Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Leviticus 2:4-7, 11

4 And if thou bring an oblation of a meat offering baken in the oven, it shall be unleavened cakes of fine flour mingled with oil, or unleavened wafers anointed with oil.

5 And if thy oblation be a meat offering baken in a pan, it shall be of fine flour unleavened, mingled with oil.

6 Thou shalt part it in pieces, and pour oil thereon: it is a meat offering.

7 And if thy oblation be a meat offering baken in the fryingpan, it shall be made of fine flour with oil.

11 No meat offering, which ye shall bring unto the Lord, shall be made with leaven: for ye shall burn no leaven, nor any honey, in any offering of the Lord made by fire.

In the last post we discussed the meat offering made from separate ingredients, now we see the option to have it already baked as a cake or a wafer. One key detail from verse four and eleven is that if the offering were baked, it needed to be “unleavened,” which is to say having no germ agent that would cause it to cause it to rise. Thus, what they were bringing was not like bread, but crackers.

Many scholars have already explained that the reason for this was as a symbol of purity. You were to keep the ingredients plain, not introduce a foreign agent that transformed the end result. Those coming to the tabernacle were expected to eschew all foreign doctrines, all forms of idolatry, and all pagan superstitions. They were to keep the word of God pure, uncompromised by the philosophies of the world.

Of course, we do interact and cooperate with the larger world, and the Israelites did use leaven in their home cooking. But all of us should have a place that is pure. Just as the Israelites would not bring leaven into the tabernacle, we should not bring the world into our most sacred moments of worship.

One other point regarding leaven. Some may recall that Jesus spoke favorably of it when he compared it to the kingdom of heaven in Matthew 13:33. While leaven is usually used as a negative symbol in the scriptures, including from Jesus, it is not, in and of itself, good or evil. Broadly speaking, it is a symbol of influence and transformation. And influence and transformation can be good, but they can also be evil.

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

Full table.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Leviticus 2:2-3

2 And he shall bring it to Aaron’s sons the priests: and he shall take thereout his handful of the flour thereof, and of the oil thereof, with all the frankincense thereof; and the priest shall burn the memorial of it upon the altar, to be an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the Lord:

3 And the remnant 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.

It may be strange to see this referred to as a “meat” offering, when no meat is involved in it. This confusing naming scheme is due to the differences in 17th century English, where “meat” was used to describe any solid food, as opposed to drink or soup. More modern translations tend to render this as a “grain” or “meal” offering.

This offering could be provided as a baked bread, or as its raw ingredients. Today’s verses describe the raw ingredient version, featuring flour, oil, and frankincense. All of these ingredients would have been accessible to the Israelites, even the poor ones. Of all of the ingredients, frankincense would have had the highest cost, but not unattainably so.

Flour would have been seen as a symbol for life, or the body, and oil as a symbol for the spirit. Frankincense, with its pleasant aroma, was typically seen as a symbol for prayer, such as when it was used on the incense altar. Thus, their combined offering would represent the whole person, body, mind, and spirit, connected to God, expressing gratitude for the blessings that had been given.

SacrificeEligible oblationStepsExplanation
Meat OfferingFlour, oil, frankincenseGiving gratitude for blessings
Separate ingredients burned on altarBody, spirit, and prayer uniting in gratitude

Full table.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Leviticus 1:3-9

3 If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord.

4 And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.

5 And he shall kill the bullock before the Lord: and the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall bring the blood, and sprinkle the blood round about upon the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

6 And he shall flay the burnt offering, and cut it into his pieces.

7 And the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire upon the altar, and lay the wood in order upon the fire:

8 And the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall lay the parts, the head, and the fat, in order upon the wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar:

9 But his inwards and his legs shall he wash in water: and the priest shall burn all on the altar, to be a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the Lord.

The first sacrifice described in Leviticus is a burnt offering. We heard about this kind of offering in the second half of Exodus. The description given here largely follows the pattern of that earlier record, though it provides a few new details.

First, we now know that a bullock was also an acceptable animal for the burnt offering, previously we only knew of a ram. Secondly, we learned that the offering must be an unblemished male. The significance of being unblemished is clear, one was to offer to God from the very best of his flocks.

