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On the surface, it seems like this week’s Torah reading (צו Tzav “command,” Lev. 6:8–8:36) is a repeat of last week’s lesson but there is a key difference. The reading Vayiqra was written as an instruction to Israel to know what kinds of offerings to bring from different scenarios.
This week’s reading covers the same offerings, but it’s from the point of view of the cohenim (priests) who need to understand how to offer the different kinds of offerings the people of Israel will bring.
One of the key jobs in the Tabernacle is the maintenance of the “eternal fire” on which the burnt offerings were presented. The priest had to clean the ashes out without allowing the fire itself to go out, which would need careful attention for the safety of the priest. The ashes that have been collected must be buried in a holy place, they can’t simply be tossed with common garbage.
With all these offerings, there were many priests to take then and process them.
God is a multitasker. He doesn’t need a retinue of priests to help Him keep track of all our needs. Nothing slips past His notice. The prayers, sacrifices and petitions of His people never get lost in translation, unnoticed or unacknowledged.
Grain offering, sin offerings and penalty offerings cannot be made common, which means if those offerings are touched by common things, the common thing is now holy. The common item doesn’t demote the sanctity of those offerings. These three offerings can only be eating within the tabernacle.
The grain offering that is brought to be burned on the altar must be made of unleavened grain. It can never be leavened, regardless of the time of year.
There are a few caution to take note of regarding the sin offering. If any of the blood of the sin offering gets on the priest’s garments, the garments must be washed on site. It must be washed separately from other clothing. Any metal bowls that makes contact with the blood have to be “purged” which means they have to be heated to a blistering hot temperature and then rinsed off.
Except for the sin offerings, the offerings that were performed in the tabernacle before Yeshua’s death and resurrection were perfectly appropriate to perform after His ascension, particularly the shalom or peace offerings.
Three kinds of shalemim (peace) offerings:
- Thank you to God for something great, such as a miraculous healing.
- A thank-you offering must be offered and consumed within the same day. They are offered for a moment in time. They are offered separate from the altar.
- An offering for fulfillment of a vow.
- Dedicating something to God.
Here are two important things to note:
- No one is required to make a vow, but if you make a vow, you have this process of acknowledging its completion.
- Whether you have dedicated an item to God or a person to God, an offering is required to acknowledge that dedication.
These are the most dangerous offerings because there are more rules. If you offer unleavened bread, the bread itself is sufficient. If you offer leavened bread, it must accompany an animal. The most obvious example is at Shavuot,1Feast of Weeks/Sevens, aka Pentecost when two leavened loaves are offered to God with an animal. The animal is sacrificed on the altar, the bread is not. The bread is eaten, not burned.
Unclean things, unclean people are not allowed to make contact with these offerings. It is very important that anyone who is making contact with the sacrifices is in a state of ritual purity.
Summary: Tammy
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