Feb 1, 2010 Leviticus 5-7

Happy February! Tomorrow is Groundhog Day!

Chapter 5 describes ways a person can sin whether one knows it or not. Like if you know something and those in charge ask people with knowledge to come forward and speak it and you don't, that's a sin. Thouching unclean things - whether animal or human - will make the person touching it unclean too. That's one of the reasons lepers are shunned. Making promises lightly is a sin once a person becomes aware of it. What is one to do? Confess the sin and bring a lamb or goat to the Lord as a sin offering. Can't afford a lamb? Bring two doves or two young pigeons to the Lord - one for a sin offering the other for a burnt offering. Can't afford two doves or two pigeons? Bring about two quarts of fine flour for a sin offering. It seems that the Lord is trying to make it possible for everyone to obtain forgiveness! I like how the priest burns a memorial portion of the grain offering and is given the rest for his own use. When you stop and think about it, if they are spending all day and night tending the fire, they won't have time to earn a living to be able to eat, so God provides! When anyone violates Gods law without intending to he is guilty. He must make a guilt offering of a flawless ram of a certain value in silver (2/5 oz) to the priest to make atonement for his guilt.

Chapter 6 describes more ways a person can sin such as:
deceiving one's neighbor over something entrusted to his care or stolen
or if he cheats him
or if he finds lost property and lies about it
or if he swears falsely
or if he commits any sin as people do
then he must give it back and make full restitution plus another 20% to make it right
and he must bring a ram to the priest as a guilt offering, and he would be forgiven.

The Lord told Moses that the fire on the altar was to burn through the night. To remove the ashes, the priest removed his robes and put on the linen clothes and took the ashes from the altar and placed them beside it. Then he was to put on other clothes (we might think of these as street clothes) and carry the ashes to a place outside the camp that is ceremonially clean.
The fire must not go out!
More is repeated about the grain offering, but the Lord goes into more detail about the offering being holy and needing to be eaten in a holy place by any male descendant of Aaron. The priests were to bring an offering themselves, on the day they were anointed, they were to bring about 2 quarts of fine flour as a regular grain offering. Half in the morning and half in the evening. Every grain offering of a priest was to be burned completely.

The sin offering was to be slaughtered as described in yesterday's post. The priest who offers it was to eat it in the courtyard of the Tent of Meeting (a holy place.) Whatever touched the flesh became holy. If blood splashed on a garment it was to be washed in a holy place. If the offering was boiled in a clay pot, the pot was broken. If the offering was boiled in a bronze pot the pot was scoured and rinsed.
Sin offerings of blood (animal) were to be burned, not eaten.

Chapter 7 starts with a review of the steps to make a guilt offering. The guilt and sin offerings both belonged to the priest making atonement with them. The priest could keep the hide for himself. Grain offerngs baked or cooked in a pan, or on a griddle belonged to the priest offering them. Grain offerings belonged equally to all the sons of Aaron.
Fellowship or peace offerings were made as an expression of gratitude to the Lord. The sacrifice was presented along with bread made with yeast. The peace offering was to be eaten on the day it was offered. No leftovers. If it was a freewill offering it was allowed to be eaten the next day too. Three day old leftovers were burned. If someone ate it they would bear the iniquity and have to answer for it.
You couldn't eat the flesh if you were not ceremonially clean.
If you touched something unclean and then ate the meat of the fellowship offering you would be cut off from your people. Or if you ate blood or fat you would be cut off for that too.

The priests share was from the fellowship offering. The priest who offered the blood and fat got the right thigh and breast after offering it to the Lord.

These were the regulations for the burnt offerings given to Moses on Mount Sinai.

Tomorrow read Leviticus 8-11:8