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Why does the New Testament have such a large discussion about the Israel’s high priest and the offerings of the Tabernacle (Hebrews 4–14) in connection with Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus the Christ)? In the Torah reading ויקרא Vayikra/Vayiqra (“and He called”), covering Lev. 1:1–6:7, we have the “what” and “why” the various qorbanot (“offerings” aka “sacrifices”) in the Tabernacle services that were revealed to all the children of Israel. In the next Torah reading, God reveals to the Levites and priests how the sacrifices are to be processed and presented to HaShem (the Name).
Heaven has communicated this through the Torah, Prophets and Writings: Actions matter; obedience matters; animal offerings don’t. We were designed to be close to God, in communion with Him. Obviously, the Fall made that much more difficult, but that desire is still innate within us. And this is where we learn how to come closer to HaShem.
God doesn’t think the way men do. We think one way He thinks differently, we have to accept that and just try to understand what He is revealing to us about Himself in this process.
There are arm-chair biblical archaeology students who will say that the offerings described in Leviticus are no different than the offerings made by pagan religions to their so-called gods, but nothing could be further from the truth.
The pagans sacrificed to the gods to appease them, to placate them, to buy them off. Pagan didn’t want to have a friendship or relationship with their gods. They simply wanted to placate their gods so they would get what they wanted and for the gods to otherwise leave them alone.
The offerings God asks of His children are not to appease Him but to draw closer to Him in relationship. It is our actions that “appease” God, not animal sacrifices. The sacrifices were not valuable to God. God wanted His people’s heart, not their animals.
5 qorbanot in Leviticus
| NAME | REFERENCE | ELEMENTS | SIGNIFICANCE |
| Burnt Offering | Lev 1; 6:8-13 | Bull, ram, male goat, male dove, or young pigeon without blemish. (Always male animals, but species of animal varied according to individual’s economic status.) | Voluntary. Signifies propitiation for sin and complete surrender, devotion, and commitment to God. |
| Grain Offering, also called Meal orTribute Offering | Lev 2; 6:14-23 | Flour, bread, or grain made with olive oil and salt (always unleavened); or incense. | Voluntary. Signifies thanksgiving for firstfruits. |
| Sin Offering | Lev 4:1-5:13; 6:24-30; 12:6-8 | Male or female animal without blemish-as follows: bull for high priest and congregation; male goat for king; female goat or lamb for common person; dove or pigeon for slightly poor; tenth of an ephah of flour for the very poor. | Mandatory. Made by one who had sinned unintentionally or was unclean in order to attain purification. |
| Guilt Offering | Lev 5:14-6:7; 7:1-6; 14:12-18 | Ram or lamb without blemish | Mandatory. Made by a person who had either deprived another of his rights or had desecrated something holy.’ |
| Peace Offering, also called Fellowship Offering, includes:
(1) Thank Offering (2) Vow Offering (3) Freewill Offering | Lev 3; 7:11-36 | Any animal without blemish.(Species of animal varied according to individual’s economic status.) | Voluntary. Symbolizes fellowship with God.
(1) Signifies thankfulness for a specificblessing; (2) offers a ritual expression of a vow; and (3) symbolizes general thankfulness (to be brought to one of three required religious services). |
Six types of blood sacrifice
Note: The peace offering is divided into three sacrifices, therefore not counted separately.
| Name | Purpose | Victim | God’s Portion | Priest’s Portion | Offerer’s Portion |
| Burnt Offering (‘olah) | To propitiate for sin in general, Original sin; a means of approach by unholy people to holy God | Male, unblemished: ox/ sheep/ goat/ dove (according to wealth) | Entire animal (hence called kailtil, whole burnt offering) | Nothing | Nothing |
| Sin offering (haarta’t) | To atone for specific transgress ons where no restitution was possible | Priest or congregation: bullock
Ruler: he goat Commoner: she goat | Fatty portions (fat coverng Inwards; kidneys, liver, caul) | All the remainder (had to be eaten within the court of tabernacle) | Nothing |
| Tresspass Offering (‘osham) | To atone for specifictransgressions where restitution was possible, damages computed at six-fifths payable in advance. Legal satisfaction | Ram (only) | Same as above | Same as above | Nothing |
| Peace Offering (sh’lomtm) | Fellowship with God; acommunion meal. For unexpected blessing or deliverance already granted
Divided into three different types: Thank, Votive & Freewill (see below). | unblemished male or female ox/sheep/goat | Fatty portions | 1. Wave offering; breast to high priest
2. Heave offering; right foreleg-to officiating priest (to be eaten in any clean place) | Remainder (eaten in court, the same day) |
| Peace: Thank Offering (tawdah) | Same as above | Same as above | Same as above | Same as above | Same as above |
| Peace: Votive Offering (Neder) | For blessing ordeliverance alreadygranted, when a vow has been made insupport of the petition | unblemished male or female ox/sheep/goat | Same as above | Same as above | Remainder (eaten in court, the same day) |
| Peace: Freewill Offering (n’dabah) | To express generalthankfulness and love toward God, without regard to specific blessings | Male or female ox/sheep/goat (minor imperfections permitted) | Same as above | Same as above | Remainder (eaten in court, First or Second day) |
Aaronic vs. Melchizedekan priesthoods
Hebrews 5:1-6: God gifted a priesthood to Messiah, independent of Aaron
The priesthood of Messiah, as the spiritual heir to Melchizedek, does not function the same way as Aaron’s priesthood.
