Chapter 7:22-38 Rules about Blood, and Rules for the Priests v22 The *LORD said (this)

to Moses. v23 Say this to the *Israelites. Do not eat any *fat from cows, *bulls, sheep or goats. v24 (You may find a tame) animal that a wild animal has hurt. (Or you may find) an animal that is already dead. You may use its *fat for any other purpose, but you must not eat it. v25 Someone may eat the *fat from a type of animal that you may offer on the *altar to the *LORD. (The *LORD) will *cut off that person from his people. v26 And wherever you live, you must not eat the blood of any bird or animal. v27 If anyone eats blood, (the *LORD) will *cut off that person from his people .

v28 The *LORD said (this) to Moses. v29 Say this to the *Israelites. Anyone who brings a *peace offering to the *LORD must bring part of it. That part is a special gift to the *LORD. v30 With his own hands, he must bring the *offering that he will make to the *LORD on the fire. He must bring the *fat and the breast. He must wave the breast in front of the *LORD as a *wave offering. v31 The priest must burn the *fat on the *altar, but the breast belongs to Aaron and his sons. v32 You must give the right leg of your *peace offerings to the priest. It is your gift to him. v33 A son of Aaron will offer the blood and the *fat of the *peace offering. He must have the right leg as his share. v34 I have taken these parts of the *Israelites *peace offerings. And I have given these parts to Aaron the priest and to his sons. The breast that (the offerer) waves.

The leg that (the offerer) gives.

These parts will be their regular share from the *Israelites. v35 This is the share that was for Aaron and his sons. (It was their share) of the *offerings (that people made) to the *LORD on the fire. (The fire was on the *altar.) This happened on the day that (Aaron and his sons) came to the *LORD to serve him as priests. v36 The *LORD ordered the *Israelites to give them this as their regular share. He did this on the day when they became priests. (The *Israelites had to do this) for all their *descendants (in future centuries). v37 These are the rules for the *whole offering, *corn offering, *sin offering, *guilt offering, *ordination offering and *peace offering. v38 The *LORD gave these rules to Moses on the mountain called Sinai. He did it on the day when he ordered the *Israelites to bring their *offerings to the *LORD. That was in the desert near Sinai. Notes Verse 23 The *Hebrew words for *Israelites means sons of *Israel. They were the *descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. A *descendant is someone in your family that lives after you do. Verse 24 Bible students have given us some examples of the uses for this *fat. They include its use in medicines, bandages, candles, and as oil. People could also use it to start fires. Verse 25 The *Hebrew words for on the *altar really mean on the fire. This fire was on the *altar. Notice this. This rule was only about the types of animals that the *Jews could offer as *sacrifices (*cattle, sheep and goats). That *fat belongs to God. But the *Jews could eat the *fat from other clean animals. Verses 26-27 The passage emphasises blood. Blood is important. Life is in blood, Leviticus 17:11, and life belongs to God.

Verse 30 The breast is of course a piece of meat from the front of the animals body, near the animals heart. This part of the animal belonged to the priest. A recent *Jewish Rabbi has described the *wave offering. One waves the meat up and down, and left and right. For a *Jew, this reminds him that everything in heaven and earth belongs to God. He waves the meat to give it to God. But God gives that meat to the priest. So the piece of meat that was closest to the heart belonged to the priest. *Jews considered that the heart was very special and important. People believed that you thought with your heart. And they believed that you felt love in your heart. So the gift of the meat that was closest to the heart was an expression of love. In time, there were wicked priests. It is interesting that they refused to obey this particular rule (1 Samuel 2:12-14). They felt no love for the people whom they served. Verse 32 They thought that the right leg was one of the best bits of meat on an animal. 1 Samuel 9:24 says that Samuel gave it to Saul. It was special! Verses 35-36 These verses tell us that the priests would always have a share of the food. This meant that they could always be busy in the *meeting tent, or, later, in Gods house in Jerusalem. Verses 37-38 *Ordination is what happened to a man in order to appoint him a priest. There is more about this in Leviticus chapter 8. R.K. Harrison, in the IVP *Commentary on Leviticus, points out an interesting fact. There are very few problems with the *Hebrew words of Leviticus chapters 1 to 7. This probably means that these chapters were very important to the *Jews. So the *Jews copied them most carefully. Something to do 1. Below is a table. This sort of table is a series of boxes. It makes it easy to see and to understand information. Read through Leviticus chapters 1 to 7 to find the information to fill in the boxes.

*Offering

What the

What the

Does its smell

3

Who, if anyone, eats

What does this *offering

offerer must offerer and

bring

priest do

please the *LORD?

the *offering?

mean to Christians?

*Whole offering

*Corn offering

*Peace offering

*Sin offering

*Guilt offering

The answer to the question on the right is either *fellowship or forgiveness. Forgiveness means that God has forgiven us. You may have to draw your own table if this one is not big enough!

2. Consider the fire that never goes out. For the *Jews, it meant that Gods house was in the middle of their camp. He was living among them. And he permitted them to offer *sacrifices so that they could have *fellowship with him. For Christians, it means that Jesus is continuously praying for them, Hebrews 7:24-25. It probably has many more meanings. Can you think of any? 3. It is the Holy Spirit that makes a Christian holy. It does not happen when he touches holy things. Read Ephesians 4:15, 2 Peter 3:18. 4. Read Acts 6:2, 1 Corinthians 9:13, 1 Corinthians 10:18 and 1 Timothy 5:17-18. Compare them with Leviticus 7:1-10.