Thursday, May 31, 2012

Reflections on Leviticus 23


    Leviticus 23 (Contemporary English Version)
  1. The LORD told Moses
  2. to say to the community of Israel: I have chosen certain times for you to come together and worship me.
  3. You have six days when you can do your work, but the seventh day of each week is holy because it belongs to me. No matter where you live, you must rest on the Sabbath and come together for worship. This law will never change.
  4. Passover is another time when you must come together to worship me, and it must be celebrated on the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month of each year.
  5. (SEE 23:4)
  6. The Festival of Thin Bread begins on the fifteenth day of that same month, it lasts seven days, and during this time you must honor me by eating bread made without yeast.
  7. On the first day of this festival you must rest from your work and come together for worship.
  8. Each day of this festival you must offer sacrifices. Then on the final day you must once again rest from your work and come together for worship.
  9. The LORD told Moses
  10. to say to the community of Israel: After you enter the land I am giving you, the first bundle of wheat from each crop must be given to me. So bring it to a priest
  11. on the day after the Sabbath. He will lift it up in dedication to me, and I will accept you.
  12. You must also offer a sacrifice to please me. So bring the priest a one-year-old lamb that has nothing wrong with it
  13. and four pounds of your finest flour mixed with olive oil. Then he will place these on the bronze altar and send them up in smoke with a smell that pleases me. Together with these, you must bring a quart of wine as a drink offering.
  14. I am your God, and I forbid you to eat any new grain or anything made from it until you have brought these offerings. This law will never change.
  15. Seven weeks after you offer this bundle of grain, each family must bring another offering of new grain.
  16. Do this exactly fifty days later, which is the day following the seventh Sabbath.
  17. Bring two loaves of bread to be lifted up in dedication to me. Each loaf is to be made with yeast and with four pounds of the finest flour from the first part of your harvest.
  18. At this same time, the entire community of Israel must bring seven lambs that are a year old, a young bull, and two rams. These animals must have nothing wrong with them, and they must be offered as a sacrifice to please me. You must also offer the proper grain and wine sacrifices with each animal.
  19. Offer a goat as a sacrifice for sin, and two rams a year old as a sacrifice to ask my blessing.
  20. The priest will lift up the rams together with the bread in dedication to me. These offerings are holy and are my gift to the priest.
  21. This is a day of celebration and worship, a time of rest from your work. You and your descendants must obey this law.
  22. When you harvest your grain, always leave some of it standing around the edges of your fields and don't pick up what falls on the ground. Leave it for the poor and for those foreigners who live among you. I am the LORD your God!
  23. The LORD told Moses
  24. to say to the people of Israel: The first day of the seventh month must be a day of complete rest. Then at the sound of the trumpets, you will come together to worship and to offer sacrifices on the altar.
  25. (SEE 23:24)
  26. The LORD God said to Moses:
  27. The tenth day of the seventh month is the Great Day of Forgiveness. It is a solemn day of worship, everyone must go without eating to show sorrow for their sins, and sacrifices must be burned.
  28. No one is to work on that day--it is the Great Day of Forgiveness, when sacrifices will be offered to me, so that I will forgive your sins.
  29. I will destroy anyone who refuses to go without eating.
  30. None of my people are ever to do any work on that day--not now or in the future. And I will wipe out those who do!
  31. (SEE 23:30)
  32. This is a time of complete rest just like the Sabbath, and everyone must go without eating from the evening of the ninth to the evening of the tenth.
  33. The LORD told Moses
  34. to say to the community of Israel: Beginning on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, and continuing for seven days, everyone must celebrate the Festival of Shelters in honor of me.
  35. No one is to do any work on the first day of the festival--it is a time when everyone must come together for worship.
  36. For seven days, sacrifices must be offered on the altar. The eighth day is also to be a day of complete rest, as well as a time of offering sacrifices on the altar and of coming together for worship.
  37. I have chosen these festivals as times when my people must come together for worship and when animals, grain, and wine are to be offered on the proper days.
  38. These festivals must be celebrated in addition to the Sabbaths and the times when you offer special gifts or sacrifices to keep a promise or as a voluntary offering.
  39. Remember to begin the Festival of Shelters on the fifteenth day of the seventh month after you have harvested your crops. Celebrate this festival for seven days in honor of me and don't do any work on the first day or on the day following the festival.
  40. Pick the best fruit from your trees and cut leafy branches to use during the time of this joyous celebration in my honor.
  41. I command you and all of your descendants to celebrate this festival during the seventh month of each year.
  42. For seven days every Israelite must live in a shelter,
  43. so future generations will know that I made their ancestors live in shelters when I brought them out of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.
  44. This is how Moses instructed the people of Israel to celebrate the LORD's festivals.



    Chapter 23 outlines the various festivals Israel was to commemorate to always remind her and teach to future generations how the Lord provided for them. In part they were reminded of the Lord's deliverance out of Egypt and to the promised land, and in part they were reminded of His provision year by year.

    First they were reminded to faithfully observe the weekly Sabbath. Then, depending on how they are counted, there are six or seven feasts designated. Some count the Feast of Firstfruits as a separate feast, others do not. Counting it separately, there are these seven feasts:

    • The Passover (23:4, 5) -  Commemorated Israel's redemption from slavery in Egypt.
    • The Feast of Unleavened Bread (23:6-8) -  Commemorated the separation of Israel's past in Egypt and future in the land the Lord gave her. Instead of taking a lump from an old loaf of bread as yeast for a new loaf, Israel started fresh with unleavened bread, thus symbolizing a break from the past. 
    • The Feast of Firstfruits (23:9-14) -  Marked the beginning of the barley harvest, the first grain of the year.
    • The Feast of Weeks (23:15-22) -  It was a harvest festival thanking God for the beginning of the wheat harvest. 
    • The Feast of Trumpets (23:23-25) -  The blowing of trumpets called the sons of Israel together for a solemn holy convocation.
    • The Day of Atonement (23:26-32) -  Although the Day of Atonement is listed among the feasts of Jehovah, it was actually a time for fasting rather than feasting.
    • The Feast of Tabernacles (23:33-44) -  The Jewish people built booth-like structures and lived in them during this feast as a reminder of the temporary dwellings the Israelites had in the wilderness.

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Reflections on Leviticus 22


    Leviticus 22 (Contemporary English Version)
  1. The LORD told Moses
  2. to say to Aaron and his sons: I am the LORD God, and I demand that you honor my holy name by showing proper respect for the offerings brought to me by the people of Israel.
  3. If any of you are unclean when you accept an offering for me, I will no longer let you serve as a priest.
  4. None of you may take part in the sacred meals while you have a skin disease or an infected penis, or after you have been near a dead body or have had a flow of semen,
  5. or if you have touched an unclean creature of any sort, including an unclean person.
  6. Once you are unclean, you must take a bath, but you still cannot eat any of the sacred food until evening.
  7. (SEE 22:6)
  8. I command you not to eat anything that is killed by a wild animal or dies a natural death. This would make you unclean.
  9. Obey me, or you will die on duty for disgracing the place of worship. Remember--I am the LORD, the one who makes a priest holy.
  10. Only you priests and your families may eat the food offerings, these are too sacred for any of your servants.
  11. However, any slave that you own, including those born into your household, may eat this food.
  12. If your daughter marries someone who isn't a priest, she can no longer have any of this food.
  13. But if she returns to your home, either widowed or divorced, and has no children, she may join in the meal. Only members of a priestly family can eat this food,
  14. and anyone else who accidentally does so, must pay for the food plus a fine of twenty percent.
  15. I warn you not to treat lightly the offerings that are brought by the people of Israel.
  16. Don't let them become guilty of eating this sacred food. Remember--I am the LORD, the one who makes these offerings holy.
  17. The LORD told Moses
  18. to tell Aaron and his sons and everyone else the rules for offering sacrifices. He said: The animals that are to be completely burned on the altar
  19. must have nothing wrong with them, or else I won't accept them. Bulls or rams or goats are the animals to be used for these sacrifices.
  20. (SEE 22:19)
  21. When you offer a sacrifice to ask my blessing, there must be nothing wrong with the animal. This is true, whether the sacrifice is part of a promise or something you do voluntarily.
  22. Don't offer an animal that is blind or injured or that has an infection or a skin disease.
  23. If one of your cattle or lambs has a leg that is longer or shorter than the others, you may offer it voluntarily, but not as part of a promise.
  24. As long as you live in this land, don't offer an animal with injured testicles.
  25. And don't bring me animals you bought from a foreigner. I won't accept them, because they are no better than one that has something wrong with it.
  26. The LORD told Moses to say:
  27. Newborn cattle, sheep, or goats must remain with their mothers for seven days, but on the eighth day, you may send them up in smoke to me, and I will accept the offering.
  28. Don't sacrifice a newborn animal and its mother on the same day.
  29. When you offer a sacrifice to give thanks to me, you must do it in a way that is acceptable.
  30. Eat all of the meat that same day and don't save any for the next day. I am the LORD your God!
  31. Obey my laws and teachings--I am the LORD.
  32. I demand respect from the people of Israel, so don't disgrace my holy name. Remember--I am the one who chose you to be priests and rescued all of you from Egypt, so that I would be your LORD.
  33. (SEE 22:32)



    The subject of this chapter is God's holiness. It is highlighted through reminders concerning proper respect for the offerings. For instance, the priests were reminded to "deal respectfully with the holy offerings of the Israelites that they have consecrated to Me, so they do not profane My holy name; I am the LORD." (22:2) They were to do this by not approaching the holy offerings when they were in a state of uncleanness. Neither could they eat food from offerings designated specifically for the priests if they were in a state of uncleanness. They had to wait until they were ceremonially clean.

    No one but the priests and those living in their households could eat the food from offerings designated for the priests and their households. If they had temporary house guests or a worker staying in the house temporarily these could not eat of this food. However, a permanent slave could. Members of the family who did not live in the same house as the priest could not eat of the food.

