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The parasha this Shabbat is entitled Tzav, meaning “Give the Command!” and covers Leviticus 6-8.

One of the very first things mentioned is the command that fire be kept burning continually on the altar; it was never to go out (6:9, 13). Josephus records (and the rabbis confirm) that during the time of the Second Temple, a special day was set apart for everyone to bring wood to the Temple, so that the supply would never be depleted, in order to keep the fire of the altar going. The lampstand (menorah) that once stood in front of the Temple, together with this commandment that fire be kept burning continually on the altar form the basis for the traditional ner tamid – the perpetual light found above the ark in most synagogues. It is a reminder of the days when the Temple still stood, and represents a yearning that it be built once again.

Chapter six includes instruction about burnt offerings, grain offerings and sin offerings. The burnt offering (olah – from the word meaning ‘to ascend’) was to remain on the altar through the night, and the fire on the altar was never to go out (6:13). In fact, so firm was the command that the fire burn perpetually that it is repeated here three times! By morning, of course, the offering would be reduced to ashes. Those ashes were then to be carried outside the camp by the priest.

In chapter seven we are instructed about the peace offerings (sh’lamim). These were especially significant, as they were altogether voluntary. Serving the Living God was meant to be so much more than mere religious formality. For example, a person might be completely at peace with God – no particular sin issue, and yet desire to do something more to express gratitude to Him for His kindness and mercy. That is where the peace offerings came in. They were offerings given purely from a heart filled with gratitude.

This sets an example for going beyond minimalist religion – ‘playing church’. In every generation there have been those who did the least possible in order to get by, and in every generation there have been those with a vibrant, living relationship with God. In that sense, the shelem was a good barometer of one’s appreciation for Adonai.

The most significant of the peace offerings was the thanksgiving offering. If you had been delivered from an enemy, or healed of a sickness or had taken a vow during a time of distress and were now safe and sound, you could fulfill that vow by bringing a thanksgiving offering to the Mishkan. Another of the peace offerings was the free-will offering. Perhaps for no other reason than that your heart moved you to express appreciation to God for His goodness and kindness you might bring a free-will offering. The rabbis regarded the thanksgiving offering to be of the highest order, declaring that during the Messianic Age, whereas all other sacrifices will have served their purposes, these will continue on.

Chapter eight describes the consecration of Aaron and his sons as cohanim – priests. Their ordination, as it were, was attended with a fair amount of pomp and ceremony. There were washings and anointings, ceremonial robes and head coverings and the sacrifice of a bull and two rams. Some of the blood of the second ram was put on Aaron and his sons’ right ear lobes, their right thumbs and the big toe of their right feet. If this ceremony seems strange, think of it as a picture of the need for those who would serve God to have attentive ears, obedient hands and cautious feet. The mind, the will and the ways of a man of God must all be submitted to Adonai. The idea of compartmentalizing our lives – thinking that what we do in private is unrelated to the public discharge of our duties, is a lie. The whole man must be consecrated to God. So should it be for all of us, especially followers of Yeshua, who are called ‘a kingdom of priests and a holy nation’.

Let me bring our parasha to a close by reviewing some aspects of the burnt offering, the olah. Consider the imagery:

• the offering remains all night on the altar
• the fire never goes out
• the offering is reduced to ashes
• the ashes are transported outside the camp

Fire purifies gold and silver, and at the same time, fire reduces pretty much everything else to ashes. In 1 Corinthians chapter 3, Paul the Great Emissary of Messiah spoke of the believers’ judgment to come. Whatever we do in and for Yeshua will be like gold and silver – refined and rewarded. Whatever we do from selfish or otherwise impure motives will not accrue any reward to us. We will be saved, but some of us will barely have escaped through that fire.

Yeshua said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it” (Matthew 16:24-25).

On the other hand, those ashes can represent something good – an offering entirely consumed for God’s purposes. Are you allowing the Holy One of Israel to fully work out His purposes in you, or are you holding something back? Did you get up on that altar, only later to climb back down when you realized He wants all of you? The Scripture is clear that standing up for Yeshua will cost you; it will cost you socially, because this world stands in opposition to Him. It will cost you emotionally, because you can no longer compare yourself to other sinful human beings and feel good about how you’re doing; since God Himself is the standard, and He is infinitely holy. It will cost you materially, because when it comes to our finances, we should be giving to Adonai what’s right, not what’s left(over).

Those ashes speak to submission and to humility; more of Jesus, less of me (a favorite song of mine by Mylon LeFevre). Our attitude should reflect that of John the Baptist, whose own prominence began to quickly diminish once Messiah Yeshua began His public ministry. At one point, when two of his disciples expressed concern over his waning popularity, this great prophet chided them, saying, to the contrary, “This joy of mine has been made complete; He must increase, but I must decrease.”

O Lord our God, in view of Your mercy, enable us to offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to You – which is our reasonable service of worship. Help us no longer conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our minds. May we eagerly and cheerfully do Your will – Your good, pleasing and perfect will (Romans 12:1-2). Let us be that olah, so that on that day when we ourselves become olim, those going up, transported outside this camp, we may appear before You without shame.