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In
the past several weeks we have seen how after
Israel was saved from slavery in Egypt, and entered
into a covenant with God at Mount Sinai, and promised
to obey God’s laws, the Mishkan (Tabernacle) was
built.
The word
Mishkan comes from the Hebrew root Shachan, which
means “to dwell, to abide.” We get other Hebrew
words like neighbor and neighborhood from this
same root. You see, in spite of the Fall of man,
and our sinfulness, and the whole human race being
alienated from a holy God, He still wanted to
dwell among us, and be a close and good neighbor
to us! And, that’s the kind of God He still is;
but now He is dwelling among us, not in a tent,
or in a Temple made of wood and stones, but in
Messiah!
The Mishkan,
and later the Temple in Jerusalem which replaced
it, and the various items in it, no longer exist.
But they always were intended to point to and
be fulfilled in a greater way in the Messiah.
The Son of God is the Substance to which the Shadows
pointed, and remains. He is our Temple, where
God most fully dwells and manifests His presence
among human beings. And He enables us to become
the Temple of God! He is our Ark, the place where
God and man meet. He is like the Veil: He opens
the way to God for all mankind. He is like the
Table: He provides us with the Bread of Life,
and the Wine of Joy. He is our Golden Altar, making
our prayers rise up and ascend into the presence
of God, and be accepted by Him. He is our Golden
Menorah, who gives us blazing light, total victory
and the fullness of salvation, and the knowledge
of God. Messiah is like the Bronze Wash Basin
who cleanses us. He is our Bronze Altar, the place
where the various sacrifices were offered.
At the
Mishkan, and on the Bronze Altar, different types
of sacrifices were offered up. Last week’s parasha
and this week’s parasha describe them. We can’t
go into all the details, which are complicated,
but we can cover the basics of the sacrifices
and their significance.
In Hebrew,
"Korbanot" is usually translated as
"sacrifices" or "offerings."
The word korbanot comes from the root which means
"to draw near," and indicates the primary
purpose of these offerings: to draw us near to
a holy God from whom the whole world is estranged.
Drawing close to God comes through God appointed
sacrifices.
The second
aspect is that of sacrificial giving. A korban
requires the giving of something valuable: bulls,
sheep, goats, pigeons, grain. The rich were to
bring their bulls, the middle class were to offer
sheep and goats from their flocks, and the poor
could bring their offerings of birds or grain.
But the rich and middle class were not to present
offerings below their ability. They were not to
present pigeons. That would have been an affront
to God. We are to give God the best, not the least
that we can get by with. To have an attitude that
asks "what is the least I can give to God?"
reveals a heart that really hasn't come to know
and love the Lord.
All offerings
were to be without any defects of any kind. They
were to be conformed to God's holy character.
To offer an animal with defect demonstrated that
the person who would do such a thing despised
God and their heart was evil.
The sacrifices,
as we will see, point us to Messiah Yeshua, so
perfection was necessary in the type. Offering
an animal without defect was necessary to demonstrate
the perfect character and the perfect sacrifice
of the fulfillment - Messiah Yeshua, the Ultimate
Sacrifice. Imperfect animals could not portray
His sacrifice, which was perfect and without any
blemish. By obeying God's instructions the people
would ultimately learn of the beautiful connection
between the animal, and the fulfillment, Messiah
Yeshua.
Another
important concept are the principles of identification
and substitution. The idea is that the thing being
offered is a substitute for the person making
the offering, and the things that are done to
the offering are things that should have been
done to the person offering. Before the animal
was killed, the offerer laid his hands on the
head of the sacrifice. This ceremony depicted
identification. The offerer became identified
with the animal, and the animal became a substitute
for the offerer. Whatever happened to the animal
from this point forward should be seen as having
actually been experienced by the offerer. Substitution
is an important element in every sacrifice offered
to God.
The Olah The Burnt
Offering 1:1-17
Let’s
start with the burnt offering. The Hebrew word
for burnt offering is Olah, meaning ascension.
It is the same root as the word aliyah, which
is used to describe moving to Israel or ascending
to the podium to say a blessing over the Torah.
