Leviticus 7: 1 – 38
Don’t touch my food
7 ‘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.’” 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.
Sharing - isn’t it romantic. I want to know who came up with that comment. It was probably made by people who can’t make up their minds in ordering food. They look at what you ordered and want to ‘share’ your food because they believe they should have ordered the same thing that you selected.
Some people love to share food, essentially having nonexistent food boundaries. Some people like to share your food but not their own food. And still others (like yours truly) are not big fans of sharing at all.
A few years back I went to a Pastor’s conference in Southern California. A group of us arrived a day early to take in the warmth after putting up with a miserable winter here in the East. One in our group was familiar with the good places to eat and he suggested that we go to this fish restaurant which was near the ocean. It was for all purposes a shack but there was a line outside waiting for entrance that was at least an hour wait. The one who suggested this place encouraged us to wait because it would be worth the wait. He was right. Even though I am not a fish person, the food that was served was exceptional. This place barbequed all their fish - yum, yum. The clam chowder was fresh and they also served homemade bread. We all ordered two meals each and probably asked for about 5 refills on the bread.
There were six of us in total and when the food was delivered one of the guys without asking just reached across the table and took a sample of another guy’s food. The brother whose food was tampered with handed his plate to the man who had rudely helped himself. He told the other guy in our hearing that he has a really hard time with people sharing his food. If they want what he ordered he said he would gladly just give his food to him or her. However, once he started eating he was really bothered when anyone just took food off his plate. He added, one time he was so upset that he put his fork in a guy’s eye for doing so. You should have seen the reaction from the guy who was the one who helped himself to this brother’s plate of food.
Consequently, I became curious about this behavior and decided to delve a bit deeper into the inclination or lack thereof, to share food. For me, whether or not I share my food depends largely on two things: who wants it and how much I value the food item. If asked for a taste of my food, I will consider transferring a small portion of my food to the plate to the person requesting a sample. When it comes to a high value food item like a well cooked steak, all bets are off and I am less willing to share with anyone. I consider high value foods as those food varieties that are very expensive items which are delicious but come in meager portions.
In a way we learn from our Holy Lord that some food is His and that’s it. In certain sacrifices an offering is totally consumed and none of the priests or the people can have any of it. It belongs alone to our Most High God. Of course with none of these sacrifices does He actually eat anything? It all has to deal with the particular sacrifice being made to Him on what He allows to go to others.
The overwhelming sense of the holiness of the purification for sin offering now carries over into the consideration of the Guilt Offering. Its holiness is immediately emphasized. And we are also now informed that the priests can partake of the meat of the guilt offering as long as it is in a holy place, as they can presumably of the purification of sin offering, for there is one law for them both. So, what God’s claims all belong to Him then end of story. He does make arrangements for the priests to receive a portion on other sacrifices.
7 ‘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.
The purification for sin and guilt offerings is so holy that they are carried out in the same place as the whole burnt offering.
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.
No animal has been identified as yet but this would seem to point to a sheep because of the fat tail (3.9). The point again being emphasized is that the fat and all the innards are to be offered to Yahweh on the altar, as an offering by fire to Yahweh. Thus the blood and the fat are offered in the usual way. It is then emphasized that it is a guilt offering.
6 Every male among the priests may eat it. It shall be eaten in a holy place. It is most holy.
But the remainder of the guilt offering may be eaten by the priests in a holy place, but only by them for 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.
Indeed it is like the purification for sin offering, as with the one, so with the other. There is one law for both of them. And they are both most holy. So the main new stress here is on the similarity between the purification for sin offering and the guilt offering, and the holiness of them both.
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.
In the case of the whole burnt offering the priest who offers the offering receives the animal’s skin or hide. These skins were very valuable and were later a source of great revenue for the priests.
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.
All that remains of the grain offerings after the burning of the memorial part were also intended for the priests. The cooked ones went to the priest who offered them, the uncooked ones to all the priests. The latter could be kept longer.
All these provisions meant that the priests did not have to concern themselves about obtaining a living. Their living was provided for them, and their families would be provided for from the tithe of the first fruits. As Paul said, ‘those who wait on the altar have their portion with the altar’ (1 Corinthians 9.13). They could thus devote themselves entirely to their duties. And as Paul was pointing out, these provisions are a reminder to us that we too should make sure that those whom we acknowledge to have been called by God to full time ministry are provide for materially by those who benefit from their ministry. This includes missionaries, for they serve there on our behalf.
We next learn about the peace or wellbeing sacrifices. These are of three types;
1) the thanksgiving offering, which was a way of expressing thanks to God for particular blessings received
2) the Dedicated offering or offering in respect of completing a vow
3) the freewill offering, which was simply offered with the purpose of paying tribute to God and acknowledging Him as Lord, an offering made simply out of love for God.
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.
