Substitutionary Atonement

Leviticus 16:1-22 

1 Now the Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered profane fire before the Lord, and died; 2 and the Lord said to Moses: “Tell Aaron your brother not to come at just any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark, lest he die; for I will appear in the cloud above the mercy seat. 3 “Thus Aaron shall come into the Holy Place: with the blood of a young bull as a sin offering, and of a ram as a burnt offering. 4 He shall put the holy linen tunic and the linen trousers on his body; he shall be girded with a linen sash, and with the linen turban he shall be attired. These are holy garments. Therefore he shall wash his body in water, and put them on. 5 And he shall take from the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats as a sin offering, and one ram as a burnt offering.
    6 “Aaron shall offer the bull as a sin offering, which is for himself, and make atonement for himself and for his house. 7 He shall take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 8 Then Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats: one lot for the Lord and the other lot for the scapegoat. 9 And Aaron shall bring the goat on which the Lord's lot fell, and offer it as a sin offering. 10 But the goat on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord, to make atonement upon it, and to let it go as the scapegoat into the wilderness.
    11 “And Aaron shall bring the bull of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make atonement for himself and for his house, and shall kill the bull as the sin offering which is for himself. 12 Then he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from the altar before the Lord, with his hands full of sweet incense beaten fine, and bring it inside the veil. 13 And he shall put the incense on the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of incense may cover the mercy seat that is on the Testimony, lest he die. 14 He shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the mercy seat on the east side; and before the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.
    15 “Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering, which is for the people, bring its blood inside the veil, do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the mercy seat and before the mercy seat. 16 So he shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions, for all their sins; and so he shall do for the tabernacle of meeting which remains among them in the midst of their uncleanness. 17 There shall be no man in the tabernacle of meeting when he goes in to make atonement in the Holy Place, until he comes out, that he may make atonement for himself, for his household, and for all the assembly of Israel. 18 And he shall go out to the altar that is before the Lord, and make atonement for it, and shall take some of the blood of the bull and some of the blood of the goat, and put it on the horns of the altar all around. 19 Then he shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times, cleanse it, and consecrate it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel.
    20 “And when he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place, the tabernacle of meeting, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat. 21 Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, concerning all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and shall send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a suitable man. 22 The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to an uninhabited land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness.

Holiness in worship and atoning sacrifices is brought to Aaron’s mind by Moses at God’s command.  He is to remind Aaron of his two sons who did not bear the Lord’s holiness in mind with an untimely and inappropriate sacrifice.  The priest such as Aaron must approach God on His terms and according to His word.  He shall be clean and holy, prepared with sacrifices for himself and for the people; the two goats from the people of God were identified by God with one for the Lord and one for them.  The goat for the Lord was sacrificed, yet the one for the people was to be set free after being given to the Lord and atonement made on it as the scapegoat.  Even now we use the term scapegoat to identify one who does not deserve the accusations and punishment given it in place of the guilty one.  The sin offering is killed and its blood atonement made; the scapegoat has the sins of God’s people imparted to it, then sent away from the tabernacle into the wilderness.  It takes the sins led by a man who is worthy and released far away as it carries their iniquities where no one lives.  We see the typology of these goats in the life and work of Christ who alone is worthy as our sacrifice and redeemer.  As our sacrifice, His blood is shed with His life by His death which atones or pays the price we owe for our sin, namely our own death (Hebrews 9:22).  Then we see Him as a scapegoat who took our sin confessed to Him as if it were His instead, and takes our guilt and punishment away from the holy place of God as the worthy one leading Himself away as our scapegoat; He took our sin’s just due on Himself through the cross, yet brings us back in mercy to approach Him with the imputed righteousness and holiness of Christ Jesus our Savior!  We then live where nobody should in our condemned state (wilderness) because He has truly borne our iniquities (Isaiah 53:5-6, 11, 1 John 2:2) by offering Himself as our sacrifice (Hebrews 7:27).  He is therefore seen pictured in both of these goats as our substitutionary atonement. 

Discharges of Body and Soul

Leviticus 15:1-33 

1 And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When any man has a discharge from his body, his discharge is unclean. 3 And this shall be his uncleanness in regard to his discharge—whether his body runs with his discharge, or his body is stopped up by his discharge, it is his uncleanness. 4 Every bed is unclean on which he who has the discharge lies, and everything on which he sits shall be unclean. 5 And whoever touches his bed shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 6 He who sits on anything on which he who has the discharge sat shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 7 And he who touches the body of him who has the discharge shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 8 If he who has the discharge spits on him who is clean, then he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 9 Any saddle on which he who has the discharge rides shall be unclean. 10 Whoever touches anything that was under him shall be unclean until evening. He who carries any of those things shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 11 And whomever the one who has the discharge touches, and has not rinsed his hands in water, he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 12 The vessel of earth that he who has the discharge touches shall be broken, and every vessel of wood shall be rinsed in water. 13 “And when he who has a discharge is cleansed of his discharge, then he shall count for himself seven days for his cleansing, wash his clothes, and bathe his body in running water; then he shall be clean. 14 On the eighth day he shall take for himself two turtledoves or two young pigeons, and come before the Lord, to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and give them to the priest. 15 Then the priest shall offer them, the one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering. So the priest shall make atonement for him before the Lord because of his discharge.  16 “If any man has an emission of semen, then he shall wash all his body in water, and be unclean until evening. 17 And any garment and any leather on which there is semen, it shall be washed with water, and be unclean until evening. 18 Also, when a woman lies with a man, and there is an emission of semen, they shall bathe in water, and be unclean until evening.
    19 “If a woman has a discharge, and the discharge from her body is blood, she shall be set apart seven days; and whoever touches her shall be unclean until evening. 20 Everything that she lies on during her impurity shall be unclean; also everything that she sits on shall be unclean. 21 Whoever touches her bed shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 22 And whoever touches anything that she sat on shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 23 If anything is on her bed or on anything on which she sits, when he touches it, he shall be unclean until evening. 24 And if any man lies with her at all, so that her impurity is on him, he shall be unclean seven days; and every bed on which he lies shall be unclean.  25 “If a woman has a discharge of blood for many days, other than at the time of her customary impurity, or if it runs beyond her usual time of impurity, all the days of her unclean discharge shall be as the days of her customary impurity. She shall be unclean. 26 Every bed on which she lies all the days of her discharge shall be to her as the bed of her impurity; and whatever she sits on shall be unclean, as the uncleanness of her impurity. 27 Whoever touches those things shall be unclean; he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening.  28 “But if she is cleansed of her discharge, then she shall count for herself seven days, and after that she shall be clean. 29 And on the eighth day she shall take for herself two turtledoves or two young pigeons, and bring them to the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 30 Then the priest shall offer the one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, and the priest shall make atonement for her before the Lord for the discharge of her uncleanness.
    31 ‘Thus you shall separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness, lest they die in their uncleanness when they defile My tabernacle that is among them. 32 This is the law for one who has a discharge, and for him who emits semen and is unclean thereby, 33 and for her who is indisposed because of her customary impurity, and for one who has a discharge, either man or woman, and for him who lies with her who is unclean.’ ”

There were laws for cleansing bodily discharges for both men and women, given for health reasons and atoned for as sin in a fallen body.  The details of each type and length of uncleanness for each are spelled out here, as well as the atoning sacrifices by the priest for these.  The summary in the last three verses gives the reason beyond health alone; these laws and sacrifices were symbolic of holiness, setting apart the people of God from their sin so that they were able to approach God in worship and sacrifices at His tabernacle.  The penalty for ignoring this ultimately was death in their sin for dirtying the place of His worship by not dealing with the uncleanness, representative of sin.  We also are to cleanse our hands and purify our hearts because we have been called out and justified in Christ.  Remember Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:3-5) and the call to holiness throughout the scriptures (2 Corinthians 7:1, James 4:8, 1 John 1:9).  Let us worship Him in the beauty of holiness, confessing the discharges of our sin from our hearts and finding atonement in the work of the cross. 

