Leviticus (Messianic) Vol. I - The Harvest

As I stated in a previous parashah, God's system of animal sacrifices, with their ability to cleanse or “wash” the flesh, was never intended to be a permanent one. Conversely, the animal sacrifices were not intended to be a “temporary fix” either. In fact the etymological background of the word Torah (the root word being an archery term meaning to “direct towards the goal”) also suggests that the fullest measure of HaShem’s atonement (Hebrew=kafar is usually translated “to atone,” “to cover over,” “make reconciliation,” “pacify,” “propitiate,” “purge.” ) was not found in the earthly copies, but rather, in the heavenly originals. Yet, during the time period of the TaNaKH, the animal sacrifices were authentically God's system. In other words, if you were a citizen of this community of former slaves, and you wanted to operate within a covenant relationship with its Savior, then you had no choice but to participate in the sacrificial system when approaching the Holy Tabernacle/Temple where God concentrated his Glory. There was no room for circumvention. Why would HaShem require exclusivity? Because, in his established order of things, only the blood could make atonement for their lives (read Leviticus 17:11). Tim Hegg makes a case for the meaning of the word kafar rpk as “wipe off, smear on” in this quote from a short paper available from his site at torahresource.com as of 3-20-07...

With the tamid explained we are better poised to examine the remaining five offerings of Leviticus chapters 1-5. These five are the types of offerings introduced in the opening pages of Leviticus: 'Olah (Burnt Offering) – Lev. 1:1-17 Minchah (Grain Offering) – Lev. 2:1-16 Sh’lamim (Peace Offering) – Lev. 3:1-17 Chata’at (Sin Offering) – Lev. 4:1-35; 5:1-13 ‘Asham (Guilt Offering) – Lev. 5:14-26 The first three could easily be considered “freewill offerings”, brought before HaShem by anyone at various times in the life of anyone in the community. The last two were required to make restitution for various sins. Such korbanot (chata’at and ’asham) are referred to as “expiatory”. The expiatory korbanot shall occupy the bulk of the latter part of this commentary.

HaShem’s intent is to draw us close to him in genuine, loving fellowship. To this end, he has designed the entire flow of the Torah to lead us to the goal of developing the kind of trusting faithfulness that produces obedience and surrender to his Son, Yeshua HaMashiach! In the Torah, we see that a broken and contrite heart is the seedbed that will produce such a trust in HaShem. The sacrifices make up for the fact that we are less than perfect (sinless or blameless) in our attempt to secure a right relationship with our Heavenly Abba. Does the Torah expect perfection? No. Rather, it anticipates our failures and shortcomings, and consequently, makes the necessary provisions for them to be taken care of. Consider the example of the parents of Yochanan the Immerser (John the Baptiser) in Luke 1:6. The Torah states, in no uncertain terms that, "Both of them were righteous before God, observing all the mitzvot and ordinances of ADONAI blamelessly." Today HaShem is still speaking…bidding…indeed "calling" unto his children. The B’rit Chadashah (Apostolic Scriptures) informs us, "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high." (Hebrews 1:1-3, KJV) Yes, HaShem is calling to us through the person of his only, unique Son! He desires for us to draw close to him in with a true heart! The paradox lies in the fact that unless he draws us, we will not seek his face, yet he bids us to seek him so that in seeking, he may indeed be found!

The Torah promises that when we surrender to the Ruach HaKodesh and become living vessels to be used for his glory, that he places the Torah on our inward parts—our hearts! Yeshua described us as the “Light for the world” (read Matt. 5:14-16)! What a blessed description of our spiritual function, given at the mouth of the Source of all Light—the Messiah himself! When we allow his Light to be kindled within us, the entire world is made to see the wonderful goodness of his perfect grace and mercy! The entire world gains a chance to become involved in the perfect plans and purposes that our Loving, Heavenly Abba has prepared for those who genuinely love him! We must keep our eternal lamp lit for those around us to see! How do we accomplish this? The Torah tells us that we must daily maintain these temples. As living lamps, the day-to-day activities of this world can fill us with ashes, as we attempt to maintain a constant flame upon the altar of our souls. It is up to us to change these ashes—remove them from our lives on a day-to-day basis! As with the actual eternal flame, HaShem understood that in order to perform this mitzvah, the priests had to monitor the flame on an everyday basis. So it is with our lives today. We must not let the Flame of the Good News of the Messiah’s atoning death extinguish from our temples for even a single day! The world needs to see this Light continually! Yet, for us, it will also entail a daily maintenance of removing the ashes, and checking to see if the Flame is burning brightly. How do we accomplish this awesome task? In the Mishkan, HaShem saw to it that the priests never had to want for supplies, with which to perform their daily functions. Do you think that our God is any different today? In Romans chapter 12 we read, “I exhort you, therefore, brothers, in view of God’s mercies, to offer yourselves as a sacrifice, living and set apart for God. This will please him; it is the logical “Temple worship” for you.” (Verse 1) We see here in this passage that our lives are likened to the service of the priests of which we are reading about in Leviticus! Yes, as believers in Messiah we are all priests unto our LORD! Just as the light, holiness, and sanctity of the Mishkan was maintained by daily service, so too our lives are to be maintained and marked by a constant “performance of the mitzvot,” that is, a consistent surrendering to his Light and holiness!

