Leviticus 1-12

You will be spending two days reading the book of Leviticus. Reading any law code is tedious, but a law code from millenia go is doubly so. Yet, it is an invitation into the Old Testament legal world. We begin with a set of offerings. My NIV Study Bible has them neatly summarized. First is the burnt offering, which you'll find in Lev. 1, 6:8-13, 8:18-21 and 16:24. For those who are able, the required sacrifice is a bull or ram without blemish or defect. The poor are invited to sacrifice a male dove or youg pigeon without blemish or defect. The purpose of the offering was mainly in worship and also for atonement of unintentional sin.

The grain offering, described in Leviticus 2 & 6:14-23, required grain, fine flour, olive oil, incense, baked bread with salt but no yeast or honey. The grain offering was done along side the burnt offering and fellowship offering. Coming from the land, it was an expression of worship and thanks for God's provision for the people. The sacrifice made by the priest was meant to be "a sweet aroma" to the Lord.

The fellowship offering, described in Leviticus 3 & 7:11-34, included a communal meal. The sacrifice involved any animal of herd or flocks with defect and a variety of breads. By the way, each of the sacrfices require that the liver of the animals be removed, leaving only the cover. The liver was used by the other religions in Canaan for worship of their gods.

The sin offering, described in Leviticus 4:1-5:13; 6:24-30, 8:14-17; and 16:3-22, mainly for forgiveness of specific unintentional sin, confession of sin, and cleansing from defilement. If the atonement is for the high priest and congregation the sacrifice is to be a young bull. For a leader, it is a male goat. For a common person it is to be a female goat or a lamb. For the poor it is to be a dove or pigeon and for the very poor 1/10 of an ephah of fine flour.

The guilt offering, described in Leviticus 5:14-6:7 & 7:1-6 requires the sacrifice of a ram or a lamb. The purpose is for mandatory atonement for inintentional sin requiring restitution or cleansing from defilement. Restitution here requires a 20% fee for damage or loss along with the offering. People may not eat the fat of an animal, which was to be burnt unto the Lord or eat the blood. All food must be lean and well done!

The ordination of Aaron and his sons in chapter 8 is interesting, all the way from the priest's outfit to the way the men were anointed. Notice the favoritism of the right in the anointing, a biblical favoritism from cover to cover (too bad for us lefties!). Part of the sacrifice at the ordination will be given to Aaron and his sons for their eating pleasure. This will then continue regularly, according to Leviticus 7:27ff. Chapter 9 describes the first sacrifices of the priests, which concludes by a blessing from the priests with his hands extended over the people (the preliminary for what mainline pastors do in their benedictions).

Aaron's sons die for mishandling the fire on the altar. Many scholars have debated what would have generated such a harsh punishment. Some suggest they may have been drunk or had been sinful in other ways. But the thing to remember is that worship and proper leadership (including the handling of sacred items) was highly important. Later, one of the men stumbles with the ark and reaches into the area where the ark is kept instead of grabbing the poles on the outside. That, also resulted in deaths.

Chapters 11 is the first discussion of the food laws. A required text for preachers used to be one entitled, None of These Diseases, which told of the health benefits of the kosher diet. The book of Daniel begins with a similar defense of the religious food standards. Again, I remind you that while some of these rules were for health reasons, most of them were to distinguish them from the eating habits of the people around them, both in the Sinai and later in Canaan. It does look like you'll have to remove vultures, chameleons and skinks from your diet! Aren't you glad that locusts and katydids are acceptable! Yum, yum!

Leviticus 12 gives the instructions for cleanliness after childbirth. Generally, they make good sense in light of the unsterile conditions of that day. A New Testament note on 12:8. The sacrifice done at the dedication of Jesus was two young pigeons, the sacrifice of the poverty stricken.