    Further reminders dealt with the animals offered for sacrifice: "You are not to present anything that has a defect, because it will not be accepted on your behalf." (22:20) Several examples are given. There was an exception, however, for a freewill offering. An animal could be presented for this offering that had an "elongated or stunted limb." A newborn animal was not acceptable for an offering until it was eight days old, and it was not to be offered on the same day as its mother.

    The chapter concludes as it began: "You must not profane My holy name." (22:32) Profaning the Lord's name was avoided by keeping His commands. If one considers God holy and has respect for Him, he will keep His commands. If a person does not keep the Lord's commands, this is evidence they do not consider Him holy or respect Him. 

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Reflections on Leviticus 21


    Leviticus 20 (Contemporary English Version)
  1. The LORD told Moses
  2. to say to the community of Israel: Death by stoning is the penalty for any citizens or foreigners in the country who sacrifice their children to the god Molech.
  3. They have disgraced both the place where I am worshiped and my holy name, and so I will turn against them and no longer let them belong to my people.
  4. Some of you may let them get away with human sacrifice,
  5. but not me. If any of you worship Molech, I will turn against you and your entire family, and I will no longer let you belong to my people.
  6. I will be your enemy if you go to someone who claims to speak with the dead, and I will destroy you from among my people.
  7. Dedicate yourselves to me and be holy because I am the LORD your God.
  8. I have chosen you as my people, and I expect you to obey my laws.
  9. If you curse your father or mother, you will be put to death, and it will be your own fault.
  10. If any of you men have sex with another man's wife, both you and the woman will be put to death.
  11. Having sex with one of your father's wives disgraces him. So both you and the woman will be put to death, just as you deserve.
  12. It isn't natural to have sex with your daughter-in-law, and both of you will be put to death, just as you deserve.
  13. It's disgusting for men to have sex with one another, and those who do will be put to death, just as they deserve.
  14. It isn't natural for a man to marry both a mother and her daughter, and so all three of them will be burned to death.
  15. If any of you have sex with an animal, both you and the animal will be put to death, just as you deserve.
  16. (SEE 20:15)
  17. If you marry one of your sisters, you will be punished, and the two of you will be disgraced by being openly forced out of the community.
  18. If you have sex with a woman during her monthly period, both you and the woman will be cut off from the people of Israel.
  19. The sisters of your father and mother are your own relatives, and you will be punished for having sex with any of them.
  20. If you have sex with your uncle's wife, neither you nor she will ever have any children.
  21. And if you marry your sister-in-law, neither of you will ever have any children.
  22. Obey my laws and teachings. Or else the land I am giving you will become sick of you and throw you out.
  23. The nations I am chasing out did these disgusting things, and I hated them for it, so don't follow their example.
  24. I am the LORD your God, and I have promised you their land that is rich with milk and honey. I have chosen you to be different from other people.
  25. That's why you must make a difference between animals and birds that I have said are clean and unclean --this will keep you from becoming disgusting to me.
  26. I am the LORD, the holy God. You have been chosen to be my people, and so you must be holy too.
  27. If you claim to receive messages from the dead, you will be put to death by stoning, just as you deserve.



    The regulations outlined in this chapter are directed to the priests and high priests.  Prior to this chapter regulations had been given regarding what was clean and unclean. An ordinary person might, even out of necessity, handle something that made him unclean. He was not forbidden to do so, but he was required to follow the rituals for becoming clean which involved washing and waiting. That is, he must wash his clothes and wait until evening before he became clean again.

    Priests, on the other hand, were forbidden from doing anything that made them unclean. They were the ones who came before the Lord in the sanctuary to offer sacrifices and therefore must not become ceremonially unclean. Specifically prohibited in this chapter was becoming unclean for a dead person. A priest could become unclean for a dead person who was an immediate family member living within his household, but not for anyone beyond that even though he might be related to them. Being in the same tent with a dead person made one unclean so this would be hard to avoid should there be a death within the family of a priest. It is likely that this is only one example of a priest becoming unclean and that he was to avoid becoming unclean in any manner.

    Among other restrictions given the priests were pagan mourning customs. A priest was not to "make bald spots on their heads, shave the edge of their beards, or make gashes on their bodies." (20:5) Neither was a priest to marry a woman who had been a prostitute or was divorced. The high priest was not even to marry a widow. He could marry only a virgin. This restriction was specially to guarantee a pure lineage of the high priest, leaving no chance that by marrying a widow that she might already be pregnant at the time of marriage and the child who would follow him as high priest not be his own.

    Neither was a priest to have any physical defect.  A person who would otherwise qualify to be a priest was allowed to eat the food that normally went to the priests, but if he had a physical defect he could not "come near to present the fire offerings to the LORD." (20:21) We are inclined to wonder why such a restriction was made as if a person with a physical defect were a second rate person, but no explanation is given. We can only guess that it was related to the sacrificial system itself. No offering could be made of an animal or bird or grain, etc, that was defective in any way. Only the best was to be given to the Lord. Therefore, it is likely that the same held true for those who brought the offerings before the Lord.

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Reflections on Leviticus 20


    Leviticus 20 (Contemporary English Version)
  1. The LORD told Moses
  2. to say to the community of Israel: Death by stoning is the penalty for any citizens or foreigners in the country who sacrifice their children to the god Molech.
  3. They have disgraced both the place where I am worshiped and my holy name, and so I will turn against them and no longer let them belong to my people.
  4. Some of you may let them get away with human sacrifice,
  5. but not me. If any of you worship Molech, I will turn against you and your entire family, and I will no longer let you belong to my people.
  6. I will be your enemy if you go to someone who claims to speak with the dead, and I will destroy you from among my people.
  7. Dedicate yourselves to me and be holy because I am the LORD your God.
  8. I have chosen you as my people, and I expect you to obey my laws.
  9. If you curse your father or mother, you will be put to death, and it will be your own fault.
  10. If any of you men have sex with another man's wife, both you and the woman will be put to death.
  11. Having sex with one of your father's wives disgraces him. So both you and the woman will be put to death, just as you deserve.
  12. It isn't natural to have sex with your daughter-in-law, and both of you will be put to death, just as you deserve.
  13. It's disgusting for men to have sex with one another, and those who do will be put to death, just as they deserve.
  14. It isn't natural for a man to marry both a mother and her daughter, and so all three of them will be burned to death.
  15. If any of you have sex with an animal, both you and the animal will be put to death, just as you deserve.
  16. (SEE 20:15)
  17. If you marry one of your sisters, you will be punished, and the two of you will be disgraced by being openly forced out of the community.
  18. If you have sex with a woman during her monthly period, both you and the woman will be cut off from the people of Israel.
  19. The sisters of your father and mother are your own relatives, and you will be punished for having sex with any of them.
  20. If you have sex with your uncle's wife, neither you nor she will ever have any children.
  21. And if you marry your sister-in-law, neither of you will ever have any children.
  22. Obey my laws and teachings. Or else the land I am giving you will become sick of you and throw you out.
  23. The nations I am chasing out did these disgusting things, and I hated them for it, so don't follow their example.
  24. I am the LORD your God, and I have promised you their land that is rich with milk and honey. I have chosen you to be different from other people.
  25. That's why you must make a difference between animals and birds that I have said are clean and unclean --this will keep you from becoming disgusting to me.
  26. I am the LORD, the holy God. You have been chosen to be my people, and so you must be holy too.
  27. If you claim to receive messages from the dead, you will be put to death by stoning, just as you deserve.



    Punishments for offenses previously listed are given in this chapter. Most, though not all, of the punishments given here are for the death penalty. It is prescribed for serious offenses against life, religion, and the family and was considered essential to prevent sin from infecting the whole community. The basis for avoiding these offenses and for such strong punishments was that they were God's people and must be holy as He is holy. If we are to have fellowship with our Creator and enjoy the full benefits of His creation, we must live as He intended for us to live. It is not as many might depict it in which God is a vindictive God who imposes arbitrary rules and punishments on His people. That is, if there is indeed a God, according to their thinking.

    There is indeed a God, and He loves the people He has made enough to want them to fully enjoy the life He has given them. Rather than being arbitrary rules, these restrictions are designed to help us avoid those things that will keep us from enjoying the life He has given us. As our Creator He knows what those are. But we tend to be like children who want what we want and question whether the prohibited activity will truly cause harm. So to determine whether or not we might participate in a prohibited activity we ask the question, "what's the harm?" when we should be asking, "what's the benefit?" In making these choices, too many of us are like Esau who traded his birthright for instant and short-term gratification.