As for being male, obviously one healthy male is able to impregnate many healthy females. Many shepherds might even have a couple dozen females for each one male. The other males would be destined for slaughter or sold as beasts of burden. Thus, to offer a male is to offer your root of life, or your personal food, or your strength of labor. Excellent symbols for the burnt sacrifice, which stood for committing one’s life and efforts to God.

I have updated our table of sacrifices with this new information, marking the new portions in bold. I have realized that this table will probably get quite large, so I will only post the most relevant portion of it here in these daily posts, but the entire table can be viewed at any time over here.

SacrificeEligible animalsStepsExplanation
Burnt offeringRam, BullockGiving our life to God’s purposes
Male, without blemishGive our very best
Hands placed on head, slaughteredAnimal takes the place of us
Blood sprinkled around altarOur life is sprinkled over God’s work
Cut in pieces, and washedEach part of us measured and made clean
The whole thing burned on the altarOur lives consumed in service to God
Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Leviticus 1:1-2

1 And the Lord called unto Moses, and spake unto him out of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying,

2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man of you bring an offering unto the Lord, ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd, and of the flock.

There are quite a few offerings described in the Bible, and their symbolism and meaning can be cryptic in our modern culture. But we already saw three types of offerings at the end of Exodus and were able to find some insights on the symbolism there. If you need a refresher, here are links to each offering that was discussed:

Sin offering
Burnt offering
Consecration offering, part one
Consecration offering, part two
Daily offering

With so many offerings, it can be hard to keep separate in the mind all their different parts and purposes. Thus, as an aid to our study, I am introducing a table that we will fill out as we go, providing a clear record of each sacrifice, the rituals surrounding it, and the possible meanings that each of those might have. Hopefully this will allow us to see any repeating patterns, and to build up the grammar of sacrifice.

For now, I will populate the table with the sacrifices we already saw at the end of Exodus, then we will expand upon it with the information gained in tomorrow’s verses.

SacrificeEligible animalsStepsExplanation
Sin offeringBullockSacrifice of 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
Burnt offeringRamGiving our life to God’s purposes
Hands placed on head, slaughteredAnimal takes the place of us
Blood sprinkled around altarOur life is sprinkled over God’s work
Cut in pieces, and washedEach part of us measured and made clean
The whole thing burned on the altarOur lives consumed in service to God
Consecration offeringRamGod and the priests sharing His portion
Hands placed on head, slaughteredAnimal takes the place of us
Blood placed on tip of ear, thumb, and toeReceiving the word, work, and path of God
Blood mixed with oil and sprinkled on personGod’s spirit given to us
Wave and Heave offeringsRam, bread, oilPart of the Consecration offering
Loaves of bread and fat, kidney, shoulder, rump, and kidneys of ram waved in the air, then burnedUs participating in the work with the Lord, and Him receiving His portion of it
Shoulder and breast of ram are also waved and heaved on the shoulders, then given to us to eatUs participating in the work with the Lord, and us receiving our portion of it
Daily offeringLamb, flour, wine, oilRegular, daily renewal of all prior covenants
All parts offered on the altar, presumably burnedGiving our time, energy, and effort for regular communion and recommitment to the Lord
Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 40:2-5

2 On the first day of the first month shalt thou set up the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation.

3 And thou shalt put therein the ark of the testimony, and cover the ark with the veil.

4 And thou shalt bring in the table, and set in order the things that are to be set in order upon it; and thou shalt bring in the candlestick, and light the lamps thereof.

5 And thou shalt set the altar of gold for the incense before the ark of the testimony, and put the hanging of the door to the tabernacle.

The tabernacle was to be constructed from the inside out. First the tabernacle and all of its elements would be placed, and then the elements of the courtyard and its walls. Thus, the first step is to erect the tabernacle with its pillars and walls and curtains and coverings of linen and skin. Apparently, though, the curtain door was not yet to be added. Next came the Ark of the Testimony in the most holy place, and on the other side of the inner veil the table of shewbread, the menorah, and the incense altar. Now that the interior was complete, the curtain door was added, and the tabernacle portion was complete.

