Leviticus Chapter 5

LEVITICUS 

CHAPTER 

5

1. When any of you sin in that you have heard a public adjuration to testify and-through able to testify as one has seen or learned of the matter-do not speak up, you are subject to punishment.

(Leviticus chapter 5 verse 1)

Oh God You are indeed true and just. You want us to support the truth and live by it. In the New Testament You told us may your 'Yes' be a 'Yes' and your 'No be a No', that means that we are to testify in favour of the truth, especially when in a situation where we have witnessed a situation and are fully convinced of the truth of what has happened was planned or been said, as in giving testimony in Court. 

If we hold back on the truth or remain silent this is a sin for which we are to face the consequences both by means of worldly justice such as court and other, systems such as work tribunals or other circumstances or even in the defence of those who are so vulnerable maybe in character that they have nobody to speak in their favour we are held responsible before You for holding our silence and not testifying for the truth.

This verse oh God reminds me of the circumstances when my father chose to annul his marriage with my mother. He shared with me that his intention was to affirm and persuade the Church Tribunal that he did not know what he was doing at the time of consent. In fact the tribunal was convinced and declared that he lacked discretion at the time of consent. 

Although I was a primary witness of such deceit I could not do nothing about this situation and testify for the truth because on being his son, I was not allowed to testify. However oh God when I go to get the certificate of the last judgement of the tribunal I am going to give my version to the Chancellor and then it will be her responsibility to decide on the situation. I will be cleared of all responsibility regarding this issue. I thank You God for giving me this insight during this moment of prayer.


2. Or when any of you touch any unclean thing-whether the carcass of unclean livestock or the carcass of an unclean swarming thing-and are unaware of it, you have become unclean, and are guilty.

(Leviticus chapter 5 verse 2)


Oh God how great is Your mercy. As humans we are sinners and are totally worthy of punishments according to our sins. As humans we praise and condemn each other according to the norms of society that at times are rigid and biased, however Your criteria is far different from that of the world, and that makes You special my God. Had it not been for Your forgiveness and love, I would be a desperate person, had it not been for mercy. The good person sins seven times each day, let alone me who still has not control over myself and am so prone to sin.


3. Or when you touch human uncleanness-any uncleanness by which one can become unclean-and are unaware of it, when you come to know it, you shall be guilty.

(Leviticus chapter 5 verse 3)


Oh God what an alienated world we have come to live in. We can be easily alienated by our sins and not be aware of them. A particular sin may become part of our lifestyle and we may accept it as being inevitable and a need to our way of life. If we start saying untruths or being involved in masturbation with the created intention of relieving stress, this act will become a pleasure to us and we may become contaminated by it, but in practise we may accept this practise as an essential means to satisfy our sinful ends.


4. Or when any of you utter aloud a rash oath for a bad or a good purpose, whatever people utter in an oath, and are unaware of it, when you come to know it, you shall in any of these be guilty. 5. When you realize your guilt in any of these, you shall confess the sin that you have committed.

(Leviticus chapter 5 verses 4 to 5)


As in the New Testament oh God, You are completely against oaths. As in the case of taking an oath in court which may serve as a good purpose it seems that we are not to take them. Our sins become more harsher when we become more aware of them and their consequences, however oh God You love us so much that You give us the opportunity of repenting from our sins by confessing them. You do not want us to remain in sin and therefore you make me aware of them by means of my inner conscience so that I can go and confess my sins and obtain Your forgiveness.


6. And you shall bring to the LORD, as your penalty for the sin that you have committed, a female from the flock, a sheep or a goat as a sin offering; and the priest shall make atonement on your behalf for your sin.

(Leviticus chapter 5 verse 6)


Oh God it would be so nice if after we go to confession and confess our sins we would make a donation to a person who is in need or to a charitable organisation as a penance for our sins. During this time of prayer this insight came to me. When I used to sell plants in a garden centre there once came a client who told me that every time he had conflict with his wife he would come and buy her a plant. On reflecting it is almost the same as making a donation in reparation for the negative act that he had committed. It may sound weird, but on thinking I think that it makes sense even on a spiritual level.


7. But if you cannot afford a sheep, you shall bring to the LORD, as your penalty for the sin that you have committed, two turtledoves or two pigeons, one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering.

