{Disclaimer: these are my rough teaching notes I use in my Mishkan Katan weekly broadcasts. There will be "typos". Proceed at your own risk, lol.You can find all my Mishkan Katan video teachings on my YouTube channel: genahood2818 . Look on the playlist called Messianic LAMB TV Network.}
So, it has been a challenging week around here and I thought, well, my audience may be getting a little weary of the Psalms, let’s do something a little different this week, and maybe next week too. We are going to deviate from our Psalms study and look at something most Christians have never given a thought. That topic is, the offerings that the Hebrew people were asked to offer as part of the Temple service. You may be, at this point, wondering why this topic matters.
Let me ask you a question. Which book of the Tanakh do you think the Hebrew children were first taught? Genesis, perhaps? No. The answer is: Leviticus. Surprised?
Most Christians do not know much about this Old Testament book, because we have often been told it is "unimportant". "Jesus did away with all that, ya know." This is what Christians are frequently taught.
Even many of today's Jews are largely ignorant about these practices, because they no longer take place. Why not? Because you can't perform the sacrifices described in Leviticus without God's Temple. And, the Temple was destroyed in 70 C.E.
So, what is the point in my beginning with you a study of the sacrifices and the sacrificial system of the Temple? Here are a couple:
1. God's Word does not pass away. (Psalm 119:89 tells us this and also that it is "firmly fixed in the heavens.") Jesus reiterated this in Matthew 24:35, Mark 13:31 and Luke 21:33. Since He included Leviticus in our canon of scriptures, we should be knowledgeable about it.
2. Jesus and His disciples revered the book of Leviticus, the entire Tanakh actually. Jesus explicitly said, in Matthew 5:18, that not even the smallest word-part (in the Greek "stroke of a letter") of the Law (which includes Leviticus) would pass away until "all is accomplished". Jesus participated in these Temple sacrifices and so did his apostles, even after His death, burial, resurrection and ascension.
Am I advocating believers in Yeshua return to the sacrificial system? Absolutely not! As previously stated, that would be impossible without a Temple complex, but even then, the answer would still be a qualified "no". Am I diminishing or abrogating the transformational work of our Lord and Savior? Again, God forbid! Absolutely not! Am I suggesting we study and learn what God wants to communicate to us through this sacrificial system He instituted? Absolutely.
So, I invite you - - Jew and “Greek” - - to embark with me on a study of this fascinating subject.
Let's begin by pondering this fact:
It is commonly accepted among Jews that there are 613 commandments in Torah (1st 5 books of the Old Testament) and communicated by Moses. Of these 613, over 1/3 of them deal directly with the Temple and the activities within it. Furthermore, 40% of those are contained in Leviticus alone. The Temple, even into the New Testament, becomes a central theme of God's Word.
The Book of Revelation tells us that in both the latter days of this present age (Olam HaZeh), and in the Messianic Millennium, the reconstructed Temple will be a key element. (Revelation 11, 21). The apostle John says in Revelation 21 there will be no Temple in the New Jerusalem, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb (Jesus) are its temple. Hallelujah!
The English word "sacrifice" as attached to the gifts brought to God at the Temple is inadequate. The original Greek was a combination of two words "sacer"(holy) and "facere"(to make). The Western thought was that by offering the animal, as the owner renounced his claim to it, this made the animal holy; this conferred "kedushah" (holiness). This English word, sacrifice, implies deprivation on the part of God's people as well as a tribute, tax or fee. But, this was not the Jewish mindset at all. The Hebrew word we translate as "sacrifice" is "korban", and the plural is "korbanot". The best translation is "a gift, brought to God as a vehicle for drawing near to Him."
The Temple and its functions were all about an unholy human drawing near to a holy God. We truly cannot fathom the gulf between the two. How to express worship to The Incomprehensible? God's requirements for facilitating this for His chosen people were that "the approach" (karev) should be through the rules and regulations laid out in Leviticus, through the korbanot "that which is brought close".
In the Hebrew language, the verb “karev” is the root of korban? Hebrew is read from left to right. The only difference is the last letter of korban. That letter is "vav", which looks like a tent peg or a nail. I know this seems very much "in the weeds", but it will be very important in next week’s teaching.
Psalm 51 expresses the longing to draw near to God. Key verses are 16 and 17.
For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
The korbanot acted as a bridge between God and man, between heaven and earth. But, to offer korbanot without repentance was not only useless, it was even an affront to our holy God.
