Shalom!

 
We begin the book of Vayikra and very quickly we are in the subject of sacrifices. If we are to keep the Torah, why do we not do any of the sacrifices today? The answer is so simple...because we do not have a temple. Many people are not aware of the fact that Rav Sha'ul (Paul) did temple sacrifices AFTER the resurrection of Yeshua and AFTER he became a believer, before the Temple was destroyed. In Acts 9, we read of his conversion:
Acts 9:17 And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, "Brother Saul, Adonai Yeshua, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit." 18 Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized.​
As Sha'ul entered into his calling he began to preach Yeshua as the Messiah to both the Jew and the non-Jew. There arose many problems, especially for Jews who believed that to enter into the Jewish faith, one must convert according to their own laws (i.e., laws in addition to Torah). Jews in the 1st century called all non-Jews the "uncircumcision" whether they were circumcised or not. This simple fact will help us to make sense out of many of the Brit Chadasha verses which seem to speak against circumcision.
Ephesians 2:11 Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles (the nations) in the flesh -- who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands --
Non-Jewish believers entering into the Torah needed a starting point, and this was the basis of the ruling in Acts 15 (added comments are in parentheses):
Acts 15:1 And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom (note he spoke of "custom" not "Torah") of Moshe, you cannot be saved." 2 Therefore, when Sha'ul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them, they determined that Sha'ul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem, to the apostles and elders, about this question. ...5 But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, "It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the Torah of Moshe." 6 Now the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter. 7 And when there had been much dispute, Peter rose up and said to them: "Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago Elohim chose among us, that by my mouth the nations should hear the word of the gospel and believe. 8 "So Elohim, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us, 9 "and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. 10 "Now therefore, why do you test Elohim by putting a yoke (yoke was not the Torah, but added man-made laws) on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? 11 "But we believe that through the grace of Adonai Messiah Yeshua we shall be saved in the same manner as they." 12 Then all the multitude kept silent and listened to Barnabas and Sha'ul declaring how many miracles and wonders Elohim had worked through them among the nations. 13 And after they had become silent, James answered, saying, "Men and brethren, listen to me: 14 "Simon has declared how Elohim at the first visited the nations to take out of them a people for His name. 15 "And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written: 16 'After this I will return And will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down; I will rebuild its ruins, And I will set it up; 17 So that the rest of mankind may seek YHWH, Even all the nations who are called by My name, Says YHWH who does all these things.' 18 "Known to Elohim from eternity are all His works. 19 "Therefore I judge that we should not trouble those from among the nations who are turning to Elohim, 20 "but that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from blood. 21 "For Moshe has had throughout many generations those who preach him in every city, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath." (the Torah would continue to be preached and people would learn the way to walk little by little as they receive instruction through the Torah of Moshe.)
More than once in the book of Acts, Sha'ul vows and testifies that he is Torah observant:
Acts 21:24 "Take them and be purified with them, and pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads, and that all may know that those things of which they were informed concerning you are nothing, but that you yourself also walk orderly and keep the Torah....26 Then Sha'ul took the men, and the next day, having been purified with them, entered the temple to announce the expiration of the days of purification, at which time an offering should be made for each one of them.
Sha'ul made a Nazarite vow according to the Torah. Then at the end of the vow, his head was shaved and animals were sacrificed in the Temple, in obedience to Torah:
Bemidbar/Numbers 6:5 'All the days of the vow of his separation no razor shall come upon his head; until the days are fulfilled for which he separated himself to YHWH, he shall be holy. Then he shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow.
Bemidbar/Numbers 6:10 'Then on the eighth day he shall bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons to the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of meeting; 11 'and the priest shall offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, and make atonement for him, because he sinned in regard to the corpse; and he shall sanctify his head that same day. 12 'He shall consecrate to YHWH the days of his separation, and bring a male lamb in its first year as a trespass offering; but the former days shall be lost, because his separation was defiled. 13 ' Now this is the Torah of the Nazirite: When the days of his separation are fulfilled, he shall be brought to the door of the tabernacle of meeting.
So, we read that Sha'ul offered animal sacrifices in the Temple after He had become a believer in Yeshua and it had nothing to do with salvation, but everything to do with being obedient to Torah. When the Temple was destroyed in 70 C.E., sacrifices ceased to exist. Although we read that during the Messianic age, when Yeshua will rule from Jerusalem, that there will be a Temple and there will be animal sacrifices. What is the purpose of these sacrifices?
Hebrews 10:4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.
So what was the point of animal sacrifices that were commanded for sins? Note that man has always been "justified" through the eyes of YHWH through "faith":
Romans 3:28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the Torah.
 
