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Moral challenges faced in ancient Israel and in the first century — organ and blood donation, sexual confusion — still plague society today. Leviticus 18 and 1Corinthians 5–6 help us see that immorality, disrespecting boundaries between and justifying sin have been persistent problems for thousands of years.
Torah reading אַחֲרֵי מוֹת Acharei Mot (“after the deaths,” Leviticus 16–18) with Isaiah 52:13–53:12 and Hebrews 3–10 also explores the atoning — covering — work of Heaven’s Anointed One, Yeshua (Jesus). That frees us and gives us power over what has enslaved us and all humanity since the beginning. The seeming paradoxical dual character of the Holy One of Israel as “high and lifted up” and “God with us” helps us understand the Messiah’s role as the ultimate כֹּהֵן הַגָּדֹל cohen ha-gadol (high priest) and the two covering–removing offerings of Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement).
By filtering our thoughts through Scripture (2Cor. 10:5-6) and discussing struggles with mature believers (James 5:16), we can confront modern cultural pressures while showing compassion. Such counsel guides us in upholding righteousness courageously in a corrupt age, ancient or modern. Families and faith communities must provide safe places to discuss these issues biblically.
As the Word made flesh (John 1:1, 14), Yeshua is the bridge between Heaven and humanity, the pinnacle Agent of Heaven’s lifeline to humanity through the “kingdom of priests, a holy nation” (Ex. 19:6), Israel. The good news (gospel) is anyone who hears and “walks” that Bridge can access God’s mercy and favor — and live covered and purified lives honoring to Heaven.
Summary of the recorded study
Elevating experience with God and respecting His holiness (0:11)
Elevating experience with God and respect for His commands are themes in Leviticus 16-20.
The Lord is both “high and lifted up” (Sinai) and “dwelling in the midst of the people” (tabernacle), representing two aspects of God’s presence.
The paradox of God’s closeness and remoteness is highlighted, with the words of the Lord being both “close to you” and “elevated above the earthly experience.”
You can’t merely treat God like a buddy without understanding how holy separated He is from us.
Worship and offering practices in the Bible (5:12)
Our worship and our behavior should be different from that of the nations. God deserves to be worshipped in the way He asks us to worship and He has the right to expect our behavior to align with His instruction. The Israelites arrived at Mt. Sinai to receive the witness of the One who rescued them from slavery and brought them to freedom. Presenting their offerings at the tabernacle was an important part of their worship. God did not want them to make sacrifices in their own homes in privacy, but to publicly proclaim their honor to Him. Worship is a community event, not a private event.
The Israelites had a lot to unlearn. They had witnessed the disgusting worship practices of the Canaanites and Egyptians and God specifically warns them not to worship Him the way those false gods and demons are worshipped. They are not called to drink animal blood, they are not called to perform ancestral sexual rites, they are not called to allow demons to possess them to make them powerful. They are not called to mix what God wants with how the false deities are worshipped and make something new.
What we read in Leviticus 17 were common issues in the 1st century as well. That’s why the advise that the Jerusalem Council issued to gentile converts in Acts 15 was given to simplify the instructions God gave to the Israelites in Leviticus 17.
The importance of blood in Jewish tradition and its connection to life (10:36)
Moral issues in the ancient world persist today. History repeats itself and even rhymes. Sometimes the more sophisticated people become, the more debauched they can become, too. The Soviet Union collapsed but those who ran it behind the scenes replaced their red socialist garb with suits and ties and they have continued their thuggery and oligarchy into the 21st century.
The tabernacle is not the Lord Himself. The ark of the covenant is not the Lord Himself. The altar is not the Lord Himself. The tabernacle and the things within it were made by His instruction to decorate His home and to ensure it functions in the way He instructed by He is above His creation. The Tabernacle and its contents are patterns of heavenly things, with the Lord’s presence dwelling above.
“Life of the flesh is in the blood” (Gen. 9:4; Lev. 17:11, 14; Deut. 12:23). Even pagan societies discovered that stopping its flow leads to death.
“(T)his is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.”
(Matthew 26:28 NASB)
This is why the pagan rituals emphasized draining and drinking of blood. They were drinking and ingesting the blood of the animal to connect to the life-force of the animal, but God said we are not to do this. Our lifeblood comes from the Creator to the creature. We do not get life from other creatures, we get our life force only from God.
Pagan practices, divination, and respecting God’s boundaries (17:48)
People from early history have been attempting to tap into divine power through necromancy or other forms of divination. Bible commands against divination because seeking knowledge of good and bad in the world apart from the Source of all life often leads one away that source.
We can’t hack into God with these rituals. These rituals offer only a bait and switch, and you may think you are tapping into something holy but you will be tapping into something demonic instead.
