A peace offering includes a meal to be eaten together with others.

3. "‘Then he must bring near a fire offering to YHWH from what is killed for the peace offering: the fat that covers the inward parts, and all the fat which is on the inward parts,

Psalm 116 is David's description of drawing near with a peace offering.

5. "‘And the sons of Aharon shall burn it on the altar, in addition to the ascending offering that is on the wood above the fire, [as] a fire offering, a soothing smell to YHWH.

6. "‘And if his offering is from the flock, to be a peace offering to YHWH, [if it is] male or female, when he brings it there must be nothing wrong with it.

7. "‘If it is a young sheep he is bringing near [as] his offering, he must present it in front of Yahweh’s face.

8. "‘And he must lean his hand on the head of his offering, and kill it in front of the Tent of Appointment, and the sons of Aharon will toss its blood onto the altar, all around.

Kill it: painlessly by slitting its throat. The person who brings the offering is the one to kill it; the priest only takes the blood and does with it what YHWH said to do.

Fat tail: a fatty type of tail that this particular kind of sheep has.

10. "‘And the priest shall burn it on the altar--bread of the fire offering to Yahweh.

11. "‘And if his offering is a goat, then he must present it in front of Yahweh’s face,

12. "‘and lean his hand on the head of his offering, and kill it in front of the Tent of Appointment, and the sons of Aharon shall toss its blood onto the altar, all around.

13. "‘Then he must bring near the best part from what is slaughtered a fire offering to Yahweh: He must remove the whole fat tail, which is close up against the backbone, and the fat that covers its inward parts, and all the fat that is between the inward parts.

14. "‘He must also remove both of the kidneys and the fat that is on them, which is by the flanks, and what hangs over the liver by the kidneys.

15. "‘And the priest will burn it on the altar bread of the fire offering as a refreshing smell; all of the fat belongs to Yahweh.

“Fat” means the best part, not grissle. Like the firstfruits or tithes, this is something we owe to Yahweh. (See also 27:30; Num. 18:26-29)

There are many health benefits to obeying these commands, which would have spared many people from physical suffering. But many disregard them just because they are "under grace". Any fat: This does noty mean the marbled fat that can’t be separated from the meat, but the particular types listed in verses 14-15. Any blood: Leviticus 17:14 tells us we will be "cut off" if we eat it. YHWH will make sure of it.

2. "Speak to the descendants of Israel, to announce, ‘A person who does anything different from whatYahweh has ordered, doing what should not be done, but not on purpose,

Even though it was a mistake, it is still a sin, and we cannot just forget about it; we must make the wrongs right again.

4. "‘And he must bring the bull to the door of the Tent of Appointment in front of Yahweh’s face, and lean his hand on the bull's head, and kill the bull [painlessly by cutting its throat] in Yahweh’s presence.

5. "‘Then the anointed priest must take [some] of the bull's blood and bring it to the Tent of Appointment,

6. "‘and the priest must dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle the front of the veil of the set-apart place with the blood seven times in front of Yahweh’s face.

7. "‘Then the priest must put [some] of the blood inYahweh’s presence on the horns of the altar of sweet-smelling incense, which is in front of the Tent of Appointment, and he must pour out all of the blood at the bottom of the altar of going-up, which is in front of the door to the Tent of Appointment.

8. "‘And he must lift off from it [and present] all of the bull's fat [as] a sin offering--he shall lift off from it the fat that covers the inward parts, and all the fat that is beside the inside parts,

9. "‘both kidneys and the fat that is on them, which is beside the flanks, and he shall remove the extra part that hangs over the liver beside the kidneys,

10. "‘in the same way it is lifted off from the ox that is slaughtered for peace offerings. Then the priest must make them burn like incense on the altar of going-up,

11. "‘along with the bull's hide and its skin by its head and by its legs, its inward parts, and its waste.

12. "‘He must [then] take the whole bull outside of the camp to a ceremonially clean place where the ashes mixed with fat are poured out, and burn him with fire on top of the wood. It must be burned on top of the place where the ashes mixed with fat are poured out.

13. "‘Now if the whole congregation of Israel shall go off [the right path] without meaning to, and the assembly does not realize it, and they have done [even] one of all [the things] that Yahweh has commanded not to be done, and have become guilty,

14. "‘when the sin in which they have missed the target becomes known, then the [whole] community must bring a bull--a son of a herd--as a sin offering. Now they must bring it to the front of the Tent of Appointment,

15. "‘and the elders of the congregation shall lean their hands on the head of the bull in front of Yahweh’s face, and kill the bull in Yahweh’s presence.

Even if it was an accident, someone is responsible to make Yahweh satisfied again.

17. "‘and the priest will dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle the front of the veil seven times before the face of Yahweh.

Without the shedding of Yahshua’s blood, our sins could not be permanently taken away. This was the most important thing He did for us. He sprinkled his blood on the heavenly altar that the earthly one was a picture of. (Yochanan 20:17; Heb. 9:24)

19. "‘Then he must lift off from it all its fat, and burn it like incense on the altar.

20. "‘And he will do to the bull just as he did to the bull of the sin offering; he has to do just the same to this [one]. This way he can put a covering over them, and [the sin] will be forgiven them.

21. "‘Then he must bring the bull outside the camp, and burn it just like he burned the first bull; it is a sin offering for the [whole] community.

22. "‘When a ruler sins and has done [even] one of all [the things] that YHWH his Elohim has ordered not to be done, and has been shown to be guilty,

23. "‘or the wrongdoing in which he has missed the target becomes known to him, as his [way of] drawing near, he must bring a hairy goat--a completely sound male,

24. "‘and must lean his hand on the head of the goat, and kill it at the place where he killed the going-up [offering] in front of Yahweh; it is a sin offering.

