There are seven things in Leviticus 1 to 5 that take place or are worded in a way that is totally different from what one would expect. The first is that ANY PERSON may appear before Yahweh and bring his or her offering to Him (Lev 1:2 “When any one of you – ki adam mikhem – wants to bring an offering to Yahweh…”). The second is that the PRIEST is a servant, not a superman. He is the one who handles the blood and keeps the fire going. He facilitates the worship. He does not annex the worship or make others feel they will never reach his level. The third is that atonement is offered for the person with his burnt offering before the animal is even burned (1:4-5: He must lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted for him with APPROVAL to make atonement for him – then he must slaughter the young bull before the face of Yahweh). The fourth is that there was a time when a simple offering like FLOUR could also bring atonement for a person (Lev 5:11-13 if he cannot afford two doves, he must bring as an offering a tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a sin offering… and he shall receive atonement for his sin).
The fifth is that the bringing of offerings was also a time of COMMUNION between ordinary people, the priests, and the Most High. A certain portion of the offerings had to be eaten by the people, a certain portion by the priests, and the fat belonged to Yahweh alone. Scripture explains that the so-called “peace offering” is not just an offering of peace and thanksgiving, but also an offering of fellowship/communion, in which Yahweh is included. The sixth is that UNINTENTIONAL sin matters in Yahweh’s eyes, because every person bears co-responsibility for the “shalom” of the entire community. Even when I have unconsciously wronged someone, I must rectify that injustice to the best of my ability. And the seventh is that true caring is often supplemented by a BONUS. Not just an eye for an eye. Not just: if you steal R100, you give R100 back. No, even if in weakness you withheld one part of your offerings to Yahweh, you must later bring that part and add one-fifth to it. No wonder Y’shua taught that if someone forces you to walk 1000 paces against your will, you should walk 2000 paces with him. Our starting point, when it comes to a fellow human being, is not just “tit for tat”, but I do for him as much as I can, regardless of what he has done for me, also regardless of what I owe him, or what is expected of me.
Isaiah 34 continues in the same vein as Parashah Vayikra. Yahweh’s way of doing things, and His pattern of justice, is often exactly the opposite of what we expect. The nobles and the rulers of the land, who thought they could rule like kings and boss others around from a height, will bite the dust, and in their place, the pelicans and the hedgehogs and the jackals will frolic. Yahweh is not an Elohim who allows Himself to be dictated to by status or delusions of grandeur. Moreover, He is not one way one day and another the next. He can empty the earth with one word. But not one of His words will ever return to Him empty. Therefore, it suits us to subject ourselves to His word and His unquestionable authority.
Matthew 20 connects to this. The parable of the workers in the vineyard, who worked shifts of different lengths but all received the same compensation, tells us that Yahweh’s favour is a unique gift that flows from His character and not from our merit or desert. John and James want the best seats in the kingdom, but Y’shua turns their expectation totally on its head. The question is whether each of them is prepared to be not just a “diakonos” (servant), but also a “doulos” (slave). In the kingdom, it works like this: the higher you move up, the more people you will have under you, whom you must look after and serve and care for. James and John thought they could sit on thrones and drink from golden cups filled with the best wine from heavenly vineyards. But Y’shua does not say “l’chaim.” He asks them if they can drink the cup that He would soon drink. If they were prepared to serve, even if it would cost their lives.
We should not be surprised by the surprising and unexpected pattern that emerges from Leviticus, Isaiah and Matthew. Is this not the way Yahweh has acted through all the ages? Think of the almost unheard-of reversal of the “right” of the firstborn in what happened with Esau and Ya’akov, and Yahweh declaring to Rivkah (Rebekah), their mother: the older shall serve the younger. Think of the way this pattern repeated itself with Isaac and Ishmael, Joseph and his brothers, and Ephraim and Manasheh.
Human logic tells us a leader must have status and experience and stature. But Saul and all of David’s brothers are overlooked, while their younger brother and shepherd-in-the-background is chosen as king by Yahweh. This, with the sound of Yahweh’s own words in 1 Samuel 16:7: Not what man sees does Elohim see; for man looks at what is before the eyes, but Yahweh looks at the heart. And to the tune of Psalm 147:10 and 11, where true wisdom is put into song: “Yahweh has no delight in the strength of the horse, no desire for the legs of the man. No, He has a desire for those who fear Him, who hope in His lovingkindness.”
Anyone with a little bit of insight into military things knows that one must tackle every struggle with enough soldiers and proper weaponry. But Yahweh tells Gideon that he must reduce his army from 32,000 to 300 soldiers. And so a resounding victory is achieved against the joint army of Midianites and Amalekites, 450 times as large as Gideon’s band, which does not even qualify for the name “army.” The “weaker” conquers the “stronger.” And the people learn the important lesson that there is no reason for flexing muscles and fist pumps and a big ego when one achieves such an unlikely victory. All one can do is look up, stretch out your hand to the actual Conqueror, and bring all honour to Him.
In ancient times, a woman’s “value” and “blessedness” were often measured by her ability to conceive children. Barrenness was generally understood as a sign of being forgotten or even cursed. But Sarah, Rivkah, Rachel, Hannah, and Elizabeth’s experience of the reversal of barrenness proves that Yahweh does not think as humans think. That BEGETTING does not automatically follow after BLESSING. And that belief can overturn any kind of human expectation and perception. It is all summarized picture-perfectly in Hannah’s words in 1 Samuel 2:5: “Even the barren has borne seven, but she who was rich in children has withered.” In Afrikaans, two words that are almost identical, are used to express the contrast within this verse: Yahweh can cause the barren to “verwek” seven children, but he can also cause the rich to “verwelk”! Many more examples could be added: Yahweh who chose the foolish things of this world (and people who are regarded as “foolish”!) to shame the wise (1 Corinthians 1:27). The outcast Samaritan who surpassed the priest and the Levite in mercy in Y’shua’s famous parable of Luke 10. The repentant tax collector who did not sing his own virtues like the Pharisee next to him in the temple, but beat himself on the chest and cried out, O Elohim, I am a sinner. Please show favour to me! And Y’shua who supplemented this with: Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted!
The new moon is one of the most beautiful demonstrations of the complete different way in which Yahweh works. When something becomes smaller and disappears, according to human logic, it is a sign of failure and death. But for the new moon, to be able to be born, it must first completely disappear. And then it is that first sliver that indicates the beginning of the new month, or even the beginning of a new year. Not the full moon. Not when the moon is at its brightest and its most spectacular. And when the moon, after full moon, goes into its shrinking phase again (waning), it does not mean it loses its power. It is simply the necessary preparation for a new beginning. For Yahweh chose the least of the light of the moon to indicate the first and most important of each month. Just as in Y’shua’s answer to John and James, and ultimately to us as his followers: You know that the rulers of the nations govern over them and the great men exercise authority over them; but it shall not be so among you; but whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant. And whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many (Matthew 20:25-28).
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