Leviticus 11-13

Clean and Unclean Foods (Deut 14.3—21)

Leviticus 11:1     The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying to them: 2 Speak to the people of Israel, saying:

     From among all the land animals, these are the creatures that you may eat. 3 Any animal that has divided hoofs and is cleft-footed and chews the cud—such you may eat. 4 But among those that chew the cud or have divided hoofs, you shall not eat the following: the camel, for even though it chews the cud, it does not have divided hoofs; it is unclean for you. 5 The rock badger, for even though it chews the cud, it does not have divided hoofs; it is unclean for you. 6 The hare, for even though it chews the cud, it does not have divided hoofs; it is unclean for you. 7 The pig, for even though it has divided hoofs and is cleft-footed, it does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you. 8 Of their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall not touch; they are unclean for you.

     9 These you may eat, of all that are in the waters. Everything in the waters that has fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the streams—such you may eat. 10 But anything in the seas or the streams that does not have fins and scales, of the swarming creatures in the waters and among all the other living creatures that are in the waters—they are detestable to you 11 and detestable they shall remain. Of their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall regard as detestable. 12 Everything in the waters that does not have fins and scales is detestable to you.

     13 These you shall regard as detestable among the birds. They shall not be eaten; they are an abomination: the eagle, the vulture, the osprey, 14 the buzzard, the kite of any kind; 15 every raven of any kind; 16 the ostrich, the nighthawk, the sea gull, the hawk of any kind; 17 the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl, 18 the water hen, the desert owl, the carrion vulture, 19 the stork, the heron of any kind, the hoopoe, and the bat.

     20 All winged insects that walk upon all fours are detestable to you. 21 But among the winged insects that walk on all fours you may eat those that have jointed legs above their feet, with which to leap on the ground. 22 Of them you may eat: the locust according to its kind, the bald locust according to its kind, the cricket according to its kind, and the grasshopper according to its kind. 23 But all other winged insects that have four feet are detestable to you.

Unclean Animals

     24 By these you shall become unclean; whoever touches the carcass of any of them shall be unclean until the evening, 25 and whoever carries any part of the carcass of any of them shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening. 26 Every animal that has divided hoofs but is not cleft-footed or does not chew the cud is unclean for you; everyone who touches one of them shall be unclean. 27 All that walk on their paws, among the animals that walk on all fours, are unclean for you; whoever touches the carcass of any of them shall be unclean until the evening, 28 and the one who carries the carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening; they are unclean for you.

     29 These are unclean for you among the creatures that swarm upon the earth: the weasel, the mouse, the great lizard according to its kind, 30 the gecko, the land crocodile, the lizard, the sand lizard, and the chameleon. 31 These are unclean for you among all that swarm; whoever touches one of them when they are dead shall be unclean until the evening. 32 And anything upon which any of them falls when they are dead shall be unclean, whether an article of wood or cloth or skin or sacking, any article that is used for any purpose; it shall be dipped into water, and it shall be unclean until the evening, and then it shall be clean. 33 And if any of them falls into any earthen vessel, all that is in it shall be unclean, and you shall break the vessel. 34 Any food that could be eaten shall be unclean if water from any such vessel comes upon it; and any liquid that could be drunk shall be unclean if it was in any such vessel. 35 Everything on which any part of the carcass falls shall be unclean; whether an oven or stove, it shall be broken in pieces; they are unclean, and shall remain unclean for you. 36 But a spring or a cistern holding water shall be clean, while whatever touches the carcass in it shall be unclean. 37 If any part of their carcass falls upon any seed set aside for sowing, it is clean; 38 but if water is put on the seed and any part of their carcass falls on it, it is unclean for you.

     39 If an animal of which you may eat dies, anyone who touches its carcass shall be unclean until the evening. 40 Those who eat of its carcass shall wash their clothes and be unclean until the evening; and those who carry the carcass shall wash their clothes and be unclean until the evening.