Leprous Houses

Leviticus 14:33-57 

33 And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: 34 “When you have come into the land of Canaan, which I give you as a possession, and I put the leprous plague in a house in the land of your possession, 35 and he who owns the house comes and tells the priest, saying, ‘It seems to me that there is some plague in the house,’ 36 then the priest shall command that they empty the house, before the priest goes into it to examine the plague, that all that is in the house may not be made unclean; and afterward the priest shall go in to examine the house. 37 And he shall examine the plague; and indeed if the plague is on the walls of the house with ingrained streaks, greenish or reddish, which appear to be deep in the wall, 38 then the priest shall go out of the house, to the door of the house, and shut up the house seven days. 39 And the priest shall come again on the seventh day and look; and indeed if the plague has spread on the walls of the house, 40 then the priest shall command that they take away the stones in which is the plague, and they shall cast them into an unclean place outside the city. 41 And he shall cause the house to be scraped inside, all around, and the dust that they scrape off they shall pour out in an unclean place outside the city. 42 Then they shall take other stones and put them in the place of those stones, and he shall take other mortar and plaster the house.
    43 “Now if the plague comes back and breaks out in the house, after he has taken away the stones, after he has scraped the house, and after it is plastered, 44 then the priest shall come and look; and indeed if the plague has spread in the house, it is an active leprosy in the house. It is unclean. 45 And he shall break down the house, its stones, its timber, and all the plaster of the house, and he shall carry them outside the city to an unclean place. 46 Moreover he who goes into the house at all while it is shut up shall be unclean until evening. 47 And he who lies down in the house shall wash his clothes, and he who eats in the house shall wash his clothes.
    48 “But if the priest comes in and examines it, and indeed the plague has not spread in the house after the house was plastered, then the priest shall pronounce the house clean, because the plague is healed. 49 And he shall take, to cleanse the house, two birds, cedar wood, scarlet, and hyssop. 50 Then he shall kill one of the birds in an earthen vessel over running water; 51 and he shall take the cedar wood, the hyssop, the scarlet, and the living bird, and dip them in the blood of the slain bird and in the running water, and sprinkle the house seven times. 52 And he shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird and the running water and the living bird, with the cedar wood, the hyssop, and the scarlet. 53 Then he shall let the living bird loose outside the city in the open field, and make atonement for the house, and it shall be clean.
    54 “This is the law for any leprous sore and scale, 55 for the leprosy of a garment and of a house, 56 for a swelling and a scab and a bright spot, 57 to teach when it is unclean and when it is clean. This is the law of leprosy.”

After addressing leprosy of body and spirit and of clothing, along with cleansing with validation, the Lord now has Moses instructing the identification and cleansing of infected houses.  Notice that the warning is given for coming into a strange country and having a house there where the outbreak occurs.  They most likely had not seen this in Egypt, but now after their deliverance and travels it is a potential problem.  There are tests of the stones and plaster for identifying unhealthy growths, and steps to take to find benign growths, cleanse the infected parts, or destroy the entire structure when nothing more can be done.  The broken down pieces had to be taken outside the camp where everyone lived.  These laws of identifying and dealing with leprosy were for each one’s and the community’s greater good, much like dealing with sin within us in Christ and His body where He dwells, the church.  We must also deal with the spiritual leprosy of sin before it spreads in order to protect each and the whole. 

Cleansing After Leprosy is Gone

Leviticus 14:1-32 

1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “This shall be the law of the leper for the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought to the priest. 3 And the priest shall go out of the camp, and the priest shall examine him; and indeed, if the leprosy is healed in the leper, 4 then the priest shall command to take for him who is to be cleansed two living and clean birds, cedar wood, scarlet, and hyssop. 5 And the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel over running water. 6 As for the living bird, he shall take it, the cedar wood and the scarlet and the hyssop, and dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water. 7 And he shall sprinkle it seven times on him who is to be cleansed from the leprosy, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird loose in the open field. 8 He who is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, shave off all his hair, and wash himself in water, that he may be clean. After that he shall come into the camp, and shall stay outside his tent seven days. 9 But on the seventh day he shall shave all the hair off his head and his beard and his eyebrows—all his hair he shall shave off. He shall wash his clothes and wash his body in water, and he shall be clean.
    10 “And on the eighth day he shall take two male lambs without blemish, one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish, three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering, and one log of oil. 11 Then the priest who makes him clean shall present the man who is to be made clean, and those things, before the Lord, at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 12 And the priest shall take one male lamb and offer it as a trespass offering, and the log of oil, and wave them as a wave offering before the Lord. 13 Then he shall kill the lamb in the place where he kills the sin offering and the burnt offering, in a holy place; for as the sin offering is the priest's, so is the trespass offering. It is most holy. 14 The priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering, and the priest shall put it on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. 15 And the priest shall take some of the log of oil, and pour it into the palm of his own left hand. 16 Then the priest shall dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand, and shall sprinkle some of the oil with his finger seven times before the Lord. 17 And of the rest of the oil in his hand, the priest shall put some on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, on the blood of the trespass offering. 18 The rest of the oil that is in the priest's hand he shall put on the head of him who is to be cleansed. So the priest shall make atonement for him before the Lord.
    19 “Then the priest shall offer the sin offering, and make atonement for him who is to be cleansed from his uncleanness. Afterward he shall kill the burnt offering. 20 And the priest shall offer the burnt offering and the grain offering on the altar. So the priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be clean.
    21 “But if he is poor and cannot afford it, then he shall take one male lamb as a trespass offering to be waved, to make atonement for him, one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering, a log of oil, 22 and two turtledoves or two young pigeons, such as he is able to afford: one shall be a sin offering and the other a burnt offering. 23 He shall bring them to the priest on the eighth day for his cleansing, to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, before the Lord. 24 And the priest shall take the lamb of the trespass offering and the log of oil, and the priest shall wave them as a wave offering before the Lord. 25 Then he shall kill the lamb of the trespass offering, and the priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering and put it on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. 26 And the priest shall pour some of the oil into the palm of his own left hand. 27 Then the priest shall sprinkle with his right finger some of the oil that is in his left hand seven times before the Lord. 28 And the priest shall put some of the oil that is in his hand on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, on the thumb of the right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, on the place of the blood of the trespass offering. 29 The rest of the oil that is in the priest's hand he shall put on the head of him who is to be cleansed, to make atonement for him before the Lord. 30 And he shall offer one of the turtledoves or young pigeons, such as he can afford— 31 such as he is able to afford, the one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, with the grain offering. So the priest shall make atonement for him who is to be cleansed before the Lord. 32 This is the law for one who had a leprous sore, who cannot afford the usual cleansing.”

When a leper was seen to be clean, the person was first examined by the priest, then later shaved and re-examined to ensure there was no threat of spreading to others.  Then the person and an offerings were presented to the Lord for atonement and so to be seen as clean before God and man.  The offering itself was measured by the ability based on how much they could afford; if the person was poor, a smaller but not lesser sacrifice was allowed, according to their ability and means.  What this teaches us is that repentance and restoration within the church needs examination by the elders for sincerity and lasting change.  The one seeking reconciliation should prove over some time that their godly repentance has led to a change in the heart’s direction, even if not perfect.  This is often a lengthy process which requires attention and proof of healing change from the inside out.  Our atonement has been ultimately accomplished in Christ, but the spreading infectious sin as leprosy of the soul needs also to be dealt with.  We all are warring against our members (1 Peter 2:11, Romans 7:23, James 4:1), and each one pays a different price of effort to ward off the attacks of our own flesh with its sinful desires.  It is worth noting that Exodus 30:15 required rich and poor to offer the same amount as an atonement offering, which is similar to each of us owing the same price for our sin to salvation, namely our lives, which price has been paid for all in Christ no matter how we may view the severity of our individual sins.  But here the leprosy is representative of sin after salvation in our sanctification, and the price to cleanse varies by the individual and trespass.  Godly counsel and church discipline are required to keep the body healthy by helping reconciliation between man and God and man to man. These sacrifices and rituals of old covenant point us to the principles of the new. 

