Old Testament

Leviticus 8:1-13
The Consecration of the Aaronic Priesthood, Part I

From time to time, people ask me about my credentials, usually about what denomination I am. I have no set answer for that. I usually say something like, I’m a Bible preacher. However, that just tells what I do, it doesn’t tell what brought me to this point.

I met the Lord in 2001. For the first two or so years after that, I read the Bible cover to cover about once a week. I never counted, but I read it at my store, and I was there about 70 hours a week. So unless someone walked in, that’s what I was doing. When I got home, I’d keep reading it. After I closed the store and went back into Wastewater, I kept reading it.

I also started answering Bible questions on the beach. You learn a lot more doing that, than you do just reading. When you’re put on the spot and look dumb, you determine not to do it again. Eventually, the county took over our wastewater plant, and I had no time for government employment.

And so I asked the preacher of the church I was at about what I needed to do in order to get ordained. He told me to get a Bible-college degree and he would ordain me. I did, and he didn’t. It wasn’t really his fault, but the story goes back to my beard. We’ll leave it at that.

After that, I called the pastor of Grace Baptist Church and he told me to come on over to Grace, let the congregation get to know me for a year, and then he and the deacons would determine if I was ordainable. I went, I was, and they did. After my year of probation, they held a pastor/deacon interrogation, going over the major points of theology, asking anything they wished on Bibliology, Theology Proper (including trinitarianism), Christology, Pneumatology, Angelology, Anthropology, Harmartiology, Soteriology, Ecclesiology, and Eschatology. After that, I had to preach a sermon or two in front of the church. And then… the congregation voted on the matter. Apparently, the beard wasn’t an issue there. They approved it, and I was ordained on 24 January 2010. That’s it in a nutshell. Well, I did wear a suit, a tie, shoes, and a beard on the day I was ordained.

Text Verse: “Let Your priests be clothed with righteousness,
And let Your saints shout for joy.” Psalm 132:9

We have already gone through all of the advanced details for the ordination of Aaron and his sons. Those sermons though had to be taken along with everything else concerning the sanctuary and all of its implements. Everything is tied together, and they form a united whole.

Even in today’s sermon, we cannot escape going back and picking out some of the details from the past. It’s simply not possible without missing a ton of the symbolism of what lies ahead for us. The verses in this chapter lack much of the detail that was given. Even though we will go back to form a broad brushstroke of Christ and His work, we will leave far more out than we will include.

There is just enough added so that you can be reminded that everything about this ordination process is, in type and picture, looking forward to Christ. The details are logical, orderly, and they add in some new information as well. More than anything, the order of what is stated, and the dignity of how everything is accomplished, is what we are to focus on today.

The Lord had called, and now the calling was being acted upon. Time and again in this chapter, the words “as the Lord commanded” are stated. There is a set procedure which He laid out, and that set procedure will be followed carefully. The importance of this is because of the typology. In order for the type to reflect the Anti-type, everything had to be exact.

Now, as we look back on these things, we can clearly see Christ revealed in them. In turn, we are given the surety that our hopes are placed in the right basket. The word we have been given is sure, the hope that we possess is well-grounded, and therefore the things which are promised to us, but are yet future, are certain to come to pass.

It’s all to be found in His… wait a minute! Just so you know, Aaron did have a beard as was the custom for all men in Israel. That too is to be found in His superior word, and so let’s turn to that precious word once again and… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. A Gathering at the Door of the Tent of Meeting (verses 1-5)

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

This is the customary set of words which indicate that a new train of thought is being introduced. In this case, it introduces a section which will last all the way through until verse 10:8. Until then, the ordination of Aaron and his sons will be highlighted in detail.

This ordination process follows directly from the instructions given to Moses concerning the making of the priestly garments in Exodus 28, and the instructions given for the ordination process in Exodus 29. And then, some instructions for what should be done in the official duties of the priest were given in Exodus 30. What was instructed then will be complied with now. At least this is so up to a point. In chapter 10, there will be a deviation from the instructions, and that deviation will result in death.

What is interesting, is that the ordination process that we will now see was directed to be accomplished in Exodus 40 as that book closed out. However, before actually accomplishing it, the Lord first explained the different types of sacrifices that would be handled by the priests. This is what we have seen for the past seven chapters. Only now, after giving those minute instructions, are the priests ready to be installed in their special priestly office.

It would make no sense to ordain priests for the office, and only then explain to them the procedures for the various sacrifices that they needed to perform. Everything is precise, logical, and perfectly laid out. Each step leads to the next, just as one would expect from an instruction manual for putting together a complicated piece of machinery.

² “Take Aaron and his sons with him,

These words once again confirm what has already been seen earlier in Exodus. Aaron was not chosen by Moses because they were brothers, but rather Aaron was chosen by the Lord, and the Lord is now directing the ordination of the one he previously chose. It is intended to negate any feelings of favoritism by the other Israelites. Unfortunately, it is something that won’t actually occur until the Lord has to defend His choice at the expense of the lives of those who rebel against His decision.

^2 (con’t) and the garments, the anointing oil, a bull as the sin offering, two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread;

The description for the garments was given in Exodus 28; those for the anointing oil in Exodus 30, and the requirement for the bull, the rams, and the bread was given in Exodus 29. In the Hebrew, several definite articles are used to indicate that these things are to comply with what was stated in those chapters. These things were minutely described, and so what was described is now expected to be brought forth. The words are very precise because the typology of Christ is not to be deviated from.

³ and gather all the congregation together at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.”

The words here indicate at least the elders of the assembly who represented their tribes. This is explicitly noted in 9:1. The elders of Israel represented the children of Israel. The size of the courtyard would not allow even a small portion of the people to meet in this location, and so their designated representatives would be witnesses. Any others who could fit in probably did, and it is only speculation, but possible, that others went up on the surrounding hillsides to witness the marvelous spectacle.

The “door” being specified is intended to prefigure Christ. There is the altar where the sacrifices will be made, there is the laver where the water for the washing will come from, but the door alone is specified. Jesus said, “I am the Door.” He is the door to the tent of meeting, or the spot where communion with God takes place. The wording is carefully given to show us what is on God’s mind. Even 1500 years before the coming of Christ, the ordination is shouting out what God would do through Him.

⁴ So Moses did as the Lord commanded him.

The Bible is replete with words like this. For Moses, it is a phrase commonly spoken of him. He was commanded by the Lord to follow certain procedures, and the Bible then notes his obedience to those commands. The same Bible exists today, and the question is, “Would the words recorded about you say the same thing, or would they say that you failed to do as the word of God spoke?”

When Moses did fail to do as instructed, it cost him dearly. That is coming up in the book of Numbers, and to this day his error is recorded for us to, hopefully, learn from. Your life is being recorded as well, and at some point, you will have to stand before the Lord and give an account for your actions. It is hoped that you won’t be ashamed at the time of your trial.

^4 (con’t) And the congregation was gathered together at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.

It is a public consecration, and this for a couple of reasons. The first has already been explained, which is to show that Aaron was not simply selected by Moses because he was Moses’ brother, but rather it was because the Lord had selected him.

Secondly, because it was public, the people would then be, through their witnessing of the consecration, agreeing to the mediation of Aaron and his sons on their behalf. However many could fit into the courtyard would do so, and as the consecration went on for an entire week, people could come and go, allowing many to witness this national rite of ordination.

⁵ And Moses said to the congregation, “This is what the Lord commanded to be done.”

His words here sum up all of what he was presented while on Mount Sinai concerning the ordination process. He presented this to the people as the command of the Lord. As a congregation, they are now summoned together to perform that same word of the Lord which He had commanded.

Beautiful garments, so rich and glorious
To adorn the high priest of Israel
But they only point to our Lord victorious
In every detail there is a story to tell

In them we see His beauty, His splendor and glory
In them we see His work accomplished on behalf of us
Yes, in every detail there is a marvelous story
About the coming Christ; our Lord Jesus

And they tell yet more; that of which He does even now
They tell of His work interceding to the Father for us
For to Him God did all high priestly duties endow
Yes, He stands before His Father, our great Lord Jesus

II. The Consecration – Clothing and Anointing (verses 6-13)

⁶ Then Moses brought Aaron and his sons and washed them with water.

As part of the ordination process, Moses is to wash Aaron and his sons with water. This implies an entire washing of their bodies. At this strategic place, just between where the people were allowed to come, and the entrance to the place where the Lord dwelt, they were to be prepared for being acceptable to enter His presence.

The people being witnesses of this part of the process was intended to show them that they remained unclean and unacceptable to enter where their King was. Only those chosen and properly prepared could do so. After this full washing of their bodies, the laver will be used differently. This was seen in Exodus 30 –

“Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ¹⁸ “You shall also make a laver of bronze, with its base also of bronze, for washing. You shall put it between the tabernacle of meeting and the altar. And you shall put water in it, ¹⁹ for Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet in water from it. ²⁰ When they go into the tabernacle of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister, to burn an offering made by fire to the Lord, they shall wash with water, lest they die. ²¹ So they shall wash their hands and their feet, lest they die. And it shall be a statute forever to them—to him and his descendants throughout their generations.” Exodus 30:17-21

Each step, in both ordination and in daily duties, they are being progressively instructed in the holiness of God and the need to be pure and undefiled as they approach Him on behalf of the people. This washing pictures the total cleansing of the priests. In Aaron’s case, as the high priest, it symbolizes Christ’s perfect purity as our High Priest. It points to His baptism before He entered into His public service in order to fulfill all righteousness. For the sons of Aaron, it pictures those who follow Christ and are purified by His work. This is seen in John 13 where Christ said this –

“He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.” John 13:10

John uses two different words there. One signifies a full bathing, the second indicates a lesser washing. Through Christ’s work, we are completely cleaned. We stand justified and free of guilt. However, we also continue to go through a process of sanctification where we need to be purified from time to time.

This is pictured in the priest’s need to wash their hands and their feet as they ministered to the Lord. These external washings signify the universal corruption of man and our need for external purification. The water pictures the spiritual regeneration which occurs when we are set apart by Christ.

Only after the washing was accomplished were the garments then put on them. In the case of Aaron, his garments are emblematic of the divine work of Christ. He will next have seven articles placed upon Him – a tunic, a sash, a robe, an ephod, a breastplate, and a turban. Each represents an aspect of Christ’s work. Together, they form a picture of Christ, the Prophet, Priest, and King who is completely distinct and set apart from all others.

In the case of Aaron and his sons though, the cleansing now gives clear symbolic significance. It is to demonstrate, in type and shadow, that cleansing from sin must precede being clothed in righteousness and the anointing of the Spirit. Without being first cleansed, no person can draw near to God or be shown His favor through the sealing of the Spirit.

⁷ And he put the tunic on him,

The kethoneth, or tunic was first mentioned in Exodus 28:4, where it was called a “skillfully woven tunic.” It was mentioned again in Exodus 28:39 where it was said to be made of fine linen thread. An unusual Hebrew word, shabats, was used to describe it. That word means that it was made of a checkered weaving pattern, thus indicating something set or fixed. Flavius Josephus said that it was, “a tunic circumscribing or closely encompassing the body, and having tight sleeves for the arms.”

This garment pictures Christ’s righteousness which is checkered into His being. It is set and unchanging. As it is the garment closest to the body of Aaron, it is typical of Christ’s righteousness that literally adorns Him; it being an essential part of His very nature. As it will protrude out on both of his arms and from under his robe, it is a symbol of the always-evident righteousness of Christ. Even during His last moments before the crucifixion, Pilate proclaimed this aspect of Him –

“I have found no fault in this Man.” Luke 23:14

^7 (con’t) girded him with the sash,

This avnet, or girdle, was also mentioned in the same two verses of Exodus 24. It is a belt or a sash that is worn at the waist and was said to be made of “woven work.” Later, in Exodus 39, it was said to be “of fine woven linen with blue, purple, and scarlet thread, made by a weaver.” What is unusual is that it was probably not visible at all as it would be under the other garments. And yet, the instructions were specific concerning its weaving. This hidden sash is reflective of Christ’s divine majesty as is seen in Psalm 93 –

“The Lord reigns, He is clothed with majesty;
The Lord is clothed,
He has girded Himself with strength.
Surely the world is established, so that it cannot be moved.” Psalm 93:1

^7 (con’t) clothed him with the robe,

The meil, or robe, is a type of tunic which would reach from neck all the way down to somewhere around the knees; some believe even as far as to the feet. It was thought to be a completely seamless garment as can be inferred from Exodus 39:22 –

“He made the robe of the ephod of woven work, all of blue.”

The term “woven work” implies a seamless garment. However, Flavius Josephus explicitly documents this fact in his commentary on the priestly garments. He says that “the coat did not consist of two parts, nor was it sewed upon the shoulder, nor on the side, but was one long piece of woven work.” This robe is further described in Exodus 28 with these words –

“There shall be an opening for his head in the middle of it; it shall have a woven binding all around its opening, like the opening in a coat of mail, so that it does not tear.” Exodus 28:31

It would have a hole for the head to go through and it had no sleeves. Therefore, the top portion of it would be mostly covered by the ephod and the breastplate which go over it. However, the lower part was fully visible. The plain blue would be a beautiful contrast to the variegated ephod and the gleaming breastplate.

This blue signifies the law, especially in adherence to it. In a type of Christ, this blue robe signifies that Christ Jesus is the embodiment of the law. In Exodus 28, it was described with a word, kalil, translated as “all,” as in “all of blue.” That comes from the verb kalal, which means to complete or make perfect. Thus the robe was entirely made of only this blue. It is indicative of Christ who perfectly fulfilled the law, completing it on our behalf. He is literally “robed” in the completion of the law. Also, as the robe was seamless, it points to John’s words about Jesus on the cross –

“Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four parts, to each soldier a part, and also the tunic. Now the tunic was without seam, woven from the top in one piece.” John 19:23

Shortly after this occurred, John records Jesus’ dying words, “It is finished.” The robe which Aaron is being clothed in now in Leviticus was merely a picture of Christ embodying the law, fulfilling it, and finishing it for us. However, before He died, something else was recorded about Christ’s tunic. Despite dividing His other garments, the value of His tunic led them to say –

“Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be,” John 19:24

In contrast to this, in Matthew 26:65, the high priest of Israel tore his clothes during Jesus’ trial. This was in direct violation of the Law of Moses. In Leviticus 21 it says –

“He who is the high priest among his brethren, on whose head the anointing oil was poured and who is consecrated to wear the garments, shall not uncover his head nor tear his clothes;” Leviticus 21:10

In the treatment of these two garments, there is seen an ending of the old order of things. The Law of Moses was ended in Christ’s work and the New Covenant was established in His blood. The note of keeping the high priest’s robe from tearing was given as a contrasting picture of the true High Priest’s garment not being torn.

But, the recording of the high priest tearing his garment signifies the ending of that priesthood. That Christ’s garment wasn’t torn, and yet His body was, signifies the introduction of the New. In describing this robe in Exodus, a very rare word, takharah, was used to describe the hem around the neck. The word comes from the verb kharah, which means “to burn with anger.” In this, the symbolism is obvious; the anger of the Lord at the sin of man is what was on display there at the cross. The penalty for that sin was the tearing of Christ’s body, the true robe of humanity.

^7 (con’t) and put the ephod on him;

The materials for the ephod were described in Exodus 28:5-8 –

“They shall take the gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and the fine linen, ⁶ and they shall make the ephod of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen, artistically worked. ⁷ It shall have two shoulder straps joined at its two edges, and so it shall be joined together. ⁸ And the intricately woven band of the ephod, which is on it, shall be of the same workmanship, made of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen.”