     41 All creatures that swarm upon the earth are detestable; they shall not be eaten. 42 Whatever moves on its belly, and whatever moves on all fours, or whatever has many feet, all the creatures that swarm upon the earth, you shall not eat; for they are detestable. 43 You shall not make yourselves detestable with any creature that swarms; you shall not defile yourselves with them, and so become unclean. 44 For I am the Lord your God; sanctify yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming creature that moves on the earth. 45 For I am the Lord who brought you up from the land of Egypt, to be your God; you shall be holy, for I am holy.

     46 This is the law pertaining to land animal and bird and every living creature that moves through the waters and every creature that swarms upon the earth, 47 to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean, and between the living creature that may be eaten and the living creature that may not be eaten.

Purification of Women after Childbirth (Cp Lk 2.22—24)

Leviticus 12:1 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 Speak to the people of Israel, saying:

If a woman conceives and bears a male child, she shall be ceremonially unclean seven days; as at the time of her menstruation, she shall be unclean. 3 On the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. 4 Her time of blood purification shall be thirty-three days; she shall not touch any holy thing, or come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purification are completed. 5 If she bears a female child, she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her menstruation; her time of blood purification shall be sixty-six days.

6 When the days of her purification are completed, whether for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting a lamb in its first year for a burnt offering, and a pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering. 7 He shall offer it before the Lord, and make atonement on her behalf; then she shall be clean from her flow of blood. This is the law for her who bears a child, male or female. 8 If she cannot afford a sheep, she shall take two turtledoves or two pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering; and the priest shall make atonement on her behalf, and she shall be clean.

Leprosy, Varieties and Symptoms

Leviticus 13:1     The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying:

     2 When a person has on the skin of his body a swelling or an eruption or a spot, and it turns into a leprous disease on the skin of his body, he shall be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons the priests. 3 The priest shall examine the disease on the skin of his body, and if the hair in the diseased area has turned white and the disease appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, it is a leprous disease; after the priest has examined him he shall pronounce him ceremonially unclean. 4 But if the spot is white in the skin of his body, and appears no deeper than the skin, and the hair in it has not turned white, the priest shall confine the diseased person for seven days. 5 The priest shall examine him on the seventh day, and if he sees that the disease is checked and the disease has not spread in the skin, then the priest shall confine him seven days more. 6 The priest shall examine him again on the seventh day, and if the disease has abated and the disease has not spread in the skin, the priest shall pronounce him clean; it is only an eruption; and he shall wash his clothes, and be clean. 7 But if the eruption spreads in the skin after he has shown himself to the priest for his cleansing, he shall appear again before the priest. 8 The priest shall make an examination, and if the eruption has spread in the skin, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is a leprous disease.

     9 When a person contracts a leprous disease, he shall be brought to the priest. 10 The priest shall make an examination, and if there is a white swelling in the skin that has turned the hair white, and there is quick raw flesh in the swelling, 11 it is a chronic leprous disease in the skin of his body. The priest shall pronounce him unclean; he shall not confine him, for he is unclean. 12 But if the disease breaks out in the skin, so that it covers all the skin of the diseased person from head to foot, so far as the priest can see, 13 then the priest shall make an examination, and if the disease has covered all his body, he shall pronounce him clean of the disease; since it has all turned white, he is clean. 14 But if raw flesh ever appears on him, he shall be unclean; 15 the priest shall examine the raw flesh and pronounce him unclean. Raw flesh is unclean, for it is a leprous disease. 16 But if the raw flesh again turns white, he shall come to the priest; 17 the priest shall examine him, and if the disease has turned white, the priest shall pronounce the diseased person clean. He is clean.

     18 When there is on the skin of one’s body a boil that has healed, 19 and in the place of the boil there appears a white swelling or a reddish-white spot, it shall be shown to the priest. 20 The priest shall make an examination, and if it appears deeper than the skin and its hair has turned white, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; this is a leprous disease, broken out in the boil. 21 But if the priest examines it and the hair on it is not white, nor is it deeper than the skin but has abated, the priest shall confine him seven days. 22 If it spreads in the skin, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is diseased. 23 But if the spot remains in one place and does not spread, it is the scar of the boil; the priest shall pronounce him clean.

