God in the Details

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Well hey there, this week we're going to learn about the purpose of the laws and regulations

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found in Leviticus.

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We're going to learn of God's gracious revelation of Himself to His people and how much we can

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also learn from some of the smallest of details in this book.

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So with that I welcome you to this week's Shabbat Shalom devotional when I seek to

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share a little inspiration and bring a little piece to the close of your very busy week.

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This week's Torah portion is from Leviticus 6 through 8 and it's called SAAV which means

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command.

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So it begins with to command Aaron and his sons.

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And we read about more laws of the offerings and then we read about the consecration of

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Aaron and his family to be the high priest.

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Now Aaron had caused quite a mess, you know, with the golden calf, but here God forgives

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him and places the lineage of the priesthood on his family.

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I think that's pretty cool and shows the grace and mercy of God.

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What a testimony to the forgiveness of God.

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Now this story also helps us to understand the transition that is taking place in the

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book of Leviticus.

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So let me explain, you know, ten generations of Israelites were living in Egypt, ended up

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slaves in Egypt and were influenced by the paganism and morality of Egypt.

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Now if you think about it, they had, the children of Israel had no place to worship in Egypt.

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They had no set way of worship.

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They had no priesthood, no prophet.

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They didn't have an understanding of sin and who their God was and how to approach

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him.

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So God brings them into the wilderness and begins to reveal to them a place where they

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will meet with him, how to worship, how to enter into his presence there, who should

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be their leaders, their priests, and an understanding of sin and the forgiveness of sin.

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Now previously in Exodus, God had instructed them how to make the tabernacle and that was

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going to be the place where he would dwell and where he would meet with his people.

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Then last week we discussed how that through sacrifice he taught them how to draw near

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to him a holy God who could not mix with sin.

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They could only approach him in the right way and they began to understand through that

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way that the price for sin was blood.

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Now this week he establishes their priesthood with Aaron.

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So this is the transition that's taking place in the book of Leviticus from a people who

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really knew little to nothing about their God and how to approach him to a people who

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understood his holiness, where he was, how they would approach him, and who would lead

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them into righteousness.

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Now there's one little thing I want to point out that we've read in Leviticus, especially

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because next week begins Passover.

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So we read last week in Leviticus 2 that there was to be no leavened and no leavened bread

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on the altar.

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All year round the altar in the tabernacle was to be kosher for Pesach you could say,

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no leaven ever there.

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Now why would that be?

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I know that in Christian teaching we often liken leaven to sin and that it influences

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and can take over and nothing wrong with that analogy.

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The apostle Paul talks about the leaven to be aware of the leaven that will influence

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the whole loaf of bread.

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But I was recently listening to a rabbinic interpretation of Leviticus and they brought

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out that leaven was actually an innovation of Egypt.

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They invented leavening or what we would call the starter with which you leaven your bread.

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So the leaven was seen as something from Egypt.

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We're trying to get Egypt out of the people.

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So leavening bread takes time and we should not have to wait before we approach the altar

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of the Lord.

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So therefore, unleavened bread was called for in the sacrifice.

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So interesting little point.

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Now Matzah the unleavened bread that we read about in Exodus when they were getting ready

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to leave Egypt, God told them not to leaven their bread.

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And so Matzah is seen as you could say not finished bread.

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It's bread but it hasn't come to its completion with the leavening.

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You could say it's a bread of humility.

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It's a simple bread.

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And it is bread that can see you through life's crises.

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But leavened bread has been leavened over time and has come to its completion.

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It's an interesting concept.

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Therefore in the tabernacle when they gave the thanksgiving offering, they were able

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to use leavened bread not on the altar but they were able to bring it into the tabernacle.

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And that's because you're giving thanks to God for a blessing, something that has been

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fulfilled and therefore it's appropriate to use leavened bread which is bread that's

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been brought to its completion.

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Interesting isn't it?

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Another little point about the thanksgiving offering is that the meat afterwards was to

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be consumed that night meaning you were not to eat alone.

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You were to eat with the priests and probably with family, maybe others.

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It says anyone that was clean could eat.

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So the thanksgiving was a celebration and it was to be done with others.

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So many little details like this that we read over in Leviticus because it is tedious to

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read.

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But with that little thought I want you to have a wonderful Shabbat break this weekend

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and give thanks to the Lord for the blessings that he has completed in your life.

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And have a little bread.

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Shabbat Shalom.