Reading: Leviticus 5-7, Psalm 31
Yesterday we saw how substitutes for the death humans have to go through to enter God’s new creation are to be brought to the tabernacle, and talked a little about how the priests are to carry the guilt of the people until next week, when we’ll talk about the Day of Atonement.
But is that all that these detailed laws are about? Well, no, it turns out it’s not. Atonement is the main point of Leviticus, but it is not the only point. In today’s reading we come across a number of commands that seem more related to health- both social health and physical health.
A quick aside about how these laws relate to the present. The people of Israel were living in the wilderness of Sinai something like 3400 years ago. Their health concerns were just a little bit different than ours. The book of Leviticus wasn’t even primarily concerned with those, much less ours. We should not try to overlay the diet or practices on ourselves assuming that because God told them to do it, it will be good for us. That is not how the story of the Bible works, which will become clear, but not for a really long time, so I wanted to mention it now.
Okay, social health. As mentioned yesterday, God makes allowances for those who cannot afford animal sacrifices. More valuable animals can be substituted for less expensive. If even that would be ruinous to a person, grain will do. God is not setting up a system where wealth is the key to atonement. At the same time atonement is not cheap for anyone- offering a bull in prime health was a real cost for even the most wealthy in the ancient world. Atonement is costly for everyone, but it costs different amounts for persons of different means. Does it make you uncomfortable? God does not operate on the principle of fairness or fixed prices when it comes to atonement. The poor and the rich can get it, and it will be a meaningful cost for both of them.
The social health of Israel is promoted in other ways as well. Someone called to witness, as in court, but who does not do so is guilty. The responsibility for the truth is placed on all people, and they are to take responsibility for what they know and see. People who don’t know they have broken purity laws and become unclean or people who in a pique of anger say something they shouldn’t have are given an out for forgiveness. God does not go back on the penalty for the human problem- intentions aside, law breaking is still law breaking and must be atoned for, but God does allow for human limitations of knowledge and ability.
The third section deals with the problems of a society where humans steal from one another or misuse things that they borrow. God puts in place a twenty percent rule: someone who takes what is not his or damages what he borrows must repay the value plus twenty percent. There is a penalty for ignoring the impact of your actions on others. It is worth noting here that there is no such thing as imprisonment in the laws of Israel- we created that concepts for the modern world. When someone in ancient Israel stole, he owed restitution to the victim, not the state. What a concept.
God then turns to matters of managing the life of the priests, though it may not seem like that it what is going on at first glance. There is yet another rather long winded recitation of the correct way to sacrifice animals, but here God details exactly what parts of the offerings are to be burned, and what parts are to be eaten, and by whom. In order to understand how this is important, we have to remember that while all the people of Israel were effectively farmers, the priests were not. They spent their lives in the tabernacle, later the temple, making all this sacrifice stuff happen. They did not have the time to raise their own food, and were dependent on the sacrifices for their meals. God is ensuring they get their food.
There is also a distinction being made between Israel and the other ancient near eastern cultures here as God disallows the eating of blood and fat of the atonement sacrifices, and laying claim to some of them entirely. In ancient Canaan, and actually for a very long time afterward, blood was thought to carry almost magical power. Priests and kings in the ancient world would often reserve the blood of animals (and occasionally people… yech) for themselves, setting themselves above the people. God squelches that right out the gate by making the blood his and no one else’s. There is a similar story about fat, though that is less about religious power than simple weight. To be fat was a sign of social superiority (yeah, things have changed a bit) and God lays claim to that too- all the animal fat belongs to him.
Recall if you will, God is speaking all this to Moses from inside the tabernacle while Moses waited outside. All the regulations God is handing down are prerequisites for the people to even start using this sacrificial system by which they will become able to interact with God. Tomorrow we will get a short break to hear a story of how the priests begin their service and, being human, of course screw it up right out the gate.