Leprous Garments

Leviticus 13:47-59 

47 “Also, if a garment has a leprous plague in it, whether it is a woolen garment or a linen garment, 48 whether it is in the warp or woof of linen or wool, whether in leather or in anything made of leather, 49 and if the plague is greenish or reddish in the garment or in the leather, whether in the warp or in the woof, or in anything made of leather, it is a leprous plague and shall be shown to the priest. 50 The priest shall examine the plague and isolate that which has the plague seven days. 51 And he shall examine the plague on the seventh day. If the plague has spread in the garment, either in the warp or in the woof, in the leather or in anything made of leather, the plague is an active leprosy. It is unclean. 52 He shall therefore burn that garment in which is the plague, whether warp or woof, in wool or in linen, or anything of leather, for it is an active leprosy; the garment shall be burned in the fire.
    53 “But if the priest examines it, and indeed the plague has not spread in the garment, either in the warp or in the woof, or in anything made of leather, 54 then the priest shall command that they wash the thing in which is the plague; and he shall isolate it another seven days. 55 Then the priest shall examine the plague after it has been washed; and indeed if the plague has not changed its color, though the plague has not spread, it is unclean, and you shall burn it in the fire; it continues eating away, whether the damage is outside or inside. 56 If the priest examines it, and indeed the plague has faded after washing it, then he shall tear it out of the garment, whether out of the warp or out of the woof, or out of the leather. 57 But if it appears again in the garment, either in the warp or in the woof, or in anything made of leather, it is a spreading plague; you shall burn with fire that in which is the plague. 58 And if you wash the garment, either warp or woof, or whatever is made of leather, if the plague has disappeared from it, then it shall be washed a second time, and shall be clean.
    59 “This is the law of the leprous plague in a garment of wool or linen, either in the warp or woof, or in anything made of leather, to pronounce it clean or to pronounce it unclean.”

After laying out laws about leprosy of body and spirit, Moses continues to pass on God’s laws for finding leprous grows on clothing, which of course was mainly from leather of animals.  The infections of the clothing could also spread to the wearers, so strict procedures were spelled out long before we understood mold and bacteria.  God designed it all, so He provided the solution, the cure, long before we could understand the reasons.  Even now after Christ came and rose again we have His Spirit and words through the apostles to gain spiritual understanding of the why behind our sin and it’s cleansing by the work and righteousness of justifying grace.  The law was a mere schoolteacher (Galatians 3:23-25) which revealed our inability to be righteous through rules alone.  We now know why sin is so devastating, unable to be cleansed by rituals we don’t understand.  He has revealed to us the depth and width and height and length of His love and care in Christ to us by the gospel.  Now we know that sin must be dealt with through true repentance (1 John 1:9, Luke 3:8) and lasting change as we put it to death when found in the warp and woof of our souls.  Sin must be mortified (Romans 8:13), not allowed to spread like a plague of leprosy; through coming directly to our Lord as our great High Priest (Hebrews 4:14-16) instead of other human priests, we by the power of His Spirit’s enabling can stop its insidious spread in our souls.  This is our ongoing sanctification.  

Leprosy of Body and Spirit

Leviticus 13:1-46 

1 And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: 2 “When a man has on the skin of his body a swelling, a scab, or a bright spot, and it becomes on the skin of his body like a leprous sore, then he shall be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons the priests. 3 The priest shall examine the sore on the skin of the body; and if the hair on the sore has turned white, and the sore appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, it is a leprous sore. Then the priest shall examine him, and pronounce him unclean. 4 But if the bright spot is white on the skin of his body, and does not appear to be deeper than the skin, and its hair has not turned white, then the priest shall isolate the one who has the sore seven days. 5 And the priest shall examine him on the seventh day; and indeed if the sore appears to be as it was, and the sore has not spread on the skin, then the priest shall isolate him another seven days. 6 Then the priest shall examine him again on the seventh day; and indeed if the sore has faded, and the sore has not spread on the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him clean; it is only a scab, and he shall wash his clothes and be clean. 7 But if the scab should at all spread over the skin, after he has been seen by the priest for his cleansing, he shall be seen by the priest again. 8 And if the priest sees that the scab has indeed spread on the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is leprosy. 9 “When the leprous sore is on a person, then he shall be brought to the priest. 10 And the priest shall examine him; and indeed if the swelling on the skin is white, and it has turned the hair white, and there is a spot of raw flesh in the swelling, 11 it is an old leprosy on the skin of his body. The priest shall pronounce him unclean, and shall not isolate him, for he is unclean.
    12 “And if leprosy breaks out all over the skin, and the leprosy covers all the skin of the one who has the sore, from his head to his foot, wherever the priest looks, 13 then the priest shall consider; and indeed if the leprosy has covered all his body, he shall pronounce him clean who has the sore. It has all turned white. He is clean. 14 But when raw flesh appears on him, he shall be unclean. 15 And the priest shall examine the raw flesh and pronounce him to be unclean; for the raw flesh is unclean. It is leprosy. 16 Or if the raw flesh changes and turns white again, he shall come to the priest. 17 And the priest shall examine him; and indeed if the sore has turned white, then the priest shall pronounce him clean who has the sore. He is clean.
    18 “If the body develops a boil in the skin, and it is healed, 19 and in the place of the boil there comes a white swelling or a bright spot, reddish-white, then it shall be shown to the priest; 20 and if, when the priest sees it, it indeed appears deeper than the skin, and its hair has turned white, the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is a leprous sore which has broken out of the boil. 21 But if the priest examines it, and indeed there are no white hairs in it, and it is not deeper than the skin, but has faded, then the priest shall isolate him seven days; 22 and if it should at all spread over the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is a leprous sore. 23 But if the bright spot stays in one place, and has not spread, it is the scar of the boil; and the priest shall pronounce him clean.
    24 “Or if the body receives a burn on its skin by fire, and the raw flesh of the burn becomes a bright spot, reddish-white or white, 25 then the priest shall examine it; and indeed if the hair of the bright spot has turned white, and it appears deeper than the skin, it is leprosy broken out in the burn. Therefore the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is a leprous sore. 26 But if the priest examines it, and indeed there are no white hairs in the bright spot, and it is not deeper than the skin, but has faded, then the priest shall isolate him seven days. 27 And the priest shall examine him on the seventh day. If it has at all spread over the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is a leprous sore. 28 But if the bright spot stays in one place, and has not spread on the skin, but has faded, it is a swelling from the burn. The priest shall pronounce him clean, for it is the scar from the burn.
    29 “If a man or woman has a sore on the head or the beard, 30 then the priest shall examine the sore; and indeed if it appears deeper than the skin, and there is in it thin yellow hair, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is a scaly leprosy of the head or beard. 31 But if the priest examines the scaly sore, and indeed it does not appear deeper than the skin, and there is no black hair in it, then the priest shall isolate the one who has the scale seven days. 32 And on the seventh day the priest shall examine the sore; and indeed if the scale has not spread, and there is no yellow hair in it, and the scale does not appear deeper than the skin, 33 he shall shave himself, but the scale he shall not shave. And the priest shall isolate the one who has the scale another seven days. 34 On the seventh day the priest shall examine the scale; and indeed if the scale has not spread over the skin, and does not appear deeper than the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him clean. He shall wash his clothes and be clean. 35 But if the scale should at all spread over the skin after his cleansing, 36 then the priest shall examine him; and indeed if the scale has spread over the skin, the priest need not seek for yellow hair. He is unclean. 37 But if the scale appears to be at a standstill, and there is black hair grown up in it, the scale has healed. He is clean, and the priest shall pronounce him clean.
    38 “If a man or a woman has bright spots on the skin of the body, specifically white bright spots, 39 then the priest shall look; and indeed if the bright spots on the skin of the body are dull white, it is a white spot that grows on the skin. He is clean.  40 “As for the man whose hair has fallen from his head, he is bald, but he is clean. 41 He whose hair has fallen from his forehead, he is bald on the forehead, but he is clean. 42 And if there is on the bald head or bald forehead a reddish-white sore, it is leprosy breaking out on his bald head or his bald forehead. 43 Then the priest shall examine it; and indeed if the swelling of the sore is reddish-white on his bald head or on his bald forehead, as the appearance of leprosy on the skin of the body, 44 he is a leprous man. He is unclean. The priest shall surely pronounce him unclean; his sore is on his head.  45 “Now the leper on whom the sore is, his clothes shall be torn and his head bare; and he shall cover his mustache, and cry, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ 46 He shall be unclean. All the days he has the sore he shall be unclean. He is unclean, and he shall dwell alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp.