The ephod is a sleeveless garment, like a waistcoat. It was made of the same colors as the veil of the tabernacle, but with the addition of gold thread added into it. The colors used in it indicate divinity/royalty for the gold, the law for the blue; royalty for the purple – which is a combination of blue and red; war, blood, and judgment for the red; and righteousness for the woven linen.

This ephod will bear the breastplate which will next be placed over it, just as the Ark bore the Mercy Seat. Though the Ark was described first, it is the Mercy Seat which crowns the Ark. The Ark embodies the law, thus the Old Covenant, while the Mercy Seat pictures the satisfaction of the law through the shedding of blood.

The same is true with the ephod and the breastplate. On the ephod will be two stones with the names of the children of Israel engraved on them. Thus it signifies the high priest’s role to bear the sufferings and labors of his people. On the breastplate will be twelve stones which will be engraved with the names of the children of Israel. This then signifies that the high priest sympathizes with his people as an intercessor before God. In both, the work of Christ is seen. First He bore our burdens, and then He became our intercessor. This is the reason for the order of each description. Marvelous wisdom is seen even in the order of how each thing is described to Moses.

^7 (con’t) and he girded him with the intricately woven band of the ephod, and with it tied the ephod on him.

This is the last time that the kheshev, or “band,” is to be seen in Scripture. It has only been used in connection with the ephod. It is the band or belt which would keep the two lower parts of the ephod held close to the body. This particular band was made with the same materials as the ephod itself.

It is believed to have been sewn onto the ephod at one point, and then it could be wrapped around the body and secured by strings, or a button or some other way. Its use is seen at the time of the ordination of Aaron here in Leviticus 8.

The idea of this band pictures “readiness for service.” Despite being the high priest, Aaron was to be a servant of the people, mediating for them. Being girded and ready for service is a theme seen numerous times in the Bible, and it was something which Christ Himself did not draw away from, but rather embraced. We read about His being girded to serve in John 13 –

“Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, ⁴ rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. ⁵ After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.” John 13:3-5

The gold which was woven into this belt anticipated the divine intervention of Christ for us. This is seen in Revelation 1:13 –

“…and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band.”

Aaron, wearing this ephod and band, was a type of Christ. The particular materials in them symbolize the services which Christ now renders to us as our human/divine Mediator. Though ascended to heaven, the book of Hebrews says that He is there in the presence of God making intercession for us.

⁸ Then he put the breastplate on him,

The instructions for the, khoshen, or breastplate are found in Exodus 28:15-30. Its full name is the breastplate of judgment. It took an entire sermon to describe the marvelous things which are seen in that particular item, and so if you want to know the symbolism, or if you have forgotten it, you will need to take the afternoon off from sports and watch it. There you will see such marvelous pictures of Christ that you simply won’t believe it.

^8 (con’t) and he put the Urim and the Thummim in the breastplate.

The Urim and Thummim are described in Exodus 28:30. They are two of the most enigmatic items to be seen in all of the things associated with the sanctuary and the rites which accompany it. Urim is the plural of the word uwr, or “fire.” It means “lights.” Thummim is the plural of the word tom, or “integrity.” It means “perfections” or “that which is blameless or innocent.” Together, they are literally translated “Lights and Perfections.”

Interestingly, it was Moses who deposited the tablets of the Testimony into the Ark of the Covenant, and it is also Moses who places the Urim and Thummim into the breastplate for Aaron. Moses, or “He who draws out,” is the one who puts the items in. A direct tie is being made between the Ark and its two stone tablets and the breastplate and these two stones. What the Urim and Thummim actually did, what they were, or how they were used is unknown. But we do know that they were used for inquiring of God. This is seen, for example, in Ezra 2:62, 63 –

“These sought their listing among those who were registered by genealogy, but they were not found; therefore they were excluded from the priesthood as defiled. ⁶³ And the governor said to them that they should not eat of the most holy things till a priest could consult with the Urim and Thummim.”

Both the stone tablets and the Urim and Thummin gave forth the word of the Lord. And both the Ark and the Breastplate were containers for that word. In both cases, Moses was the one who placed the stones into their containers.

As I said, Urim means “Lights.” Numerous times in the Bible, the law of the Lord, the word of the Lord, or the judgments of the Lord are said to be light. I’ll cite three examples of this –

“For the commandment is a lamp,
And the law a light;
Reproofs of instruction are the way of life.” Proverbs 6:23

“Listen to Me, My people;
And give ear to Me, O My nation:
For law will proceed from Me,
And I will make My justice rest
As a light of the peoples.” Isaiah 51:4

“Your word is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my path.” Psalm 119:105

Next, Thummim comes from the word tom. This corresponds to the adjective tamim or “perfections,” and thus being blameless. This is seen in the following two verses –

“As for God, His way is perfect;
The word of the Lord is proven;
He is a shield to all who trust in Him.” Psalm 18:30

“The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.” Psalm 19:7

In these, and other examples, we can find that the law of the Lord is what is pictured in the Urim and Thummim. And so it has the same meaning as the tablets within the Ark. Christ fulfilled the law and it was secreted away under the mercy seat. He thus embodies the law and His blood covers the sins of the law for His people.

In placing the Urim and Thummin within the Breastplate of Judgment, it signifies that our faith in His work is what justifies us. If we need to consult God, we do it through Christ. Matthew Henry gives a splendid analogy of these things –

“Now, Christ is our Oracle. By him God, in these last days, makes known himself and his mind to us, … He is the true Light, the faithful Witness, the Truth itself, and from him we receive the Spirit of Truth, who leads into all truth.” Matthew Henry

The truly amazing thing about this is that such minute detail was given for things that were to remain completely unseen, and yet they perfectly describe what Christ has done for us. In Christ, we are safe, we are secure, and we are so forever.

⁹ And he put the turban on his head.

The mitsnepheth, or turban, was also made of the fine woven linen like the tunic which was first put on Aaron. It again reflects Christ’s absolute righteousness. It is what crowns Him and it defines His very character. Together, this tunic and turban symbolize Christ’s pure and unsullied life and authority.

^9 (con’t) Also on the turban, on its front, he put the golden plate, the holy crown,

This golden plate, here called “the holy crown,” was described in Exodus 28 with these words –

“You shall also make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engraving of a signet:

HOLINESS TO THE LORD.

³⁷ And you shall put it on a blue cord, that it may be on the turban; it shall be on the front of the turban. ³⁸ So it shall be on Aaron’s forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things which the children of Israel hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall always be on his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord.” Exodus 28:36-38

The word translated as “plate” is tsiyts. It signifies a flower or a blossom. Along with that, a new descriptor is given here in Leviticus with the words nezer ha’kodesh, or “crown the holy.” The word nezer, being introduced here, signifies something set apart. It is this golden plate, placed on his forehead, which is the identifying mark of his separation from all others. It pictures the royal kingship of Christ. Unlike Israel which had offices of king and priest which were not to be intermingled, Christ is the fulfillment of them both. This is explicitly stated by the prophet Zechariah concerning the coming Messiah –

“Take the silver and gold, make an elaborate crown, and set it on the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest. ¹² Then speak to him, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, saying:

“Behold, the Man whose name is the BRANCH!
From His place He shall branch out,
And He shall build the temple of the Lord;
¹³ Yes, He shall build the temple of the Lord.
He shall bear the glory,
And shall sit and rule on His throne;
So He shall be a priest on His throne,
And the counsel of peace shall be between them both.'” Zechariah 6:11-13

The special word used to describe this plate, tsiyts, speaks of Christ’s Human and Divine natures. The pure gold represents His pure divinity, but that it is a flower speaks of His humanity. This is seen where the same word speaks of the fading glory of man –

“The voice said, ‘Cry out!’
And he said, ‘What shall I cry?’

‘All flesh is grass,
And all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.'” Isaiah 40:6

Unlike fallen man though, Christ is the unfading flower who stepped out of heaven to restore us to that same beautiful state.

The engraving of HOLINESS TO THE LORD on this plate signifies the perfection of Christ. It is He who is the true Mediator for God’s people. It is He who makes our offerings acceptable to God once again, and it is He who restores us – fully and completely – to our heavenly Father.

That there were two words on the engraving also signifies His Divine/Human nature – qodesh Yehovah. The 8 letters signify the new beginnings which are found in Christ Jesus. In fact, the name JESUS in Greek, IESOUS, is numerically equal to 888. Thus He is the ultimate example of the New Beginning for fallen man.

The blue cord which tied the plate to the turban signifies the law as fulfilled which ties the divine Lord to His intercessory role as our high priest. It is He who is the bridge between the infinite Father and finite us.

The specific naming of the placement of the plate on the forehead of the high priest is to show both the place of conscience and of identification. The duality is seen in that He is first conscious of those He ministers for, meaning us. And He is also conscious of His rightful place before His Father.

Secondly, it reveals His priestly identity presented before us and which comes from His Father. It is He who bore our iniquities at the cross, and it is He who still makes our sin-filled lives acceptable as HOLINESS TO THE LORD. Only through Him can we be considered acceptable to God. This is actually realized on the very last page of the Bible with these marvelous words –

“And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. ⁴ They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads.” Revelation 22:3, 4

It is this nezer ha’kodesh, or Holy Crown, which in typology is seen to be Christ who is the King/Priest who is set apart by God from among the sons of men.

^9 (con’t) as the Lord had commanded Moses.

The clothing of Aaron as the high priest is now complete. In order to show that it was done in accord with the word of the Lord, this clause is now stated. What was commanded has been performed.

¹⁰ Also Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it, and consecrated them.

After the clothing of the high priest, but before his personal anointing, the tabernacle is next anointed. The word for “anoint” is mashakh, which means to anoint by smearing. This is the first time that the mishkan, or tabernacle, is mentioned in the book of Leviticus. Until this point, the structure has been called ohel moed, or “tent of meeting.” Now the specific tabernacle, which is under the external tent, is mentioned by name.

The anointing oil is described in Exodus 30:22-38, every minute detail of which points to Christ. Those verses also took an entire sermon to explain. Again, if you didn’t see that sermon, or if you don’t remember its details, you can catch up on it this afternoon. In short, it signifies the presence of the Spirit, in and through the work of Christ. But such a brief explanation does disservice to the majesty of what is seen in the details. You really should check them out. It is this marvelous presence of the Spirit, symbolized by the anointing oil, that is used to anoint the tabernacle and all of the furniture contained within it.

¹¹ He sprinkled some of it on the altar seven times,

This is speaking of the brazen altar where the sacrifices were to be burned. The golden altar of incense, being within the tabernacle, was already anointed. Now, a seven-fold nazah, or sprinkling of the oil is made on the brazen altar. This seven-fold sprinkling has never been noted before in any of the instructions. It is a special procedure that thus signifies the presence of the seven-fold Spirit of the Lord as is seen in Isaiah 11 –

“There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse,
And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.
² The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him,
The Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
The Spirit of counsel and might,
The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.” Isaiah 11:1, 2

This altar is being distinguished by this special seven-fold sprinkling. It is the number of spiritual perfection, and so the sprinkling forms a connection between the offeror and the One to whom the offerings are made. They form a covenantal bond between both which is only a shadow of the bond that now exists between God and His people because of the sacrifice of Christ.

^{11 (con’t)} anointed the altar and all its utensils, and the laver and its base, to consecrate them. 

A different word is now used, returning again to mashakh, or smear, of verse 10. The utensils of the altar, as well as the laver and its base, are all anointed in the same manner as the tabernacle and everything in it. As before, the anointing of these items signifies the presence of the Spirit in what each item pictures.

In this verse, we can see the extremely high importance placed upon the altar. It is the only item which received the seven-fold sprinkling of the oil. And when the blood of a sacrifice is carried into the holy or most holy place and sprinkled seven times, it is because the animal first died at the north side of this altar.

This particular and special sprinkling points directly to the work of Christ who is the only true, final, and complete Sacrifice for the sins of man. It is what brings about full atonement and peace with God, and thus it is what provides access to the Spirit of God. The details of this Brazen Altar, which will help you to understand the significance of this seven-fold sprinkling, are found in Exodus 27:1-8, be sure to watch that sermon this afternoon as well.

¹² And he poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head and anointed him, to consecrate him.

Only after the anointing of the items meant for ministry to the Lord is the high priest who ministers to the Lord then anointed. The anointing oil is poured out onto his head in order to mashakh, or anoint, him. It is the basis for the word mashiakh, or “messiah.” This was to, as it says, “consecrate him.” The word means to set apart. He is the one who is set apart from his brethren by the anointing. Thus, in type, he prefigures Christ the Messiah who was spoken of by Isaiah –

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me,
Because the Lord has anointed Me
To preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;” Isaiah 61:1

*¹³ Then Moses brought Aaron’s sons and put tunics on them, girded them with sashes, and put hats on them, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Our verses today end with these words. The instructions for these tunics, sashes, and hats was given in Exodus 28:40 –

“For Aaron’s sons you shall make tunics, and you shall make sashes for them. And you shall make hats for them, for glory and beauty.”

The tunics and the sashes for Aaron’s sons were to be white. There was nothing else noticeable about them. The instructions are simple and without any special detail. The verb for making the tunics was asah instead of shabats which identified Aaron’s tunic. The garments of the sons were simple, plain pristine white, and yet they were distinct from all people around them.

The word for “hat” is migbaoth. This is the last of just four times it is seen in Scripture, and it is used only in reference to these caps for the sons of Aaron. It is from the same root as gibah or “hills” and gabia or “cups.” Hence, they are caps which fit the head.

It might seem remarkable that plain white garments would be described as “for glory and for beauty,” but white symbolizes righteousness. At times in the Bible, Christ’s garments, or those of angels, are said to be white. The glory and the beauty then is reflective of that which is of God – His righteousness.

These white tunics, sashes, and hats picture those who are in Christ, adorned with His righteousness because of His work. It is He who has brought many sons to glory through His work.

The hats, as I said, are the special word migbaoth. which is from the same root as gibah or “hills,” and gabia or “cups.” Both words are tied directly to the Aramaic word Gabbatha, the place where Christ was judged before Pilate. The symbolism is beautiful. The sons of Aaron are types of the sons of God and priests of the Lord Jesus who are granted that status as the helmet of salvation upon their head because of the judgment rendered on Him at Gabbatha.

The statement that the garments of the sons of Aaron were “for glory and for beauty” was the same statement made for the making of the garments of Aaron. In other words, because of the work of Christ, His priests now bear the same glory and beauty as He before the Father. Think of it! Imagine what we have been granted!

As we are at the end of our verses today, I’d like to take just a final moment to explain again, as I do each week, why all of this detail is important to you. If you have never called on Jesus, these things may not make sense, but they are all looking forward for a reason.

Closing Verse: When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus out and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called The Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha. ¹⁴ Now it was the Preparation Day of the Passover, and about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, “Behold your King!” John 19:13, 14

Next Week: Leviticus 8:14-36 In these, there is great stuff for you… (The Consecration of the Aaronic Priesthood, Part II) (12^th Leviticus Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. Even if you have a lifetime of sin heaped up behind you, He can wash it away and purify you completely and wholly. So follow Him and trust Him and He will do marvelous things for you and through you.