(Leviticus chapter 5 verse 7)


Oh God You offer the opportunity of repentance for all. Although it is priceless in value, You did not attach a price to it. You made it available for even those who could not to offer a costly sacrificial animal. During our times the sacrament of confession is also available to all who desire it, to all who admit that they are sinners and are in need of repentance.



8. You shall bring them to the priest, who shall offer first the one for the sin offering, wringing its head at the nape without severing it.

(Leviticus chapter 5 verse 8)


The priest is portrayed as offering the dove without dividing it. In this way the offering remained as one whole. Oh God You also accept us as one whole. Moreover You do not simply focus on our sins, but take into consideration our human nature from a holistic perspective. Although You are just, You are also caring, and compassionate and sensitive to all the events that have happened in our lives. You are aware of the pathways of our lives and all the sacrifices that we have experienced up to the point of becoming who and what we are as humans, sinners and also as your sons and daughters.


9.  He shall sprinkle some of the blood of the sin offering on the side of the altar, while the rest of the blood shall be drained out at the base of the altar; it is a sin offering.

(Leviticus chapter 5 verse 9)


During confession the priest will listen to the proclamation of our sins and then with the authority given to him by God will present them to God as in the sin offering and God will turn our sins into smoke of forgiveness. As also in the case of the offering, God is able to drain us of our old life and inject us with a new life, a sort of blood transfusion containing a new life based according to His will. Oh God You are able to change our lives from that of sinners to that of saints.


10. And the second he shall offer for a burnt offering according to the regulation. Thus the priest shall make atonement on your behalf for the sin that you have committed, and you shall be forgiven.

(Leviticus chapter 5 verse 10)


Verse 10 shows us the two fold nature of our sin. This means that when we sin, we not only commit a negative act against You oh God but even against the person involved, therefore in atonement we are to atone to compensate on both levels, meaning the human and the divine. Therefore it is not enough to settle the issue only with the person concerned, because in the process we have also sinned against God.


11. But if you cannot afford two turtle doves or two pigeons, you shall bring as your offering for the sin that you have committed one -tenth of an ephah of choice flour for a sin offering; you shall not put oil on it, for it is a sin offering.

(Leviticus chapter 5 verse 11)


Oh God how generous You are! In order to make sure that we repent from our sins, You go out of Your way and make a special concession by making a rule that covers even those whose means are limited. I thank You oh God for making such a concession, and even more for making the extra special concession on my behalf when out of love for me and the world, You decided to be offered as a sacrificial offering to compensate both for my sins and even that of the world.


12. You shall bring it to the priest, and the priest shall scoop up a handful of it as its memorial portion, and turn this into smoke on the altar, with the offerings by fire to the LORD; it is a sin offering. 13. Thus the priest shall make atonement on your behalf for whichever of these sins you have committed, and you shall be forgiven. Like the grain offering, the rest shall be for the priest.

(Leviticus chapter 5 verses 12 to 13)


Whether our sin is great or small oh God we are to repent and confess our sins. Although You are ready to forgive us, as sinners we are to play our role in going to confession and in humility declare our sins before the priest, and not before the image of the cross or statue of Jesus. The priest is ordained to absolve our sins. He is that important link between humanity and You oh God as he was in the old Testament the priest is also instrumental during our times. According to statistics if we had to offer sacrifices of which part is given to the priest, the modern priest would die of starvation, because many of us are going to receive you in the sacrament of the Eucharist, but only a minority are confessing their sins. Therefore as much as we care for the body we are also to care for the soul, for on dying it is the soul that remains immortal and not the body.


14. The LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 15. When any of you commit a trespass and sin unintentionally in any of the holy things of the LORD, you shall bring, as your guilt offering to the LORD, a ram without blemish from the flock, convertible into silver by the sanctuary shekel; it is a guilt offering. 16. And you shall make restitution for the holy thing in which you were remiss, and shall add one-fifth to it and give it to the priest. The priest shall make atonement on your behalf with the ram of the guilt offering, and you shall be forgiven.