There were more than 110 korbanot offered at The Temple. The Temple complex in Jesus' day could hold over 200,000 people at one time. Think about that forr a moment. That’s twice as large as our larger football stadiums. And, during the Festivals, all of the priests (who normally served in two-week rotations in Jerusalem and spent the rest of the time serving their towns at home) around 500 priests would be serving at one time. It was a massive operation.
Fear not! We are not going to explore in detail every one of the over 100 sacrifices. However, we will look at the five types of korbanot and their purposes. Here they are:
1. Olah (Burnt Offering)
2. Minchah (Grain Offering)
3. Shelamim (Peace Offering)
4. Chatat (Sin Offering)
5. Asham (Guilt Offering)
Let’s begin with Olah.
Korban Olah
I'm always blessed and inspired by my pastor's messages, but one thing he said in a sermon several years ago really made me think. He was talking about how many Christians are praying for revival in our country, when he asked, "Would we be ready for it, when it comes? and What if it does not look like what we expect?" He gave the example of the Day of Pentecost, when, at the festival of Shavuot, Jewish men, hundreds and hundreds of them began speaking to each other in their native tongues, and were able to understand any language they heard. What if that happened again, for example? Would we, as Baptists, go "Oh no, NO! Speaking in tongues ceased after the apostolic era!" What if the early Church had rejected Pentecost, because it fell "outside the box"?
Here's a parallel story. It may seem as though I am rambling, but I will get to the point, eventually... A few years ago, I attended a Messianic Jewish Yom Kippur service. To be clear, Messianic Jews are people of Jewish descent who worship Jesus as their Messiah. These congregations also include Gentile believers who want to honor God by participating in some of the elements of Jewish tradition. I had never been to such a Yom Kippur service. It featured worship music/singing, preaching from both the Old and New Testaments, and an incense-burning ceremony at the end. This latter was intended to focus our hearts on drawing near to God, while letting our spirits dwell on His holiness. Malachi 1:11 prophesied about such an occasion as this when he wrote (referring to both Jewish and Gentile believers) - -
For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same My Name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto My name, and a pure offering: for My Name shall be great among the heathen, saith the Lord of hosts.
Although foreign to mainline Protestants, incense-burning has been an integral part of worship for both Jewish and some Christian sects for hundreds of years. When I was in Jerusalem, on my first trip, in 2018, in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, I witnessed three Christian priests (3 different Christian denominations), walk near the place where Catholic, Coptic and Russian orthodox tradition holds Christ was buried, each priest swinging a brazier of sweet-smelling, burning incense.
Why?
It is a curious thing that God, although Spirit, has a keen sense of smell! Listen to Genesis 8:21.
21 Adonai smelled the sweet aroma, and Adonai said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of humankind, since the imaginings of a person’s heart are evil from his youth; nor will I ever again destroy all living things, as I have done.
I am spending so much time on this point, because it is totally foreign to most of my evangelical audience members. The smell, the smoke of the Olah, the Burnt Offering, was delightful to God, and was a key element of this sacrifice. Let's dig in.
First of all, burning incense is not an Olah offering, despite my anecdotal personal experience related earlier. Nor is Olah what many of you will think of when we think of a "burnt offering." Most evangelical main-liners have a very one-dimensional view of all Old Testament offerings, viewing all of them as being atonement offerings. This is not an accurate understanding. One of the reasons I’m teaching this two-part series here is to disabuse that notion!
In Hebrew, the word OLAH is spelled with the following four characters: Ayin ("See"), Lamed ("Ascending"), Hei ("by God’s Grace"). It literally means “See the rising of the smoke of the Burnt Offering that connects us to the grace of God”. The Korban Olah is "the sacrifice which ascends". OLAH is closely related to the Hebrew verb, alah, which means “to ascend”.
The Korban (remember what this word means?) Olah was offered morning and night, twice a day, and it was the only offering Gentiles were allowed to offer at the Temple. This offering signifies complete abandonment to God. See if you can find that message symbolically in the details of this Temple ritual.
The oldest and most common korban, the Korban Olah was not brought by the worshipper to compensate for any sin or guilt. The worshipper had nothing to gain by bringing this offering, nor did he "profit" in any way. The male animal was completely surrendered to God, symbolizing the worshipper's complete submission to God's will. No choice cuts of meat were retained by the giver. Only the hide of the animal was retained, and that was given to the priest who performed the sacrifice (Leviticus 7:8). No ritual purification was received by the giver; no expiation was given either. The altar fire, kept burning day and night in the Temple, completely consumed the Olah burnt offering. And, the smoke produced ascended to Heaven as a sweet-smelling savor, before the LORD (Exodus 29:18).