Leviticus 17–18: Respect boundaries. This is something important for ancient and modern contexts. We are told not to only elevate God but to respect Him. We are instructed to respect God’s boundaries and those of our fellow human beings. We are called to respect and love God with all our being and to love and respect our neighbors as we love and respect ourselves. The path of holiness is very narrow.
Biblical interpretation and the importance of understanding symbolism and parables (22:52)
Some mockers deride Yeshua’s statements eat His flesh and drink His blood (John 6:53-54, 56) as proof of paganism in Christian belief. But some believers also point to those and other passages during Yeshua’s Last Supper — plus Leviticus 17 prohibitions on drinking blood — as Bible instruction to avoid blood transfusions.
Yet should also note that Yeshua followed the “eat My flesh and drink My blood” with this:
“For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink.”
John 6:55 NASB 1995
This should suggest more is going on here than literal cannibalistic divination. This lines up with a key biblical passage about feasting on God’s words (Deut. 8:3; Matt. 4:4), in order that lessons change behavior and character.
It’s importance to understanding the symbolism — parable — in the Tabernacle. A key principle with parable interpretation is to look for the “punchline” and not take them literally or parse every detail apart from that “zinger.”
The Scriptures are the “bread of life” that enriches one’s life. A lesson during Pesach (Passover) and Matzot (Unleavened Bread) is that fasting from leavened things can help one master the self and see the sinful things in life.
Blood transfusions, organ donation and Judaism’s views on saving life (30:40)
The modern understanding of blood as able to be transferred to other people who have the right type is a lesson from the Designer that blood transfusions to save life aren’t going against that design.
When you donate blood, one of the first things the blood bank will do is test it to determine the type of blood, particularly the Rh factor so they can determine who can receive it on the other end safely. They do not need to perform DNA tests on donated blood in the way they have to do on donated organs. As long as the Rh factor matches, the blood is safe for the recipient without rejection medications.
Organ donation, though, often requires anti-rejection drugs because of genetic uniqueness of people’s organs. And while pig carcasses are improper to eat or touch (Lev. 11:7; Deut. 14:8), replacement valves used for human transplants do not violate the Torah, as working to help a livestock fallen into a ditch or well on Shabbat (Sabbath; Luke 13:15; 14:5) isn’t anti-God.
The role of Jesus as both divine and human, with references to the Hebrew Bible and the concept of yoke (35:52)
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Hebrews 4:14-16 NASB 1995
The role of Yeshua as the high priest who understands and empathizes with humanity’s struggles, despite being separate — sinless, holy — from the muck and mire of the world.
In Yom Kippur, Yeshua is pre-figured not only in the High Priest but also in both goats. He is the one who carries us on His shoulders. He is the one who carries our sins away and He is the one who died for us.
Fasting every year on Yom Kippur, and from leaven in the Days of Unleavened Bread, is a way to emphasize how we need to watch for and separate aspects of our lives that need to be purified and renewed.
Part of that is to recognize and acknowledge one’s “house of bondage” and the pull to return to it, even after being called out.
Like the second generation of Israel post-Exodus who “entered [the LORD’s] rest” in the Promised Land, we are to come to Messiah, Who offers rest and lightens their burden, rather than adding more commandments or weight.
“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and ‘you will find rest for your souls’ [Jer. 6:16]. “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Matthew 11:28-30 NASB 1995
Trusting in God’s righteousness, not own efforts (44:06)
The Messiah offers an easy burden and teachings are light, and trusting in God leads to righteousness.
The good news of the kingdom is the Creator of the heavens and Earth wants to dwell with us — to be “at one” with us again after the gulf of separation started widening with rebellion in Eden. The LORD started bridging the gulf with Abraham and others who would trust God enough to learn and live His ways, rather than the ways of the world without God.
We start with acknowledging that Messiah Yeshua is the righteous one who is credited to us as righteousness. We should live as people who are free from our sins. We don’t live as though we have to earn heaven’s attention. We already have Heaven’s eyes on us and when we hear His words, and learn His thoughts and His ways and change our thoughts and ways to match His, this is how we grow and change for the better.
Understand that God’s favor is already upon us, and we don’t need to earn it.
Bridging heaven and earth through Yom Kippur and the Messiah (48:36)
Leviticus 17 echoes the four instructions in Acts 15 for new gentile believers so that learn more about the true God (Acts 15:21) and detox from paganism.
The promise of the New Covenant (Jer. 31:31–34; Ezek. 36:25–27) is for a new “heart” and God’s Spirit. That means one’s thoughts and passions change from what they were before.
