Some are concerned about making the Bible more relevant to modern society, by playing down or sidestepping the “icky” or seemingly backward depictions and instructions in it. However, among the key lessons from the dual Torah reading אחרי מות Acharei Mot (“after the deaths”) and קדושים Kedoshim (“holies/holy”) (Leviticus 16–20) is that the what seems obsolete is anything but that — especially for how they undergird the gospel of Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus).
Should we feel shame for going against the Creator’s instructions? What do we do about that guilt?
Discussed at length in the New Testament letter to the Hebrews, Yom haKippurim (Day of Atonement) is one of the most important lessons in the parables connected to the Moedim (appointed times) of the LORD and the Tabernacle. It teaches the grace and mercy the Creator offers by covering all offenses, pointing to the work of the Mashiakh (Christ).
Also part of the dual readings of אחרי מות Acharei Mot (“after the deaths,” Leviticus 16–18) and קדושים Kedoshim (“holies/holy,” Leviticus 19–20) are instructions on eating blood, nakedness and sexual perversion, discernment of things that shouldn’t go together, the “golden rule” and banishment from the people of Israel.
Yom haKippurim is about freedom from the old life and getting closer to the Giver of Life.
There’s a lot of talk about the holiness of God and being holy. But what does it mean? Thankfully, God tells us in Leviticus 19-20, the Torah reading appropriately called קדשים Kedoshim, or “holiness[es].”
In the Torah reading קדושים Kedoshim (“holiness(es),” Leviticus 19–20), we find “the second greatest commandment”: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” This section also includes a reiterating of the 10 commandments. Holiness is not perfection. Holiness, per the Hebrew word קדש qadash (“to set aside”), means to separate, create a distinction from the world. Leviticus 16 […]
Lev. 19:19-34 may seem like a disjointed collection of rules about managing servants, textiles and crops. But when we see that these are used as symbols elsewhere for characteristics of people, we can learn God’s lessons that transcend culture and time.