Lev. 7: Still More Priestly Duties

Leviticus 7 continues with the priestly regulations.

The Guilt Offering
First described in Lev. 5, it is kind of the same regulations as the sin offering. It can be eaten by any male in the priest's family, but it must be eaten in a holy place. It is most holy...consecrated, set apart. Additionally, the remains belong to the priest, including the hide. I wonder how many stacks of hides the priests collected. Who knows. There is a differentiation between grain offerings. A baked or fried one belongs to the priest who offers it, while those mixed with oil or dry belongs equally to the sons of Aaron. The Bible doesn't say why this differentiation is made, but lets look at the offerings. Those baked and fried require more preparation than just mixing the flour with oil, or just bringing unprepared flour. The priesthood requires more preparation, and thus, in my estimation, is worthy of the more prepared grain offerings.

The Fellowship Offering
Apparently people could present offerings to God out of thankfulness. This kind of breaks my opinion that God was kind of a punisher and referee over the Israelites. The latter half of Exodus and up to this point in Leviticus was a list of rules and laws that the Israelites must adhere to. It told what would happen if someone didn't follow these laws. So to see that a thank offering was allowed for, it shows that God was apparently working in the individual lives of the people, instead of just glowering at them from above and ruling over them.

These thank offerings, however, had their own regulations...how they should be carried out. And I think, "Why? People just want to come and show their appreciation to God, why do they have to follow these rules?" We cannot forget that God has established the fact that he is most holy, and even in their best efforts to salvage or maintain a relationship with God on their own end, the Israelites were still in sin, and their "communication" to God had to be purified.

As an expression of thanks, the person should bring all kinds of the grain offering: The cakes of bread without yeast but with oil, wafers (no yeast, plus oil), and cakes of fine flour (well-kneaded, with oil). Additionally, he is to bring cakes of bread with yeast. This is the first time yeast is required. In all the feasts, there was to be no yeast, so yeast was allowable, just not during festivals. In my opinion, perhaps bread with yeast was tastier...as in more pleasurable than bread without yeast, and sacrificing this pleasure was part of the fellowship offering?

As a result of a vow, the sacrifice should be eaten that day, with leftovers allowed to be eaten tomorrow. On the third day, the leftovers shall be burned. It is unacceptable, and unclean. It probably goes bad by then. Who here leaves meat out for three days? It is so impure that if it is eaten, it won't even be credited to the person who sacrificed it, and the person who eats it will be responsible.

Meat that touches anything ceremonially unclean must not be eaten, rather burned. Unclean people who eat clean meat will be cut off from his people. Those who were not cleansed could not reap the benefits of the sacrifice.

Then in Lev. 7:22-27, there is a reiteration of Lev. 3:17, in that the people must not eat the fat or blood. At first, I thought that the fat was important as the blood was...in life. But here in chapter seven, it talks about how it was a sacrifice to the LORD. The fat was His.

The priest's share of all these offerings were the breast, and the right thigh. That's where the good meat is. Tasty.