Leviticus 22:1-33

Leviticus

*Worship the *LORD in the Beauty of *Holiness

Leviticus

Gordon Churchyard

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Words in boxes are from the Bible, except for the words in brackets (…).

Chapter 22

Food from the holy *offerings

v1 The *LORD said (this) to Moses.

v2 ‘Speak to Aaron and to his sons. They must respect the holy *offerings that the *Israelites give to me. Then they will not make my holy name *unclean. I am the *LORD.

v3 Say (this) to them. “You may have *descendants who are *unclean in future years. (Any such *descendant must not) come near to the holy *offerings that the *Israelites give to the *LORD. (But if that *descendant does not obey this rule,) I will *cut him off from me. I am the *LORD.

v4 A *descendant of Aaron may have a bad disease of his skin. Or, (he may be *unclean) because of a *discharge (that comes from his body). (That *descendant) must not eat the holy *offerings until he is *clean. He may be *unclean because of something that he touched. That thing may be *unclean because it touched a dead body. Or it may be because of *semen that came from a man.

v5 He may have touched (an insect) that crawls (on the ground). (Such insects) make people *unclean. Or he may have touched a person who makes him *unclean for some reason.

v6 The (*descendant of Aaron) who touches anything like this will be *unclean until the evening. He must not eat any of the holy *offerings until he has bathed his body in water.

v7 When the sun sets, he becomes *clean. Then he may eat the holy *offerings, because they are his food.

v8 He must not eat any dead animal that people find. He must not eat a dead animal that a wild animal has torn apart. It would make him *unclean. I am the *LORD.

v9 The priests must obey my instructions. Otherwise, they will be guilty. Then they will die because they did not respect (my holy *offerings). I am the *LORD, who makes them holy.

v10 People who do not belong to a priest’s family must not eat any of the holy food. This includes a priest’s guests and workers that the priest has hired. They must not eat anything that is holy.

v11 But if a priest purchases a slave with money, he may eat (the holy food). Also, slaves who are born in his house may eat (the priest’s) food.

v12 Perhaps a priest’s daughter will marry a man who is not a priest. Then she must not eat any of the holy *offerings.

v13 Perhaps the priest’s daughter becomes a widow, or (her husband) divorces her. If she has no children, she can go back to her father’s house. She can live there. She can do it as when she was young. She can eat her father’s food. But nobody else who is not a priest may eat it.

v14 If somebody eats (part) of a holy *offering by accident, he must add one fifth to it. Then he must give the holy *offering to the priest.

v15 The priests offer the *Israelites’ holy *offerings to the *LORD. So the priests must not make these *offerings *unclean.

v16 They must not allow any other person to eat the holy *offerings. Such a person would be guilty and he would suffer punishment. I am the *LORD who makes them holy.” ’

v17 The *LORD said (this) to Moses.

v18-19 ‘Speak to Aaron and to his sons and to all the *Israelites. Say (this) to them. “Whenever anyone gives a *whole offering to the *LORD, it must be a male animal. There must be nothing wrong with it, whether it is a *bull, a sheep or a goat. Then (the *LORD) will accept (the animal) on your behalf. (This rule is for both) the *Israelites and the foreigners who live with them. The person may give the *offering as a gift or because the person has made a special promise (to God).

v20 You must not give (to the *LORD) any animal that has something wrong with it. (If you do, the priest) will not accept it on your behalf.

v21 A person might bring a *peace offering to the *LORD. Perhaps the person has made a special promise to the *LORD. Or perhaps it is a gift that the person wants to give to the *LORD. (The gift) may be a cow or a sheep. (The priest) will only accept it if it is perfect. There must be nothing wrong with it.

v22 You must not give to the *LORD any animal that is blind. It must not have a broken leg. It must have no damage nor bad places that produce a liquid. It must not have a bad place or a disease on its skin. You must not offer animals like this to the *LORD. You must not burn them on the *altar as an *offering to the *LORD.