If his offering is a thanksgiving sacrifice he is to offer his sacrifice with unleavened cakes mingled with oil, wafers anointed with oil and milled grain cakes soaked in oil, and with these he is to offer cakes of leavened bread. A full feast is being provided for those who will partake. As suggested earlier, leaven can be offered because this is a thanksgiving offering.
Please notice the wording which keeps the leavened bread separate from the other grain offerings. The probability therefore is that the leaven is not offered by fire.
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.
Also we note that of these cakes that are brought the priest is to have his portion. He is to have one of each type of oblation (the grain ‘contributions’ or ‘heave offerings’). It may be that he waves these before Yahweh God to indicate that they have been offered to Him and then he retains them for his own use. It would seem therefore probable that these oblations are not offered on the altar. (This is not a whole offering to Yahweh). The remainder is available for those invited to the feast or asked to share the meat. Of the meat of the sacrifice he receives the special portions reserved for the priest, the breast and the right thigh. The remainder is available for the feast, which may be held where the person offering the sacrifice desires, or for giving to those present at the sacrifice for them to take home.
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.
The whole feast must be finished off before morning. Nothing must be left. It is a thanksgiving offering and therefore the one bringing the sacrifice should be generous in his invitations. The whole picture is an incitement to generosity and hospitality. Those who have much should share it with others in order to show their genuine gratitude to God.
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.
On the other hand in the case of the Dedicated or freewill offering the meat may be allowed to last two days. But no flesh from the peace sacrifice shall be left for a third day. What is left until then must immediately be burned. This provision has in mind that the cooked meat in a hot country would tend to become uneatable by the third day, and even dangerous to eat. The purpose was to save those who ate the meat from partaking of bad meat.
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.
Indeed if the eating of the meat continues into the third day it will both annul the sacrifice and bring judgment on the person who presented this offering. His offering will not be accepted, nor will the benefits that should have accrued from it in atonement and acceptance of worship offered be forthcoming. There will be no peace or wellbeing, only judgment. All who partake of it then must take what is coming. The point here is not to spoil the party but to ensure that no one ever does keep the cooked meat until the third day. The judgment on them may well simply be the consequences of their action resulting in stomach problems, severe food poisoning or even death.
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.
All who are clean may eat of the sacrificial flesh, thus anyone in an unclean state is excluded. However, in minor cases of uncleanness, cleansing from uncleanness was finalized by the evening (‘shall be unclean until the evening’) so that such people merely have to wait until the evening, around nightfall.
But any of the flesh which touches anything unclean is to be burned with fire. This is first because what is unclean is not fit to come in contact with what has been made holy, even the lowest level of holiness, so that the holiness is marred by the uncleanness. In all this we learn that mankind is being made to face up to what God Is. So these laws are intended to make people continually aware of, and to think about, the holiness of God.
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.
Furthermore any who deliberately come to partake while in an unclean state are to be ‘cut off from among the people’. This is a warning to take uncleanness seriously. The person who is unclean must not partake until their uncleanness has been ‘cleansed’. For many that will be when evening comes. But for those whose uncleanness is to last more than a day, it is clearly of a more serious nature. They may be a danger to others as well as to themselves. They therefore must not participate of the holy flesh. ‘Cut off’ probably indicates the death sentence (19.8). It is a serious offence. But it may indicate expulsion from the camp, or even a period of exclusion, to be then remedied by a guilt offering.
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.’”
All these laws of uncleanness taught people to keep to that which was wholesome and good, and to avoid things that might cause harm to the people as a whole. Much disease might have been avoided had they been followed. Especially in the wilderness avoiding these things could only be a good thing, and this was one of the purposes of the laws.
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.
No fat of any animal which could be offered as an offering or sacrifice is to be eaten. Where the animal dies naturally, or is torn by wild animals, the fat may be used for other purposes, but it may not be eaten. And to eat the fat of such animals incurs the death sentence, or at the best expulsion from the camp of Israel.
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 same applies to the blood of the animals. Indeed the blood of no animals or birds at all may be eaten. Again the penalty is death or permanent expulsion.
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’.
When a man brings the sacrifice of his peace offerings he must bring them himself in person. There is no question of sending a representative. And he must bring to the priest the fat and the breast, the fat so that it can be burned on the altar by the priest, it is an offering by fire, and the breast so that it can be ‘waved’ before Yahweh, after which it will belong to the priests. It is his ‘contribution’. ‘Waving’ was a way by which the offering could be made to Yahweh by presenting it with certain movements towards the altar, possibly by moving it from side to side. It was then as it were handed back by God to the priest for his consumption.
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.
As well as the breast the priest is to receive the right thigh. This is to be a ‘set-aside offering’, a special contribution or levy to the priests. This again is to be offered to Yahweh, (some suggest by waving up and down - hence the translation ‘heave-offering), followed by it becoming the priest’s. The thigh was one of the choice portions for important guests (see 1 Samuel 9.24). Thus the right thigh was set aside for the priest. The officiating priest receives the breast and the thigh as his portions. The detail with which this is spelled out demonstrates how important this was seen to be. God’s representative was to be well provided for.