(Leviticus chapter 5 verses 14 to 16)


Oh God You wish us to be totally pure, Your wish is that we are completely clean from the symptoms of sin that includes guilt for our sins. May we be convinced oh God that when we receive absolution from the priest we are also being forgiven by You. There were moments in my life oh God, when I fond it acceptable to forgive others, however when it came to forgive myself I encountered many problems. One of my greatest issue is that concerning the separation and annulment of my parents marriage. As a graduate social worker I studied the law in relation to separation. At the time of my final exams I felt panicked and needed to study more than ever. This panic reached its apex and I decided to leave my wife for a whole month because I saw her as interference to my study time. I accept the fact that she was and still is demanding, however I blew my top and filed for a separation. Up to this point my father had never experienced the concept of separation, however although I made up with my wife after the exams, by my action without my knowing I had empowered my father not only to leave my mother but also to apply for separation and even annul the marriage. I am aware that eventually it would have happened, however I feel guilty that had it not been for my intervention he might not have made the fatal decision. I pray to You oh God for your forgiveness of both the sin and its consequences.


17. If any of you sin without knowing it, doing any of the things that by the LORD's commandments ought not to be done, you have incurred guilt, and are subject to punishment. 18. You shall bring to the priest a ram without blemish from the flock or the equivalent, as a guilt, and the priest shall make atonement on your behalf for the error that you committed unintentionally, and you shall be forgiven. 19. It is a guilt offering: you have incurred guilt before the LORD.

(Leviticus chapter 5 verses 17 to 19)


Whenever we sin oh God, even unintentionally our brain does not leave the issue aside. Before even thinking whether we have sinned against You or not our conscience makes us aware of our sin and we immediately experience the negative consequences, which could happen as a result of our negative actions and we start feeling guilty. Freud called this situation as coming from the Superego. However oh God as your son, I feel it more because I have sinned against both You and my fellow persons on incurring guilt. On reflecting how much You love me, I cannot fail to experience sadness and a strong urge to obtain Your forgiveness, for You are the only person in the world, who really loves me and accepts me as I am even as a sinner.

In order to end this chapter instead of a written prayer I invite you to click on the following link and join me in the following prayer:-


A prayer of contrition

  

Leviticus Chapter 4

LEVITICUS

 CHAPTER

 4

1. The LORD to Moses saying, 2. Speak to the people of Israel, saying; When anyone sins unintentionally in any of the LORD's commandments about things not to be done, and does any one of them; 

(Leviticus chapter 4 verses 1 to 2)

Oh God in Your great wisdom You refer to the heart of the problem. As sinners we are always prone to sin, however what makes the difference is our intention. When evaluating ourselves and our actions which is something very healthy to do, I question my intentions both before and after I do this or that. Will my action be of harm to anybody? If yes I think again. At times I find myself focusing on myself instead of taking into consideration the well being of others and this is a big mistake. At times our intentions may appear to be valid, however if they bring us in conflict with others there is something not right and so we need to re evaluate our intentions and decisions.

3. If it is the anointed priest who sins, thus bringing guilt on the people, he shall offer for the sin that he has committed a bull of the herd without blemish as a sin offering to the LORD.

(Leviticus chapter 4 verse 3)


Some of us may think oh God that your priests are either excluded from sin, or that their sins are disregarded as if they were never committed. However this is not so! You are just and merciful in all your ordinances. The greater the sin, the greater the offering to be offered to You God. The greater the role of the offender the greater the offering. Another aspect of the sins of the priest as is the case of sinners is that any sin has an effect on the community thus bringing guilt on them, therefore the people would increase in their sins by talking negatively about the acts of the priest thus the effect would be like the ripples of a wave bringing more harm than good.


4. He shall bring the bull to the entrance of the tent of meeting before the LORD and lay his hand on the head of the bull; the bull shall be slaughtered before the LORD.

(Leviticus chapter 4 verse 4)


As previously mentioned the sins of the priest will be transferred on to the bull which will be offered as a sacrificial animal. Thus is shown the our great need of confessing our sins to You oh God, whatever our status, even if we are priests, we still remain sinners and need to atone for our misgivings and the consequences of our sins on the community. This shows that our sins effect both ourselves and the community at large. At this moment oh God in the name of many of Your priests I ask for their forgiveness in relation to many cases of abuse that are taking place in the world. Please forgive them oh God, for although they are consecrated people, they are still humans with their human positive and negative aspects. I also forgive the priest who almost abused me, had it not been for illumination from You to end the circle that had just begun. Thank You for having saved me from such a sinful act just in time.


5.The anointed priest shall take some of the blood of the bull and bring it into the tent of the meeting. 6. The priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle some of the blood seven times before the LORD in front of the curtain of the sanctuary.

