romans 8:29), the lifelong process of sanctification will aid us in taking every thought captive (see the commentary on Second Corinthians Bt – Winning the Spiritual War).

Glossary

Abba: An Aramaic word used as an affectionate term of address to someone’s father. Yeshua used it to refer to God as His Father, and believers in Jesus also use it today to address God as Father. In modern Hebrew, this common name means Dad, Daddy, or Papa (also see Mark 14:36 and Romans 8:15).

Adar: the twelfth month of the Jewish biblical calendar.

Adonai: literally, my Lord, a word the TaNaKh uses to refer to God.

ADONAI: The Tetragrammaton, meaning the four-letter name of YHVH. Since its pronunciation is not known, and also out of respect for God’s name, Jews traditionally substitute the words ADONAI and Ha’Shem. ADONAI, however, is more of an affectionate name like daddy (also see Exodus 3:15; Jeremiah 1:9; Psalm 1:2; Matthew 1:22; Mark 5:19; Luke 1:5; John 1:23).

ADONAI Elohei-Tzva’ot: the LORD God of heaven’s angelic armies.

ADONAI Elohim: This is the Hebrew word for LORD God. This title links Isra’el’s God, the God of the Covenant, with God as Creator of the universe (also see Genesis 2:4; Isaiah 48:16; Psalm 72:18; Luke 1:32; Revelation 1:8).

ADONAI Nissi: the LORD my Banner (see Exodus 17:15; Psalm 20:1).

ADONAI Shalom: the LORD of Peace.

ADONAI Tzidkenu: the LORD our Righteousness.

ADONAI-Tzva’ot: The LORD of heaven’s angelic armies (see Joshua 5:13-15; Second Kings 19:31; Psalm 24:10; Second Corinthians 6:18).

Adversary: Satan, the devil, the prince of the power of the air, and the old dragon.

Afikomen: Literally, “That which comes after.” Piece of matzah that is hidden during the Seder, to be found and eaten after the third cup of redemption.

Amen: At the end of a prayer, this word means, “It is true,” or “Let it be so,” or “May it become true,” indicating that the readers or listeners agree with what has just been said. Although everything Yeshua said was true, “amen” adds special emphasis (also see Deuteronomy 27:25; Jeremiah 28:6; Psalm 41:14; Nehemiah 8:6; Matthew 5:26; Mark 10:15; Luke 23:43; John 10:1).

Anti-missionaries: Today they are Orthodox Jews who champion Jews for Judaism. They do not limit their mischief to harassing missionaries; any Jewish believer is a target. It is unfortunate that so many of these anti-missionaries feel their ends justify certain unethical means. In order to “protect” Judaism, they do or encourage others to do what Judaism condemns. In Paul’s day, they were the Judaizers who wanted Gentile believers to add obedience to the 613 commandments of Moshe, circumcision, and eating kosher to Paul’s salvation equals faith-plus-nothing gospel.

Ariel: lion of God, fireplace on God’s altar.

Aviv: the first month of the biblical year, corresponding to the modern Jewish month of Nisan.

Avraham: Abraham

Azazel: a scapegoat or goat demon sent out in the wilderness on Yom Kippur.

Ba’al: the chief male god of the Phoenicians and Canaanites. The word means lord or master.

Bar Mitzvah: Hebrew for “Son of the Commandment.” Although not specifically mentioned in the Bible, it is a Jewish coming of age ritual in which a young man, or Bat Mitzvah for a young woman, chooses to follow the commandments of their forefathers and takes responsibility for their own relationship with the God of Isra’el. This ceremony normally takes place at age 13 for boys or age 12 for girls. Afterwards, he/she is theoretically considered to be an adult, but in modern Judaism this is mostly symbolic, and a twelve-year-old is not treated like an adult.

Beit-Lechem: Bethlehem, the birthplace of David and Yeshua, meaning house of bread.

Bnei-Yisrael: The children of Israel.

B’rit Chadashah: Hebrew for the New Covenant. Christians commonly call it the New Testament.

Chesed: “mercy,” “lovingkindness,” and/or “covenant-loyalty.” It is a complex word that summarizes God’s complex and overwhelming love for His people, going beyond the concepts of love, mercy or kindness all together (also see Isaiah 63:7; Zechariah 7:1; Psalm 13:1; Psalm 86:1; Psalm 107:1; Psalm 118:1; Psalm 136:1).

Clear oil: In the oil pressing process this would have been oil from the first of three or pressings. The first pressing, most likely done by adding one stone weight to a wooden beam which then put pressure onto a bag of olives by being forced downward by the weight, was the one which produced the purest oil. This was traditionally the oil used in the Temple.

Cohen of Ha’Elyon: Priest of the God Most High.

Cohen Rosh Gadol: The Great High Priest who served as the head religious official, the only one to enter the Most Holy Place. Aaron, the brother of Moses, was the first man appointed as the Cohen Gadol. In later times, Cohen Gadol was in charge of the Temple and its administration. The Cohen Gadol Caiaphas, played a key role in questioning Yeshua at His trial. The writer of Hebrews describes Messiah as our great Cohen Gadol, who gives us access to God’s throne in the heavenly sanctuary (also see Leviticus 21:10; Haggai 1:14; Nehemiah 3:1; Matthew 26:57ff; Mark 14:61ff; John 18:19ff; Hebrews 4:14ff and 10:19-22).

Cohen: A priest, a man who offered sacrifices and performed other religious rituals at the Temple in Jerusalem.

Cohanim: The Cohanim were descended from Aaron, the brother of Moses. The Sadducees were from the priestly sect of Judaism.

Covenant: Theologically, it speaks of the contractual relationship between God and His people. The Hebrew term is b’rit. Also see B’rit Chadashah, Hebrew for New Covenant (see Genesis 6:18 and 17:2; Jeremiah 31:30; Nehemiah 9:32; Matthew 26:28; Mark 14:24; Luke 1:72).

Defile, or tam’ei in Hebrew: This is not a sinful condition, but a condition of life. From this we can see that being tam’ei is merely a state of being unable to participate in the Temple service until cleansed because the person has come into contact with the realm of sin and/or death, not necessarily because the person has sinned himself.