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.’”
It is now stressed by repetition that the wave breast and the set-aside thigh of the peace sacrifices are to be Israel’s perpetual contribution to those who acted as their mediators and representatives before God, to Aaron and his sons into the distant future.
This continual repetition is a further emphatic reminder to us that we are responsible for the physical wellbeing of those whom we look to for sustenance in the things of God, and for those whom we send out in our name to take His word to others. Every time that we partake of meat we should consider the fact that we should lay aside an equivalent money portion to represent the breast and the thigh for those who thus serve God. They should benefit in proportion to the good things that we receive.
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.
These portions are now described as the ‘measured portion’ for those who have been anointed as God’s appointees. They were portions out of the offerings made by fire, and therefore belonged to Yahweh. And on the very day that he first anointed Aaron and his sons as priests over Israel he allocated to them these portions ‘throughout their generations’. They were therefore sacrosanct.
By this we learn that God has a special concern for those whom He calls to serve Him, and guarantees their full physical provision from the people of God. A poor minister in a wealthy church is a contradiction against God’s will, and a sign of His people’s disobedience. Rather should His people recognize that how they provide for their leaders in God is an indication of their genuine dedication to God’s will? On the other hand the leaders in their turn should be utilizing any such benefits in the service of God, not for their own aggrandizement. A minister who misuses what is given to him for his own ends is a disgrace in the eyes of God. The purpose is for him to be properly fed, not so that he can live luxuriantly.
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.
Our Precious Holy Spirit concludes here with a review of what we have learned. The offerings and sacrifices divide up into five.
• 1) The Whole Burnt Offering (that which goes up). This offering was presented basically in worship and dedication, and for the purposes of atonement. It was the foremost of the offerings. It was totally offered up to Yahweh as an offering made by fire and presented a pleasing odor to God. It was offered up morning and evening in the daily offerings and in all the great festivals, including the Day of Atonement. It was symbolic of Christ Jesus our Lord’s offering Himself up as pleasing to God, shedding His blood for us and making atonement for us, drawing us into Him that we might be fully dedicated to God and find atonement through His blood. It basically represented being accounted righteous through faith, and full acceptance in Him. Thank You our Great Lord and Savior God.
• 2) The Grain Offering. This offering was in praise and gratitude for the provision of the basics of life, grain and olive oil, and an offering of daily labor as a love offering to God. Worship was expressed by adding frankincense, an expensive foreign product which meant that the offering was on behalf, not only of Israel, but of the whole world. A memorial handful was offered by fire along with the frankincense, the remainder was eaten by the priests, except when it was a priest’s offering. It was regularly offered along with the whole burnt offering (in which case the frankincense was omitted). It was an offering made by fire and presented a pleasing odor to God. It was symbolic of Christ as the corn of wheat who fell into the ground and died and Who would thus produce much fruit, and of Jesus as the bread of life Who would feed and satisfy those who constantly come to Him in trust and obedience. Thank You Precious Lamb of God.
• 3) The Peace Sacrifice This offering was one offered from a sense of wellbeing and with a desire to be at peace with God and man. In one form the blood and the fat, with the vital parts, were offered to God as an offering, and the flesh was eaten by the worshippers, with breast and thigh going to the priest. It was an offering made by fire and presented a pleasing odor to God. It symbolized our Lord Jesus as the Prince of Peace Who came to make peace between men and God through the blood of His cross, and Whose flesh and blood we can partake of through faith in His sacrifice for us, so that we might have eternal life and enjoy fullness of life and peace with both God and men in loving fellowship. Thank You Holy Son of God.
• 4) The Purification For Sin Offering. This was specifically an offering for sin when it became known, but was also offered at the great festivals, in recognition of the sin of Israel, and especially at the Day of Atonement. Its aim was purification for sin, cleansing in the sight of a holy God, as well as atonement. It was an offering by fire and presented a pleasing odor to God, but only in a secondary way. Its main purpose was purification from sin. The blood from it was daubed on the horns of the altar(s) to purify the altar, and thrown at the base of the altar to sanctify it and make atonement for it, and for the people, for the altar represented the offerings of the people. It symbolized Christ Jesus as offering Himself once-for-all as purification for sin offering on our behalf so that we might be made pure before God. Its concern was being clean in the sight of God, pure as He Is pure (1 John 3.1-2). Thank You Great Spotless and Pure God
• 5) The Guilt Offering. This was a kind of sin offering, but was for more specific sins where confession or restitution needed to be made. It was mainly personal, and is a reminder that we need to deal with individual sins, confess them to others where it will do good, and make restitution for any loss we have caused. Like the purification for sin offering it symbolized The Lord Jesus Christ as dying for us so that we might be forthright in dealing with specific sins. Thank You Wonderful Councilor and Advocate Lord Jesus