The Consecration of the Aaronic Priesthood

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying
These are the words He was relaying

Take Aaron and his sons with him
And the garments, the anointing oil too
A bull as the sin offering
Two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread; so you shall do 

And gather all the congregation together for sure
At the tabernacle of meeting’s door

So Moses did as the Lord commanded him
And the congregation was gathered together as one
At the door of the tabernacle of meeting
And Moses said to the congregation
——–“This is what the Lord commanded to be done”

Then Moses brought Aaron and his sons
And washed them with water; yes, he washed these ones

And he put the tunic on him, girded him with the sash
Clothed him with the robe, and put on him the ephod
And he girded him with the intricately woven band of the ephod
And with it tied the ephod on him, as he was previously showed

Then he put the breastplate on him, as the Lord did state
And he put the Urim and the Thummim in the breastplate 

And he put the turban on his head
Also on the front of the turban too
He put the golden plate, the holy crown
As the Lord had commanded Moses to do

Also Moses took the anointing oil
And anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it
And consecrated them
As the Lord to him did submit

He sprinkled some of it on the altar seven times
Anointed the altar and all its utensils as well
And the laver and its base, to consecrate them
As the Lord to him did tell

And he poured some of the anointing oil, as the Lord did state
On Aaron’s head and anointed him; him to consecrate

Then Moses brought Aaron’s sons
And put tunics on them, girded them with sashes
And put hats on them, as the Lord had commanded Moses
He crossed all T’s, dotted all I’s, and didn’t miss any dashes

How amazing! Every detail gives us precious insights to delight
Things that provide our souls with surety
That through Christ’s work, all things have been made right
And that our future is secure, a Divine guarantee

Thank You, O God for these marvelous hints of Jesus
Written so long ago, and yet as new as the day before our eyes
They are an anchor for the expectant souls of each of us
As we wait upon His return; He our splendid prize

And because of Him we shall for all eternity give You our praise
Yes, we shall hail You O God because of Jesus for eternal days

Hallelujah and Amen…

Leviticus 7:22-38
The Mediator’s Duties, Part III

This is now our tenth Leviticus sermon, and it completes the rules and regulations for the laws concerning the sacrificial offerings. What may have seemed confusing in many of the verses when we started have all actually come together to form a harmonious and logical set of instructions for the people to abide by, and for the priests to effectively administrate in their duties.

There is enough information available so that error should be avoided, but there is not so much detail that the people would be bogged down with a never-ending stream of rules and regulations. What is needed for those verses which leave some things unstated is a dose of common sense in order to fill in the blanks.

Unfortunately, common sense is often lacking in the world, and so by the time of Jesus, the leaders of Israel had added in rule upon rule and precept upon precept. Instead of just following the spirit and intent of the law, there was a great burden laid upon the people if they wanted to be considered righteous in the eyes of the leaders.

At least the law, which was already impossible to fully obey, offered the people grace and mercy in several important ways. But even with these allowances, the law could never perfect anyone. We have seen this time and again in the various offerings which have been detailed for us. If the people could have been perfected, then the offerings would have ceased in the perfection of the people. Such never happened.

But then came Jesus. He didn’t need to be perfected because He was already perfect. These types and shadows were meant to lead the people to Him, and in Him they were fulfilled. Now, through Him, something so, so much better is available to us…

Text Verse: “But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.” Hebrews 8:6

The mediator’s duties have been carefully laid out and explained. We’ve already seen some of the things which were granted to them for the conduct of their duties. Today, we will see some more of the benefits they received because of the accomplishment of them.

The Lord granted the priests particular parts of the offerings for their maintenance. As they had no inheritance of their own, the Lord was their inheritance, and thus they shared in the Lord’s portion. Today, the same is true. Those who minister to the Lord generally receive their livelihood from their service in the ministry.

Unfortunately, and not to start the sermon on a bad note, the priests of Israel took advantage of the offerings that they received. This was noted even before the time of the Kings. In 1 Samuel 2, the sons of Eli the high priest are noted as doing this. In this, it says that the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord.

Even worse, in the next chapter the Lord said, “I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.” What a sad commentary on those who should have been the preeminent example of holiness to the people of Israel.

Thank God that our High Priest is the perfect High Priest who we can trust completely, rely on with full confidence, and look to for help in our time of need. And for those who minister under him, let us pray that they will do their very best to do so with integrity and honesty at all times.

Our lives are short, and eternity ain’t. Let us not squander the future by filling ourselves up now with greediness and a self-serving attitude. Let us look to Jesus and allow Him to be our one and only Mediator, and our true Peace-offering to God, an offering which continues to be prefigured in the final verses of Chapter 7, along with some other important details concerning the Law of Moses, all of which ultimately point to Christ. It’s all to be found in His superior word. And so let’s turn to that precious word once again and… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. The Fat and the Blood (verses 22-27)

²² And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

As normal, these words introduce a new section of thought for Moses to write and then relay to the people. However, this section and the next are still a continuation of the law of the peace offering. What will be explained to him now builds upon the single verse found in Leviticus 3:17 –

“This shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwellings: you shall eat neither fat nor blood.”

Now, a more detailed explanation of that will be given. The peace offering is the only one of these offerings that is at least partly consumed by the offeror. Therefore, there must be prohibitions stated and defined at this time in order to ensure that the offering would not become defiled and thus rejected by the Lord.

²³ “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘You shall not eat any fat, of ox or sheep or goat.

Moses is told to instruct the children of Israel concerning the eating of fat. What is understood, but which could be easily misunderstood without examining the entire passage, is that this is speaking of the fat already detailed in the offerings, each of which pointed clearly to the working of Christ. It is for this reason that the particular fat is specified. In other words, the prohibition is not speaking of all fat, but just the particular fat of the offerings. The eating of other fat is not forbidden.

This begins to be further defined right in this verse with the words, “of ox or sheep or goat.” These are the three types of animals which were acceptable as offerings to the Lord, and so the particular fat of these types of animals which was offered on the altar is what is specified. It means that even when such an animal was not offered as a sacrifice, this particular fat was still not to be eaten by the people.

If it belonged to the altar of the Lord in a sacrifice, then it was not to be eaten at any time or any other place as a personal meal. Any fat which was separated from the flesh in this way was forbidden, but other fat which is of the animal was not forbidden. Again, the entire context needs to be understood in order to see this. These things are known by other passages where non-sacrificial animals are mentioned, but the fat is not –

 “However, you may slaughter and eat meat within all your gates, whatever your heart desires, according to the blessing of the Lord your God which He has given you; the unclean and the clean may eat of it, of the gazelle and the deer alike. ¹⁶ Only you shall not eat the blood; you shall pour it on the earth like water.” Deuteronomy 12:15, 16

Further, the other fat which is in these three animals is not included in this mandate. Deuteronomy 32 shows that the fat of sacrificial animals was eaten, meaning other than the special part reserved for the Lord –

“He made him ride in the heights of the earth,
That he might eat the produce of the fields;
He made him draw honey from the rock,
And oil from the flinty rock;
¹⁴ Curds from the cattle, and milk of the flock,
With fat of lambs;
And rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats,
With the choicest wheat;
And you drank wine, the blood of the grapes.” Deuteronomy 32:13,14

As always, if we can simply remember that the Lord is highlighting and foreshadowing the work of Christ in these verses, they will continue to make sense. Why would He care about the fat in this way unless He was ultimately showing us the work of the Lord in it? He has no nose, He doesn’t need to eat, and the same type of fat is found in other animals in which the prohibition does not exist. But because Christ is seen in the offerings, the minute care and attention is given.

²⁴ And the fat of an animal that dies naturally, and the fat of what is torn by wild beasts, may be used in any other way; but you shall by no means eat it.

This verse seems superfluous at first. The meat of an animal that died naturally was forbidden to be eaten. This will later be seen in Leviticus 22 –

“Whatever dies naturally or is torn by beasts he shall not eat, to defile himself with it: I am the Lord.” Leviticus 22:8

However, despite this being a law, it was understood that it could happen. And so a provision for someone who ate such meat was given as well. This is seen in Leviticus 17:15 –

“And every person who eats what died naturally or what was torn by beasts, whether he is a native of your own country or a stranger, he shall both wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. Then he shall be clean.”

Understanding this, the prohibition of this verse makes complete sense. Even if a person were to eat the meat of one of these three types of animal that died naturally, or one that died because it was torn by beasts, the particular fat which would otherwise belong to the altar of the Lord was still forbidden.

However, the prohibition only extended to consumption. The fat could be used for making soap, candles, medicine, lubricant, or whatever else fat can be used for, but it was not to be eaten. That which pictures Christ belongs to God alone, and it is forbidden for man to participate in it through consumption.

Nothing is said anywhere of the fat of birds as nothing is mentioned concerning that in relation to offerings. Again, only those things which prefigure Christ are relative to what is being mentioned here.

²⁵ For whoever eats the fat of the animal of which men offer an offering made by fire to the Lord, the person who eats it shall be cut off from his people.

This verse is obviously referring to the type of animal, not only the fat of those which are offered. If the animal was offered, the fat would have been handled by the priest in the manner prescribed by the rites given to the priests. Thus, the verse would be superfluous to state again. But, in saying this now, it defines what fat is acceptable, what fat is not acceptable, and in what type of animal the categories of fat are defined.

Anything not defined here would then, by default, be acceptable to eat. The verses are stated logically in order for there to be no mistake. But this is only true as far as all of the verses are taken as a whole and in context.

²⁶ Moreover you shall not eat any blood in any of your dwellings, whether of bird or beast.

This prohibition goes back to Genesis 9 –

And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be on every beast of the earth, on every bird of the air, on all that move on the earth, and on all the fish of the sea. They are given into your hand. ³ Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs. ⁴ But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. ⁵ Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man. From the hand of every man’s brother I will require the life of man. Genesis 9:2-5

The life is in the blood, and therefore it is what the Lord used for atonement of the people. This is made explicit in Leviticus 17 –

For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.’ ¹² Therefore I said to the children of Israel, ‘No one among you shall eat blood, nor shall any stranger who dwells among you eat blood.’ Exodus 17:11, 12

In this verse now, it is explicitly forbidding any blood, not just that of the sacrificial animals where the fat was prohibited. Whether the creature was legally prescribed as a sacrifice or not, consuming its blood is forbidden.

Having noted that, it specifically states only bird and beast. There are clean fish which could be eaten by the Israelites, and nothing is specifically said about this concerning them. According to the law, there are also certain insects which could be eaten, locusts for example. In Matthew 3:4, it is said of John the baptist that his food was locusts and wild honey. The law speaks of neither the fish nor the insects specifically.

However, the prohibition against eating blood stands, and therefore it must be assumed that the consumption of fish blood must fall under this prohibition. However, it would be unrealistic to assume that someone was purposefully eating a locust in order to consume its blood. And to attempt to bleed out a locust would be an exercise in futility. Simple common sense, and a right heart-attitude towards the spirit of the law must be considered.

From this, the New Testament continues with the prohibition during the early church. In Acts 15, which contains the decree of the Jerusalem counsel, the warning against consuming blood is repeated. However, it is an admonition, not a command –

“For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: ²⁹ that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well.” Acts 15:28, 29

There are several reasons for issuing this at the time, and the prohibition is repeated in Acts 21:25. However, the prohibition is not repeated by Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles in his prescriptive letters. At the same time, the issue of food sacrificed to idols which is also mentioned in both Acts 15 and Acts 21 is clarified by Paul, showing that it is a matter of conscience, but that there is actually nothing wrong with the meat itself.

As Paul never mentions the matter of blood, it must be inferred then that no penalty for consuming blood in this dispensation can be brought against a believer. The earlier warning in Acts was given until the Holy Spirit had issued God’s full counsel through the hands of the apostle. Now that it is received, we can see the reason for those earlier warnings which were given in Acts.

²⁷ Whoever eats any blood, that person shall be cut off from his people.’”

There are an amazing number of commentaries from ancient sources on this prohibition. Some state that this only concerned the blood by which the animal was animated while living. In other words, one couldn’t eat the blood which was bled out of a living animal, nor could one eat the limb of an animal that was taken off while it was alive and its blood was still pulsing through it. And on and on the commentaries go. They build one precept upon another, and confuse the plain reading of the verse.

When an animal was killed, it was to be slaughtered by cutting its neck. From there, the blood would come forth until the animal was drained of blood. Once that occurred, the meat would be considered free of blood. The prohibition stands that the blood was not to be eaten. The life is in the blood, and the blood was to be removed from the animal before it was eaten. It is a simple, straight-forward command. If it was not followed, the person was to be expelled from the community of Israel.

The life is in the blood, and you are not to eat the blood
I have given that as atonement for you
Purge it from yourselves, like a crimson flood
This is what I command you to do

In the shedding of the blood, the life is at its end
But if you consume the blood, what does that say of you?
With what will the fracture between us now mend?
Stop and consider my words; stop and think them through

From the guilty to the innocent the transfer is made
And then the blood of the innocent is shed; away ebbs the life
And in the act, there is a sin-debt paid
And in that same act, comes an ending of the strife

Thank God for atonement through an innocent Substitute
On that day when to Him my sin God did impute

And to me was granted His perfect righteousness
And so to God through Him, my soul shall ever bless

II. The Lord’s Portion (verses 28-38)

²⁸ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

Another new thought, still contained under the overall category of the peace-offering, is once again introduced. This section will specifically deal with the Lord’s portion of the peace-offering, which is inclusive of the portion which is given to Aaron and his sons. As they are his designated representatives, and as the high-priest is the mediator between the people and the Lord, the portion which goes to Aaron and his sons should rightfully be termed and considered as falling under the Lord’s portion.

²⁹ “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘He who offers the sacrifice of his peace offering to the Lord shall bring his offering to the Lord from the sacrifice of his peace offering.

When reading this, it might seem like the sacrifice is actually made somewhere else, but then the parts which are burned on the altar – and the parts which belong to the priest alone – were then carried to the sanctuary where they were handed to the priest. That would not be a correct assumption.

Instead, in the instructions for the peace-offering in verses 11-14 of this chapter mention things which are to accompany the sacrifice itself. These, along with the sacrifice, were to be brought to the Lord. The entire offering, animal and accompanying cakes of bread, is one actual offering. They were to be brought forth at one time, and the animal was to be slaughtered at the tent of meeting, not at the residence of the offeror.

As most of the animal is actually to be eaten by the offeror, it may have been considered more expedient to only bring the parts of the animal which were to be offered to the Lord, and not the whole thing. But this is incorrect. The law regards the entire offering as being offered to the Lord, and therefore, the entire offering is brought before Him. This becomes clearer with the next words…

³⁰ His own hands shall bring the offerings made by fire to the Lord.

The one making the offering was required to bring the animal and the accompanying cakes with his own hands. This could not be delegated to a servant or a friend. It would thus show that the offering is personal, it is voluntary, and that the offeror was happily joining together with the Lord in a feast. To delegate this to another would completely negate the personal nature of the offering.

^{30 (con’t)} The fat with the breast he shall bring, that the breast may be waved as a wave offering before the Lord.

The word translated as “breast” is khazeh. It comes from khazah which means “to see” because it is the part that is most seen when looking at the front of the animal. That, in turn, comes from a root which indicates to gaze at, and to mentally perceive, as in a vision.

This particular part of the animal, along with the fat, was to now be waved before the Lord as a tenuphah, or “wave offering.” It comes from nuph, which means to wave or move to and fro. By making a waving motion, the breast would thus be “before” or “in the face of” the Lord. It was an acknowledgment of the omnipresence of His vision. Although from extra-biblical writings, Charles Ellicott describes how this offering was conducted at the time of Christ when it was brought by the offeror to the temple in Jerusalem –

“The manner in which this rite was performed in the time of Christ was as follows:—The offerer killed the sacrifice, and the priest sprinkled the blood. The victim was then flayed, and the officiating priest took out the inwards, cut the flesh into pieces, and separated the breast and the right shoulder. Whereupon he laid the fat first upon the owner’s hands, then the breast, then the shoulder above it; the two kidneys and the caul of the liver above them again, and the bread above the whole, put his own hand under that of the offerer, and waved it all before the Lord. Hereupon the priest salted the inwards, and burned them upon the altar. The breast and right shoulder, as well as the bread waved before the Lord, were eaten by him and his brother priests, whilst the remainder of the flesh and the rest of the bread were eaten by the owner and his friends. If two persons brought a peace offering in partnership, one of them waved for both; and if a woman brought it, the waving was performed by the officiating priest, since women were not allowed to wave except in the offering of jealousy and of a Nazarite.”

