Torah:
Vayikra (Leviticus) 1:1-5:26 (6:7 in Christian Bibles)
Haftarah:
Yesha'yahu (Isaiah) 43:21-44:23
B’rit
Chadasha: Rom 11:25-12:8
The Theme
In English Bibles, the third book is called Leviticus
because a great part of it is dedicated to describing the service of the
Levitical priesthood and the laws concerning the various sacrifices that they
offered. For this reason, it is a neglected book in most Christian
circles: After all, didn't Jesus fulfill and do away with all that stuff?
But in Hebrew, its name is Vayikra, "He Called." While this call
was given first to Moshe in the opening line of the book, ultimately this book
is about God's call to all peoples to live holy lives dedicated to Him.
As Paul tells us, the gifts and calling of God are
irrevocable (Rom. 11:29) and Israel's repeated disobedience to the Torah could
never cause God to forget His covenant with Abraham and the seed of his loins
(Gal. 3:17; cf. Gen. 15:4-5, 18). In this, he echoes Isaiah, who begins
with a denouncement of ritual sacrifice without outward obedience, but concludes
with the promise that the Eternal One would bring Israel back from idolatry and
into a walk with Him.
Paul goes on from this promise to say, "Therefore I
urge you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living
sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service" (Rom.
12:1). Yeshua has provided the ultimate atoning sin-offering, but there
yet remain sacrifices for us to offer. For example, when we offer
ourselves wholly to God, holding nothing back, we offer the burnt offering, the
'olah (עלה) or "ascending"
offering, just as Yeshua held nothing back but gave up everything He had for our
sake. For another, when we praise Him and celebrate together what He has
done for us, we offer the shalom offering.
It is true that God does not truly desire sacrifices
and offerings--that is, the sin sacrifices and guilt offerings, for these are an
admission of failure to keep His commands. Thus He tells us, "For I desire
mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings" (Hos.
6:6). However, because we do fail, He gave us out of His mercy a
means to atone for such sin after we repent--and that means is the blood of His
Son, the ultimate sacrifice to which all other sacrifices point. Let us
then turn away from our sins, accepting His forgiveness, and offer everything we
are to Him so that we might ascend to His throne.