Diaspora, the Dispersion: the scattering of the Jewish people in exile throughout the world. Today almost 7 million Jews live in Isra’el, and over 8 million more Jews live in the Diaspora (also see Isaiah 11:10; John 7:35).

Drash: A drash is a long d’var.

D’var: Is a short talk on topics relating to a parashah, the weekly Torah portion.

Echad: The Hebrew word for “one” or “unity.” Echad is used in the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4).

Elyon: A title for God, meaning the Most High God (see Luke 1:35 and 76; Acts 7:48). A longer form is El Elyon, God Most High (also see Deuteronomy 32:8; Isaiah 14:14; Psalm 91:1; Acts 16:17).

Elohim: “God” in general terms, or as Creator. Compared with ADONAI, God’s “covenant name” is used especially in His relationship to the Jewish people. Elohim is the plural form of El, also found in the Bible occasionally with the same meaning. Yeshua is sometimes called Ben-Elohim, the Son of God (also see Genesis 2:19; Isaiah 61:11; Matthew 4:3; Mark 1:1; Luke 1:35; John 11:4).

El Shaddai: God Almighty

Emissaries: Apostles

God-fearers: These were Gentiles who became convinced that ADONAI was the only true God, they abandoned their paganism and idolatry, but they did not choose to become a proselyte in any form, and hence there was no adoption of Jewish customs or practices (see the commentary on Acts, to see link click Bb – An Ethiopian Asks about Isaiah).

Goyim: Nations, non-Jews, Gentiles

Gehenna: The word for “hell,” the place of perpetual misery and suffering after this life. It comes from the Greek word Genna and the Hebrew word Gei-Hinnom, which means the valley of Hinnom. There was actually such a valley by that name south of the Temple in Jerusalem. It was used as a garbage dump, and fires were always burning there, making it a suitable picture of life in hell. In Jewish sources, the term is used as the opposite of Gan-Eden, or the Garden of Eden or Paradise (Matthew 23:33; Mark 9:43).

Gentiles: A term for individuals or groups who are not Jewish. In Hebrew a common word for Gentile is goy or goyim is the plural form (see Isaiah 8:23; Matthew 10:18; Mark 10:33).

Go’el: Literally, a redeemer, used both for God and of people. In the book of Ruth, go’el means the kinsman-redeemer, a close relative obligated to defend and protect his kin. The go’el could buy back (redeem) land or someone who sold himself into slavery, and could marry a widow in the family in order to protect her future. The human go’el is a picture of God the greater Go’el who protects and redeems us, the members of His family (see Ruth 3:9-12).

Hag ha’Matzah: The Feast of Unleavened Bread

Halakhah: are rules governing Jewish life and comes from the Hebrew root to walk. The rabbis used the term to refer to the legal way to walk out the commandments of the Torah. It can also refer to the Oral Law (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Ei – The Oral Law). A (one) halakhah is a specific ruling given regarding a particular issue, “the halakhah” being the ruling accepted and observed by the Jewish community.

Hametz or Chametz: The Hebrew word for leaven, or yeast, which makes bread rise. God commanded Isra’el not to eat hametz during Passover, Yeshua teaches that both good and evil spread, the same way hametz leavens the whole batch of dough (Also see 16:6-12; Mark 8:15; Luke 12:1 Exodus 12:20; Leviticus 7:13; Amos 4:5; Matthew 13:33 and 13:21).

Hanukkah: Meaning dedication, the feast commemorating the victory of the Maccabees over the armies of Antiochus Epiphanes in 165 BC and the rebuilding and dedication of the Temple after its desecration by Syrian invaders.

Ha’Shem: The Tetragrammaton, meaning the four-letter name of YHVH. Since its pronunciation is not known, and also out of respect for God’s name, Jews traditionally substitute the words ADONAI and Ha’Shem. While ADONAI is more of an affectionate name like daddy, Ha’Shem is a more formal name like sir (also see Exodus 3:15; Jeremiah 1:9; Psalm 1:2, Matthew 1:22; Mark 5:19; Luke 1:5; John 1:23).

Hellenist: In the B’rit Chadashah, it refers to Jews who lived in the Diaspora, or had moved to Isra’el from the Diaspora, spoke Greek, and were more Greek in their culture, than traditional Jewish people brought up in Isra’el (Acts 6:1, 9:29, 11:20).

Immerse: To dip the whole body under water as an act of dedication to the LORD, or as a profession of faith in Yeshua. The word is often seen in other translations as “baptize.” The ceremony of dipping is called “immersion” or “baptism.” Yeshua’s cousin was known as John the Immerser (Matthew 3:1; Mark 6:14; Luke 7:20).

Imputation: To reckon or charge to one’s account. When the Spirit gives life (John 6:63a), that means that all the righteousness of Christ is transferred to your spiritual account at the moment of faith. What is true of Messiah is true of you, minus His deity.

Incarnation: The divine revelation (Hebrews 1:1-2) of YHVH becoming one with humanity as an ordinary human being in the person of Yeshua Messiah. He was one-hundred percent man and one-hundred present God. The Triune God knew that the Second Person would come to earth to be subject to numerous evils: hunger, ridicule, rejection, and death. He did this in order to negate sin, and therefore, its evil effects.

Judaizers: Jewish false teachers, who taught that obedience to the 613 commandments of the Torah were necessary to have a relationship with God, and opposed Paul at every turn. Everywhere Paul went, the Judaizers were sure to follow. Once Paul established a church in Galatia, as soon as he left, they would come in and distort the gospel of Messiah (1:7).

Justification: The act of God whereby, negatively, He forgives the sins of believers and, positively, He declares them righteous by imputing the obedience and righteousness of Messiah to them through faith (Luke 18:9-14). It is not a reward for anything good we have done. It is not something we cooperate with God in (in other words, it is not sanctification). It is an utterly undeserved free gift of the mercy of ADONAI (Romans 3:24; Titus 3:7). It is entirely accomplished by God, once and for all, at the moment of salvation. It results in good deeds (James 2:14-26) and sanctification over our lifetime.

Kadosh: The Hebrew word for ‘holy.” This term describes the people set apart for God. ADONAI Himself is kodosh (Leviticus 19:1-2). Many letters to Christ’s newly formed communities (churches) address Yeshua’s followers as the Kedoshim (also see Jeremiah 2:3; Nehemiah 8:10; First Corinthians 1:2; Ephesians 1:1; Philippians 1:1; Colossians 1:2).

