A shrimp cocktail was off limits for the Israelites. But a chocolate-covered grasshopper? Yes! The list of kosher food that God allowed for His people continues in Leviticus 11. Animals must have cloven hooves and chew the cud. Fish must have fins and scales. Birds must not be carrion-eaters, rodent-eaters, or fish-eaters. Then God even—do […]
Read More… from April 28, 2022 — Touch Not; Taste Not; Handle Not
Whether a person liked something or not wasn’t the determining factor. God wrote the menu. There’s a great debate today whether a person should eat meat or be a strict vegetarian. In Leviticus 11, God makes His position plain: the Israelites were to eat only animals that were vegetarians! But there were further restrictions. He […]
Discrimination is a bad word today, but we must learn to discriminate between things, not people. Before launching into the next five chapters of graphic details, let’s stop and consider the words holy and unholy, as in the statement, “that you may distinguish between holy and unholy” (Lev 10:10). Our English translation may give the […]
What a way to start! On the first day, in the worst way, two of Aaron’s sons defy God and die. Something very miraculous but very horrible had just occurred. Nadab and Abihu played with fire, so to speak, taking “profane fire” (Lev 10:1) into God’s presence. In response, “fire went out from the Lord […]
People say all the time, “I’m happy with my religion.” But the question should be, “Is God?” What a glorious moment this was in the history of Israel! The priesthood had been instituted, like the grand opening of a new road right into heaven. God obviously had accepted Aaron’s first sacrifices by igniting them with […]
Aaron and his sons had been through rigorous training, with endless details. Now the test! On the eighth day of the priests’ consecration ceremony, there was a flurry of activity. Something very exciting was going to happen! “For,” said Moses, “today the Lord will appear to you” (Lev 9:4). For the first time, Aaron and […]
God never intended life to be boring. He’s the God of familiar repetition and new beginnings. Well, at last it was here, the climax of the consecration ceremony. “It came to pass on the eighth day that Moses called Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel” (Lev 9:1). The number eight is significant […]
It seems as simple as 1, 2, 3. In a way—but there are also ideas so profound that only God gets it. There were three animals used in the institution of the priesthood. In each case, Moses was to do something different. For a sin offering, which always must be dealt with first, “The bull…he […]