³¹ And the priest shall burn the fat on the altar,

The fat alone was to be burnt, as if the smoke of incense, upon the alter to the Lord. As we have already seen several times, this is that part which reflects the inner qualities of Christ which are offered to the Lord as a sweet-smelling savor.

^{31 (con’t)} but the breast shall be Aaron’s and his sons’.

This most prominent part which signifies vision or perceiving a thing was reserved for the priests who are the mediators of the covenant.

³² Also the right thigh you shall give to the priest as a heave offering from the sacrifices of your peace offerings.

Along with the breast, the right thigh was also designated as the priest’s portion. The shoq, or thigh, actually can mean the thigh, shoulder, hip, leg. It comes from a word meaning “overflow,” and thus “abundant.” Thus it is the abundant area of meat on an appendage.

As it is the right thigh, it signifies the honorable side. But further, the thigh reflects the power and strength of the animal. In all, that which is abundant, powerful, and most honorable is what is being seen here. As you might have noticed, the breast was offered as a tenuphah, or wave offering, whereas the right thigh is offered as a terumah, or a heave offering. As explained before, and which you certainly remember perfectly, the terumah comes from the word rum which means to be high, or exalted. 

Thus one can see the idea of something being offered up, like an oblation. The breast which indicates seeing and vision, and thus the acquisition of wisdom, is waved in acknowledgment of God’s omnipresence, and the right thigh which indicates strength and honor is lifted in acknowledgment of God’s omnipotence.

Both then speak of Christ’s mediatorial abilities which are acknowledged in the waving and heaving of the different parts. He is the wisdom and power of God for His people, and from whom all knowledge and strength is derived. The pictures are perfectly seen in the offerings and how they are presented.

³³ He among the sons of Aaron, who offers the blood of the peace offering and the fat, shall have the right thigh for his part.

Whichever priest was the one who handled the blood of the offering was given this right thigh as his part. The word for “part” here is manah. It is a noun from a verb which means “to number,” or “to count.” Thus it is an assigned portion. This honorable part of the offering, which was first heaved up to the Lord, is reckoned to him for having conducted the rite of the offering before the Lord.

³⁴ For the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the heave offering I have taken from the children of Israel, from the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and I have given them to Aaron the priest and to his sons from the children of Israel by a statute forever.’”

The term l’khaq olam, or “a statute forever,” signifies “to the vanishing point.” It is a term which indicates until the end of the covenant. Whenever the covenant is fulfilled, it is no longer in effect. But something must fulfill it. And so if we look at this verse with a prophetic and pictorial view in relation to Christ, we could make a statement of what is being said here and apply it to Christ.

A sacrifice is being made as a peace-offering, and a portion of it belongs to the high priest and his sons.

The breast, ultimately representing wisdom, and the right thigh, ultimately representing strength, honor, and power, are given to the priest from the children of Israel. The whole verse points to Christ who came from the children of Israel, and who is – according to 1 Corinthians 1:24 the wisdom and power of God. He who possesses these qualities is our High Priest before God.

In fulfillment of the Old Covenant, He continues the picture in the New. And so l’khaq olam, or “a statute forever” simply moves this statement in picture to Christ in reality. Who would ever think this while reading through the verses in a cursory manner, and yet when taken word by word, the Person of Jesus Christ literally shouts out from these ancient words compiled by Moses as the Lord spoke them to him.

³⁵ This is the consecrated portion for Aaron and his sons, from the offerings made by fire to the Lord,

The words in Hebrew here are variously translated, and so they should be explained. Translations say, “the portion,” the “rightful share,” “that which is consecrated to,” “the anointing,” “the consecrated portion,” “the allotment,” “the anointing portion,” “the share,” and so on. The Hebrew word is mishkhah, which means “ointment,” or “to be anointed.”

The cognate word in Aramaic and Assyrian carries the sense of “to measure.” And so the verse could be translated either as anointing or portion without doing harm to the words in Hebrew, and at the same time they would then include a play on the other sense of the word. The translation by the NKJV of “consecrated portion” gives a very good sense of the intent behind the words.

It is the anointing of the Aaronic priesthood that allows the portion to be received by the priests. It is consecrated to them alone from the offerings made by fire to the Lord. This is then explained in the second half of the verse…

^{35 (con’t)} on the day when Moses presented them to minister to the Lord as priests.

The name of Moses is inserted here; it is not in the original. The Hebrew simply reads, “…in the day brought near them to serve as priests to Yehovah.” Moses did present them, but the Lord called them to be presented. The Hebrew words leave out the nominative. It is a statement of action which does not specifically mention the one doing the action.

³⁶ The Lord commanded this to be given to them by the children of Israel, on the day that He anointed them, by a statute forever throughout their generations.

This verse sums up the requirement from beginning to end. On the day of their anointing, until the day that the priesthood would be annulled in Christ, the requirement stood. In this, the Lord was providing for the priests of Israel, while at the same time, he was giving prophetic pictures of Christ to come who would be the fulfillment of what the generations of priests only prefigured.

³⁷ This is the law of the burnt offering, the grain offering, the sin offering, the trespass offering, the consecrations, and the sacrifice of the peace offering,

This verse is truly to be an overall statement of pretty much everything seen thus far in Leviticus. However, the order of the sacrifices is different between those first described earlier in Leviticus and those of the supplemental laws for conducting them which were given after that.

Therefore, this verse more significantly forms a concluding statement to that which was described since verse 6:8. All of those verses reflect the order of the offerings as described here with the exception of “the consecrations.” This includes those things which were described in Exodus concerning the consecration of Aaron and his sons, and it also includes the duties of Aaron which were described in verses 6:19-22.

As a point of theology which actually bears on the New Testament, these consecrations come from the Hebrew noun millu, meaning setting or installing. That in turn comes from the verb male which means “to fill.”

When we speak in the New Testament of being “filled with the Spirit,” we are in essence being consecrated to act. When Paul says to “be filled with the Spirit” such as in Ephesians 5:18, it is in the passive voice. What that means is that we are not actively, but passively, filled with the Spirit. Because we receive the Spirit when we receive Christ, we will never get more of the Spirit. We have all we will ever receive, in His fullness, the moment we call on Him.

However, the Spirit can get more of us. This is the passive filling which Paul speaks of, and this is why Charismatics and Pentecostals are so hugely wrong in their theology. As a married man, I will never get more married, but my wife can get more of me as I yield to her. As a believer in Christ, I will never get more of the Spirit, but He can fill me as I yield to Him.

When we say, male oti, or “fill me,” it must be based on our yielding which comes through praise of God, prayer to God, participation with the people of God, proffering thanks to God, and pondering God’s word. It does not come through pounding on drums, prancing about in church, playing as if super religious, or pontificating about one’s spiritual prowess. We have the Spirit, let Him have us. In Christ, the Lord has consecrated us, and so let us consecrate ourselves so that we can then be consecrated to act.

³⁸ which the Lord commanded Moses on Mount Sinai,

It is not “on” Mount Sinai, but rather “at” Mount Sinai. This was explained in Leviticus 1:1 with the words, “Now the Lord called to Moses, and spoke to him from the tent of meeting, saying…” Moses was in the Tent of Meeting, receiving his instructions from the mouth of the Lord who dwelt between the cherubim.

Mount Sinai is the same place as Mount Horeb, but the name Sinai is used because it is given in anticipation of the cross of Christ. Sinai means, “Bush of the Thorn,” and the name of the location is given in connection with the redemptive workings of God in Christ which look forward to the cross. As all of these offerings look forward to His sacrifice, the name Sinai is specifically given in this final verse of the long section which concerns the details of the offerings.

*^38 (fin) on the day when He commanded the children of Israel to offer their offerings to the Lord in the Wilderness of Sinai.

Again, in the final clause of the chapter, the name Sinai is used. This time it says b’midbar sinai, or “In the wilderness of Sinai.” The word midbar means desert, but it comes from davar, meaning word. The connection between the two is that cattle are driven in an open place by the word of the one driving them.

The Lord is commanding the children of Israel concerning these many offerings made to Him as they are driven to the cross of Christ. They are in a dry and barren land, but the water of the word is what is intended to lead them to the abundance which overflows from Him. The Lord doesn’t waste words. When He says something like this, it is intended to give us a picture of something else. And so it does. This final thought of the chapter is intended to get us to realize that everything we have looked at is meant to drive us to the Lord who has fulfilled each and every type and picture we have seen in these past seven chapters.

Although there will be more sacrifices detailed in the pages ahead, and although there will be a ton of other rules and statutes to govern the lives of the people, right now at the end of these many offerings, it is a great time for us to stop… and think about how blessed we are to not have to live under these requirements.

Isn’t that so? Every time I read through the law, and especially the book of Leviticus, I find myself thanking the Lord that I am on the other side of the cross. We don’t have to travel to Jerusalem to fellowship with the Lord, we don’t have to bring an offering in order to do so, and we don’t have to worry if we have checked off every detail in the long list of details to ensure all was done properly. Jesus has done it all for us. Everything we’ve look at has been intended to lead us directly to Jesus and His fulfillment of it all. Thank God for Jesus Christ who has done exactly that.

But Matthew Henry, commenting on the last three verses of this chapter, says something we should take to heart –

“Solemn acts of religious worship are not things which we may do or not do at our pleasure; it is at our peril if we omit them. An observance of the laws of Christ cannot be less necessary than of the laws of Moses.”

Because of Christ doing it all for us, we should be more willing, not less, to be obedient to what He has commanded us. He has given us the great commission. He has written through the hand of Paul a long and impressive list of things we are to do, or not do. And He has spoken openly to the seven churches in the book of Revelation. Let us not be slack in doing what we should be doing for the Lord Jesus.

And above all, He asks us to come to Him. That is the first step of obedience for the lost soul. Until we come to Him and receive Him, we cannot be pleasing to God. And so as I do each week, allow me to tell you what you need to know in order to be saved…

Closing Verse: “But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. ²³ But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. ²⁴ Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. ²⁵ But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.” Galatians 3:22-25

Next Week: Leviticus 8:1-13 Oh me, Oh my, it will be fun!… (The Consecration of the Aaronic Priesthood, Part I) (11^th Leviticus sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. Even if you have a lifetime of sin heaped up behind you, He can wash it away and purify you completely and wholly. So follow Him and trust Him and He will do marvelous things for you and through you.

The Mediator’s Duties

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying
These are the words He was then relaying

“Speak to the children of Israel, saying:
‘You shall not eat any fat, of ox or sheep or goat
And the fat of an animal that dies naturally
And the fat of what is torn by wild beasts, please take careful note

It may be used in any other way
But you shall by no means eat it, so to you I say

For whoever eats the fat of the animal
Of which men offer an offering made by fire to the Lord
The person who eats it shall be cut off from his people
So shall it be according to this word

Moreover you shall not eat any blood
In any of your dwellings, whether of bird or beast
Whoever eats any blood, that person
Shall be cut off from his people; from the greatest to the least

Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying
These are the words He was then relaying

“Speak to the children of Israel, saying:
‘He who offers the sacrifice of his peace offering to the Lord
Shall bring his offering to the Lord
From the sacrifice of his peace offering, according to My word

His own hands shall bring the offerings
Made by fire to the Lord, as you now have heard
The fat with the breast he shall bring
That the breast may be waved as a wave offering before the Lord 

And the priest shall burn the fat on the altar
But the breast shall be Aaron’s and his sons, they are the priest’s things
Also the right thigh you shall give to the priest
As a heave offering from the sacrifices of your peace offerings 

He among the sons of Aaron
Who offers the blood of the peace offering and the fat also
Shall have the right thigh for his part
To him it shall go 

For the breast of the wave offering
And the thigh of the heave offering too
I have taken from the children of Israel
From the sacrifices of their peace offerings, as I instruct you

And I have given them to Aaron the priest
And to his sons from the children of Israel
By a statute forever
These instructions to you I now tell

This is the consecrated portion for Aaron and his sons
From the offerings made by fire to the Lord
On the day when Moses presented them to minister
To the Lord as priests, according to His word 

The Lord commanded this to be given to them
By the children of Israel, chosen from among the nations
On the day that He anointed them
By a statute forever throughout their generations

This is the law of the burnt offering, the grain offering
The sin offering, the trespass offering too
The consecrations, and the sacrifice of the peace offering
The law which the priests were instructed to do 

Which the Lord commanded Moses on Mount Sinai
On the day when He commanded the children of Israel
To offer their offerings to the Lord in the Wilderness of Sinai
These instructions He thus to them did tell

Peace with God, full and complete
Has come to us through the blood of Jesus
In Him, there is fellowship so sweet
Marvelous things He has done for us

And so, O Lord, to You we give our heartfelt praise
And to You, O God, we shall sing out for all of our days

Hallelujah and Amen…

Leviticus 6:1-30

The Mediator’s Duties, Part I

The book of Leviticus gives lots and lots (and lots) of rules for the priests to follow. And when speaking of the duties of the high priest, it will often note that the same duties will devolve to the next high priest who is anointed to assume the duties of the previous high priest.

What is implied there is that the high priest was limited to a certain term which was due to end at his death. As this is the case, then it tells us that the high priest was not immune from death, nor would he ever be capable of being immune from it. If it was possible, then the Bible would have said as much.

But in speaking of the ordination and carrying on of the duties of the high priest by another generation, the implication is that death was a certainty. As the Bible clearly shows from its first pages that death is the result of sin, then we can easily deduce that the law could not cure the sin problem.

If the law is the super duper thing that Israel, even Israel of today, seems to think it is, then the law would be able to take care of the whole “I’m destined to die” thing. But nobody ever talks about being exempt from death because of the law.

Christians, on the other hand, talk about it all the time. While at the same time as expecting our end because of inevitable death, Christians also have the hope of actually never tasting death. If that is available to Christians, and it is, then that means that the sin-generated death problem is already fixed. The plan just has not yet been fully put into place.

Text Verse: “Also there were many priests, because they were prevented by death from continuing. ²⁴ But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. ²⁵ Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.” Hebrews 7:23-25

God did something marvelous in Christ Jesus. He fixed the death problem for us, by having Someone die who could not stay dead. Think about that for a moment. When someone offered a sacrifice for sin in Israel, the priest would eat of that person’s sacrifice because he was bearing the sin of that person as the mediator between him and God.

However, when a priest sacrificed for himself, he could not eat of the sacrifice because it would be as if he was taking his sin back upon himself again. But in Christ, we have a High Priest who is always alive. He died for our sin, but not His own. There was no sin that could come back to Him. And so for us, there is now no sin that can come back to us as well.

The sinless One is there mediating for His people, bearing their sins, but not facing death because of His own sins. The law which stood opposed to us was nailed to His cross. It died with Him, and so now we can live to God through Christ. It really is an amazing thing which God has done.

As we go through the many verses today, think about the symbolism as it looks forward to Christ. Some of it will be explained, some of it will be reexplained, and some of it should be well known enough to you already where it doesn’t need to be explained, but it is all about Jesus, and it is all to be found in His superior word. And so let’s turn to that precious word once again and… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. A Trespass Against the Lord (verses 1-7)

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

These words were last seen in verse 5:14. They are brought in now to signify a new train of thought is being introduced. The previous section dealt with things holy to the Lord; this now deals with offenses against one’s neighbor. Something you should know is that the division of the Hebrew Bible is different than how we divide it. Charles Ellicott explains this for us and it is well worth remembering –

“It is repeatedly stated, in some of our best commentaries, that Leviticus 6:1-7 form part of Leviticus 5 in the Hebrew Bible, and that our translators unfortunately adopted the division of the Septuagint, instead of following the Hebrew. Nothing can be more erroneous than this statement. The Hebrew Scriptures in manuscript have no division into chapters at all. The text is divided into sections, of which there are no less than 669 in the Pentateuch. The book of Leviticus has ninety-eight of these sections, while in our Authorised Version it has only twenty-seven chapters. The divisions into chapters, now to be found in the Hebrew Bibles, were adopted in the fourteenth century by the Jews from the Christians for polemical purposes, and the figures attached to each verse are of a still later period.”