An Olah is completely burnt on the altar; no part
of it is eaten by anyone. Because the offering
represents complete submission to God's will,
the entire offering is given to God. An Olah could
be made from cattle, sheep, goats, or even birds,
depending on the offerer's means.
The Burnt
Offering represents dedication to God. Just as
the animal is entirely burnt up and consumed and
ascends heavenward, so the worshiper offered a
sacrifice declaring to God that his life was not
his own. Out of gratitude for being redeemed,
bought back, forgiven, atoned for, his desire
was to be completely consumed in the service of
God.
The burnt
offering finds its fulfillment in the life and
death of Messiah. In every action that He undertook,
with every word that He spoke, Yeshua was completely
dedicated to the will of God. He always did that
which pleased His Father. He never sinned. Then,
He gave His life as the final sacrifice for sin.
His willingness to lay down His life demonstrates
the kind of total dedication spoken of in the
burnt offering.
And we,
the sons and daughters of God, who have been redeemed,
have been bought with a very high price. Our lives
are no longer our own. Knowing this, we are to
present our lives as living and holy sacrifices,
dedicated to God and His service. Such an act
of total dedication in the believer's life is
his spiritual and reasonable service.
The Grain Offering
The Mincha 2:1-16
Mincha
refers to an offering from the produce of the
ground. The Mincha was made of fine wheat. Grain
in the ancient world was the staff of life. Many
of the calories you ate came from grain. 3,500
years ago a farmer first had to break up his ground.
Then he sowed the wheat seeds into the ground.
Then he waited on God to provide the rains at
the proper times. He weeded the soil, then he
harvested the crop. Then he separated the grain
from the chaff, then he milled the grain into
flour. Finally he went up to Jerusalem to the
Temple and offered his grain to the Lord. A representative
piece of the offering was burnt on the fire of
the altar, but the rest was eaten by the priests.
When
one offered his grain offering, he was offering
something that had been produced through diligence
and much hard labor. The Mincha was an acknowledgment
that our jobs, our skills, our strength, our energy,
our labors, all come from the Lord. It is He who
enables us to work and bring home our daily bread.
In offering
this fine flour, the offerer poured oil on it.
Oil moistened the flour so that it wouldn't blow
away. It helped the flour burn better. Oil also
has a symbolic meaning. It was used for anointing,
and it almost always symbolizes the presence of
God. God needs to be involved in our work.
Frankincense
was also put on the grain offering, and its aroma
permeated the air when it was burned. Frankincense
was symbolic of the prayers of God's people. The
addition of frankincense symbolized that God considered
our work like a prayer that was acceptable to
Him.
No grain
offering which would go up as smoke from the altar
could contain leaven. Leaven, a symbol of sin,
should never be placed on the altar. No honey,
which was also used in fermentation, and was associated
with leaven as a symbol of sin, was used.
Instead
of leaven or honey, all grain offerings were to
contain salt. If any leaven were somehow present,
the salt would arrest the leavening action. It
would therefore symbolize the nullification of
any presence of sin. The salt, which seasoned
the sacrifice, symbolized God's holiness, purity,
and the permanence of the principles of sacrifice
and covenant between the Lord and His people.
That's why many Jewish people to this day put
salt on their meat and bread when they eat.
The Mincha
pictured the perfection of Messiah's life and
work. No aspect of Messiah's nature - His love,
His holiness, His righteousness - was lacking.
He was perfect in every way. He took on the tough
jobs. In His ministry He took the difficult path
of hard labor and of unselfish service. He did
all His labors perfectly, in total dedication
to His Father. After completing everything, He
could say, “it is finished.” The great work that
God has given Me to do, has been done, and done
well!
God's
presence, as symbolized in the oil of the sacrifice,
was continually on Messiah Yeshua in His life
and ministry.
Messiah's
life was like frankincense, a pleasant aroma,
one continuous pleasing prayer to God. He had
constant unbroken communication with the Father.
Every word He spoke, He heard the Father speak.
Ever action He took was because He saw the Father
first do it. His entire life was one beautiful
prayer.
The absence
of leaven in the Mincha symbolizes Messiah's sinlessness.
He is the only man who never sinned. He is truth
embodied, righteousness personified.
