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Our parasha for this Shabbat Gadol is entitled Acharei Mot, meaning “after the death,” referring to the demise of Aaron’s sons Nadav and Avihu who entered the Holy Place with unauthorized offerings and were struck down by God. It spans Leviticus chapters 16 through 18. The subject matter of chapter 16 is Yom Kippur – the Day of Atonement, the most solemn and significant day of the year in Israel’s calendar. Only on this one day each year was the High Priest permitted to enter the Most Holy Place to make atonement for the sins of the nation. The manner and number of sacrifices was very specific, and the ritual preparations the High Priest had to make before daring to enter the Most Holy Place were considerable. Two goats were chosen by lot. According to rabbinical tradition they were to be as nearly identical as possible – to be understood as two aspects of one and the same Yom Kippur sacrifice. One of the goats was sacrificed there at the Temple by the High Priest. The other goat was called the Azazel (scapegoat, or “the one to be sent away”). The High Priest would lay his hands on the head of the Azazel and confess over it all the sins of the people of Israel. The goat was then to be led away into the wilderness by a man who stood ready for that assignment.
The imagery is stirring – the symbolic transference of our collective sin onto an innocent animal, resulting in its death, its innocence meanwhile simultaneously transferred to us, resulting in our continued life. Bearing our guilt, the innocent one goes away – far away to its death. The Psalmist wrote of this idea: “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His loving-kindness toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12). Yom Kippur illustrates the infinite separation between a holy God and sinful human beings, and so clearly demonstrates why Messiah Yeshua, the Innocent One, the Sinless One, had to die in our place.
Seven hundred years before the event took place, the prophet Isaiah wrote, “All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him. (Isaiah 53:5). Yeshua’s act of taking the penalty for our sin satisfied both the demand of God’s infinite justice, and yet at the same time demonstrated His infinite mercy towards us. Aren’t you glad we don’t get what we deserve?
Chapter 17 contains the strongest of prohibitions against eating blood or offering it in any manner other than within God’s guidelines – this under penalty of death! The principle is that blood is sacred. It is life! And the redemption price for a life is a life – a blood sacrifice, but only in God-approved ways. The life principle is also why eating blood was forbidden – something commanded as far back as Noah’s emerging from the ark after the flood. It was forbidden then and is still today. Acts chapter 15 places only four demands upon Gentile followers of Yeshua, but this prohibition is one of them.
Unbelievers and nominal Christians who don’t know the Scriptures become very uncomfortable with so much emphasis on blood in the Bible. I confess, even as a believer (albeit a new believer) I was aghast the first time I heard the words sung, “There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Immanuel’s veins…” I didn’t yet understand the purposes for God’s Levitical laws and the necessity of blood for atonement, nor could I have appreciated just how important Messiah’s blood was. But in the years to follow, I studied and learned and God gave me understanding.
Chapter 17, verse 11 says, “for the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood by reason of the life, that makes atonement”. Notice there is nothing here about prayers and repentance and tz’dakah (good deeds) making atonement, though this is the argument of the rabbis ever since the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD. We should not think we are at liberty to re-define God’s Word to suit our circumstances. And let me hasten to add that though we presently have no earthly Temple, it does not mean we have no atonement; for final and everlasting atonement was made on our behalf when Messiah Yeshua laid down His life on that Passover two thousand years ago. He died as the Lamb of God to accomplish forgiveness, reconciliation with God and eternal life. Yes, He died as a Lamb, but when He returns, He is coming as a Lion, and at that point it will be too late to choose sides. Let me urge you to fulfill God’s highest calling for your life, and apply the blood of the flawless and wonderful Messiah, by faith, to the doorposts of your heart.
Chapter 18 contains prohibitions against illicit sexual practices. We are forbidden from engaging in such activities as adultery, incest, bestiality and homosexuality. We are also forbidden from child sacrifice, which often was an extension of these other things. These practices are denounced by God as abominable and perverse, and earned a death penalty inIsrael. In fact, God warned us repeatedly that it was on account of just such practices that He was driving out the Canaanites. These offensive and godless sexual activities were prohibited in the decision of the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15, and in 1 Corinthians 6 and Revelation 21 they are described by Rabbi Paul and by Yeshua Himself as things which would exclude a person from the Kingdom of God. This should silence the argument that only in the Old Testament were these things considered sin.
Unfortunately, there are many who exalt their personal feelings over the authority of the Word of God, and the tide is turning against those of us who would uphold the biblical standard for sexual conduct. Even some religious leaders who are considered evangelical are now approving of “same-sex marriage” (so-called). In some provinces of Canada, I would be put in jail for the things I’ve just said, and it appears that “hate-speech” laws are coming this way soon. Sadly, our once God-fearing society has degenerated to the point where adultery and homosexuality, so far from shocking and disgusting us, are considered normal, and even beckon us on television, in the movies and in literature. I am reminded of Yeshua’s warning, “Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved” (Matthew 24:12-13). My prayer is that Adonai might instill in each of us a high regard for His Word, and the courage to continue declaring it, though it is inconvenient and even potentially costly.