Category: Leviticus

Leviticus 2:13 Season all your grain offerings with salt. Do not leave the salt of the covenant of your God out of your grain offerings; add salt to all your offerings.

I wonder what the response was to this scripture. Were the Israelites diligently scribbling to be sure they got everything just right?

Leviticus 2:14 “ ‘If you bring a grain offering of firstfruits to the Lord, offer crushed heads of new grain roasted in the fire. 

Were they grunting and groaning like petulant teenagers? Did they see the need for specific instructions for these relationships they have never had?

Leviticus 2:15 Put oil and incense on it; it is a grain offering. 

Precious Savior, Thank You for Your time and attention, for guiding and directing us so that we can interact with You in a way that brings You joy. Draw us closer. Amen.

Leviticus 2:16 The priest shall burn the memorial portion of the crushed grain and the oil, together with all the incense, as a food offering presented to the Lord.

Have a blessed day. 

Leviticus 2:9 He shall take out the memorial portion from the grain offering and burn it on the altar as a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the Lord. 

I chuckle a bit when I read about aromas “pleasing to the Lord” because, as a retired high school teacher, I’ve smelled some aromas in my day–straight up body odor and flowery lotion over sweat being two of the worst. 

Leviticus 2:10 The rest of the grain offering belongs to Aaron and his sons; it is a most holy part of the food offerings presented to the Lord.

And while it would be novel to claim I don’t know what aromas are “pleasing to the Lord,” I know what’s not–my grumpiness, my frustration, my anger, my fear. Thankfully, He doesn’t disown me for these, but He knows they aren’t good for anyone.

Leviticus 2:11 “ ‘Every grain offering you bring to the Lord must be made without yeast, for you are not to burn any yeast or honey in a food offering presented to the Lord. 

Precious Savior, Thank You for the reminder that I need to keep my moods in check. While it is human to feel grumpiness, frustration, anger, and fear, they aren’t pleasing aromas to You, and I can’t adequately be Your hands and feet in that headspace; therefore, they are not emotions to set up camp in and stew in. Help me, Jesus. Amen.

Leviticus 2:12 You may bring them to the Lord as an offering of the firstfruits, but they are not to be offered on the altar as a pleasing aroma.

Have a blessed day. 

Leviticus 2:5 If your grain offering is prepared on a griddle, it is to be made of the finest flour mixed with oil, and without yeast. 

The Israelites spent 400 years in Egypt. Everyone who went into captivity knowing God as “Israelites outside of captivity” died before they ever had a chance to leave. Every Israelite that left Egyptian captivity did not know God outside of Egypt, which had its own gods and rituals.

Leviticus 2:6 Crumble it and pour oil on it; it is a grain offering. 

From my understanding, Exodus and Leviticus were specifically to reestablish the connection between God and the Israelites, without Egyptian practices or influences. All these rules and specifics were to reestablish “This is how we do it, this is how we connect to God as Israelites free from Egyptian influence.”

Leviticus 2:7 If your grain offering is cooked in a pan, it is to be made of the finest flour and some olive oil. 

Precious Savior, Thank You for the reminder that our connection to You is personal and unique. Thank You for the practices and rituals that help us to remember that this is how we connect to You. Draw us closer. Always. Amen.

Leviticus 2:8 Bring the grain offering made of these things to the Lord; present it to the priest, who shall take it to the altar.

Have a blessed day. 

Leviticus 1:14 “ ‘If the offering to the Lord is a burnt offering of birds, you are to offer a dove or a young pigeon. 

While chapter 1 of Leviticus feels pretty bloody and brutal to me, one thing I appreciate about this chapter is that offering sacrifices for repentance isn’t just for the rich. There is this tiered system that allows all people to offer a sacrifice that will be “pleasing to the Lord.” 

Leviticus 1:15 The priest shall bring it to the altar, wring off the head and burn it on the altar; its blood shall be drained out on the side of the altar. 

I think that’s one of the really frustrating things about today’s society–there is this really clear sense of the haves and the have nots, and there is no real way to cross that divide. I’m thankful that God doesn’t play that game.

Leviticus 1:16 He is to remove the crop and the feathers and throw them down east of the altar where the ashes are. 

Precious Savior, Thank You for not propagating a system that welcomes the haves and shuts out the have nots. Help us to see each other as people, deeply loved children of God, and help us to act accordingly towards each other. Help us, Jesus. Amen.

Leviticus 1:17 He shall tear it open by the wings, not dividing it completely, and then the priest shall burn it on the wood that is burning on the altar. It is a burnt offering, a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the Lord.

Have a blessed day. 

Leviticus 1:10 “ ‘If the offering is a burnt offering from the flock, from either the sheep or the goats, you are to offer a male without defect. 

Today’s verses, especially the end of verse 13, bring Isaiah 55:8 to mind: “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the LORD. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.” 

