“So why is the sacrificial system in
the Bible? 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.
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.
I believe that YHVH is amazed and astonished that 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.
Lev 1:1 And יהוה called
(vayikra) 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 the
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 still calls His people.
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 him, I
have brought him, and he shall make his way prosperous.
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.’ ”
If we don’t listen and respond to His Call – Vayikra – we
will spend our lives in vain and our strength on emptiness.
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. Obedience to YHVH’s
call will produce great fruitfulness in our lives. Sadly many believers bring
offerings but not because they have
heard His call but because they are merely performing a religious duty.
Today when we hear His call we too will desire to respond
as Yahshua 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 Yahshua 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 Aharon 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 Aharonic
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.