In other words, the Jews of the 14^th century illogically divided the Scriptures as a means of attacking the divisions of the Christian Bible, but the Christian Bible follows the divisions of the Greek translation of the Old Testament which predates even Christ’s coming. The words of this first verse of chapter 6 show us that this is an entirely separate thought from that of verse 5:14, and therefore, the new chapter division is appropriate.

² “If a person sins and commits a trespass against the Lord 

The same word, maal, which was introduced into the Bible in verse 5:15 is used here again. It indicates committing a trespass, or dealing treacherously. In both verses, it is called a trespass against the Lord, even though this offense is against a neighbor.

The idea is that when someone defrauds or steals from a neighbor, it subverts social life. As the social life of the Israelites is established by God in His law over them, then to act against a neighbor is an insult to God. Thus, the sin is against the Lord, even if it is the neighbor who has been violated.

^2 (con’t) by lying to his neighbor about what was delivered to him for safekeeping, or about a pledge, or about a robbery, or if he has extorted from his neighbor,

The word for “lying” here is kakhash. It has only been used once so far, in Genesis 18:15 when Sarah denied that she laughed when the Lord said she would bear a child. It is a lie of denial or deception. This lying is said to be to the person’s amith, or neighbor. This is a new word in Scripture which will be found only in Leviticus with one exception which is Zechariah 13:7. It gives the sense of an associate or a companion.

Each of the things which involve lying to the neighbor are based on rare Hebrew words, or words which are now introduced for the first time, or even the only time. The words then, like those of any judicial instruction, are specific and precise. When one listens to a court proceeding, they may hear words which they have never heard before, but the law carries the need for precision which is often meant to explain the regular evil-doing of man in a way which intimately describes the actions he is involved in.

What is being relayed in this verse concerns the normal way things were done in Israel. If a person was going on a journey perhaps, they would need their things taken care of while gone. Suppose they had animals which needed to be tended to. They would be given over as a piqadon, or a deposit. The intent was that the thing would be kept safe for the individual.

The next example might be something precious which needed to be kept. The term is bitsumet yad, or a security (in) hand. This would be something small and precious, like money or jewelry. It would be handed to another for safekeeping. This is an offense which has already been explained, at least in part, in Exodus 22 –

“If a man delivers to his neighbor money or articles to keep, and it is stolen out of the man’s house, if the thief is found, he shall pay double. ⁸ If the thief is not found, then the master of the house shall be brought to the judges to see whether he has put his hand into his neighbor’s goods.” Exodus 22:7, 8

The third example is of a gazel, or robbery. It is something taken by violence. And the final example is that of ashaq. This is extortion or taking through oppression. Each of these was wrongdoing against one’s neighbor, but it is an offense within society, and thus offensive to God.

³ or if he has found what was lost and lies concerning it,

This is a fifth thing which falls under the same major category, finding something which was lost by another and lying concerning it. Exodus 23:4 specifically speaks of an enemy’s ox going astray which is found by someone. Even in such a circumstance, they were to acknowledge that which they found and return it to its rightful owner. Thus the enemy of Exodus 23:4 must be considered as the amith, or neighbor, of this verse for sake of the law.

^3 (con’t) and swears falsely—in any one of these things that a man may do in which he sins:

The swearing falsely here covers all of the previous five categories. One may lie about a deposit, a pledge in hand, about robbery, extortion, or finding something which didn’t belong to him. Each of the categories against another man unites in the one idea of it being sin against God.

The question we should stop and ask ourselves at this point is, “Have we ever done any such thing?” Even if the answer is, “No,” we have probably thought of doing one or more of them many times. The law is intended to bring out of us a sense of the state of wrongdoing that exists deep in the human heart.

⁴ then it shall be, because he has sinned and is guilty, that he shall restore what he has stolen, or the thing which he has extorted, or what was delivered to him for safekeeping, or the lost thing which he found,

The idea here is that the person willingly admits his guilt through a sense of remorse or a nagging conscience. It is not to include being caught and being convicted without a confession. This is certain because of the penalty which is imposed in the next verse. For someone who is guilty without confession, the penalty has already been established in earlier Exodus verses, one of which I cited a minute ago. For this, the first thing he is to do is to restore the thing which was involved in the offense.

⁵ or all that about which he has sworn falsely. He shall restore its full value, add one-fifth more to it, and give it to whomever it belongs, on the day of his trespass offering.

The person who was defrauded is to receive the restoration and accept one-fifth of the value added to it by the offender. What is implied, is that it is to be accepted. There is nothing stating that he has either a right to deny it or to request more. The matter is to be considered as settled. If one looks at it from this viewpoint, it is as much a protection for the one who is trying to make right, as it is for the person who was defrauded in the first place.

From here, he is then to also give his trespass offering. The two were to occur one immediately after the other. The restitution to the aggrieved party was not considered sufficient for the offense. A trespass offering was required as well. It was to be a sign of sorrow for his transgression against another, against society, and against God. The penalty of this offering, and its accompanying ritual are the same as for the offenses noted in chapter 5 as is seen next…

⁶ And he shall bring his trespass offering to the Lord, a ram without blemish from the flock, with your valuation, as a trespass offering, to the priest.

The difference between this trespass and one directly against the Lord is that the one who is offended receives the additional one-fifth value for the wrong done toward him. Whereas in an offense against the holy things of the Lord, the one-fifth value was given to the priest. Other than that, the same ram is required as before.

⁷ So the priest shall make atonement for him before the Lord, and he shall be forgiven for any one of these things that he may have done in which he trespasses.”

This verse corresponds to 5:16. In both instances, the priest makes atonement for the offender, and he is forgiven for the wrong he has done. Again as in the previous chapter, the entire process looks ahead to the work of Christ for all of these same offenses which we have committed against our fellow man, our society, and our God. In the end, our offenses are ultimately offenses against Him.

I defrauded my neighbor, but have taken it to heart
I did him wrong, when I should have been upright
Now it is time I make a new start
A new day now ends the anxious, sleepless night

No more will I swear falsely, I will pay for what I have done
And to the Lord I will offer a ram to set things right
Against Him I have sinned; He the offended One
But my offering will end this miserable plight

My High Priest will make atonement for me
I will be made right because of my Lord
I am trusting in Jesus to once and forever set me free
I have faith in the truth of His marvelous word

II. The Law of the Burnt Offering (verses 8-13)

⁸ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

Again, after just a few verses, an entirely new section is introduced which will include the laws for the burnt, grain, sin, trespass, and peace offerings which have all been laid out already. One might wonder why these are detailed now instead of in those chapters.

The reason is that up to now, the details showed the people the circumstances which necessitated bringing an offering, and how it was to be done. Now the directions are given for how the priests are to actually conduct their duties on behalf of the people.

Many scholars claim that this is where the chapter should actually begin, and that verses 1-7 should belong to chapter 5, but there is no reason to conclude this. Verses 1-7 were their own section. Their placement here is therefore not at all uncalled for. The divisions are logical and orderly as they are compiled in the Christian canon.

⁹ “Command Aaron and his sons, saying,

The directions from the Lord now are to be relayed as a commandment to Aaron and his sons. The intent is that until the next major section, everything that will be spoken is a responsibility of theirs. This section will take us all the way to verse 7:21 when the children of Israel are again the addressees.

^9 (con’t) ‘This is the law of the burnt offering:

The term, “This is the law of” will be seen at the beginning of each section right through verse 7:21, all of which are spoken to Aaron and his sons. After that, instructions will be spoken again to the children of Israel. Each section is a part of the larger set of instructions which the Lord is giving.

^9 (con’t) The burnt offering shall be on the hearth upon the altar all night until morning, and the fire of the altar shall be kept burning on it.

This first type of offering, the burnt-offering, is the one detailed in Exodus 29. It is the daily lamb offerings which were offered in the morning and then in the afternoon at a time known as “between the evenings.” They were to be offered every day without fail, and they pointed in a marvelous way to the work of Christ on the day of His cross. If you missed that sermon, or if you have forgotten it, it’s time for you to brush up by re-viewing it once again.

The last sacrifice upon the altar each day was one of the lambs of this burnt-offering, and the first offering upon the altar each next day was, again, to be this daily lamb offering. It was to be kept burning all night, right up until morning, and then the next offering was to be made. The fire was never to go out, but was to be kept burning perpetually. The reason for this is that the fire was sanctified by the Lord at the consecration of the altar. After that, the same fire, sanctified by Him, was to consume all sacrifices from then on out. This will be seen in just a few more chapters –

“Then the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people, ²⁴ and fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.” Leviticus 9:23, 24

This then is a picture of the eternal fire of the Lord, consuming the sin of man. Either it is done on behalf of man by Christ, or it is done to man in the Lake of Fire. Either way, sin will be judged, and the fire is that from the Lord Himself.

¹⁰ And the priest shall put on his linen garment, and his linen trousers he shall put on his body, and take up the ashes of the burnt offering which the fire has consumed on the altar, and he shall put them beside the altar.

The specificity for the priest to put on his linen garments is not unnecessary. The ashes were a part of the holy offering of the daily sacrifices. Therefore, the person doing the labor of removing the ashes was to be attired properly for the task. The linen garment he is to wear is described by a new word in Scripture, mad. It would be a full length robe. The “trousers” are undergarments which come from a word which gives the sense of “hiding.”

The linen they are made of in Hebrew is bad. It is probably from the word badad, or “shoots.” Thus one gets the idea of divided fibers that are woven together. The nakedness of the priests was to be covered in order to reflect purity and holiness instead of indecency. A sense of the holiness of the duties was to be reflected in the wearing of this attire. In these garments, he was to gather up the ashes of the burnt-offering, and then place them by the altar.

¹¹ Then he shall take off his garments, put on other garments, and carry the ashes outside the camp to a clean place.

The holy garments were to be worn in the sanctuary and for holy duties. However, he was not to go outside the sanctuary with them. And so after gathering the ashes of the fat, he was to change into common garments where he would then carry them outside of the camp to a place which was not defiled in any way. No carcasses, dung, or any other thing which caused defilement was to be found in the place where the ashes of the fat were disposed of.

¹² And the fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it;

These words are given as a stern warning that while the ashes were being removed, the priest was to ensure that the fire would not be quenched during the process. He was not to knock the still-burning pieces of the offering which were the fuel for the fire and thus cause the fire to go out. And then to stress this it says…

^{12 (con’t)} it shall not be put out.

The word for “shall be put out” is a new word in Scripture, kabah. It means to extinguish. The same thought is restated in a new way. The fire was not to go out, but was to be kept burning always.

^{12 (con’t)} And the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order on it; and he shall burn on it the fat of the peace offerings.

The fire that was left from the previous night was to be rekindled with wood each morning in preparation for the morning offering. When that lamb was sacrificed, it was then laid on the wood in its regular order as prescribed, and any time peace offerings were offered, the fat of those, as previously detailed, was to also be burnt on it. The fire then was to be continuously fueled by the fire provided by the congregation, and by the sacrifices of these daily offerings. And then, once again, the strict warning is given…

¹³ A fire shall always be burning on the altar; it shall never go out.

There is no exception. When the altar was moved, the fire was to be kept burning. From day to day and year to year, the same fire that was first sanctified by the Lord was to burn. It is His fire of judgment, and only His fire. No strange fire was to be introduced, because only the Lord’s judgment upon sin is acceptable.

The repetition is intended to show us this truth. All judgment is of the Lord. His judgment upon our sin in Christ is eternally effective, or His judgment upon man’s sin will be eternally applied. This is seen in Isaiah 66 where the same word, kabah, which was in both verse 11 and 13 is seen there –

“And they shall go forth and look
Upon the corpses of the men
Who have transgressed against Me.
For their worm does not die,
And their fire is not quenched.
They shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.” Isaiah 66:24

A lamb precious and pure is given
For to my God I desire to provide my very best
He has brought me to the place of abundant livin’
And to please Him is my heart-filled quest

How good and pleasant it is to offer the lamb
I pray that He is pleased with the condition of my heart
I love my Lord God, the great I AM
And so to Him this precious lamb I do impart

May the Lord accept this offering in my place
And look with favor upon me as I go my way
May the Lord turn to me His glorious shining face
And may He bless my steps each and every day

III. The Law of the Grain Offering (verses 14-23)

¹⁴ ‘This is the law of the grain offering: The sons of Aaron shall offer it on the altar before the Lord.

The directions here are a close repeat of Leviticus 2:1-3, but with some additions as well. The Hebrew says that the grain-offering was to be offered before the Lord and before the altar, not “on the altar” as the NKJV reads. Further, conducting this duty was limited to the sons of Aaron, meaning any of the descendants of him from that point on who were ordained to be priests.

¹⁵ He shall take from it his handful of the fine flour of the grain offering, with its oil, and all the frankincense which is on the grain offering, and shall burn it on the altar for a sweet aroma, as a memorial to the Lord.

These words are a close repeat of Leviticus 2:2, all of the symbolism as we saw points to Christ. The fine flour, the oil, the frankincense, all of it is given as anticipatory pictures of the coming work of Christ. It is He and His work which is ultimately the true sweet aroma and memorial to the Lord.

¹⁶ And the remainder of it Aaron and his sons shall eat; with unleavened bread it shall be eaten in a holy place; in the court of the tabernacle of meeting they shall eat it.

The word “with” does not belong here. The remainder of the grain-offering was not to be eaten “with” unleavened bread. Rather, it was to be eaten “as” unleavened bread. If your Bible says “with,” make a note. The grain-offering was to be made into unleavened cakes and then eaten in a holy place. Only males could eat this as it was deemed as a most holy offering. However, any male who ceremonially defiled could not partake of this offering.

¹⁷ It shall not be baked with leaven.

This shows that the word “with” in the previous verse is incorrect. The remainder of the offering was not to be baked with leaven. It was to be eaten as unleavened bread. The reason is…

^{17 (con’t)} I have given it as their portion of My offerings made by fire; it is most holy, like the sin offering and the trespass offering.

Notice the use of the first person. The Lord claims this offering as His, but He gave it to the priests as their portion. Thus it is considered qodesh qadashim, or holy of holies. As leaven pictures sin, there was to be no leaven mixed with this most holy offering.

¹⁸ All the males among the children of Aaron may eat it. It shall be a statute forever in your generations concerning the offerings made by fire to the Lord.

The words are specific and exclude any female, and they also exclude anyone outside of the priesthood of Aaron and his sons from partaking of this offering. This was to be a statute forever according to the time of the continuance of the covenant. The term, “forever” simply means “to the vanishing point.” It does not mean eternally. In Christ, the law is ended, and the prohibitions no longer apply. However, as there are seven years left for Israel under the Old Covenant according to Daniel 9, then this prohibition will be in effect during those final seven years.

^{18 (con’t)} Everyone who touches them must be holy.’”

There are two views on this. The first is that only someone who was holy, or set apart, could touch these offerings. The second is that if someone touched them, they became holy. If the latter is true, and which seems to be the case, it means that any common person who touched them would become devoted to the Lord. As they had no right to the priestly privileges, it would mean a life filled with inconvenience because of their transgression.

¹⁹ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

This introduces a new section within “the laws of” which began in verse 9, and they continue the laws of the grain offering, but the instructions are solely for the anointed priest concerning the grain offerings which apply to him, not to those of the general congregation.