The significance of Yom Kippur and the Tabernacle services highlight the role of the high priest and the ultimate sacrifice of the Suffering Servant. Isaiah 52:13–53:12 reveals that the Suffering Servant is the only one who can cover Israel’s iniquities — Israel as a whole or some tzadiq (righteous person) among her can’t do it. This promise is fulfilled in the Messiah.
Yom Kippur and its significance in the Jewish faith, with references to Leviticus and Hebrews (55:47)
Yom Kippur is an annual memorial of Yeshua as high priest, covering and removing (purifying) the sins, transgressions and iniquities of all people.
Even though everyone can’t see with their own eyes what the High Priest is doing, everyone can participate, by humbling ourselves and acknowledging the High Priest’s work. Israel can’t cover her own sins, transgressions and iniquities.
The moral dilemma of Mitzraim (Egypt) and Canaan reflected in Leviticus 18 parallels the naive “tolerance” of immorality the congregation of believers recorded in 1Corinthians 5.
Pesach (Passover) is an annual memorial of how each person is delivered from their own “house of bondage,” and how we are to leave the immorality of our pasts behind.
Gender roles and identity in ancient Israel and modern culture (1:01:06)
Confusion about gender roles and identity in childhood and adulthood isn’t a modern phenomenon, as Leviticus 18 and 1Corinthians 5–6 warn.
We should not pat ourselves on the backs and claim that we are not like the Canaanites or the Corinthians. Unregenerate human nature hasn’t changed over the millennia. We all need redemption, we all need to learn God’s instruction and practice them.
The Greek word translated “effeminate” (NASB) in 1Cor. 6:9–11 is μαλακός malakos. The literal meaning is something that is “yielding to the touch, soft,” but it is used in ancient Greek literature for “being passive in a same-sex relationship.”1 This is not talking about a boy or a man who is on a spectrum of masculinity.
The same struggles between knowledge of good and bad seen in the Garden of Eden are present today in a growing crescendo in society on fluid sexuality and “gender.” Like the dilemma in the garden, we are faced with trusting in the One Who “made them male and female,” a way that leads to life or death, and trusting the Adversary’s “did God really say” way that leads to “you will surely die” or “in dying you will die.”
Confronting sin and unregenerate human nature in the midst of cultural and societal pressures (1:09:42)
The congregation at Corinth tolerated πορνεία porneia — sexual immorality — in their midst (1Corinthians 5). The situation recorded 1 Corinthians 5 shows us that the practices of Leviticus 18 were not limited to Canaan.
The Corinthians were tolerating the same sin that Reuben had committed against Jacob, when Reuben slept with Rachel’s handmaiden, who was also his father’s concubine. (Gen. 35:22)
Jacob didn’t tolerate that behavior but the Corinthians thought they were better than the Patriarch Jacob when they tolerated this abomination in their midst until the Apostle Paul called them out for it.
It’s important that the assembly of Yeshua confront and not condone sinful attitudes in the congregation and society. The Bible has addressed these issues throughout history.
We should not pat ourselves on the backs and claim that we are not like the Canaanites or the Corinthians. Unregenerate human nature hasn’t changed over the millennia. We all need redemption, we all need to learn God’s instruction and practice them.
It may seem very odd to have a conversation about some of the worst most reprobate sins that humans can commit in the midst of a conversation about the most holy, most sacred day of God’s religious calendar, but it is the power of God that can cleanse us, not only from minor mistakes but from major mistakes and errors of judgement.
Believers must confess their sins to others who are mature in the faith. Likewise, parents must be a “rock” for their children, providing a safe space for them to discuss their problems, influences and messages they’re getting from friends, teachers and society.
“Chastity will be lost where the distinction between the sexes is not observed.”
St. Ambrose of Milan
Filter thoughts and emotions through biblical teachings to avoid spiritual harm (1:17:37)
Prophecies in Deuteronomy and 1Corinthians 5 about the decay of the family.
The sins recorded in 1 Cor. 6:9-11 are not done in secret, they are done in broad daylight. These activities are not only tolerated but openly taught and encouraged in our schools and on social media, which are amplifying these false messages. Our culture is promoting these abominations and lying to the children at 120 db and we have to respond at 120 db to proclaim the truth.
God tells us that we need to have a strong firewall strengthened with His word to filter out the evil ideas of the world and only allowing the thoughts that are helpful and edifying to us to enter our minds. Living in this world is very challenging but we also have hope.
Believers must filtering thoughts and emotions through the words of God to avoid disobedience and deception.
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete.
2Corinthians 10:3-6 NASB 1995
Pay attention to whose voice you are listening to, so we can discern what’s consistent with the words of God and what’s out to harm us.
- Bauer, W., F. W. Danker, W. F. Arndt, and F. W. Gingrich, eds. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. 3d, Accordance electronic edition, version 2.8. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000.
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