Vayikra (Leviticus)
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Meaning
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Day Four
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Haftara
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B'rit Hadashah
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1 Our Father, we receive Your Words and hide Your commandments with us; 2 we incline our ear unto wisdom, and apply our hearts to understanding; 3 We cry after knowledge and lift up our voices for understanding; 4 we seek it as silver; and search for it as for hidden treasures; 5 We declare that we shall understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God. Declaration of Proverbs 2:1-5
Leviticus 4:1-26 (NASB) 1
1 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 "Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, 'If a person sins unintentionally in any of the things which the LORD has commanded not to be done, and commits any of them, 3 if the anointed priest sins so as to bring guilt on the people, then let him offer to the LORD a bull without defect as a sin offering for the sin he has committed. 4 'He shall bring the bull to the doorway of the tent of meeting before the LORD, and he shall lay his hand on the head of the bull and slay the bull before the LORD. 5 'Then the anointed priest is to take some of the blood of the bull and bring it to the tent of meeting, 6 and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle some of the blood seven times before the LORD, in front of the veil of the sanctuary. 7 'The priest shall also put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense which is before the LORD in the tent of meeting; and all the blood of the bull he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering which is at the doorway of the tent of meeting. 8 'He shall remove from it all the fat of the bull of the sin offering: the fat that covers the entrails, and all the fat which is on the entrails, 9 and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, which is on the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which he shall remove with the kidneys 10 (just as it is removed from the ox of the sacrifice of peace offerings), and the priest is to offer them up in smoke on the altar of burnt offering. 11 'But the hide of the bull and all its flesh with its head and its legs and its entrails and its refuse, 12 that is, all the rest of the bull, he is to bring out to a clean place outside the camp where the ashes are poured out, and burn it on wood with fire; where the ashes are poured out it shall be burned. 13 'Now if the whole congregation of Israel commits error and the matter escapes the notice of the assembly, and they commit any of the things which the LORD has commanded not to be done, and they become guilty; 14 when the sin which they have committed becomes known, then the assembly shall offer a bull of the herd for a sin offering and bring it before the tent of meeting. 15 'Then the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands on the head of the bull before the LORD, and the bull shall be slain before the LORD. 16 'Then the anointed priest is to bring some of the blood of the bull to the tent of meeting; 17 and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it seven times before the LORD, in front of the veil. 18 'He shall put some of the blood on the horns of the altar which is before the LORD in the tent of meeting; and all the blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering which is at the doorway of the tent of meeting. 19 'He shall remove all its fat from it and offer it up in smoke on the altar. 20 'He shall also do with the bull just as he did with the bull of the sin offering; thus he shall do with it. So the priest shall make atonement for them, and they will be forgiven. 21 'Then he is to bring out the bull to a place outside the camp and burn it as he burned the first bull; it is the sin offering for the assembly. 22 'When a leader sins and unintentionally does any one of all the things which the LORD his God has commanded not to be done, and he becomes guilty, 23 if his sin which he has committed is made known to him, he shall bring for his offering a goat , a male without defect. 24 'He shall lay his hand on the head of the male goat and slay it in the place where they slay the burnt offering before the LORD; it is a sin offering. 25 'Then the priest is to take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering ; and the rest of its blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering. 26 'All its fat he shall offer up in smoke on the altar as in the case of the fat of the sacrifice of peace offerings. Thus the priest shall make atonement for him in regard to his sin, and he will be forgiven.
I'm happy to be back in the saddle and picking up where we left off before I left early Tuesday morning. The MRI diagnostic on my right foot yesterday was done. It was a drive of four hours plus, depending on the traffic, both ways southeast of here. We returned home around eight pm and today, with a rough night behind me, I slept in on purpose and didn't get rolling in my activity until ten. The head cold is now in the end stages so familiar to me, and by the weekend break, it should be history. Then next week at midweek, we make the trip again (but next time it's an overnight Wednesday and returning on Thursday) and I'll let you know how we shall handle the Torah editions then. The ice storm that was forecast for this morning is late and not expected until later this evening. As I haven't checked the forecast yet today, I have no idea if it has changed, *sigh*, yet again! We saw some of the tree devastation of the ice storms in central Ontario on our way to the medical appointment yesterday. Many tree branches were snapped and on the ground and we could see where a chainsaw was used to clear the larger ones from blocking the highway. It was as if the ice storm ravaged Gaylord, in Michigan (one of our favorite little weekend getaways with the children many years ago), under the Great Lakes and then over the Great Lakes affecting Barrie and Collingwood in Ontario. I don't know about that old idiom that describes the month of March coming in like a lion and out like a lamb and vice versa. I think the 'lion' is still on the prowl!