25. "‘Then the priest will take [some] of the blood of the sin offering, and with his finger he will put it on the horns of the altar of going-up, then pour out its blood at the bottom of the altar of going-up.

26. "‘And he must make it smoke like incense on the altar, along with all of its fat, just like the fat of what is killed [for] the peace offerings; this way the priest shall make a covering over him because of his sin, and [the sin] will be forgiven him.

27. "‘And if one person among the people of the Land sins by doing one of the things that Yahweh has ordered not to be done, without meaning to, but is shown to be guilty,

The priests, who should know better, are required to do more than the common people, who have not had as much time to study the Torah in depth. (Luke 12:48).

29. "‘Then he must lean his hand on the head of the sin offering, and kill the sin offering at the place of going up.

30. "‘Then the priest must take [some] of its blood, and with his finger he will put it on the horns of the altar of going-up, then pour out all of its blood at the bottom of the altar.

31. "‘Then he must lift off from it all its fat, just like what is slaughtered as the sin offerings has been lifted off from, and the priest must make it smoke like incense on the altar as a refreshing [satisfying] smell for Yahweh. This way the priest can make a covering over him, and [the sin] will be forgiven him.

32. "‘Now if he brings a female lamb as his drawing-near to be a sin offering, he shall bring one that is completely sound.

33. "‘And he shall lean his hand on the head of the sin offering, and kill the sin offering [painlessly by slitting its throat] at the place where he kills the ascending [offering].

34. "Then the priest must take [some] of the blood from the sin offering, and with his finger he will put it on the horns of the altar of going-up, then pour out its blood at the bottom of the altar.

35. "‘And he must lift off from it all its fat, just as what is killed as the sin offerings has had [part] lifted off from [them], and the priest must make it smoke like incense on the altar on top of Yahweh’s fire offerings. This way the priest can make a covering over him for what he did wrong that kept him from hitting the target, and [then] he is forgiven.'"

CHAPTER 5

If you do not warn someone that he is doing wrong, you are counted as guilty as he is.

3. "‘or if he touches human uncleanness--any impurity by which he may be [ritually] unclean, and does not know it, then when it comes to his attention, he is [counted] guilty.

A person is not responsible until he knows what he has done.

5. "‘Now if he is guilty of one of these, what he needs to do is confess the thing in which he has sinned,

6. "‘and bring his guilt offering to Yahweh for his sin which he has committed--a female from the flock, a lamb or ewe from the goats, as a sin offering, and the priest will make a covering over his sin for him.

7. "‘But if he cannot afford a lamb, the one who has sinned must bring to Yahweh as his guilt offering two doves or two young pigeons--one as a sin offering, and one as a going-up [offering].

A going-up offering lets him rise back to a higher place of ritual purity after he lowered himself by sinning.

9. "‘And he must sprinkle [some] of the blood of the sin offering on the wall of the altar, and what remains of the blood must be drained out at the bottom of the altar; it is a sin offering.

10. "‘Then he must get the second ready as a going-up [offering] just like [he] did [with the other]. This way the priest will make coverings over him for the sin by which he has missed the target, and it will be forgiven him.

11. "‘Now if the one who sinned is not [even] able to afford two doves or two young pigeons, then he must bring as his coming-close [offering] one tenth of an ephah of fine flour, but he must not add any frankincense with it, since it is a sin offering.

12. "‘But he must bring it to the priest, and the priest will take a handful of it as a memorial portion, and make it go up in smoke on the altar like the fire offerings to Yahweh; it is a sin offering.

13. "‘This way the priest will make a covering over him for his sin in which he has missed the target in [any] one of these [matters], and he will be forgiven for it. [The rest] will belong to the priest as a grain offering.'"

14. Then Yahweh spoke to Moshe, saying,

15. "‘If a person is unreliable and does something wrong to the holy things of Yahweh without realizing it, he must bring his guilt offering to Yahweh--a perfect ram from the flock, as you figure out its value in silver sheqels by the sheqel of the Set-apart Place, as a guilt offering.

The Aramaic version says, "If a person should act deceitfully but sin unintentionally agains the consecrated things of YHWH": LXX: "the soul which be really unconscious". He has deprived the sanctuary of some object or some degree of holiness by bringing some impurity into it, possibly rendering a vessel unfit for service by touching it while in an unclean state. Ritual impurity seems always a picture of selfishness. It is not a "sin" per se, but it has the same effect of depriving the Temple (which we are collectively) of some gift. When we realize what we have done, the proper response is to not only undo what we have done, but go an extra step, being extra scrupulous about selfless in our service to one another:

Forgiveness is only given when we ask for it, and truly turn away from doing the same thing again. Here, the sin is first paid for, then it is forgiven. Y'shua paid for our sin, and this is all the more reason to not take Yahweh's forgiveness lightly. Just because our guilt is taken away does not mean we don’t have to take the consequences. Even Moshe was not allowed to enter the Promised Land because he did something that ruined a picture Yahweh wanted to show us about the Messiah.

18. "he shall lead in a completely healthy ram of the right value as you figure it out, to the priest as an offering for guilt. This way the priest will make coverings over him for his sin in which he went off track without knowing it and not on purpose, and it will be forgiven him.

19. "It is a guilt offering, [since] he is still guilty before Yahweh."