This voluntary offering was brought with great joy of heart, the worship from a glad heart, longing to draw near to God. It is first described in Leviticus 1:10-11, mentioned by King David in Psalm 27:6 and is also mentioned in Psalm 51:19. It was this type of offering Noah offered in Genesis 8:20, Abraham offered in place of Isaac, on Mt. Moriah (Genesis 22:2), and Jethro {father-in-law of Moses) offered, in Exodus 18:12.
These types of offerings were also practiced by the early followers of Yeshua, while the Temple was still standing. One notable instance is recorded in Acts 18:18 and in 21:23-24 of Paul taking a temporary Nazarite vow, along with four other devout Jewish believers in Jesus. The details of this vow included offering a korban olah, as well as other korbanot, as described in Numbers 6. We aren’t going to look at that passage this morning, but I encourage you to go read it, to learn the specific requirements of a Nazarite vow.
What are some other New Testament applications of this information, to transform this video teaching from esoteric knowledge to practical application in the walk of faith? As Christians we are unable to offer a literal korban olah (not yet anyway), since there has been no Temple since 70 C.E. All Temple sacrifices obviously ceased at that time, nor have they resumed. An end-times Temple will be rebuilt, however, according to New Testament prophecies. There is a cadre of priests in Jerusalem who practice the sacrificial rites, to keep the knowledge of them alive, in preparation for that inevitability. Do you think that followers of Yeshua will offer Korbanot Olot (plural form) in the rebuilt Temple? I believe we will! Remember, this is the twice-daily offering, offered every single day of the world, for thousands of years, as a love gift to Yahweh. Why would we not do so?
The apostle Peter speaks of Yeshua’s followers as "living stones", a living altar, if you will, a holy priesthood, offering up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God (1 Peter 2:5). Similarly, the apostle Paul, in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-23 describes what these spiritual sacrifices should look like: rejoicing in all circumstances, praying continually, giving thanks in everything. In 2 Corinthians 2:14-17, Paul goes on to describe our Christian lives as a pleasing aroma unto God. (Where do you think he got that metaphor, given what you’ve just learned....)
In Romans 12:1, he speaks of our lives as "a living sacrifice". May all of us who bear the name of Yeshua HaMashiach do so daily, with the reckless abandon born out of an all-consuming love for Him. This is the ultimate lesson of the korban olah.
Next, we will move on to the second category of offerings: Zevachim Shelamim
A couple of weekends ago my extended family had a wedding. What a privilege it was to attend, to celebrate with family via the ceremony and the wedding supper afterwards! It has been common in families for generations to commemorate a marriage with a celebratory meal. Have you ever thought about why? One of the most universal conventions of humankind has been to commemorate with a shared meal, around a table, the sealing of a bond. In addition to wedding suppers, think presidential "state dinners".
Ponder with me about altars. In the Christian church service, what takes place there? And....why THERE? Marriage, baby dedication, communion ritual, people announce their decision to follow Yeshua, people gather to pray, ordination of church leaders, to name a few.
One of my favorite vocal artists is Steffany Gretzinger, who has a song, "Remember", in which she sings "You took the altar, and made it a table." From ancient times the altar has been considered a touch point between heaven and earth, a gate, a mystical portal between this earthly realm and the heavenly. In the Jewish sacrificial system, anything that touched the altar became ritually set apart, consecrated to God, and entered His presence. The whole of the offerings were celebratory, covenantal feasts.
Remember, although animals were sacrificed on the altar, the korbanot were about life, not about death. The blood of the animal represented life, and was a vehicle to enable mortal man to draw near to God. The Hebrew word "zevach" means, in a general sense, a "feast of meat". In the parallel context with the korbanot, offerings, it means a "covenantal feast". Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel, is the covenantal partner with the Jewish people (and later with all who believe on His Son and are therefore “grafted in” to Israel). As the Jews would continually re-dedicate themselves to God, they would bring zevachim to the covenantal center, the Temple, for a covenantal feast, a feast to celebrate the rejuvenation of their bond with Him.
The Hebrew word for "altar" is "mizbayach", which means "the place the zevach is brought". If the only purpose for the altar were atonement (as most Christians understand), you would think the word would be "makhaper", "place of atonement". The very name "mizbayach" in Hebrew represents the fullness of this touch point between God and man.