Today and a little bit tomorrow we’re looking into the sin offering. I'm beginning to believe that this fourth chapter in the third book of the five is a most important one. It deals with the 'sin offering' and it fully acknowledges that Father God recognized that men sin in two ways:
Without knowledge, that is, in ignorance, or as the NASB renders it, unknowingly, and
In full knowledge of the sin and doing it regardless.
The Hebrew word for ‘sin’ is chatah’, whose definition is: to sin, miss, miss the way, go wrong, incur guilt, or forfeit. So, by doing something unwittingly, or unknowingly as the NASB renders it, an Israelite would ‘miss the mark’ or ‘miss the way’, and there is a sacrifice to atone for the guilt of this sin. Does our Father God allow for our human condition, or what? This in itself is a very serious thing that needs to be understood. Here is the Basic Bible Boot Camp FACT:
There is no sacrifice for deliberate rebellion.
Always remember this FACT. There's no way that any man can deliberately sin and then be absolved from the penalty of death with any sacrifice. His guilt remains because of his deliberate behavior and attitude.
1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a soul shall sin through ignorance against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which ought not to be done, and shall do against any of them: 3 If the priest that is anointed do sin according to the sin of the people; then let him bring for his sin, which he hath sinned, a young bullock without blemish unto the LORD for a sin offering. Leviticus 4:1-3.
The severity of the sin of a priest is acknowledged in the giving of a bull, which was considered the most valuable of the sacrificial animals. Add to that, the additional sprinkling of the blood within the Holy Place.
6 And the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle of the blood seven times before the LORD, before the vail of the sanctuary. Leviticus 4:6.
There is recognition for the “whole congregation of Israel” if they sin unknowingly in unison in some aspect.
13 And if the whole congregation of Israel sin through ignorance, and the thing be hid from the eyes of the assembly, and they have done somewhat against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which should not be done, and are guilty; 14 When the sin, which they have sinned against it, is known, then the congregation shall offer a young bullock for the sin, and bring him before the tabernacle of the congregation. 15 And the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands upon the head of the bullock before the LORD: and the bullock shall be killed before the LORD. Leviticus 4:13-15.
The protocol for the sprinkling of the blood for the priest and the entire congregation is the same.
17 And the priest shall dip his finger in some of the blood, and sprinkle it seven times before the LORD, even before the vail. 18 And he shall put some of the blood upon the horns of the altar which is before the LORD, that is in the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall pour out all the blood at the bottom of the altar of the burnt offering, which is at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. Leviticus 4:17-18.
The third instance of a part or all of the assembly of Israel unwittingly sinning and then becoming aware of the transgression is noted to be a 'ruler'. A 'ruler' is or נָשִׂא nâsiʼ; from H5375; properly, an exalted one, i.e. a king or sheik; also a rising mist:—captain, chief, cloud, governor, prince, ruler, vapour. masculine noun. The protocol for this is slightly different than the previous ones.
22 When a ruler hath sinned, and done somewhat through ignorance against any of the commandments of the LORD his God concerning things which should not be done, and is guilty; 23 Or if his sin, wherein he hath sinned, come to his knowledge; he shall bring his offering, a kid of the goats, a male without blemish: 24 And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the goat, and kill it in the place where they kill the burnt offering before the LORD: it is a sin offering. Leviticus 4:22-24.
The 'ruler' or leader or notable one who is 'elevated' from the community shall atone for his sin and “it shall be forgiven him”.
We make a note here that The Word has carefully set out every level of Israel society except the 'common people', and we'll be looking at that tomorrow. The order of the levels of society is important and leaves none out. Add to that, if you wish, that the 'elevated' ones are the first to be mentioned. Does this signify that those who are responsible for leadership and possibly setting the example for others are as responsible for their sin as the 'common' ones? Or could it be postulated that those who are in any type of 'leadership' need to atone for their sin more than those who are not in that same position?
