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

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 beastswhether 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. Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs. But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. 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) (11th 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…

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