     24 Or, when the body has a burn on the skin and the raw flesh of the burn becomes a spot, reddish-white or white, 25 the priest shall examine it. If the hair in the spot has turned white and it appears deeper than the skin, it is a leprous disease; it has broken out in the burn, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean. This is a leprous disease. 26 But if the priest examines it and the hair in the spot is not white, and it is no deeper than the skin but has abated, the priest shall confine him seven days. 27 The priest shall examine him the seventh day; if it is spreading in the skin, the priest shall pronounce him unclean. This is a leprous disease. 28 But if the spot remains in one place and does not spread in the skin but has abated, it is a swelling from the burn, and the priest shall pronounce him clean; for it is the scar of the burn.

     29 When a man or woman has a disease on the head or in the beard, 30 the priest shall examine the disease. If it appears deeper than the skin and the hair in it is yellow and thin, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is an itch, a leprous disease of the head or the beard. 31 If the priest examines the itching disease, and it appears no deeper than the skin and there is no black hair in it, the priest shall confine the person with the itching disease for seven days. 32 On the seventh day the priest shall examine the itch; if the itch has not spread, and there is no yellow hair in it, and the itch appears to be no deeper than the skin, 33 he shall shave, but the itch he shall not shave. The priest shall confine the person with the itch for seven days more. 34 On the seventh day the priest shall examine the itch; if the itch has not spread in the skin and it appears to be no deeper than the skin, the priest shall pronounce him clean. He shall wash his clothes and be clean. 35 But if the itch spreads in the skin after he was pronounced clean, 36 the priest shall examine him. If the itch has spread in the skin, the priest need not seek for the yellow hair; he is unclean. 37 But if in his eyes the itch is checked, and black hair has grown in it, the itch is healed, he is clean; and the priest shall pronounce him clean.

     38 When a man or a woman has spots on the skin of the body, white spots, 39 the priest shall make an examination, and if the spots on the skin of the body are of a dull white, it is a rash that has broken out on the skin; he is clean.

     40 If anyone loses the hair from his head, he is bald but he is clean. 41 If he loses the hair from his forehead and temples, he has baldness of the forehead but he is clean. 42 But if there is on the bald head or the bald forehead a reddish-white diseased spot, it is a leprous disease breaking out on his bald head or his bald forehead. 43 The priest shall examine him; if the diseased swelling is reddish-white on his bald head or on his bald forehead, which resembles a leprous disease in the skin of the body, 44 he is leprous, he is unclean. The priest shall pronounce him unclean; the disease is on his head.

     45 The person who has the leprous disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head be disheveled; and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, “Unclean, unclean.” 46 He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease; he is unclean. He shall live alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp.

     47 Concerning clothing: when a leprous disease appears in it, in woolen or linen cloth, 48 in warp or woof of linen or wool, or in a skin or in anything made of skin, 49 if the disease shows greenish or reddish in the garment, whether in warp or woof or in skin or in anything made of skin, it is a leprous disease and shall be shown to the priest. 50 The priest shall examine the disease, and put the diseased article aside for seven days. 51 He shall examine the disease on the seventh day. If the disease has spread in the cloth, in warp or woof, or in the skin, whatever be the use of the skin, this is a spreading leprous disease; it is unclean. 52 He shall burn the clothing, whether diseased in warp or woof, woolen or linen, or anything of skin, for it is a spreading leprous disease; it shall be burned in fire.

     53 If the priest makes an examination, and the disease has not spread in the clothing, in warp or woof or in anything of skin, 54 the priest shall command them to wash the article in which the disease appears, and he shall put it aside seven days more. 55 The priest shall examine the diseased article after it has been washed. If the diseased spot has not changed color, though the disease has not spread, it is unclean; you shall burn it in fire, whether the leprous spot is on the inside or on the outside.

     56 If the priest makes an examination, and the disease has abated after it is washed, he shall tear the spot out of the cloth, in warp or woof, or out of skin. 57 If it appears again in the garment, in warp or woof, or in anything of skin, it is spreading; you shall burn with fire that in which the disease appears. 58 But the cloth, warp or woof, or anything of skin from which the disease disappears when you have washed it, shall then be washed a second time, and it shall be clean.