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Reflections on Leviticus 19


    Leviticus 19 (Contemporary English Version)
  1. The LORD told Moses
  2. to say to the community of Israel: I am the LORD your God. I am holy, and you must be holy too!
  3. Respect your father and your mother, honor the Sabbath, and don't make idols or images. I am the LORD your God.
  4. (SEE 19:3)
  5. When you offer a sacrifice to ask my blessing, be sure to follow my instructions.
  6. You may eat the meat either on the day of the sacrifice or on the next day, but you must burn anything left until the third day.
  7. If you eat any of it on the third day, the sacrifice will be disgusting to me, and I will reject it.
  8. In fact, you will be punished for not respecting what I say is holy, and you will no longer belong to the community of Israel.
  9. When you harvest your grain, always leave some of it standing along the edges of your fields and don't pick up what falls on the ground.
  10. Don't strip your grapevines clean or gather the grapes that fall off the vines. Leave them for the poor and for those foreigners who live among you. I am the LORD your God.
  11. Do not steal or tell lies or cheat others.
  12. Do not misuse my name by making promises you don't intend to keep. I am the LORD your God.
  13. Do not steal anything or cheat anyone, and don't fail to pay your workers at the end of each day.
  14. I am the LORD your God, and I command you not to make fun of the deaf or to cause a blind person to stumble.
  15. Be fair, no matter who is on trial--don't favor either the poor or the rich.
  16. Don't be a gossip, but never hesitate to speak up in court, especially if your testimony can save someone's life.
  17. Don't hold grudges. On the other hand, it's wrong not to correct someone who needs correcting.
  18. Stop being angry and don't try to take revenge. I am the LORD, and I command you to love others as much as you love yourself.
  19. Breed your livestock animals only with animals of the same kind, and don't plant two kinds of seed in the same field or wear clothes made of different kinds of material.
  20. If a man has sex with a slave woman who is promised in marriage to someone else, he must pay a fine, but they are not to be put to death. After all, she was still a slave at the time.
  21. The man must bring a ram to the entrance of the sacred tent and give it to a priest, who will then offer it as a sacrifice to me, so the man's sins will be forgiven.
  22. (SEE 19:21)
  23. After you enter the land, you will plant fruit trees, but you are not to eat any of their fruit for the first three years.
  24. In the fourth year the fruit must be set apart, as an expression of thanks
  25. to me, the LORD God. Do this, and in the fifth year, those trees will produce an abundant harvest of fruit for you to eat.
  26. Don't eat the blood of any animal. Don't practice any kind of witchcraft.
  27. I forbid you to shave any part of your head or beard or to cut and tattoo yourself as a way of worshiping the dead.
  28. (SEE 19:27)
  29. Don't let your daughters serve as temple prostitutes--this would bring disgrace both to them and the land.
  30. I command you to respect the Sabbath and the place where I am worshiped.
  31. Don't make yourselves disgusting to me by going to people who claim they can talk to the dead.
  32. I command you to show respect for older people and to obey me with fear and trembling.
  33. Don't mistreat any foreigners who live in your land.
  34. Instead, treat them as well as you treat citizens and love them as much as you love yourself. Remember, you were once foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.
  35. Use honest scales and don't cheat when you weigh or measure anything. I am the LORD your God. I rescued you from Egypt,
  36. (SEE 19:35)
  37. and I command you to obey my laws.



    God addressed the entire Israelite community with this list of instructions in chapter 19 that cover all aspects of life. The basis of these instructions was holiness: both God's holiness and that of the people. God is holy and His people must be also. The starting place for this holiness was in the home by respecting parents and also included worshipping God by keeping the sabbath. Worshipping God was a travesty unless one turned from the worship of idols. The two are not compatible. By observing these instructions, the rest were more likely to be observed.

    The remainder of instructions included: provision for the poor, honesty, love for the neighbor and the foreigner in the land, consideration of the handicapped, and justice. Much of the instructions regarding honesty and treatment of others could be summarized under love for neighbor. Jesus pointed out that love for God and love for neighbor summed up the entire law. The same could be said of the instructions in this chapter. 

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Reflections on Leviticus 18


    Leviticus 18 (Contemporary English Version)
  1. The LORD told Moses
  2. to tell the people of Israel: I am the LORD your God!
  3. So don't follow the customs of Egypt where you used to live or those of Canaan where I am bringing you.
  4. I am the LORD your God, and you must obey my teachings.
  5. Obey them and you will live. I am the LORD.
  6. Don't have sex with any of your close relatives,
  7. especially your own mother. This would disgrace your father.
  8. And don't disgrace him by having sex with any of his other wives.
  9. Don't have sex with your sister or stepsister, whether you grew up together or not.
  10. Don't disgrace yourself by having sex with your granddaughter
  11. or half sister
  12. or a sister of your father or mother.
  13. (SEE 18:12)
  14. Don't disgrace your uncle by having sex with his wife.
  15. Don't have sex with your daughter-in-law
  16. or sister-in-law.
  17. And don't have sex with the daughter or granddaughter of any woman that you have earlier had sex with. You may be having sex with a relative, and that would make you unclean.
  18. As long as your wife is alive, don't cause trouble for her by taking one of her sisters as a second wife.
  19. When a woman is having her monthly period, she is unclean, so don't have sex with her.
  20. Don't have sex with another man's wife--that would make you unclean.
  21. Don't sacrifice your children on the altar fires to the god Molech. I am the LORD your God, and that would disgrace me.
  22. It is disgusting for a man to have sex with another man.
  23. Anyone who has sex with an animal is unclean.
  24. Don't make yourselves unclean by any of these disgusting practices of those nations that I am forcing out of the land for you. They made themselves
  25. and the land so unclean, that I punished the land because of their sins, and I made it vomit them up.
  26. Now don't do these sickening things that make the land filthy. Instead, obey my laws and teachings.
  27. (SEE 18:26)
  28. Then the land won't become sick of you and vomit you up, just as it did them.
  29. If any of you do these vulgar, disgusting things, you will be unclean and no longer belong to my people. I am the LORD your God, and I forbid you to follow their sickening way of life.
  30. (SEE 18:29)



    Chapter 18 begins a section on morality and nonconformity to pagan practices. It is no accident that pagan religious practices and morality are mentioned together, for the two go together in practice. One's morality is a product of his theology - his concept of God. It may often be stated in reverse as well: one's theology is a product of his morality. Though one's world view (his view of life and all its parts) is undoubtedly a product of how he views God, man often goes full circle to form a religion based on his world view. Though man has a naturally formed perception of the existence of a god, this perception does not naturally take on an accurate perception of that God. Satan sees to that. This was a reality God was addressing by choosing a special people for Himself. Though even this chosen people did not remain faithful to God, it was through them that God provided a means for mankind to be made right with Himself and to walk faithfully with Him.  That means was the Messiah - Jesus Christ.

    In this chapter God began instructing His chosen people concerning a lifestyle that would bring them happiness and avoid bringing a curse. It was in sharp contrast to the lifestyle of both the Egyptians whom they had left and the people living in the land to which they were going and which was to become theirs. It was because of the perverse lifestyle of these people that God was removing them and giving the land to the Israelites. He did not want Israel to follow in their footsteps with a similar result.

    The first restriction was summed up in verse 6: "You are not to come near any close relative for sexual intercourse." Several verses following this statement define who is considered a close relative.  Furthermore, they were not to have sexual intercourse with someone of the same sex, which God considers "detestable," or with an animal, which He considers a "perversion." (18:22, 23)  There is only a very brief reference in this chapter to pagan religious practice and it is found in verse 21: "You are not to make any of your children pass through the fire to Molech." This is a reference to a pagan religious practice of sacrificing children.

    These were the practices of the people who would be driven out of the land of Canaan. It was because they "defiled themselves by all these things" that the land would "vomit out its inhabitants." (18:24, 25) Israel was not to commit "any of these abominations." Otherwise the land "will vomit you out as it has vomited out the nations that were before you." (18:28)

Monday, May 21, 2012

Reflections on Leviticus 17


    Leviticus 17 (Contemporary English Version)
  1. The LORD told Moses
  2. to tell Aaron, his sons, and everyone else in Israel:
  3. Whenever you kill any of your cattle, sheep, or goats as sacrifices to me, you must do it at the entrance to the sacred tent. If you don't, you will be guilty of pouring out blood, and you will no longer belong to the community of Israel.
  4. (SEE 17:3)
  5. And so, when you sacrifice an animal to ask my blessing, it must not be done out in a field,
  6. but in front of the sacred tent. Then a priest can splatter its blood against the bronze altar and send its fat up in smoke with a smell that pleases me.
  7. Don't ever turn from me again and offer sacrifices to goat-demons. This law will never change.
  8. Remember! No one in Israel, including foreigners, is to offer a sacrifice anywhere
  9. except at the entrance to the sacred tent. If you do, you will no longer belong to my people.
  10. I will turn against any of my people who eat blood. This also includes any foreigners living among you.
  11. Life is in the blood, and I have given you the blood of animals to sacrifice in place of your own.
  12. That's also why I have forbidden you to eat blood.
  13. Even if you should hunt and kill a bird or an animal, you must drain out the blood and cover it with soil.
  14. The life of every living creature is in its blood. That's why I have forbidden you to eat blood and why I have warned you that anyone who does will no longer belong to my people.
  15. If you happen to find a dead animal and eat it, you must take a bath and wash your clothes, but you are still unclean until evening.
  16. If you don't take a bath, you will suffer for what you did wrong.



    This chapter deals with killing animals apart from sacrificial offerings and with the eating of meat that had blood in it.  While the Israelites were in the wilderness with God's provision of manna and quail for food and a limited source of domesticated animals for sacrifices, the people were prohibited from killing domesticated animals apart from sacrificial offerings. If they wanted meat to eat other than quail, they must first offer the animal as a sacrifice. An additional reason for this prohibition apart from the limited source of sacrificial animals was to prohibit any sacrifices to the goat-demons. A practice they picked up in Egypt.

    There are multiple references in Leviticus to eating of meat with the blood still in it. This reference in chapter 17 is the clearest and provides the rationale behind it. God says He will turn against anyone, Israelite or foreigner living among the Israelites, who "eats any blood."  Such person will be "cut off from his people." (17:10) The reason is that "the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have appointed it to you to make atonement on the altar for your lives, since it is the lifeblood that makes atonement." (17:11) With this prohibition against eating blood, the Israelites were told they could hunt wild animals and birds for food only if they "drain its blood and cover it with dirt." (17:13)

    The final regulation of the chapter regarded the eating of an animal that had died of natural causes. Since the blood would not have been drained properly the person eating it would be unclean and must "wash his clothes and bathe himself." (17:16)