We need to understand the pervasiveness of sin. If sin is in the community, that sin filters through the community and many can suffer from that same thing, either in its commission or as a result of it. Many years ago, I made two formal complaints to the chaplain of the nursing home where I was working about the flagrant behavior of some “religious” volunteers who would burst upon people in the bathroom, while they were not properly dressed, or in the middle of a treatment where the resident needed to be partially disrobed. It infuriated me that they would do this and I put it down to their “religious fervor” which made them somewhat rude and very antagonistic if they were challenged. Eventually, the leader of that Church in our city was arrested and charged with multiple counts of molesting young girls in his parameters of leadership over many years. It was a very public case and was in the papers all that summer. He denied all charges, but many witnesses reported the same story and many of the time frames fit. He was eventually convicted and sentenced. I was not aware of it until the chaplain informed me, that the same cleric who had just been charged and convicted of the multiple molestation crimes was the same cleric who had been in charge of the training and education of these nursing home volunteers.
I’ll never forget how I felt when I heard the news. No wonder! It explained so much! The sin had filtered down into the people themselves who were under the guilty party’s leadership. They displayed the same kind of traits as their leader in that they had no regard for the privacy and dignity of the very people to whom they were coming in weekly to minister to! Even the hidden sin of leaders affects the whole of the community. Leaders in a community are humans and face weakness and frailty. They're accountable for so much more!
48 … For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more. Luke 12:48.
The lesson we take away today is that we've been grafted into the 'apple of God’s eye' by accepting our Messiah. I don’t know about you, but this portion of Leviticus only serves to heighten my awareness of the “much” that is required of me. And then there is this other witness from the B’rit Hadashah…
9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light... 1 Peter 2:9.
And then the reminder from the last book of the five comes to mind about how Israel was to be a kingdom of priests. If we are heirs of Abraham according to Galatians 3:29, then we have responsibility after we've made that decision for Messiah as we read the verses from Exodus 19. That is for us to consider in this midweek missive of Torah.
Today and a little bit tomorrow we’re looking into the sin offering. I'm beginning to believe that this fourth chapter in the third book of the five is a most important one. It deals with the 'sin offering' and it fully acknowledges that Father God recognized that men sin in two ways:
Without knowledge, that is, in ignorance, or as the NASB renders it, unknowingly, and
In full knowledge of the sin and doing it regardless.
The Hebrew word for ‘sin’ is chatah’, whose definition is: to sin, miss, miss the way, go wrong, incur guilt, or forfeit. So, by doing something unwittingly, or unknowingly as the NASB renders it, an Israelite would ‘miss the mark’ or ‘miss the way’, and there is a sacrifice to atone for the guilt of this sin. Does our Father God allow for our human condition, or what? This in itself is a very serious thing that needs to be understood. Here is the Basic Bible Boot Camp FACT:
There is no sacrifice for deliberate rebellion.
Always remember this FACT. There's no way that any man can deliberately sin and then be absolved from the penalty of death with any sacrifice. His guilt remains because of his deliberate behavior and attitude.
1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a soul shall sin through ignorance against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which ought not to be done, and shall do against any of them: 3 If the priest that is anointed do sin according to the sin of the people; then let him bring for his sin, which he hath sinned, a young bullock without blemish unto the LORD for a sin offering. Leviticus 4:1-3.
The severity of the sin of a priest is acknowledged in the giving of a bull, which was considered the most valuable of the sacrificial animals. Add to that, the additional sprinkling of the blood within the Holy Place.
6 And the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle of the blood seven times before the LORD, before the vail of the sanctuary. Leviticus 4:6.
There is recognition for the “whole congregation of Israel” if they sin unknowingly in unison in some aspect.
13 And if the whole congregation of Israel sin through ignorance, and the thing be hid from the eyes of the assembly, and they have done somewhat against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which should not be done, and are guilty; 14 When the sin, which they have sinned against it, is known, then the congregation shall offer a young bullock for the sin, and bring him before the tabernacle of the congregation. 15 And the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands upon the head of the bullock before the LORD: and the bullock shall be killed before the LORD. Leviticus 4:13-15.
