Summary #7

So when we left the Israelites last week, they were in the desert, and God had settled in the newly completed tabernacle. He called Moses in and gives him the law that he will expect the Israelites to live by. What follows is sort of a combination of WebMD, Extreme Home Makeover, and Hints by Heloise, But first we start with the offerings.

Every Israelite participates in the Burnt Offering (signifying devotion, worship, and atonement for unintentional sin), the Grain Offering (recognizing God’s provision), the Fellowship Offering (Including a communal meal), the Sin Offering (to make atonement for specific sins), and the Guilt Offering (atonement for unintentional sins). God gives very specific directions to the people about which parts of each offering are to be burnt completely, and which are to be given to the priests.

Moses then ordains Aaron and his sons as priests, following all the requirements that God has given him. After they are ordained, they begin their ministry, making the sacrifices as God told them to. Contrary to what Moses had conveyed to them, Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu “offer unauthorized fire before the Lord” and are immediately put to death. God doesn’t take obedience lightly.

Eating, purification after childbirth, skin diseases, sexual relations, discharges – there are regulations governing nearly every aspect of their lives. One of the recurring things in these chapters is God’s insistence that the people maintain ritual purity. Things that make them impure are not necessarily bad, but they do require actions that restore a person’s ability to be part of the community and to approach God in worship or sacrifice. We don’t think much about that now.

The Day of Atonement was a chance for the people to make atonement as a community, transferring the sins of the people to a goat, which was sent into the desert, far away from the people. Sins must be paid for.

For the sinful, the unclean, the defiled, the punishment was the same: separation from their people – they would be cut off. To be part of the community, part of the covenant was a privilege.