Friday, May 18, 2012

Reflections on Leviticus 16


    Leviticus 16 (Contemporary English Version)
  1. Two of Aaron's sons had already lost their lives for disobeying the LORD, so the LORD told Moses to say to Aaron: I, the LORD, appear in a cloud over the place of mercy on the sacred chest, which is behind the inside curtain of the sacred tent. And I warn you not to go there except at the proper time. Otherwise, you will die!
  2. (SEE 16:1)
  3. Before entering this most holy place, you must offer a bull as a sacrifice for your sins and a ram as a sacrifice to please me.
  4. You will take a bath and put on the sacred linen clothes, including the underwear, the robe, the sash, and the turban.
  5. Then the community of Israel will bring you a ram and two goats, both of them males. The goats are to be used as sacrifices for sin, and the ram is to be used as a sacrifice to please me.
  6. Aaron, you must offer the bull as a sacrifice of forgiveness for your own sins and for the sins of your family.
  7. Then you will lead the two goats into my presence at the front of the sacred tent,
  8. where I will show you which goat will be sacrificed to me and which one will be sent into the desert to the demon Azazel.
  9. After you offer the first goat as a sacrifice for sin,
  10. the other one must be presented to me alive, before you send it into the desert to take away the sins of the people.
  11. You must offer the bull as a sacrifice to ask forgiveness for your own sins and for the sins of your family.
  12. Then you will take a fire pan of live coals from the bronze altar, together with two handfuls of finely ground incense, into the most holy place.
  13. There you will present them to me by placing the incense on the coals, so that the place of mercy will be covered with a cloud of smoke. Do this, or you will die right there!
  14. Next, use a finger to sprinkle some of the blood on the place of mercy, which is on the lid of the sacred chest, then sprinkle blood seven times in front of the chest.
  15. Aaron, you must next sacrifice the goat for the sins of the people, and you must sprinkle its blood inside the most holy place, just as you did with the blood of the bull.
  16. By doing this, you will take away the sins that make both the most holy place and the people of Israel unclean. Do the same for the sacred tent, which is here among the people.
  17. Only you are allowed in the sacred tent from the time you enter until the time you come out.
  18. After leaving the tent, you will purify the bronze altar by smearing each of its four corners with some of the blood from the bull and from the goat.
  19. Use a finger to sprinkle the altar seven times with the blood, and it will be completely clean from the sins of the people.
  20. After you have purified the most holy place, the sacred tent, and the bronze altar, you must bring the live goat to the front of the tent.
  21. There you will lay your hands on its head, while confessing every sin the people have committed, and you will appoint someone to lead the goat into the desert, so that it can take away their sins.
  22. Finally, this goat that carries the heavy burden of Israel's sins must be released deep in the desert.
  23. Aaron, after this you must go inside the sacred tent, take a bath, put on your regular priestly clothes, and leave there the clothes you put on before entering the most holy place. Then you will come out and offer sacrifices to please me and sacrifices for your sins and for the sins of the people.
  24. (SEE 16:23)
  25. The fat from these sacrifices for sin must be sent up in smoke on the bronze altar.
  26. The one who led the goat into the desert and sent it off to the demon Azazel must take a bath and wash his clothes before coming back into camp.
  27. The remains of the bull and the goat whose blood was taken into the most holy place must be taken outside the camp and burned.
  28. And whoever does this must take a bath and change clothes before coming back into camp.
  29. On the tenth day of the seventh month of each year, you must go without eating to show sorrow for your sins, and no one, including foreigners who live among you, is allowed to work.
  30. This is the day on which the sacrifice for the forgiveness of your sins will be made in my presence,
  31. and from now on, it must be celebrated each year. Go without eating and make this a day of complete rest just like the Sabbath.
  32. The high priest must offer the sacrifices for cleansing from sin, while wearing the sacred linen clothes.
  33. He will offer these sacrifices for the most holy place, the sacred tent, the bronze altar, all the priests, and for the whole community.
  34. You must celebrate this day each year--it is the Great Day of Forgiveness for all the sins of the people of Israel. Moses did exactly as the LORD had commanded.



    Events of the Day of Atonement are the subject of chapter 16. It was the only day each year that the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies. It was the day he atoned for his own sins and those of the people. The backdrop of this first Day of Atonement was the deaths of Aaron's two sons who died because they "approached the presence of the LORD" unauthorized. With this reminder to Aaron of what happened when a priest did not follow the Lord's instuctions, the Lord told him, through Moses, that he "may not come whenever he wants into the holy place behind the veil in front of the mercy seat on the ark or else he will die." The Lord then proceeded to give instructions for how Aaron was to enter the Holy of Holies and thus the instructions for the Day of Atonement.

    The atonement began in the Holy of Holies and worked outward to the Holy Place, and finally to the brazen altar. Aaron started by killing "a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering," to offer for his own sins and those of his household. Then, wearing a holy linen tunic, and linen undergarments, rather than his priestly garb, he entered the Holy of Holies taking with him a censer of burning coals and poured incense over the live coals. Then he went back out to the altar of burnt offering and took back into the Holy of Holies some blood of the bull he had sacrificed and sprinkled it on top and in front of the mercy seat. Back out at the altar of burnt offering he killed one of the goats he had taken from the Israelite community for a sin offering and went back into the Holy of Holies to sprinkle its blood, as he did the blood of the bull.

    The goat offered for the sins of the people was chosen by lot between two goats taken from the community. The other goat remained alive, and at this point Aaron laid his hands on it, confessed the sins of the people, and the goat was led into the wilderness by a man chosen for this purpose. This was known as the scapegoat because he carried with him the sins of the people. Once the live goat was sent into the wilderness Aaron took off his linen clothes and put on his priestly attire and offered the burnt offerings. The Lord gave strict instructions that this Day of Atonement was to be a Sabbath of complete rest for Israel. On it, they were to practice self-denial.

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Reflections on Leviticus 15

 
    Leviticus 15 (Contemporary English Version)
  1. The LORD told Moses and Aaron
  2. to say to the community of Israel: Any man with an infected penis is unclean,
  3. whether it is stopped up or keeps dripping.
  4. Anything that he rests on or sits on is also unclean,
  5. and if you touch either these or him, you must wash your clothes and take a bath, but you still remain unclean until evening.
  6. (SEE 15:5)
  7. (SEE 15:5)
  8. If you are spit on by the man, you must wash your clothes and take a bath, but you still remain unclean until evening.
  9. Any saddle or seat on which the man sits is unclean. And if you touch or carry either of these, you must wash your clothes and take a bath, but you still remain unclean until evening.
  10. (SEE 15:9)
  11. If the man touches you without first washing his hands, you must wash your clothes and take a bath, but you still remain unclean until evening.
  12. Any clay pot that he touches must be destroyed, and any wooden bowl that he touches must be washed.
  13. Seven days after the man gets well, he will be considered clean, if he washes his clothes and takes a bath in spring water.
  14. On the eighth day he must bring either two doves or two pigeons to the front of my sacred tent and give them to a priest.
  15. The priest will offer one of the birds as a sacrifice for sin and the other as a sacrifice to please me, then I will consider the man completely clean.
  16. Any man who has a flow of semen must take a bath, but he still remains unclean until evening.
  17. If the semen touches anything made of cloth or leather, these must be washed, but they still remain unclean until evening.
  18. After having sex, both the man and the woman must take a bath, but they still remain unclean until evening.
  19. When a woman has her monthly period, she remains unclean for seven days, and if you touch her, you must take a bath, but you remain unclean until evening.
  20. Anything that she rests on or sits on is also unclean, and if you touch either of these, you must wash your clothes and take a bath, but you still remain unclean until evening.
  21. (SEE 15:20)
  22. (SEE 15:20)
  23. (SEE 15:20)
  24. Any man who has sex with her during this time becomes unclean for seven days, and anything he rests on is also unclean.
  25. Any woman who has a flow of blood outside her regular monthly period is unclean until it stops, just as she is during her monthly period.
  26. Anything that she rests on or sits on during this time is also unclean, just as it would be during her period.
  27. If you touch either of these, you must wash your clothes and take a bath, but you still remain unclean until evening.
  28. Seven days after the woman gets well, she will be considered clean.
  29. On the eighth day, she must bring either two doves or two pigeons to the front of my sacred tent and give them to a priest.
  30. He will offer one of the birds as a sacrifice for sin and the other as a sacrifice to please me, then I will consider the woman completely clean.
  31. When any of you are unclean, you must stay away from the rest of the community of Israel. Otherwise, my sacred tent will become unclean, and the whole nation will die.
  32. These are the things you men must do if you become unclean because of an infected penis or if you have a flow of semen. And these are the things you women must do when you become unclean either because of your monthly period or an unusual flow of blood. This is also what you men must do if you have sex with a woman who is unclean.
  33. (SEE 15:32)



    Male and female discharges, both normal discharges and chronic conditions, are addressed in this chapter. The normal discharges - a man's discharge of semen or a woman's monthly period - made them unclean but required only the wash-and-wait procedure. That is, they were to wash themselves and their clothes and wait until evening to become clean. No offering was required. However, in the case of a chronic discharge the procedure was similar to an infectious skin disease though there was no quarantine. Once they were cured they were to wash and then wait for seven days. On the eighth day they were to offer a sacrifice. These were low-cost sacrifices of two birds. Either two turtledoves or two young pigeons. 


    The reason for these regulations is given in verse 31: "You must keep the Israelites from their uncleanness, so that they do not die by defiling My tabernacle that is among them." Though we may not be able to fully explain why God considered these regulations necessary, we recognize that they gave the Israelites a reminder of their relationship with God in all parts of life. There was no compartmentalizing in which God was in certain parts of their lives and not in others. Their relationship with God involved every part of their lives.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Reflections on Leviticus 14