Kedoshim: The holy ones

Korban: The root of the word korban, can be translated to bring near. A korban, then, should be defined as something brought near. The reason it is so named is that the person bringing an offering did so in order to be brought near to God. It was a sacrifice or offering dedicated to God, especially to fulfill a vow. If something was to be dedicated to God, it generally could not be used for other purposes. Some Pharisees and teachers of the Torah wrongly used this as an excuse not to provide for their parents in their old age, even though Jewish teaching insisted that the commandment to honor one’s father and mother extended to providing for their physical needs (see Mark 7:11).

Kosher: Kosher foods are those that conform to the Jewish dietary regulations of kashrut, primarily derived from Leviticus and Deuteronomy. Food that may be consumed according to halakha is termed kosher in English, from the Ashkenazi pronunciation of the Hebrew term kashér, meaning “fit”.

Levite: Descendants of the tribe of Levi, who served in the Tabernacle and Temple as gatekeepers, musicians, teachers, and assistants to the priests. The scribes, or Torah-teachers, originally came only from among the Levites and were the forerunners of the Pharisees. The Pharisees later expanded to include members who were from all tribes, with no affiliation with Levi required. (Also see Exodus 4:14; Ezeki’el 48:12; Ezra 1:5; John 1:19).

LORD: When the translators of the King James Bible in the 1600’s came to the Hebrew word YHVH, they needed to distinguish it from the word Lord, meaning master. So, they capitalized it. Therefore, LORD is actually the Tetragrammaton, meaning the four-letter name of YHVH.

LXX (Septuagint): The “official” Greek translation of the TaNaKh, dating from the third century BC through the fourth century AD. The original translation was of the Torah (the five books of Moshe), which the Letter of Aristeas records was allegedly made by seventy Jewish scholars in Alexandria (Egypt) from which it gained its name (Septuaginta). It is commonly referred to by the abbreviation, LXX (70).

Malki-Tzedek: Melchizedek.

Mashiach (Hebrew): Messiah, the Anointed One (Matthew 26:63; Mark 1:1; John 20:31).

Matzah (singular) or Matzot (plural): Unleavened bread, which is made without yeast, eaten especially during the feast of Passover. Also see hametz (also see Exodus 13:6; Leviticus 2:5; Ezeki’el 45:21; Matthew 26:17; Mark 14:22; Luke 22:19; John 13:26).

Masoretic Text: The official text of the TaNaKh edited by the Massoretes, or Jewish grammarians, during the sixth to tenth centuries AD. This text is “pointed” with various vowel signs and accents which were lacking in the previous texts.

M’chitzah, the: The middle wall of separation (see the commentary on Acts Cn – Paul’s Advice from Jacob and the Elders at Tziyon).

Megillah (singular) or Megillot (plural): The five books in the Writings used for special readings during the holidays: Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes and Esther.

Menorah (singular) or Menorot (plural): The seven branched lampstand(s) designed and commanded by God for service in the Tabernacle/Temple (Exodus 25:32; First Kings 7:49; Zechariah 4:2).

Messiah (Greek): Christ, the Anointed One, often used in speaking of a Redeemer sent from God to free His people from exile and oppression (also see Matthew 1:16; Mark 8:29; Luke 2:11 and John 1:41).

Midrash (singular) or Midrashim (plural): allegorical interpretation or application of a text. The listener is expected to understand that the writer of the midrash is not expounding the plain meaning of the text, but introducing his own ideas.

Mikveh: a bath or pool with a flow of fresh water; used in Orthodox Judaism to this day for ritual purification or ceremonial cleansing, performed at various times in a person’s life (see Matthew 3:13 and Titus 3:5).

Mishnah, The: is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions that are known as the Oral Law (see below). 

Mitzvah (singular) or mitzvot (plural): Primarily a commandment from God in the Torah. (Deuteronomy 11:22; Second Kings 17:37; Proverbs 6:20; Matthew 26:10; Mark 14:6). Today, a more modern meaning would be “a good deed,” more broadly, a general principle for living.

Moshe: Moses.

Olam haba: “The age to come,” or “the world to come.” It describes a time after the world is perfected under the rulership of Messiah. This term also refers to the afterlife, where the soul passes after death. It can be contrasted with olam ha-zeh, “this world” (Matthew 12:32; Mark 10:30; Luke 18:30 and 20:35; Ephesians 1:21; Hebrews 6:5; Revelation 20-21).

Omer: Meaning “sheaf,” the bundle of barley used in the Firstfruits offering. After the Temple period it came to be identified with Sefirat ha’Omer, or the counting of the omer, the counting of the days from Firstfruits to Shavu’ot.

Oral Law: The Oral Law refers to the Talmud, which is a compilation of rabbinic commentaries on the first five books of Moses, called the Torah. The Talmud, completed around 500 AD, consists of the Mishnah and well as commentary on the Mishnah called Gemara (Mishnah + Gemara = Talmud). The tradition grew to include a further compendium called Midrash until about the 12^th century. The rabbis taught that when the Messiah came, He would not only believe in the Oral Law, but He would participate in the making of new Oral Laws.

Pesach: Passover. The Jewish festival commemorating deliverance from Egyptian bondage. In Biblical times Jews used to journey to the Temple, sacrifice lambs there, and eat a special meal commemorating the departure of the Jews from slavery in Egypt. It was one of the three “pilgrimage festivals” that all able-bodied Jews were expected to celebrate before YHVH in Yerushalayim. Today, Passover is celebrated at home with a special meal called a seder. Yeshua celebrated Passover with His apostles (Matthew 26:18; Mark 14:12; Luke 22:7; John 13:1).

Pharisees: One of the sects of Judaism in the first century. The Pharisees had their own views of how exactly to keep Torah. They were especially concerned with ritual impurity and (unlike the Sadducees) they believed in the resurrection of the dead. While the Sadducees were more involved with the Temple, the Pharisees were concerned more with home and synagogue life.

Propitiation: The averting of God’s wrath by means of the substitutionary and efficacious (producing the desired effect) sacrifice (death) of Yeshua Messiah (the atonement). It is the work of Messiah that satisfies every claim of God’s holiness and justice so that Ha’Shem is free to act on behalf of sinners.

