Bar’chu et YHVH ha-m’vorach, Baruch YHVH ha-m’vorach l’O’lam va-ed! Baruch ata YHVH Eloheinu melech ha-olam asher bachar banu m’kol ha-amim, v’na-tan lanu eht Torah-to. Baruch atah YHVH, noteyn ha-Torah. Ameyn.”
- A lamb is brought in for
slaughtering in the Outer court.
- Brazen altar-Slaughtering place.
(Shemot/Ex 27:2-8)
- Laver (where the hands and
feet of the priests were washed.
- The
golden Lamp stand (Menorah) towards the South. (Shemot/Ex 25:31-40)
- The Set-apart Place.
- The Altar of incense in
front of the veil between the Set-apart Place and the Most set-apart
Place. (Ex 30:1-6)
- Table of showbread towards the North.
(Shemot/Ex 25: 23-30)
- The Ark of the Covenant. (Shemot/Ex
25:10-22)
- 9. The Most set-apart
Place.
Yahshua said - Mat
22:14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.” (or few
choose)
When Yakov is busy dying he calls (Vayikra) his twelve sons to inform them what will ‘’call’’ (yikra) them in the last days.
In a world that is becoming increasingly confused and anxious – only
those who hear and obey the ‘’call’’ will make it.
“So
why is the sacrificial system in the Scriptures? Maimonedes, in his
magnum opus, the Mishnah Torah, classified sacrificial offerings as
"chukim" -- commandments for which no reason is given in the
Torah. While one is encouraged to seek meaning in such mitzvot
(commandments), says Maimonedes, G-d's true reason may remain elusive”
This
addresses an important issue in that approximately 20% of the Torah is
instruction around offerings or “korbanot.” We are also reminded that the
instructions concerning the tabernacle or “mishkan” occupy more attention than any
other issue in the Torah. These issues perplex many believers and sadly do not
receive the important attention and application that they deserve.
ב אַשְׁרֵי, נֹצְרֵי עֵדֹתָיו;
בְּכָל-לֵב יִדְרְשׁוּהוּ.
Psa 119:2 Blessed are
those who observe (Heb –
‘’natzar’’) His witnesses, Who seek (Heb – ‘’midrash) Him with all the heart!
‘’Natzar’’ (verb meaning literary) to guard, to
save; (weaponry) to lock; to keep, to maintain.
‘’Netzer’’ is the Hebrew word for a stem or a shoot
or a branch. ‘’Notzri’’ is the Hebrew word for what is translated as a Christian.
Hebrew Netzer - Wikipedia
‘’One view holds that "Nazareth" is derived from one of the Hebrew words for 'branch', namely ne·ṣer, נֵ֫צֶר, and alludes to the prophetic, messianic words in Book of Isaiah 11:1, 'from (Jesse's) roots a Branch (netzer) will bear fruit'. One view suggests this toponym might be an example of a tribal name used by resettling groups on their return from exile. Alternatively, the name may derive from the verb na·ṣar, נָצַר, "watch, guard, keep," and understood either in the sense of "watchtower" or "guard place", implying the early town was perched on or near the brow of the hill, or, in the passive sense as 'preserved, protected' in reference to its secluded position. The negative references to Nazareth in the Gospel of John (1:46) suggest that ancient Jews did not connect the town's name to prophecy.’’
Joh
1:45 Philip found Nethan’ěl and said to him, “We have found Him whom Mosheh
wrote of in the Torah, and the prophets: יהושע of Natsareth – the son of
Yosěph.”
Joh
1:46 And Nethan’ěl said to him, “Is it possible for any good matter
to come out of Natsareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
Isa 6:13 “But still, there is a tenth part in
it, and it shall again be for a burning, like a terebinth tree and like an oak,
whose stump remains when it is cut down. The set-apart seed is its stump.
It is possible that an exceedingly small group of
end time believers will guard and preserve the Torah of Messiah. (1 Cor 9:21)
When young Hebrew children began reading and
studying the Torah, they start off by reading the book of Vayikra / Leviticus.
Why?
This reminds us of the words of our Master in Mat.
18:3 and said, “Truly, I say to you,
unless you turn and become as little children, you shall by no means enter into
the reign of the heavens.
Mat 18:4
“Whoever then humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in
the reign of the heavens.
As adults we are normally very calculating
when we give. We consider what kind of return we will receive if we give carefully
determined amounts of our time treasure and talents.
A child is far less calculating and gives
far less consideration when moved to give. They may regret their generosity
later, but they still give spontaneously from their hearts when they give.
Some of the most precious things a child
usually gives are love, trust, deep loyalty and unconditional obedience.
Perhaps the sages understood that this book of Vayikra would either be
ignored or become a hotly debated theological issue.
The sages understood that these laws or “chukim” were to be simply
obeyed if not understood.
