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Leviticus 3

The text is below.

At first glance, which, if you are reading this on a bible reading program or part of a large study, you will think it is almost a rehashing of Leviticus 1.

It talks about taking an animal from the herd or flock, and it is also one without defect.

You again law your hand on the offering and the animal is then killed and parts sacrificed.

Parts sacrificed, not all.   It is not an all consuming burnt offering, it is the burning of part of the body, and then it is meant for the remaining to be used to have fellowship with one another, or peace with one another.

With the burnt offering, you have yourself sacrificing the whole thing, but now, it is almost like the seal of a contract, that this ensures what is next is to be something holy.

Making peace with someone is in fact, as I read this, a holy act.   It is something that we thank God for being able to have the peace, and then it is meant to be shared with one another.    God intends us to make peace with one another, and then to share the peace, and this offers fellowship through a meal to have immediately after.

Also, can you see Jesus in here just jumping out at you?

Christ said, “This is my body, broken for you, do this in remembrance of me” and then, they shared or continued their meal.   They continued to talk in the presence of Christ, and fellowship with him.

All peace is brokered by God.   All peace is due to God.   When we make peace, we thank the ultimate peacemaker, God.

The principle is that making peace is holy, and God intends us to not only make peace, but to continue in peaceful harmony with one another.

I can see it at the time:   One family makes peace with another, and instead of just getting forgiveness, they now have a whole new relationship, a whole new relationship sewed by the almighty.   God does just want us to make peace, but to continue peace with one another.   We are to try, and we will fail, and then we are to try again.

This peace offering was not just one offering, rather, it was one that will happen again and again.

Does this also take you back to how often should I forgive my brother?  7 times?

Making peace is not a legalistic process in which man may make rules on how to do it.   God himself has ordained a way to make peace.   If one is wronged, Leviticus contains details, which will be followed.

But, God did not say to make peace after a season of grudges or a declaration of wrong.

He stated to make peace....

3 “‘If your offering is a fellowship offering, and you offer an animal from the herd, whether male or female, you are to present before the Lord an animal without defect. 2 You are to lay your hand on the head of your offering and slaughter it at the entrance to the tent of meeting. Then Aaron’s sons the priests shall splash the blood against the sides of the altar. 3 From the fellowship offering you are to bring a food offering to the Lord: the internal organs and all the fat that is connected to them,4 both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the long lobe of the liver, which you will remove with the kidneys. 5 Then Aaron’s sonsare to burn it on the altar on top of the burnt offering that is lying on the burning wood; it is a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the Lord.

6 “‘If you offer an animal from the flock as a fellowship offering to the Lord, you are to offer a male or female without defect. 7 If you offer a lamb, you are to present it before the Lord, 8 lay your hand on its head and slaughter it in front of the tent of meeting. Then Aaron’s sons shall splash its blood against the sides of the altar. 9 From the fellowship offering you are to bring a food offering to the Lord: its fat, the entire fat tail cut off close to the backbone, the internal organs and all the fat that is connected to them, 10 both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the long lobe of the liver, which you will remove with the kidneys. 11 The priest shall burn them on the altar as a food offeringpresented to the Lord.

12 “‘If your offering is a goat, you are to present it before the Lord, 13 lay your hand on its head and slaughter it in front of the tent of meeting. Then Aaron’s sons shall splash its blood against the sides of the altar.14 From what you offer you are to present this food offering to the Lord: the internal organs and all the fat that is connected to them, 15 both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the long lobe of the liver, which you will remove with the kidneys. 16 The priest shall burn them on the altar as a food offering, a pleasing aroma. All the fat is the Lord’s.

17 “‘This is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live: You must not eat any fat or any blood.’”

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Leviticus 2

“‘When anyone brings a grain offering to the Lord, their offering is to be of the finest flour. They are to pour olive oil on it, put incense on it2 and take it to Aaron’s sons the priests. The priest shall take a handful of the flour and oil, together with all the incense, and burn this as a memorial[a] portion on the altar, a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the Lord. 3 The rest of the grain offering belongs to Aaron and his sons;it is a most holy part of the food offerings presented to the Lord.

4 “‘If you bring a grain offering baked in an oven, it is to consist of the finest flour: either thick loaves made without yeast and with olive oil mixed in or thin loaves made without yeast and brushed with olive oil.5 If your grain offering is prepared on a griddle, it is to be made of the finest flour mixed with oil, and without yeast. 6 Crumble it and pour oil on it; it is a grain offering. 7 If your grain offering is cooked in a pan, it is to be made of the finest flour and some olive oil. 8 Bring the grain offering made of these things to the Lord; present it to the priest, who shall take it to the altar. 9 He shall take out the memorial portion from the grain offering and burn it on the altar as a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the Lord. 10 The rest of the grain offering belongs to Aaron and his sons; it is a most holy part of the food offerings presented to the Lord.

