A Work in Progress….

Leviticus 7:1-2 “ ‘These are the regulations for the guilt offering, which is most holy: The guilt offering is to be slaughtered in the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered, and its blood is to be splashed against the sides of the altar. 

I am struggling with the amount of blood that is splashed around during sacrifice. It puts me in mind of horror movies, so why is the blood splashed on the altar as a way of cleaning it? And if blood is considered cleansing, why is a menstruating woman during that time considered unclean? 

Leviticus 7:3-4 All its fat shall be offered: the fat tail and the fat that covers the internal organs, both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the long lobe of the liver, which is to be removed with the kidneys. 

Of course, a quick internet search provides answers to both questions, but it solidifies for me the fact that context matters in the Bible, that we can’t just snatch verses out of their contexts and use them to support our points. (Well, we can, and we do, but we definitely should not.) 

Leviticus 7:5 The priest shall burn them on the altar as a food offering presented to the Lord. It is a guilt offering. 

Precious Savior, I sense You, again and again, calling me to love and not to judge. I can use Your word to support my views, but that is not what You call me to do. You call me to love You and love Your children, warts and all. It’s easier to use Your word as a shield, so help me, instead, to love others as You love them–deeply, fiercely, completely. Help me, Jesus. Amen.

Leviticus 7:6 Any male in a priest’s family may eat it, but it must be eaten in the sanctuary area; it is most holy.

Have a blessed day. 

Leviticus 6:24-25 The Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron and his sons: ‘These are the regulations for the sin offering: The sin offering is to be slaughtered before the Lord in the place the burnt offering is slaughtered; it is most holy. 

Once again I am struck by the fact that the Israelites, newly released from 400 years of captivity, need the specificity of Leviticus to understand the expectations of holy worship and atonement; however, having all these specific rules makes it dangerously easy to follow the letter of religious law to the exclusion of its heart. 

Leviticus 6:26 The priest who offers it shall eat it; it is to be eaten in the sanctuary area, in the courtyard of the tent of meeting. 

Following the letter over the heart of God is a dangerous, slippery slope that no one navigates well. I can follow rules like a boss, but rules do not deal with the beating heart of humanity, and that heart, the people, I think, are what’s most important. 

Leviticus 6:27-28 Whatever touches any of the flesh will become holy, and if any of the blood is spattered on a garment, you must wash it in the sanctuary area. The clay pot the meat is cooked in must be broken; but if it is cooked in a bronze pot, the pot is to be scoured and rinsed with water. 

Precious Savior, Thank You for the reminder that rules and expectations are important, but Your people are where Your heart lies. Help me to be Your hands and feet and heart in this world. Help me, Jesus. Amen.

Leviticus 6:29-30 Any male in a priest’s family may eat it; it is most holy. But any sin offering whose blood is brought into the tent of meeting to make atonement in the Holy Place must not be eaten; it must be burned up.

Have a blessed day. 

Leviticus 6:19-20 The Lord also said to Moses, “This is the offering Aaron and his sons are to bring to the Lord on the day he is anointed: a tenth of an ephah of the finest flour as a regular grain offering, half of it in the morning and half in the evening. 

Verse 21 and its “aroma pleasing to the Lord” has my attention this morning. I know I have written about this before, but it always brings me back to talking with my children when they were little about their “stinky attitudes” and how those attitudes were a part of life, but you didn’t want them to hang around forever. 

Leviticus 6:21 It must be prepared with oil on a griddle; bring it well-mixed and present the grain offering broken in pieces as an aroma pleasing to the Lord. 

As an adult, I know that I have to keep an eye on my own stinky attitude. It happens, and when it does, the stench infects every aspect of my life. I know that it’s a part of life, but I make a conscious effort not to let it linger. Some days are easier than others.

Leviticus 6:22 The son who is to succeed him as anointed priest shall prepare it. It is the Lord’s perpetual share and is to be burned completely. 

Precious Savior, Thank You for the reminder that my daily attitude matters, that stinky attitudes are a part of life, but that I shouldn’t let them hang around and spoil the “aroma pleasing to the Lord” that is my life. Help me, Jesus. Amen.

Leviticus 6:23 Every grain offering of a priest shall be burned completely; it must not be eaten.”

Have a blessed day. 

Leviticus 6:11 Then he is to take off these clothes and put on others, and carry the ashes outside the camp to a place that is ceremonially clean. 

Verse 11 really struck me this morning. I couldn’t figure out why the priest needed to change clothes to carry the ashes outside the camp. And, of course, the reason has to do with the sacred verses the common–the sacred vestments worn at the alter vs the common clothing worn outside the tabernacle.

Leviticus 6:12 The fire on the altar must be kept burning; it must not go out. Every morning the priest is to add firewood and arrange the burnt offering on the fire and burn the fat of the fellowship offerings on it. 

