Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Leviticus 8:31-36

31 And Moses said unto Aaron and to his sons, Boil the flesh at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and there eat it with the bread that is in the basket of consecrations, as I commanded, saying, Aaron and his sons shall eat it.

32 And that which remaineth of the flesh and of the bread shall ye burn with fire.

33 And ye shall not go out of the door of the tabernacle of the congregation in seven days, until the days of your consecration be at an end: for seven days shall he consecrate you.

34 As he hath done this day, so the Lord hath commanded to do, to make an atonement for you.

35 Therefore shall ye abide at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation day and night seven days, and keep the charge of the Lord, that ye die not: for so I am commanded.

36 So Aaron and his sons did all things which the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses.

Presumably the instruction for Aaron and his sons eat their sacrifice portion at the door of the tabernacle is so that all of gathered Israel may be witness to the proper fulfillment of God’s command. We do not hear this being a requirement for general rituals, but at least now the Israelites would have the image in their mind of what transpires even on the times when they don’t see it.

Another thing that is unique about this initial performance of the rituals was the requirement for the priests to remain in the tabernacle for seven days, apparently on peril of death! Once Aaron and his sons had begun their consecration to the Lord, they were not to abandon the process half done. This cleansing and consecration ritual was a week-long process, one that entailed new sacrifices on each of the seven days.

Jesus pointed out in Luke 14:28-30, “For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.”

So it was for the tabernacle priests. They were informed beforehand what “the cost” of being a priest was. They knew what rituals would be required, what commitments, and what restrictions. It was a good thing to be a priest, but not if they didn’t accept the cost of it. So it is for each of us as modern disciples. We have been told “the cost,” meaning the duties, the commitments, and the restrictions of bearing the name of Christ. It is a good thing to taken on his name, but not if we don’t accept that cost.

We will see in two chapters how two of Aaron’s sons did not meet the requirements of their station, defied the commandments that they had pledged to, and were destroyed because of it. We should assume no less serious of an outcome when we violate our covenants as well. We may not see such a dramatic event as being consumed by a ball of fire but never forget that even greater than the death of the body is the death of the soul.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Leviticus 8:1-5

1 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

2 Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, and the anointing oil, and a bullock for the sin offering, and two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread;

3 And gather thou all the congregation together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

4 And Moses did as the Lord commanded him; and the assembly was gathered together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

5 And Moses said unto the congregation, This is the thing which the Lord commanded to be done.

We heard about this event—the initial washing and anointing of Aaron and his sons—back in Exodus, but it was a very succinct description, basically just acknowledging that it did, in fact, happen. In this chapter we actually hear how the process was done, step-by-step.

Aaron and his sons may have been the first priests to officiate for the general population, but clearly Moses also had the priesthood, and he performed these rituals for the very first time, providing both the demonstration as well as the sanctification for Aaron and his sons. Only then would he hand the responsibility and duties to the priests. They would know what to do by what they had seen him do.

This calls to mind how Jethro taught Moses the principle of delegation when he was judging all the people on his own. Just as how God called and sanctified Moses to do the Lord’s work, Moses could now sanctify other servants to do the same. Obviously, any man can choose to serve God in a general way, and requires no authority to do so, but to be a representative of God, Himself, in these rituals required divine authority. This divine delegation flows down from heaven. As Jesus taught, “the Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do” (John 5:19).

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Leviticus 7:7-11

7 As the sin offering is, so is the trespass offering: there is one law for them: the priest that maketh atonement therewith shall have it.

8 And the priest that offereth any man’s burnt offering, even the priest shall have to himself the skin of the burnt offering which he hath offered.

9 And all the meat offering that is baken in the oven, and all that is dressed in the fryingpan, and in the pan, shall be the priest’s that offereth it.

10 And every meat offering, mingled with oil, and dry, shall all the sons of Aaron have, one as much as another.

11 And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which he shall offer unto the Lord.

These verses repeat that the priests would eat their portion as part of the sin and meat offerings. It is new information at this point that the priests would also take part of the burnt offering, specifically the skin. While we do make food from the skin of some animals today, it does not seem likely that the priests would eat this portion. Notice that it says the priest is to “have it to himself,” suggesting that it became a possession. The skins would likely have been made into leather and crafted, or sold for money.