The people of God had to contain any contagion in the camp as they traveled, and God ensured this by setting strict laws of clean and unclean for skin diseases, often translated as leprosy when skin is involved (there were similar laws for such infections in leather or stone of the houses).  There were roles which the priests played to examine and clear those infected to keep the rest of the people healthy, with meticulous checks and rechecks to ensure this.  Those infected had to cry out that they were unclean when near others, and live outside the camp until clean.  Spiritually, we see parallels in the church of dealing with sin so that it does not spread through the body of Christ.  This is where biblical counseling and accountability are leveraged for the health of all.  False teaching and unrepentant sin are as leprosy of the spirit which can quickly infect others if not isolated until healed, and kept outside the camp if not.  Verified repentance is the ticket back into fellowship as healthy members of the body. 

Birth and Purification

Leviticus 12:1-8 

1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘If a woman has conceived, and borne a male child, then she shall be unclean seven days; as in the days of her customary impurity she shall be unclean. 3 And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. 4 She shall then continue in the blood of her purification thirty-three days. She shall not touch any hallowed thing, nor come into the sanctuary until the days of her purification are fulfilled. 5 “But if she bears a female child, then she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her customary impurity, and she shall continue in the blood of her purification sixty-six days.
    6 “When the days of her purification are fulfilled, whether for a son or a daughter, she shall bring to the priest a lamb of the first year as a burnt offering, and a young pigeon or a turtledove as a sin offering, to the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 7 Then he shall offer it before the Lord, and make atonement for her. And she shall be clean from the flow of her blood. This is the law for her who has borne a male or a female.
    8 ‘And if she is not able to bring a lamb, then she may bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons—one as a burnt offering and the other as a sin offering. So the priest shall make atonement for her, and she will be clean.’”

The complete understanding of these verses leaves room for possibilities, but some things are clear.  Giving birth involved blood which made a woman impure or not clean for a week as during her menstrual cycle.  This same seven days allowed the male child to be circumcised on the day when she was clean, the eighth day.  But she was then to continue purification for over a month, not being permitted to touch holy things, similar to when the priests defiled themselves.  The unclean were not to touch what was clean, spiritually and physically.  These times doubled for bearing female children, perhaps for better recovery in the first two weeks since circumcision on the eighth day was not required.  The two months instead of one for purification could be in anticipation of the female child later growing up to have children of her own, but that is an assumption without biblical backing.  The one thing clear is that after the mother’s purification, she was to sacrifice a burnt offering for atonement.  Hers, not the child’s.  This cleansed her in her atonement.  Likewise, we are atoned for by the blood of Christ Jesus and His sacrifice, no longer unclean in our sin but made holy in His sight by His atonement for us.  His blood cleanses us and purifies our souls in God’s reckoning for sin’s penalty and punishment, forever satisfied and ever accepted in our Beloved.  As His children by a second birth, we rejoice in the circumcision of our hearts made clean and our ongoing purification of sanctification! 

Discerning the Holy and Unholy

Leviticus 11:24-47 

24 “By these you shall become unclean; whoever touches the carcass of any of them shall be unclean until evening; 25 whoever carries part of the carcass of any of them shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening: 26 The carcass of any animal which divides the foot, but is not cloven-hoofed or does not chew the cud, is unclean to you. Everyone who touches it shall be unclean. 27 And whatever goes on its paws, among all kinds of animals that go on all fours, those are unclean to you. Whoever touches any such carcass shall be unclean until evening. 28 Whoever carries any such carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening. It is unclean to you.
    29 “These also shall be unclean to you among the creeping things that creep on the earth: the mole, the mouse, and the large lizard after its kind; 30 the gecko, the monitor lizard, the sand reptile, the sand lizard, and the chameleon. 31 These are unclean to you among all that creep. Whoever touches them when they are dead shall be unclean until evening. 32 Anything on which any of them falls, when they are dead shall be unclean, whether it is any item of wood or clothing or skin or sack, whatever item it is, in which any work is done, it must be put in water. And it shall be unclean until evening; then it shall be clean. 33 Any earthen vessel into which any of them falls you shall break; and whatever is in it shall be unclean: 34 in such a vessel, any edible food upon which water falls becomes unclean, and any drink that may be drunk from it becomes unclean. 35 And everything on which a part of any such carcass falls shall be unclean; whether it is an oven or cooking stove, it shall be broken down; for they are unclean, and shall be unclean to you. 36 Nevertheless a spring or a cistern, in which there is plenty of water, shall be clean, but whatever touches any such carcass becomes unclean. 37 And if a part of any such carcass falls on any planting seed which is to be sown, it remains clean. 38 But if water is put on the seed, and if a part of any such carcass falls on it, it becomes unclean to you.
    39 “And if any animal which you may eat dies, he who touches its carcass shall be unclean until evening. 40 He who eats of its carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening. He also who carries its carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening.
    41 “And every creeping thing that creeps on the earth shall be an abomination. It shall not be eaten. 42 Whatever crawls on its belly, whatever goes on all fours, or whatever has many feet among all creeping things that creep on the earth—these you shall not eat, for they are an abomination. 43 You shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping thing that creeps; nor shall you make yourselves unclean with them, lest you be defiled by them. 44 For I am the Lord your God. You shall therefore consecrate yourselves, and you shall be holy; for I am holy. Neither shall you defile yourselves with any creeping thing that creeps on the earth. 45 For I am the Lord who brings you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.
    46 ‘This is the law of the animals and the birds and every living creature that moves in the waters, and of every creature that creeps on the earth, 47 to distinguish between the unclean and the clean, and between the animal that may be eaten and the animal that may not be eaten.’ ”

More commands are given to teach discernment and choosing between what is holy and unholy, between the clean and unclean.  Foods and handling of them properly were commanded for health reasons, but also to listen to God in order to trust and obey as His people learned to heed His voice (Hebrews 5:14) and be holy as He is.  Verse 45 is repeated in 1 Peter 1:16 to remind us that God has never changed; He only changes how He teaches us by prohibition of laws or by by grace of exhortation.  We choose to follow His word of the New Covenant according to the same principles given here to discern the holy and he unholy. 

Teaching God’s Right and Wrong

Leviticus 11:1-23 

1 Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying to them, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘These are the animals which you may eat among all the animals that are on the earth: 3 Among the animals, whatever divides the hoof, having cloven hooves and chewing the cud—that you may eat. 4 Nevertheless these you shall not eat among those that chew the cud or those that have cloven hooves: the camel, because it chews the cud but does not have cloven hooves, is unclean to you; 5 the rock hyrax, because it chews the cud but does not have cloven hooves, is unclean to you; 6 the hare, because it chews the cud but does not have cloven hooves, is unclean to you; 7 and the swine, though it divides the hoof, having cloven hooves, yet does not chew the cud, is unclean to you. 8 Their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall not touch. They are unclean to you. 9 “These you may eat of all that are in the water: whatever in the water has fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the rivers—that you may eat. 10 But all in the seas or in the rivers that do not have fins and scales, all that move in the water or any living thing which is in the water, they are an abomination to you. 11 They shall be an abomination to you; you shall not eat their flesh, but you shall regard their carcasses as an abomination. 12 Whatever in the water does not have fins or scales—that shall be an abomination to you.
    13 “And these you shall regard as an abomination among the birds; they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, the vulture, the buzzard, 14 the kite, and the falcon after its kind; 15 every raven after its kind, 16 the ostrich, the short-eared owl, the sea gull, and the hawk after its kind; 17 the little owl, the fisher owl, and the screech owl; 18 the white owl, the jackdaw, and the carrion vulture; 19 the stork, the heron after its kind, the hoopoe, and the bat.
    20 “All flying insects that creep on all fours shall be an abomination to you. 21 Yet these you may eat of every flying insect that creeps on all fours: those which have jointed legs above their feet with which to leap on the earth. 22 These you may eat: the locust after its kind, the destroying locust after its kind, the cricket after its kind, and the grasshopper after its kind. 23 But all other flying insects which have four feet shall be an abomination to you.