    Leviticus 14 (Contemporary English Version)
  1. The LORD told Moses to say to the people:
  2. After you think you are healed of leprosy, you must ask for a priest to come outside the camp and examine you. And if you are well,
  3. (SEE 14:2)
  4. he will have someone bring out two live birds that are acceptable for sacrifice, together with a stick of cedar wood, a piece of red yarn, and a branch from a hyssop plant.
  5. The priest will have someone kill one of the birds over a clay pot of spring water.
  6. Then he will dip the other bird, the cedar, the red yarn, and the hyssop in the blood of the dead bird.
  7. Next, he will sprinkle you seven times with the blood and say, "You are now clean." Finally, he will release the bird and let it fly away.
  8. After this you must wash your clothes, shave your entire body, and take a bath before you are completely clean. You may move back into camp, but you must not enter your tent for seven days.
  9. Then you must once again shave your head, face, and eyebrows, as well as the hair on the rest of your body. Finally, wash your clothes and take a bath, and you will be completely clean.
  10. On the eighth day you must bring to the priest two rams and a year-old female lamb that have nothing wrong with them, also bring a half pint of olive oil and six pounds of your finest flour mixed with oil.
  11. Then the priest will present you and your offerings to me at the entrance to my sacred tent.
  12. There he will offer one of the rams, together with the pint of oil, as a sacrifice to make things right. He will also lift them up to show that they are dedicated to me.
  13. This sacrifice is very holy. It belongs to the priest and must be killed in the same place where animals are killed as sacrifices for sins and as sacrifices to please me.
  14. The priest will smear some of the blood from this sacrifice on your right ear lobe, some on your right thumb, and some on the big toe of your right foot.
  15. He will then pour some of the olive oil into the palm of his left hand,
  16. dip a finger of his right hand into the oil, and sprinkle some of it seven times toward the sacred tent.
  17. Next, he will smear some of the oil on your right ear lobe, some on your right thumb, and some on the big toe of your right foot,
  18. and pour the rest of the oil from his palm on your head. Then he will offer the other two animals--one as a sacrifice for sin and the other as a sacrifice to please me, together with a grain sacrifice. After this you will be completely clean.
  19. (SEE 14:18)
  20. (SEE 14:18)
  21. If you are poor and cannot afford to offer this much, you may offer a ram as a sacrifice to make things right, together with a half pint of olive oil and two pounds of flour mixed with oil as a grain sacrifice. The priest will then lift these up to dedicate them to me.
  22. Depending on what you can afford, you must also offer either two doves or two pigeons, one as a sacrifice for sin and the other as a sacrifice to please me.
  23. The priest will offer these to me in front of the sacred tent on the eighth day.
  24. The priest will kill this ram for the sacrifice to make things right, and he will lift it up with the olive oil in dedication to me. Then he will smear some of the blood on your right ear lobe, some on your right thumb, and some on the big toe of your right foot.
  25. (SEE 14:24)
  26. The priest will pour some of the olive oil into the palm of his left hand,
  27. then dip a finger of his right hand in the oil and sprinkle some of it seven times toward the sacred tent.
  28. He will smear some of the oil on your right ear lobe, some on your right thumb, and some on the big toe of your right foot, just as he did with the blood of the sacrifice to make things right.
  29. And he will pour the rest of the oil from his palm on your head. Then, depending on what you can afford, he will offer either the doves or the pigeons together with the grain sacrifice. One of the birds is the sacrifice for sin, and the other is the sacrifice to please me. After this you will be completely clean.
  30. (SEE 14:29)
  31. (SEE 14:29)
  32. These are the things you must do if you have leprosy and cannot afford the usual sacrifices to make you clean.
  33. The LORD told Moses and Aaron to say to the people:
  34. After I have given you the land of Canaan as your permanent possession, here is what you must do, if I ever put mildew on the walls of any of your homes.
  35. First, you must say to a priest, "I think mildew is on the wall of my house."
  36. The priest will reply, "Empty the house before I inspect it, or else everything in it will be unclean."
  37. If the priest discovers greenish or reddish spots that go deeper than the surface of the walls,
  38. he will have the house closed for seven days.
  39. Then he will return and check to see if the mildew has spread.
  40. If so, he will have someone scrape the plaster from the walls, remove the filthy stones, then haul everything off and dump it in an unclean place outside the town.
  41. (SEE 14:40)
  42. Afterwards the wall must be repaired with new stones and fresh plaster.
  43. If the mildew appears a second time,
  44. the priest will come and say, "This house is unclean. It's covered with mildew that can't be removed."
  45. Then he will have the house torn down and every bit of wood, stone, and plaster hauled off to an unclean place outside the town.
  46. Meanwhile, if any of you entered the house while it was closed, you will be unclean until evening.
  47. And if you either slept or ate in the house, you must wash your clothes.
  48. On the other hand, if the priest discovers that mildew hasn't reappeared after the house was newly plastered, he will say, "This house is clean--the mildew has gone."
  49. Then, to show that the house is now clean, he will get two birds, a stick of cedar wood, a piece of red yarn, and a branch from a hyssop plant and bring them to the house.
  50. He will kill one of the birds over a clay pot of spring water
  51. and let its blood drain into the pot. Then he will dip the cedar, the hyssop, the yarn, and the other bird into the mixture of blood and water. Next, he will sprinkle the house seven times with the mixture, then the house will be completely clean.
  52. (SEE 14:51)
  53. Finally, he will release the bird and let it fly away, ending the ceremony for purifying the house.
  54. These are the things you must do if you discover that you are unclean because of an itch or a sore, or that your clothing or house is unclean because of mildew.
  55. (SEE 14:54)
  56. (SEE 14:54)
  57. (SEE 14:54)



    Chapter 14 is a followup to chapter 13 which discusses the procedures for determining if a person had an infectious skin disease and whether an object had mildew or mold. This followup chapter goes into detail concerning the cleansing rituals once the person or objects had been prounounced clean by the priests. These rituals were the same for either a person or an object.

    The cleansing rituals were in two parts. The first part took place when the person was first prounounced clean. The person was to bring to the priest two live clean birds, cedar wood, scarlet yarn, and hyssop. One of the birds was to be killed over a clay pot filled with fresh water. The other items, the second bird, wood, yarn, and hyssop, were to be dipped into the blood of the first bird. Then the blood was sprinkled seven times on the person to be cleansed. He was then pronounced clean and the live bird was released. Then the person was to wash their clothes, shave off all their hair, and bathe in water. All of this took place outside the camp. When it was completed the person could enter the camp but could not enter his tent for another seven days. After seven days they were to again shave their hair, wash their clothes, and bathe.

    The second part of the cleansing rituals took place eight days after the first. Whereas the first round of rituals took place outside the camp, this round took place at the entrance to the tent of meeting. It involved all four types of sacrifices: guilt, sin, burnt, and grain. The guilt offering was accompanied by a special ritual in which the priest took some of the blood from the offering and put it on the right ear lobe, the right thumb, and right big toe of the person being cleansed. Then the priest poured some olive oil into his left palm and with his right finger dipped into the oil and sprinkled it before the Lord. Then the priest repeated the placing of oil on the right ear lobe, thumb, and big toe of the one being cleansed. Once this was done the remaining oil was put on the head of the one being cleansed. Following this ritual the sin, burnt, and grain offering were made.

    The latter part of the chapter deals with the occurance of mold in a house. These procedures did not apply until Israel arrived in their new land and built houses of wood and stone. The procedures were similar to those for mold or mildew in other objects. And the cleansing rituals were similar to those described above for the cleansing of a person from an infectious skin disease.

Monday, May 14, 2012

Reflections on Leviticus 13


    Leviticus 13 (Contemporary English Version)
  1. The LORD told Moses and Aaron to say to the people:
  2. If sores or boils or a skin rash should break out and start spreading on your body, you must be brought to Aaron or to one of the other priests.
  3. If the priest discovers that the hair in the infected area has turned white and that the infection seems more than skin deep, he will say, "This is leprosy --you are unclean."
  4. But if the infected area is white and only skin deep, and if the hair in it hasn't turned white, the priest will order you to stay away from everyone else for seven days.
  5. If the disease hasn't spread by that time, he will order you to stay away from everyone else for another seven days.
  6. Then if the disease hasn't gotten any worse or spread, the priest will say, "You are clean. It was only a sore. After you wash your clothes, you may go home."
  7. However, if the disease comes back, you must return to the priest.
  8. If it is discovered that the disease has started spreading, he will say, "This is leprosy--you are unclean."
  9. Any of you with a skin disease must be brought to a priest.
  10. If he discovers that the sore spot is white with pus and that the hair around it has also turned white,
  11. he will say, "This is leprosy. You are unclean and must stay away from everyone else."
  12. But if the disease has run its course and only the scars remain, he will say, "You are clean."
  13. (SEE 13:12)
  14. If the sores come back and turn white with pus, he will say, "This is leprosy--you are unclean."
  15. (SEE 13:14)
  16. However, if the sores heal and only white spots remain, the priest will say, "You are now clean."
  17. (SEE 13:16)
  18. If you have a sore that either swells or turns reddish-white after it has healed, then you must show it to a priest.
  19. (SEE 13:18)
  20. If he discovers that the hair in the infected area has turned white and that the infection seems more than skin deep, he will say, "This is leprosy--you are unclean."
  21. But if the white area is only on the surface of the skin and hasn't gotten any worse, and if the hair in it hasn't turned white, he will have you stay away from everyone else for seven days.
  22. If the sore begins spreading during this time, the priest will say, "You are unclean because you have a disease."
  23. But if it doesn't spread, and only a scar remains, he will say, "You are now clean."
  24. If you have a burn that gets infected and turns red or reddish-white,
  25. a priest must examine it. Then if he discovers that the hair in the infected area has turned white and that the infection seems more than skin deep, he will say, "The burn has turned into leprosy, and you are unclean."
  26. But if the priest finds that the hair in the infected area hasn't turned white and that the sore is only skin deep and it is healing, he will have you stay away from everyone else for seven days.
  27. On the seventh day the priest will examine you again, and if the infection is spreading, he will say, "This is leprosy--you are unclean."
  28. However, if the infection hasn't spread and has begun to heal, and if only a scar remains, he will say, "Only a scar remains from the burn, and you are clean."
  29. If you have a sore on your head or chin,
  30. it must be examined by a priest. If the infection seems more than skin deep, and the hair in it has thinned out and lost its color, he will say, "This is leprosy--you are unclean."
  31. On the other hand, if he discovers that the itchy spot is only skin deep, but that the hair still isn't healthy, he will order you to stay away from everyone else for seven days.
  32. By that time, if the itch hasn't spread, if the hairs seem healthy, and if the itch is only skin deep,
  33. you must shave off the hairs around the infection, but not those on it. Then the priest will tell you to stay away from everyone else for another seven days.
  34. By that time, if the itch hasn't spread and seems no more than skin deep, he will say, "You are clean, now you must wash your clothes."
  35. Later, if the itch starts spreading, even though the hair is still healthy, the priest will say, "You are unclean."
  36. (SEE 13:35)
  37. But if he thinks you are completely well, he will say, "You are clean."
  38. If white spots break out on your skin,
  39. but the priest discovers that it is only a rash, he will say, "You are clean."
  40. If you become bald on any part of your head, you are still clean.
  41. (SEE 13:40)
  42. But if a priest discovers that a reddish-white sore has broken out on the bald spot and looks like leprosy, he will say,
  43. (SEE 13:42)
  44. "This is leprosy--you are unclean."
  45. If you ever have leprosy, you must tear your clothes, leave your hair uncombed, cover the lower part of your face, and go around shouting, "I'm unclean! I'm unclean!"
  46. As long as you have the disease, you are unclean and must live alone outside the camp.
  47. If a greenish or reddish spot appears anywhere on any of your clothing or on anything made of leather, you must let the priest examine the clothing or the leather. He will put it aside for seven days,
  48. (SEE 13:47)
  49. (SEE 13:47)
  50. (SEE 13:47)
  51. and if the mildew has spread in that time, he will say, "This is unclean
  52. because the mildew has spread." Then he will burn the clothing or the piece of leather.
  53. If the priest discovers that the mildew hasn't spread,
  54. he will tell you to wash the clothing or leather and put it aside for another seven days,
  55. after which he will examine it again. If the spot hasn't spread, but is still greenish or reddish, the clothing or leather is unclean and must be burned.
  56. But if the spot has faded after being washed, he will tear away the spot.
  57. Later, if the spot reappears elsewhere on the clothing or the leather, you must burn it.
  58. Even if the spot completely disappears after being washed, it must be washed again before it is clean.
  59. These are the rules for deciding if clothing is clean or unclean after a spot appears on it.