²⁰ “This is the offering of Aaron and his sons, which they shall offer to the Lord, beginning on the day when he is anointed:

The wording here needs a moment of explanation. Aaron was anointed, and the ordination process took seven days to complete. During that time, this offering wasn’t made. It only took effect upon the completion of his ordination, and from that time forwards. The term “on the day” then is speaking of the time-frame of the ordination. Upon the completion of that time-frame, the offerings were to be made day by day.

^{20 (con’t)} one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a daily grain offering, half of it in the morning and half of it at night.

One-tenth of an ephah is an omer, or as much as a person would eat in a single day. This was to be offered each day as a grain-offering to the Lord, and it was to be divided into one portion in the morning, and the second in the evening. The term here for “night” is not the same as the time of day that the lamb was sacrificed. This word means precisely, “in the evening.”

²¹ It shall be made in a pan with oil. When it is mixed, you shall bring it in. The baked pieces of the grain offering you shall offer for a sweet aroma to the Lord.

The wording here is very precise, and it was solely the responsibility of the high priest to accomplish this task each day. He was to use a flat pan, like a griddle, mix it with oil, and bake the pieces before offering them to the Lord on the altar. Jewish tradition says he made six pieces in the morning and six at night, being the same number as the bread of the Presence, but this is not included as part of Scripture.

The word for “mixed” here is rabak. It is found just three times in Scripture, and all three are pertaining to this same process. It gives the sense of soaking bread in oil for the purpose of frying it.

²² The priest from among his sons, who is anointed in his place, shall offer it. It is a statute forever to the Lord.

The meaning here is that this duty each day rested solely with the high priest. Whoever succeeded him would then assume this particular duty. This is the meaning of “who is anointed in his place.” There was but one anointed priest at at time. Nothing is said about what was done if the high priest was sick or incapacitated. And this verse does not seem to give the high priest any chance of going on vacation, even for a weekend.

The duty was his, it was done twice a day, and it was done by him until he was succeeded by a new high priest. This was to continue on as long as the law remained in effect. As Christ is the fulfillment of this practice, and the Initiator of the New Covenant, the words “forever to the Lord” point to Him having accomplished this now, once and forever.

^{22 (con’t)} It shall be wholly burned.

The other grain-offerings brought by the people had a memorial handful taken out and presented to the Lord on the altar. After that, the rest belonged to the priests for their use. On the other hand, this offering had to be kalil taqetar, or wholly burned (as incense). The reason for this is that it would be unseemly to make an offering to the Lord and then partake in it. And, as he was the highest official, the offering could not be passed down to a lower station from Him. It was solely the property of the Lord, and it was to be wholly burnt up as an aroma to Him.

This offering which is not a bloody offering was not intended for expiation of sin, but was rather a type of the fruits of sanctification. Again, it looks forward to Christ. As the daily sacrificed lamb was a type of His cross as a perfect sin-offering, this is a type of His perfect life, lived wholly to God.

²³ For every grain offering for the priest shall be wholly burned. It shall not be eaten.”

Again, the prohibition is repeated as a type of emphasis. The grain-offering of the priest belonged to the Lord, not to the priest. In picture, it is the priest living for the Lord, not for himself. As he is a type of Christ, it is emblematic of Christ living for God and not for Himself. He yielded His life to the Father, being literally saturated in the Holy Spirit, just as this bread was saturated in oil. This is what is seen in this daily grain-offering of the high-priest.

What will it take to please the Lord; how much work will do?
When will my deeds be enough?
I think I have satisfied Him through and through
But then I ponder about my life… all the bad stuff

And then I see that the bad outweighs the good
And so I do a bit more hoping it will be enough
But the nagging sensation makes it understood
That doing wrong makes the good disappear like a puff

And then I heard that He had done it all for me
Jesus’ works were perfect; God deemed it enough
Like frankincense, His life was accepted. How can it be?
His works are sufficient to cover all of my bad stuff

IV. The Law of the Sin Offering (verses 24-30)

²⁴ Also the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

The word “also” here is inappropriate. It is the exact same words as have been seen at the beginning of each section. It should simply read, “And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,” just as it has each time. However, though it is a new direction from the Lord, it still continues the same major section which began in verses 8 and 9 which are commandments directly to Aaron and his sons. This section expands on the instructions given in Leviticus 4.

²⁵ “Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, ‘This is the law of the sin offering: In the place where the burnt offering is killed, the sin offering shall be killed before the Lord. It is most holy.

The place where the burnt-offering is killed is specified in Leviticus 1:3 as being at the door of the tent of meeting, but this properly means, at the altar, and specifically on its north side (1:11). It is the sacrifice at the altar which allows entry through the door. The two are linked together as one. A sin offering is considered one which falls into the class of most holy offerings. As Albert Barnes notes about this term being applied here –

“The flesh of the victim, which represented the sinner for whom atonement was now made, was to be solemnly, and most exclusively, appropriated by those who were appointed to mediate between the sinner and the Lord. The far-reaching symbolism of the act met its perfect fulfillment in the One Mediator who took our nature upon Himself.” Albert Barnes

²⁶ The priest who offers it for sin shall eat it.

The symbolism here is that the priest thus bore the sin of the person that brought the offering. This is explicitly stated in Leviticus 10:17. Thus, it looks forward to Christ bearing the sin of His people. In practical day to day life, it also was a means of providing for the priests who had no inheritance of their own. Unfortunately, this symbolism of the priests bearing the sin of the people was abused by them when they went on to revel in their own sins. This is seen in Hosea 4 –

“The more they increased,
The more they sinned against Me;
I will change their glory into shame.
⁸ They eat up the sin of My people;
They set their heart on their iniquity.
⁹ And it shall be: like people, like priest.
So I will punish them for their ways,
And reward them for their deeds.” Hosea 4:7-9

^{26 (con’t)} In a holy place it shall be eaten, in the court of the tabernacle of meeting.

The court is everything outside of the tent itself, but within the hangings which surrounded the tent, forming the courtyard. The priests would have a place set apart where they would gather and eat their meals within this courtyard.

²⁷ Everyone who touches its flesh must be holy. 

The same terminology is used here as before. Either the person touching the flesh must be holy, or the person who touches the flesh will become holy, meaning devoted to the Lord. Scholars punch it out over which is correct, but the latter does seem to be more likely. This seems even more so because of what is next said about the blood.

^{27 (con’t)} And when its blood is sprinkled on any garment, you shall wash that on which it was sprinkled, in a holy place.

Any blood which was inadvertently sprinkled on any garment needed to be washed off, there in a holy place designated for such things. This was done to show the high and precious value of the blood of the sacrifice which was not to be taken into any profane place, or among anything common or unclean. The blood of the sin-offering is typical of the precious blood of Christ which is to be treated with the highest respect and regard for what it signifies in the life of the believer.

²⁸ But the earthen vessel in which it is boiled shall be broken.

The kheres, or earthen vessel, is introduced here. It is any pot or potsherd made of earthenware. If such a vessel was used for boiling the sacrifices, it was to be broken, because it could absorb the fat of the offering into it. Later in Leviticus, the exact opposite will necessitate the breaking of earthen vessels. If they touch anything defiled, they were to likewise be broken.

In the Bible earthenware jars are used at times to symbolize people and the Lord is the Potter. The lesson should not go unlearned. The holy is not to be mixed with the profane, and we, as earthen jars, are to be filled with that which is holy. After that, we are to keep ourselves from being mixed with that which is profane.

^{28 (con’t)} And if it is boiled in a bronze pot, it shall be both scoured and rinsed in water.

A pot of bronze would not be subject to soaking up defilement, and so it would need to be scoured and then rinsed to purify it. Both words, scour and rinse, are introduced here. One gives the sense of polishing, the other gives the sense of overflowing with water in order to cleanse. As bronze signifies judgment in Scripture, there is a picture of sin being judged and cleansed away. In such a case, the bowl could be reused. Such was not the case with a vessel of clay.

The typology is impressive, and it shows that the Lord has our sanctification and holy living on His mind, even with the vessels used in the sacrificial rites and customs.

²⁹ All the males among the priests may eat it. It is most holy.

The meat of the sin-offering was allowed to be eaten not only by the officiating priest, but by any of the priests, and any of their male children. Despite the high honor of this for the priests, the New Testament says that believers in Christ have an even higher honor in that we have an altar from which those who served at the tabernacle have no right to eat. We have partaken of what these types and shadows only prefigure in the Person and work of Christ.

*³⁰ But no sin offering from which any of the blood is brought into the tabernacle of meeting, to make atonement in the holy place, shall be eaten. It shall be burned in the fire.

This takes us back to the sin offerings for the high priest, or of the congregation as a whole, which were seen in Leviticus 4, and which will be seen for the sin offering of the Day of Atonement rites of Leviticus 16. Any such sin offering had its blood brought into the holy place of the tent of meeting. There atonement was made by sprinkling seven times, and upon the horns of the altar of incense before the Lord. Such an animal was not to be eaten by the priests as it would then symbolize the sin returning to the one who needed atonement in the first place.

Again as we keep seeing, the verses show us of the fallible nature of the law. Not because the law was with fault, but because man is with fault, and the law is above man’s ability to to meet its requirements. The symbolism keeps showing us this.

Each step of the process shows the fallible nature of the common people, and the fallible nature of the priestly class as well. Anyone who has to sacrifice for himself is in need of that sacrifice. And any sacrifice that cannot be partaken of by the offeror implies that what has occurred with that sacrifice becomes beyond the holiness of the that same offeror.

In order for perfection to be realized under the law, there must be One who is already perfect. Thus He would need no sacrifices for His own sins, and He could then fulfill the law in this capacity. In fulfilling the law, then He could give His life in exchange for the sins committed under the law, not as an offering for Himself, but as an offering for others.

And as sin under the law brings death, but because He had no sin of His own, then death could not hold Him. One receives wages for what He has earned. If He did not earn the wages of death, then death could not be a final payment for His works. The state of death must release Him. And in His release, our release would also be realized because He had died in exchange for our sins. If you just think each step through to its logical conclusion, it is more than amazing… it is perfect. What God has done in and through Jesus Christ is absolutely perfect.

And it is ours to be received by a mere act of faith. This is the most marvelous part of the entire deal. The work is done and it is fully effective to complete the task of reconciliation for us, and all God asks for is simple faith. “I believe that what You have done is all-sufficient for what I need. I receive it by faith.” In that act, you are set on a new path, and are freed from the constraints of the law which could save no one.

I would hope that you are seeing this more and more with each new passage we look at. God has been doing something absolutely marvelous in the stream of human existence, all leading up to the glory which was revealed in Christ Jesus. And now that is leading up to a new glory which lies ahead for those who have received this marvelous offer. Call on Christ, and be reconciled to God today through His shed blood.

Closing Verse:  “But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, ²² even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, ²⁵ whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, ²⁶ to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” Romans 3:21-26

Next Week: Leviticus 7:1-21 More things for the priests to do… (The Mediator’s Duties, Part II) (9^th Leviticus Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. Even if you have a lifetime of sin heaped up behind you, He can wash it away and purify you completely and wholly. So follow Him and trust Him and He will do marvelous things for you and through you.

The Mediator’s Duties

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying
These are the words he was relaying

If a person sins and commits a trespass against the Lord
By lying to his neighbor about what was delivered to him
For safekeeping, or about a pledge, or about a robbery
Or if he has extorted from his neighbor; an action quite grim

Or if he has found what was lost
And lies concerning it, and swears falsely
In any one of these things that a man may do in which he sins
Then it shall be, because he has sinned and is guilty

That he shall restore what he has stolen
Or the thing which he has extorted
Or what was delivered to him for safekeeping
Or the lost thing which he found, when it went unreported 

Or all that about which he has sworn falsely
He shall restore its full value, add one-fifth more to it
And give it to whomever it belongs
On the day of his trespass offering, as to you I submit

And he shall bring his trespass offering to the Lord
A ram without blemish from the flock, with your valuation
As a trespass offering, to the priest
Such is the set determination

So the priest shall make atonement for him before the Lord
And he shall be forgiven for any one of these things
That he may have done in which he trespasses
When upon himself guilt he brings

Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying
This he next began relaying

Command Aaron and his sons, saying
This is the law of the burnt offering, as I to you submit
The burnt offering shall be on the hearth upon the altar all night
Until morning, and the fire of the altar shall be kept burning on it

And the priest shall put on his linen garment
He shall do this thing
And his linen trousers he shall put on his body
And take up the ashes of the burnt offering

Which the fire has consumed on the altar
And he shall put them beside the altar; in this he shall not falter

Then he shall take off his garments
Put on other garments; yes the others he shall replace
And carry the ashes
Outside the camp to a clean place

And the fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it
It shall not be put out, so to you I submit
And the priest shall burn wood on it every morning
And lay the burnt offering in order on it

And he shall burn on it the fat of the peace offerings, no doubt
A fire shall always be burning on the altar; it shall never go out

This is the law of the grain offering; according to this word
The sons of Aaron shall offer it on the altar before the Lord

He shall take from it his handful of the fine flour of the grain offering
With its oil, and all the frankincense which is on the grain offering
And shall burn it on the altar for a sweet aroma
As a memorial to the Lord, so shall be this proffering

And the remainder of it Aaron and his sons shall eat
With unleavened bread it shall be eaten in a holy place
In the court of the tabernacle of meeting they shall eat it
It shall not be baked with leaven; such shall be the case

I have given it as their portion of My offerings made by fire
It is most holy, like the sin offering and the trespass offering too
All the males among the children of Aaron may eat it
Follow now as I am instructing you

It shall be a statute forever in your generations
Concerning the offerings made by fire to the Lord
Everyone who touches them must be holy
So shall it be according to this word

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying
These words the Lord began relaying

This is the offering of Aaron and his sons
Which they shall offer to the Lord
Beginning on the day when he is anointed
On that day according to My word

One-tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a daily grain offering
Half of it in the morning and half of it at night shall be this proffering

It shall be made in a pan with oil
When it is mixed, in it you shall bring
The baked pieces of the grain offering you shall offer
For a sweet aroma to the Lord, such is this offering

The priest from among his sons
Who is anointed in his place, shall offer it
It is a statute forever to the Lord
It shall be wholly burned, as I to you submit

For every grain offering for the priest shall be wholly burned
It shall not be eaten: follow these instructions you have learned

Also the Lord spoke to Moses, saying
These continued words He was relaying

Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying
This is the law of the sin offering; according to this word
In the place where the burnt offering is killed
The sin offering shall be killed before the Lord

It is most holy
This is how it is to be

The priest who offers it for sin shall eat it
In a holy place it shall be eaten, so shall it be
In the court of the tabernacle of meeting
Everyone who touches its flesh must be holy

And when its blood is sprinkled on any garment
You shall wash that on which it was sprinkled, in a holy place
But the earthen vessel in which it is boiled shall be broken
Such instructions shall be the case

And if it is boiled in a bronze pot
It shall be both scoured and rinsed in water, so shall it be
All the males among the priests may eat it
It is most holy 

But no sin offering from which any of the blood
Is brought into the tabernacle of meeting
To make atonement in the holy place, shall be eaten
It shall be burned in the fire, of them there shall be no eating

Lord God, in ourselves we are not acceptable to You
But You have made a way for it to come about
Through the offering of Your Son who is faithful and true
We can approach You without fear or doubt

We now can come home to You once again
We are reconciled through what Christ alone has done
May we be willing to share this marvel with all men
That God has given us new life through His Son

Praises to God who has done this most marvelous thing for us!
All praises to God, through our glorious Lord Jesus!

Hallelujah and Amen

Leviticus 5:1-19
The Trespass Offering

Have you ever been pulled over for speeding and had no idea you were 10 miles an hour over the posted speed limit? Since you had gotten onto the road, there was no speed limit sign. And it just happens that the last sign was posted one road BEFORE you turned onto it. How can it be your fault when something like that happens? Well it is. Ignorance of the law is _________?