v23 But a *bull or a sheep may have a limb that is too long or too short. You can give that (animal) as a gift to the *LORD. But you must not give such an animal when you have made a special promise (to the *LORD).

v24 You must not give to the *LORD an animal whose sex parts have any damage. This includes bruises, injury or removal. You must not do this when you come into your own country (in the future).

v25 You must not get any animals like this from foreigners and then offer them as food to your God. (The priest) will not accept them on your behalf if there is anything wrong with them.” ’

v26 The *LORD said (this) to Moses.

v27 ‘Whenever a young cow, a goat, or a *lamb is born, it must remain with its mother for 7 days. From the 8^th day, (the priest) can accept it as a gift to offer to the *LORD by fire.

v28 You must not kill on the same day a cow or a sheep and its young (cow or sheep).

v29 Sometimes you will offer a *sacrifice to give thanks to the *LORD. You must do it in a manner so that (the priest) will accept it on your behalf.

v30 You must eat it on the same day (as you killed it). You must not leave any of it until the morning. I am the *LORD.

v31 Obey my commands and do them. I am the *LORD.

v32 Do not do anything that brings shame to my holy name. The *Israelites must recognise that I am holy. I am the *LORD who has made you holy.

v33 I brought you out of (the country called) Egypt to be your God. I am the *LORD.’

Notes

Verses 2-3 A *descendant is a member of your family who lives many years (or centuries) after you. These are *descendants of Aaron, so they are priests or chief priests. ‘*Unclean’ means that they cannot go to the house of God.

While the priests are *unclean, they must not eat any food from the *offerings. If the priests ate that food then, they would bring shame to God’s holy name. This is a very serious matter. God would *cut off a priest who did that.

Verses 4-8 In these verses, ‘he’ means one of the priests. Verse 6 makes this clear. Only priests, or members of their family, could eat the holy *offerings.

These verses contain a list of several events that make a person *unclean. The list is here because an *unclean priest could not eat the *offerings.

The priest may be *unclean for a long time. This happens if he has some kinds of illnesses, for example a skin disease (chapter 13) or a *discharge (chapter 15). Or he may only be *unclean for a day. But while he is *unclean, he cannot eat the *offerings.

Verses 10-16 These verses tell us two things.

• The people who could eat some of the priest’s food. God considers that families are important. So the whole family (unless they are *unclean) eats the priest’s sacred food. That includes people who live permanently in his house. So even the priest’s slave may eat the *offerings. But visitors and temporary workers must not eat these things.

• What to do if someone ate the holy food by accident. This should not happen. The priests should teach the people about these rules. But if someone makes a mistake, that person must make a payment to the priest. That person must pay for the food that he should not have eaten. And he must add an extra fifth (20%) to his payment.

Verses 18-25 God is perfect. So, animals that people offer to him must also be perfect. God deserves the best gifts that we can give. And we should want to give him the best things that we have.

The passage mentions both *whole offerings (verses 18-20) and *peace offerings (verses 21-23). The animals for both types of *offerings had to be perfect.

Verse 24 says that a male animal’s sex parts must be perfect. Sometimes farmers remove these parts from an animal, perhaps to control its behaviour. But God would not accept those animals.

Verses 26-28 The rules about young animals are part of a duty to care about the things that God has created. There are also such rules about birds and trees, Deuteronomy 20:19-20 and Deuteronomy 22:6-7.

Verses 29-30 This rule is about *peace offerings that a person gives to say ‘thank-you’ to God. People must not store the meat. They can share it with family and friends, but everyone must eat it immediately. There are similar rules in 7:15-18 and 19:3-8.

Verses 31-33 The *LORD explains why the *Israelites must obey these rules. They are a holy nation. He brought the *Israelites out of Egypt. He made them free. He separated them so that they would be his people.