Proselytes at the Gate: There were three levels of Gentile relationship to Judaism. After God-fearers and proselytes of the Gate were the second level. The Gate was the middle wall of separation (Ephesians 2:14) in the Temple compound that Gentiles were not allowed to go beyond under penalty of death (see the commentary on Acts Bb – An Ethiopian Asks about Isaiah 53). These were Gentiles who adopted many Jewish practices like celebrating Shabbat and the feast of Isra’el, but did not become a full proselyte. Most of these were men because it didn’t require circumcision.

Proselytes of the Covenant: In the third level of Gentile relationship to Judaism (see above), there were proselytes of the Covenant. They entered into the Covenant of Sinai as a full Jew, so to speak. Most of these were women because this level required circumcision.

Purim: Meaning “lots,” is the holiday based on the story of Esther.

Qumran: A site overlooking the Dead Sea where Jewish sects lived in religious communities from 135 BC to 70 AD and from which we have numerous documents which are frequently referred to as the Dead Sea Scrolls. These texts include partial copies and fragments of most of the biblical books (the only whole copy is Isaiah), apocryphal writings such as Enoch, and texts produced by the community itself (the manual of Discipline and the Thanksgiving Hymns). The texts are referred to according to the number of the cave in which they were discovered (for example, 1Qs [Community Rule], 11Q Temp [Temple Scroll]).

Rasheet: One of several names for the Festival of First Fruits.

Redeemed: Setting free from slavery, buying back something lost, for a price.

Righteous of the TaNaKh: Old Testament believers.

Rosh Ha’Shanah: Hebrew for “Head of the Year.” Known as the Jewish New Year, or the Feast of Trumpets.

Ruach: The Hebrew word for “spirit,” “breath,” or “wind.” Yeshua explains wind and Spirit to Nicodemus in John 3:5-8. Scripture frequently refers to the Ruach ha-Kodesh, the Holy Spirit (Exodus 35:31; Numbers 11:25; Malachi 2:15; Acts 2:2 and 10:44; Romans 8:4-17).

Ruach Ha’Kodesh: The Hebrew name for the Spirit of God, or the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 63:11; Psalm 51:13; Matthew 1:20; Mark 1:8; Luke 1:16; John 14:26).

Sadducees: One of the sects of Judaism in the first century. From the Sadducees came the leading priests who managed the affairs of the Temple. In contrast to the Pharisees, they did not believe in the resurrection of the dead (Matthew 16:12; Mark 12:18; Luke 20:27).

Sanhedrin: Literally, the gathering of the seated, like being a judge seated on a bench – a legal term for an officiating judge. This was the Supreme Court of ancient Isra’el. It exercised legislative and judicial authority (Matthew 26:59; Mark 15:1; Luke 22:66; John 11:47).

Sanctification: To be set apart, specifically, to the holy use and purposes of God. It is a process that takes a whole lifetime. It is the work of God in which you cooperate (Romans 12:1-2; First Corinthians 10:13; Hebrews 12:3-4; First Peter 5:8-9); and is a process Ephesians 4:11-16), trusting in God, apart from whom we can do nothing (John 15:5; Ephesians 3:16; Colossians 1:11; Hebrews 2:18 and 4:14). He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus (Phil 1:6).

Septuagint: The Septuagint is the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures and was presumably made for the Jewish community in Egypt when Greek was the common language throughout the region. It is also called the translation of the Seventy because tradition states that the Septuagint was translated by seventy rabbis. In academia, the Septuagint is often abbreviated as LXX (the Roman numeral for seventy) in honor of this translation.

Shabbat: The Sabbath Day, the seventh day of the week, when work ceases. On this day God’s people are beckoned to rest and renew our relationship with our Creator, who also rested on the seventh day. Shabbat begins on Friday evening at sundown and ends Saturday evening after three stars appear (Exodus 20:10; Nehemiah 9:14; Matthew 12:10; Mark 1:21; Luke 23:56; John 9:14).

Shaddai: A common name for God in the TaNaKh, usually translated as Almighty. The name is often used in a combination such as El Shaddai, or God Almighty (Genesis 17:1; Ezeki’el 1:24; Job 11:7).

Shall be cut off: This phrase may mean that the person is stoned to death, or that he is barred from returning to the Tabernacle or Temple to offer sacrifices. This person would be cherem, literally set apart for destruction, either physically or culturally.

Shalom: The Hebrew word for peace, wholeness, wellness; a greeting used when meeting or departing (Genesis 26:31; First Samuel 16:4; Second Chronicles 18:16; Matthew 10:13; Mark 9:50; Luke 1:28; John 14:27).

Sh’khinah: The visual manifestation of the glory of God.

Shavu’ot: the festival of Weeks (Hebrew) or Pentecost (Greek), since it comes seven weeks after Pesach; also called Pentecost, from the Greek word for fifty because one counts fifty days after Passover. It is one of the three “pilgrimage festivals” that all able-bodied Jews were expected to celebrate before YHVH in Yerushalayim. It originally celebrated the harvest, but later commemorated the day God gave the Torah to Isra’el. After Yeshua’s resurrection, the disciples waited for God’s gift of the Ruach ha-Kodesh, which also came on Shavu’ot (Exodus 34:22; Second Chronicles 8:13; Acts 2:1 and 20:16; First Corinthians 16:8).

Sh’ol: The Hebrew equivalent of the Greek “Hades,” the place where the dead exist.

Shofar: A ram’s horn, used in the Bible for summoning armies, calling to repentance, and in other situations. Blasts of various lengths and numbers signified different instructions. Metal trumpets were also used for similar purposes, but exclusively by the cohanim. Today, the shofar is used on Rosh ha-Shanah of Yom Kippur, the Jewish High Holy Days. The shofar also ushers in the Year of Jubilee (Leviticus 25:9-10; Zechariah 9:14; Matthew 24:31; First Corinthians 15:52; First Thessalonians 4:16-17).

Sinai: the mountain in the desert between Egypt and the land of Isra’el.

Shuwb: turn, turning, and the big idea of Jeremiah.

Son of Man: A name that Yeshua commonly used to refer to Himself. It comes from Dani’el 7:13-14, in which the Son of Man is given all authority. This name sometimes emphasizes Yeshua’s humanity and sometimes His deity (Matthew 9:6; Mark 9:31; Luke 21:36; John 6:27).

