Tag: Parashah Vayikra

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Apostolic Writings Discussions Prophets and Writings Torah

The innocent must suffer? Why biblical sacrifice still matters in the age of Messiah (Ephesians 5; Leviticus 1–2; Isaiah 48–49)

This digital oil painting in an expressive palette knife style is created by ChatGPT. In the foreground, a silhouetted robed figure (Servant of the LORD) stands on a rocky rise with his back to the viewer, gazing toward a radiant horizon. A small lamb stands close at his side, reinforcing the theme of the innocent suffering servant. The foreground is rendered in cool blues and grays with thick, textured strokes, while the distance glows with warm golds and soft reds. On the horizon, a softly lit house of believers emits a gentle, inviting light. The warm glow outlines both the figure and the lamb, creating a contemplative and reverent atmosphere. In the lower right corner is a text overlay reading, “The innocent must suffer? Why biblical sacrifice still matters in the age of Messiah (Ephesians 5; Leviticus 1–2; Isaiah 48–49).” A Hallel.info watermark appears in the lower left corner.

When Apostle Paul wrote “be imitators of God” (Ephesians 5), he was drawing on Heaven’s lesson in the Tabernacle korban (offering), which means “the thing that draws near.” We learn that true worship is offering our whole selves as a “living sacrifice” (Romans 12). Through the House of God, Isaiah’s Servant prophecies and the Lamb in the book of Revelation, we see God’s heart to dwell with humanity, transform us by His law and Spirit of love, and send us out to transform the world by loving our neighbors as ourselves.

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Discussions Torah

Leviticus 1, 4–5: Be thankful God isn’t fair; lessons on mercy

If we are honest with ourselves and with others, we want God to be unfair. We want Him to give us mercy. But if we don’t want Him to give others mercy, He will not give us mercy (Matt. 7:2; Mark 4:24; Luke 6:38). Neither atonement nor forgiveness are fair, yet we want it that way. Contrary to popular belief, not all offerings of the Tabernacle are equal or identical. When we confuse them and lump them all together, it’s too easy to dismiss them and throw them out as obsolete. וַיִּקְרָא Vayiqra (“he called out,” Leviticus 1–5), the beginning reading from the Torah book by the same name, teaches us that God has a purpose in mind for each of the offerings. We’ll learn what each are and more about what God is trying to teach us.