(Leviticus chapter 4 verses 5 to 6)


As in the New Testament where even  the 'good' sinner is said to sin 7 times in a day, the 'good priest' sprinkles the blood of the bull seven times in front of the tabernacle. Although the number 7 may be symbolical we thank You oh God that You are always ready to forgive our sins even, if we are not the good person or the good priest. May I always oh God feel sorrow and the need to atone in forgiveness for my sins and their consequences on others.


7. The priest shall put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense that is in the tent of meeting before the LORD; and the rest of the blood of the bull he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering, which is at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 8. He shall remove all the fat from the bull of sin offering: the fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is around the entrails; 9. the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins; and the appendage of the liver, which he shall remove with the kidneys, 10 just as these are removed from the ox of the sacrifice of well-being. The priest shall turn them into smoke upon the altar of burnt offering.

(Leviticus chapter 4 verses 7 to 10)


The fat in the bull can be compared to the presence of sin in us oh God. As an offering the bull had all its fat, blood and internal organs removed from it. Likewise sin has a negative effect on both our body and our soul and likewise we need to repent even for the damage that we inflict on our bodies or that of others as in murder or even over eating. The blood in the bull meant its life, therefore even in our case when we go to confess our sins in the presence of the priest, by means of the sacrament God gives new life to us, a sort of 'blood transfusion' that refreshes both our bodies and our soul making us new persons.


11. But the skin of the bull and all its flesh as well as its head, its legs, its entrails, and its dung-12 all the rest of the bull-he shall carry out to a clean place outside the camp, to the ash heap, and shall burn it on a wood fire; at the ash heap it shall be burned.

(Leviticus chapter 4 verses 11 to 12)


On reflecting on verses 11 to 12, there are parts of the sacrifice that are not worthy to be presented before You oh God. However You accept us as we are as one whole offering. You are understanding and sympathetic to us and our sins, however You can never accept our sins as being just and acceptable. You forgive the sinner but not the sin. Therefore on dying we are to spend time in purgatory where we are refined from our sins, so that then after we have been purified from our sins outside the 'camp' we will be worthy to appear in Your presence and make an eternal experience of Your presence in our heavenly home unless we have chosen to live a negative life, that is a complete rejection of You and Your will.


13. If the whole congregation of Israel errs unintentionally and the matter escapes the notice of the assembly, and they do any one of the things that by the LORD's commandments ought not to be done and incur guilt; 14. when the sin that they have committed becomes known, the assembly shall offer a bull of the herd for a sin offering and bring it before the tent of meeting.

(Leviticus chapter 4 verses 13 to 14)


On reflecting nobody is excused from sin and its consequences, especially if this violates any of the ten commandments given to us by God. There is always the need for the atonement of our sins via the sacrament of reconciliation even if our sins were not done with a bad intention. At times oh God we may try to put in a word with a good intention or seemingly good intention according to our logic, and in the process more harm than good comes out as a result of our intervention. The intention would have been positive but the consequences may have ended up on a negative note and others may have become hurt as a consequence. Therefore in such consequences we still would need to make a confession of our sins.


15. The elders of the congregation shall lay their hands on the head of the bull before the LORD, and the bull shall be slaughtered before the LORD.

(Leviticus chapter 4 verse 15)


As in the case of our priests they are our representatives before God. When absolving us of our sins they lay their hands on us not, to place the guilt and blame on our heads but to impart on us, the love and forgiveness of God and reunite us back into our loving relationship with You.


16. The anointed priest shall bring some of the blood of the bull into the tent of meeting, 17. and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it seven times before the LORD, in front of the curtain. 18. He shall put some of the blood on the horns of the altar that is before the LORD in the tent of the meeting; and the rest of the blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering that is at the entrance of the tent of meeting.

(Leviticus chapter 4 verses 16 to 18)


As previously mentioned the priest sprinkles the blood both for his atonement and even for that of the people. The priest also puts blood on the horns of the altar where the sacrificial offerings were tied. Instead of shedding our blood oh God You shed your blood on our behalf every drop of your blood for us. You who was without sin took on yourself all the sins that had been done, that were done and those that were to be done in the future till the end of time, meaning even your and mine.


19. He shall remove all its fat and turn it into smoke on the altar. 20. He shall do with the bull just as is done with the bull of sin offering; he shall do the same with this. The priest shall make atonement for them and they shall be forgiven. He shall carry the bull outside the camp, and burn it as he burned the first bull; it is the sin offering for the assembly.

