Seder 78: Leviticus 5-6 and Zechariah 5---Crime and Punishment in Ancient Israel

 When a crime was committed in ancient Israel---a theft, for example---there would be a public call for witnesses to come forward, with an oath calling upon God to deal appropriately with the perpetrator and anyone who knew what had happened but refused to testify.  

This kind of public call and oath is first mentioned in the Bible in Leviticus 5:1.  Another reference to it is in Proverbs 29:24:  "The partner of a thief hates his own life; he hears the curse, but discloses nothing."  

When there was a lack of evidence in a case, it might have ended up being resolved by an oath.  For example, Exodus 22:10-11 describes a case where one person leaves some possession with another person for safekeeping, and the possession is subsequently lost.  If there is no evidence of what happened and the person who was supposed to be guarding the possession swears that he doesn't know what happened, the owner has to accept his word.  

Underlying all of this is the conviction that God sees everything and is the ultimate Judge.  In some cases where a person failed to testify, his conscience would eventually move him to step forward belatedly, as in Leviticus 5:1.  Or if a person had defrauded another and initially lied about it, he might later confess the truth and make things right (Lv 6:1-7).  God might give such a person some incentive to do the right thing by allowing the person to suffer for his wrongdoing.  That's what Leviticus 5:1 means when it speaks of the reluctant witness "bearing his iniquity."  

One striking affirmation of God's justice appears in Zechariah's vision of a flying scroll.  (Remembering the old Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoons, I am tempted to refer to the scroll in the vision as Rocket J. Scroll.)  This huge scroll measures about 30 feet by 15 feet.  It has writing on both sides, like the tablets of the Decalogue.  The commandment against stealing is on one side, and the commandment against bearing false witness is on the other.  The scroll seems to symbolize the whole Decalogue, or more broadly all of God's Word.  

Zechariah 5:3-4 pictures God sending out the scroll, as he sends out his Word in Psalm 147:15; and as in Isaiah 55:11, it accomplishes God's will, carrying out justice in the world.  The scroll makes good on the oath that goes out when witnesses are solicited---see verse 3.  

Although we are not often called upon to be witnesses in a court of law, we have all been witnesses of the goodness of God.  In a sermon on Leviticus 5:1 at Church of the Messiah on August 2, 2025, Kyle Kettering urged us not to be reluctant witnesses, and to speak up about what God has done for us. 

Seder 79: Lev 6-7---Instructions for the Priests

 The sixth and seventh chapters of Leviticus give further discussion of the types of offerings described in chapters 1-5, this time focusing mainly on the responsibilites of the priests with each type of offering.

Burnt offerings are discussed first in chapters 1-5, and they are discussed first in chapters 6-7.  In Lev 6:8-13, the priestly responsibility to keep a fire burning on the altar of burnt offering at all times is emphasized.  Commentator Jay Sklar observes that this was like a continual prayer that praised God and requested favor and forgiveness.  He also sees here the principle that spiritual leaders must be faithful to their duties so that worship can continue.

Verses 14-18 give the rules for handling grain offerings.  Sklar notes that when the priests respected God's property, they modeled this respect for all of Israel  As with Exodus 29:37, verse 18 ("whoever touches them becomes holy") does not mean that someone unholy can become holy by touching a grain offering.  Rather, it means that the only ones who could touch a grain offering were those who were already holy.

Verses 19-23 instruct the priests to give a continual grain offering.  Sklar explains that this would be a continual reminder of God's presence and the priests' need for his favor.  This would protect the priests from pride and also sent the message that God was serious about helping them to help God's people. 

In chapters 1-5, fellowship offerings are mentioned third, while in chapters 6-7, they are mentioned last.  Sklar points out that here "most holy" offerings (ones that could only be eaten by priests) are dealt with before the ones that are merely "holy", the fellowship offerings that any ritually clean Israelite could eat.  

There is an unusual detail in Lev 6:28.  An earthenware vessel in which a purification offering was boiled was to be destroyed afterward, while a metal vessel was washed and could be reused.  Earthenware vessels are porous and could absorb liquid from a most holy offering.  They were destroyed so that they would not subsequently be used in the realm of the nonholy.  Metal pots, on the other hand, are not absorbent.  

The offerings provided food and clothing for the priests (7:8-10).  Here we see the principle that a congregation should see to the physical needs of its spiritual leaders, a principle repeated in the New Testament (in 1 Cor 9. e.g.).

One kind of fellowship offering was the thanksgiving or praise offering, given for example to thank God for deliverance from trials (Ps 107:17-22).  This kind of offering had to be eaten in one day, perhaps as a way of encouraging the offerer to include as many people as possible in the celebration.  Requiring that the offering be eaten promptly also lessened the chances that it would become defiled.  

Another type of fellowship offering was one given to fulfill a vow.  Here the offerer may have promised God to give such an offering if a particular important prayer was answered (Ps 66:13-16).  

A third type of fellowship offering was a freewill offering.  These may have been general expressions of thanks, not tied to a specific incident or answer to prayer.

Priests had an opportunity, if they chose to pursue it, to become fairly wealthy.  Lots of gifts came their way.  So it was important for them to keep things in balance and prioritze the "weightier matters" of the Torah.  Kyle Kettering spoke on this topic at Church of the Messiah on Nov 13, 2021, using Mark 7:10-13 as an example.

Seder 78: Lev 5:14-6:7---Reparation Offerings

 Leviticus 5:14-6:7 describes what are traditionally called "guilt offerings" in English.  Scholars today prefer the term "reparation offerings."  Commentator Jay Sklar describes this kind of offering as "a ransom payment by means of sacrificial blood that rescues the sinner and restores relationship with God."

One situation in which a reparation offering was called for is a case where one had taken or misused some holy thing---for example, eating food reserved for the priests.  

Also covered here were situations where a person was suffering and believed the suffering was being caused by an inadvertent misuse of a holy thing (Lev 5:17-19).  

A third category included situations in which a person had made a false oath to get away with a financial crimre---e.g., finding something that was lost and claiming that one hadn't.  

People were moved to come forward and make reparation when they began to suffer the consequences of their sin.  A message here is that there is no such thing as a "secret sin".  God knows what we have done.