20. [6:1 in English] Then Yahweh spoke to Moshe, saying,

21. "If a person misses the target and crosses a boundary against Yahweh by deceiving his friend about something he has given to him for safekeeping or left in his hand as a security deposit, or something that he has stolen or gotten from his friend by tricking him,

22. "or lying about a lost thing he has found, and swearing falsely about any one of these matters which a man does wrong if he does them,

23. "‘then whenever [he] sins and becomes guilty, he must return what he got by robbery, that which he got by trickery, the deposit that had been left with him, the lost things he had found,

24. "‘or anything about which he swore falsely, he must indeed repay both the original amount and add one fifth of it[s value] to whoever it belongs it. He must bring it on the [same] day [he brings] his guilt offering,

He cannot wait and pay it later.

26. "‘This way the priest will make a covering over him before Yahweh, and he will be forgiven for anything he has done that made him guilty."

After he makes things right on with the human being he has wronged, he also has to deal with his guilt before Yahweh, because any sin against one of His creatures is first and foremost a sin against Him. (Mattithyahu 5:24)

2. "Command Aharon and his sons, saying: ‘This is the direction about the going-up [offering]--that is, what goes up on the hearth on the altar all night until the morning, and the fire of the altar is kept burning on it.

Before he made the golden calf, Yahweh used to speak to them both together, but there was a price to pay for this sin. Moshe had to speak with Yahweh for him. Fire represents Yahweh's presence. (Ex. 3:2; 24:17; Deut. 5:23.) According to the sages, the going-up offering was brought to atone for a sin of the mind; sins committed physically have other specified sacrifices. What is usually translated "sacrifice" or "offering" literally means "a drawing near". Thoughts can bring us closer to YHWH because they are in the soul, not in the flesh; so sins of the mind are considered greater than sins of the body, and thus have a higher penalty. “All night” is the time when no one but the priests are in the sanctuary.

Underwear was needed so his holy garments would not directly touch his flesh, which is a symbol of his natural human strength and what can decay.

He should not wear his holy garments when dealing with the parts of the animal that Yahweh did not "consume".

Yahweh lit the fire Himself, but the people had to keep it burning. His work in our lives has already been done, but we have to keep the awareness of this alive by constantly living out the actions appropriate to what has been accomplished spiritually for us. A fire is not to be lit in one's own home on the Sabbath, but in the Temple it must be. His presence had to be represented there at all times, but we cannot presume to bring the symbol of His presence if we are away from the community that He is making into the place where He will live. (Hebrews 10:25)

Nothing is killed on top of the altar, but in front of it, then the pieces are brought up onto the altar to be burned. So if there is no fire on the altar, it is useless. According to tradition, the particular fire that was lit at this time did keep burning for 140 years.

8. "‘And he will take from it his handful of the flour of the grain offering, its oil, and all the frankincense that is on the grain offering, and he will make it go up in smoke on the altar--a soothing aroma as its reminder for Yahweh.

This gift is an expression of our heart, and Yahweh "breathes it in". The Garden of Eden is directly above the Temple Mount, and the fire carries it upward. The Messenger of Yahweh, which Y’shua called Himself, often appeared in a flame of fire, so He is the one who carries our prayers to the Father. This bread is a picture of the congregation which is all "one bread". (1 Corinthians 10:17) No leaven (a symbol of sin and pride) is allowed in this bread:

Only part of this offering was sacrificed; the rest was turned into bread. Y'shua was sacrificed, but still He says his Body must "eat" of Him (Yochanan 6:53ff; Matithyahu 26:26), so not all of him was consumed in his sacrificial death. He is called the Bread of Life. (Yochanan 6:48) While we are saved by his death, how much more we are “saved by his life" (Romans 5:10)!

11. Every male among the sons of Aharon shall eat it--[as] a never-ending statute throughout your generations--from Yahweh's offerings by fire. Anything that touches them must be holy.'"

12. Then Yahweh spoke to Moshe, saying,

13. "This is the offering of Aharon and his sons, which they must bring near to Yahweh on the day when he is anointed: a tenth of an ephah of flour, as a continuing grain offering--half of it in the morning, and half of it in the evening.

A tenth of an ephah is one omer (Exodus 16:36), whose value is half a sheqel, which is also the portion or value of one man (Exodus 16:16; 30:13). Why not just say an omer? Because ten men makes up one congregation, and their value is equal to one firstborn (Numbers 18:16); the whole congregation of Y'shua is called "the called-out [belonging to] the Firstborn (Hebrews 12:23). Everyone needs to be joined to "the other nine" parts (compare Luke 17:17) in order to be complete.

15. "And the priest who is anointed in [Aharon's] place, from among his sons, must be the one to make [the mixture]. This is Yahweh’s never-ending rule: it must be completely burned up,

16. "and every grain offering [given by] a priest is a whole burnt offering; it must not be eaten."

The priests were the chosen from among the chosen--the greatest of servants to the whole community, therefore the most recognized. What they bring as gifts to Yahweh must be completely consumed. The closer we draw near, the more of ourselves we want to give to Him.

18. "Speak to Aharon and his sons, saying, "This is the instruction about the sin offering: In the [same] place where the going-up offering is killed, the sin offering must be killed in front of Yahweh. It is most holy.

19. "The priest who offers it for sin will eat it. He will eat it in the Place of Holiness; it must be eaten in the courtyard of the Tent of Appointment.

20. "Anything that touches it must be holy. And when any of its blood gets spattered on the clothes, whatever it is spattered on must be washed in the Place of Holiness.

Become holy: It may never again be used for commonplace purposes. The same holds true for the people He is making holy. Nehemyah refused to speak even to king's messengers when he was doing the important work of rebuilding the holy city; the Apostles would not set aside the ministry of the word in order to wait on tables. (Acts 6) The LXX places more emphasis on the person who owns the spattered garment being washed himself.