We too
are to serve the Lord diligently and wholeheartedly.
Our labor for the Lord is holy, no matter where
we are, rabbi or mother or secretary; carpenter
or street cleaner. Every legitimate place of employment
is like an altar where a child of God can produce
work that is holy and blessed by God. All of us
are to serve the Lord all the time.
True
religion must happen every day of the week, in
the work-world, as well as on Shabbat. You are
not doing your duty if your work is not dedicated
to God - if you don't see your job as your ministry
that God has given to you. We must work hard on
the job, and be dedicated, and diligent and honest.
We must talk to our co-workers about the Kingdom
of God when possible, and let our lights shine
in the work place. Those who are dishonest in
their work, greedy in business, lazy on the job
are not fulfilling the meaning of the Mincha offering.
The Zebach Sh'lamim
The Peace Offering 3:1-17
The Hebrew
term for the peace offering is Zebach Sh'lamim
(or sometimes just sh'lamim), which is related
to the word shalom, meaning "peace"
or "whole" or “completeness”. A peace
offering is an offering thanking God for restoring
the worshiper to a state of wholeness with God,
for being at peace with God, for having fellowship
with God. All is well between this human being
and God!
A portion
of the offering is burnt on the altar, a portion
is given to the priests, and the rest is eaten
by the offerer and his family. Everyone gets a
part of this offering, and it is eaten and enjoy.
This category of offerings includes thanksgiving-offerings
(“Todah” in Hebrew), free will-offerings, and
offerings made after fulfillment of a vow.
The peace
offering is fulfilled in Messiah, who had perfect
peace with God. He was always in a right relationship
with His Father. Then, He died to bring us peace
with God, and restore us to a state of well-being
with the Almighty. Do you have that peace with
God, that sense that down deep, as is well between
you and God?
The Chatat The Sin
Offering 4:1-5:13
Chatah
means to sin, to miss the mark. The Chatat took
care of chata - sin. A Chatat could only be offered
for unintentional sins committed through carelessness,
not for intentional, malicious sins, like murder.
The size
of the offering varied according to the nature
of the sin and the financial means of the sinner.
Some sin offerings were for individuals and some
were for the whole community. A few special sin
offerings could not be eaten, but for the average
person's personal sin, the Chatat was eaten by
the priests.
The Chatat
offering was basic to all the other offerings.
It was the first sacrifice offered. First you
dealt with the thing that separated you from God
- sin, before you offered the burnt offering of
dedicating or the grain offering of sanctified
labor, followed by the peace offering of fellowship.
First, sin must be atoned for. Then comes dedication
and service to God, then genuine fellowship and
intimacy with God. You can truly serve God until
you have genuine atonement. You can’t have genuine
intimacy and fellowship and closeness to God until
your sins are atoned for, and you are serving
the Lord. Do you understand?
The discussion
of sin offering begins with these words: When
anyone sins unintentionally (4:2). The Chatat
offering that covers unintentional sins teaches
us that man's nature is sinful. The reason a man
commits evil is found in his nature. Because of
his fallen nature, man will err even with the
best of intentions. Deliberate or unintentional,
sin is still sin, and needs to be atoned for.
The sin
offering had the built in lesson of identification
and substitution. When the offerer laid his hands
upon the head of the animal, the animal took the
place of the offerer and became his sin. It became
the substitute. The animal took the offerer's
penalty of death, and its life was given in exchange
to the offerer. That is the exchange of life principle.
The offerer
had to kill the animal, but it was the priest's
responsibility to offer the blood. The blood was
sprinkled, not burned on the altar. Throughout
the Torah blood is the symbol of life. When he
handled the blood of the sacrifice, the priest
was symbolically handling the life of the offerer.
The blood of the substitute animal was symbolic
of the new life to be given to the Israeli if
he acted in faith to receive it.
For the
Israeli before the coming of Messiah Yeshua, the
Chatat gave the Jewish people a visual demonstration
of the exchange of life principle. If the Jewish
person appropriated this lesson by faith, and
really grasped this principle, he was redeemed,
he was saved, his sins were forgiven. The people
of Israel could know salvation and experience
atonement. The redeemed person would continue
to bring sacrifices for future sins, but it was
as one who knew God and knew what salvation meant.