God originally gave all animals to eat after the flood (Genesis 9:3-4), but now He teaches them obedience by being selective of which ones they should and must not eat.  These animals are described in great detail so that there would be no ambiguity in God’s prescription of acceptable and unacceptable.  In fact, some are so prohibited that He says eating them should be abominable to even consider it.  He was teaching them to hate sin and love obedience, for what God prescribes is always for our good (such as health concerns concerning pork), while what He prohibits is for our protection as well as to teach obedience out of love of His commands (Psalm 119:47-48, 159).  In the New Covenant, we are no longer under such prohibitions (except for things strangled or with blood as we see in places such as Acts 15:29 and 1 Timothy 4:3).  We now are taught by God in us to discern right and wrong by His word and Spirit’s instruction and conviction, and need no longer to fall under the severity of the Law when grace abounds in Christ.  God still hates sin, but under the covenant of grace we learn loving obedience from our forgiveness and reconciliation in Christ, and learn to desire to please our Lord out of a changed heart and not under compulsion with the lingering threat of death and damnation.  Selection of foods was a way to teach by laws no longer needed (with the noted exceptions in Acts which are specific to idolatry and blood which carries life).  We can learn from these things how to follow Christ with a good conscience (1 Timothy 1:5, 2 Timothy 2:22, 1 Corinthians 10:25-29) out of loving and willing obedience as the blind man whom Jesus healed and came back to thank Him.  Our souls have been healed from sin (Isaiah 53:5-6, 11) and our response is no longer required to be mandated by laws of what we can or cannot eat; He gives us in Christ all things richly to enjoy (1 Timothy 6:17). 

Mistakes and Erring with Caution

Leviticus 10:8-20 

8 Then the Lord spoke to Aaron, saying: 9 “Do not drink wine or intoxicating drink, you, nor your sons with you, when you go into the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations, 10 that you may distinguish between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean, 11 and that you may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the Lord has spoken to them by the hand of Moses.”
    12 And Moses spoke to Aaron, and to Eleazar and Ithamar, his sons who were left: “Take the grain offering that remains of the offerings made by fire to the Lord, and eat it without leaven beside the altar; for it is most holy. 13 You shall eat it in a holy place, because it is your due and your sons’ due, of the sacrifices made by fire to the Lord; for so I have been commanded. 14 The breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the heave offering you shall eat in a clean place, you, your sons, and your daughters with you; for they are your due and your sons’ due, which are given from the sacrifices of peace offerings of the children of Israel. 15 The thigh of the heave offering and the breast of the wave offering they shall bring with the offerings of fat made by fire, to offer as a wave offering before the Lord. And it shall be yours and your sons’ with you, by a statute forever, as the Lord has commanded.”
    16 Then Moses made careful inquiry about the goat of the sin offering, and there it was—burned up. And he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, the sons of Aaron who were left, saying, 17 “Why have you not eaten the sin offering in a holy place, since it is most holy, and God has given it to you to bear the guilt of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the Lord? 18 See! Its blood was not brought inside the holy place; indeed you should have eaten it in a holy place, as I commanded.”
    19 And Aaron said to Moses, “Look, this day they have offered their sin offering and their burnt offering before the Lord, and such things have befallen me! If I had eaten the sin offering today, would it have been accepted in the sight of the Lord?” 20 So when Moses heard that, he was content.

To discern between what is holy and unholy, the priests were commanded not to drink alcohol before going into the holy place before God, just as the offerings had to be as God prescribed and not self-willed or reasoned out of pride (knowledge of good and evil).  Then they were also fit to teach God’s word to His people as His messenger conveyed it, similar to us hearing from the writings of the prophets and apostles and teaching them all things Jesus commands.  The example here shows the remaining sons of Aaron not following God’s command in eating what was theirs in the wrong place, outside the holy place.  Moses was angry because the sin offering for atonement of the people was not offered and eaten as prescribed, yet when Aaron’s fear and grief over his other two sons kept him from eating it with them and facing the possibility of the same consequence, Moses felt the fear and understood.  He was content that the mistake was an unwilling and not deliberate one.  There are times we all err on the side of caution and hold back from serving as even Peter did three times; God is merciful and so should we be.

Holy Worship

Leviticus 10:1-7

1 Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them. 2 So fire went out from the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord. 3 And Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord spoke, saying: 

    ‘By those who come near Me
    I must be regarded as holy;
    And before all the people
    I must be glorified.’ ”  

So Aaron held his peace.
    4 Then Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said to them, “Come near, carry your brethren from before the sanctuary out of the camp.” 5 So they went near and carried them by their tunics out of the camp, as Moses had said.
    6 And Moses said to Aaron, and to Eleazar and Ithamar, his sons, “Do not uncover your heads nor tear your clothes, lest you die, and wrath come upon all the people. But let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the Lord has kindled. 7 You shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die, for the anointing oil of the Lord is upon you.” And they did according to the word of Moses.

Leviticus 10:1-7 addresses holy worship of our holy God, and the consequences of sinfully disregarding His word.  The sons of Aaron, priests called to serve the Lord, decided to disregard God’s command of the precise order and manner of worship, bringing not the fire from God’s altar constantly burning, but seemingly their own which they lit and thought to offer.  The incense which they put in it may also have been something other than what God specially and meticulously had prescribed.  They did not see their way of worship and service as truly holy, set apart for God’s service in the way His word directed them, but instead had taken it on themselves to do OT their own way.  The consequences were immediate and severe.  God sent His fire down to cleanse that place and make it holy again after the strange and unauthorized offerings of fire and incense had marred it with disobedience.  This meant consuming the trespassers as well as the unholy offering.  Moses gave God’s word to their father Aaron saying that those who draw near to Him must reverently see His holiness and realize that He is to be glorified in their service of ministry before all as witnesses to these things.  We are to hear these truths and be like Aaron who held his peace and did not argue the truth because it cost his sons their lives.  He honored God above family or loss or misplaced anger; he did not call God unfair or question what he knew they did sinfully wrong.  He agreed with the Lord that sin must bring its due consequences.  After the trespassers were carried outside of the holy camp, they were all to mourn their deaths but also take heed to their own actions.  The remaining priests were to remain in the tabernacle for the time being, as they had been anointed previously with oil for holy ministry.  They wisely chose to obey God’s word given through Moses.  We can learn from this how God is to be taken fearfully serious in His holiness and living by His word, serving His way as the scriptures outline for us and with His glory in our actions which must honor our Lord.  We are not to argue against what He prescribes and surely not to willingly disobey by doing things our way as if we know better; that is what led to our fall into sin from the beginning (Genesis 3:1-6), questioning His commands and acting in pride to seemingly know better than our Creator.  Our thoughts must never be “has God really said that?,” but “He has said this and I must follow the directions for His glory to be displayed and to find His pleasure in my view of His holiness that I choose to live by” (Matthew 4:4). 