Both clay and bronze are removed from the earth, being less valuable than gold or silver, but clay absorbs some of the blood, so it has to be thrown away.

23. "And any sin offering the blood of that is brought into the Tent of Appointment to make atonement for the holy place must not be eaten. It must be burned with fire.

CHAPTER 7

The guilt offering is a ram.

3. "And all its fat is to be brought near, and [the parts] of it that he will offer are the fat tail, the fat that covers the inside parts,

4. "both kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is beside the flanks, and he must remove [the fat] that hangs over the liver.

5. "And the priest must burn them on the altar [as] an offering by fire to Yahweh; it is a guilt offering.

6. "Any man among the priests may eat it. It must be eaten in a set-apart place; it is [the] holiest [of] the holy things.

7. "It is the same with the sin offering as [with] the guilt offering; there is one rule for them [both]. It will belong to the priest who [uses] it to make a covering.

8. "And the priest who brings near a man's going-up [offering], the skin of the going-up offering that he has brought near belongs to [that] priest; it will be his.

9. "And any grain offering that is baked in an oven, or anything prepared in a frying pan or griddle will belong to the priest that brings it near; it is his own.

10. "And any grain offering, mixed with oil or dry, will be for all the sons of Aharon, one as well as another.

11. "Now this is the rule [about] the peace offerings which are to be brought near to Yahweh:

12. "If he brings it near because he is thankful, then in addition to the thanks offering, he must bring near loaves of unleavened bread mixed with oil, unleavened wafers with oil dripped over them, and unleavened loaves made of fine flour soaked with oil.

13. "In addition to the loaves of unleavened bread, he must bring near what he is killing as a thanks offering—[that is,] his peace offerings.

14. "And out of every offering, he must bring one near as a part skimmed off for Yahweh for the priest who is tossing the blood of the peace offerings; it is for him.

15. "Now the meat of the sacrifice of the thanksgiving and peace offerings must be eaten on the [same] day that the offering [is made]; he may not leave any of it until morning.

A thanks offering is not done because of any sin, but often to express thankfulness for protection from great danger, etc. In the giver's mind, he was putting himself on the altar, sacrificing himself, losing his own life, and in doing so, Yahshua says, he will truly find it. Psalm 116 was written to be used at the time when one brought a thanks or peace offering. It is a testimony of the wonderful things Yahweh has done. This kind of story needs to be told; it cannot wait for tomorrow. To finish eating such a huge animal the same day, someone has to share it. He has a feast with the priests, which both provides for them (since they have no inheritance of their own), and provides an occasion to tell why one is thanking Yahweh. Telling about the great deeds He has done increases everyone's confidence in Him. So the shared meal itself is part of coming closer to Yahweh.

17. "But any [part] of the sacrifice left over until the third day has to be burned with fire.

Going back yet another time to finish the meat would start to make us think more about the food, not the offering. We have to come close each day, because Y’shua taught us to pray, "Give us the bread we need for today". Tomorrow we can come back to Him again, and can trust Him to provide what we need then too.

19. "And the meat which touches any unclean thing may not be eaten; it must be burned with fire. But [as for] the meat, anyone who is ritually pure may eat meat.

The words for "meat" (flesh) and "glad news" are the same in Hebrew. No "Gospel" that has become mixed with an impure thing (such as using the preaching of the glad news as a way to feed oneself) is pure anymore, and has to be rejected. But if the message stays pure (with no paganism mixed in), you may freely benefit from it if you yourself remain pure and unselfish.

Someone cannot come near to Yahweh with proper thanksgiving if he is selfish. Because some were gluttons like this while they neglected others within the congregation at their "love feasts", some suffered the ultimate penalty-- death. (1 Corinthians 11:17-22) The priests had a special gate by which to leave the holiest part of the Temple complex should they become ritually defiled while on duty.

Having contact with what is selfish will probably make us selfish too. (1 Corinthians 5:6; Yaaqov 3:1-12).

23. "Tell the descendants of Israel, "You must not eat any [of the] fat of an ox, a sheep, or a goat,

People today who ignore this command have very bad health problems. But the point is that the fat (which in Hebrew means the best part), belongs to Yahweh, not us. We may eat the fat of clean animals that are not acceptable for sacrifice on the altar.

The fat of animals may be put to any other use--to make candles, oil a machine, etc.--but not as food.

“Cut off” means taken out from under the protection of the community and thus exposed to all the dangers outside. (Compare 1 Corinthians 5:5 and 2 Corinthians 2:5-11.)

While the fat of some animals may be eaten, the blood of no animal may. Blood is life, and this is a picture of a deeper level of set-apartness. Eating blood is like saying, "This is my life; I'll do what I want, no matter what the community thinks."

The Apostles said even the Gentiles who want to share a table with Jews who also believe must not eat blood (Acts 15:20ff). If we take the blood into ourselves, it is not digested, but becomes directly part of our own blood. So we are taking into ourselves the soul of an animal. It makes us mean and spiritually insensitive.

28. Then Yahweh told Moshe,

29. "Tell the descendants of Israel [that] whoever brings near his peace offerings to Yahweh must bring his offering to Yahweh from what is killed for his peace offerings.

30. "‘His own hands must bring the fire offerings of Yahweh: he must bring the fat on the breast along with the breast to be swung back and forth as a wave offering before the face of Yahweh.

31. "‘And the priest must burn the fat on the altar, but the breast will belong to Aharon and his sons.

32. "‘And you shall give the right shoulder to the priest as a gift lifted off from what is killed for peace offerings.

33. "‘The one from Aharon's sons who brings near the blood of the peace offerings and the fat is the one to whom the right shoulder must be assigned,

34. "‘because the breast of the wave offering and the shoulder of the contribution I have taken from the descendants of Israel--from what is killed as their peace offerings--and given them to Aharon and his sons as the part they deserve forever from among the descendants of Israel.