11 “‘Every grain offering you bring to the Lord must be made without yeast, for you are not to burn any yeast or honey in a food offering presented to the Lord. 12 You may bring them to the Lord as an offering of the firstfruits, but they are not to be offered on the altar as a pleasing aroma. 13 Season all your grain offerings with salt. Do not leave the salt of the covenant of your God out of your grain offerings; add salt to all your offerings.

14 “‘If you bring a grain offering of firstfruits to the Lord, offer crushed heads of new grain roasted in the fire. 15 Put oil and incense on it; it is a grain offering. 16 The priest shall burn the memorial portion of the crushed grain and the oil, together with all the incense, as a food offering presented to the Lord.

The first thing that I thought of when I read this was at the time of writing this, the people were eating manna.   Sure, they knew about bread from their time in Egypt, but there was not a time when they were in the act of making the bread.

When they did make the bread, it stated that you must make with fine flour.   Think about it, think about how you make flour.   You ground it, but not with todays type of tools, you would instead have to grind and grind and grind, until it was fine flouer.   The act of doing this would take quite a bit of time and effort.   It would be somewhat exhausting and very tedious.   In doing this, it was actually a type of worship.   You were grinding something for God, a gift to God.   The long time it would take to prepare the bread would be a time spent in worship.   Was it done in such a way that there was thought about bringing a gift to God, or was it, “I have to do this.?”   I am thinking that a joyful heart would make it that you are preparing an offering for God himself.

Secondly, no yeast?   Why?   Well, in studying yeast, it was something that came from something else, it was actually part of something old, left over, and when it wqas worked into the bread, even a little bit, it would effect the entire bread.   Once it was in the bread, it could not be separated out.   It was now part of the bread.

God demands something pure.   Like the animal sacrifice with no blemish, this also had no blemish.

Also, no honey.   Honey is a sweetener, and is something that I found was often sacrificed to other Gods.   Not for this God.   This was intended to be for God alone.   We can sacrifice to God, by doing exactly what God asks us to do.   We do not have to try to make it better.   Whatever we do falls short of the glory of God, and is short of what God deserves.  Instead, we are to do what God asks us to do, and not try to improve it.

Next, we have frankinsense, one of the gifts offered by the magi to Jesus.   At this time, it was a specific incense burned in the tent of meeting.  It was the incense to burn.   Anthing else fell short of the glory.

God was not trying to be known as one with very expensive tastes or a control freak, instead, he had something that would always be associated with him as holy.

Now, the frankinsense leads to what was the grain offering, and what it represents now, which is Jesus.   Jesus is the bread of life, and in communion, we take bread, as it is his body, sacrificed for us.

Jesus reveals on the the mysteries, which was that the grain offering represents Jesus, in his sacrifice. 

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Leviticus 1

The LORD called Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting, saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When any one of you brings an offering to the LORD, you shall bring your offering of livestock from the herd or from the flock. 3 “If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer a male without blemish. He shall bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting, that he may be accepted before the LORD. 4 He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him. 5 Then he shall kill the bull before the LORD, and Aaron's sons the priests shall bring the blood and throw the blood against the sides of the altar that is at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 6 Then he shall flay the burnt offering and cut it into pieces,7 and the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire on the altar and arrange wood on the fire. 8 And Aaron's sons the priests shall arrange the pieces, the head, and the fat, on the wood that is on the fire on the altar; 9 but its entrails and its legs he shall wash with water. And the priest shall burn all of it on the altar, as a burnt offering, a food offering[a] with a pleasing aroma to the LORD. 10 “If his gift for a burnt offering is from the flock, from the sheep or goats, he shall bring a male without blemish, 11 and he shall kill it on the north side of the altar before the LORD, and Aaron's sons the priests shall throw its blood against the sides of the altar. 12 And he shall cut it into pieces, with its head and its fat, and the priest shall arrange them on the wood that is on the fire on the altar, 13 but the entrails and the legs he shall wash with water. And the priest shall offer all of it and burn it on the altar; it is a burnt offering, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the LORD. 14 “If his offering to the LORD is a burnt offering of birds, then he shall bring his offering of turtledoves or pigeons. 15 And the priest shall bring it to the altar and wring off its head and burn it on the altar. Its blood shall be drained out on the side of the altar. 16 He shall remove its crop with its contents[b] and cast it beside the altar on the east side, in the place for ashes. 17 He shall tear it open by its wings but shall not sever it completely. And the priest shall burn it on the altar, on the wood that is on the fire. It is a burnt offering, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the LORD.