It does seem strange that we are finding out details of each sacrifice in such a piecemeal fashion. Why not hear everything about a burnt offering in one set of instructions, rather than getting one part here and one part there? Personally, I think it doubtful that the original instructions were so fractured. We have already seen elsewhere that the books of Moses seem to be composited together from multiple separate accounts, and I assume that that is what is happening here also.

That being said, the fractured form that we see in the Bible today is not a bad analogy for the experience of anyone seeking truth. Typically, principles and doctrine are not appreciable in their entirety all at once. We have to learn progressively, “line upon line; here a little, and there a little” (Isaiah 28:10). From many sources and lessons, we accumulate a coherent model of God and His truths, rather than receiving it whole at once. Again, I don’t necessarily think this was an intended symbol, but it is fitting, nonetheless.

Burnt offeringGiving our life to God’s purposes
Ram, BullockMale, without blemishGive our very best
Hands placed on head, slaughteredAnimal takes the place of us
Slaughtered on the NorthRecommitment on the side of our journey
Blood sprinkled around altarOur life is sprinkled over God’s work
Cut in pieces, and washedEach part of us measured and made clean
Skin given to priestsOuter behavior that supports the mission of God
Pigeon, TurtledoveCrop pulled off, torn nearly in halfEach inner part of us exposed to God’s purifying fire
The whole thing burned on the altarOur lives consumed in service to God
Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Leviticus 6:19-23

19 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

20 This is the offering of Aaron and of his sons, which they shall offer unto the Lord in the day when he is anointed; the tenth part of an ephah of fine flour for a meat offering perpetual, half of it in the morning, and half thereof at night.

21 In a pan it shall be made with oil; and when it is baken, thou shalt bring it in: and the baken pieces of the meat offering shalt thou offer for a sweet savour unto the Lord.

22 And the priest of his sons that is anointed in his stead shall offer it: it is a statute for ever unto the Lord; it shall be wholly burnt.

23 For every meat offering for the priest shall be wholly burnt: it shall not be eaten.

In addition to the burnt offering of a lamb, once every night and once every morning, there was also to be a meat offering of flour every night and morning. The flour was to be baked first, then burned as a bread or a wafer until fully consumed.

We have already heard that when the meat offering was from a common Israelite, there was a portion given to the priests. But since the meat offering described here was from the priests themselves, there was no portion for them, and all of it was given to the Lord. There can be seen in this a hierarchy, a flow, moving upwards and ultimately finding its destination in God. Just as God is the originator of all things, He is the terminus of all things as well.

All of our creations stem from the first creation made by God. And all of our sacrifices ultimately find their rest in Him. We come and go as links in a chain. At the beginning of the chain is a post, and at the end of the chain is a post, and both posts are God.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Leviticus 6:16-18

16 And the remainder thereof shall Aaron and his sons eat: with unleavened bread shall it be eaten in the holy place; in the court of the tabernacle of the congregation they shall eat it.

17 It shall not be baken with leaven. I have given it unto them for their portion of my offerings made by fire; it is most holy, as is the sin offering, and as the trespass offering.

18 All the males among the children of Aaron shall eat of it. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations concerning the offerings of the Lord made by fire: every one that toucheth them shall be holy.

We have heard a few times already of the priests eating a portion of the offering. I have described this as God sharing His bounty with His servants, them being able to partake in the fruit of His kingdom. I do believe that is a main meaning of this symbol, but perhaps there are other representations we can find in it as well.

One thing that stands out this time is the specification that the meat offering had to be eaten in the holy place, meaning within the tabernacle courtyard. The priests had their own homes and families and lives outside of their ritual duties, but this offering was not meant for them to take home and eat there. It was not just provisions. The priests eating it was actually a part of the ritual itself. It was as much an obligation of the priests as it was a privilege. That which the offeror gave had to be consumed, whether by flame or by mouth, and the priest was responsible to ensure that that occurred.