    Infectious skin diseases and mildew are the subjects of chapter 13. The presence of either brought a prounouncement of "unclean." The Hebrew word that is typically translated as "leprosy" is broad enough to cover any form of spreading surface discoloration in humans or of mold or mildew in objects. What this makes clear is that when an English translation uses the word leprosy, much of the time it is not referring to what is known as Hansen's disease - leprosy. In fact it may seldom refer to Hansen's disease. What is unclear is whether it ever refers to Hansen's disease. Some commentators say "yes" and some say "no." There is common agreement, however, that Hansen's disease is not the skin disease referred to in chapter 13.

    In these situations the priest functioned similar to a public health official who isolated a person with a contagious disease rather than as a doctor who gave medical treatment. The person was left to either natural or supernatural processes for the healing of his condition. The procedure for both skin diseases and mold or mildew were similar. The person or object were initially examined. If there were signs of disease or mildew the person or object were isolated for seven days after which they were examined again. If the condition had spread after this period the person or object were pronounced unclean. If the condition had not spread but neither had it diminished, there was another seven-day isolation after which a determination was made as to whether the person or object should be prounounced clean or unclean.

    If a person or object was prounounced clean after following these procedures the person must wash his clothes or the object must be washed and they were then clean.

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Reflections on Leviticus 12


    Leviticus 12 (Contemporary English Version)
  1. The LORD told Moses
  2. to say to the community of Israel: If a woman gives birth to a son, she is unclean for seven days, just as she is during her monthly period.
  3. Her son must be circumcised on the eighth day,
  4. but her loss of blood keeps her from being completely clean for another thirty-three days. During this time she must not touch anything holy or go to the place of worship.
  5. Any woman who gives birth to a daughter is unclean for two weeks, just as she is during her period. And she won't be completely clean for another sixty-six days.
  6. When the mother has completed her time of cleansing, she must come to the front of the sacred tent and bring to the priest a year-old lamb as a sacrifice to please me and a dove or a pigeon as a sacrifice for sin.
  7. After the priest offers the sacrifices to me, the mother will become completely clean from her loss of blood, whether her child is a boy or a girl.
  8. If she cannot afford a lamb, she can offer two doves or two pigeons, one as a sacrifice to please me and the other as a sacrifice for sin.



    In my reflections of the previous chapter I mentioned that the restrictions concerning what was unclean was not a matter of morality but was often a result of "accident, illness, physical processes, or other actions that were proper and even commendable." Childbirth and the menstrual period, which are discussed in chapter 12, are examples of normal physical processes that were considered unclean. In these instances it was the flow of blood that was considered unclean. Chapter 15 sheds further light on this in its discussion of the uncleanness of any bodily secretion.  Why did the birth of a female child have twice the length of time for uncleanness as a male child? No hint is given.

    A woman was contagiously uncleanness with the birth of a child for either 7 or 14 days depending on whether the baby was a girl or a boy. This meant anything she touched became unclean. However, she remained unclean, though not contagiously, for another 40 or 80 days during which time she couldn't enter the sanctuary. This waiting period was considered "her days of purification." When her days were complete, she was to bring both a burnt offering of a year-old male lamb (whether the baby was male or female) and a sin offering of a young pigeon or turtledove. If she didn't have the means to offer a lamb, it could be replaced with another pigeon or turtledove. It was necessary for Mary, the mother of Jesus, to take advantage of this concession. (Luke 2:22-24) Following these offerings the woman was considered clean once again.

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Reflections on Leviticus 11


    Leviticus 11 (Contemporary English Version)
  1. The LORD told Moses and Aaron
  2. to say to the community of Israel: You may eat
  3. any animal that has divided hoofs and chews the cud.
  4. But you must not eat animals such as camels, rock badgers, and rabbits that chew the cud but don't have divided hoofs. And you must not eat pigs--they have divided hoofs, but don't chew the cud. All of these animals are unclean, and you are forbidden even to touch their dead bodies.
  5. (SEE 11:4)
  6. (SEE 11:4)
  7. (SEE 11:4)
  8. (SEE 11:4)
  9. You may eat anything that lives in water and has fins and scales. But it would be disgusting for you to eat anything else that lives in water, and you must not even touch their dead bodies.
  10. (SEE 11:9)
  11. (SEE 11:9)
  12. (SEE 11:9)
  13. Eagles, vultures, buzzards, crows, ostriches, hawks, sea gulls, owls, pelicans, storks, herons, hoopoes, and bats are also disgusting, and you are forbidden to eat any of them.
  14. (SEE 11:13)
  15. (SEE 11:13)
  16. (SEE 11:13)
  17. (SEE 11:13)
  18. (SEE 11:13)
  19. (SEE 11:13)
  20. The only winged insects you may eat are locusts, grasshoppers, and crickets. All other winged insects that crawl are too disgusting for you to eat.
  21. (SEE 11:20)
  22. (SEE 11:20)
  23. (SEE 11:20)
  24. Don't even touch the dead bodies of animals that have divided hoofs but don't chew the cud. And don't touch the dead bodies of animals that have paws. If you do, you must wash your clothes, but you are still unclean until evening.
  25. (SEE 11:24)
  26. (SEE 11:24)
  27. (SEE 11:24)
  28. (SEE 11:24)
  29. Moles, rats, mice, and all kinds of lizards are unclean.
  30. (SEE 11:29)
  31. Anyone who touches their dead bodies or anything touched by their dead bodies becomes unclean until evening.
  32. If something made of wood, cloth, or leather touches one of their dead bodies, it must be washed, but it is still unclean until evening.
  33. If any of these animals is found dead in a clay pot, the pot must be broken to pieces, and everything in it becomes unclean.
  34. If you pour water from this pot on any food, that food becomes unclean, and anything drinkable in the pot becomes unclean.
  35. If the dead body of one of these animals touches anything else, including ovens and stoves, that thing becomes unclean and must be destroyed.
  36. A spring or a cistern where one of these dead animals is found is still clean, but anyone who touches the animal becomes unclean.
  37. If the dead body of one of these animals is found lying on seeds that have been set aside for planting, the seeds remain clean.
  38. But seeds that are soaking in water become unclean, if the dead animal is found in the water.
  39. If an animal that may be eaten happens to die, and you touch it, you become unclean until evening.
  40. If you eat any of its meat or carry its body away, you must wash your clothes, but you are still unclean until evening.
  41. Don't eat any of those disgusting little creatures that crawl or walk close to the ground.
  42. (SEE 11:41)
  43. If you eat any of them, you will become just as disgusting and unclean as they are.
  44. I am the LORD your God, and you must dedicate yourselves to me and be holy, just as I am holy. Don't become disgusting by eating any of these unclean creatures.
  45. I brought you out of Egypt so that I could be your God. Now you must become holy, because I am holy!
  46. I have given these laws so that you will know what animals, birds, and fish are clean and may be eaten, and which ones are unclean and may not be eaten.
  47. (SEE 11:46)



    Following the handbook on sacrifices which consists of the first seven chapters of Leviticus, chapters 11-15 deal with matters of ceremonial cleanness and uncleanness. While these restrictions concerning what was unclean had some health benefits, this was not their primary purpose. Nor were distinctions between clean or unclean an issue of morality. Much of what was considered ritually defiled was a result of "accident, illness, physical processes, or other actions that were proper and even commendable." (Bamberger) All of this was about Israel being a chosen people by a holy God, and served as a constant reminder that God had distinguished between them and other nations.

    Chapter 11 addresses five types of creatures that are clean or unclean. If a person came in contact with any of these they must wash and then remain unclean until evening, which meant no contact with other people or involvement in the evening sacrifice. The five types of creatures that were clean include:

    • Land animals that are both hooved and chews the cud were clean. All others were unclean.
    • Water creatures that had fins and scales. All others were unclean.
    • A lengthy list of birds that were unclean is given but none mentioned that were clean. Though not mentioned here, clean birds that could be eaten were doves, pigeons, quail, and sparrows.
    • Among winged insects, the locust, katydid, cricket, and grasshopper were considered clean. All others were unclean.
    • Among creatures that swarm on the ground, none were clean. Examples of these type creatures were weasel, mouse, and lizard.

