Leviticus is foreign. It’s a 19,000-word document written in ancient Hebrew about events that took place 3500 years ago. Over the next few weeks, we will get familiar with Leviticus, specifically the sacrificial system outlined in the first seven chapters. We hope that by shedding fresh light on parts of the Bible that generally confuse or scanda...
On our own, we are not able to ascend the mountain. We are unable to live in the presence of God. The ascension offering was a daily ritual that symbolized the worshipers' self-sacrifice as the path to transformation, enabling them to come near to God. ...
One of the great ironies of living in the most advanced civilization in human history is that we have so much to be grateful for, yet we often struggle with entitlement and privilege. Fortunately, this is not a problem unique to us 21st Century westerners. This is a human problem. And it’s a problem the grain offering, the second major offering o...
At first glance, we may be tempted to think that the ‘peace’ offering refers to a sacrifice one makes in order to make peace. But the peace offering isn’t a sacrifice designed to make peace. It is actually an offering to celebrate peace and is meant to be shared and enjoyed by the community....
The purification and guilt offerings were primarily about addressing the violation of boundaries we don’t use anymore, so what are we supposed to do with that? We may not have their boundaries, but many of us have boundaries when it comes to life with God. As followers of Jesus, we are called to be holy in all of life, at all times, because all o...