And who were Moshe and Aharon? Why, they were the very ones standing before the people now being demonstrated as HaShem’s anointed chosen ones! I’m sure that the golden calf incident wasn’t completely erased from the memories of these two great leaders, or from the people as well. Imagine what they must’ve been thinking that day! Were they perfect? Far from it! Would they yet make serious mistakes in the future to come? Would HaShem still punish them for these shortcomings? Well, I think you get the idea. By reading ahead into the narrative we find that even though they were chosen for an awesome task which placed them in the very presence of God—sometimes on an everyday basis, their lives were lived out the same way that HaShem expects us to live as his children today…. By faith. Anointed? Surely! Right down to their decorated belts (read 8:6-13, 30)! It is easy sometime to place the “Old Testament saints” into some sort of different reality of life than that of our own today. We imagine that with all of that glory radiating from the Holiest Place that they were more than human and that it was easy to serve God. We complain that we live in a day and age when the voice of God is difficult to hear. Did Moshe and Aharon really have it easier? What about our LORD Yeshua? He was 100% human just like Moshe and Aharon—just like you and me! 100% human and yet 100% God! Moreover, the Torah tells us that, in facing temptation—he did not sin! What an awesome reality for me to rest my faith in! Moshe and Aharon sinned, and HaShem forgave them. They turned around and sinned again, and still HaShem forgave them! And these were the two men that handled all of that “holy stuff” that we are reading about in our current Torah portion! Where does that place you and me? Yeshua became like us—frail and human, so that he might intimately identify with our weaknesses—including Moshe and Aharon—and thus become our ultimate High Priest! Because of his anointing we are also counted as anointed!

Here in the pages of our text, we find in no uncertain terms, the definition of what is "food" and what is "not food.” We also find the counterpart to our peculiar word "tamei.” It is the Hebrew word "tahor", translated as "clean.” Going back to our hermeneutic principle of context, these concepts of "tamei" and "tahor," as outlined in Leviticus chapter 11, fall right in the middle of a series of chapters dealing with such subjects as the consecration of Aharon and his sons as high priests (chapter 8), the details concerning sin offerings and sacrifices (chapter 9), the consequences of failing to establish a difference between the holy and the unholy (chapter 10), and the beginnings of the rulings concerning "unclean flesh," known as leprosy (chapter 12). It is within this context that HaShem explains "what is kosher" and what is "not kosher,” and consequently, what is "food" and what is "not food.” Is God the God of the Gentiles? Surely he is. It stand to reason, therefore, that the paradigm was being set in the TaNaKH that there be one Law for both the native born as well as the stranger in matters pertaining to covenant privileges. One standard was to be established and agreed upon for all Isra'el, a standard she would be held accountable for to eventually share with the surrounding nation groups as well (read Deut. 4: 1-14). Since all men share the same Creator, we can, therefore, conclude that these distinctions of holy and unholy are applicable for the surrounding nations, as well as for Isra'el. Our God is exclusive. Our God is consistent.

In Mark chapter 7 we don’t find Yeshua abrogating the Torah, or superceding previously stated commands with his own doctrine. Let us look at a few more verses from this passage. 18 And He said to them, “Are you so lacking in understanding also? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him, 19 because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated?” (Thus He declared all foods clean.) (NASB) Wait a minute! Isn't Yeshua declaring what we previously read in Leviticus as null and void? Isn't he saying that ALL food is clean? Surprisingly, he IS saying that ALL food is clean, something previously established in the Torah. Yet we commonly make our mistake when we assume that just because "all is clean,” that "all is (also) food.” This would be in direct violation of the text of Leviticus. Yeshua was discrediting the departure of direct biblical injunction in favor of man-made rules. He was not discrediting the Torah itself. On the contrary, in his own words of Matthew 5:17-20, he did not come to abolish the Torah, but to fulfill it. "All is clean,” yet, "all is not food.” My cryptic statement above means that all that the Torah defines as food is ritually clean without having to submit one’s hands to a man-made ceremonial washing before consuming it. Conversely, everything (all) that we in the 21st century church ostensibly call food is not recognized by the Torah as such. Mark’s editorial statement “thus he declared all foods clean” must be understood within the context of Yeshua’s immediate didactic teaching, as well as within the Torah and the Judaisms of the 1st century: neither Yeshua, nor his talmidim, nor the Pharisees, and certainly the Torah, would ever consider everything that we moderns call food as food! We have failed to grasp the central elements of the passage if we walk away believing that “thus he declared all foods clean” means “there is now no longer a distinction between pork and lamb: both are food and meant to be eaten with thanksgiving.”