We have this idea that because God allowed the Temple to be destroyed in 70 AD, 40 years after Yeshua died and returned to Heaven that Yeshua’s priesthood usurps Aaron’s priesthood, but it doesn’t.
Yeshua didn’t come to replace Aaron’s priesthood, but to establish a priesthood independent of Aaron’s.
Hebrews 7:11-17: Distinction between Aaronic and Melchizedekan priesthoods
We know that Messiah Yeshua was not a descendant of Aaron. He had no inheritance in the Levitical line so how can He function as a priest in any capacity or in any measurable way?
Messiah Yeshua does not receive the offerings that the Levites received. He doesn’t receive sin offerings. Those are for the Levites, the sons of Aaron.
The reason that Messiah Yeshua does not receive sin offerings as priest is because He was the sin offering.
Hebrews 7:18-19: Melchizedek’s method to draw near is different than Aaron’s
The burnt offerings, the korbanot offerings, were the offerings that one presented to draw near to God.
The priesthoods of Aaron and Melchizedek work independently of each other. They work differently, in concert with each other.
Hebrews 7:26-28: Melchizedek/Messiah is inherently holy; Aaron has to prepare himself for holiness
Yeshua did not have to make an offering for His own sins, while Aaron did. Aaron could not make an offering for you until he had dealt with his own sin. If the Aaronic priest was working in the Temple in a state of sin, his unholiness would contaminate your holy offering and render it moot.
We need a priest who is holy. Anything we offer to Yeshua will be clean.
Hebrews 8:1-3: Our priest must still offer the gift offerings
Yeshua receives our gifts as a community, that are independent from Aaron’s priesthood.
Who else offered gifts (without sin sacrifices) separate from Aaron’s priesthood?: Abel, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Manoah, King David, Elijah… built altars and/or offered burnt offerings and gifts independent of Aaron’s line without any sin sacrifices.
They all gave gifts to God without Aaron’s intercession.
Hebrews 9:11-14: Aaron’s eternal priesthood is earthly, Yeshua’s eternal priesthood is heavenly
The goal of broth priesthoods is to bring us closer to God, but one is more successful, more efficacious and permanent. Aaron’s offerings have to be presented on a regular basis, Yeshua’s offering was once and for all.
Hebrews 10:1-8: One sin offering is better
Yeshua’s priesthood does not receive sin offerings from individuals. Aaron did, but Yeshua does not. What does that mean when we live in a time where Aaron’s priesthood is not in business?
How do we live? If anyone on earth lived a perfect life for himself is only good for him. The perfect holiness of a saint or a tzadik doesn’t bring salvation to me.
Yeshua, however, was not merely a holy saint or a tzadik. He is the eternal son of God, seated at God’s right hand. After His death, resurrection and ascension into Heaven, God granted Yeshua the title of High Priest and it’s because of that authority given to Him by God that He has the right, the authority to apply His sacrifice to those who reach out to Him.
Hebrews 10:11-31: Repentance before forgiveness
We can’t just go to the High Priest and ask for forgiveness without repentance. We can’t ask Him to forgive us for a particular sin and simply go back to that corruption again and expect forbearance from God for very long.
God does not hold the “sins of our youth” against us when we are older if we have grown past them with His help.
A sinner is not a person who happens to sin, a sinner is a person who living and enjoying their sin.
If we know we have a problem with a particular sin but we never repent and try to stop doing it, that sin can’t be covered by Yeshua. If we love a particular sin more than we love Him, that’s a problem.
We don’t want to face God alone. God is always right and unrighteousness can’t survive in the presence of a holy God.
Hebrews 13:10-14: Sin offering is outside the community
What is the author of Hebrews telling us? The offerings that were made outside the camp, outside the gate, were for the entire community, not just for a particular individual.
Yeshua reaches out His hand to all His people, for all the lost sheep of Israel.
How do we as individuals follow Him outside the camp? What does that look like?
Hebrews 13:15-16: Offerings of praise and thanks
Our offerings are not about sin, they are the words that come out of our mouths, the good we share with others.
Hosea 14:1-3: Receive the fruit of our lips
What we say and how we say it is what we offer to God. How we share what is good is what pleases God. This is what Yeshua brings to the Father on our behalf.
WARNING: Lips are Dangerously Untamed
James 1:26; 3:8-12
Let me use an analogy based on what we have learned about the sacrifices in today’s Torah portion. If I come up and I bring my cow or my sheep, or my goat, and it is blemished, tarnished, scarred and blinded, is that offering accepted? No. Absolutely no.
So my mouth spews out evil things, bad things, negative things, are my good words then received? No, because our mouth is covered in dirt.
Offering what comes out on our lips is a two-edged sword. We have to be very careful of what comes out of our mouth.
Jude 1:1-25
If even the most honorable Archangel Michael refused to say something bad about HaSatan himself, because of his fear of God, how much more should we should bridle our tongues when we are tempted to speak evil of others.
The Archangel Michael refused to judge HaSatan himself and left all judgement to God.
We still make sacrifices to God, but we don’t set them on fire. We don’t spill any blood.
We are called to offer our gifts to God, gifts of praise and thanksgiving. These are a continual sacrifice to Him.
Summary: Tammy