The very first verse here has the LORD calling out from the tent of meeting. In Exodus, we have Moses’s first encounter with God in a burning bush. From that we have many times that “The LORD said to Moses.” I am honestly not certain but would think that the only person that could hear the LORD would be Moses. Many times, Aaron, at least, was there, but no mention of him hearing. We find the LORD in Mount Sinai giving his commandments and making the mountain shake. Now, we are at the tent of meeting, and the LORD called Moses and spoke to him FROM the tent. The LORD was in a place, that was the center of his people. The most holy place wherever they would be the tabernacle or tent of meeting, and this is where the LORD was, much closer and among his people. This is of course a foreshadowing to the Holy Spirit. All the cultures around at this time believed their god was actually somewhere, being a temple or an idol or something. They could get favor from their god from visiting their god and asking their god. We have the Holy Spirit always with us, always able to speak to us. And, God calls out from the tent of meeting. Even when we are not looking for the LORD, he is calling out to us. He is wanting us to come to him. He is holy, and in a holy place, and is calling us to come to this holy place. I believe that is the principal for the first verse. The LORD is always around us and is calling for us to commune with us. He then gives instructions in verse two when we bring a sacrifice. I remember a couple of verses earlier in the bible, the first when Abraham was out to sacrifice Isaac, he told his attendants that himself and Isaac would go and worship the LORD. Later, when Moses went to Pharaoh and asked for permission to leave, he wanted to leave to worship the LORD in the wilderness. I often thought, what was worship? Was it sacrificing? Chanting? Praising? Praying? I really don’t know. Was everyone worshiping the same? I don’t know. What I do know is how people at that time believed they had to sacrifice to their gods. One may sacrifice perhaps a small animal so that they may have a prosperous year, but instead of their crops growing, there is drought. They then sacrifice a better animal, and still drought. They sacrifice more and more, all to please their god. Finally, having nothing left to sacrifice, they start sacrificing their children. Here, the LORD tells you, that WHEN you sacrifice, this is what to sacrifice. No more. You do not have to keep on making a sacrifice after sacrifice, with each one being dearer to you. The sacrifice that he tells you to make is enough. You do not need to do more. Again, a glimpse of Christ. All we need is Christ. We do not need Christ plus 100 hours of community service, we do not need Christ plus anything. Christ plus anything is a false gospel. Christ is enough. Now, we live like Christ, and in doing so, bring Christ to others, but the LORD as already determined what is needed to reconcile us to him. It was and is a sacrifice, which was fulfilled through Christ. The sacrifice had to come from the flock or the herd. In other words, it was to come from not an animal you would hunt or capture, but an animal that you probably remember being born into the flock or herd. You helped raise this animal, and when there was an animal without blemish, you immediately knew which one they were talking about. Think about it, the best male sheep, goat or bull, one that traditionally, you would mate and keep so that you produce more perfect animals, is one that you must sacrifice. The one that can perhaps ensure the next generation of healthy animals is now the one that will be gone forever. These animals were also animals that did not eat other animals and were thought of as gentle. Next, male, and without blemish. The best in the herd or flock. God does not want “credit” he wants our best. I think about praying, are we giving him our best, or are we giving him something to “get credit?” Are we going to church to worship and thank the LORD, or are we going to “get credit?” Are we loving and serving others, or merely doing an event here and there, or giving money here and there to “get credit” God is aware what is our best, and when we are giving our best. When I read that, I recall the story of Cain and Abel, where one gave his best, something that was valuable. Next, you are to enter the presence of the LORD, or the tent of meeting, after you make the sacrifice. You make the sacrifice before the meeting, and then enter. The sacrifice is not cruel. In all examples, the animal is killed and then burned, not burned first or sent to suffer needlessly before death. Before sacrifice, the person making the sacrifice would put their hand on the animal to make atonement. In other words, the person is saying that they have sinned. That the wages for sin is death, and I deserve to die, but instead of me dying, I am going to transfer my sin to this innocent, gentle creature. Of course, this is what we do now. We go to Jesus, we raise our hand to him, stating that we have sinned, that the wages of sin are death, and we deserve death for our sin, and Jesus is taken the punishment for sin, just as the animal took the punishment for our sin. The principal is that Jesus accepts and makes righteous those who reach out to him. Jesus was the perfect sacrifice, without blemish. Just as a person transferred his sin to an animal where death was sentenced, Jesus voluntarily takes this upon him. Next, we learn how to make the sacrifice. The meat is cut up and scattered so that it is fully consumed, not partially. I would imagine the animal coming through to the tent would get dirty on the trail, and before sacrificed, this animal was cleaned, and gave detail to cleaning the legs of the animal, so that when it is sacrificed, it is completely clean. The mere fact of agreeing to do the sacrifice was not enough, it was to remain clean and perfect from presentation to the sacrifice being consumed. It then says that the aroma is pleasing to the LORD. Do I think the LORD thinks that the smell is so pleasing because how it smells? No, I think it is because what it represents. A person that can come to his presence and is welcomed to his presence. Finally, we had the sacrifice for birds. These were for poor people, people that would not have a flock or herd. Even if they were poor and did not have a flock or herd, there was a way to make a sacrifice that meant just as much to the LORD than the best heifer without blemish. Later, when Jesus and Mary make a sacrifice for the birth of Jesus, being the first-born son, we find that they sacrificed a bird, as they were poor. Again, the sacrifice is a representation of Jesus’s future sacrifice. The principal being that God finds a way for people to come to him. God always finds a way. If it appears the kingdom is only open to certain people that do certain things, God finds a way, and he always finds a way for people to be reconciled to him.