THE ALTAR AND THE SACRIFICES In the previous chapter, as the law proclaimed the role of the holy sacrifice in sanctifying Aaron, the high priest, to go through the veil, and enjoy approaching the ark of the covenant, to intercede for himself and the whole people; God intends to proclaim the importance of the sacrifice, and its bonding with the holy altar, and the holiness of the blood; for fear of any probable confusion among the people. 1- The altar and the sacrifices 1 - 9 2- Forbidding eating the blood 1o - 12 3- The blood of a hunted animal or bird 13 - 14 4- Forbidding eating what died naturally, or was torn by a wild beast 15 – 16 1- THE ALTAR AND THE SACRIFICES: “Whatever man of the house of Israel kills an ox, lamb, or goat in the camp; or who kills it outside the camp, and does not bring it to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, to offer an offering to the Lord before the tabernacle of the Lord,, bloodguilt shall be imputed to that man. He has shed blood; and that man shall be cut off among the people, to the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices which they offer in the open field, that they may bring them to the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of meeting to the priest, and offer them as peace offering to the Lord” (3-5) What does this statute mean? Does it forbid the children of Israel to slay clean animals to eat, out of the tabernacle of meeting; and does it commit them to offer all their sacrifices as peace offerings to the Lord? (6) There are two views in this concern: (1) This statute was literally interpreted for the children of Israel while being in the wilderness, where God Himself cared for their food, drinks, and all their needs, and sent to them the Manna from heaven; and where God did not allow them to slay, even the clean animals, except through the sacrifices offered to the Lord. That was probably a confirmation that the Lord sustained them in an exalted way while being in the wilderness. For fear of slaying for the idols, God put that condition of offering the clean animals in the name of the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, for the Lord to have His portion in them. Probably having the portrait of the Egyptian sacrifices in mind, God intended to wipe it out of the minds of the children of Israel, during the forty years of their wandering in the wilderness. But, after they reached the land of Canaan, and the distribution of the land among the tribes, having started to feed on the produce of the promised land, God allowed them to slay the clean animals, and to eat their flesh (Deuteronomy 12: 20-22), with one condition of bringing their sacrifices to the Lord (other than the sacrifices intended for eating), and their offerings, and their firstfruit to the house of the Lord (Deuteronomy 12: 11-19, 26, 27). (2) By what is mentioned in this chapter, He means the act of slaying, not for eating, but to offer as sacrifices to the Lord; intending to confirm that no sacrifice for worship would be offered outside the circle of the tabernacle or the temple; namely away from the holy altar of the Lord. This statute is intended to be followed by the believers, lest they would probably divert to sacrificing for the idols, or to partake of the heathen worships. God has previously allowed for some men of God to set altars to Him, and to offer sacrifices for the sake of particular exceptional divine purposes, as what Joshua did on Mount Ebal (Joshua 8: 20); Gideon, who broke down the temple, and the pillar of Baal, and built an altar for the Lord through a divine command (Judges 6: 27-28); The prophet Samuel, when he offered a sacrifice in Mizpah (1 Samuel 7: 5-11); The prophet David at the threshing floor of Arauna the Jebusite (2 Samuel 24: 18-25); And the prophet Elijah, when he opposed the priests of Baal (1 kings 18: 19-40). Those cases and the like were not regular daily practices, but were under particular circumstances allowed by the Lord to His men, to set altars to glorify Him, to oppose the heathen worship, or to lift up His wrath over His people in exceptional circumstances. In the new covenant, we enjoy a divine altar, on which no animal sacrifices are offered, nor blood of bulls or goats is sprinkled; but which we see a heavenly altar, on which the Father, by His Holy Spirit, offers the body and the blood of His only begotten Son, delivered to sanctify us. According to St. Augustine: [There is an unseen altar, high up, to which the wicked cannot approach; … Through God’s sanctuary, His tabernacle, and His church, go to His altar in the heights]. Talking about how awesome the altar of the church of the new covenant is, St. John Chrysostom says: [Awesome indeed are