And that got me thinking of the sacred vs the common in all aspects of life. God wants our hearts. Always. He wants us to take the sacred into the common as we go about our daily lives. I’m better at that than I once was, but I’m still a work in progress.

Leviticus 6:13 The fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously; it must not go out.

Precious Savior, Help me to take Your sacred love into the common spaces of my life and infuse every aspect of my day with Your love, grace, and mercy. Help me, Jesus. Amen.

Leviticus 6:14 “ ‘These are the regulations for the grain offering: Aaron’s sons are to bring it before the Lord, in front of the altar.

Have a blessed day. 

Leviticus 6:6 And as a penalty they must bring to the priest, that is, to the Lord, their guilt offering, a ram from the flock, one without defect and of the proper value. 

This morning I have been praying for wisdom about today’s verses. Commentary talks about all kinds of things, but I guess what strikes me is God’s desire for community with us. All of these rules are about what the Israelites need to do to be able to stay in community with Him.

Leviticus 6:7 In this way the priest will make atonement for them before the Lord, and they will be forgiven for any of the things they did that made them guilty.”

Interestingly, while I have always associated Jesus with community, I don’t often think of God in that capacity. I’ll be honest, the Old Testament God has always seemed very cold, angry, and distant, so to view Him through this lens is really interesting for me. 

Leviticus 6:8-9 The Lord said to Moses: “Give Aaron and his sons this command: ‘These are the regulations for the burnt offering: The burnt offering is to remain on the altar hearth throughout the night, till morning, and the fire must be kept burning on the altar. 

Precious Savior, Thank You for the understanding that God wants community with us just as much as You do. As someone who has always felt the Old Testament God was a bit judgy and distant, that understanding feels pretty revolutionary. Draw me closer. Always. Amen.

Leviticus 6:10 The priest shall then put on his linen clothes, with linen undergarments next to his body, and shall remove the ashes of the burnt offering that the fire has consumed on the altar and place them beside the altar.

Have a blessed day.

Leviticus 5:12 They are to bring it to the priest, who shall take a handful of it as a memorial portion and burn it on the altar on top of the food offerings presented to the Lord. It is a sin offering.

I can already see the pitfall in this system. The last half of v13 says that “a handful” of the offering is God’s. The rest “will belong to the priest.” That leaves the door open to human temptation and fallibility.

Leviticus 5:13a In this way the priest will make atonement for them for any of these sins they have committed, and they will be forgiven.

Human nature is unpredictable, capricious. We are wired to fear scarcity and guard against lack, and it seems like when we are together, competition and oneupmanship are often in the fore, whether we want them to be or not.

Leviticus 5:13b The rest of the offering will belong to the priest, as in the case of the grain offering.’ ”

Precious Savior, It is so easy to get caught up in this world and all its noise. Help me to focus on You, to draw closer to You, to be more like You every minute of every day. Help me, Jesus. Amen.

Leviticus 5:14-15 The Lord said to Moses: “When anyone is unfaithful to the Lord by sinning unintentionally in regard to any of the Lord’s holy things, they are to bring to the Lord as a penalty a ram from the flock, one without defect and of the proper value in silver, according to the sanctuary shekel. It is a guilt offering.

Have a blessed day.

Leviticus 5:7 “ ‘Anyone who cannot afford a lamb is to bring two doves or two young pigeons to the Lord as a penalty for their sin—one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. 

In this day and age, there is often a huge gap between the haves and have nots. If you have (money, power, influence, access), life is pretty easy. You can always get what you need. If you don’t have those things, you get what you get and you don’t throw a fit. Maybe someone will help you. Maybe not. It is what it is.

Leviticus 5:8-9 They are to bring them to the priest, who shall first offer the one for the sin offering. He is to wring its head from its neck, not dividing it completely, and is to splash some of the blood of the sin offering against the side of the altar; the rest of the blood must be drained out at the base of the altar. It is a sin offering. 

The thing I appreciate about these verses in Leviticus is that the forgiveness of sins via this sin offering isn’t contingent on having the means to get a lamb. If you can’t afford a lamb, there is another way–two doves or young pigeons. If you can’t afford either of those, there is yet another option, shown in v11. Means or lack thereof is not a barrier to access.

Leviticus 5:10 The priest shall then offer the other as a burnt offering in the prescribed way and make atonement for them for the sin they have committed, and they will be forgiven.

Precious Savior, We live in a time when means or lack thereof seems to make or break people. It’s not right and it’s not fair, but it is often seen as just the way it is. Thank You for showing us that there is another way, a better way. Help us to help each other in Your name. Amen.

Leviticus 5:11 “ ‘If, however, they cannot afford two doves or two young pigeons, they are to bring as an offering for their sin a tenth of an ephah of the finest flour for a sin offering. They must not put olive oil or incense on it, because it is a sin offering.

Have a blessed day.