The Torah of Moshe never prohibits Jews from “keeping company” or “coming unto one of another nation.” This statement of Kefa’s reflects the “ethnocentric Jewish exclusivism” baggage that the Torah communities of his day had engineered, baggage not uncommon among people groups who are marginalized. In other words, Kefa was just regurgitating the standard mantra of his day. This did not excuse his error, which is why HaShem went through all the trouble to send him the vision in the first place. In the end, the message of the Acts 10 vision is crystal clear: Gentiles in Yeshua are not intrinsically unclean (akathartos), as the 1st century Judaisms were professing. They, like all men, have been created in God’s image, and as such, can be viewed as defiled (koinos) by the stain of sin, in need of cleansing (katharizo). Man, created clean, fell to a state of unclean (koinos), later to be declared cleansed (katharizo) by the blood of the Sacrificial Lamb of God. To use the language of the vision: Jews are not lambs while Gentiles are pigs. Rather, Jews and Gentiles are both lambs! Both have become unclean (koinos), by sin; both have been cleansed (katharizo) by Yeshua! No one is intrinsically unclean (akathartos)! No one was created sinful! Born into sin, yes; created sinners, no! Kefa’s assessment (the standard Jewish song and dance) that “the Gentiles were to be avoided” was wrong from the word “go.” Gentiles are to be accepted as bonafide Isra’elites without having to succumb to any man-made conversion rites. Again, in the language of the vision: pigs (an unclean animal, viz, tamei /akathartos) do not need to become lambs (a clean animal, viz, tahor /kathairo“) in order to be accepted into Isra'el. What is more, Gentiles in Yeshua are to be treated as cleansed (“katharizo“) in every sense of the word! No longer should the Jewish believers view them with suspect. The sociological borders of Isra'el have been expanded to make room for those whom God is calling out from the nations into his chosen family of the faithful remnant! We have now properly demonstrated a better historical, sociological, theological, and grammatical treatment of Acts chapter 10.

Romans 14:14-17 Again, as with the passage in Acts, a knowledge of the social setting as well as the original Greek words will unlock the secrets to a proper understanding of this passage. Firstly the Greek word “akathartos” is not found in this passage at all. Remember, akathartos conveys that which is intrinsically unclean. Sha'ul is not discussing the issue of pork vs. lamb. The word Sha'ul opts for when confessing that “nothing is unclean in itself” is—you guessed it!—koinos! Sha'ul is discussing matters of biblically defined food being declared by one man as “okay to consume” versus another man declaring it “not okay to consume.” His conclusion to this passage is found near the final verses: 17 for the Kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, shalom and joy in the Ruach HaKodesh. 18 Anyone who serves the Messiah in this fashion both pleases God and wins the approval of other people. 19 So then, let us pursue the things that make for shalom and mutual upbuilding. 20 Don't tear down God's work for the sake of food. True enough, all things are clean; but it is wrong for anybody by his eating to cause someone to fall away. 21 What is good is not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble. 22 The belief you hold about such things, keep between yourself and God. Happy the person who is free of self-condemnation when he approves of something! 23 But the doubter comes under condemnation if he eats, because his action is not based on trust. And anything not based on trust is a sin (Emphasis, mine). The word I underlined above in verse 20 (“clean”) is the Greek word katharos, defined as “clean, pure, blameless, innocent.” Again, Sha'ul is not teaching us that the dietary list of Leviticus 11 has been discarded. In fact, Sha'ul is really reiterating what his Teacher, the Master, taught him: all is clean!... that is, until a man comes along and declares it otherwise. In the end, it is our petty differences and pride that eventually divides us. Food simply becomes the “innocent” medium that we fight about. Sha'ul states that food should not be the point of contention. This sounds amazingly like Sha'ul’s instructions to Timothy in his first letter: 4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing received with thanksgiving needs to be rejected, 5 because the word of God and prayer make it holy (1 Timothy 4:5). Again, foolish men within the Torah communities are found to be pushing their foolish agendas on everyone around them, judging those who don’t hold the same opinions as them. Are we to imagine that Sha'ul’s solution is to simply yield to these apostates and accept anything and everything under the guise of ecumenism and love? Are we to now accept that homosexuality is okay? How about adultery and fornication? If you have answered “NO!” to these questions, because the Word of God will not allow you to answer otherwise, then you must follow through with your hermeneutic principle and apply the same answer to the question of whether or not everything is now to be considered food and ostensibly received with prayer and thanksgiving! This passage is not suggesting a situation where Jewish Christians are telling Gentile Christians that pork and shellfish are forbidden, with the Gentile Christians arguing that pork and shellfish are now okay in Jesus! Sha'ul’s definition of food is the very same definition that his Master held to!