     59 This is the ritual for a leprous disease in a cloth of wool or linen, either in warp or woof, or in anything of skin, to decide whether it is clean or unclean.

Devotionals, Videos and more ...

American Minute
by Bill Federer

March 4th was Inauguration Day up until 1937, when it was changed to January 20th. Every President acknowledged a Supreme Being in their Inaugural Address. Thomas Jefferson referred to: “That Infinite Power which rules the destinies of the universe…” Andrew Jackson: “My fervent prayer to that Almighty Being…” Abraham Lincoln: “The Almighty has His own purposes…” FDR: “We humbly ask the blessing of God…” Calvin Coolidge: “America… cherishes no purpose save to merit the favor of Almighty God.” John F. Kennedy: “The rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God.”

Federer, B. (2003). American minute. St. Louis, MO.: Amerisearch, Inc.

Proverbs
by D.H. Stern

Proverbs 20:8-9

The king seated on his judgment throne
can winnow out all evil with his glance.

Who can say, “I have made my heart clean,
I am cleansed from my sin”?

Stern, D. H. (1998). Complete Jewish Bible-OE
: An English version of the Tanakh (OT) and
B'rit Hadashah (NT) (1st ed.). Clarksville, Md.: Jewish
New Testament Publications.

My Utmost For The Highest
by Oswald Chambers

Could this be true of me?

But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself. --- Acts 20:24..

It is easier to serve God without a vision, easier to work for God without a call, because then you are not bothered by what God requires; common sense is your guide, veneered over with Christian sentiment. You will be more prosperous and successful, more leisure-hearted, if you never realize the call of God. But if once you receive a commission from Jesus Christ, the memory of what God wants will always come like a goad; you will no longer be able to work for Him on the commonsense basis.

What do I really count dear? If I have not been gripped by Jesus Christ, I will count service dear, time given to God dear, my life dear unto myself. Paul says he counted his life dear only in order that he might fulfil the ministry he had received; he refused to use his energy for any other thing. Acts 20:24 states Paul’s almost sublime annoyance at being asked to consider himself; he was absolutely indifferent to any consideration other than that of fulfilling the ministry he had received. Practical work may be a competitor against abandonment to God, because practical work is based on this argument—‘Remember how useful you are here,’ or—‘Think how much value you would be in that particular type of work.’ That attitude does not put Jesus Christ as the Guide as to where we should go, but our judgment as to where we are of most use. Never consider whether you are of use; but ever consider that you are not your own but His.

Chambers, O. (1993). My Utmost for His Highest

Here
the Poetry of R.S. Thomas

Here

I am a man now.
Pass your hand over my brow.
You can feel the place where the brains grow.

I am like a tree,
From my top boughs I can see
The footprints that led up to me.

There is blood in my veins
That has run clear of the stain
Contracted in so many loins.

Why, then, are my hands red
With the blood of so many dead?
Is this where I was misled?

Why are my hands this way
That they will not do as I say?
Does no God hear when I pray?

I have nowhere to go
The swift satellites show
The clock of my whole being is slow.

It is too late to start
For destinations not of the heart.
I must stay here with my hurt.

R.S. Thomas Selected poems, 1946-1968.

Swimming in the sea of the Talmud:
The prisoner cannot free himself from prison.

     D’RASH

     It was pitch dark outside when the alarm went off in what seemed like the middle of the night. Sweet, soothing music came over the clock-radio. He dragged himself out of bed, threw some water on his face, and headed downstairs. He turned on the small desk lamp, pulled a book off the shelf and, with a yawn, began to study.

     Dave had been following this routine for some time. It had started with a New Year’s resolution—“I’m going to set aside some regular time to learn”—that had been broken three years in a row. The desire was there, but there just wasn’t enough time in the day. Things had been so hectic at the office that he had been putting in more and more hours just to keep up with the workload. Spending time with his family, which should have been first priority, was always relegated to second place, after work. Spiritual concerns like prayer, study, and tzedakah didn’t seem to get any time whatsoever.