The protocol for the sprinkling of the blood for the priest and the entire congregation is the same.
17 And the priest shall dip his finger in some of the blood, and sprinkle it seven times before the LORD, even before the vail. 18 And he shall put some of the blood upon the horns of the altar which is before the LORD, that is in the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall pour out all the blood at the bottom of the altar of the burnt offering, which is at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. Leviticus 4:17-18.
The third instance of a part or all of the assembly of Israel unwittingly sinning and then becoming aware of the transgression is noted to be a 'ruler'. A 'ruler' is or נָשִׂא nâsiʼ; from H5375; properly, an exalted one, i.e. a king or sheik; also a rising mist:—captain, chief, cloud, governor, prince, ruler, vapour. masculine noun. The protocol for this is slightly different than the previous ones.
22 When a ruler hath sinned, and done somewhat through ignorance against any of the commandments of the LORD his God concerning things which should not be done, and is guilty; 23 Or if his sin, wherein he hath sinned, come to his knowledge; he shall bring his offering, a kid of the goats, a male without blemish: 24 And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the goat, and kill it in the place where they kill the burnt offering before the LORD: it is a sin offering. Leviticus 4:22-24.
The 'ruler' or leader or notable one who is 'elevated' from the community shall atone for his sin and “it shall be forgiven him”.
We make a note here that The Word has carefully set out every level of Israel society except the 'common people', and we'll be looking at that tomorrow. The order of the levels of society is important and leaves none out. Add to that, if you wish, that the 'elevated' ones are the first to be mentioned. Does this signify that those who are responsible for leadership and possibly setting the example for others are as responsible for their sin as the 'common' ones? Or could it be postulated that those who are in any type of 'leadership' need to atone for their sin more than those who are not in that same position?
We need to understand the pervasiveness of sin. If sin is in the community, that sin filters through the community and many can suffer from that same thing, either in its commission or as a result of it. Many years ago, I made two formal complaints to the chaplain of the nursing home where I was working about the flagrant behavior of some “religious” volunteers who would burst upon people in the bathroom, while they were not properly dressed, or in the middle of a treatment where the resident needed to be partially disrobed. It infuriated me that they would do this and I put it down to their “religious fervor” which made them somewhat rude and very antagonistic if they were challenged. Eventually, the leader of that Church in our city was arrested and charged with multiple counts of molesting young girls in his parameters of leadership over many years. It was a very public case and was in the papers all that summer. He denied all charges, but many witnesses reported the same story and many of the time frames fit. He was eventually convicted and sentenced. I was not aware of it until the chaplain informed me, that the same cleric who had just been charged and convicted of the multiple molestation crimes was the same cleric who had been in charge of the training and education of these nursing home volunteers.
I’ll never forget how I felt when I heard the news. No wonder! It explained so much! The sin had filtered down into the people themselves who were under the guilty party’s leadership. They displayed the same kind of traits as their leader in that they had no regard for the privacy and dignity of the very people to whom they were coming in weekly to minister to! Even the hidden sin of leaders affects the whole of the community. Leaders in a community are humans and face weakness and frailty. They're accountable for so much more!
48 … For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more. Luke 12:48.
The lesson we take away today is that we've been grafted into the 'apple of God’s eye' by accepting our Messiah. I don’t know about you, but this portion of Leviticus only serves to heighten my awareness of the “much” that is required of me. And then there is this other witness from the B’rit Hadashah…
9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light... 1 Peter 2:9.
And then the reminder from the last book of the five comes to mind about how Israel was to be a kingdom of priests. If we are heirs of Abraham according to Galatians 3:29, then we have responsibility after we've made that decision for Messiah as we read the verses from Exodus 19. That is for us to consider in this midweek missive of Torah.
29 And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. Galatians 3:29.
5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: 6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. Exodus 19:5-6.
1 NASB www.lockman.org for daily reading and KJV in commentary unless otherwise specified
*The Torah and Haftara chapter/verse numbering taken from the Hebrew Bible (Christian-published chapter/verse numbering indicated within parenthesis)
*The Torah and Haftara chapter/verse numbering taken from the Hebrew Bible (Christian-published chapter/verse numbering indicated within parenthesis)
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