Vayikra Slides (pdf)
The Sacrifices (pdf)
VaYikra Notes (PDF)
Overview of VaYikra (“And He Called”) Leviticus 1:1 – 6:7
This week’s Torah Portion starts the Book of Leviticus, and it is quite a departure from the first two Books that we have already studied. Genesis and Exodus were action-packed accounts of historical events…with lots of Yehovah’s instructions to us concerning how we should live. Leviticus, on the other hand, is almost all “law”.
“Leviticus”: this Greek/English name says this is for the Levites; it is the procedure manual for the Levites…more specifically, the sons of Aaron who were the Priests. The Hebrew name “VaYikra” comes from the first words of this Book: “and he called”. The Priests were called out to serve Yehovah…just as we are called out to serve Yehovah. But the details of the Book of Leviticus are for the Aaronic Priesthood; we are called to “a more perfect Priesthood” (Hebrews 7:11). According to the writer of Hebrews, Yeshua is better than the angels (chapters 1 & 2), better than the Prophet Moses (chapter 3), has a better Priesthood (chapters 4 – 9), and was a better sacrifice (chapter 10). While it is instructional for us to know the procedures set forth in this Book; at a deeper level they show us the character of Yehovah. But we, as Believers in Yeshua’s sacrifice, are not to pursue the Aaronic Priesthood; we are called to a higher Order, the Melchizidek Priesthood with Yeshua as our High Priest! All indications point to the Temple being rebuilt and the Aaronic Priesthood restored (that’s what Bible prophecy says…and also what current events are saying!), and we should support that endeavor. The entire Bible (Old & New Testaments) deals with an operational Aaronic Priesthood, so it is easy for us to become laser-focused on that one. But that’s not our Priesthood – the Book of Hebrews makes that point very forcefully. The mature Believer (and I hope that all of us fall into that category) sees beyond the procedures of the Aaronic Priesthood, and we focus on the “law written in our heart and mind” that is the New Covenant of the Order of Melchizidek.
One last point before we start today’s study: We don’t see it in our English translations, but the books of Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers all begin with the word “and.” So Yehovah sees them all as one book. Man has divided them into the four books we have in our Bibles today based upon their subject matter, but Yehovah still sees them as one. Deuteronomy is the “extra” book that summarizes the others….and also gives a bunch of “new laws.”
This first Portion of Leviticus gives us the details of how to perform the five types of sacrifices that Yehovah required of (covenant-breaking) Israel. We see here how to perform the sacrifices but not the “when, where and why;” that can only be determined as we continue reading the rest of the Bible and see the context of “when and where” each sacrifice is performed; as the puzzle pieces start to fit together then we can see the “why.” In order to aid in this understanding, I will present the sacrifices out of order; the mandatory sacrifices (Sin and/or Trespass Offerings) will be presented first, then the remaining voluntary offering will be presented.
Chapters 4 & 5 The Mandatory Offerings
Before a man can make a dedication or fellowship offering to Yehovah, he must first atone for his own sins so that he can enter into Yehovah’s Presence. That was Yehovah’s problem with Cain’s offering in Genesis 4. Cain brought an offering “of the fruit of the ground,” a grain offering. “Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock,” the key word being “also.” This says that there was more than one offering – that Abel first offered the blood sacrifice of the animal before he offered anything else. That’s why Yehovah accepted Abel’s offering – because he did it in the correct order – and why He refused Cain’s offering. It is interesting that Yehovah expected them to know the sacrificial procedures back then …two entire books before those procedures are presented to us here in Leviticus. This just shows that these “laws” are not brand new ideas that Yehovah just thought of…they had been in force since the beginning and are just being written down and codified here in Leviticus (and the Books that follow). Yehovah expected all the patriarchs to know these same sacrificial procedures; He expected Noach to know the difference between clean & unclean animals, and He expected Israel to understand the concept of the Shabbat long before that was written down in Torah.
It must also be noted that these two mandatory sin offering were to only atone for a man’s sins – not forgive them – Yehovah is keeping His Word that He holds Israel (and us) accountable for the Sin of the Golden Calf; but in His Mercy, He has given them a way to postpone that sin penalty by shedding the blood of an innocent animal. Also, only unintentional sins were atoned for by these sacrifices. The only remedy under this sacrificial system for intentional sins was death! The good news of the New Covenant is “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Messiah Yeshua, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:1). Yeshua’s shed blood has forgiven all sins – intentional and unintentional.
And one final note: all animals to be sacrificed must be without blemish. Yehovah does not want damaged or defective offerings. Would you give something that was broken or used to someone that you love? Yehovah expects nothing less than a perfect offering from us.
The Sin Offering: The Hebrew word is chatet, meaning “to miss the mark.” This mandatory offering is to atone for sins against Yehovah. There are different offerings depending upon the person’s status (this is best shown in the Yom Kippur procedures in Leviticus 16):
High Priest offered a bull (the most costly) for himself and for National Israel
A Tribal leader offered a male goat
The common person would offer a female goat
In each case, the person offering the animal would lay his hands upon it (the Hebrew word means “to press hard upon”); he would recite his sins, literally placing them upon that animal; and he would take the knife and slit the animal’s throat to kill it. If he believed that his sins had been placed upon that animal, then its death would atone for those sins.