Chapters thirteen and fourteen discuss the topic of what is commonly called leprosy. The exact Hebrew word “tzara’at” is used over twenty times in these two passages alone. The word is used to describe an infectious skin disease. In most cases, the skin disease renders the inflicted person “tamei,” that is ritually impure. The instructions given to the priests is to examine the individual, and if found unclean, they were to leave the commonwealth of the camp (vs. 45, 46). An interesting side note to this pronouncement is that anyone coming in contact with the “unclean” was himself rendered “unclean.” Similarly, this type of disease, if chronic, was seldom if ever completely healed. There are isolated individuals, such as Na’aman in our haftarah portion (2 Kings 4:42-5:19), that were completely and miraculously healed. Yet, one of the signs (among many signs) that was said to follow the genuine promised messiah, was the healing of tzara’at (read Matthew 11:2-6; 12:22-23; John 9:1-41). Why wouldn’t the uncleanness of the afflicted render the messiah unclean? The proof that the coming messiah was a genuine and not a phony was demonstrated not only that he would heal the afflicted individual, but that he himself would not become defiled! In Yeshua’s example given in Mattityahu 8:1-4, our LORD instructed the former leper to go to the priest as a “testimony unto them” (KJV). This was done for at least two reasons: (1) in obedience to the very mitzvah found in our current parashah, vindicating Yeshua’s adherence to the Torah of Moshe, and (2) to authenticate the miracle—thus proving his claims to messiahship! In every single instance where he healed the inflicted, or raised the dead, his holiness did not decrease! His state of clean never diminished! On the contrary—disease and death always fled from his presence (reference the quote above by Marvin Wilson)! Surely he was The Messiah for those days! Surely he is The Messiah for us today! Thus we learn in at least these two instances (the one involving Yeshua’s parents, and the instance with the leper) that HaShem’s masterful instructions, as outlined in the Torah, demonstrate their usefulness on a grander scale than just for those participants of the pre-Common Era community. His specific instructions—every minute detail would serve as historical and prophetic fulfillment of the life and ministry of the greatest Cohen Gadol (High Priest) that the Nation of Isra’el would ever know!

Allow me to make a midrash on the current parashah. When a person afflicted with tzara’at was recognized as such, he was banished to a place “outside of the camp” (see Vayikra 13:45; 14:3) until he could be examined by the cohen and thus receive the announcement of “tahor”. Today, we don’t really encounter too many within our midst of believers (remember, the unclean individual came from among their own!) with the deadly disease of leprosy…. Or do we? The rabbis taught that leprosy was actually an outward manifestation of a greater personal and inward spiritual disease! In particular, they believed that tzara’at was brought on by slander, gossip, and a haughty (proud) spirit. How did they arrive at this postulation? The methods of cleansing mentioned in our current portion included various plants and tree wood, to include the noble cedars (usually from Lebanon; read 14:4 and 6). The Talmud states in Ecclesiastes Rabbah 7, “…this is what Solomon said, ‘Why are the most majestic and most humble of plants, cedar wood and hyssop, combined in these rites of purification? Because man is stricken with leprosy as a punishment for being haughty and arrogant as a cedar, and when he humbles himself like the lowly hyssop he will ultimately be cured’.” The genuine healing brings with it a healing of the mind and spirit as well as the body! If the person remains outside of the camp (of genuine believers), then his healing was probably a show, and in the end it won't be just his body that perishes… His soul will also perish. A genuine and complete healing of body by the genuine Healer of hearers should be followed by a genuine healing of the sprit. The healings described in our parashah allowed the individual to come back into the community—and this was mainly on the physical level. An individual who surrenders to the Master Physician, and becomes supernaturally cured of his physical and spiritual tzara’at likewise becomes a member of the community of called-out ones. Let's do our part in helping these precious new members feel welcomed.