Sukkot: the festival of Booths or Tabernacles, celebrating the forty years when the people of Isra’el lived in booths, tents, shacks, in the desert between Egypt and the land of Isra’el. The Hebrew word sukkah means booth and sukkot is the plural and means booths. Sukkot is one of the three “pilgrimage festivals” that all able-bodied Jews were expected to celebrate before YHVH in Yerushalayim (Leviticus 23:34; Zechariah 14:16; Second Chronicles 8:13; Matthew 17:4; Mark 9:5; Luke 9:33).

Synagogue: A place of assembly for Jews for hearing the Torah, praying and worshiping God. There were many synagogues throughout Isra’el and the Greco-Roman world (Matthew 4:23; Mark 5:22; Luke 4:16; John 9:22).

Tabernacle: A temporary dwelling, such as the booths constructed during Sukkot. It is also used in the TaNaKh of the tent in which God dwelt among the Jewish people, both in the wilderness and in the land of Isra’el. When the word is used as a verb, it refers to Yeshua coming to dwell among His people (John 1:14), reminding us of the wilderness Tabernacle and also of the Feast of Tabernacles (Exodus 25:9; First Chronicles 6:17; John 1:14 and 7:2).

Talmid (singular) or Talmudim (plural): Student or students.

Talmud: The codified body of Jewish Oral Law; includes literary creations, legends, scriptural interpretations, comprised of the Mishnah and the Gemara.

TaNaKh: The Hebrew word TaNaKh is an acronym, based on the letters T for “Torah”, N for “Nevi’im” (Prophets), and K for “Ketuv’im” (Sacred Writings). It is a collection of the teachings of God to human beings in document form. This term is used instead of the phrase, “the Old Testament,” which sounds “old” and outdated.

Torah: Literally, this Hebrew word means teaching or instruction (Exodus 13:9; Isaiah 2:3; Psalm 1:2; Matthew 5:17; Mark 1:22; Luke 24:44; John 7:19; Romans 7:1ff; First Corinthians 9:20-21; Galatians 3:21). It can be used for the five books of Moshe, or more generally to God’s commandments, or the whole TaNaKh (John 10:34). Uncapitalized, torah can be understood generally as a law or principle (Romans 7:21-8:2).

Torah-Teacher: A Torah scribe engaged in interpreting and transmitting the Torah. They wrote Torah scrolls, bills of divorce, and other legal documents. The Hebrew term is sofer.

Tree of Life: The tree at the center of the garden of Eden (Genesis 2:9, 3:24), the source of eternal life. Scripture points to a future in the B’rit Chadashah, with access to the Tree of Life. In the meantime, the Torah is like the Tree of Life to those who embrace her, and blessed will be all who hold firmly to her (Proverbs 3:18 also see Revelation 2:7, 22:2 and 14).

Tzitzit: A fringe that was put on a garment in accordance with Numbers 15:37-41.

Tziyon: Zion, Mount Zion, was originally the City of David, south of the modern Old City of Yerushalayim. Later the name Tziyon came to refer metaphorically to the Temple Mount, Jerusalem, or the people of Isra’el. The hill now called Mount Tziyon was given its name in the fourth century AD (Isaiah 1:27; Psalm 65:2; Matthew 21:5; John 12:15).

Yeshua: The Hebrew name for our Messiah, known in English as Jesus, and is a masculine form, and a word play on yeshu’ah (salvation) (Matthew 1:21; Mark 6:14; Luke 2:21; John 19:19).

Yerushalayim: Jerusalem.

Y’hudah: Judah.

YHVH: The Tetragrammaton, meaning the Name, the four-letter name of God. Therefore, God does not have many names, He has only one name – YHVH (Yud Hay Vav Hay). All the other names in the Bible describe His characteristics and His attributes.

Yisra’el: Isra’el.

Yochanan: John.

Yom ha’Bikkurim: One of several names for The Feast of Firstfruits.

Yom Kippur: The Day of Atonement, the close of the High Holy Days, and considered the holiest day of the year in traditional Judaism.

Leviticus from a Messianic Jewish Perspective

To Vicky Persley, faithful friend and research assistant. Always ready to find resources for my commentaries, this mature partner in ministry, as a grafted believer in Yeshua, couldn’t love the Torah more. God and His Word is what she is all about.

The Hebrew Bible expresses the central concerns of the hearts and minds of ancient people. One such concern underlines the question posed by the prophet Micah: With what can I come before ADONAI to bow down before God on high? Should I come before Him with burnt offerings? With calves in their first year? Would ADONAI take delight in thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Could I give my firstborn to pay for my transgressions, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you, but to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God (Micah 6:6-8). Like other Israelite prophets, Micah questioned the accepted norms of religious behavior, which required that God be worshiped through sacrifice. How shall the human being honor his Creator? What does God require of His creatures? The prophet’s response regards burnt offerings as a poor substitute for justice and mercy.

We should regard Leviticus 19:2b as a priestly response to the same question posed by Micah: What does ADONAI require of us? Be holy because I, ADONAI your God, am holy!

The priestly traditions emphasized the proper worship of ADONAI, undertaken in the pursuit of holiness, which, in turn, could only be realized in the context of an Israelite society governed by the Torah. Justice and mercy, also, were a dimension of holiness, and at points, the priestly and the prophetic response converged. But the priests were concerned with the celebration of holiness, the preservation of purity, and the formation of a religious community that acknowledged the true God.

Leviticus takes its cue from the conventional charge delivered by Ha’Shem, “Although the whole earth is Mine, you will be for Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:5b-16). How Isra’el was to realize the divine program is the burden of the book of Leviticus.¹

Title: We now come to the third book of Moses. The title Leviticus comes from the Septuagint (LXX), or the Greek translation of the TaNaKh. It probably reflects the oldest title for the book in Hebrew, which means, “The instructions to the priests.” The present Hebrew title comes from the opening words in Hebrew, which mean, “and He called.” However, the title of this book is deceiving. Even though it is called Leviticus, Levites are only mentioned in Chapter 25, and only a few mitzvot apply to them. The mitzvot that apply to them are actually found in the book of Numbers. To whom, then, is the book directed?

