Verses 1-5 Likewise this is the law of the trespass offering: it is most holy. 2 In the place where they kill the burnt offering shall they kill the trespass offering: and the blood thereof shall he sprinkle round about upon the altar. 3 And he shall offer of it all the fat thereof; the rump, and the fat that covereth the inwards, 4 And the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by the flanks, and the caul that is above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away: 5 And the priest shall burn them upon the altar for an offering made by fire unto the LORD: it is a trespass offering.
The Hebrew word translated as “law” is “towrah” or “torah”. It means law, direction, instruction or legal directive. God gave specific directions as to how He wanted all the offerings to be handled and it became law when Moses instructed the Levites and wrote the directions in these books of the Bible. There was to be no deviation from the manner in which these offerings were to be handled by the priests. As mentioned before, the fat and organs that were responsible for cleansing toxins or storing toxins in the animal’s body were removed and burned on the altar. This prevented the eating of these body parts.
Verses 6-10 Every male among the priests shall eat thereof: it shall be eaten in the holy place: it is most holy. 7 As the sin offering is, so is the trespass offering: there is one law for them: the priest that maketh atonement therewith shall have it. 8 And the priest that offereth any man’s burnt offering, even the priest shall have to himself the skin of the burnt offering which he hath offered. 9 And all the meat offering that is baken in the oven, and all that is dressed in the fryingpan, and in the pan, shall be the priest’s that offereth it. 10 And every meat offering, mingled with oil, and dry, shall all the sons of Aaron have, one as much as another.
Since the priests or Levites were not given land like the rest of the 11 tribes, they were provided for by the offerings that the people brought to the tabernacle and, later, to the Temple. God took care of His workers so that they could spend their time and energy ministering to Him and to the people.
Application: God will always provide for His workers in the Church today. Psalms 37:25 state, “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.” If you, the reader, are engaged in ministry, put all your trust in the LORD and He will never let you down. Your wants may not be met all the time, but your needs will always be met.
Verses 11-15 And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which he shall offer unto the LORD. 12 If he offer it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened cakes mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and cakes mingled with oil, of fine flour, fried. 13 Besides the cakes, he shall offer for his offering leavened bread with the sacrifice of thanksgiving of his peace offerings. 14 And of it he shall offer one out of the whole oblation for an heave offering unto the LORD, and it shall be the priest’s that sprinkleth the blood of the peace offerings. 15 And the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving shall be eaten the same day that it is offered; he shall not leave any of it until the morning.
The heave offering was a type of gift or contribution. It was given willingly and not because it was required to atone for sins or trespasses. If the peace offering was because of thankfulness on the part of the giver, unleavened cakes and wafers were to be included. But note that leavened bread was to be included also. Since leaven represents sin in the Scripture, why was leavened bread included with the offering of thanksgiving? Not really sure, but perhaps it was because the leavened bread reminded the giver that sins were forgiven by the LORD and therefore, thankfulness was appropriate.
Verses 16-18 But if the sacrifice of his offering be a vow, or a voluntary offering, it shall be eaten the same day that he offereth his sacrifice: and on the morrow also the remainder of it shall be eaten: 17 But the remainder of the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day shall be burnt with fire. 18 And if any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings be eaten at all on the third day, it shall not be accepted, neither shall it be imputed unto him that offereth it: it shall be an abomination, and the soul that eateth of it shall bear his iniquity.
Anything left over from the peace was to be burned, not on the altar of God, so that it was destroyed. Again, without refrigeration, the flesh or the oil mixed flour products would be rotting and growing bacteria and other microbes that could cause serious health hazards.
Verses 19-21 And the flesh that toucheth any unclean thing shall not be eaten; it shall be burnt with fire: and as for the flesh, all that be clean shall eat thereof. 20 But the soul that eateth of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, that pertain unto the LORD, having his uncleanness upon him, even that soul shall be cut off from his people. 21 Moreover the soul that shall touch any unclean thing, as the uncleanness of man, or any unclean beast, or any abominable unclean thing, and eat of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which pertain unto the LORD, even that soul shall be cut off from his people.
