The extended Tabernacle parable of how the contrite enter the Creator’s presence continues with instructions for the priesthood, detailed in this week’s Torah reading, צו Tzav (“command”), covering Lev. 6:8–8:36.
Tag: Leviticus 06
The Torah reading וַיִּקְרָא Vayikra (“and He called,” Lev. 1:1–6:7) picks up immediately after God moved into the newly constructed Tabernacle (Ex. 40:34–38), ancient Israel’s tent shrine for the LORD. But the question then was, “Now what happens after God enters the Tabernacle and everyone must get out, for their own safety?”
To answer this and to help understand the seemingly strange and rather grotesque imagery of the sacrifices in the Leviticus, approach the book as one would a parable, like one tackles the parables of Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus).
We may think the instructions in Torah readings Vayiqra and Tzav (Leviticus 1-8) about Tabernacle/Temple offerings is quaint history, but Kefa (Peter), an apostle of Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus) wrote that in the “world to come” the people of God will be a “nation of kings and priests” (1Pet. 2:5, 9; Rev. 1:6; 5:10), then we need to put our mind to study Torah to understand the different kinds of offerings and how to properly handle them.
No, this isn’t a case of duct-taping Bible passages together into a hodge-podge teaching. There is an important link between instructions to priests about keeping the Tabernacle altar fire burning, the command to destroy the memory of back-stabbing Amalek, the reluctance of later generations to carry that out fit, Queen Esther’s bold intervention for the Yehudim (Jews), the memory of deliverance from slavery at Peskah (Passover) and the freedom brought by Yeshua the Mashiakh (Jesus the Christ). Strap in your brain for a wild ride.
Many think that the Tabernacle and Temple services were about works that pay for entrance into the Father’s presence and that the regimens of faith — prayer and repentance — made the Tabernacle obsolete. But what the Bible actually teaches about the Tabernacle is quite different from this common view.
God’s presence can’t abide with impurity, and the book of Vayiqra (Leviticus) shows us God’s prescription to make us pure and ready to live in His presence. The animal and grain קרבנות qorbanot (offerings/sacrifices) described in the Torah reading ויקרא Vayikra/Vayiqra (“and He called,” Leviticus 1:1-6:7) were symbolic of the supplicant’s desire to abide with God.
The relationship that God wants with you is a relationship that responds and grows. If we respond and grow, we are like a tree that will produce good fruit. If we don’t grow and respond, we won’t produce good fruit. The High Priest is supposed to encourage the relationship between God and His people produce good fruit for eternity.
When God commands one to do something, deviation from the instruction isn’t tolerated. The Torah reading צו Tzav (“command,” Lev. 6:8–8:36) includes detailed instructions on how the priests are to handle other people’s offerings, symbolizing their approach to God. The LORD told Aaron that doing this right matters, not just to the people, but to God.
None of the sacrifices or offerings of the Tabernacle or Temple of ancient Israel (recorded in Torah reading וַיִּקְרָא Vayiqra/Vayikra, Lev. 1:1–6:7) apply to us today, yet all of them apply to us today. That paradox comes to us because forgiveness for diverging from the Creator’s plan has always come to mankind the same way: the old way of life must die. Offerings of blood and food never accomplished that — and never were meant to.
So then, what’s the deal with all the detailed instructions in the Bible about killing animals, pouring and sprinkling blood, burning carcasses and bringing in offerings of produce? Yeshua the Mashiakh (Jesus the Christ) taught in parables, and the Word of God teaches through the parable of the Tabernacle.