To us as believers.

Authorship and Date: Though the author is not specifically identified in the book, Moshe should be accepted as its author for these reasons: (1) Since the contents of the book were revealed to him at Mount Sinai (Leviticus 7:37-38, 26:46, 27:34) and mostly to or through Moses (1:1, 4:1, 6:1, 8, 19 and 8:1, etc), he is, without a doubt, the one who recorded these divine revelations. (2) The book is a sequel to Exodus which specifically claims Moshe as the author (Exodus 17:14, 24:4 and 7, 34:27-28). (3) Yeshua affirmed that Moses was the author when referring to the Torah cleansing from leprosy (see the commentary on The Life of Christ, to see link click Cn – The Healing of a Jewish Leper). Therefore, Leviticus was written by Moshe probably shortly after the composition of Exodus in the second half of the fifteenth century BC.

Historical and Theological Setting: The historical and theological context of Leviticus is implied in the opening and closing verses of the book (1:1 and 27:34). Historically, Leviticus was the sequel to Exodus, the Levitical sacrificial system was a divine revelation to Isra’el given through Moses as a part of the covenant obligation at Sinai. The book opens: ADONAI called Moses and spoke to him from the Tabernacle (1:1). Thus, the legislation contained in Leviticus follows the historical narrative concerning the construction of the Tabernacle (Exodus 25-40) and precedes the next major narrative of the Israelite tribes for the decampment from Sinai (Numbers 1-4). The intervening exceptions are the historical narrative of the ordination of the priests (Leviticus 8-10) and the brief interlude in 24:10-13. Theologically, the Levitical sacrificial system was instituted for a people redeemed from Egypt and in covenant relationship with their God. Thus, sacrifice in Isra’el was not a human effort to obtain favor with a hostile God but a response to ADONAI who had first given Himself to Isra’el in covenant relationship. Yet, whenever sin or impurity, whether ethical or ceremonial, disrupted this fellowship, the individual or the nation (whichever was the case) renewed covenant fellowship with the LORD through sacrifice, the particular sacrifice, depending on the exact circumstance of the description.

Contents and Literary Genre: Did you know that there is no other book of the Bible which contains more of the very words of ADONAI than in Leviticus? Here, God is the direct speaker on almost every page. Surely there is a message He wants us to grasp. That is one very important reason why we consider this book so vital to read through.² Leviticus deals with the worship of Isra’el – its sacrifices, priesthood, mitzvot rendering a person ceremonially unclean and so disqualifying him for worship, and various special appointed times for worship. It also contains many mitzvot pertaining to daily living and practical holiness, both ethical and ceremonial. The literary genre of Leviticus is legal literature, including both mitzvot expressing necessary conduct, like: Do not make idols or set up an image or a sacred stone for yourselves (26:1), and mitzvot expressed in case decisions, like: If the anointed priest sins, bringing guilt upon the people, he must bring to ADONAI a young bull without defect as a sin offering for the sin he has committed (4:3). Through these literary forms within the historical framework of the covenant between YHVH and Isra’el, God chose to reveal certain truths about sin and its consequences, and holiness of life before the LORD.

Theme and Structure: The theme of Leviticus is the Israelite believer’s worship and walk before a holy God. By way of application this theme is significant for believers today (First Peter 1:15-16). The theme verse, as stated above, is Leviticus 19:2b: Be holy because I, ADONAI your God, am holy! Leviticus, therefore, is the book of holiness (Hebrew: badal, meaning, being set apart) as in 20:26. While much stress is placed on ceremonial holiness, where people, animals or objects are set apart for the service of YHVH, such holiness is ultimately symbolic and foundational for ethical holiness (11:33 and 19:2). ADONAI Himself is separate from all that is sinful. Thus, Ha’Shem, who was present in the midst of His people Isra’el (26:11-12), demanded that they be holy (20:22-26). The structure of the book corresponds with its theme. Chapters 1-16 basically deal with the worship before a holy God, while Chapters 17-27 relate primarily to the daily walk in holiness before God and people.³

The Use of the Complete Jewish Bible: Because I am writing this commentary on the book of Second Corinthians from a Jewish perspective, I will be using the Complete Jewish Bible unless otherwise indicated.

The use of ADONAI: Long before Yeshua’s day, the word ADONAI had, out of respect, been substituted in speaking and in reading aloud for God’s personal name, the four Hebrew letters yod-heh-vav-heh, variously written in English as YHVH. The Talmud (Pesachim 50a) made it a requirement not to pronounce the Tetragrammaton, meaning the four-letter name of the LORD, and this remains the rule in most modern Jewish settings. In deference to this tradition, which is unnecessary but harmless, I will be using ADONAI where YHVH is meant. In ancient times when the scribes were translating the Hebrew Scriptures, they revered the name of YHVH so much that they would use a quill to make one stroke of the name and then throw it away. Then they would make another stroke and throw that quill away until the name was completed. His name became so sacred to them that they started to substitute the phrase the Name, instead of writing or pronouncing His Name. Over centuries of doing this, the actual letters and pronunciation of His Name were lost. The closest we can come is YHVH, with no syllables. The pronunciation has been totally lost. Therefore, the name Yahweh is only a guess of what the original name sounded like. Both ADONAI and Ha’Shem are substitute names for YHVH. ADONAI is more of an affectionate name like daddy, while Ha’Shem is a more formal name like sir.

613 Mitzvot of ADONAI

Genesis 2 mitzvot

Exodus 110 mitzvot

Leviticus 243 mitzvot

Numbers 58 mitzvot

Deuteronomy 200 mitzvot

The use of TaNaKh: The Hebrew word TaNaKh is an acronym, based on the letters T (for “Torah”), N (for “Nevi’im,” the Prophets), and K (for “Ketuvim,” the Sacred Writings). It is the collection of the teachings of God to human beings in document form. The term “Old Covenant” implies that it is no longer valid, or at the very least outdated. Something old, to be either ignored or discarded. But Jesus Himself said: Don’t think I have come to abolish the Torah and the Prophets, I have not come to abolish but to complete (Matthew 5:17 CJB). I will be using the Hebrew acronym TaNaKh instead of the phrase the Old Testament, throughout this devotional commentary.

