Leviticus 6:8-7:38 "The Priestly Duties"

There are types of offerings in this section.

First come the offerings that the priests performed alone.

Then come the offerings that the priests performed for the worshipers.

1) Offerings for the priests

6:8-13 the law of the burnt offering (morning and evening)

The evening burnt offering would be left on the altar all night,

and the priest would carry the ashes out of the camp to a clean place.

Note that he had to change his clothes when he left the tabernacle.

His priestly garments were holy,

and could only be worn while he was in the sanctuary.

Therefore he had to change his clothes before dumping the ashes.

Then he would return and arrange the morning burnt offering on the altar.

(Numbers 28:1-8 specifies that this was a lamb,

with a tenth of an ephah of raw meal mixed with a fourth of a hin of oil,

together with a drink offering of a fourth of a hin of fermented drink.)

The morning burnt offering was the foundation (literally) of the other offerings,

which would be burnt on top of it.

6:14-18 the law of the grain offering

Again this is dealing with the morning and evening offering.

One handful is burnt in the fire,

while the rest was given to the priests.

They and their sons could eat of it.

Now, why couldn't their wives or daughters eat of it?

They were allowed to eat certain other parts of the sacrifices,

why not the grain offering?

Remember what the grain offering is.

It is given to the priests, so that Israel may understand that they need a mediator,

one who will deal with their sins.

There must be a priest who will deal with sin.

And then in verse 18 says that whatever touches these grain offerings shall become holy.

Holiness and unholiness, in Leviticus, are not just concepts.

They are tangible states.

If you touch something unclean, you become unclean.

Likewise, if you touch something holy, you become holy.

It does not mean that you become "sanctified" in our modern definition of sanctification.

Rather, it means that you become set apart-devoted to the Lord's use.

This is why verses 27-28 explain that anything

"contaminated" by holiness must be destroyed or scrubbed.

An earthenware vessel could not be sufficiently scrubbed to remove all the blood,

therefore it must be broken.

You cannot use a holy vessel for ordinary purposes again.

The bronze vessel could be cleansed and returned to ordinary use,

because if you scoured it well, you could remove the holiness.

This usage of "holiness" may help explain what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 7,

when he says that the believing spouse "sanctifies" the unbelieving spouse,

so that your children are holy.

The Corinthians were concerned that the presence of an unbelieving spouse

contaminated the believer, and so wondered if divorce was necessary

in order to cleanse the believer.

Paul says, no, it's the other way around.

The holiness of the Christian "contaminates" the unbelieving spouse.

The unbelieving spouse becomes "holy" like the vessel used to boil the sacrifice in Leviticus.

And, while Paul doesn't continue the parallel,

it's appropriate to suggest that there are only two options:

either the holy vessel must be scoured and rinsed (i.e., baptized!),

or it must be destroyed.

6:19-23 priestly grain offerings

This offering was to be brought on the day of the consecration of a priest.

Note that unlike the other grain offerings, this one must be burned entirely.

The grain offering was designed to show the need of a mediator,

but there was no one to mediate for the priest.

"The priest could not partake of what he himself offered to the Lord

as a sign of the consecration of his life."

The remainder of the section deals with the sacrifices we already heard about in chapters 1-6.

But in chapters 1-6 we heard about them from the perspective of the worshiper.

Now we hear the details given to the priests.

2) offerings for the people

6:24-30 The sin offering

Remember that the sin offerings for the priest and for the whole community

were burned outside the camp.

6:30 explains that the reason was because the blood had been brought into the tent of meeting,

to make atonement in the Holy Place.

Therefore its meat was too holy to be consumed by a priest.

But in the case of the tribal leader or the common Israelite,

the meat was given to the priest who performed the sacrifice.

All the males in his family could eat of it.

7:1-7 the guilt offering

had the same rules as the sin offering.

And in verses 8-10 God clarifies that also in the case of the burnt offering,

the priests may keep the hides,

and the priest who offers a cooked grain offering keeps that,

while the raw grain offerings were to be distributed equally among the priests.

7:11-21 the peace offerings

There were three different reasons why a person might bring a peace offering.

1) as an expression of thankfulness for specific blessings (verse 11-15)

In this case he would bring unleavened loaves mixed with oil,

unleavened wafers mixed with oil,

and leavened loaves mixed with oil.

One of each would belong to the priest.