So God has made Israel holy. And the *Israelites must not do anything that would bring shame to God’s name. If an *unclean priest ate the holy *offerings, that would bring shame to God’s name. If people gave bad gifts to God, that would bring shame to God’s name. If people chose animals as *offerings in a cruel manner, that would bring shame to God’s name.

Such behaviour would give the wrong impression that God is not holy and perfect. That is why it brings shame to God’s name. And the *Israelites are God’s people. So they must always bring honour to God’s name. By their actions, they must show that God is holy and perfect.

Something to do

1. The priests had to be *clean. Read these verses. They tell us that Christians must be like the priests. Ephesians 5:27; Philippians 2:15; Hebrews 9:14; 1 Peter 1:19; 2 Peter 3:14.

2. Compare the rules about priests and animals in Leviticus chapter 22.

worship ~ to praise someone (usually God). You tell him that you believe him to be very, very great. Also, you love him and you will obey him.
LORD ~ a special name for God. In the Hebrew Bible it translates YHWH. YHWH probably means ‘he is always alive’. So the word LORD (which means ‘master’) is not a proper translation.

Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke.

Jews ~ another word for the Israelites.

Israelites ~ the LORD’s people whom Moses led out of Egypt. Afterwards, they lived in the countries called Judah and Israel.

Judah ~ the name of the southern part of the country where the Jews went to live.

Israel ~ the name of the country where the Jews went to live, especially the northern part of that country.
holiness ~ the quality of somebody who is holy, or very, very good.

holy ~ very, very good; only God is really holy. Or, a description of something that belongs to God.
offering ~ gift.
Israelites ~ the LORD’s people whom Moses led out of Egypt. Afterwards, they lived in the countries called Judah and Israel.

LORD ~ a special name for God. In the Hebrew Bible it translates YHWH. YHWH probably means ‘he is always alive’. So the word LORD (which means ‘master’) is not a proper translation.

Judah ~ the name of the southern part of the country where the Jews went to live.

Israel ~ the name of the country where the Jews went to live, especially the northern part of that country.

Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke.

Jews ~ another word for the Israelites.
unclean ~ unsuitable for God or for God’s people. When someone was unclean, that person was unable to worship at God’s house.

worship ~ to praise someone (usually God). You tell him that you believe him to be very, very great. Also, you love him and you will obey him.
descendant ~ members of your family who live after you live.
discharge ~ a liquid that comes out of the body.
clean ~ suitable for God or for God’s people. A clean person could go to God’s house to worship him.

worship ~ to praise someone (usually God). You tell him that you believe him to be very, very great. Also, you love him and you will obey him.
semen ~ the liquid that comes out of a man during sex.'whole offering ~ an offering that the priests burned completely on the altar. See the explanation in the note called ‘The 5 sacrifices’ near the beginning of this commentary.

offering ~ gift.

altar ~ a special table where the priests burned incense, grain and animals.

sacrifice ~ something that people burned on an altar for God; or to burn on an altar for God. People also gave sacrifices to false gods.

incense ~ a material that gives a good smell when people burn it.
bull ~ the male animal of the same kind as a cow.
peace ~ absence of war. Or, the calm and content attitude that one receives because of a right relationship with God and with other people.
altar ~ a special table where the priests burned incense, grain and animals.

incense ~ a material that gives a good smell when people burn it.
lamb ~ a young sheep.
sacrifice ~ something that people burned on an altar for God; or to burn on an altar for God. People also gave sacrifices to false gods.

altar ~ a special table where the priests burned incense, grain and animals.

incense ~ a material that gives a good smell when people burn it.
unclean ~ unsuitable for God or for God’s people. When someone was unclean, that person was unable to worship at God’s house.

worship ~ to praise someone (usually God). You tell him that you believe him to be very, very great. Also, you love him and you will obey him.

'cut off ~ to give someone a punishment that separates that person from his family or nation. That punishment may be death. But it may be to force that person to live abroad.