the sacraments of the church! Awesome indeed is the altar! Out of Paradise came material rivers forth; but from this table emerges a fountain that gives forth spiritual rivers; no fruitless trees are planted on their banks, but trees that reach up to heaven, and always bear noncorruptible fruits. In case you are struck by heat, come to this fountain to cool off your burns, quench your thirst, and have comfort from the burns caused by the fiery darts, and not by the sun. They emerge, and have their source from up high, and from heaven they draw their water. Abundant are the rivers which come from this fountain, sent by the Comforter; the Intercessor Son, who holds no ax to open the way before us, but opens up our minds. Such fountain is light that gives the rays of truth, beside which stand the heavenly hosts to watch the beauty of its rivers; being more able to perceive the power of the things put upon it, and its unapproachable splendor. Whoever partakes of this blood, will stand side by side with the angels, the archangels, and the heavenly hosts, clothed in the royal garment of Christ, … No, he will be clothed with the King Himself; and will have the weapons of the Spirit. Again he says: [I beseech you, … Look! … It is a royal banquet prepared for us! Served by the angels, and attended by the King Himself; … Will you still stand slothfully?! 2- FORBIDDING EATING THE BLOOD: Having forbidden the Jews to offer any sacrifice, outside the circle of the divine rite, lest they might divert to heathen worship; Binding His whole people – priests and congregation – to the altar, to have them all gather together in the Lord, through the sacrifice; Again He confirms forbidding eating the blood, not only for the Israelites, but also for the strangers who sojourn among them. We have already spoken about the wisdom of forbidding eating the blood in our interpretation of the third chapter. 3- THE BLOOD OF A HUNTED ANIMAL OR BIRD: He allowed for the Israelites and the strangers who sojourn among them, in case they hunt an animal or a bird, to eat it if it is clean; Yet concerning its blood, He says: “pour out its blood and cover it with dust” (13). The wisdom behind covering the blood with dust, is to remind man that these animals which were created of dust (Genesis 1: 24) will return to it. While man, having borne a breath of life through the divine breath, it is befitting of him not to attach himself anymore to dust, lest he would returns to dust, but to attach himself to the Heavenly God, to set forth eternally to heaven. In covering the blood with dust, there is also probably a reverence to every being, even if it is an animal or a bird, the flesh of which he eats; It is not befitting of him to trample on its blood with his feet, but to cover it with dust, as though burying it. This kind of thought grants man a tendency toward compassion, even toward animals, to keep him from being violent and arrogant. By presenting this statute of covering the blood, God probably intends to keep man from using blood in unclean and defiled heathen procedures, like pouring it to idols. 4- FORBIDDING EATING WHAT DIED NATURALLY, OR WHAT WAS TORN BY A WILD BEAST: “And every person who eats what died naturally, or what was torn by beasts, whether he is a native of your own country or a stranger, he shall both wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening; then he shall be clean. And if he does not wash or bathe his body, then he shall bear his guilt” (15, 16) The law forbade eating what died naturally or through being strangled; namely what was not slain, as well as what was torn by beasts. He who intentionally does that will be scourged, or cut off from the people of God. … But here, the law is intended for him who unintentionally eats such things. Once he knows, he has to wash his clothes, bathe, and remain unclean until evening, will not enter into the sanctuaries, nor touch them until evening. The reason behind forbidding them to eat what died naturally, or what was torn by beasts; beside health reasons, for fear that the animal probably died by a contagious disease, or was attacked by spitting in it some poison like that of a serpent, or its teeth bore some kind of microbes. The second reason is that, intentionally eating what is not slain, involves a kind of unbefitting greed; and in both cases, the blood might have been kept in the flesh; Finally, the prey might have been devoured by an unclean beast, and consequently turned unclean for man to eat. In the time of the apostles, the church issued a decree exhorting the believers to “abstain from things polluted by idols, from things strangled, and from blood” (Acts 15: 20).
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