     “If I’d let it, work would gobble up sixteen hours of my day, seven days a week. For a while, I let it. I was missing out on my kids’ growing up. I wasn’t there to help them with their homework, or watch their Little League games. I didn’t even know who their friends were. Then my wife laid it on the line for me. ‘David,’ she said, ‘when people are on their deathbeds, they never say with regret: “I should have spent more time at work!” ’ She was right. So I cut back at the office and decided to spend more time at home. But there was still no time for me, for my growth as a person. I decided that the only time that was available was before dawn. It was quiet and peaceful, and it was a wonderful way to start my day on the right note. I could always catch up on my sleep on the train to work.”

     After twenty minutes of study, the phone rang. He looked at the clock on his desk. 7:05. He picked up the receiver. Another emergency at the office. He had come to think of work as a hungry lion, constantly roaring for more and more food. “I’ll give it as much as I can, but I won’t let it consume me. I’ll fight for time with my family, and I’ll fight for time for myself. If I don’t grow and renew myself, I’ll be no good for anyone else.”

     He smiled as he put a bookmark in the book. It would be a reminder where to pick up his studying when he came back to it later in the day. He turned to go upstairs, but then he stopped for a moment and picked up the book. “Maybe I can learn a little over lunch,” he thought. With book in hand, David went to fix breakfast for his family before heading out to work.

     Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba fell ill. Rabbi Yoḥanan went to visit him. He Yoḥanan said to him: “Are your sufferings dear to you?” He [Ḥiyya] answered: “Not them, not their rewards.” He Yoḥanan said to him: “Give me your hand.” He [Ḥiyya] gave him his hand, and he Yoḥanan raised him.

     Rabbi Yoḥanan fell ill. Rabbi Ḥanina went to visit him. He [Ḥanina] said to him: “Are your sufferings dear to you?” He Yoḥanan answered: “Not them, not their rewards.” He [Ḥanina] said to him: “Give me your hand.” He Yoḥanan gave him his hand, and he [Ḥanina] raised him. Why could Rabbi Yoḥanan [not] raise himself? It is said: “The prisoner cannot free himself from prison.”

     CONTEXT

     The Talmud goes on to tell us another touching story about Rabbi Yoḥanan in which we learn that he was wealthy, very handsome, and scarred by many personal tragedies:

     Rabbi Eliezer fell ill. Rabbi Yoḥanan went to visit him. Rabbi Yoḥanan saw that he was lying in a dark house. Rabbi Yoḥanan uncovered his arm and light radiated from it. He saw that Rabbi Eliezer was crying. He [Rabbi Yoḥanan] said: “Why are you crying? Is it because of the Torah you never studied? We learned that one who does much and the one who does little are equal, so long as they direct their hearts to heaven. Is it because of [a lack of] food? Not everyone is fortunate to have two tables [of Torah and of food]. Is it because of [not having] children? Here is a bone of my tenth son [all ten of my children died].” He [Rabbi Eliezer] said to him: “I cry for your beauty which one day will disintegrate in the dust.”

     Among the most critical questions that religion tries to answer is why good people suffer. A standard explanation is that suffering comes as a punishment for sins. But what if the afflicted person is righteous or the suffering is more severe than the sins seem to warrant? In response to this problem, the Rabbis developed a concept known as yissurin shel ahavah, “afflictions of love.” Suffering may have been sent by God as a sign of divine love. The afflictions could help the righteous person to become more humble or cause her to examine her actions or induce her to further prayer, study, and good deeds. Afflictions in this life could lead to even greater rewards in the World-to-Come by purifying people of their sins now, instead of later.