A small portion of the animal would be sacrificed to Yehovah upon the altar and the rest would be eaten by the Priests. So we see here two purposes for animal sacrifice: to atone for the sinner’s sins (spiritual) and to provide food for the Priesthood (natural).
The Trespass (or Guilt) Offering: The Hebrew word is asham, meaning “mixed pots.” This mandatory offering is to atone for sins against your fellow man; sins that would require restitution for damages that you caused to your neighbor. The sacrifice was either a ram or a lamb – depending upon the severity of the offense – and restoration of the monetary value of your damage, plus a 20% “fine.”
Incidentally, I am not going into all the procedural details of these sacrifices: how it is cut up, which part to burn on the altar, what to do with the blood and the hide, etc. Again, these are details for the Aaronic Priests and not for us. We can learn from the underlying concepts that apply to our Melchizidek Priesthood, but we must not get bogged down in this procedural minutia that only applied to Aaron. And I have tried to summarize the pertinent details in the Chart of Sacrifices found on the web site.
Now we will return to the beginning of this Portion to present the voluntary offerings.
Chapter 1 The Burnt Offering
The Hebrew work is olah, meaning “to go up.” The Burnt Offering literally went up in smoke. We speak today of Jews making aliah to Israel, meaning to take up residence there – literally, “go up” to Jerusalem; these words come from the same root.
This voluntary offering could be a bull (most costly), a ram, or a male bird (least costly). Yehovah knows what you can afford to offer: if you can afford a bull but offer a dove, then Yehovah will not accept it. But if all you can afford is a dove, then Yehovah will accept that offering just as He would accept the bull from the rich man. Note the offering that Miriam and Yosef brought for the baby Yeshua (Luke 2:22-24).
This offering was to be completely consumed by fire, symbolic of the offeror’s dedication to Yehovah. The Apostle Paul said to us: “ I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of Yehovah, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to Yehovah, which is your reasonable service.” (Romans 12:1). Just as the Burnt Offering had its throat slit, blood drained, was cut into pieces and then burned to ashes; we are to make a living sacrifice of our natural (sinful) self. The bull was “lucky” in the respect that it could only be offered once. As Believers, we are to make that same symbolic sacrifice (throat cut, blood drained, cut to pieces, and burned to ashes) every day, perhaps even many times per day. Welcome to Christianity!! Unfortunately, the Western Church has “cheapened” this Gospel message to the point that the average Christian doesn’t acknowledge that any sacrifice is necessary. This New Gospel is coming straight from the pit of Hell and is deceiving many.
Chapter 2 The Meal Offering
King James refers to this offering as the meat offering, which is an unfortunate use of the old English, because it is the only offering that isn’t meat!
The Hebrew word is mincha, which is sometimes translated as “oblation.” This voluntary offering was what Cain undoubtedly offered. There are several “recipes” given in this chapter that all involve the same ingredients (flour, water, oil, and incense) with different methods of baking. As with the Sin & Trespass offerings, a small portion of the Meal Offering was burned as an offering to Yehovah, and the rest would be eaten by the Priests.
Chapter 3 The Peace (or Fellowship) Offering
The Hebrew word here is shlamim, (do you see the word “shalom” here?). This voluntary offering could be any animal from the flock or the herd…but it must be without blemish. And like the others, a portion would be burned as an offering to Yehovah and the rest would be eaten. But unlike the others, the offeror would sit down with the Priests and they would eat together; thus the name Fellowship Offering. I believe that the phrase from the 23rd Psalm, “you prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies” refers to this shlamim meal that is shared by the offeror and the Priests.
In next week’s Portion we will get some more information concerning how these sacrifices were to be offered.
The Haftarah Reading (Isaiah 43:21-44:23)
The Haftarah reading comes from the Prophet Isaiah. Here the Prophet rebukes Israel for abandoning the Temple’s sacrificial service – the same sacrifices discussed in the Torah Portion. He rebukes Israel for turning away from Yehovah and turning to idolatry instead. Yehovah begs the people to return to Him, promising to forgive their transgressions. We read from Isaiah 43:22-25:
“But you have not called upon Me, O Jacob; and you have been weary of Me, O Israel. You have not brought Me the sheep for your burnt offerings, nor have you honored Me with your sacrifices. I have not caused you to serve with grain offerings, nor wearied you with incense. You have bought Me no sweet cane with money, nor have you satisfied Me with the fat of your sacrifices; but you have burdened Me with your sins, you have wearied Me with your iniquities. ‘I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins.’”
The Brit Chadashah Reading
Yehovah’s instructions in this Torah Portion were given to Covenant-Breaking People. In fact, all the instructions in the rest of Torah are given to Covenant-Breaking People. But we have a Covenant relationship with Yehovah!! Yeshua’s shed blood has paid our penalty for breaking the Covenant at Sinai, and we have a New Covenant with Him! Today’s Brit Chadashah reading comes from the Book of Hebrews. Here the writer shows the futility of the sacrifices: they can only cover sins, year by year, not take them away. Only the perfect sacrifice of Yeshua can do that! Only through Yeshua are we restored into that Kingdom of Priests working in Yehovah’s Presence. We read from Hebrews 10:1-4:
“For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.”