The Torah warns us of the severe consequences if YHVH’s “chukim” are
ignored.
Lev 26:13
‘I am יהוה your Elohim,
who brought you out of the land of Mitsrayim, from being their slaves. And I
have broken the bars of your yoke and made you walk upright.
Lev 26:14 ‘But if you do not obey Me, and do not do all
these commands,
Lev 26:15 and if you reject My laws,(Chukim) or if your
being loathes My right-rulings, so that you do not do all My commands, but
break My covenant,
Lev 26:16 I also do this to you: And I shall appoint
sudden alarm over you, wasting disease and inflammation, destroying the eyes,
and consuming the life. And you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies
shall eat it.
Lev 26:17 ‘And I shall set My face against you, and you
shall be smitten before your enemies. And those who hate you shall rule over
you, and you shall flee when no one pursues you.
Lev 26:18 ‘And after all this, if you do not obey Me,
then I shall punish you seven times more for your sins.
If one reads the entire
chapter 26 one begins to understand why Churchmen have tried to ignore the
Torah and have replaced it with Christian doctrines of justification. How can
one ignore 20% of the Torah, which comprises of instructions regarding
offerings? The consequences of our ignoring these Torah instructions are simply
too horrendous to even to begin to contemplate.
Why
are there are so few that hear the “call” – Vayikra - of YHVH coming to us from
the book of Leviticus/Vayikra. Where is the is the deep longing from those who
call themselves His children for a rebuilding of the Temple and the return of
the temple service which will include all the offerings.?
Why?
Because we are not willing to walk as Yahshua walked.
These
offerings (not sacrifices) show us the way our Messiah walked and how we are to
follow him.
He
offered himself completely as a burnt offering, so that we could have communion
with YHVH (grain offering) so that we could live in peace with YHVH, to remove
from us all sin (sin offering) so that we would never live with guilt in our
live (guilt offering)
These
offerings (the first three are voluntary, the remaining two are mandatory) are
also possibly the prophetic sequence of events in the last days.
Lev 1:1 And יהוה called (Vayikra – see also Ber 49:1) to
Mosheh, and spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting, saying,
Lev 1:2 “Speak to the children of Yisra’ĕl, and say
to them, ‘When anyone of you brings an offering to יהוה, you bring
your offering of the livestock, of the herd or of the flock.
“Anyone” or “adam” in Hebrew, refers to any person of human race, seeking to honour and approach the Elohim of Yisrael - “offering” refers to that which is brought voluntarily. This is over and above the obligatory offerings specified in the Torah.
The Hebrew word for “offering” is “korban” and comes from
another Hebrew word “karav” which means to draw near. An offering was intended for
us to draw us nearer to our Creator.
YHVH is still calling His people to draw near through offerings - Rom 12:1 I call upon you, therefore, brothers, through the compassion of Elohim, to present your bodies a living offering – set-apart, well-pleasing to Elohim – your reasonable worship. Rom 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you prove what is that good and well-pleasing and perfect desire of Elohim.
Isa 48:12
“Listen to Me, O Yaʽaqoḇ,
and Yisra’ĕl, My called (Heb – mekorahi – one being called by Me) I am He, I am the First, I am also the Last.
Listen
to the prophetic essence of what YHVH is saying:
Isa 48:15
“I, I have spoken, I have also called(Vayikra) him, I have brought him,
and he shall make his way prosperous. (note sequence – spoken, called,
enabled, success)
Isa 48:16
“Come near to Me, hear this: I have not spoken in secret from the
beginning; from the time that it was, I was there. And now the Master יהוה has sent Me, and His Spirit.”
Isa 48:17 Thus said יהוה, your
Redeemer, the Set-apart One of Yisra’ĕl, “I am יהוה your Elohim,
teaching you what is best, leading you by the way you should go.
Isa 48:18 “If only you had listened to My commands!
Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the
waves of the sea.
Isa 48:19 “And your seed would have been like the sand,
and the offspring of your inward parts like the grains of sand. His name would
not have been cut off nor destroyed from before Me.
Isa 48:20 “Come out of Baḇel! Flee from the Chaldeans!
Declare this with a voice of singing, proclaim it, send it out to the end of
the earth! Say, ‘יהוה has redeemed His servant Yaʽaqoḇ!”
Isa 48:21 And they did not thirst when He led them
through the deserts; He caused waters from a rock to flow for them; He split
the rock, and waters gushed out.
Isa 49:1 Listen to Me, O coastlands, and hear, you
peoples from afar! יהוה has called Me from the womb, from My mother’s belly He has
caused My Name to be remembered.
Isa 49:2 And He made My mouth like a sharp sword, in
the shadow of His hand He hid Me, and made Me a polished shaft. In His quiver
He hid Me.”
Isa 49:3 And He said to Me, ‘You are My servant, O
Yisra’ĕl, in whom I am adorned.’
