Grains of Sand

Google Images The instructions for burnt offerings were not the only ones that the Israelites needed to keep in mind when they presented themselves before the Lord at the entrance of the Tabernacle. Leviticus 2 details what was necessary if an Israelite came to offer a grain offering to the Lord. One of the important items was never to offer anything with leaven in it. During the celebration of the Passover, unleavened bread was served in remembrance of the speed by which the Israelites had to leave Egypt—there was no time for the bread to rise! But leaven also came to represent sin, and in the tradition of the Passover celebration, the house would be searched from top to bottom to make sure that there was no leaven in the house. It is said that sometimes people would entrust their leaven to a non-Jewish neighbour and then collect it again after the eight days of commemoration. But something else comes up in this brief chapter in Leviticus. In verse 13, the author writes: “ Season ...

Leviticus 1-4 Something unusual pops out of the description of the offerings so carefully detailed as the book of Leviticus begins. “ If the anointed priest sins [unintentionally], bringing guilt on the people, … ” (4:3). Then follows the instructions concerning the appropriate sacrifice that must be made to atone for that sin. As the chapter progresses, others are singled out: “ If the whole Israelite community sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden…they are guilty ” (4:13). “ When a leader sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden…he is guilty ” (4:22). “ If a member of the community sins unintentionally…he is guilty ” (4:27). In Israel’s history there were often corporate consequences to the sin of the individual, Achan being a prime example (Joshua 7). But here in this particular list the sin of the priest, however unintentional, is specifically mentioned as having consequences for the people not just for the individual who sinned. Beyond simple consequences, the wr...