Galatians 3:24 Therefore the Torah was our tutor to bring us to Messiah, that we might be justified by faith.
This does not disagree with the Hebrew Scriptures:
Habakkuk 2:4 " Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith.
How can we get Elohim's perspective on the animal sacrifices as they related to sin? The person bringing the offering needed to sacrifice the animal with a repentant heart and do the act as an expression of his faith in the redeeming work of Elohim. If the heart was not repentant and if the animal wasn't offered by faith, then it was just an empty act. The one who went through the ritual of sacrifice, keeping every commanded detail, yet without a heart change...YHWH would not accept his offering. This was the attitude that He condemned in Isaiah:
Isaiah 1:3 The ox knows its owner And the donkey its master's crib; But Israel does not know, My people do not consider." 4 Alas, sinful nation, A people laden with iniquity, A brood of evildoers, Children who are corrupters! They have forsaken YHWH, They have provoked to anger The Holy One of Israel, They have turned away backward....10 Hear the word of YHWH, You rulers of Sodom; Give ear to the Torah of our Elohim, You people of Gomorrah: 11 "To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me?" Says YHWH. "I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle. I do not delight in the blood of bulls, Or of lambs or goats.
In the above verses, Elohim addresses a sinful people who have stony hearts. What Elohim is condemning was the heart attitude of the people. He despised the sacrifices when there was no sincerity of heart. They performed the sacrificial rituals, but then they lived like "Sodom and Gomorrah". David understood this:
Psalm 51:15 O Adonai, open my lips, And my mouth shall show forth Your praise. 16 For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of Elohim are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart -- These, O Elohim, You will not despise.
It is YHWH's greatest desire, that His people would love Him with "all their heart":
Matthew 22:36 "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Torah?" 37 Yeshua said to him, " 'You shall love YHWH your Elohim with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.
And the reward for a "pure heart":
Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see Adonai.
 
Psalm 24:3 Who may ascend into the hill of YHWH? Or who may stand in His holy place? 4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully.
So we can deduce that the problem was never the animal sacrifices. The problem was the heart of the people. It's still the problem today. Elohim instituted and commanded the animal sacrifices for a reason. He desired for the Israelites to enter into His courts with thanksgiving and praise:
Psalm 100:1 A Psalm of Thanksgiving. Make a joyful shout to YHWH, all you lands! 2 Serve YHWH with gladness; Come before His Presence with singing.
So again, why will there be animal sacrifices during the Messianic Age? Remember that the verbal root of the word "Torah" means "instruction". What will Messiah be doing during the Messianic Age?
Isaiah 2:3 Many people shall come and say, "Come, and let us go up to the mountain of YHWH, To the House of the Elohim of Ya'acov; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths." For out of Zion shall go forth the Torah, And the word of YHWH from Jerusalem.
There will be animal sacrifices during the Messianic Age, and the Messiah will be in Jerusalem "instructing". People learn by being shown and through participation. Animal sacrifices were and are for the purpose of instruction. We can know and believe in the sacrifice of Yeshua, however, true understanding will finally come through His teaching and our participation.
 
In Ezekiel we read some interesting verses about the "House" (temple):
Ezekiel 43:10 " Son of man, describe the House to the House of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and let them measure the pattern. 11 "And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the design of the House and its arrangement, its exits and its entrances, its entire design and all its ordinances, all its forms and all its laws. Write it down in their sight, so that they may keep its whole design and all its ordinances, and perform them. 12 "This is the Torah of the House: The whole area surrounding the mountaintop is most holy. Behold, this is the Torah of the House.
"Describe the House to the House of Israel." It's an odd phrase. Verses 11 and 12 describe the Temple, its design and laws and calls it together, the "Torah of the House". The "Torah of the House" is what "describes the House to the House". The "House" being described includes the animal sacrifices. Now we'll pick out some verses in Ezekiel concerning these sacrifices:
Ezekiel 46:2 "The prince shall enter by way of the vestibule of the gateway from the outside, and stand by the gatepost. The priests shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings. He shall worship at the threshold of the gate. Then he shall go out, but the gate shall not be shut until evening.
 
Ezekiel 46:4 "The burnt offering that the prince offers to YHWH on the Sabbath day shall be six lambs without blemish, and a ram without blemish; 5 "and the grain offering shall be one ephah for a ram, and the grain offering for the lambs, as much as he wants to give, as well as a hin of oil with every ephah.
Ezekiel 46:20 And he said to me, "This is the place where the priests shall boil the trespass offering and the sin offering, and where they shall bake the grain offering, so that they do not bring them out into the outer court to sanctify the people."
So we see in Ezekiel 46, all five of the offerings:
 
  • burnt offerings
  • peace offerings
  • grain offerings
  • trespass offerings
  • sin offerings
Now we're ready to explain the phrase, "describe the House to the House of Israel". Sacrifices in the Messianic Age will be done at the "House" (the Temple) as a way of instructing the "House" (His people). This is the "Torah of the House"!
1 Peter 2:5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual House, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to Adonai through Messiah Yeshua.
We can still learn today about the sacrifice of Yeshua by studying the book of Vayikra. But sadly, this is the most neglected book in the Bible! Let's pray that the Holy Spirit will open our eyes to His amazing truths!
 
One of my favorite places to visit in Jerusalem is the city of David. Excavations there every day prove the history of the Bible and Jewish connection to the city. Much of the world, however, continues its ridiculous claims that Jerusalem is only significant to Islam. Check out this short video and some of the items that have been uncovered in the city: Uncovering the Truth in the City of David
 
 
Shabbat Shalom!

Ardelle