Given that perspective, another representation in the priests eating of the meat offering emerges. Remember that this offering was a celebratory one, given as a show of gratitude and thanks for God’s blessings. That show of thanks had two destinations, one was purely to give glory and memorial to God, the other was to nourish and sustain God’s servants. We see in this dual consumption the proper channels for our abundance. If I am greatly increased by God in my life, I should return some of that back to Him, and some of it I should pay forward to my fellow man.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Leviticus 4:1-4

1 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

2 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a soul shall sin through ignorance against any of the commandments of the Lord concerning things which ought not to be done, and shall do against any of them:

3 If the priest that is anointed do sin according to the sin of the people; then let him bring for his sin, which he hath sinned, a young bullock without blemish unto the Lord for a sin offering.

4 And he shall bring the bullock unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord; and shall lay his hand upon the bullock’s head, and kill the bullock before the Lord.

This chapter is dedicated to the ritual of the sin offering, something that we already heard of in Exodus, from which we have populated the table down below. The account here in Leviticus 4 confirms what we already heard in Exodus, though here it is given in longer detail.

The sin offering is arguably the most foundational of all the offerings. Sin is the greatest and most universal obstacle of all humanity. It is sin that divides us from peace, more than any affliction, misfortune, or disaster. In fact, the universality of sin is pointed out in verse 3, which reminds us that even the priest who had been set apart to be the holy servant of the Lord, would be besmirched by it and would require restitution, the same as any other Israelite.

Even our priests and vessels of purification require purification themselves. Our cleaning agents need cleaning. This shows a pattern of regress and suggests to us that there must be an endpoint somewhere. Sooner or later, for any of this purification to have any effect, it must be founded upon a purifier who is himself never soiled. The offering of Jesus, who was the perfect High Priest, would sanctify the entire temple enterprise, which would sanctify the priests and vessels, which would sanctify the common Israelite.

SacrificeEligible oblationStepsExplanation
Sin offeringBullockSacrifice for sin
Hands placed on head, slaughteredAnimal takes the place of us
Blood placed on horns of the altarA heartfelt plea to the Lord for mercy
Fat and kidneys burned on altarCleansing our behavior and desire
Skin, dung, and flesh burned beyond the campThe sinful behavior purged out of us

Full table.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Leviticus 2:8-10

8 And thou shalt bring the meat offering that is made of these things unto the Lord: and when it is presented unto the priest, he shall bring it unto the altar.

9 And the priest shall take from the meat offering a memorial thereof, and shall burn it upon the altar: it is an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the Lord.

10 And that which is left of the meat offering shall be Aaron’s and his sons’: it is a thing most holy of the offerings of the Lord made by fire.

Here we read how part of the offering was burned unto the Lord, but then all the remainder was given to Aaron and his sons, the priest class, being their portion and reward from the Lord. Today, we do not have a specific tribe of priests separate from the rest of us, rather each worthy man may volunteer to administer in the Lord’s rituals, whatever his heritage. And even more broadly, every man, woman, and child may volunteer to assist in the work of the Lord, spreading His kingdom in many different ways. To us who take part in His labor, I can only assume that the same promise made to the Israelite priests applies to us, that we will receive a portion of the Lord’s own.

And that is not only for this life, but more importantly, for life in the eternities. Remember that Jesus promised his disciples they would be given things from their Father for both their earthly needs and for their heavenly reward. The same, I believe, is true for us. At least, it is if we first adopt the burdens and responsibilities of our Lord.

SacrificeEligible oblationStepsExplanation
Meat OfferingFlour, oil, frankincenseGiving gratitude for blessings
Separate ingredients burned on altarBody, spirit, and prayer uniting in gratitude
Ingredients baked into unleavened cakesDevotion to God’s law, unsullied by pagan practices
Portion given to priestsGod’s treasures shared with us

Full table.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Leviticus 2:1

1 And when any will offer a meat offering unto the Lord, his offering shall be of fine flour; and he shall pour oil upon it, and put frankincense thereon:

At first glance, there are some similarities between the meat offering and the consecration offering that we heard of in Exodus. Both involved making a sacrifice where a portion of it was burned on the altar to the Lord, and another portion was given to the priests. But these are not the same offering, and there are some key differences to be noted.