The same is true with going to another state and finding out that something you are doing is against the law, whereas you do it in your state every day, and twice on Sunday. Too bad; so sad. Pay the fine, and dontchew whine.

This is the idea behind the passage today. There are things which caused the people to become guilty, even if they didn’t realize it. There are a variety of ways this could come about, but the fact that they did come about is all that matters. When the person discovered their transgression, they were considered guilty.

From there, they were to confess their guilt and then make an offering for atonement, or covering over, what they had done. This is what was expected of them. During times when people actually cared about their wrongs, the stream of blood from the sacrifices must have gone on and on.

I can look back on my life and think of countless times that I did something I later realized was not legal. Add in the times that I knew I was doing wrong, and the list would go on pretty much continuously. You do realize that the speed limit from here to my house has been set too low, and so it’s not really my fault that I go 60 instead of 40 most of the way.

Text Verse: Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, ¹⁹ that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 2 Corinthians 5:18, 19

God has a standard, and that standard is the law. The law has expectations and demands which must be met, and it is the truly foolish person that would think, even for a moment, that they believed they perfectly met all of those requirements. And yet, there’s a guy in Sarasota, even right down the road from where we are now, that has the folks in his synagogue believing the he has done exactly that. A friend of mine attends there and he told me once that his rabbi perfectly meets all 613 of the law’s commands.

Well, I could probably show him at least a hundred that it is impossible for him to meet because there is no temple and there are no sacrifices, and so what he claims cannot be true. But even apart from that, nobody will ever tell me that they have never coveted. If they were to do so, I’d say then that they were also a liar… oops, there’s two. We could go on, but there is no point. We are told in Leviticus that the man who does the things of the law will live.

The unstated, but obvious implication is that the man who does not do the things of the law will die. One final command in the law which is kind of the death knell for this rabbi concerns that of the Prophet. The Lord told Moses, who then told the people that He would raise up a prophet like Moses who would speak the word of the Lord to people. He then said that whoever would not hear His words which He spoke in the Lord’s name, well it would be required of Him. That prophet is Yeshua, and this guy ain’t listening to the Lord through Yeshua. I would pray that he realizes the err of his ways before that great Day of judgment comes.

But for those of us who know Him, Yeshua, or “Jesus,” our debt is paid, our transgressions are covered over, and we have peace with God once again. Instead of many sacrifices for many infractions, we have one for all of them. Thank God for Jesus Christ who is the fulfillment of everything pictured here in Leviticus. It’s all to be found in His superior word. And so let’s turn to that precious word once again and… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. The Hidden Thing that Becomes Known (verses 1-13)

‘If a person sins

The last chapter dealt with the sin-offerings to be presented for various groups. There was one for the high-priest, being the spiritual head of the people. There was one for the whole congregation. There was one for a ruler of the people. And finally, there was one for the individual members of the congregation.

Now, specific instances of sins which are committed are identified. They are of a type which is of less magnitude than those mentioned in chapter 4. In the committing of these sins, there must be an offering for atonement to come about. In the Hebrew, the word nephesh, or soul, is used for “person” here. “If a soul sins…” It indicates that there is a will and a desire which drives the person, and it is that part of the person which is being highlighted. In all, three particular types of sin will be mentioned.

^{1 (con’t)}  in hearing the utterance of an oath, and is a witness, whether he has seen or known of the matter—

The word here for “oath” is alah. It indicates a curse, cursing, an oath, swearing, etc. For this reason, some tie the offense being described in with a curse against another person, as in a verbal attack. However, this is not the intent of what is being said.

Rather, the main idea is that of a person being asked by the civil authorities to answer on oath, but subsequently refusing to tell what is known concerning the matter being looked into. The word is used in Psalm 10, where it is translated as “cursing.” But if the context is looked at, it is a cursing which is not a verbal attack on another, but rather one which is tied into deceit and oppression –

“His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and oppression;
Under his tongue is trouble and iniquity.” Psalm 10:7

If one were to use the word “oath” instead of “cursing” there, the sense of the offense is better understood. “His mouth is full of oaths and deceit and oppression…” In other words, it is speaking of the kind of person who voluntarily makes oaths which are deceitful and harmful to others. “Mark’s money was stolen, did you know anything about this John?” “No, I swear I didn’t know a thing about it!”

As Israel is a society of people which forms a whole, it was an individual’s duty and responsibility to provide whatever the authorities needed to maintain the integrity of proper functioning of the society which was ultimately guided by God’s divine law.

There are times where a matter was being looked into, and an answer to the offense could not be found. In such an instance, it may be that the authorities would ask an entire congregation of people to make a vow, stating that they did not know anything about the offense which occurred. In this, if one of the people was aware of what occurred, but did not speak up, he was guilty.

The law of the unsolved murder of Deuteronomy 21:1-9 might be such an instance. If anyone aware of the offense did not come forward to speak during that rite, he was actually considered in the Lord’s eyes to have participated in what occurred. This had to be remedied. Until the matter was cleared up, it was an offense which carried its own burden…

^{1 (con’t)}  if he does not tell it, he bears guilt.

The weight of the guilt was laid upon him. It is a matter of his conscience. He has committed a crime, and he is conscious of the sin he bore. This is evident because if he wasn’t conscious, there would otherwise be no reason to bring a sacrifice as will be prescribed in the coming verses. This is a willful concealing of a matter which affects some other part of the Lord’s overall control of the people through His law. Of this type of oath which is demanded of another, an example is found in the New Testament, at the trial of Jesus.

And the high priest arose and said to Him, “Do You answer nothing? What is it these men testify against You?” ⁶³ But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest answered and said to Him, “I put You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!”

⁶⁴ Jesus said to him, “It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

⁶⁵ Then the high priest tore his clothes, saying, “He has spoken blasphemy! What further need do we have of witnesses? Look, now you have heard His blasphemy! ⁶⁶ What do you think?”

They answered and said, “He is deserving of death.”

⁶⁷ Then they spat in His face and beat Him; and others struck Him with the palms of their hands, ⁶⁸ saying, “Prophesy to us, Christ! Who is the one who struck You?” Matthew 26:62-68

Jesus was placed under oath by the high priest. Because of the position of the high priest, He was bound by the Law of Moses, which He gave to Israel, to tell the truth. He did, and therefore He remained without guilt in the matter. There is an irony that runs through the Bible that is astonishing when properly considered.

² ‘Or if a person touches any unclean thing,

The second type of trespass is for that of defilement due to touching something unclean. Here the noun tame, or unclean, is used for the first time. It comes from the verb tame which is the act of defilement, such as when Dinah, Jacob’s daughter, was defiled by Hamor the son of Shechem in Genesis 34. It is a word which will become common in the Hebrew society from this point on. If a person came into contact with something defiled, they took on that state of defilement until it was dealt with. There are a host of things which would make one unclean in this way, such as…

^2 (con’t) whether it is the carcass of an unclean beast, or the carcass of unclean livestock, or the carcass of unclean creeping things,

The word nebelah, or carcass, is introduced here. It indicates what is left after death; a corpse. In touching a corpse, defilement was transferred to the person who touched it. Three categories are given to show what corpse was included. The carcass of an unclean beast would be something like a pig. The carcass of unclean livestock might be a donkey, and the carcass of unclean creeping things would be something like a reptile. The general categories are given to signify all unclean animals in regards to dietary laws.

^2 (con’t) and he is unaware of it,

There are four likely reasons why a person would be unaware of his defilement. The first would be because he simply didn’t know he had touched something dead. The second would be because he was unaware of the requirement of the law which told him of his defilement. The third would be that he forgot he had touched something dead. And the fourth would be that he willingly ignored the offense. An example of someone doing this is given in Judges –

So Samson went down to Timnah with his father and mother, and came to the vineyards of Timnah.

Now to his surprise, a young lion came roaring against him. ⁶ And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and he tore the lion apart as one would have torn apart a young goat, though he had nothing in his hand. But he did not tell his father or his mother what he had done.

⁷ Then he went down and talked with the woman; and she pleased Samson well. ⁸ After some time, when he returned to get her, he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion. And behold, a swarm of bees and honey were in the carcass of the lion. ⁹ He took some of it in his hands and went along, eating. When he came to his father and mother, he gave some to them, and they also ate. But he did not tell them that he had taken the honey out of the carcass of the lion. Judges 14:5-9

Samson was certainly aware of having touched the defiled animal, but he may have been unaware of the law, which is unlikely, or he may have simply ignored the command of the law. The parents became guilty through the act of eating the honey as well, but they were at this time unaware of the defilement. In all three cases, they were required to follow the procedures of the law given here when the trespass became known.

The matter extending to that which is unknown is important in that it shows that those who are even unaware of their defilement are still guilty. It is an exhortation then to be aware of one’s surroundings, and to not simply assume that passing through life is an excuse for one to not pay heed to what is going on around him. This is made explicit with the following words…

^2 (con’t) he also shall be unclean and guilty.

This, by default, is a ceremonial, not a moral guilt. The conscience is not naturally defiled by touching a carcass. However, because this is a part of the ceremonial law, a person is considered defiled ceremonially, and thus they bear guilt until they take the necessary action to have the guilt removed.

³ Or if he touches human uncleanness—

This is another new word, tum’ah. It is uncleanness which comes from being unclean. In other words, a human that is unclean because of defilement is in a state of defilement. A woman in the time of her period is in this state. A person who has a discharge is in this state. And so on. If any person touches such uncleanness, they too become defiled. This word is used in the instructions to Samson’s mother for the rule and conduct of his life –

So the woman came and told her husband, saying, “A Man of God came to me, and His countenance was like the countenance of the Angel of God, very awesome; but I did not ask Him where He was from, and He did not tell me His name. ⁷ And He said to me, ‘Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. Now drink no wine or similar drink, nor eat anything unclean, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.’” Judges 13:6, 7

^3 (con’t) whatever uncleanness with which a man may be defiled, and he is unaware of it—when he realizes it, then he shall be guilty.

As with defilement of the previous verse, so it is here. The person is considered defiled whether they realize it or not. Once realized, they were to consider themselves guilty because they were guilty.

⁴ ‘Or if a person swears, speaking thoughtlessly with his lips

Now a third way of becoming guilty is introduced. It is through the act of speaking in a certain manner. The word “swears” here is not meant in the way we use it today, such as in using a bad word. Rather it is swearing as in an oath or a vow. When a person so swears through speaking thoughtlessly, then guilt may come about. The words “speaking thoughtlessly” are a single word in the Hebrew, bata. It is a rare word, found only four times in the Bible. It means “to babble.” From that comes the idea of speaking rashly or unadvisedly. It is used in the psalms when speaking of Moses –

They angered Him also at the waters of strife,
So that it went ill with Moses on account of them;
³³ Because they rebelled against His Spirit,
So that he spoke rashly with his lips. Psalm 106:32, 33

So what we have in this verse is a person who speaks an oath in a rash manner to do something, but they don’t consider the oath afterwards, forgetting it when the trouble has subsided. A perfect example of this is found in 1 Samuel 25 –

Now David had said, “Surely in vain I have protected all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belongs to him. And he has repaid me evil for good. ²² May God do so, and more also, to the enemies of David, if I leave one male of all who belong to him by morning light.” 1 Samuel 25:21, 22

David made the vow to kill all of the males of Nabal’s household, but Nabal’s wife, Abigail, came to pacify David over the rude treatment he had received. David was, in fact, pacified. He never followed through with his vow, but he was now guilty because of it. If it was brought to his memory, he needed to rectify the matter.

Another such vow is found in Acts 23 where a group of Jews made a vow not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul. It was less rash, than pre-planned, but it was still a vow which was not fulfilled. Unfortunately for them, Christ had died in fulfillment of the law. Thus, any sacrifice they made would have been unsuccessful in removing their guilt. Only in coming to Christ could they hope for their guilt to be removed.

^{4 (con’t)} to do evil or to do good,

This is an idiom which is all-encompassing concerning matters which fall under the extremes of good and evil, and thus it represents all human actions. If a vow is made from one extreme to the other, or anywhere in the middle, it is to be performed. If it is not, or if it was a rash vow that should not be performed, one is still guilty for the vow which had been made.

^{4 (con’t)}  whatever it is that a man may pronounce by an oath, and he is unaware of it—when he realizes it, then he shall be guilty in any of these matters.

Again, as before, once the matter was brought to the attention of the offender, the person was guilty before the law. In being guilty, he would then need to seek pardon through the required sacrifices which are to be prescribed.

⁵ ‘And it shall be, when he is guilty in any of these matters, that he shall confess that he has sinned in that thing;

This covers all of the offenses noted so far – 1) remaining silent in hearing the utterance of an oath; 2) touching something unclean which brings about defilement; and 3) making a rash oath. In any such instances, when the matter is brought to mind, the person becomes guilty through the offense. When that happens, then the matter needs to be confessed as sin, because he has, in fact, sinned.

The necessity to confess shows that the offering itself is not sufficient without the confession. This is an advanced taste of the gospel itself. Jesus Christ is our sin-offering, and yet, without confession of one’s need for Jesus, the offering is not accepted on his behalf. In other words, there is no such thing as universal salvation. Atonement is unlimited in its potential scope, but it is limited in actuality. This is built upon by Paul in Romans 10 –

“The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): ⁹ that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Romans 10.8-10

Confession, whether of sin or for salvation, is necessary for things to happen.

⁶ and he shall bring his trespass offering to the Lord 

The verb asham, which speaks of being guilty, was seen in chapter 4, and in verse 2 of this chapter, is now changed to the noun form, asham, which indicates the offering for that guilt. Here it is called a trespass offering. This is what is required for the committed sin which is now realized. It is, in essence, a fine which has become due for one who is guilty. Without the payment of the fine, the guilt remains. It is an anticipatory look to Christ, who is said to be our asham, or sin-offering in Isaiah 53 –

Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him;
He has put Him to grief.
When You make His soul an offering for sin, (asham)
He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days,
And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. Isaiah 53:10

As each offering unfolds and is explained, we continue to find hints of Christ to come, who alone could fulfill these countless types and pictures which were given to Israel until His incarnation.

^6 (con’t) for his sin which he has committed,

The words in Hebrew say, “for his sin which he has sinned.” To understand why I mention this now, stay tuned for verse 7.

^6 (con’t) a female from the flock, a lamb or a kid of the goats as a sin offering.

In chapter 4, the required offering for the sin of one of the common people was to be a female hairy goat, or a male lamb. Here, the same two are required. The only difference is that both, either lamb or goat, were to be females of the flock. The lesser valued of the species was specified most likely because these are sins of ignorance which have come to mind. Therefore, the Lord is granting an allowance for their now-realized transgressions.

^6 (con’t) So the priest shall make atonement for him concerning his sin.

Through confession and offering, the atonement would then be handled by the attending priest, and the sin would be covered. It is, as with all such things, looking to the final work of Christ who is both our offering, and the One who offers the offering. The entire process of our atonement is of, by, and from Him. We simply need to confess and to receive what He has already done. It is not a difficult thing in one way, and yet it is something which is immensely difficult in another, because it requires faith.

⁷ ‘If he is not able to bring a lamb,

The Hebrew here forms a metonymy which says, “And if his hand is not able to reach what is sufficient for a lamb.” In other words, the hand is used to describe what the hand acquires. It would be like saying, “Sam’s head is not able to attain what is necessary for a degree.” The head is being used to signify the knowledge required for the degree. Here, the words are intended to mean that the person is too poor to be able to afford one of these two animals. In such a case, provision was made for him…

^{7 (con’t)} then he shall bring to the Lord, for his trespass which he has committed,

The words here say, “for his trespass which he has sinned.” Verse 6 said, “for his sin which he has sinned.” Different words from verse 6 are used to describe the same offense. Thus, the words “trespass” and “sin” must be considered synonymous in this context.