(Leviticus chapter 4 verses 19 to 20)


As in the case of the atonement of other sins as long as the sin has been done without a bad intention as in the case of vindication or personal vendetta, the priest is able to bring the sins of the sinner before God during the administration of the sacrament of reconciliation where our sins are offered as burn offering and God turns them into smoke or nothing in a spirit of forgiveness.


21. He shall carry the bull outside the camp, and burn it as he burned the first bull: it is the sin offering for the assembly.

(Leviticus chapter 4 verse 21)


Due to the fact that the bull was a sin offering none of the bull was consumed. It was given as a whole offering to God. On the contrary You oh God were given as an offering for our sins, however as an ordinance You left us your body to consume so that we can live by You. However on being resurrected that body which incurred the pain and torture in the passion for our sins which was also taken out of the camp (City) You gave it back to us in a glorified state on having been resurrected. I thank You God for being the sacrifice of sacrifices for my sake and for accepting to be crucified for my sake.


22. When a ruler sins, doing unintentionally any one of all the things that by commandments of the LORD his God ought not to be done and incurs guilt, 23. once the sin that he has committed is made known to him, he shall bring as his offering a male goat without blemish.

(Leviticus chapter 4 verses 22 to 23)


Oh God You are so wise and considerate. Even before Your people were actually ruled by a king You issued the commandment that even the ruler was subject to offer a sacrifice of atonement, thus such people were not excluded from either sinning or compensating for their sins. Moreover this also means that even wise and powerful people such as rulers are subject to sin and therefore we are to offer prayers for them so that God will give them wisdom and insights so that in God's name they manage their people with faith, love, care, justice as based on the Word of God.


On the other hand we are also to pray for those innocent people who are the victim of abuse of authority at the mercy of the decisions of rulers who do not judge according to Your will and subject others to pain harm and anguish that they do not deserve. I invite you to click on the following link and join me in the following prayer for rulers of all nations;-

Prayer for global rulers


24. He shall lay his hand on the head of the goat; it shall be slaughtered at the spot where the burnt offering is slaughtered before the LORD; it is a sin offering.

(Leviticus chapter 4 verse 24)


As in the case of the laity the ruler was subject to the same procedure in ritual offering. This verse gives a hint to the spiritual law versus that of the sate, that are portrayed as both being equally subject to You oh God and not being supreme over the other.


25. The priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and pour out the rest of its blood at the base of the altar of burnt offering.

(Leviticus chapter 4 verse 25)


As in the case of the sins committed by the laity the priest take a sample of the sacrificial offering submitted by the ruler and places it on the horns of the altar in atonement of the ruler and pour the rest of the blood at the base of the altar.

In order to refresh our memories in relation to the structure of this altar please click on the following link:-

The brazen altar


26. All its fat he shall turn into smoke on the altar, like the fat of the sacrifice of well-being. Thus the priest shall make atonement on his behalf for his sin and he shall be forgiven.

(Leviticus chapter 4 verse 26)


Therefore as previously mentioned even in our lives the priest or monk plays a very important role in our life. He is the medium that is powerful enough to obtain our forgiveness from You oh God by acting as a mediator between humanity and yourself. Moreover as found in the New Testament You have given the priest the authority to forgive sins and even to abstain from forgiving them.  


27. If anyone of the ordinary people among you sins unintentionally in doing any one of the things that by the LORD's commandments ought not to be done and incurs guilt, 28. when the sin that you have committed is made known to you, you shall bring a female goat without blemish as your offering, for the sin that you have committed.

(Leviticus chapter 4 verses 27 to 28)


Oh God You are so considerate in Your judgement. In the case of those who are great in resources you asked for a costly creature as a mean of reparation however, from those who were not so rich, You declared that the offering would not be as such. However neither the haves or the have nots are spared from making the offering to obtain the atonement of their sins. The most important thing in these verses is that You always make us aware of our sins, either directly or by means of others making part of our inner or outer circles. Thanks for not letting us sink in our sins, but making us aware of our sins in order to confess them and be reunited with You, the sacrificial offering of all offerings.



29. You shall lay your hand on the head of the sin offering; and the sin offering shall be slaughtered at the place of the burnt offering. 30. The priest shall take some of its blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and he shall pour out the rest of its blood at the base of the altar. 31. He shall remove all its fat, as the fat removed from the offering of well-being, and the priest shall turn it into smoke on the altar for a pleasing odor to the LORD. Thus the priest shall make atonement on your behalf, and you shall be forgiven.