    The reason given at the end of the chapter for observing these restrictions was that "I am the LORD, who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God, so you must be holy because I am holy." (11:45)

Monday, May 7, 2012

Reflections on Leviticus 10


    Leviticus 10 (Contemporary English Version)
  1. Nadab and Abihu were two of Aaron's sons, but they disobeyed the LORD by burning incense to him on a fire pan, when they were not supposed to.
  2. Suddenly the LORD sent fiery flames and burned them to death.
  3. Then Moses told Aaron that this was exactly what the LORD had meant when he said: "I demand respect from my priests, and I will be praised by everyone!" Aaron was speechless.
  4. Moses sent for Mishael and Elzaphan, the two sons of Aaron's uncle Uzziel. Then he told them, "Take these two dead relatives of yours outside the camp far from the entrance to the sacred tent."
  5. So they dragged the dead men away by their clothes.
  6. Then Moses told Aaron and his other two sons, Eleazar and Ithamar: Don't show your sorrow by messing up your hair and tearing your priestly clothes, or the LORD will get angry. He will kill the three of you and punish everyone else. It's all right for your relatives, the people of Israel, to mourn for those he destroyed by fire.
  7. But you are the LORD's chosen priests, and you must not leave the sacred tent, or you will die. Aaron and his two sons obeyed Moses.
  8. The LORD said to Aaron:
  9. When you or your sons enter the sacred tent, you must never drink beer or wine. If you do, you will die right there! This law will never change.
  10. You must learn the difference between what is holy and what isn't holy and between the clean and the unclean.
  11. You must also teach the people of Israel everything that I commanded Moses to say to them.
  12. Moses told Aaron and his two sons, Eleazar and Ithamar: The grain sacrifice that was offered to give thanks to the LORD is very holy. So make bread without yeast from the part that wasn't sent up in smoke and eat it beside the altar.
  13. The LORD has said that this belongs to you and your sons, and that it must be eaten in a holy place.
  14. But the choice ribs and the hind leg that were lifted up may be eaten by your entire family, as long as you do so in an acceptable place. These parts are yours from the sacrifices that the people offer to ask the LORD's blessing. This is what the LORD has commanded, and it will never change.
  15. (SEE 10:14)
  16. When Moses asked around and learned that the ram for the sin sacrifice had already been burned on the altar, he became angry with Eleazar and Ithamar and said,
  17. "Why didn't you eat the meat from this sacrifice in an acceptable place? It is very holy, and the LORD has given you this sacrifice to remove Israel's sin and guilt.
  18. Whenever an animal's blood isn't brought into the sacred tent, I commanded you to eat its meat in an acceptable place, but you burned it instead."
  19. Their father Aaron replied, "Today two of my sons offered the sacrifice for sin and the sacrifice to please the LORD, and look what has happened to me! Would the LORD have approved if I had eaten the sacrifice for sin?"
  20. Moses was satisfied with Aaron's reply.



    Tragedy struck at the height of the first observance of the sacrificial system God instituted with the Israelite people. It was also the first exercise of priestly duties by Aaron and his sons.  Nadab and Abihu, Aaron's two eldest sons, presented "unauthorized fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded them to do."  The result was immediate death for the two: "Then flames leaped from the LORD's presence and burned them to death before the LORD." (10:2)  Their duties as priests could not be handled carelessly.  If they were to mediate with God on behalf of the people they must be in good standing with God, giving attention to all He commanded. It was an imperfect system pointing to the need for a Messiah to do what animal sacrifices offered by sinful people could not do.

    Why did Nadab and Abihu do this? Were they simply being careless or presumptious? Was it possible they were being willful by intentionally doing their own thing? We can only guess. With the prohibition against the use of wine or beer while performing duties in the tent of meeting, it is possible the two were intoxicated. Whatever the reason, God made it clear that His instructions were to be strictly observed. Worship of the only true and living God will be done as He prescribes and not as man chooses. All other religions are of man's designs, built on his concept of what it should be. Worship of the true God, Creator of all that exists, is by His design.

    Aaron and his two surviving sons were in the tent of meeting performing their duties when the two oldest sons were killed. They were prohibited from breaking away form their duties. They were not to mourn the deaths or to leave the tent. Shortly after this tragedy another priestly error occurred. Aaron's remaining two sons burned up all of a sin offering that should have been eaten by the priests. Moses became angry with them when he discovered the error. But Aaron said to Moses, "Since these things have happened to me, if I had eaten the sin offering today, would it have been acceptable in the LORD's sight?" In view of the Lord's punishment of his sons, Aaron didn't feel He would accept his eating of the sin offering. Moses accepted this explanation as, evidently, did God.

Friday, May 4, 2012

Reflections on Leviticus 9


    Leviticus 09 (Contemporary English Version)
  1. Eight days later Moses called together Aaron, his sons, and Israel's leaders.
  2. Then he said to Aaron: Find a young bull and a ram that have nothing wrong with them. Offer the bull to the LORD as a sacrifice for sin and the ram as a sacrifice to please him.
  3. Tell the people of Israel that they must offer sacrifices as well. They must offer a goat as a sacrifice for sin, and a bull and a ram as a sacrifice to please the LORD. The bull and the ram must be a year old and have nothing wrong with them.
  4. Then the people must offer a bull and a ram as a sacrifice to ask the LORD's blessing and also a grain sacrifice mixed with oil. Do this, because the LORD will appear to you today.
  5. After the animals and the grain had been brought to the front of the sacred tent, and the people were standing there in the presence of the LORD,
  6. Moses said: The LORD has ordered you to do this, so that he may appear to you in all of his glory.
  7. Aaron, step up to the altar and offer the sacrifice to please the LORD, then offer the sacrifices for the forgiveness of your sins and for the sins of the people, just as the LORD has commanded.
  8. Aaron stepped up to the altar and killed the bull that was to be the sacrifice for his sins.
  9. His sons brought him the blood. He dipped a finger in it, smeared some on the four corners of the bronze altar, and poured out the rest at its foot.
  10. But he sent up in smoke the fat, the kidneys, and the lower part of the liver, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.
  11. Then Aaron burned the skin and the flesh outside the camp.
  12. After Aaron had killed the ram that was sacrificed to please the LORD, Aaron's sons brought him the blood, and he splattered it against all four sides of the altar.
  13. They brought him each piece of the animal, including the head, and he burned them all on the altar.
  14. He washed the insides and the hind legs and also sent them up in smoke.
  15. Next, Aaron sacrificed the goat for the sins of the people, as he had done with the sacrifice for his own sins.
  16. And so, he burned this sacrifice on the altar in the proper way.
  17. He also presented the grain sacrifice and burned a handful of the flour on the altar as part of the morning sacrifice.
  18. At last, he killed the bull and the ram as a sacrifice to ask the LORD's blessing on the people. Aaron's sons brought him the blood, and he splattered it against the four sides of the altar.
  19. His sons placed all the fat, as well as the kidneys and the lower part of the liver
  20. on top of the choice ribs.
  21. Then Aaron burned the fat on the altar and lifted up the ribs and the right hind leg to show that these were dedicated to the LORD. This was done just as the LORD had instructed Moses.
  22. Aaron held out his hand and gave the people his blessing, before coming down from the bronze altar where he had offered the sacrifices.
  23. He and Moses went into the sacred tent, and when they came out, they gave the people their blessing. Then the LORD appeared to the people in all of his glory.
  24. The LORD sent fiery flames that burned up everything on the altar, and when everyone saw this, they shouted and fell to their knees to worship the LORD.



    The last phase of the consecration ceremonies for Aaron and his sons to become priests was a 7-day vigil at the entrance to the tent of meeting. On the eigth day, when the vigil was completed, Moses summoned Aaron and his sons, along with the elders of Israel. What followed was the inauguration of the Israelite sacrificial system. Once Moses had summoned the priests and the elders of the people he relayed God's instructions to Aaron for the ceremonies that followed and it was Aaron who instructed the people for the sacrifices. Thus, the role of priest was fully transferred to Aaron. The purpose given by Moses for offering the sacrifices was that "the Lord is going to appear to you." (9:4) This purpose set the context for the whole sacrificial system. It enabled man to have access with God and for Him to dwell with them.

    The ceremony began with an offering by the priests of a sin offering and a burnt offering for themselves. Then they sacrificed the people's offerings which included a sin, a burnt, and a grain offering. When all the offerings had been made, Aaron "lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them." (9:22) This blessing is linked in Jewish tradition with the priestly blessing given in Numbers 6:24-26 which Aaron was instructed to say for the people: "The LORD bless you and protect you; the LORD make His face shine on you, and be gracious to you; the LORD look with favor on you and give you peace.

    At the conclusion of all the ceremonies, "the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people. Fire came out from the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar." (9:23-24) At this sight, the people gave a shout and fell facedown on the ground.

