CHAPTER 22

(1490 B.C.)

THE HOLINESS OF OFFERINGS

¹And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying,

²Speak unto Aaron and to his sons, that they separate themselves from the holy things of the Children of Israel, and that they profane not My Holy Name in those things which they hallow unto Me: I am the LORD (as the last Chapter concluded with the command to disqualify certain Priests to offer Sacrifices, this Chapter opens with conditions under which even the legally qualified Priests must not partake of the Offerings).

³Say unto them, Whosoever he be of all your seed among your generations, who goes unto the holy things, which the Children of Israel hallow unto the LORD (pertains to the Priests eating certain of the Sacrifices, which they were required to do), having his uncleanness upon him (meaning that he had defiled himself in some way, or was defiled through no fault of his own), that soul shall be cut off from My Presence: I am the LORD (in the case of defilement, for whatever reason, the Priest was to undergo purification before he could once again partake of the Sacrifices; to fail to do so could cause the loss of his soul).

⁴What man soever of the seed of Aaron (a Priest) is a leper, or has a running issue; he shall not eat of the holy things (the Sacrifices), until he be clean (has been purified). And whoso touches anything that is unclean by the dead, or a man whose seed goes from him (masturbation);

⁵Or whosoever touches any creeping thing, whereby he may be made unclean, or a man of whom he may take uncleanness, whatsoever uncleanness he has;

⁶The soul which has touched any such shall be unclean until evening (continues to speak of Priests), and shall not eat of the holy things (the Sacrifices), unless he wash his flesh with water (the purification process).

⁷And when the sun is down, he shall be clean, and shall afterward eat of the holy things; because it is his food.

⁸That which dies of itself, or is torn with beasts, he shall not eat to defile himself therewith; I am the LORD.

⁹They shall therefore keep My Ordinance, lest they bear sin for it, and die therefore, if they profane it: I the LORD do sanctify them. (Mackintosh says: Had they to be warned against unholy contact? So have we. Had they to be warned against unholy alliance? So have we. Had they to be warned against all manner of ceremonial uncleanliness? So have we to be warned against all filthiness of the flesh and spirit [II Cor. 7:1]. Were they shorn of many of their loftiest Priestly privileges by bodily blemish and imperfect natural growth? So are we by moral blemish and imperfect spiritual growth.)

MORE INSTRUCTIONS

¹⁰There shall no stranger (Gentile) eat of the holy thing: a sojourner of the Priest, or an hired servant, shall not eat of the holy thing (cannot partake of the Sacrifices).

¹¹But if the Priest buy any soul with his money (servant), he shall eat of it, and he who is born in his house: they shall eat of his meat (meaning that these members of his family can partake of the Sacrifices, as well).

¹²If the Priests daughter also be married unto a stranger (Gentile), she may not eat of an Offering of the holy things.

¹³But if the Priests daughter be a widow, or divorced, and have no child, and is returned unto her fathers house, as in her youth, she shall eat of her fathers meat: but there shall be no stranger (Gentile) eat thereof.

¹⁴And if a man (someone in the house of the Priest) eat of the holy thing (Sacrifices) unwittingly (not knowing that it is a part of a Sacrifice), then he shall put the fifth part thereof unto it (20 percent of what its worth in money), and shall give it unto the Priest with the holy thing (with the remainder of the Sacrifice).

¹⁵And they shall not profane the holy things of the Children of Israel, which they offer unto the LORD;

¹⁶Or suffer them to bear the iniquity of trespass, when they eat their holy things: for I the LORD do sanctify them.

LAWS

¹⁷And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying,

¹⁸Speak unto Aaron, and to his sons, and unto all the Children of Israel, and say unto them, Whatsoever he be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers in Israel (Gentile proselytes), who will offer his oblation for all his vows, and for all his freewill Offerings, which they will offer unto the LORD for a Burnt Offering;

¹⁹You shall offer at your own will a male without blemish, of the beeves, of the sheep, or of the goats (speaks of people offering Sacrifices).

²⁰But whatsoever has a blemish, that shall you not offer: for it shall not be acceptable for you.

²¹And whosoever offers a Sacrifice of Peace Offerings unto the LORD to accomplish his vow, or a freewill offering in beeves or sheep, it shall be perfect to be accepted; there shall be no blemish therein (these Sacrifices represented Christ; therefore, they must be perfect; the temptation was always there to offer a sickly animal, because it wasnt worth much anyway).

²²Blind, or broken, or maimed, or having a wen, or scurvy, or scabbed, you shall not offer these unto the LORD, nor make an Offering by fire of them upon the Altar unto the LORD.

²³Either a bullock or a lamb that has anything superfluous or lacking in his parts, that may you offer for a freewill offering; but for a vow it shall not be accepted.

²⁴You shall not offer unto the LORD that which is bruised, or crushed, or broken, or cut; neither shall you make any offering thereof in your land.

²⁵Neither from a strangers (Gentiles) hand shall you offer the bread of your God of any of these; because their corruption is in them, and blemishes be in them: they shall not be accepted for you.

INSTRUCTIONS

²⁶And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying,

²⁷When a bullock, or a sheep, or a goat, is brought forth, then it shall be seven days under the dam (its mother); and from the eighth day (eight days old) and thenceforth it shall be accepted for an Offering made by fire unto the LORD.

²⁸And whether it be cow, or ewe, you shall not kill it and her young both in one day.

²⁹And when you will offer a Sacrifice of Thanksgiving unto the LORD, offer it at your own will.

³⁰On the same day it shall be eaten up (a Thanksgiving Offering, consisting of bread); you shall leave none of it until the morrow (represents the fact that Christ must be accepted totally): I am the LORD.

³¹Therefore shall you keep My Commandments, and do them: I am the LORD.

³²Neither shall you profane My Holy Name; but I will be hallowed among the Children of Israel: I am the LORD which hallow you,

³³That brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the LORD. (All of this typifies Christ and what He would do at the Cross, as it regards the Redemption of lost humanity. Thats the reason the instructions were so minute, so delicate, so detailed.)