Priestly Ministry of Sacrifices

Leviticus 9:1-24 

1 It came to pass on the eighth day that Moses called Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel. 2 And he said to Aaron, “Take for yourself a young bull as a sin offering and a ram as a burnt offering, without blemish, and offer them before the Lord. 3 And to the children of Israel you shall speak, saying, ‘Take a kid of the goats as a sin offering, and a calf and a lamb, both of the first year, without blemish, as a burnt offering, 4 also a bull and a ram as peace offerings, to sacrifice before the Lord, and a grain offering mixed with oil; for today the Lord will appear to you.’ ” 5 So they brought what Moses commanded before the tabernacle of meeting. And all the congregation drew near and stood before the Lord. 6 Then Moses said, “This is the thing which the Lord commanded you to do, and the glory of the Lord will appear to you.” 7 And Moses said to Aaron, “Go to the altar, offer your sin offering and your burnt offering, and make atonement for yourself and for the people. Offer the offering of the people, and make atonement for them, as the Lord commanded.”
    8 Aaron therefore went to the altar and killed the calf of the sin offering, which was for himself. 9 Then the sons of Aaron brought the blood to him. And he dipped his finger in the blood, put it on the horns of the altar, and poured the blood at the base of the altar. 10 But the fat, the kidneys, and the fatty lobe from the liver of the sin offering he burned on the altar, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 11 The flesh and the hide he burned with fire outside the camp.
    12 And he killed the burnt offering; and Aaron's sons presented to him the blood, which he sprinkled all around on the altar. 13 Then they presented the burnt offering to him, with its pieces and head, and he burned them on the altar. 14 And he washed the entrails and the legs, and burned them with the burnt offering on the altar.
    15 Then he brought the people's offering, and took the goat, which was the sin offering for the people, and killed it and offered it for sin, like the first one. 16 And he brought the burnt offering and offered it according to the prescribed manner. 17 Then he brought the grain offering, took a handful of it, and burned it on the altar, besides the burnt sacrifice of the morning.
    18 He also killed the bull and the ram as sacrifices of peace offerings, which were for the people. And Aaron's sons presented to him the blood, which he sprinkled all around on the altar, 19 and the fat from the bull and the ram—the fatty tail, what covers the entrails and the kidneys, and the fatty lobe attached to the liver; 20 and they put the fat on the breasts. Then he burned the fat on the altar; 21 but the breasts and the right thigh Aaron waved as a wave offering before the Lord, as Moses had commanded.
    22 Then Aaron lifted his hand toward the people, blessed them, and came down from offering the sin offering, the burnt offering, and peace offerings. 23 And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of meeting, and came out and blessed the people. Then the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people, 24 and fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.

The priest’s ministry began with accepting the sin offering, the burnt offering, wave offering, and the peace offerings from God’s people.  This included a perfect lamb and calf, along with the other animals and grain offerings.  They prepared the offerings and presented them as acceptable sacrifices in the manner God had shown Moses.  Moses told the priests that they were to do these things to atone for the people’s sin, and that they would then see the glory of the Lord as His approval and satisfaction.  Aaron as priest did these things, blessed the people, and then went into the tabernacle and back out to bless them again along with Moses.  God sent a consuming fire down to burn the offering on the altar, and the people responded by falling in fear and awe before their Lord God as they shouted, most likely about their unworthiness and His absolute power who alone is worthy.  Do we offer our lives in this manner as living sacrifices, aware of His holiness, living in ways according to His word in all we offer according to God’s will for us in Christ?  Do we have that fearful reverence which also is absolute in the knowledge we will never be forsaken now or in eternity (1 John 4:18), yet live as if our security were in jeopardy when we do not live as sacrifices prepared and given as prescribed?  Christ alone is our perfect sacrifice (1 Peter 1:19), and we are to worship in the beauty of holiness (Psalm 96:9), both His and ours in Him and by our living (Ephesians 1:4, 1 Peter 1:15).  This is our priestly ministry of ourselves as living sacrifices, and how we then see His glory in His eternal approval and satisfaction by Jesus’s sacrifice and our ministry.  

Sacrifice, Sprinkling of Blood, and Atonement

Leviticus 8:14-36

14 And he brought the bull for the sin offering. Then Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the bull for the sin offering, 15 and Moses killed it. Then he took the blood, and put some on the horns of the altar all around with his finger, and purified the altar. And he poured the blood at the base of the altar, and consecrated it, to make atonement for it. 16 Then he took all the fat that was on the entrails, the fatty lobe attached to the liver, and the two kidneys with their fat, and Moses burned them on the altar. 17 But the bull, its hide, its flesh, and its offal, he burned with fire outside the camp, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
    18 Then he brought the ram as the burnt offering. And Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram, 19 and Moses killed it. Then he sprinkled the blood all around on the altar. 20 And he cut the ram into pieces; and Moses burned the head, the pieces, and the fat. 21 Then he washed the entrails and the legs in water. And Moses burned the whole ram on the altar. It was a burnt sacrifice for a sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
    22 And he brought the second ram, the ram of consecration. Then Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram, 23 and Moses killed it. Also he took some of its blood and put it on the tip of Aaron's right ear, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. 24 Then he brought Aaron's sons. And Moses put some of the blood on the tips of their right ears, on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet. And Moses sprinkled the blood all around on the altar. 25 Then he took the fat and the fat tail, all the fat that was on the entrails, the fatty lobe attached to the liver, the two kidneys and their fat, and the right thigh; 26 and from the basket of unleavened bread that was before the Lord he took one unleavened cake, a cake of bread anointed with oil, and one wafer, and put them on the fat and on the right thigh; 27 and he put all these in Aaron's hands and in his sons’ hands, and waved them as a wave offering before the Lord. 28 Then Moses took them from their hands and burned them on the altar, on the burnt offering. They were consecration offerings for a sweet aroma. That was an offering made by fire to the Lord. 29 And Moses took the breast and waved it as a wave offering before the Lord. It was Moses’ part of the ram of consecration, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
    30 Then Moses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood which was on the altar, and sprinkled it on Aaron, on his garments, on his sons, and on the garments of his sons with him; and he consecrated Aaron, his garments, his sons, and the garments of his sons with him.

31 And Moses said to Aaron and his sons, “Boil the flesh at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and eat it there with the bread that is in the basket of consecration offerings, as I commanded, saying, ‘Aaron and his sons shall eat it.’ 32 What remains of the flesh and of the bread you shall burn with fire. 33 And you shall not go outside the door of the tabernacle of meeting for seven days, until the days of your consecration are ended. For seven days he shall consecrate you. 34 As he has done this day, so the Lord has commanded to do, to make atonement for you. 35 Therefore you shall stay at the door of the tabernacle of meeting day and night for seven days, and keep the charge of the Lord, so that you may not die; for so I have been commanded.” 36 So Aaron and his sons did all the things that the Lord had commanded by the hand of Moses.

Here is the execution of God’s will for the Sacrifice, Sprinkling of Blood, and Atonement.  The specific instructions already laid out are followed to the letter and the priests are consecrated to God’s reasonable service of ministry as we are to serve our Lord Christ (Romans 12:1), offering ourselves to His ministry of the gospel in worship of Him.  The sprinkling of blooded by Christ is eternally effectual (Hebrews 12:24, 1 Peter 1:2) for us, however, not needing repetitive sacrifices to atone for our sins; His one sacrifice covers all sin, never needing nor possible to do again.  We do well to imitate Aaron and his priestly sons, doing all that the Lord has commanded, but from a willing heart filled with grace and mercy under that blood which has cleansed us by His death in place of ours.  We are His priests who minister the good news of His sacrificial and eternally atoning work.  Therefore we must willingly do as commanded (Matthew 28:19-20).  This is our mandate of willing obedience.  

Consecration for Ministry

Leviticus 8:1-13 

1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 “Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, the anointing oil, a bull as the sin offering, two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread; 3 and gather all the congregation together at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.” 4 So Moses did as the Lord commanded him. And the congregation was gathered together at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 5 And Moses said to the congregation, “This is what the Lord commanded to be done.”
    6 Then Moses brought Aaron and his sons and washed them with water. 7 And he put the tunic on him, girded him with the sash, clothed him with the robe, and put the ephod on him; and he girded him with the intricately woven band of the ephod, and with it tied the ephod on him. 8 Then he put the breastplate on him, and he put the Urim and the Thummim in the breastplate. 9 And he put the turban on his head. Also on the turban, on its front, he put the golden plate, the holy crown, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
    10 Also Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it, and consecrated them. 11 He sprinkled some of it on the altar seven times, anointed the altar and all its utensils, and the laver and its base, to consecrate them. 12 And he poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron's head and anointed him, to consecrate him.
    13 Then Moses brought Aaron's sons and put tunics on them, girded them with sashes, and put hats on them, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

After laying out the precepts of the sacrifices, the time came to set aside the priests for their roles in serving the living God and interceding for His people.  This consecration began by assembling all the people to witness the ceremony.  They watched as Moses demonstrated what the Lord commanded and which they followed to prepare them.  First the priests were cleansed by washing, then clothed as commanded for the Lord’s work, including covering for honor and a breastplate designed to help them seek God’s will in their ministry.  They had holiness to the Lord on their heads as a reminder to be holy because He is.  Then they were anointed for consecration and fully dressed for serving.  Similarly, we minister as priests and servants to our God by putting on the garments of holiness after being washed clean (Titus 3:5) and having the Spirit anoint us and be marked as His to be able to serve Him in the holiness which begins with Christ’s righteousness in us and continues with our holy responses enabled by Him in return.  We must be properly depressed in His righteousness and holiness to minister the gospel as priests to our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. 