35. "‘This is the part dedicated to Aharon and dedicated to his sons out of the fire offerings of Yahweh. He must bring them near to operate in the job of priests to Yahweh.

36. "‘This is what Yahweh ordered to be given to them on the day he set them apart them from among the descendants of Israel as a never-ending decree throughout their generations.'"

They were set apart by being anointed so the people could see that He had chosen them.

38. which Yahweh gave Moshe charge over at Mount Sinai on the day when He ordered the children of Israel to bring their offerings to Yahweh in the Sinai desert.

CHAPTER 8: The Priests Start Their Work

2. "Take Aharon and his sons and the garments, the anointing oil, the bull of the sin offering and the two rams, and the basket of unleavened [bread],

3. "and get the whole congregation together at the entrance to the Tent of Appointment."

4. So Moshe did what Yahweh had told him to, and the whole congregation was gathered together at the entrance to the Tent of Appointment.

5. Then Moshe told the congregation, "This is what Yahweh has ordered [us] to do."

6. And Moshe brought Aharon and his sons and washed them with water,

The high priest's garments looked something like this.

7. and put the tunic on him, belted him with the sash, clothed him with the long robe, put the efod on him, fitted him with the fancy waistband of the efod, and tied it onto him with it.

8. Then he also laid the pouch on him, and put the urim and thummim inside the pouch.

The urim and thummim were either two stones that gave a “yes” or “no” answer from Yahweh, or spelled out the letters of an answer from Him using the names of the twelve tribes of Israel on the High Priest’s breastplate.

10. Then Moshe took the anointing oil, and anointed the Place for Yahweh to live and everything that was in it; this way he made them separate [from any other use].

11. Then he sprinkled some of it on the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all of its tools, as well as the washbasin and its base, in order to make them separate.

12. Then he poured [more] of the anointing oil on Aharon's head, anointing him, to [mark] him as dedicated to his job.

13. And Moshe brought Aharon's sons, put tunics on them, belted them with waist-sashes, and wrapped head-gear on them, just as Yahweh had commanded Moshe.

14. Then he brought the bull for the sin offering, and Aharon and his sons put their hands on the bull of the sin offering,

15. and [one of them] killed it [by cutting its throat], and Moshe took the blood and put it on the horns of the altar, on all sides, with his finger, setting the altar free from sin. Then he poured out the blood at the base of the altar, setting it apart as holy so that a covering [for sins] could be made on it.

16. Then he took away all the fat that was on the inside parts, and the lobe that hung over the liver, both kidneys, and their fat. Then Moshe burned them on the altar.

Moshe was teaching the priests the steps that Yahweh showed him on the mountain, then turned the responsibility over to them.

18. Then he brought the ram of the going-up [offering] close, and Aharon and his sons put their hands on the ram's head,

19. and killed it [by cutting its throat without it hurting], and Moshe threw its blood onto every side of the altar.

20. Then he divided the ram into pieces [by its joints], and Moshe burned the head, the divided-up pieces, and the fat.

The pieces were burned on separate fires on the altar according to categories.

22. Then he brought the second ram near--the ram of starting their new job, and Aharon and his sons put their hands on the ram,

23. and he killed it [by cutting its throat], and Moshe took some of the blood and put it on Aharon's right ear lobe, the thumb on his right hand, and the big toe on his right foot.

24. And he brought Aharon's sons, and Moshe put blood on their right ear lobes, the thumb on their right hands, and the big toe on their right feet. Then Moshe threw the blood onto all the sides of the altar,

The blood was put on the ear lobes to remind the priests to listen to Yahweh’s words. The thumbs are closest to the heart when "lifting holy hands" to show that they are clean, representing taking into our heart what we do with our hands. And without the big toe there can be no balance. Putting it on the right foot probably symbolizes following our better side rather than our worse side.

26. And he took one loaf of unleavened bread, one cake made of oiled bread, and one wafer from the basket of unleavened loaves, and put them on top of the fat and the right leg.

27. Then he set all of it upon the open hands of Aharon and upon the palms of his sons, and he swung them back and forth as a wave offering in front of the face of YHWH.

28. Then Moshe took them off their hands and burned them on the altar on top of the ascending offering; they are offerings for when a priest starts his job, which is a refreshing aroma. It is a fire offering to Yahweh. 29. Then Moshe took the breast and swung it back and forth as a wave offering before the face of Yahweh, from the ram of starting their new job. This was to be the part Moshe got, as Yahweh had commanded Moshe.

30. Then Moshe took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood which was on the altar, and sprinkled it upon Aharon and his garments and upon his sons with him and their garments. Thus he set apart Aharon, his garments, his sons, and their garments as holy.

31. Then Moshe told Aharon, "Cook the meat at the entrance to the Tent of Appointment, and eat it there along with the bread that is in the basket of the priests [who are] starting their new job, just as I commanded, saying, ‘Aharon and his sons will eat it.'

32. "‘And whatever is left over of the meat and the bread, you must burn with fire.

Once it is set apart for Yahweh, it cannot be used for any other reason.

34. "‘Yahweh has designed it to be done just as He did on this day, in order to make a covering over you.

35. "‘So you must stay at the entrance to the Tent of Appointment day and night for seven days, and you must guard the treasure of Yahweh so you will not die, for these are the orders that were given to me."

36. So Aharon and his sons did all the things that Yahweh had commanded by the hand of Moshe.

CHAPTER 9

The eighth day symbolizes a new beginning.