The Use of the phrase, “the righteous of the TaNaKh,” rather than using Old Testament saints: Messianic synagogues, and the Jewish messianic community in general, never use the phrase Old Testament saints. From a Jewish perspective, they prefer to use the phrase, “righteous of the TaNaKh.” Therefore, I will be using “the righteous of the TaNaKh,” rather than Old Testament saints throughout this devotional commentary.⁴

The Outline of Leviticus

Leviticus, Where Life and the Bible Meet (Aa)

The Outline of Leviticus (Ab)

Leviticus from a Messianic Jewish Perspective (Ac)

Glossary (Ad)

The Bible and Homosexual Practice (Ae)

Should Christians Study the Torah? (Af)

I. The Mitzvot of the Offerings – 1:1 to 7:38 (Ag)

A. The Offerings from the People’s Perspective – 1:1-6:7 (Ah)

1. The Burnt Offering: Accepted by God – 1:1-17 (Ai)

2. The Grain Offerings: Dedicated to God – 2:1-16 (Aj)

3. The Peace Offerings: At Peace with God – 3:1-17 (Ak)

4. The Purification Offering: Purified by the Blood – 4:1 to 5:13 (Al)

5. The Guilt Offering: Evidence of Repentance – 5:14 to 6:7 (Am)

B. The Offerings from the Priests Perspective – 6:8 to 7:38 (An)

1. The Olah Offering – 6:8-13 (Ao)

2. The Minhah Offering – 6:14-23 (Ap)

3. The Chatta’th Offering – 6:24-30 (Aq)

4. The Asham Offering – 7:1-10 (Ar)

5. The Shalamim Offerings – 7:11-21 (As)

6. God’s Claim to the Best of Life – 7:22-27 (At)

7. The Wave Offering and Priestly Portion – 7:28-38 (Au)

II. The Ordination Ceremony of the Priesthood – 8:1 to 10:20 (Av)

A. The Ordination of Aaron and His Sons – 8:1-13 (Aw)

B. Aaron’s Purification Offering – 8:14-17 (Ax)

C. The Burnt Offering Ram – 8:18-21 (Ay)

D. The Peace Offering Ram – 8:22-30 (Az)

E. The Meal and Seven Days of Training – 8:31-36 (Ba)

F. The Beginning of the Priestly Service – 9:1-24 (Bb)

1. On the Eighth Day – 9:1-7 (Bc)

2. The Offerings for Aaron and the Priests – 9:8-14 (Bd)

3. The Offerings for the People of Isra’el – 9:15-21 (Be)

4. The Appearance of the Sh’khinah Glory – 9:22-24 (Bf)

G. The Judgment and Mercy of ADONAI – 10:1-20 (Bg)

1. The Death of Nadab and Abihu – 10:1-11 (Bh)

2. The Mercy Shown to Eleazar and Ithamar – 10:12-20 (Bi)

III. The Mitzvot of Purification – 11:1 to 15:33 (Bj)

A. Ritually Clean and Unclean Animals – 11:1-47 (Bk)

1. Ritually Clean and Unclean Beasts – 11:1-8 (Bl)

2. Ritually Clean and Unclean Water Animals – 11:9-12 (Bm)

3. Ritually Clean and Unclean Winged Bird and Insects – 11:13-23 (Bn)

4. Ritual Uncleanness Through Contact – 11:24-40 (Bo)

5. Summary of Ritually Unclean Animals 11:41-47 (Bp)

6. Yeshua and the Handling of Food – Mark 7:1-15 (Bq)

7. Luke and Paul on Food Rendered Common – Acts 10, Galatians 2, and Romans 14 (Br)

8. Paul on Food Rendered Common by Contact with Idols – 1 Cor 8-10; Romans 14 (Bs)

B. Women After Childbirth – 12:1-8 (Bt)

C. The Mitzvot Regarding Skin Diseases – 13:1 to 14:57 (Bu)

1. The Test of Tsara’at – 13:1-59 (Bv)

a. Holiness and Tsara’at – 13:1-46 (Bw)

(1) The Examination of Tsara’at – 13:1-8 (Bx)

(2) The Examination of Spreading Tsara’at – 13:9-17 (By)

(3) The Examination of Boils – 13:18-23 (Bz)

(4) The Examination of Burns – 13:24-28 (Ca)

(5) The Examination of Head Sores – 13:29-37 (Cb)

(6) The Examination of White Spots – 13:38-39 (Cc)

(7) The Examination of Sores on a Bald Spot – 13:40-44 (Cd)

b. Protecting the Covenant Community – 13:45-46 (Ce)

c. The Treatment of Tsara’at Clothing – 13:47-59 (Cf)

2. The Test of M’tsora – 14:1-32 (Cg)

a. The Initial Procedures for Cleansing Leprosy – 14:1-9 (Ch)

b. The Concluding Purification Ceremony – 14:10-20 (Ci)

c. The Needy Leper – 14:21-32 (Cj)

3. Cleansing from Mildew in a House – 14:33-57 (Ck)

D. Personal Discharge and Defilement – 15:1-33 (Cl)

1. Male Chronic Uncleanness – 15:1-18 (Cm)

2. Female Menstrual Uncleanness – 15:19-33 (Cn)

IV. Yom Kippur: The Removal of All Sin – 16:1-34 (Co)

A. The Purity Issue – 16:1-2 (Cp)

B. The Day of Atonements – 16:3-5 (Cq)

C. The Confessions Over the Bull – 16:6 (Cr)

D. Drawing Lots – 16:7-10 (Cs)

E. Incense in the Most Holy Place – 16:11-13 (Ct)

F. The Blood of the Bull and Goat – 16:14-19 (Cu)

G. The Goat for Azazel – 16:20-22 (Cv)

H. The Cleanser Must be Made Clean – 16:23-28 (Cw)

I. Did Yom Kippur Really Work? – 16:29-34 (Cx)

V. The Holiness Code – 17:1 to 26:46 (Cy)

A. Holiness for the People 17:1 to 20:27 (Cz)

1. The Life is in the Blood – 17:1-16 (Da)

2. Sexual Sin and Covenant Loyalty – 18:1-30 (Db)

a. Avoid Worldly Practices – 18:1-5 (Dc)

b. Incest and Other Uncleanness – 18:6-21 (Dd)

c. Homosexuality – 18:22-23 and 20:13 (De)

d. Covenant Loyalty to ADONAI – 18:24-30 (Df)