Leviticus 1:11 You are to slaughter it at the north side of the altar before the Lord, and Aaron’s sons the priests shall splash its blood against the sides of the altar. 

Nothing about this description sounds pleasing, and yet, God finds the obedience and repentance, bloody and odiferous as it is, pleasing. His ways are far beyond anything we can imagine, indeed. 

Leviticus 1:12 You are to cut it into pieces, and the priest shall arrange them, including the head and the fat, on the wood that is burning on the altar. 

Precious Savior, Forgive me when I try to make sense of this world through my own idea of what makes sense. Help me to draw closer to You, to give You praise and glory, to trust You, even when You lead me on a path I would never choose myself. I am Your deeply, fiercely, completely loved child. Help me never to doubt that. Amen.

Leviticus 1:13 You are to wash the internal organs and the legs with water, and the priest is to bring all of them and burn them on the altar. It is a burnt offering, a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the Lord.

Have a blessed day. 

Leviticus 1:6 You are to skin the burnt offering and cut it into pieces. 

When I think of priests and religious officials, I think of clean, well dressed persons. Leviticus shows that that role has definitely changed from the time of Leviticus to today. Atoning for sins was a bloody, ugly business. I am thankful that I do not have to sacrifice animals to seek redemption.

Leviticus 1:7 The sons of Aaron the priest are to put fire on the altar and arrange wood on the fire. 

But it makes me think of students who have no clue how easy they have it with digital research because they have never had to plow through dense tomes and transfer knowledge to index cards of varying sizes. They just have no idea how much they have been spared because they have never had to do it in the first place. I feel that.

Leviticus 1:8 Then Aaron’s sons the priests shall arrange the pieces, including the head and the fat, on the wood that is burning on the altar. 

Precious Savior, Thank You that You took my place and offered Yourself as a permanent substitute for my sins. Even though I don’t know the anguish of shedding the blood of sacrifice with my own hands, help me never to take for granted Your great sacrifice for me. Thank You is so inadequate, it’s all I’ve got. Thank You, Jesus. Amen.

Leviticus 1:9 You are to wash the internal organs and the legs with water, and the priest is to burn all of it on the altar. It is a burnt offering, a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the Lord.

Have a blessed day. 

Leviticus 27:28a “But nothing that a person owns and devotes to the LORD—whether a human being or an animal or family land—may be sold or redeemed….”
As I read today’s scripture, I am reminded of when my boys were babies and we had them baptized. As parents, we used that occasion to dedicate our children to God, pledging to raise them in faith and teach them the ways of our faith, so that as they grew, they would grow in God, in knowledge and love of Him.
Leviticus 27:28b “…everything so devoted is most holy to the LORD.”
We made that commitment as new parents, that we would raise them in our faith. Our youngest is now six weeks from being a teenager. My daily prayer for my children, whom we love so deeply, whom we dedicated to God as babies, is that they will come to know the Lord, love the Lord, trust the Lord on their terms, in their way, not simply because the Hubs and I love and trust Him but because THEY know Him and know that they can trust Him. We want them to grow in their faith, beyond the bounds of our own.
Leviticus 27:33a “No one may pick out the good from the bad or make any substitution….”
Lord, Thank You for this day, for this scripture, for the ability to baptize our children and dedicate them to You. Thank You for the awesome privilege of teaching them who You are, teaching them to love and trust You. Be with them as they step out in their own faith in You. Draw us all closer. Amen.
Leviticus 27:33b …If anyone does make a substitution, both the animal and its substitute become holy and cannot be redeemed.
Have a blessed day.

Leviticus 26:3-4 “‘If you follow My decrees and are careful to obey My commands, I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees their fruit.’”
At first blush, this chapter seems to be saying, “Obey and be blessed by God. Disobey and be cursed by God.” And perhaps that was the way of it as God was reestablishing His sovereignty when He brought the Israelites out of Egypt. But Christians today know that even when walking in His will, life can still be full of hardship—hardship that is not a curse from the hand of God.
Leviticus 26:18-19 “‘If after all this you do not listen to Me, I will punish you for your sins seven times over. I will break down your stubborn pride….’”
Further reading in Leviticus 26 reveals that God is specifically talking to the proud and unrepentant, those who see no problem with acting in a manner contrary to God’s will, those unwilling to see the error of their ways, unwilling to accept loving correction from God. That intentional resistance to His love and correction, I think, is what raises His ire in this chapter.
Leviticus 26:23-24 “‘If in spite of these things you do not accept My correction but continue to be hostile toward Me, I Myself will be hostile toward you….’”
Lord, Thank You for this day, for this scripture, for Your promises. You don’t promise us sunshine and roses always, Lord, but You promise to be with us, no matter the storm. You ask in return that we be humble of heart, open to Your guidance and loving correction. Lead us, Lord. Draw us closer. Amen.
Leviticus 26:45 But for their sake I will remember the covenant with their ancestors whom I brought out of Egypt….
Have a blessed day