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Today we will be looking at two parashas, Acharei Mot, which means (after the death), Leviticus 16:1 – 18:30, and Kedosheem, meaning (Holy Ones), Leviticus 19:1-20:27.
The deaths of Aaron’s sons, in chapter 10, was a solemn warning to anyone who would dare to carelessly enter the presence of the Holy One of Israel. Their deaths were meant to be a stern warning to Aaron himself and to all who would draw near.
Over the course of a year, sin would accumulate in the camp of Israel, and these sins were a great defilement to a Holy God and His sanctuary.
I believe that Nabad and Abihu entered the sanctuary in their sinfulness and without atonement. We would do well to remember that our spiritual maintenance, must be a priority when drawing near to the presence of God.
Think of all the ways we can sin, through word, thought and deeds. If we sin just 2 times an hour, and are awake for 15 hours a day, over the course of a year, we will have sin over 10,000 times.
Annually, these defilements had to be atoned for, covered, and removed from the sight of Adonai. In the Old Testament, this was done by observing the daily sacrifices as well as the annual Day of Atonement, when the high priest carried the blood of the sacrifices and entered the most holy sanctuary and made atonement for himself, his family and for the rest of Israel.
These duties that Aaron performed during the Day of Atonement were a foreshadowing of the powerful salvation work of Messiah.
Messiah Yeshua, the Righteous and Innocent One, made full and final atonement for us through his blood; we are cleansed in the waters of His baptism; and we all need to be clothed in His righteousness.
Yesuha accomplished the sin offering on the cross for all mankind. He ascended and entered that Heavenly, that Holy, and Eternal Tabernacle. Messiah Yesuha became the sin-bearer and the remover of our sins. There’s “No” greater Love.
In chapter 18, Adonai continues to instruct Israel about the sacrifices. When an Israeli desired to bring an offering, he might bring a bull, a lamb, or a goat.
But he was required to bring that animal to the entrance of the Tabernacle and give a part of that animal as a gift to the Lord. If he failed to bring that gift to the Lord, he was to be cut off from the Lord’s people! This would mean inevitable spiritual death, and more often physical death.
Adonai may have had many reasons for giving these instructions, but there is one overriding lesson in it for us today. If we are going to come to God, we must come to Him on His terms. In the old dispensation, there was only one place on Earth to properly come for worship: The Tabernacle, and later the Temple.
And for us today, there is also one place, and only one, where Adonai, in His grace, has elected to meet with repentant sinners and that is at the Cross. No other sacrifice! No other priest! No other altar! No other name under Heaven given among men whereby we can be saved! It is there and there alone. To reject this meeting place is to bring down judgment upon one’s own person.
Even the blood has no atoning value unless and until it is put on the altar. God says: “I have given the blood to you upon the altar, to make atonement for your souls, Lev 17:11.
Now that the New Covenant has been inaugurated, the blood of bulls, lambs, goats, and pigeons is insufficient. It must be the blood of Messiah; and it must be the altar of the cross.
In parasha Kedosheem, Adonai said to Moses: “Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy’”.
This sums up all the laws given in this and the next chapter of Leviticus. The laws were to make the people holy. How unlike so many laws of our times, such as laws about abortion, gambling and homosexuality which often makes the people unholy.
We live in what is today a sex-saturated society. It mocks monogamy and marriage, promotes abortion as a means of birth control, claims that moral absolutes do not exist, and would have us believe that you can violate God’s moral standards and not suffer the consequences.
For some violations of the Torah there was “NO” atonement. There are thirty-six transgressions where the punishment consisted of being cut off from Israel. These transgressions include the prohibited sexual unions in this chapter, as well as blasphemy, idolatry, necromancy, profaning the Shabbat, and certain violations of purity laws.
Anyone who sins defiantly blasphemes the Lord, that person must be cut off, and his guilt would remain with him. These are sins which have been committed intentionally. If a sin is committed by mistake or in ignorance, a sin offering may be brought. The common element in any of these unpardonable sins was acting defiantly.
God is holy, and He does not change. The New Covenant does not relax the standard. In fact, the author of Hebrews wrote, “For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment” (Hebrews 10:26-27).
In fact, in Hebrews 4:6 the author suggests that those who once learned the truth, received God’s gift, and shared in the Holy Spirit, who were blessed to hear Adonai’s good message and see the great power of His coming Kingdom, but then turned their back on it, it would not be possible to make them change again. That is because those who leave Messiah are nailing him to the cross again, shaming him before everyone.
The list of sins in chapter 18 is repeated in chapter 20; but here penalties were attached. For certain offenses, the penalty was capital punishment; being stoned to death, and the offender’s body burned with fire. This was the case with Achan after his greed and rebellion were found out.
Some closing thoughts: Sanctification is an ongoing work which leads to holiness. To put it simply, the lack of sanctification is a sign of non-generation, where there is no holy life, there has been no holy birth.
J.C. Ryle wrote, “holiness is the habit of being the one mind with God”, “according as we find his mind describe in Scripture”. “It is the habit of agreeing in God’s judgment, hating what he hates, loving what he loves, and measuring everything in this world by the standard of his word”.
“The man who most entirely agrees with God, it is he who is the most holy”.
We are commanded to “be holy because He is holy” (Lev 11:45). We have also been given a stern and solemn warning that, “Without holiness no man will see God” (Heb 12:14).
Brothers, Sisters we have a loving, graceful, and forgiving Father in heaven who has given us His Son as our sin bearer. And not only will Messiah bear our sins, but He also washes us in His atoning blood. And has given us the gift of the Holy Spirit.
So let me close by asking a question. Where are your sins?
They can only be in one of two places. First, understand your sins belong to Messiah. He died for them, so that your sins could be nailed to the Cross, a place as far from you as the east is from the west. Or secondly, they remain with you.
If you have not confessed and repented by turning from wickedness onto holiness, if you have not brought your sins to the altar of the cross and if you have not given them to the one who paid for them with His life, then you are a thief.
You may die with them, you may weep in hell and the demons will laugh and mock you, because you neglected such a Great salvation.
My heart’s desire is that you no longer neglect this gift that is freely yours. Accept this gift from Messiah that He freely gave long ago and relieve yourself of the burden of sin that is not yours to bear.