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)
    
    

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    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.