Leviticus Chapter 6
We are reminded of the story of Zacchaeus. His repentance came with a promise to pay back four times as much, of whatever he cheated others. He is a real Jew! He is probably making good this rule here on restitution. It is part of restoration.
If all of us were to repay whatever we got by dishonesty means, many will be poorer than their own house servants! Even nations that are in debt may be better than the most developed nations! You easily understand why no one wants to read the Bible. Leviticus isn’t just a difficult book to read but importantly, nearly all the pages are as unpalatable as these opening verses here.
Here is what we have seen before. While sin has negative consequences on the victim, its overriding factor comes when you consider the LORD as the main victim of sin. The many times we say sorry to each other need be the same number of times we say sorry to God. However, the sorry to the LORD should come from sincere lips and out of a truly broken heart. Sacrifices served a purpose but they remained symbols. After committing adultery with Bathsheba and killing the husband, King David knew sacrifices alone were not good enough to make things right with God. Sincerity and truth are what the LORD requires – brokenness of spirit.
More details are added regarding burnt offerings. Ash becomes important. Its disposal is detailed. We can see it as a detailed procedure for burnt offerings for the LORD in chapter 1. The priest has to change clothes after gathering the ash – the reason could be that the ash is holy. Dumping of the ash is also detailed. The picture we get is that things of the LORD must be treated seriously even when they appear unimportant like ash. I think this picture speaks to us on the need to treat physical activities of our Christian walk seriously; activities like prayer and scripture reading. You don’t want to read God’s word while watching TV!
The grain offerings gain more details here. After offering a portion to the LORD, the priests can feast on the rest but not outside the courtyard. Even then only male members of the priestly families may enjoy this meal.
As part of ordination, the priest was required to bring to the LORD an offering. It wasn’t a fee. It was an act of worship. The entire offering was to be burnt. We are getting more details on these many offerings at the Sanctuary.
Prayer: Forgive me LORD, for I’m not as clean as I thought.
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