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Reflections on Leviticus 8


    Leviticus 08 (Contemporary English Version)
  1. The LORD said to Moses:
  2. Send for Aaron and his sons, as well as their priestly clothes, the oil for ordination, the bull for the sin offering, the two rams, and a basket of bread made without yeast.
  3. Then bring the whole community of Israel together at the entrance to the sacred tent.
  4. Moses obeyed the LORD, and when everyone had come together,
  5. he said, "We are here to follow the LORD's instructions."
  6. After Moses told Aaron and his sons to step forward, he had them wash themselves.
  7. He put the priestly shirt and robe on Aaron and wrapped the sash around his waist. Then he put the sacred vest on Aaron and fastened it with the finely woven belt.
  8. Next, he put on Aaron the sacred breastpiece that was used in learning what the LORD wanted his people to do.
  9. He placed the turban on Aaron's head, and on the front of the turban was the narrow strip of thin gold as a sign of his dedication to the LORD.
  10. Moses then dedicated the sacred tent and everything in it to the LORD by sprinkling them with some of the oil for ordination.
  11. He sprinkled the bronze altar seven times, and he sprinkled its equipment, as well as the large bronze bowl and its base.
  12. He also poured some of the oil on Aaron's head to dedicate him to the LORD.
  13. At last, Moses dressed Aaron's sons in their shirts, then tied sashes around them and put special caps on them, just as the LORD had commanded.
  14. Moses led out the bull that was to be sacrificed for sin, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head.
  15. After it was killed, Moses dipped a finger in the blood and smeared some of it on each of the four corners of the bronze altar, before pouring out the rest at the foot of the altar. This purified the altar and made it a fit place for offering the sacrifice for sin.
  16. Moses then took the fat on the bull's insides, as well as the lower part of the liver and the two kidneys with their fat, and sent them up in smoke on the altar fire.
  17. Finally, he took the skin and the flesh of the bull, together with the food still in its stomach, and burned them outside the camp, just as the LORD had commanded.
  18. Moses led out the ram for the sacrifice to please the LORD. After Aaron and his sons had laid their hands on its head,
  19. Moses killed the ram and splattered its blood against the four sides of the altar.
  20. Moses had the animal cut up, and he washed its insides and hind legs. Then he laid the head, the fat, and the rest of the ram on the altar and sent them up in smoke with a smell that pleased the LORD. All this was done just as the LORD had commanded.
  21. (SEE 8:20)
  22. Moses led out the ram for the ceremony of ordination. Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head,
  23. and it was killed. Moses smeared some of its blood on Aaron's right earlobe, some on his right thumb, and some on the big toe of his right foot.
  24. Moses did the same thing for Aaron's sons, before splattering the rest of the blood against the four sides of the altar.
  25. He took the animal's fat tail, the fat on its insides, and the lower part of the liver and the two kidneys with their fat, and the right hind leg.
  26. Then he took from a basket some of each of the three kinds of bread that had been made without yeast and had been dedicated to the LORD.
  27. Moses placed the bread on top of the meat and gave it all to Aaron and his sons, who lifted it up to show that it was dedicated to the LORD.
  28. After this, Moses placed it on the fires of the altar and sent it up in smoke with a smell that pleased the LORD. This was part of the ordination ceremony.
  29. Moses lifted up the choice ribs of the ram to show that they were dedicated to the LORD. This was the part that the LORD had said Moses could have.
  30. Finally, Moses sprinkled the priestly clothes of Aaron and his sons with some of the oil for ordination and with some of the blood from the altar. So Aaron and his sons, together with their priestly clothes, were dedicated to the LORD.
  31. Moses said to Aaron and his sons: The LORD told me that you must boil this meat at the entrance to the sacred tent and eat it there with the bread.
  32. Burn what is left over
  33. and stay near the entrance to the sacred tent until the ordination ceremony ends seven days from now.
  34. We have obeyed the LORD in everything that has been done today, so that your sins may be forgiven.
  35. The LORD has told me that you must stay near the entrance to the tent for seven days and nights, or else you will die.
  36. Aaron and his sons obeyed everything that the LORD had told Moses they must do.



    The various sacrifices had been prescribed for the Israelites and now it was time to consecrate the priests so they could begin their function as mediator between the people and God in the offering of these sacrifices. The people could not approach God in worship without the offerings of the sacrifices, but their offerings could not be made without the mediation of the priests.

    Each section of these Levitical passages is introduced with the words, "The Lord spoke to Moses." This emphasizes that these instructions and ceremonies were not from Moses' imagination but from God as Moses served in his role as mediator of the covenant. These words introduce this section in chapter 8 as God instructed Moses to gather Aaron and his sons along with the whole community at the entrance to the tent of meeting. Aaron and his sons were to take with them the priestly garments and the sacrifices for their consecration - a bull, two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread. Those who served as priests were sinners as were the rest of the community. There must be atonement for their sin before they could approach God on behalf of the people.

    The ceremony at the entrance to the tent of meeting began with the consecration of the priests. This involved clothing the priests with the priestly garments and then anointing with oil all parts of the tabernacle to consecrate it and then to anoint the priests for their consecration. With this accomplished, it was time to atone for the sins of the priests. Since there was yet no functioning priest, Moses served in the role of offering the sacrifices. The procedure for offering the sacrifices was followed as prescribed in the handbook for sacrifices in the first seven chapters of Leviticus. However, there were some differences. For instance, with the offering of the second ram, Moses not only placed some of its blood on the horns of the altar but also on the right earlobes, right thumbs, and right big toes of Aaron and his sons.

    Another difference was with the wave offering. Whereas this normally involved the waving of the right thigh of the sacrificial animal, in this case Moses placed a cake of unleavened bread on the thigh along with a cake made with oil and a wafer. Then he handed the thigh with these items on it to Aaron to wave before the Lord. Once this was done the thigh and bread were burned on the altar as a "pleasing aroma" to the Lord.

    As the completion of their ordination, Aaron and his sons were to stay outside the entrance to the tent of meeting for seven days. We are told in the final verse of the chapter that "Aaron and his sons did everything the LORD had commanded through Moses." (8:36)

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Reflections on Leviticus 7


    Leviticus 07 (Contemporary English Version)
  1. The sacrifice to make things right is very sacred.
  2. The animal must be killed in the same place where the sacrifice to please me is killed, and the animal's blood must be splattered against the four sides of the bronze altar.
  3. Offer all of the animal's fat, including the fat on its tail and on its insides,
  4. as well as the lower part of the liver and the two kidneys with their fat.
  5. One of the priests will lay these pieces on the altar and send them up in smoke to me.
  6. This sacrifice for making things right is very holy. Only the priests may eat it, and they must eat it in a holy place.
  7. The ceremony for this sacrifice and the one for sin are just alike, and the meat may be eaten only by the priest who performs this ceremony of forgiveness.
  8. In fact, the priest who offers a sacrifice to please me may keep the skin of the animal,
  9. just as he may eat the bread from a sacrifice to give thanks to me.
  10. All other grain sacrifices--with or without olive oil in them--are to be divided equally among the priests of Aaron's family.
  11. Here are the instructions for offering a sacrifice to ask my blessing:
  12. If you offer it to give thanks, you must offer some bread together with it. Use the finest flour to make three kinds of bread without yeast--two in the form of loaves mixed with olive oil and one in the form of thin wafers brushed with oil.
  13. You must also make some bread with yeast.
  14. Give me one loaf or wafer from each of these four kinds of bread, after which they will belong to the priest who splattered the blood against the bronze altar.
  15. When you offer an animal to ask a blessing from me or to thank me, the meat belongs to you, but it must be eaten the same day.
  16. It is different with the sacrifices you offer when you make me a promise or voluntarily give me something. The meat from those sacrifices may be kept and eaten the next day,
  17. but any that is left must be destroyed. If you eat any after the second day, your sacrifice will be useless and unacceptable, and you will be both disgusting and guilty.
  18. (SEE 7:17)
  19. Don't eat any of the meat that touches something unclean. Instead, burn it. The rest of the meat may be eaten by anyone who is clean and acceptable to me.
  20. But don't eat any of this meat if you have become unclean by touching something unclean from a human or an animal or from any other creature. If you do, you will no longer belong to the community of Israel.
  21. (SEE 7:20)
  22. The LORD told Moses
  23. to say to the people: Don't eat the fat of cattle, sheep, or goats.
  24. If one of your animals dies or is killed by some wild animal, you may do anything with its fat except eat it.
  25. If you eat the fat of an animal that can be used as a sacrifice to me, you will no longer belong to the community of Israel.
  26. And no matter where you live, you must not eat the blood of any bird or animal,
  27. or you will no longer belong to the community of Israel.
  28. The LORD also told Moses
  29. to say to the people of Israel: If you want to offer a sacrifice to ask my blessing, you must bring the part to be burned and lay it on the bronze altar. But you must first lift up the choice ribs with their fat to show that the offering is dedicated to me.
  30. (SEE 7:29)
  31. A priest from Aaron's family will then send the fat up in smoke, but the ribs belong to the priests.
  32. The upper joint of the right hind leg is for the priest who offers the blood and the fat of the animal.
  33. (SEE 7:32)
  34. I have decided that the people of Israel must always give the choice ribs and the upper joint of the right hind leg to Aaron's descendants
  35. who have been ordained as priests to serve me.
  36. This law will never change. I am the LORD!
  37. These are the ceremonies for sacrifices to please the LORD, to give him thanks, and to ask his blessing or his forgiveness, as well as the ceremonies for those sacrifices that demand a payment and for the sacrifices that are offered when priests are ordained.
  38. While Moses and the people of Israel were in the desert at Mount Sinai, the LORD commanded them to start offering these sacrifices.



    Chapter 7 concludes the handbook on sacrifices in which the first five chapters were addressed to the people concerning their sacrifices and last two chapters were addressed to the priests with details for handling of the sacrifices. In this final chapter details were given in the first ten verses for handling the meat of the guilt offering. The fat of the animal was to be burned on the altar. Earlier the Lord had given a commandment that all fat belonged to Him and the Israelites were not to eat any fat. The qualifying fat in these instructions is specifically the fat tail, fat surrounding the entrails, the kidneys, and the fatty lobe of the liver. The remaining meat of the offering belonged to the officiating priest. If the offering was a grain offering, it also belonged to the officiating priest if it were baked, but belonged to all the priests equally if it were not baked.

    Verses 11-27 give further details regarding the fellowship offering. A distinction concerning the fellowship offering is that it involved a communal meal with the family of the worshipper and the officiating priest. There were fellowship offerings made for different purposes. The most common purpose was as a thank offering. Another purpose was in the making of a vow while a third purpose was in the giving of a freewill offering.  In the case of the thank offering, the worshipper first sacrificed an animal. After burning the fat, the remainder of the meat was for the communal meal. Along with the animal sacrifice, the worshipper also offered unleavened bread which belonged to the priest. Leavened bread could also be offered and this was used for the communal meal.

    If the offering was a thank offering the food must be eaten for the communal meal on the same day it was offered. In the case of the freewill offering or offering for a vow, food not eaten on the first day could be left for the next day, but could not be left into the third day. Any food that touched something that was ceremonially unclean could not be eaten. It had to be burned up. Further instructions were given regarding the way the meat of the sacrifice was to be offered to the Lord. Of the portion not burned on the altar, the breast was to be "waved as a presentation offering before the Lord." (7:30) The right thigh was then given to the officiating priest.

    Verses 35-38 give a concluding explanation about all of the sacrifices saying that the portions for the priests was to be a permanent arrangement. Furthermore, it is pointed out that these instructions for the sacrifices were given to Moses by the Lord on Mount Sinai, emphasizing that they are included in the covenant.