MARCH 19, 2022 Leviticus 12:2 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.” If there are concepts and principles embedded within every command God gave to Israel including, as we have […]
MARCH 18, 2022 Leviticus 11:45 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. Because He is holy, we are to be holy in emulation of His character and as proper representatives of His kingdom. Even standing alone, this declaration should resonate within […]
MARCH 17, 2022 Leviticus 11:1-3 Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying to them, “Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘These are the animals which you may eat among all the animals that are on the earth: Among the animals, whatever divides the hoof, having cloven hooves and chewing the cud—that you may eat.’” For many years I have jokingly confessed that, […]
MARCH 16, 2022 Leviticus 10:16-17 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, “Why have you not eaten the sin offering in a holy place, since it is most holy?” At the very outset of the […]
MARCH 15, 2022 Leviticus 10:8-10 Then the Lord spoke to Aaron, saying: “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, that you may distinguish between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean.” As we discussed in […]
MARCH 14, 2022 Leviticus 10:8-10 Then the Lord spoke to Aaron, saying: “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, that you may distinguish between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean.” Because this prohibition against […]
MARCH 13, 2022 Leviticus 10:3 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. We can only imagine what must have flashed through Aaron’s mind when he saw […]
Peace offerings are the sacrifices that are shared by the worshipper and the priesthood. In Leviticus 7, the Torah reiterates the laws of the peace offerings, adding details about which parts of the animal are to be retained by the priesthood, who is fit to eat a peace offering, how quickly the meat has to be eaten and what to do if not all the meat is eaten by the deadline. A peace offering could be eaten by anyone, anywhere, so long as that person was in a state of ritual purity when he or she ate it.
The Torah lists several different types of peace offerings, including votive offerings brought in fulfillment of vows, freewill offerings and the thanksgiving offering. The Passover Lamb was also a type of peace offering.
Peace offerings, however, were never brought for sin. They do not atone or expiate. Instead, the peace offerings represent relationship, fellowship and peace between God and man. Eating of the peace offering was like eating from God's own table. When a person is not at peace with God, he has no peace. God is the absolute subject of reality, so to be at war with God is to be at war with reality.
Human beings often live unhappy lives as we flee from pain and pursue pleasure, trying to find comfort in the material world. A person does not realize that the reason for his constant angst is that he does not have peace with God. When a man does not have peace with God, he cannot have peace with himself or with others. He rages at those who tread on his dignity or offend his pride, and he justifies his own actions at the expense of relationships with his friends and family. He uses other people to try to prop up his fragile ego. He attempts to slake his thirsty soul with vices and to satisfy his fleshly appetites with indulgences, but all of it is useless.
Unless we have peace with God, there is no peace. “‘There is no peace for the wicked,' says the LORD” (Isaiah 48:22). The good news is that there can be peace with God. The Apostle Paul says, “While we were [still God's] enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son” (Romans 5:10). God wants peace with human beings more than human beings want peace with one another. That is why He gave His Son as a sacrifice—a peace offering between God and man.
How great is peace! Now I know that peace is the culmination of all things in this world; but how do I know that it is to be so in the World to Come? It is said, [in Isaiah 66:12], “Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river.” The Rabbis said, “Great is peace, seeing that when the King Messiah comes, he will publish peace, as it is said [in Isaiah 52:7], “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace.” (Leviticus Rabbah 9:9)
Tzav – צו : “Command” Torah : Leviticus 6:1-8:36 (6:8-8:36) Haftarah : Jeremiah 7:21-8:3; 9:22-23 Gospel : Luke 4-6
MARCH 12, 2022 Leviticus 10:1 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. After all of the careful preparations that went into building the tabernacle and making just as the Creator had intended, […]
MARCH 11, 2022 Leviticus 9:23 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. It must have been amazing to have witnessed the scene described in this verse. As to just what the “glory of the LORD” appeared […]