3. Practical Holiness – 19:1-37 (Dg)

a. Be Holy because ADONAI is Holy – 19:1-10 (Dh)

b. Love Your Neighbor as Yourself – 19:11-18 (Di)

c. Conforming to God’s Holiness – 19:19-37 (Dj)

4. Capital Punishment and Other Grave Crimes – 20:1-27 (Dk)

a. Religious Sins Deserving of Capital Punishment – 20:1-8 and 27 (Dl)

b. Family Sins Deserving of Capital Punishment – 20:9-26 (Dm)

B. Holiness for the Priests – 21:1 to 22:33 (Dn)

1. Prohibited Practices for the Priests – 21:1-15 (Do)

2. Priests with Defects – 21:16-24 (Dp)

3. Purity for Priests – 22:1-9 (Dq)

4. Who May Eat the Sacred Offerings – 22:10-16 (Dr)

5. The Unblemished Sacrifice – 22:17-25 (Ds)

6. Sacrifice after Eight Days – 22:26-28 (Dt)

7. Sanctifying the Name of God – 22:29-33 (Du)

VI. Holiness of the Seven Feasts – 23:1 to 25:55 (Dv)

A. God’s Appointed Times – 23:1-44 (Dw)

1. Shabbat – 23:1-4 (Dx)

2. Pesach – 23:5-8 (Dy)

3. Hag ha’Matzot – 23:6-8 (Dz)

4. Rasheet – 23:9-14 (Ea)

5. Counting the Omer – 23:15-16 (Eb)

6. Hag Shavu’ot – 23:17-21 (Ec)

7. The Four Month Interval – 23:22 (Ed)

8. Rosh ha’Shanah – 23:23-25 (Ee)

9. Yom Kippur – 23:26-32 (Ef)

10. Hag Sukkot – 23:33-44 (Eg)

11. Dr. Seuss Explains the Rules of the Sukkah (Eh)

B. Holiness in the Sanctuary – 24:1-9 (Ei)

C. The Blasphemer 24:10-23 (Ej)

D. The Sabbath Year and the Year of Jubilee – 25:1 to 26:2 (Ek)

1. The Sabbath Year – 25:1-7 (El)

2. The Year of Jubilee – 25:8 to 26:2 (Em)

a. The Freedom of the Year of Jubilee – 25:8-13 (En)

b. Leasing the Land – 25:14-17 (Eo)

c. Trusting God – 25:18-22 (Ep)

d. Immanuel’s Land – 25:23-28 (Eq)

e. Selling Homes – 25:29-34 (Er)

f. The Poor and Debt – 25:35-55 (Es)

(1) The Poor and Interest – 25:35-38 (Et)

(2) Jewish and Gentile Slaves – 25:39-46 (Eu)

(3) Redeeming Your Brother – 25:47-55 and 26:1-2 (Ev)

VII. Holiness of the Mosaic Covenant – 26:3-46 (Ew)

A. Blessings for Obedience – 26:3-13 (Ex)

B. Discipline for Disobedience – 26:14-39 (Ey)

C. The Restoration of Isra’el – 26:40-46 (Ez)

VIII. Holiness of the Vow – 27:1-34 (Fa)

A. Personal Vows – 27:1-8 (Fb)

B. Vowing Animal Sacrifices – 27:9-13 (Fc)

C. Vowing a House or Field – 27:14-25 (Fd)

D. Forbidden Vows – 27:26-27 (Fe)

E. Cherem – 27:28-29 (Ff)

F. Mitzvot on Tithes – 27:30-34 (Fg)

Endnotes (Fh)

Bibliography (Fi)

Leviticus, Where Life and the Bible Meet

1. Look at the outline (Ab), and the Introduction (Ac) before starting on the commentary itself.

2. The DIG and REFLECT questions are in bold gray and will help to give you a deeper understanding of the book and make it more personal to you. Go slowly and give yourself time to answer these questions. They really strike at the heart of the commentary. What are the DIG questions for? To dig into the Scripture “story.” To find out what’s going on, to figure out the main idea, the plot, the argument, the spiritual principle, and so on. What are the REFLECT questions for? To apply the “story” in the Scripture to your own life; to take personal inventory and to decide what you are going to do about it! Many of the DIG and REFLECT questions are taken from the Serendipity Bible.

3. I would strongly suggest that you look up the references that are given in each section. Many times this will greatly enhance the background, and hence, your understanding of the Scriptures that you are reading on a particular day. Take your time, read only as much as you can digest.

There are times when I refer you to either another file in Isaiah, or a file in another book of the Bible, to give you more detail on a particular person, topic, concept or theology. An example might be something like the Great Sanhedrin (see my commentary on The Life of Christ, to see link click Lg – The Great Sanhedrin). If you feel you already know enough about the Great Sanhedrin, you can skip the reference and continue reading. But if it interests you, or if you don’t know what the Great Sanhedrin is, you can go to that file and read it first before continuing. It’s your choice. 

4. All Scripture is in bold print. The NIV is used unless indicated otherwise. However, sometimes the purpose of the bold print is merely for emphasizing a certain point. When bold maroon is used, it is for special emphasis. The words of Yeshua are bold in red.

5. When bold teal is used in the text, it is quoted from one of the two Jewish commentaries listed in the bibliography. This will give you the moderate Orthodox Jewish interpretation. It is useful for word studies, but its Christology is obviously entirely wrong. Where rabbinical interpretation is cited, I will add, “The rabbis teach. . .” in front of the passage. Although it is not a Christian interpretation, I think it is interesting to see how the rabbis interpret these passages.

6. Read the Scriptures for a particular day first, then skim the DIG or REFLECT questions, read the commentary and reflect on it; answer the DIG or REFLECT questions, then read your Bible again. Hopefully, it will have greater meaning for you the second time you read it. Then live it out.

7. If you come to a Jewish word or phrase that you don’t understand see the Glossary (see Ad – Glossary).

8. To download a pdf file, click on the red rectangle on the top of any page.

9. You can download anything you want from this devotional commentary for bible study © 2023 but all rights are reserved by Jay David Mack, M.Div and nothing can be sold.