3. "And tell the descendants of Israel, ‘Choose a male baby from the goats to be a sin offering, and a calf and a lamb, [each] a year old [and] perfect, to be a going-up offering.

4. "‘Then [fetch] a bull and a ram as peace offerings to kill in front of Yahweh’s face, along with a food offering mixed with oil, because today Yahweh will appear to you.'"

This is what we have really been waiting for; everything that came before it was just preparation, but the process of drawing near is important as well, so it is detailed here.

6. And Moshe said, "This is the thing that Yahweh has commanded: Do it, and Yahweh’s importance will be shown to you."

7. Then Moshe told Aharon, "Come to the altar and perform your sin offering, and make a covering over yourself and for the people, then make the offering for the people and make a covering for them, as Yahweh has told you.

The first offering made the priest holy enough to make the second sacrifice as a representative for the rest of the people.

9. and Aharon's sons brought the blood near to him, and he dipped his finger in the blood, and put [some of] it on the horns of the altar. Then he poured the [rest of the] blood at the bottom of the altar.

10. Then he burned the fat, the kidneys, and the lobe [of fat] that hangs over the liver from the sin offering on the altar, just as Yahweh had told Moshe to do.

11. Then he burned the skin and the hide with fire on the outside of the camp,

12. and he killed the going-up [offering], and Aharon's sons brought him the blood, and he threw it against every side of the altar.

13. Then they gave him the going-up offering piece by piece, and the head too, and he burned them on the altar.

14. And he washed the inside parts and the legs, then burned them like the going-up offering on the altar.

15. Then he brought the people's offering--the he-goat of the sin offering which is for the people --and killed it [by cutting its throat painlessly], making it a sin offering like the first.

There were two sin offerings: the bull for Israel as a whole nation, and the goat for each Israelite individually.

17. Then he brought the grain offering close, and filled his hand from it and burned this [part] on the altar, besides the morning going-up [offering].

18. And he killed the bull and the ram [by cutting their throats as] a slaughter of peace [offerings] which are for the nation, and Aharon's sons gave him the blood, and he threw it against every side of the altar.

19. And [they brought him] the fat of the bull and ram--the fat tail, [the fat] that covers [the inside parts], the kidneys, and the lobe [of fat] that hangs over the liver,

20. and they set the fat [parts] on top of the breasts, and burned the fat on the altar.

21. But Aharon swung the breasts and the right front leg back and forth in front of YHWH as a wave offering, as Moshe had told [him] to do.

22. Then Aharon lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them, then came down from making out the sin offering, the going-up [offering], and the peace offerings.

23. Then Moshe and Aharon came into the Tent of Appointment, then they went out and blessed the people, and the glory of Yahweh appeared to the whole nation,

24. and fire came out from in front of Yahweh and ate up the [offering] that went up and the fat [that was also] on the altar. When all of the people saw [it], they gasped for joy, and fell on their faces.

CHAPTER 12:
When a Boy is Born

1. Then YHWH spoke to Moshe, saying,

2. "Speak to the descendants of Israel, saying, ‘If a woman has conceived and given birth to a boy, then she will be ritually impure for seven days, like in the days of the separation of her infirmity, she will be ritually unclean.

Infirmity: when she has to be separate because of her monthly bleeding cycle.

3. "‘Then on the eighth day, the skin of his foreskin must be circumcised.

The eighth day is when the baby is most resistant to disease and the blood clots to stop bleeding more quickly than any other time in the baby’s life. So this is the best time to have this operation, so it will heal more quickly. It gives him a life-long reminder that he is part of the covenant between Israel and Yahweh, right in his own body. It is a picture of putting off our “flesh”, that part of us that acts selfishly against Yahweh. The eighth day symbolizes the new beginning after the seven days of the week. This way, from the start, the child experiences the most basic cycle--the sabbath--on which the whole world is built. Every boy is allowed to live through one Sabbath before undergoing this surgery.

4. "‘And she will remain in the blood of her cleansing for thirty-three days, and she must not touch anything holy, nor may she enter the sanctuary until the days of her cleansing are finished.

Normally blood is a thing of impurity. But here, only the first seven days is she considered impure; then begins a process of repurification. She is relieved even of her responsibility to attend the festivals in the Temple, so that she is able to give this time only to the baby.

5. "‘But if she gives birth to a girl, then she will be ritually unclean for two weeks, as in [the time of] her separation, and she will continue in the blood of her cleansing for sixty-six days.

Moshe was also on the mountain, bringing forth a "woman" to be a bride for YHWH, for eighty days.

6. "‘And when her days of purifying are finished for a son or daughter, she must bring a year-old male lamb to serve as an ascending offering, and a young pigeon or turtledove to the priest [cohen] at the door of the Tent of Appointment as a sin offering.

The innocent lamb dies so that the child may live. Sin offering: because Chavvah ("Eve") was the first to sin, and thus was cursed with more complications in childbirth. It may be that had she not sinned, she would not even bleed (all shed blood must be atoned for), but would have had a very easy delivery like most animals do. Pigeon: Not the species we have in many cities of the West, but another type of dove distinct from the turtledove. The priest represents YHWH to the people, so the sacrifices are presented to him to demonstrate their response to YHWH Himself. It is not as if the mother has sinned by giving birth to a child, however. It may simply be a reminder that we are all enwrapped in an environment that is "missing the mark" and in a place of needing reconciliation, because since Chavvah everyone's relationship with YHWH has been clouded.

7. "‘And he shall bring it near in the presence of Yahweh, and shall make atonement for her, and she shall be cleansed from the flow of her blood. This is the instruction regarding her who gives birth, whether to a male or a female.