     This is the background of the question asked of the sick people in our story: “Are your sufferings dear to you?” The implication is that since the sick man is a righteous rabbi, the sufferings he is enduring cannot be punishment for his sins; they must, rather, be yissurin shel ahavah, afflictions of love sent by God for some other purpose. The question then means: “Have you been able to use this suffering to some higher end? Has it made you a better person?” In both cases, the answer is no. The pain has been so great that it has been impossible to move beyond the suffering. The visiting rabbi, seeing that the pain is serving no worthwhile purpose, seeks to relieve the suffering. The miraculous ability of a rabbi to heal by the touch of his hand speaks of the talmudic assumption that Torah, and those who embody it, have the power of life and healing.

     Our section ends with a logical question: If Rabbi Yoḥanan had the power to heal his student Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba, why couldn’t he heal himself? The answer is that just as a prisoner cannot free himself from jail, so too, a sick person cannot effect self-healing.

Katz, M., & Schwartz, G. (1998). Swimming in the Sea of Talmud: Lessons for Everyday LIving . Philadelphia, PA: The Jewish Publication Society.

Take Heart
by Diana Wallis

As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him. --- Psalm 103:13

     Our heavenly Father shows himself compassionate to us is in our weakness. Children cannot do much, they have little strength, especially little children, too helpless to run alone. The mother does not despise, she rather dotes on the babe she has to carry because it cannot walk. Her heart is not hardened against her infant because the wee one is unable to help itself.

     Our heavenly Father knows our weakness. Some of you know something of your own lack of strength; you are bowed down under a sense of your infirmity tonight. Do not let your weakness lead you into unbelief or mistrust of God. He knows our frame; he remembers that we are only dust. An infant’s incapacity never excites a parent’s ire. You, being evil, know how to be tender with your offspring. How much more will the Father of our spirits sympathize with our weakness?

     If you have guided your class in their studies but cannot find anything instructive to teach them, or if you are a minister and the words fall frozen when you hoped they would fire volleys from your lips, there may be some solution for your weariness. If it is pure weakness—whether from the body or from the mind that you are weary, disorganized, depressed, and bowed down—do not think of self-reproach, but hear the text say, “As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.”

     Some seem to think we are made of cast iron; they would have us preach all day and all night. They make use of bitter language when some servant of Christ cannot, through physical or mental weakness, do all they want. A person in perfect health and strength may joyfully accomplish what another cannot even think of undertaking. So are God’s servants misjudged by the sterner sort, but they are not misjudged by God, for he has compassion on the weakness of his people and blames them not. God sees the efforts of his servants. They would drive the church before them and pull the world behind them, if they could. And if they seem unable to do it, does he blame them? No, truly he has compassion on the weakness of those who fear him.      --- C. H. Spurgeon

Wallis, D. (2001). Take Heart: Daily Devotions with the Church's Great Preachers (27). Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications.

Teacher's Commentary by L.O. Richards
Day of Atonement: Leviticus 16

     The Old Testament says that the blood of the sacrifice is given to make atonement. What does “atonement” mean? The Hebrew words translated atonement in English versions are kippur (noun) and kapar (verb). The root occurs about 150 times in the Old Testament, and is intimately linked with forgiveness of sin and with reconciliation to God.

     Many believe the root idea is “to cover” or “to conceal.” If so, atonement suggests a covering that conceals a person’s sin and makes it possible for him to approach God. Certainly this is the role that atonement played in the Old Testament system. A person who sinned unintentionally would discover his failing, and as an act of confession, bring an animal offering to the priest. The sacrifice would be made, the blood shed, and “in this way the priest will make atonement for the man’s sin, and he will be forgiven” (Leviticus 4:26).

     But what about intentional, willful sins? While there was no individual offering for such sins, provision was made for them in the Day of Atonement.

     Leviticus 16 gives detailed instructions for a special sacrifice to be offered once a year, on the tenth day of the seventh month. On that day the whole community of Israel was to gather at the tabernacle (and later, the temple) to fast and to pray. The high priest followed carefully prescribed steps and entered the inner room of the tabernacle, bringing the blood of a sacrificed animal. There he sprinkled the blood on the cover of the ark, called the mercy seat. This animal was a “sin offering for the people” (Leviticus 16:15). It is specifically said to have been required “because of the uncleanness and rebellion of the Israelites, whatever their sins have been” (Leviticus 16:16, cf. Leviticus 16:21). That sacrifice was an “atonement … to be made once a year for all the sins of the Israelites” (Leviticus 16:34). Following that sacrifice, Israel was told, “You will be clean from all your sins” (Leviticus 16:30).