Priestly Portions and Sacrifices

Leviticus 7:28-38 

28 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 29 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘He who offers the sacrifice of his peace offering to the Lord shall bring his offering to the Lord from the sacrifice of his peace offering. 30 His own hands shall bring the offerings made by fire to the Lord. The fat with the breast he shall bring, that the breast may be waved as a wave offering before the Lord. 31 And the priest shall burn the fat on the altar, but the breast shall be Aaron's and his sons’. 32 Also the right thigh you shall give to the priest as a heave offering from the sacrifices of your peace offerings. 33 He among the sons of Aaron, who offers the blood of the peace offering and the fat, shall have the right thigh for his part. 34 For the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the heave offering I have taken from the children of Israel, from the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and I have given them to Aaron the priest and to his sons from the children of Israel by a statute forever.’ ”
    35 This is the consecrated portion for Aaron and his sons, from the offerings made by fire to the Lord, on the day when Moses presented them to minister to the Lord as priests. 36 The Lord commanded this to be given to them by the children of Israel, on the day that He anointed them, by a statute forever throughout their generations.
    37 This is the law of the burnt offering, the grain offering, the sin offering, the trespass offering, the consecrations, and the sacrifice of the peace offering, 38 which the Lord commanded Moses on Mount Sinai, on the day when He commanded the children of Israel to offer their offerings to the Lord in the Wilderness of Sinai.

This passage summarizes the priestly portions and sacrifices and points to the ultimate sacrifice and High Priest, as well as our laborers in the gospel. The sacrifices were brought individually and personally by one’s own hands.  The portion prescribed was for the priests to live on, much as now the ministers of the gospel live by others supplying their sustenance for their labors (1 Corinthians 9:13-14).  This chapter concludes by summarizing these consecrated allotments of food for the servants ministering God’s atonement through sacrifices.   Though it is given as a law throughout the generations of His people, the fulfillment in Christ brings a new covenant with Himself as High Priest and the one time sacrifice, abrogating the need to continue any other named here.  This chapter also summarized the types of offerings and how they were set apart for God’s worship and service as commanded through His servant Moses in the wandering of the Sinai desert.  His people wandered until redemption and reconciliation was complete in the Messiah, the Christ of God.  This is good news, that the sacrifice has been made forever, never needing to be repeated and with the absolute hope that it is ever sufficient and eternally effectual (Hebrews 7:27, 9:12, 10:10).  

Eating of Trespass and Peace Offerings

Leviticus 7:1-27 

1 “Likewise this is the law of the trespass offering (it is most holy): 2 In the place where they kill the burnt offering they shall kill the trespass offering. And its blood he shall sprinkle all around on the altar. 3 And he shall offer from it all its fat. The fat tail and the fat that covers the entrails, 4 the two kidneys and the fat that is on them by the flanks, and the fatty lobe attached to the liver above the kidneys, he shall remove; 5 and the priest shall burn them on the altar as an offering made by fire to the Lord. It is a trespass offering. 6 Every male among the priests may eat it. It shall be eaten in a holy place. It is most holy. 7 The trespass offering is like the sin offering; there is one law for them both: the priest who makes atonement with it shall have it. 8 And the priest who offers anyone's burnt offering, that priest shall have for himself the skin of the burnt offering which he has offered. 9 Also every grain offering that is baked in the oven and all that is prepared in the covered pan, or in a pan, shall be the priest's who offers it. 10 Every grain offering, whether mixed with oil or dry, shall belong to all the sons of Aaron, to one as much as the other.
    11 “This is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings which he shall offer to the Lord: 12 If he offers it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer, with the sacrifice of thanksgiving, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, unleavened wafers anointed with oil, or cakes of blended flour mixed with oil. 13 Besides the cakes, as his offering he shall offer leavened bread with the sacrifice of thanksgiving of his peace offering. 14 And from it he shall offer one cake from each offering as a heave offering to the Lord. It shall belong to the priest who sprinkles the blood of the peace offering.  15 “The flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offering for thanksgiving shall be eaten the same day it is offered. He shall not leave any of it until morning. 16 But if the sacrifice of his offering is a vow or a voluntary offering, it shall be eaten the same day that he offers his sacrifice; but on the next day the remainder of it also may be eaten; 17 the remainder of the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day must be burned with fire. 18 And if any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offering is eaten at all on the third day, it shall not be accepted, nor shall it be imputed to him; it shall be an abomination to him who offers it, and the person who eats of it shall bear guilt.  19 ‘The flesh that touches any unclean thing shall not be eaten. It shall be burned with fire. And as for the clean flesh, all who are clean may eat of it. 20 But the person who eats the flesh of the sacrifice of the peace offering that belongs to the Lord, while he is unclean, that person shall be cut off from his people. 21 Moreover the person who touches any unclean thing, such as human uncleanness, an unclean animal, or any abominable unclean thing, and who eats the flesh of the sacrifice of the peace offering that belongs to the Lord, that person shall be cut off from his people.’ ”
    22 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 23 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘You shall not eat any fat, of ox or sheep or goat. 24 And the fat of an animal that dies naturally, and the fat of what is torn by wild beasts, may be used in any other way; but you shall by no means eat it. 25 For whoever eats the fat of the animal of which men offer an offering made by fire to the Lord, the person who eats it shall be cut off from his people. 26 Moreover you shall not eat any blood in any of your dwellings, whether of bird or beast. 27 Whoever eats any blood, that person shall be cut off from his people.’ ”

The offerings were to be eaten by the priests after offering to the Lord, but no fat or blood was ever to be consumed.  Meat was not to be eaten after three days, but burned; God was protecting His people from illness and teaching them to listen and obey while honoring Him.  He wanted them most of all to see His holiness and imitate that, glorifying God who made them in His image.  Much of these sacrificial rituals revolved around these key areas, but were also to show the need (Hebrews 9:22-23) for blood to be shed to pay for sin with a life which only could be done permanently by a perfect priest and perfect sacrifice (Hebrews 10:1-4, 10), not with all these yearly and sin event-driven times.  We no longer require these rituals, and now can learn from them how to appreciate that Christ has done it all. Christ sacrificed Himself to fulfill and replace the need for all the old sacrifices.  It is finished! 

Grain and Sin

Leviticus 6:14-30 

14 ‘This is the law of the grain offering: The sons of Aaron shall offer it on the altar before the Lord. 15 He shall take from it his handful of the fine flour of the grain offering, with its oil, and all the frankincense which is on the grain offering, and shall burn it on the altar for a sweet aroma, as a memorial to the Lord. 16 And the remainder of it Aaron and his sons shall eat; with unleavened bread it shall be eaten in a holy place; in the court of the tabernacle of meeting they shall eat it. 17 It shall not be baked with leaven. I have given it as their portion of My offerings made by fire; it is most holy, like the sin offering and the trespass offering. 18 All the males among the children of Aaron may eat it. It shall be a statute forever in your generations concerning the offerings made by fire to the Lord. Everyone who touches them must be holy.’ ”
    19 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 20 “This is the offering of Aaron and his sons, which they shall offer to the Lord, beginning on the day when he is anointed: one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a daily grain offering, half of it in the morning and half of it at night. 21 It shall be made in a pan with oil. When it is mixed, you shall bring it in. The baked pieces of the grain offering you shall offer for a sweet aroma to the Lord. 22 The priest from among his sons, who is anointed in his place, shall offer it. It is a statute forever to the Lord. It shall be wholly burned. 23 For every grain offering for the priest shall be wholly burned. It shall not be eaten.”
    24 Also the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 25 “Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, ‘This is the law of the sin offering: In the place where the burnt offering is killed, the sin offering shall be killed before the Lord. It is most holy. 26 The priest who offers it for sin shall eat it. In a holy place it shall be eaten, in the court of the tabernacle of meeting. 27 Everyone who touches its flesh must be holy. And when its blood is sprinkled on any garment, you shall wash that on which it was sprinkled, in a holy place. 28 But the earthen vessel in which it is boiled shall be broken. And if it is boiled in a bronze pot, it shall be both scoured and rinsed in water. 29 All the males among the priests may eat it. It is most holy. 30 But no sin offering from which any of the blood is brought into the tabernacle of meeting, to make atonement in the holy place, shall be eaten. It shall be burned in the fire.