(Leviticus chapter 4 verses 29 to 31)

 In light of the three level of sin that we have been referring to, meaning the sin offering in relation to those sins by the Priest, the laity and the ruler, the Parshat Vajika a Hebrew teacher has the following insights to share with thus showing us the meaning and relationship between the mentioned levels or degrees of sin. I therefore invite you to click on the following link;-

The interpretation

On having listened to the previous interpretation I invite you to keep the mentioned concepts, meaning the sin offered by the priest, the laity and the ruler and compare them to the three levels of consciousness as referred to by Sigmund Freud meaning the Id, the Ego and the Super Ego.


Freud Id Ego and Superego


The further up we go in our level of awareness of our sin as in the level of the laity to that of the priest or vice versa, the more aware of our sin we become until we come to the supreme level of the ruler, where our superego exercise judgement as in the case of the ruler and starts criticising the lower levels of conscious meaning the Id and the Ego and thus creating a state of sin and disharmony for which we must atone from our most inferior level of conscious, which is the selfish state of the Id, to the more realistic that is the Ego and up to the most critical of all stages that is the harsh ruler meaning the Super Ego, the ruler which makes us feel so guilty that we are motivated under the guidance of the Holy Spirit of God towards repentance.


32. If the offering you bring as a sin offering is a sheep, you shall bring a female without blemish. 33. You shall lay your hand on the head of the sin offering; and it shall be slaughtered as a sin offering at the spot where the burnt offering is slaughtered. 34. The priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and pour out the rest of its blood at the base of the altar. 35. You shall remove all its fat, as the fat of the sheep is removed from the sacrifice of well-being, and the priest shall turn it into smoke on the altar, with the offerings by fire to the LORD. Thus the priest shall make atonement on your behalf for the sin that you have committed, and you shall be forgiven.

(Leviticus chapter 4 verses 32 to 35)


In light of verses 32 to 35 which bring us to the end of chapter 4 of the book of Leviticus I wish to end this chapter with the following prayer;-


I pray oh God for forgiveness on all the levels of my being. I confess and plead forgiveness when I have sinned in my inner thoughts, enacted to those by means of my intentions and implemented my intentions by means of my actions both intentionally and even unintentionally. I ask for Your forgiveness for I am a sinner of sinners. I do my best to be aware of myself and my sins, but as a human sinner at times my inner drives get the better of me and I become angry and lose control over my self. I pray oh God that during such moments You anoint me with the power and grace of Your Holy Spirit that I may focus my gaze on You my crucified Saviour and remember what pain You endured for my salvation and thus seek repentance by means of the sacrament or reconciliation whilst always thanking You for the opportunity to turn back and be accepted by You my loving father who condemns my sins but loves me even though I am still by nature a sinner.Thanks for accepting me as I am and for giving me the faith and courage to admit my weakness and seek repentance for my sins. Amen.


I would like to end this chapter by offering a prayer for the victims of the earthquake related to the tremors that place on Mount Everest and other regions. I also offer a prayer for all those Christians who are literally being sacrificed for what they believe. Many Christians are being beheaded and even thrown of boats to drown in open sea because they have not accepted to adore other gods. I pray oh God that you accept their bodies and their souls as an offering before You that supersedes all burn offerings of all the Old Testament. may we follow in their example and remain believers up to the last moment of our lives, especially if we are to testify with our lives as those victims did that we are indeed Christians. 

Thank You God  

The Book of Leviticus Chapter 3

The Book of Leviticus 

Chapter

3

1. If the offering is a sacrifice of well-being, if you offer an animal of the herd; whether male or female, you shall offer one without blemish before the LORD.

(Leviticus chapter 3 verse 1)

As in the case of other offerings God is worthy of nothing but the best. God is to be the top most priority in our lives especially when considering that he has done so much for us. He is our loving father. It is never to late to make an experience of You my God and experience Your love for us.


2. You shall lay your hand on the head of the offering and slaughter it at the entrance of the tent of the meeting; and Aaron's Sons the priests shall dash the blood against all sides of the altar.

(Leviticus chapter 3 verse 2)


According to verse 2 the person making the offering was to lay hands on the offering to be offered, thus the sins of the person who is offering the animal will be transferred on to that animal, who will be slaughtered instead of the recipient.