8. "‘Now if she is too poor to afford a lamb, then she shall bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons, one to serve as an ascending [offering] and one as a sin offering, and the priest shall effect a covering over her, and she shall be cleansed.'"

Yahshua's mother Miryam must have been this poor, because we are told that she brought this offering rather than a lamb. (Luk. 2:24) Ascending offering: This is to praise the Father for the safe delivery of this child. Cleansed: ritually, but the word literally means made like new or brightened up--a picture of Y'shua, who not only covers our sin, but actually purifies us. In our day, no one can fully obey the Torah, since there is no Temple. All anyone can offer now is a substitute sacrifice, since even in the Land of Israel no one is ritually pure until the ashes of another red heifer are present. The dove symbolizes the Holy Spirit, who is our down-payment (Eph. 1:14) so that our best efforts, though inadequate, will be accepted in the meantime. Of course, Y'shua is our Lamb as well.

2. "Speak to the descendants of Israel, and tell them, ‘I am Yahweh your Elohim.

3. "‘You must not chase after the same things they chased after in the land of Egypt in which you lived, nor shall your way of life be like [the people] in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you, and you must not do the same kinds of things they do.

4. "‘[Instead], you must carry out My ways of judging and guard the ways I am telling you to do things, so that you may walk in them; I am YHWH your Elohim,

5. "‘and you shall guard My rules, which, if a man keeps [them], he will live through them. I am YHWH.

The point of all the commandments is to know what Yahweh is like.

Uncovering a relative here does not means things like changing a baby’s diapers, but sleeping with another relative the way someone should only sleep with the person he or she is married to.

Nowadays even the rest of the world recognizes thes practices as wrong, but at the time the Israelites were coming into the Land, the Kanaanites were still practicing them, and this is one of the reasons YHWH was destroying them and replacing them with people who would do what He wanted them to do. (v. 24)

Father's wife: i.e., it could include a wife other than your mother, if he has several. This was Reuven's sin, and the sin of the Corinthians..

10. "‘You must not expose the nakedness of your son's daughter or your daughter's daughter; you must not uncover their vulnerable parts, because their nakedness is your own nakedness.'"

If they are weak or in danger, you are too, since the chain is only as strong as its weakest link. If one member of YHWH’s household suffers, we all do. We can never act alone or for ourselves alone once we are made part of the Body. What affects one affects everyone.

Science now recognizes one reason Yahweh gave these orders: marrying people who are too closely related to you is likely to result in the strengthening of many diseases or defects.

13. "‘You must not expose the nakedness of your mother's sister; she is a close [blood] relative of your mother.

14. "‘You must not expose the nakedness of your father's brother--[that is,] you must not come close to his wife; she is your aunt.

15. "‘You must not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law. She is your son's wife; you must not expose her shame.

16. "‘You shall not expose the nakedness of your brother's wife; this is your brother's shame.

This only applies while someone's brother is alive or has sons, because in Israel it is one's duty to have sons for a brother who dies without an heir. YHWH considers (obedient) Israelite man to be worthy of having children so his name will no t be forgotten

18. "‘You must not take a woman along with her sister in order to uncover her nakedness in addition to hers during her lifetime, [which would only] cause her trouble.

We see an example of this in how Leah came to be in competition with her sister Rakhel once they were married to the same man, because they both wanted to be his favorite wife.

20. "‘nor shall you give your seed to your neighbor's wife, becoming defiled by her.

Proverbs 5:15 tells us to “drink water from your own well” instead of scattering your energy so far from home that you can’t keep up with your real responsibilities.

Making His Name common means to treat Him as if He were just one among many equals. It also means to make His reputation dirty, since whatever we do as His people makes people think better or worse of Him.

Many excuses are made today for this sin, but YHWH does not accept any of them.

This is mixing two things that YHWH wants to remain separate.

25. "‘and the Land is polluted, and I will punish its crookedness, and the land shall spit out those who live in it.

26. "‘But as for you, you must guard My customs and My ways of doing justice, and not carry out any of the disgusting things—either the native-born or the guest who is staying among you.

27. "‘The men of the Land that is before you have done all of these disgusting things; that is why the Land is defiled.

28. "‘This way the Land will not spit you out for defiling it, as it [has begun] vomiting out the nation that is before you--

29. "‘because anyone who does any of these disgusting things--the very persons who are carrying them out--must be cut off from being among their people.

30. "‘Instead, keep what I have entrusted to you, and that way you will stay away from doing any of the disgusting customs that were done before you, or polluting yourselves with them; I am YHWH your Elohim.

CHAPTER 19: How Yahweh's Special People Need to Act

2. "Speak to the whole congregation of the descendants of Israel, and tell them, ‘You must be holy, because I, YHWH your Elohim, am holy.'

"Holy" means "set apart" and "separate", but we cannot be truly separate until we are all together in our set-apartness!

Without your parents, you would not have been able to enter this world, and without the sabbath, you cannot enter YHWH's calendar of appointments. Of course, YHWH's commands are more important than what our parents say if they do not agree, but otherwise YHWH wants us to obey them because this way the whole family is working together.

5. "‘And if you kill [an animal for] a peace offering, you must slaughter it by your own choice.

6. "‘It must be eaten on the [same] day you kill it, or on the next day, but anything that is left over on the third day has to be burned with fire.

7. "‘And if any of it is eaten on the third day, it is something that makes [YHWH] sick; it will not be accepted.

We must do things at the right time. YHWH’s house is not just a place to come and eat; the reason we eat there is so we can share with one another what YHWH has done for us so more of us can give Him thanks for all He does for Israel.

9. "‘Now when you gather the harvest of your land, you may not reap all the way to the corners, and you also may not gather up what falls down while you harvest.