^{7 (con’t)} two turtledoves or two young pigeons:

These are the same offerings allowed for the poor which were seen in Leviticus 1:14. The Lord is granting allowances for the poor so that none are excluded from His mercy. Despite their lowly state in the society, they were of no-less value in the eyes of the Lord.

^{7 (con’t)} one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering.

Here, there is a difference between the birds and the other animals. One was to be for sin, the other was to be a burnt offering. It may seem curious at first, but it becomes obvious when considering the size of the birds. Because the fat parts of the bird could not be separated from the bird as with the other animals, and it was the fat part that was to be burned on the altar, and further because burning the bird completely on the altar would then destroy the nature of the trespass offering by making it a whole burnt-offering, two separate birds were used. The first would represent the Lord’s portion which would be burnt on the altar, while the second one would become the priest’s portion of the offering.

⁸ And he shall bring them to the priest, who shall offer that which is for the sin offering first, and wring off its head from its neck, but shall not divide it completely.

This is similar to the procedures of Leviticus 1:15. Between those two verses are found the only uses of the word malaq in the Bible. It is a word which appears to mean “wringing the neck.” The head is wrung off, but it is not to be completely divided from the body.

⁹ Then he shall sprinkle some of the blood of the sin offering on the side of the altar, and the rest of the blood shall be drained out at the base of the altar.

The wringing of the bird’s neck, and the sprinkling and pouring out of the blood give us the same picture as for the other animals. Christ’s death was violent, but it was offered for the sins of the richest even to the poorest. Each sacrifice has its own typical fulfillment in the work of the Lord.

^{9 (con’t)} It is a sin offering.

This is called a sin-offering, but nothing has been instructed about the blood being applied to the horns of the altar as was mandated in chapter 4. This and several other variations in the details show that the priest was to be attentive to the specifics of each offering, carefully ensuring that they were minutely fulfilled.

¹⁰ And he shall offer the second as a burnt offering according to the prescribed manner. So the priest shall make atonement on his behalf for his sin which he has committed, and it shall be forgiven him.

The words, “according to the prescribed manner” are given to direct the priest’s attention back to the original instructions for the burnt-offerings which are detailed in chapter 1. In following those already-set guidelines, the priest would make atonement for the offender, and the sin would be considered forgiven.

¹¹ ‘But if he is not able to bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons, then he who sinned shall bring for his offering one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a sin offering.

For the very poorest of the land, an even more merciful hand was extended. They were allowed to bring one tenth of an ephah, or less than one half a gallon, of fine flour. This was to be considered their acceptable sin-offering.

^{11 (con’t)} He shall put no oil on it, nor shall he put frankincense on it, for it is a sin offering.

As was seen in the grain offering, the flour pictured Christ, oil symbolizes the presence of the Spirit, and frankincense pictures works. All of these were offered in the grain offering, but only the flour is offered here. This is a sin-offering, intended for atonement. It demonstrates to us that God finds sin offensive and detestable. When sin is present, the Spirit is quenched and our works are unacceptable. Only in the offering of Christ can the sins be removed and atonement result.

¹² Then he shall bring it to the priest, and the priest shall take his handful of it as a memorial portion, and burn it on the altar according to the offerings made by fire to the Lord. It is a sin offering.

The procedure is similar to Leviticus 2:2, only that there was to be no oil or frankincense in the handful. Rather, the fine flour alone would be burnt as a memorial portion of the whole as an offering for sin. Though it is an offering without blood, it is still considered as a blood offering on behalf of the poor sinner. The burning of the flour still gives the needed picture of the sufferings of Christ.

¹³ The priest shall make atonement for him, for his sin that he has committed in any of these matters; and it shall be forgiven him. The rest shall be the priest’s as a grain offering.’”

“In any of these matters” is speaking of one of the three types of offenses mentioned in verses 1-4. This non-blood grain offering has been accepted as a blood offering. Christ is our Bread of life, and He gave His body for us. Despite there being no death in reality at the altar, there is death in picture for us to consider and be thankful for. Even the poorest of all sinners has a suitable, merciful offering to God in Christ Jesus.

It is the law of the Lord
The standard by which our judgment will come
And any single infraction of the word
Will mean the sounding of the condemnation drum

How can I ever meet these commands?
Many speak of things I didn’t even know I’d done
The bar is too high, I cannot attain to His demands
I’ve transgresses so many, and all it takes is one

But now I understand what I had before not understood
I can be deemed as if justified in every precept, as if not failing one
What I thought was against me was for my good
Because every detail has been fulfilled in His Son

Through a simple act of faith, I am restored and whole
Now there is no condemnation; I am entered on heaven’s roll

II. The Holy Things of the Lord (verses 14-19)

¹⁴ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

These are the exact same words, letter by letter, as were last seen in Leviticus 4:1. A new thought is now being introduced to consider.

¹⁵ “If a person commits a trespass,

A new type of offense is now introduced. It is the word maal which comes from a primitive root, and it essentially means, “to cover up.” It is used in a figurative sense as in acting covertly, and thus treacherously.

^{15 (con’t)} and sins unintentionally in regard to the holy things of the Lord,

“The holy things of the Lord”” is generally considered to mean things like neglecting to redeem the first-born, not observing the law of the tithe, failing to offer the firstfruits, and the like. It is a defrauding in spiritual matters. The intent of the words “sins unintentionally” is the same as before. When the matter is brought to the offender’s attention, it was to be rectified. Withholding such holy things was considered stealing from God and was an offense to Him. This is recorded in Malachi 3 –

“Will a man rob God?
Yet you have robbed Me!
But you say,
‘In what way have we robbed You?’
In tithes and offerings. Malachi 3:8

^{15 (con’t)} then he shall bring to the Lord as his trespass offering a ram without blemish from the flocks, with your valuation in shekels of silver according to the shekel of the sanctuary, as a trespass offering.

The Hebrew is obscure enough here where it can mean one of two things. It might mean the ram is to be valued and then a fifth is added to its price, or the value of the holy thing which he defrauded was to be set. Then a fifth was to be added to its price to make the total fine, and then a ram was to be added in for the satisfaction of the offering. The ram being worth a set price according to the shekel of the sanctuary. The latter makes more sense. It wouldn’t seem reasonable to have to only pay a ram when the tithe may have included rams, goats, oxen, and grain… or even more. This appears to be borne out by the next verse.

The ram is a symbol of strength. It is a defender of the flock as it can butt with its horns. The symbolism here fits Christ, in that these holy things of the Lord were to be provided for those who had no inheritance of their own, or who were living in poverty. This is true with priests in that they had no inheritance of land and were dependent on the people’s offerings for their livelihood. As far as the poor, this was especially true with the tithes. These things were there to provide for them –

“At the end of every third year you shall bring out the tithe of your produce of that year and store it up within your gates. ²⁹ And the Levite, because he has no portion nor inheritance with you, and the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are within your gates, may come and eat and be satisfied, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.” Deuteronomy 14:18, 29

Like the ram who defends the flock, the Lord is said in the 68^th Psalm to be a Father of the fatherless and a defender of widows. The symbolism is seen in the ram offering.

¹⁶ And he shall make restitution for the harm that he has done in regard to the holy thing, and shall add one-fifth to it and give it to the priest.

This seems to lean to the thought that it is not the ram to which a fifth is added, but to the original amount defrauded. As I said, it would otherwise not make sense. The amount defrauded could be enormous in comparison to a mere ram. Once that was taken care of, then the ram would be presented.

^{16 (con’t)} So the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering, and it shall be forgiven him.

The procedures for the ram of the trespass offering are found in Leviticus 7, and they closely match those of the sin-offerings with a few exceptions.

¹⁷ “If a person sins, and commits any of these things which are forbidden to be done by the commandments of the Lord, though he does not know it, yet he is guilty and shall bear his iniquity.

In verses 17-19, we have a partial repeat of what was just seen in verses 14-16. The difference is that those in 14-16 were a matter of certainty. The offense was known, the amount could be set, and restitution had to be made. Here, however, there is a doubt in the matter. A person may have forgotten the details of his error, or he may feel that he has erred without really even knowing why. In such a case, even though he is unsure of his guilt, he is still guilty. I would call this, the state of constant stomach problems. It is as if the person is getting ulcers from the nagging guilt on his mind and he needs to have it taken away.

¹⁸ And he shall bring to the priest a ram without blemish from the flock, with your valuation, as a trespass offering.

When the person who feels he is guilty comes to the priest, he is to bring a ram without blemish, just as with the one of certain guilt. The valuation was to be set by the priest, just as before, but nothing is said of the one-fifth addition. The person has come forward over a matter he is not even sure of, and is not being penalized for his acknowledgment. Instead, the ram itself will be the only addition, and which is meant for atonement…

^{18 (con’t)} So the priest shall make atonement for him regarding his ignorance in which he erred and did not know it, and it shall be forgiven him.

The life of the ram is sufficient for the sin of ignorance where the person erred and didn’t even know it. He stands forgiven because of the substitute. The picture of Christ’s work for us is marvelous. We have certainly offended God in ten million ways that we have forgotten about. And yet, the debt is paid and we stand justified before the Lord despite those sins known but to Him.

*¹⁹ It is a trespass offering; he has certainly trespassed against the Lord.”

asham hu ashom asham l’Yehovah – “Trespass offering it (is); trespassing, he has trespassed against Yehovah.” The intent here is that despite not having the fifth part added in, it is still considered a trespass-offering. In ignorance of the law, or whatever reason existed that brought the matter to mind now, there was no excuse for an infraction against the Lord. The sacrifice was necessary, and it was accepted as such by the Lord.

The special significance tied to this trespass-offering, is that there is a need for the satisfaction of such offenses against the Lord, and that these types and shadows lead to the Antitype which is found in Christ. He is the final, fully-sufficient, perfect, and complete, satisfaction for the sins of the world. Nothing needs to be added in, and all debts are paid in Christ Jesus.

And speaking of debts, a friend who watches theses sermons asked about the sin offering requirements of last week. In them, the least valuable offering authorized for a layman is a female lamb. He asked, “What about a poor person? If they could not afford a sin offering, wouldn’t that be a detriment for them as there was no other way, at that time, to make themselves right with God?”

I told him that the trespass-offerings we would look at this week would do just that. The severity of the sin offering though required a lamb. If a poor person couldn’t afford one, they could have someone else pay for their offering, something seen in the book of Acts concerning the paying of a vow for another. There was also the Day of Atonement which was given to cover their sins.

And also, this is what the tithing system was set up to do. It was there for the poor of the land to use, as prescribed in Deuteronomy. And finally, if they had no access to help by a friend, or from the collection of tithes to pay their sin-offering, they could always sell themselves for the money in order to pay the offering.

A Hebrew slave was to be given exceptional treatment during his time of servitude, and he was to be given provision when that time of slavery ended, which was at set intervals prescribed by the Lord. The question is, “Would a person be willing to sell himself into slavery in order to be obedient to the law of the sin offering?”

If so, then it showed his priorities were on the Lord and not on himself. In the end, we are all slaves to something. If we are a slave to sin, we cannot be a slave of the Lord. And if we are a slave of the Lord, then we are free from the condemnation which arises from sin.

The law was exceptionally gracious in its treatment of the people, and in the end, it is merely a reflection of the even more exceptional treatment which is found in Jesus Christ.

Closing Verse: “My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. ² And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.” 1 John 2:1, 2

Next Week: Leviticus 6:1-30 This will hopefully be a load of fun… (The Mediator’s Duties, Part I) (8^th Leviticus Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. Even if you have a lifetime of sin heaped up behind you, He can wash it away and purify you completely and wholly. So follow Him and trust Him and He will do marvelous things for you and through you.

The Trespass Offering

If a person sins in hearing the utterance
Of an oath, and is a witness; yes, the truth is spilt
Whether he has seen or known of the matter
If he does not tell it, he bears guilt

Or if a person touches any unclean thing
Whether it is the carcass of an unclean beast
Or the carcass of unclean livestock
Or the carcass of unclean creeping things, from greatest to least

And unaware of it is he
He also shall be unclean and guilty 

Or if he touches human uncleanness
Whatever uncleanness with which a man may be defiled
And he is unaware of it
When he realizes it, then he shall be guilty
——— needing to be reconciled

Or if a person swears, speaking thoughtlessly
With his lips to do evil or to do good
Whatever it is that a man may pronounce by an oath
And he is unaware of it; it was not understood

When he realizes it, so shall it be
Then in any of these matters guilty shall be he

And it shall be, when he is guilty
In any of these matters at hand
That he shall confess that he has sinned in that thing
That he does not understand 

And he shall bring his trespass offering to the Lord
For his sin which he has committed in this thing
A female from the flock
A lamb or a kid of the goats as a sin offering

So the priest shall make atonement for him
So shall it be concerning his sin

If he is not able to bring a lamb
Then he shall bring to the Lord
For his trespass which he has committed
Two turtledoves or two young pigeons, according to this word

One as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering
Such shall be his proffering

And he shall bring them to the priest
Who shall offer that which is for the sin offering first, you see
And wring off its head from its neck
But shall not divide it completely 

Then he shall sprinkle some of the blood
Of the sin offering on the side of the altar, he shall do this thing
And the rest of the blood shall be drained out
At the base of the altar. It is a sin offering 

And he shall offer the second as a burnt offering
According to the prescribed manner; a task somewhat grim
So the priest shall make atonement on his behalf
For his sin which he has committed, and it shall be forgiven him

But if he is not able to bring two turtledoves
Or two young pigeons, he cannot bring
Then he who sinned shall bring for his offering
One-tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a sin offering

He shall put no oil on it
Nor shall he put frankincense on it
For it is a sin offering
This to you I now submit

Then he shall bring it to the priest
And the priest shall take his handful of it, according to this word
As a memorial portion, and burn it on the altar
According to the offerings made by fire to the Lord

It is a sin offering
Such is to be this proffering

The priest shall make atonement for him
For his sin that he has committed in any of these matters
——- any such thing
And it shall be forgiven him
The rest shall be the priest’s as a grain offering

Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying
These are the words he was then relaying

If a person commits a trespass
And sins unintentionally in regard to the holy things of the Lord
Then he shall bring to the Lord as his trespass offering
A ram without blemish from the flocks, according to this word

With your valuation in shekels of silver he shall bring
According to the shekel of the sanctuary
As a trespass offering 

And he shall make restitution
For the harm that he has done in regard to the holy thing
And shall add one-fifth to it
And give it to the priest; so shall be his offering

So the priest shall make atonement for him
With the ram of the trespass offering
And it shall be forgiven him
The Lord shall forgive his trespass in this thing

If a person sins, and commits any of these things
Which are forbidden to be done by the commandments of the Lord
Though he does not know it
Yet he is guilty and shall bear his iniquity; so stands the word

And he shall bring to the priest a ram without blemish from the flock
With your valuation, as a trespass offering
So the priest shall make atonement for him
In which he erred, his ignorance this thing regarding

And did not know it
And it shall be forgiven him as I to you submit

It is a trespass offering; so understand the word
He has certainly trespassed against the Lord

Lord, how many countless times have we offended You
In things we have done, and those things left undone as well
We have hidden our hands from what is right
And have earned a one-way path to hell

And yet through one marvelous offering
The sins of all the world are taken away
If we but come to Jesus
If we to Him call out and pray

Marvelous are You O God for what You have done for us
You have come in human flesh; You have come O Lord Jesus
Thank You for being our Substitute; now hear our praise
Thank You O God Almighty; we sing to You now and for eternal days

Hallelujah and Amen…