The reminder of grain offerings eaten by the priests had to be without leaven (yeast), for leaven symbolizes sin, and priests were to be holy to atone for the people’s sin.  Everyone who touches them (the sacrifices and offerings) must be holy as it is written.  The grain offerings for the priest, however, was not to be eaten, but wholly burned; they couldn’t not eat of their own offerings.  As to the sin offering, it was to be eaten by the priest who offers it to God in a holy place - the tabernacle court.  Anyone who was to touch that holy offering had to be holy themselves.  But if the blood of that offering was brought with it inside the tabernacle where they met with God, then it had to be burned instead of eaten.  All these rituals point to the seriousness of sin in God’s eyes and the absolute necessity of an intercessor to be holy himself; we now know that the one who intercedes for us is Himself the sacrifice and the only completely holy High Priest who was able to atone for His people with a single sacrifice and offering of Himself that never loses efficacy.  Hallelujah, what a Savior! 

Offering and Restitution

Leviticus 6:1-13

1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 “If a person sins and commits a trespass against the Lord by lying to his neighbor about what was delivered to him for safekeeping, or about a pledge, or about a robbery, or if he has extorted from his neighbor, 3 or if he has found what was lost and lies concerning it, and swears falsely—in any one of these things that a man may do in which he sins: 4 then it shall be, because he has sinned and is guilty, that he shall restore what he has stolen, or the thing which he has extorted, or what was delivered to him for safekeeping, or the lost thing which he found, 5 or all that about which he has sworn falsely. He shall restore its full value, add one-fifth more to it, and give it to whomever it belongs, on the day of his trespass offering. 6 And he shall bring his trespass offering to the Lord, a ram without blemish from the flock, with your valuation, as a trespass offering, to the priest. 7 So the priest shall make atonement for him before the Lord, and he shall be forgiven for any one of these things that he may have done in which he trespasses.” 
    8 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 9 “Command Aaron and his sons, saying, ‘This is the law of the burnt offering: The burnt offering shall be on the hearth upon the altar all night until morning, and the fire of the altar shall be kept burning on it. 10 And the priest shall put on his linen garment, and his linen trousers he shall put on his body, and take up the ashes of the burnt offering which the fire has consumed on the altar, and he shall put them beside the altar. 11 Then he shall take off his garments, put on other garments, and carry the ashes outside the camp to a clean place. 12 And the fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it; it shall not be put out. And the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order on it; and he shall burn on it the fat of the peace offerings. 13 A fire shall always be burning on the altar; it shall never go out.

Sins of trespass against another person such as lying or stealing or extortion had to be atoned for.  But then he had to restore those things taken by sinful means - not just what was taken, but also adding punitive damages in the amount of twenty percent of the full value (no devaluation first).  After restoration with the victim, the sinner would then have to give God a trespass offering so that the priest could make atonement on their behalf.  Both God and man had to be reconciled.  As to the burnt offering mentioned here, it is worth noting that holiness and eternal vigilance were key; vigilance in not allowing the fires ready for the sacrifices, and holiness in the atoning one remaining clean.  We are also to be holy in our lives and confessions of sin before our Lord who ever lives to intercede for and reconcile us by Christ’s blood and righteousness.  Likewise we are to seek reconciliation with others we offend and sin against, seeking both forgiveness and reconciliation.  We are not to take brothers to court as the unregenerate, but arbitrate within His body to resolve and restore relationships.  Let us ask ourselves if we are then eternally vigilant in dealing with sin and loving God and man who is made in His image. 

Offerings When Sin Comes to Light

Leviticus 5:1-17 

1 “If a person sins in hearing the utterance of an oath, and is a witness, whether he has seen or known of the matter—if he does not tell it, he bears guilt. 2 “Or if a person touches any unclean thing, whether it is the carcass of an unclean beast, or the carcass of unclean livestock, or the carcass of unclean creeping things, and he is unaware of it, he also shall be unclean and guilty. 3 Or if he touches human uncleanness—whatever uncleanness with which a man may be defiled, and he is unaware of it—when he realizes it, then he shall be guilty.  4 “Or if a person swears, speaking thoughtlessly with his lips to do evil or to do good, whatever it is that a man may pronounce by an oath, and he is unaware of it—when he realizes it, then he shall be guilty in any of these matters.
    5 “And it shall be, when he is guilty in any of these matters, that he shall confess that he has sinned in that thing; 6 and he shall bring his trespass offering to the Lord for his sin which he has committed, a female from the flock, a lamb or a kid of the goats as a sin offering. So the priest shall make atonement for him concerning his sin.  7 “If he is not able to bring a lamb, then he shall bring to the Lord, for his trespass which he has committed, two turtledoves or two young pigeons: one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering. 8 And he shall bring them to the priest, who shall offer that which is for the sin offering first, and wring off its head from its neck, but shall not divide it completely. 9 Then he shall sprinkle some of the blood of the sin offering on the side of the altar, and the rest of the blood shall be drained out at the base of the altar. It is a sin offering. 10 And he shall offer the second as a burnt offering according to the prescribed manner. So the priest shall make atonement on his behalf for his sin which he has committed, and it shall be forgiven him.  11 ‘But if he is not able to bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons, then he who sinned shall bring for his offering one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a sin offering. He shall put no oil on it, nor shall he put frankincense on it, for it is a sin offering. 12 Then he shall bring it to the priest, and the priest shall take his handful of it as a memorial portion, and burn it on the altar according to the offerings made by fire to the Lord. It is a sin offering. 13 The priest shall make atonement for him, for his sin that he has committed in any of these matters; and it shall be forgiven him. The rest shall be the priest's as a grain offering.’ ” 
    14 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 15 “If a person commits a trespass, and sins unintentionally in regard to the holy things of the Lord, then he shall bring to the Lord as his trespass offering a ram without blemish from the flocks, with your valuation in shekels of silver according to the shekel of the sanctuary, as a trespass offering. 16 And he shall make restitution for the harm that he has done in regard to the holy thing, and shall add one-fifth to it and give it to the priest. So the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering, and it shall be forgiven him.  17 “If a person sins, and commits any of these things which are forbidden to be done by the commandments of the Lord, though he does not know it, yet he is guilty and shall bear his iniquity. 18 And he shall bring to the priest a ram without blemish from the flock, with your valuation, as a trespass offering. So the priest shall make atonement for him regarding his ignorance in which he erred and did not know it, and it shall be forgiven him. 19 It is a trespass offering; he has certainly trespassed against the Lord.”

Doing or saying things offensive to God, when realized, had their own trespass offerings for the guilt of sin.  These demonstrate that sin is sin, intended or not, and guilt is assumed; this is why God later explains how we are all sinners, that there is nobody who does good and is without sin (Romans 3:10-12, 23).  We all fall short in many ways as the examples here show, such as the words or broken promises, against God and man; an atonement is needed for all people.  A sacrifice must be made for each one at some time.  We still fall under the same condemnation and only Christ has paid the ultimate price of His eternally effectual sacrifice to reconcile us to God by His atoning death backed by His sinless life and the hope proven to us by His resurrection.  He is our trespass offering sacrificed for us, and our repentance and faith allows us to have that righteousness of Christ imputed to us who have trusted Him (Ephesians 1:13).  When He brings our sinful nature to light, we trust Him for salvation; when we are then in Christ, we trust Him for forgiveness of our sin which comes to light.  We then confess it (1 John 1:9) knowing that He forgives and that His atoning sacrifice completely covers our eternal destiny so we no longer fear condemnation (1 John 4:18) for our sin.