When we first read about the structure of the tabernacle with its bones of wood and its outer coverings of hair and skin, it seemed clear to me that it was meant to represent a person’s body. It is a symbol for each of us individually. With that in mind, the bringing in of the spiritual artifacts represents the introduction of spirituality to our own person. First comes in the Ark of the Covenant, which represents the presence of God within us, the spark of divinity that all of us are born with. The table of shewbread is spiritual nourishment, the menorah is spiritual light, and the incense altar is our continual prayers. We must maintain in our dead flesh a living spirit, nourishing it by light and prayer, and we must set a door before us that keeps the material out so that the inner spiritual is uncorrupted.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 36:14-19

14 And he made curtains of goats’ hair for the tent over the tabernacle: eleven curtains he made them.

15 The length of one curtain was thirty cubits, and four cubits was the breadth of one curtain: the eleven curtains were of one size.

16 And he coupled five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves.

17 And he made fifty loops upon the uttermost edge of the curtain in the coupling, and fifty loops made he upon the edge of the curtain which coupleth the second.

18 And he made fifty taches of brass to couple the tent together, that it might be one.

19 And he made a covering for the tent of rams’ skins dyed red, and a covering of badgers’ skins above that.

The previous post detailed Bezaleel’s creation of the linen covering, which was the innermost layer, the one that was visible from the interior. Today we hear about all the following layers: the ones of goats’ hair, rams’ skin, and badgers’ skin. These would be visible from the outside, and I would imagine that they effectively blocked out the sun, such that the only illumination would be from the seven lamps on the menorah.

Of course, the menorah was only on one side of the inner curtain, which means there would have been no direct light source for the most holy place, only whatever light leaked in. We do not know how thick the inner curtain was, so maybe light was able to pass through or maybe not. If the most holy place was quite dim, this might seem like a strange choice given the common connection between God and light; but there are a couple possible reasons why this feature could have been fitting.

One explanation could be that this would help the priest to disconnect from the material world. Cutting off his sight may have helped him to surrender his own perception and reason, encouraging him to listen to his spiritual senses instead. Another reason might have been to symbolize the great shroud of mystery that still surrounds God, even when we are at our closest to Him. His depth and breadth are simply unfathomable and imperceivable to us. A third possibility is that the room might have been illuminated, but not by a natural light source. If Moses’s face was made to shine from his visits into the tabernacle, perhaps there was a divine glow that originated in there.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 33:21-23

21 And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock:

22 And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by:

23 And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.

In yesterday’s post I suggested that Moses’s request to see the glory of the Lord might have been in reference to an upcoming meeting between the two, not the one currently transpiring within the tabernacle. Today’s verses seem to support that idea, with God talking about placing Moses in the cleft of a rock. It doesn’t seem that geographical feature would have been present in the tabernacle, but it certainly would have been found up in the top of the mountain, which is where Moses will go immediately after this meeting.

This idea of placing Moses in the cleft of a rock and covering him with God’s hand is clearly symbolic. A cleft in the rock face is a wound in the body. There immediately comes to mind the image of Jesus Christ, pierced in the side while on the cross. We are all of us tucked within that wound, our frailty and impurity being covered by the works of Christ as Moses was by the hand of the Lord, giving us our only hope of surviving the image of God and receiving a good reward.

Even the fact that Moses was only permitted to see the back of God, and not His face, seems symbolic for our experience in following a Lord that we do not perfectly understand. We generally understand God, but certainly not in His totality. We long to see His face but feel we have only a general sense of His form. We follow according to what little we do understand, looking forward to the time when we will fully see “face to face, and shall know Him even as also we are known.“

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 28:26-29

26 And thou shalt make two rings of gold, and thou shalt put them upon the two ends of the breastplate in the border thereof, which is in the side of the ephod inward.

27 And two other rings of gold thou shalt make, and shalt put them on the two sides of the ephod underneath, toward the forepart thereof, over against the other coupling thereof, above the curious girdle of the ephod.

28 And they shall bind the breastplate by the rings thereof unto the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it may be above the curious girdle of the ephod, and that the breastplate be not loosed from the ephod.

29 And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart, when he goeth in unto the holy place, for a memorial before the Lord continually.

We heard yesterday how the breastplate was secured at each side to the shoulders. This would still allow it to swing from side-to-side, though, so today we hear that there were two more points of attachment on the forepart of the ephod, just above the waist. Thus, the gems and the names inscribed upon them would be held firmly in place.

Also, verse 29 explicitly confirms the symbolism that I mentioned in yesterday’s post: as the priest performs his duties in the tabernacle the names of the breastplate are to bear “upon his heart…for a memorial before the Lord continually.” Specifically, we are told, it is the “judgment of the children of Israel” that is to weigh upon his heart.