     So the sacrificial system did make provision for intentional as well as unintentional sins. This was the only way the holy God could continue to dwell among a sinful and sinning community.

     The message of sacrifice. It is important in looking at the Old Testament to realize that in it we see realities acted out that would be unveiled later. It’s not hard to grasp why.

     When a young child is about to go into a hospital for a tonsillectomy, parents are often told to play “hospital” with him beforehand. For several days or weeks Mom and Dad rehearse the upcoming trip: they pack his bags, pretend to check in, look at pictures of hospital beds, take each other’s temperatures. In every way the young child is prepared, so that when he actually does enter the hospital, it will all seem familiar. He will not be as fearful, because the reality is so much like the pretend.

     Should we be surprised, then, that God took the same kind of care? That God planned for continuous enactments of reality, so that when Jesus finally came to lay down His life for us, we would realize just what He was doing? Should we be surprised at the centuries of animal sacrifice, and the stress on the shedding of blood as necessary for forgiveness? No. In the repeated sacrifices of the Old Testament we are led to understand that, to God, death has always been the price of life for sinful men.

     What should surprise us is that God would give His Son for us. What should amaze us is that the blood spilled on history’s ultimate altar would be His own. But we should never be surprised that only the sacrifice of another life can exempt one from the death penalty that sin and guilt deserve. Sacrifice has always been central in the history of God’s gracious dealings with men. Over and over again the picture is presented to us. Over and over again we see the blood. Over and over—till with awed amazement we look at Calvary and suddenly the pictures from the past merge into one. And we bow, stunned by the reality.

     He died.

     He died for me.

     Isaiah 53. Even in Old Testament times God lifted the veil to let us peek beyond the shadows at the reality. Isaiah 53 was long understood by the Jews to speak of the coming Messiah—the Deliverer to be sent to them by God. In this passage we have a clear picture of Jesus, and of sacrifice.

      “He was led like a lamb to the slaughter” (Isaiah 53:7).

     “The Lord makes His life a guilt offering” (Isaiah 53:10).

      “He poured out His life unto death” (Isaiah 53:12).

     “He bore the sin of many” (Isaiah 53:12).

     We cannot read these words today without realizing that they contain God’s explanation for Jesus’ life—and for His death.

     Hebrews 10. This New Testament chapter looks back on the Old Testament sacrifices from the perspective of the Cross. The sacrifices of that day were “only a shadow of the good things that [were] coming—not the realities themselves” (Hebrews 10:1). The blood of bulls and goats could not take away sins (Hebrews 10:4). The sacrifices only covered and concealed sin, thus permitting God to overlook His people’s sins until Jesus could come to actually take away sins by the sacrifice of Himself (Romans 3:25–26). What the ancient sacrifices foreshadowed, Christ accomplished! “By one sacrifice He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy” (Hebrews 10:14). In Jesus our sins and lawless acts have been forgiven fully, and we have been cleansed. Thus “there is no longer any sacrifice for sins” (Hebrews 10:18).

     Today you and I look back on Calvary and mark it, as Israel did the first Passover, as the beginning of our lives as a freed people. We remember, as did the Jews, but with our own ritual. For us the reminder is bread and wine. And what a message in this! The Old Testament animal sacrifices had to be repeated again and again.

     Their repetition was a continual reminder to Israel that sin, while temporarily covered, must still be dealt with. The repeated sacrifices served to demonstrate that no animal’s life could ever satisfy the righteousness of God. What a different message the bread and wine of Communion! No longer is fresh blood required. Jesus has died, offering “for all time one sacrifice for sins” (Hebrews 10:12).

      It is enough.

     Redemption’s work is done.

     By the blood of Christ, you and I have been set forever free.

Richards, L., & Richards, L. O. (1987). The Teacher's Commentary (323). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.