To be “cut off from his people” could mean to be eliminated, killed or destroyed. This was a serious sacrifice and the people needed to take it seriously. The penalty of violating this law of God was severe. Even if the offending person was not destroyed but just forced to leave the Hebrew nation, the person would lose everything in his life. This writer does not know if the penalty was one of removing the offender from the community of people or one of death, but either way, holiness unto God was important and to be included in any worship or sacrificial activities.
Verses 22-25 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 23 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, Ye shall eat no manner of fat, of ox, or of sheep, or of goat. 24 And the fat of the beast that dieth of itself, and the fat of that which is torn with beasts, may be used in any other use: but ye shall in no wise eat of it. 25 For whosoever eateth the fat of the beast, of which men offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD, even the soul that eateth it shall be cut off from his people.
Eating animal fat was strictly prohibited. Perhaps people today should take a look at what is called the Levitical diet and maybe society would have fewer health issues such as heart disease. Just saying.
Verses 26-27 Moreover ye shall eat no manner of blood, whether it be of fowl or of beast, in any of your dwellings. 27 Whatsoever soul it be that eateth any manner of blood, even that soul shall be cut off from his people.
Today there are people who eat blood pudding or blood sausage. This is a mixture of pork, dried pig’s blood, and suet or fat. This writer cannot criticize this food as this is not the purpose of this Bible study, but this writer will use this food as an example of what the Hebrew people were absolutely not to eat. It was offensive to the LORD. Why? Because His people were and are His spiritual temple and filling their bodies with toxins from fat, with blood which represents the remission of sins as shed by all the sacrificial animals and then by Jesus Christ, and with an unclean animal that God said not to eat would show a complete disregard for the authority, sovereignty and ruler-ship of the Creator, Almighty God.
Application: For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul. Leviticus 17:11
And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.” Hebrews 9:22
The above verses demonstrate the value and importance of blood. Medically and scientifically it is the blood that carries oxygen and nutrients to all the cells of the body and then carries the waste products away from all the cells. Without circulating blood, a body dies very quickly. When heart failure occurs, the blood can no longer be circulated to the cells and so they die. Hence CPR, where artificial breaths are given and chest compressions over the heart forces the blood through the lungs and to the rest of the body, can keep a person alive for a period of time. But if the heart cannot be started again, the person is dead. So the life of a person is technically dependent upon the blood circulating in the body. By dying on the cross and shedding His blood for others, Jesus Christ’s body died, but that shed blood made the required atonement for the soul and there was remission or payment for sins so that a person can receive eternal life and not death.
Verses 28-38 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 29 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, He that offereth the sacrifice of his peace offerings unto the LORD shall bring his oblation unto the LORD of the sacrifice of his peace offerings. 30 His own hands shall bring the offerings of the LORD made by fire, the fat with the breast, it shall he bring, that the breast may be waved for a wave offering before the LORD. 31 And the priest shall burn the fat upon the altar: but the breast shall be Aaron’s and his sons’. 32 And the right shoulder shall ye give unto the priest for an heave offering of the sacrifices of your peace offerings. 33 He among the sons of Aaron, that offereth the blood of the peace offerings, and the fat, shall have the right shoulder for his part. 34 For the wave breast and the heave shoulder have I taken of the children of Israel from off the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and have given them unto Aaron the priest and unto his sons by a statute for ever from among the children of Israel. 35 This is the portion of the anointing of Aaron, and of the anointing of his sons, out of the offerings of the LORD made by fire, in the day when he presented them to minister unto the LORD in the priest’s office; 36 Which the LORD commanded to be given them of the children of Israel, in the day that he anointed them, by a statute for ever throughout their generations. 37 This is the law of the burnt offering, of the meat offering, and of the sin offering, and of the trespass offering, and of the consecrations, and of the sacrifice of the peace offerings; 38 Which the LORD commanded Moses in mount Sinai, in the day that he commanded the children of Israel to offer their oblations unto the LORD, in the wilderness of Sinai.
In studying these chapters that describe the law of the various offerings, one thing should be very clear to the reader, and that is that the whole sacrificial system was complicated. This writer is very glad that the functioning of the system and the implementing of it was done by Moses who had the job of keeping all the ritual parts in order and who had the job of teaching it to Aaron and his sons. This writer is also very glad that believers today are not under the law of these offerings, but free due to the final sacrifice of the LORD Jesus Christ.