3. You shall offer from the sacrifice of well-being, as an offering by fire to the LORD, the fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is around the entrails; 4. the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the appendage of the liver, which he shall remove with the kidneys.

(Leviticus chapter 3 verses 3 to 4)


As in the case of the creature to be offered the fat may symbolize our sin that is also offered in the sacrifice. We are a living sacrifice with all that makes us humans. Our human self and physical self can be an object that causes sin and therefore needs to be as offered as whole as in the sacrament of the Eucharist where the sacrifice is offered in order to atone for both our sins and that of the priest making the offering on his and our behalf.


5. Then Aaron's sons shall turn these into smoke on the altar, with the burnt offering that is on the wood on the fire, as an offering by fire of pleasing odor to the LORD.

(Leviticus chapter 3 verse 5)


The priest is the link between us and You oh God. By means of your priests sacrificial offerings during mass in the form of the bread of the Eucharist and the wine in the chalice are offered to You which in turn You transform in substance into Your body and blood. However our prayers also appear before You like the pleasant odor of the burnt offering not one of our prayers is lost in the sense that it does not appear before Your Holy presence.


6. If your offering for a sacrifice of well-being to the LORD is from the flock, male or female, you shall offer one without blemish.

(Leviticus chapter 3 verse 6)


God makes no discrimination between men and women. Everybody is welcome in His presence. You love us all equally, and have space in Your heart for all of us


7. If you present a sheep as your offering, you shall bring it before the LORD 8. and lay your hand on the head of the offering. It shall be slaughtered before the tent of meeting, and Aaron's sons shall dash its blood against all sides of the altar.

(Leviticus chapter 3 verses 7 to 8)


As previously mentioned the laying of hands on the victim to be offered marks the transference of the sins of that who is offering the creature on to the creature itself. With reference to the blood oh God, your blood was shed on the sacrificial altar of the cross as in the example given of the creature with reference to verses 7 to 8 where it is said that the blood of the sacrifice was to be shed on all sides of the altar.


9..You shall present its fat from the sacrifice of well-being, as an offering by fire to the LORD; the whole broad tail, which shall be removed close to the backbone, the fat that covers the entrails, and all the fat that is around the entrails.

(Leviticus chapter 3 verse 9)


The fat mentioned in verse 9 can be compared to our sins. On the other hand we are the offering. As in the case of the offering we present ourselves as a whole offering sins and all and the priest lays his hands on us and forgives us of our sins by means of the sacrament of reconciliation.


10. the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the appendage of the liver, which you shall remove with the kidneys. 11. Then the priest shall turn these into smoke on the altar as a food offering by fire to the LORD.

(Leviticus chapter 3 verses 10 to 11)


When considering oh God that You know us as a whole, it is a fact that You know our strengths and also our weakness. However You still want us to offer You our lives as a whole, which in turn as our High Priest You disinfect our weaknesses and empowers our already positive traits and accept us as a whole offering when we appear before You at the time of our death.


12. If your offering is a goat, you shall bring it before the LORD, 13 and lay your hand on its head; it shall be slaughtered before the tent of meeting; and the sons of Aaron shall dash its blood against all sides of the altar. 14. You shall present as offering from it, as an offering by fire to the LORD, the fat that covers the entrails, and all the fat that is around the entrails; 15. the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the appendage of the liver, which you shall remove with the kidneys. 16. Then the priest shall turn these into smoke on the altar as a food offering by fire for a pleasing odor. All fat is the LORD's

(Leviticus chapter 3 verses 12 to 16)


According to Mr. Devain Pawar the author of this chapter we are all different, and therefore we are all different offerings to God. We are to thank God for all the positive traits that He has given us. He loves us even though we are composed of both positive and negative traits. God accepts us as one whole offering and does not focus only on our fat and disregards the pleasant taste of the rest of the offering.


17. It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations, in all your settlements; you must not eat any fat or any blood.

(Leviticus chapter 3 verse 17)

As much as God wanted these sacrifices to be offered on a permanent basis lasting forever, God wanted us to celebrate the sacrament of the Eucharist forever. In this sacrament the offering is the Son of God who was offered as an offering of offerings for the atonement of our sins.


While wishing all a happy Easter, the author of this chapter wishes to end this chapter with the following prayer.

Thank you God, for thinking not only about us but also about our future. Thank you God for giving us the Roman Catholic church were we can praise you and your name, receive your blessings by means of the holy sacraments and grow spiritually. 

Thank you God for everything.