10. "‘You may also not check carefully for the [last ] your vineyard, nor gather every grape of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the needy and the sojourner [among you]; I am YHWH your Elohim.

Of course, the poor have to go there for themselves and glean; it is not brought to them already cooked.

12. "‘You may not take an oath in My Name that you do not intend to fulfill, and you must not make the Name of your Elohim weak; I am YHWH.

Making His Name weak can include using it without thinking or by substituting the names of pagan gods out of supposed respect for His true name, because this only causes more confusion about who He is. Who would have ever known who Nun was if it were not for Yehoshua, his son. When he is called "Yehoshua ben Nun", it honors his father because he was an honorable man, instead of bringing his father shame.

Workers are to be paid immediately so that they can buy food for the next day--or that very evening. So to hold this back is to take the very bread from his family's mouths. Robbery shows that a man sees himself as separate from the whole community and more deserving than others.

Words have real power even if they are not heard by the one they are spoken about, so we must be careful what we say. Cursing the deaf can also include talking about someone "behind his back", since he, too, cannot hear what we are saying.

The case is to be judged strictly by what the person actually did. Someone is never to be fined simply because he can afford it, or let off just because he can’t.

There is a connection between these two instructions: Someone who allows gossip to spread is like one who watches his friend being attacked and does not try to stop it. Nothing "kills" faster than words. Yaaqov (James) says the tongue has the power of life and death, and compares it to a little spark that starts a wildfire. We can make up for robbery, but not for gossip, because the "feathers have already been scattered to the wind" and we can never undo it completely. So avoid it from the start.

Letting someone keep sinning IS hating him. Proverbs 13:24 says, "He who spares the rod hates his son." Failing to warn other Israelites of danger means their blood is upon us, not them. (Ezek. 33:2-6) Rebuking a fool lets him learn to do better. (Prov. 9:7ff)

19. "You must keep My laws: you must not let your livestock crossbreed with other species; you may not sow your field with [two] different kinds [of crops]; and you must not wear a garment of mixed wool and linen.

Things must be kept clear, so we can tell which are the crop and which are weeds. It is a picture of mixing paganism into biblical faith, which is where most of the church is today. As in the story of Qayin and Hevel (Abel): linen comes from the earth; wool comes from a living animal that can shed blood and bring redemption (which comes from heaven). There is a place for each, but the two are not to be mixed. But this was also a special blend used in some of the priestly garments (Ex. 28:6; 39:29); it was reserved exclusively for the sanctuary, not for the ordinary person.

21. "‘but [the man] must bring his trespass offering to YHWH--to the entrance to the Tent of Appointment: a ram to compensate for his guilt,

22. "‘and the cohen shall make a covering for him with the ram of the guilt offering before YHWH for his sin which he has committed, and it will be forgiven him from his sin that he has committed.

23. "‘Now when you have arrived in the land and have planted any fruit tree, you shall think of it as [having a] foreskin. Its fruit will be "uncircumcised" to you; it must not be eaten.

24. "‘But in the fourth year, all of its fruit is set apart for the ones YHWH considers most important.

25. "Then in the fifth year, you may eat the fruit, so that it can increase its yield for you; I am YHWH your Elohim.

A tree is a picture of a person. (Psalm 1:3, etc.) Paul says someone who is new in the congregation should not be a teacher (1 Tim. 3:6), but must wait until he has grown to a maturity that only time and study can bring. The minor festival of "Tu BiSh'vat" was established to have a date by which to count the age of trees for this purpose. The fifth year is a picture of learning all five books of Moshe well before we teach others.

27. "‘You must not round the corner of your head, nor disfigure the extremity of your beard.

What is the picture He is intending by this? It is part of "writing His laws on our gates". Our eyes, ears, and mouth--all the openings of our bodies, really--are like gates to a fort, which we must guard. Not cutting the hair around them symbolizes the fact that we need to screen or filter what goes in and what comes out. Many pagan "holy" men also had distinctive hairstyles, and He wants to avoid any association with them. But an uncut beard is a also symbol of being Israelite; Y'chezq'el/Ezekiel chapter 5 uses the cutting off of the beard to symbolize the destruction of the house of Israel. We do not want to shape our beards according to Gentile standards, and cover up our Israelite identity at the very time YHWH is bringing it back to light.

Cuttings in your flesh: like the 450 prophets of Ba'al with which Eliyahu contended. We already have a Messiah who is marked and pierced; why do WE need to be marked and pierced? We cannot take his place. Also, pagans frequently tattooed the names of their gods on themselves,. Our actions are how we bear YHWH’s Name, so we must remember to act in a way that shows what He is like.

30. "‘You shall keep my sabbaths, and you shall respect my holy place; I am YHWH.

The only time one could see inside the court nearest to His sanctuary and thus catch a glimpse of the Temple itself was when the doors were open, and this was only on Sabbaths and on the festivals (prescribed times), which were considered sabbaths in an even stronger way.

This does not mean that everything they say is untrue; in fact, as Paul found out, they can be irritatingly truthful. But YHWH has not given permission for knowledge to be passed on in this way.

33. "‘If a foreigner stays for a while with you in your land, you must not mistreat him;

34. "‘the guest who stays with you must be treated just like the native among you. You must even love him as [you love] yourself, since you [yourselves] were aliens in the land of Egypt. I am Yahweh your Elohim.

35. "‘You shall do no injustice in a courtroom, in measures, weights, or amounts.

Many people would use slightly-differing weights which were both called “an ephah”, so that they could actually buy more or sell more. All the weights that are called an "ephah" need to actually weigh the same:

A hin is a liquid measure.