Isa 49:4 And I said, ‘I have laboured in vain, I have
spent my strength for emptiness, and in vain. But my right-ruling is with יהוה, and my work
with my Elohim.’
When YHVH calls and we respond
to His call we will not appear before Him empty handed. The evidence that YHVH
has called is revealed in our response to His call – we bring Him an offering.
Today when we hear His call we
too will desire to respond as Yashua did – He surrendered himself entirely as
an offering to YHVH.
Lev 1:3 ‘If his offering is a burnt offering of the
herd, let him bring a male, a perfect one. Let him bring it at the door of the
Tent of Meeting, for his acceptance (Heb ratza – to be pleased that a debt has
been satisfied) before יהוה.
Lev 1:4 ‘And he shall lay his hand on the head of the
burnt offering, and it shall be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for
him.
Here the one doing the
offering identifies themselves completely with the offering.
Lev 1:5 ‘And he shall slaughter the bull before יהוה. And the sons
of Aharon, the priests, shall bring the blood and sprinkle the blood all around
on the altar which is at the door of the Tent of Meeting.
Lev 1:6 ‘And he shall skin the burnt offering and cut
it into its pieces.
Lev 1:7 ‘And the sons of Aharon the priest shall put
fire on the altar, and lay the wood in order on the fire.
Lev 1:8 ‘And the sons of Aharon, the priests, shall
arrange the pieces, with the head and the fat on the wood which is on the fire
on the altar.
Lev 1:9 ‘But its entrails and its legs he washes with
water. And the priest shall burn all of it on the altar as a burnt offering, an
offering made by fire, a sweet fragrance to יהוה.
Lev 1:10 ‘And if his offering is from the flock, from
the sheep or from the goats as a burnt offering, let him bring a male, a
perfect one.
Lev 1:11 ‘And he shall slaughter it on the north side
of the altar before יהוה. And the sons of Aharon, the priests,
shall sprinkle its blood on the altar all around.
It appears that only the burnt offering was to be
slaughtered on the north side. The Hebrew word for “north” comes from “tzaphan”
which implies that which is hidden or secret. The burnt offering would always
then remind us of the complete offering Yashua made of himself. Maybe there
were also hidden or secret issues that only YHVH knew about that only He
desired to heal and forgive.
Lev 1:12 ‘And he shall cut it into its pieces, with
its head and its fat, and the priest shall arrange them on the wood which is on
the fire on the altar.
Lev 1:13 ‘But the entrails and the legs he washes with
water. And the priest shall bring it all and burn it on the altar. It is a
burnt offering, an offering made by fire, a sweet fragrance to יהוה.
Lev 1:14 ‘And if the burnt offering of his offering to
יהוה is of birds, then he shall bring his offering of turtledoves or
young pigeons.
Lev 1:15 ‘And the priest shall bring it to the altar,
and shall wring off its head, and burn it on the altar, and its blood shall be
drained out at the side of the altar.
Lev 1:16 ‘And he shall remove its crop with its
feathers and throw it beside the altar on the east side, into the place for
ashes.
Lev 1:17 ‘And he shall split it at its wings, but not
sever it. And the priest shall burn it on the altar, on the wood that is on the
fire. It is a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, a sweet fragrance to יהוה.
Lev 2:1 ‘And when anyone brings a grain offering to יהוה, his offering is to be of fine flour. And
he shall pour oil on it, and put frankincense on it,
Lev 2:2 and he shall bring it to the sons of Aharon,
the priests, and he shall take from it his hand filled with fine flour and oil
with all the frankincense. And the priest shall burn it as a remembrance
portion on the altar, an offering made by fire, a sweet fragrance to יהוה.
Lev 2:3 ‘And the rest of the grain offering is for
Aharon and his sons, most set-apart of the offerings to יהוה by fire.
The
text states that a remnant of the grain offering that was not put on the fire
was kept aside for Aaron and his sons -
THIS REMNANT OFFERING WAS MOST SET APART – “KODESH KODASHIM” OF ALL THE
FIRE OFFERINGS PRESENTED TO YHVH.
The
reason it is most set apart is that if there is no Aaronic priesthood there is
no bringing us into our perfect redemption. This priesthood was responsible to
guide and lead us to the completion of our redemption.
This
priesthood can be compared to the bread of life for us because it embodies
everything that the Messiah is to us – the Bread of Life.
Lev 2:4 ‘And when you bring as an offering a grain
offering baked in the oven, it is of unleavened cakes of fine flour
mixed with oil, or unleavened thin cakes anointed with oil.
Lev 2:5 ‘But if your offering is a grain offering on
the griddle, it is of fine flour, unleavened, mixed with oil.
Lev 2:6 ‘Divide it into bits and pour oil on it, it
is a grain offering.
Lev 2:7 ‘And if your offering is a grain offering, in
a stewing-pot, it is made of fine flour with oil.