The zevachim shelamim werepeace offerings, shared offerings of peace). See Leviticus 7:11-21. Shelamim (sh'lamim) is a plural word from the root "shalom". Even most Protestants know what the word "shalom" means. It is a customary Jewish greeting, meaning "peace". When Jesus greeted His disciples after his resurrection He said "shalom" - - "Peace be unto you". The shelamim are peace offerings, offered to express thanks or gratitude to God for his bounties and mercies, for His deliverance, or to mark the fulfillment of a vow.
Remember how the first korban we studied was completely burnt up? Well, this one is different. With the shelamim, part of the animal (the "choice fats”) was burnt on the altar. Some of it (the brisket) was given to the priests for their use. The rest was shared - - eaten by the one making the offering and his family/friends, as a celebratory meal. Shelamim were the only category of sacrifice eaten by the one who offered it. The shelamim offering was a voluntary offering. It was also the only one of the five categories of sacrifices NOT commanded by God. (After all...are thanksgiving and gratitude true, if commanded?) Shelamim were never mentioned in Scripture in conjunction with transgression, expiation or atonement.
Did you know that loaves of bread and wine were presented at the offering of every Temple offering?! (See Numbers 15:1-14 and Numbers 6:14-15) Think about the implications of that...."You took the altar, and made it a table."
Examples of shelamim we see in Scripture:
1 Kings 19:21 Elisha prepared 12 oxen as a feast for the local people
1 Samuel 28:24 The woman of Ein Dor prepared a "veal meal" for King Saul.
Genesis 31:44 Joseph and Laban shared a covenantal meal.
1 Samuel 11:15 Saul and his men
1 Samuel 1:21-28 Hannah brought a peace offering as she fulfilled her vow to consecrate Samuel to God
Exodus 12:7-8 And...Passover.
Now, when evangelical Christians think of the Passover sacrifice/meal, we think strictly of atonement, don't we?
However, although Yeshua died, was buried and was resurrected during the Passover season, thereby securing our salvation, Passover was a type of peace offering. How is this so? The meat of the slaughtered animal was eaten by the family, and bitter herbs and unleavened bread were also eaten. Did Jesus Christ become full atonement for us? Yes, He did. He also fulfilled the peace offering, by eternally making peace with God on our behalf.
Look with me at Ephesians 2:13-16. I’m going to read it and insert some parenthetical terms, which I’ll indicate by “air parentheses” and pauses, as we read along. This is from the CJB.
But now, you (Gentiles) who were once far off have been brought near
through the shedding of the Messiah's blood.
For He Himself is our shalom - -
He has made us both one and has broken down the m'chitzah (dividing wall)
which divided us
by destroying in His own body the enmity occasioned by the Torah (Law)
with its commands set forth in the form of ordinances.
He did this in order to create a union with Himself
from the two groups in a single, new humanity
and thus make shalom (peace),
and, in order to reconcile to God both (Jewish believers and Gentile believers) in a single body
by being executed on a stake as a criminal
and thus in Himself killing that enmity.
Ephesians 2:13-16 (CJB)
"Nothing can separate what you bring together. Now and forever, I will remember . . . "
"Remember", by Steffany Gretzinger https://youtu.be/1azGmqJN7ok
Korban Minchah (Korban #3 in our series)
Let's do a brief review.
The entire sacrificial system was instituted by God to allow mankind to draw near to Him, to approach Him. To stand before the Almighty in the Temple was to experience the joy of being near God. I saw this meme the other day and want to share it with you.
Not to digress, but stop and consider the enormity of that for a moment. The privilege of having a relationship with Yeshua haMashiach, Jesus Christ, the Visible Yahweh, the one unique Son, still astounds me. We have that ongoing relationship because His Holy Spirit lives within those of us who belong to Him.
Before Pentecost, that level of access to God was not available. The sacrificial system was God’s ordained avenue for man to approach Him, to draw close to God.
We have studied two types of offering thus far (out of 5), the burnt offering, which was completely burned up and whose aroma was a pleasing offering to God, and the peace offering, which was the only completely voluntary offering, the only one not commanded. While the whole burnt offering animal was completely consumed by fire, the peace offering was treated differently. Part of the animal was burned on the altar, part of it was consumed by the priests and the rest was eaten by the giver and his family in a joyful communal meal.
But, for the sake of time, we are going to stop here today. I have presented what, to many of you is new information. If you want to read about these korbanot, roughly the notes I used to make this video, go to my blog (the address is floating across the bottom of your screen) and search the word “korban”. This teaching was originally an 8-part series on my blog. Begin with the post called “The Approach”. You can actually search those words, and it should come up.
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