There
was a remnant of Israelis who understood and appropriated
this principle, but the majority went through
the motions without catching the significance
of the relation of the sacrifice to their own
sin. In a similar way, many today neither grasp
nor desire salvation through the death of another
Chatat - Messiah Yeshua.
The sin
offering preceded any of the other offerings.
It was made before the burnt offering of dedication,
before the peace offerings of fellowship with
God. There must be forgiveness by God, there must
be atonement by sacrifice before there is dedication
or fellowship with God.
What
the Lord wanted the Jewish people to learn in
the Chatat and the exchange of life principle
has not changed. It has been enlarged. The object
in this exchange is now the Lord Himself. Messiah
Yeshua's main purpose for coming to planet Earth
was to die as the final Chatat. When a person
asks Messiah Yeshua into his or her life, what
they are doing is symbolically laying their hands
on the head of Yeshua. The person confessed his
sins and the Son of God takes away the sinful
life of the person. Then He gives the person His
life, making the exchange of life complete.
But His
life isn't like the life of anyone else. Because
of who He is, His life has an unmatched quality.
It is eternal, and so Believers receive a gift
that never ends! After leaving life in this world
they will continue to live forever and ever, as
Messiah Yeshua does. Messiah's life is one of
power and victory. In this life there is unmatched
power that enables us to live triumphantly and
victoriously. This power is available to all who
receive His life in the exchange of life principle.
If you
have never done this, make Him your Chatat. You
need to identify with Him. Let Him take your sins,
and be your Substitute, and give you His eternal,
victorious life!
If you
need to keep laying your hands on the head of
Messiah by confessing your sins to God, and thanking
God for the sacrifice of the Messiah. Then the
Lord will wipe away every sin you have committed.
The Asham The Guilt
Offering 5:14-6:7
Very
similar to the Sin Offering was the Asham, the
Guilt Offering. Asham come from the root meaning
to fail in one’s duty, to be negligent, to become
guilty. A guilt offering is an offering to atone
for sins against the Lord’s holy things, like
neglecting to pay the tithe, or failing to redeem
the first-born son, or sins involving breach of
trust against man, like fraud or theft.
In Isaiah
53, Yeshua is specifically said to be an Asham
- an offering to atone for sin against the Lord’s
holy things. He was guiltless in His relationship
to God, and faultless in His relationship to human
beings. Then, He died so that we can be forgiven
for failing in our duties to God and man. None
of us has fulfilled our religious responsibilities
toward God, and none of us have met all of our
obligations to our fellow human beings, but Messiah’s
sacrifice covers them all!
Now,
His life and His Spirit residing is us is at work
in us, encouraging us to love God with all our
heart and soul and strength, and to love our neighbor
as we love ourselves. Do you?
At the
heart of the Good News is that Yeshua died to
atone for our sins. This sounds strange to the
ears of many people, particularly our Jewish people,
today. You see, two thousand years ago the Temple
was destroyed, and the sacrifices ceased, and
over the centuries we stopped understanding their
importance and their significance. The New Testament
would make much more sense if more people understood
the korbanot - the sacrifices!
There
is a prophecy in Hosea chapter 3, that the sons
of Israel will remain for many days without king
or prince, without sacrifice or ephod (part of
the special clothing of the High Priest). My friends,
for many days we have been without a king in Israel,
and without the sacrifices and without the work
of the priests. That leaves us without the exchange
of life, and without genuine atonement.
Thank
God that we do have Messiah Yeshua, who we know
is Israel’s King and Priest, and who fulfills
all the sacrifices! But only a remnant within
Israel and among the nations know Him. Do you
know Him? Do you have Him? Blessed are you if
you do!
The prophecy
in Hosea concludes with these encourage words
for Israel: Afterward, the sons of Israel will
return and seek the Lord their God, and David
their king: (probably referring to Yeshua, the
Heir of David); and they will come trembling to
the Lord and to His goodness in the Ah-chah-reet
HaYa-meem - the Last Days!
I’m indebted
to Dr. Louis Goldberg for much of this message,
and also Tracey R Rich for part of this message.
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