The flesh of the peace offering had to be eaten that same day.

But if he brought a peace offering

2) as the fulfillment of a vow, or

3) as a freewill offering for blessings in general. (v16-19)

In these instances it could be eaten on the second day as well.

But if he ate any on the third day,

his sacrifice would not be accepted, and he would bear his iniquity.

This may take a little explanation!

The standard peace offering was a thank offering-connected with the burnt offering.

First you would bring the burnt offering to deal with sin,

then you would bring the peace offering as an offering of thanksgiving.

This meat had to be eaten the same day.

It was a required sacrifice, and had stricter regulations.

But the devout worshiper might also bring a peace offering voluntarily.

If you had made a vow before the Lord,

then when you had fulfilled your vow,

you would give thanks to the Lord for his grace in enabling you to fulfill it,

and you would bring a peace offering.

It's important to note that in Israel you were never required to make a vow.

Deuteronomy 23:21-23 makes it clear that "if you refrain from vowing,

you will not be guilty of sin."

But if you make a vow, and do not perform it, then you are guilty.

Also an Israelite could bring a peace offering simply out of his gratitude to God.

This was called a freewill offering.

But in either of these two cases,

since the sacrifice was not required,

there is less regulation.

You could eat the meat on the second day.

Verses 19-21 give further details.

If the flesh of the peace offering touches something unclean,

then it is contaminated-and shall not be eaten.

Further, only those who are ceremonially clean should partake of the peace offering.

The one who is unclean must be cut off from his people,

so if someone touches an unclean thing,

and then eats the Lord's peace offering,

he must be cut off.

This does not refer to the death penalty.

Rather, it refers to what we might call excommunication.

He is excluded from the fellowship of Israel.

It's not stated here whether there were any means of restoration,

but it is most likely that a guilt offering would suffice.

After all, the guilt offering was designed for someone

who unintentionally sinned with respect to the Lord's holy things.

So the one who was cut off from his people could be restored if he brought a guilt offering.

If someone did it intentionally, however, then he would be cut off permanently.

Wilful rebellion against God was to be dealt with.

7:22-27 prohibition of fat and blood

This is a reminder of what God had said in Leviticus 3:17

The fat belongs to God.

You shall not rob God by eating what belongs to him!

And blood is off-limits as well.

The life is in the blood, and God wanted his people to respect life in all creatures.

7:28-34 priestly portion of fellowship/peace offerings

Whereas the discussion of the peace offering in chapter 3

said merely that the worshiper partook of the peace offering,

here we discover that the priests were also to partake of the peace offering.

The breast was given to the priesthood in general (verse 31),

and the right thigh was given to the officiating priest (verse 32).

The breast would be brought by the worshiper to the priest,

in order to be waved as a wave offering before the Lord.

This may sound a little silly,

but the worshiper would hold the breast of the peace offering,

and the priest would take the hands of the worshiper and wave them towards the altar.

This was designed as a visual act of submission to God

7:35-36 The priesthood was not left to the good will of the people;

their pay was required by God.

Paul uses this to explain why ministers should be paid.

In 1 Corinthians 9:13-14, he declares,

"Do you not know that those who are employed in the temple service

get their food from the temple,

and those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings?

In the same way, the Lord commanded that whose who proclaim the gospel

should get their living by the gospel."

The details of OT economics have changed,

but the basic principle remains the same.

7:37-38 This is the law of the burnt offering, of the grain offering, of the sin offering, of the guilt offering, of the ordination offering, and of the peace offering, which the LORD commanded Moses on Mount Sinai, on the day that he commanded the people of Israel to bring their offerings to the LORD, in the wilderness of Sinai.

Leviticus is all about the holiness of the people of God.

But you cannot talk about holiness until you have dealt with sin.

Therefore Leviticus starts with the sacrifices, and then goes on to talk about holiness.

Because of what God has done for you in the sacrifice,

now live before him as his holy people.

And that is precisely the model that the New Testament follows.

Because of what God has done for you in Jesus Christ,

therefore be who you are in Christ.

Because your sins have been forgiven,

act like those who have been renewed in the image of Christ.

"Therefore, since we have been justified by faith,

we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." (Romans 5:1)

Your sins have been forgiven,

you have been declared righteous in Jesus Christ,

and now God is at work in you to conform you to the likeness of our holy Savior.