Lev 2:8 ‘And you shall bring to יהוה the grain
offering that is made of these, and shall present it to the priest, and he
shall bring it to the altar.
Lev 2:9 ‘And the priest shall take from the grain
offering a remembrance portion, and burn it on the altar, an offering made by
fire, a sweet fragrance to יהוה.
Lev 2:10 ‘And the rest of the grain offering is for
Aharon and his sons, most set-apart of the offerings to יהוה made by fire.
Lev 2:11 ‘No grain offering which you bring to יהוה is made with
leaven, for you do not burn any leaven or any honey in an offering to יהוה made by fire.
Lev 2:12 ‘Bring them to יהוה as an offering
of the first-fruits, but they are not burned on the altar for a sweet
fragrance.
Lev 2:13 ‘And season with salt every offering of your
grain offering, and do not allow the salt of the covenant of your Elohim to be
lacking from your grain offering. With all your offerings you bring salt.
Lev 2:14 ‘And if you bring a grain offering of your
first-fruits to יהוה, bring for the grain offering of your
first-fruits green heads of grain roasted on the fire, crushed heads of new
grain.
Lev 2:15 ‘And you shall put oil on it, and lay
frankincense on it. It is a grain offering.
Lev 2:16 ‘And the priest shall burn the remembrance
portion, from its crushed grain and from its oil, with all the frankincense, an
offering made by fire to יהוה.
Baruch atah YHVH, Eloheynu, Melech ha-‘Olam, asher natan lanu
Toraht-emet, v’chay-yeh o’lam nata-b’tochenu. Baruch atah YHVH, noteyn
ha-Torah. Ameyn.”
(Blessed are you Yahweh, our Elohim, King of the Universe, you have
given us your Torah of truth, and have planted everlasting life within our
midst. Blessed are you, YHVH giver of the Torah – Ameyn
Additional Midrash to consider:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tpmqs6_E8L8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkShglfHzbM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkShglfHzbM
Mal 1:6 “A son esteems his father, and a servant his master. And
if I am the Father, where is My esteem? And if I am a Master, where is My fear?
said יהוה of hosts to you priests who
despise My Name. But you asked, ‘In what way have we despised Your Name?’
Mal
1:7 “You are presenting defiled food on My slaughter-place. But you
asked, ‘In what way have we defiled You?’ Because you say, ‘The table of יהוה is despicable.’
Mal
1:8 “And when you present the blind as a slaughtering, is it not evil?
And when you present the lame and sick, is it not evil? Bring it then to your
governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you favourably?” said יהוה of hosts.
Mal
1:9 “And now, entreat the face of Ěl to show favour to us. This has been
done by your hands. Would He show favour to you?” said יהוה of hosts.
Mal
1:10 “Who among you who would shut the doors, so that you would not
kindle fire on My slaughter-place for naught? I have no pleasure in you,” said יהוה of hosts, “Nor do I accept an offering from your hands.
1Sa 15:22 Then Shemu’ěl said, “Does יהוה delight in ascending
offerings and slaughterings, as in obeying the voice of יהוה? Look, to obey is better than a
slaughtering, to heed is better than the fat of rams.
1Sa 15:23
“For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and stubbornness is as wickedness
and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of יהוה, He also does reject you as
sovereign.”
Burnt offering voluntary offering.
Psa 51:17 The slaughterings of Elohim are a broken spirit, A heart broken and crushed, O Elohim, These You do not despise.
Burnt offering – You lay down your life
completely – You lay down your rights, your dreams, your future and declare
that everything about you and your life are in His Hands.
Ancient Hymn writer once said ‘’ nothing in
my hands I bring simply to Thy cross I cling’’
Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to thy cross I cling;
Naked, come to thee for dress,
Helpless, look to thee for grace;
Foul, I to the Fountain fly;
Wash me, Saviour, or I die.
While I draw this fleeting breath,
When mine eyelids close in death,
When I soar to worlds unknown,
See thee on thy judgment throne,
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in thee.
The Burnt offering or ‘’korban olah’’ is connected to the ‘’Shemah’’
…. To love YHVH with all your heart, being and might. Everything is burned up
to YHVH in this ‘’korban’’ of utter devotion and consecration.
Eph 5:2 And walk in love, as Messiah also has loved us, and gave
Himself for us, a gift and an offering
(korban) to Elohim for a sweet-smelling fragrance.
Php
2:5 For, let this mind be in you which was also in Messiah יהושע,
Php
2:6 who, being in the form of Elohim, did not regard equality with Elohim
a matter to be grasped,
Php
2:7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, and came to be in
the likeness of men.
Php
2:8 And having been found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself and
became obedient unto death, death even of a stake.
Php
2:9 Elohim, therefore, has highly exalted Him and given Him the Name
which is above every name,