The first is who made each offering. For the consecration offering, it was made by the priests themselves, to consecrate a new priest to his work. The meat offering was made by everyday Israelites, those not of the priest class, for the purpose of giving thanks.

Unlike other offerings, the meat offering was entirely voluntary. Israelites would bring them when they felt very blessed by the Lord’s bounty, so much so that they wanted to bring a gift of thanks. Perhaps they secured a good contract, or received a bounteous crop, or had a good rainfall, or secured a marriage betrothal. They would signify their awareness that this was a blessing from God by bringing an offering to the altar. It was as if to say, “you have blessed me, and even more than I need, so here is a part of it returned back to you.” And because it was presented as a gift to God, and God shares His gifts with His servants, those priests would receive a portion of it also.

SacrificeEligible oblationStepsExplanation
Meat OfferingFlour, oil, frankincenseGiving gratitude for blessings

Full table.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Continuing With Leviticus

Just over six months ago I finished my study of Exodus. At the time, I said I was going to share some essays and small thoughts. I estimated this would go for a couple weeks, which was clearly a great underestimation! I think part of why I spent so much longer exploring other topics is the rapid and dramatic changes that have been happening world, prompting me to delve into the spiritual questions I saw attached to those changes.

Now, though, I do want to get back to my scripture study. As before, I intend to cover a small batch of verses at a time, going chapter-by-chapter through the entire book of Leviticus. I’m sure that I will periodically do one-off studies in between chapters as well, whenever a particular question or thought is weighing on me.

You can go back to read my full summary of Exodus, but I’ll take just a moment here to re-establish context.

Genesis was dedicated to laying the core patterns of the world, distilling eternal truths in legendary and dramatic manifestations. Exodus was the bridge from the supernatural world to the natural, bringing those core patterns to everyday existence.

Of course, Exodus still had its fair share of miracles and supernatural wonders, but it also made the way that people related to the Lord ritualistic and common. We followed an everyday people who passed through relatable phases of tragedy, rebellion, and repentance. The book concluded with them finally being ready to enter covenant with the Lord, and to receive Him in their midst via the tabernacle and regular, daily ritual. That tabernacle and all of its instruments were made at the end of the book, and the Lord accepted it all.

Now, in Leviticus, we will hear in greater detail all the laws and rituals of that tabernacle. We will hear all the different sacrifices to be made, and when they need to be done, and in what way. This book is therefore a narrower slice of the word of God, a sort of instruction manual for priests. We, of course, will look for the symbolism in every instruction and ritual, to see how it points to each of us in our daily lives.

I hope to see you tomorrow when we begin.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 40:12-16

12 And thou shalt bring Aaron and his sons unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and wash them with water.

13 And thou shalt put upon Aaron the holy garments, and anoint him, and sanctify him; that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office.

14 And thou shalt bring his sons, and clothe them with coats:

15 And thou shalt anoint them, as thou didst anoint their father, that they may minister unto me in the priest’s office: for their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations.

16 Thus did Moses: according to all that the Lord commanded him, so did he.

As the final step of preparation, Aaron and his sons would be dressed, anointed, and sanctified. These were the priests that God had chosen, and they had to be prepared in just the same manner as all the other elements of the tabernacle. This suggests that they are as much a part of the place as every altar and curtain. Living vessels for the Lord.

Verse 15 is the first time that we see the word “priesthood” in the KJV Bible, though the Hebrew word that is derived from, כְּהֻנָּה (kehunnah), appeared once before in Exodus 29:9, where it was rendered as “the priest’s office.” At different times, God called different categories of men to bear the priesthood, but always men. This may not actually mean anything, but it interesting to note that nouns are gendered in Hebrew, and “priesthood,” as well as most other abstract nouns, is feminine.

This may simply be a coincidence of linguistics, or perhaps the language was formed around the cosmological perception of the people who used it. Perhaps the abstract and conceptual was seen as the domain of the divine feminine, and the calling of men to it was a deliberate unification of the feminine to the masculine. Perhaps the ancient Hebrew view was that the man represented the concretization of the abstract. That the priesthood had both a feminine and masculine side, feminine in its unseen authority and masculine in the priest that utilized it.