Vayikra “And He Called”
Leviticus 1:1-5:26
Complete, an adjective that looks different for each of us in different ways; however, refers to something that is “whole” or “finished”.
We completed the book of Exodus and WOW, so much to take in and feast on. We feasted on the Israelites journey out of Egypt with shouts of joy and prayers of hope for their future out of oppression. We walked with them as they pushed the limits with Moses at Mt. Sinai, with the golden calf incident and how quickly the enemy can entice us to turn from God. God gives beautifully detailed directions of how to build a temporary dwelling place for Him to dwell amongst His people. His plan is perfect and finally His perfect Tabernacle is complete.
We begin this week in Leviticus, Vayikra. I found it interesting, that the book of Leviticus as most of us know it, in Hebrew is Vayikra. Which means, “And He Called”. This is also the name of this week’s parsha study. It refers to God calling on Moses, because God needs to direct Moses on the laws of the sacrifices. And this is where we find ourselves this week.
Now, I know what you might be thinking…”this seems so foreign to me”, “does this really pertain to me and my life in 2025”, “so much blood and precious animals helplessly dyeing”, “I read this last year”…being transparent, I had most of these thoughts myself. I want to share with you, what the Holy Spirit has shown me by digging into these few chapters this week. My prayer is, this will give you a new understanding and why it is important for us, even today. So, for a moment, let’s pretend we have reservations to dine at a new steak house that just opened up in town. Assuming, we have all tried steak and enjoy the taste. Really, how much different can this restaurant really be, it’s serving a cut of meat I already enjoy and know quite a bit about…but, we decide to give it a try. So, let’s unfold our napkins together, place them on our laps and prepare to feast together and taste something we may have never tasted.
There are several different types of offerings that God explains to Moses. There are burnt offerings, grain offerings, peace offerings and sin offerings.
Grain offering is an expression of recognizing God and His goodness, this is a way to worship and acknowledge His provision for us. This type of offering usually consisted of baked breads and such made with fine flour, and oil and salt.
The peace offering expressed thanksgiving and emphasized fellowship and communion with God. This offering although similar to the grain offering, involved an unblemished animal because this acknowledged once again God’s provision.
The burnt offering always consisted of an animal to be slaughtered and completely burned up on the alter. This symbolized total dedication and commitment to God.
The sin offering that is talked about in this reading, is an offering for un-intentional sin. This also would include a persons ignorance to the law. This offering was to provide atonement for the sin you really didn’t intend to commit. People would make this offering, because they wanted to restore fellowship with God after whatever transgression had been made.
Are you seeing a common thread weaving through these offerings? God wants to connect with us and have a relationship. God cannot look upon sin. For our Israelite brothers and sisters back then, this was a way for them to connect with God. Today, God still wants to connect with us. He continues to not look upon sin, so, what can we do today, when we have sinned? One of our core foundations at TBM is repentance and forgiveness. We repent to God when we are wrong and we ask for forgiveness. Just like the Israelites, we need to be intentional, because that is what He expects. We can’t assume, that just because we are a child of God, we can commit a sin and expect nothing needs to be done on our part. There is an act of physical as well as spiritual that needs to take place. Can you imagine, if an Israelite during the time of Leviticus could travel in time to 2025, the things we do today to connect with God, would be just as foreign to them as their ways then, to connect with God.
In a burnt offering, essentially we are giving it all back to God, because everything is burned up on the alter and the smoke ascends to the heavens. We voluntarily offer what is important to us and give it to God, because there is a certain awe we have for Him. The animals that would have been used for this type of offering were important to these families. The animals helped maintain the land and even supplied food for the families. Today, there may be something you have given up to God, that is important to you. Maybe you serve in your church throughout the week, instead of golfing or fishing or any other extra curricular hobby you might have. Why? because, you want to connect with Him and you understand that He supplies everything you do have, it is ALL His. The story of Abraham and Isaac come to mind..Abraham was willing to give his son to God.
The peace offering was about thanksgiving and expressing gratitude and fellowship with God. Often this highlighted the importance of fellowship and communion with God and fellow believers. Today, we meet together in corporate worship to be with those that believe like we do. We break bread together. We talk and share our stories. We grow to not only love each other, but grow in our love for God.
For myself, when I first become a believer in Jesus, I grew a reverence of who He is and what He did for me. As most of us, we began to learn about the boundaries God set before us. As small toddlers our parents do the same thing. They begin to show us right from wrong, what we can and can’t play with. A small child doesn’t understand the danger in certain things until they are told or shown. So, mom and dad set boundaries. As we grow up, a reverence and respect grows for our parents and those that raised us, because they did set those boundaries for us. I may be speaking for myself, but if my parents had not set boundaries of how late I could stay out as a teen, I definitely would have found myself in more trouble than I could imagine.
The closer I get to God, the more in awe I am towards Him. In our life today, when we begin that relationship with God, we start with the basics and that builds respect. When we have respect for God, we begin to fall in love with Him, we want to know everything we can about Him and what He expects of us. He loves us right back, we give to Him and he gives right back to us. The one special thing I have, that means a lot to me, I surrender it to Him. We see miracles in our own lives and our friends lives. We grow a faith that we can’t quite touch and see, but we feel it. He invites us into His presence through reading His word, worship and fellowship and an awe of Him grows deeper inside us.
Symbolically, we are still making the same offerings to God today as back then. And I truly believe, God expects us too! As we trek along on this journey, of rules and laws, we begin to unpack the foundational building blocks of the human relationship with God. It all began right here in His instructions to Moses regarding the offerings He wanted and expected. I think we can all agree, the physical act looks a little different today, but the spiritual side is the same and most importantly, He is the same God!
This is probably my 4th cycle of reading through the first (5) books, the Torah. It has truly blessed me and given me the bigger picture of the foundation in my walk with God. So much of what we do today, stems from way back then. If most of you are like me, I wasn’t raised digging into much of this foundation. It seemed so full of rules, laws, & bloody sacrifices that took place in a time far far away and with people I felt no connection to. When God led my hubby Tim to lead a congregation, I never could have dreamed of the understanding I am coming into today, in ALL of His word.
So, wherever you are in your journey, keep your eyes focused on Him, because you will grow so in love with Him, you will want to know everything you can about Him, all the way back to the Torah!
Blessings & Shalom ~ Deena