Much of the symbolism we have heard about the tabernacle would keep the priest in constant remembrance of God, but this breastplate would also keep him in constant remembrance of the children of Israel. Thus, the priest was a mediator between the two, bringing God and the Israelite into one within his own person, trying to close the gap between them via sacrificial offerings, a type for Christ who would come many years later.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 28:17-21

17 And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, even four rows of stones: the first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this shall be the first row.

18 And the second row shall be an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond.

19 And the third row a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst.

20 And the fourth row a beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper: they shall be set in gold in their inclosings.

21 And the stones shall be with the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet; every one with his name shall they be according to the twelve tribes.

The face of the breastplate would be covered with twelve precious stones. They would be four rows of three stones, and each would be inscribed with the name of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. We were already told that each priest would bear the twelve names upon his shoulders, six on each side engraved in a single onyx stone, and now all of them again on the chest, but here each carved into its own unique jewel.

There may be some symbolism in this. Having a cluster of names on each shoulder could mean having a broad sense of the burden for the work that the priest must perform for each tribe. The work for the Danite would be indistinguishable from the work for a Benjaminite. Each would be part of the same mass of labor, and so, too, their names could be massed together, six on each shoulder. But the tribes were not to be lumped together in such a way upon the heart. Twelve unique stones on the chest suggests having a unique and individual love for each tribe, the priest being able to appreciate their separate roles within the whole.

As for the types of stone that are described, some of them are assumed my modern scholars to be incorrectly interpreted. For example, there is no evidence that these ancient people would have known of the diamond, nor that they would have had the technology to etch a name into it. It therefore seems highly likely that a different stone was meant.

I have to assume that each stone was not chosen at random. If a sardius was selected for Reuben, I assume there was something in the nature of the sardius that was seen as particularly fitting for the nature, role, and destiny of Reuben within ancient Israel. There are several commentaries that suggest what those connections might have been, but I do not have the background to know which ones are most credible, so for now I will content myself with the opinion that the connections do exist.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 27:20-21

20 And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always.

21 In the tabernacle of the congregation without the veil, which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall order it from evening to morning before the Lord: it shall be a statute for ever unto their generations on the behalf of the children of Israel.

We already heard about the seven lamps upon the menorah within the tabernacle, but today we learn about the oil that they would use. A wick would be placed into the oil that would absorb the oil up into its body. When lit, the wick would continually absorb up more oil as the previous oil was consumed in the flame. Being saturated by the oil, the wick would be able to tolerate the flame and not immediately turn to ash as it would if it were dry.

There is clear symbolism here, wherein the wick is our soul, the oil is the spirit of Christ, and the flame is the glory of God. Surrendering our lives to God’s glory is like being subjected to a fire, glorious and scorching at the same time, but we are able to tolerate its heat by the constant refreshing of His spirit. If the spirit in us is not refreshed, we will eventually run out and be left vulnerable to the flame. So, just as the priests were required to replace the oil “to cause the lamp to burn always,” we must continually seek spiritual refreshment to keep our spiritual flame forever alive. This brings to mind Jesus’s promise to be a fountain constantly springing up into everlasting life within us.

Another point that must be made is the requirement that the oil to be used was “pure oil olive beaten.” There were two ways of extracting the oil from olives. The first was to put them into a mill and grind them. This would extract a lot of oil quickly, but it would be filled with the sediment of the broken olives and particles from the stones used in the mill. The other method was to beat and bruise them in a pestle, after which the oil would flow out freely, extremely clear and pure.

Crushed olives, mixed with the sediment of the world, produces a cloudy oil. So, too, fragmented gospel, mixed with the trends of the world, produces an unclear vision. Pure truth takes precision and effort to extract. It includes beating out our misconceptions and bruising our ego, often flowing from our wounds. Of course, there is also symbolism of Christ as the olive that was beaten and bruised, and His spirit flowing out of his wounds for all of us.

Note: It can be difficult to visualize some of the structures described in these verses. Here is an excellent and extremely focused series of animations that show the visual form of the temple and its instruments, built up verse-by-verse from the Exodus record: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpjohncRg94EZ55nJrbaKfi-lfeo3MFgl&si=6wm1J9Sdnu7LKYC_