I had a copy of the book “Eat This, Not That” (Fast Food Edition) in my glovebox for several years. You could turn to the chapter on whatever fast food place you were headed to and get info on the better-for-you menu options. They included all the stats like sodium, fat, saturated fat, calories, grams of sugar… It recommended, for instance, The Egg McMuffin over the Sausage McGriddle and to opt for a small coffee over an OJ for less sugar. (Well, unless you drink coffee like me. Then the OJ probably has less sugar. 😏)
Chapter 7 reminded me of that book. There are parts you can eat, and parts you can’t. God says, “Eat this. Not that.”
Let’s look at them:
Sin Offerings & Guilt Offerings
WHAT: Male and female goats or sheep, doves, pigeons, flour for unleavened flatbreads- depending on who is offering.
WHO CAN EAT IT: active male priests who participate in the work of offering the sacrifice
EAT THIS: any of the meat, unleavened cakes made from the flour
NOT THAT: blood, fat, kidneys, lobe of the liver. This is burned up.
GOOD TO KNOW: The hide of the critter belongs to whoever offered it.
He who makes the bread, eats the bread. (Just like in The Little Red Hen) But, that big pile of extra raw flour left after the memorial portion is burned and the priest has made his crackers- that is for all the priests to share. And I think they were allowed to take it home for the family too.
Peace Offerings – for Thanksgiving, Vows, and Just Because
Thanksgiving:
WHAT: beef, sheep, goat with a basket of anointed breads on the side
WHO CAN EAT IT: the priest who offers the sacrifice AND the ones who bring it (men, women, even children) as long as they are ceremonially clean.
EAT THIS:
The Priest Gets – the brisket and the right upper thigh (round roast/steak), unleavened cakes made from the flour. Only the priests get these parts because they were presented (waved) to Yahweh and are therefore holy.
The Offerer Gets – any of the rest of the meat they want and they can share it with anyone who is ceremonially clean. BBQ time! 🥩
NOT THAT: blood, fat, kidneys, lobe of the liver. This is all burned up.
GOOD TO KNOW: No Thanksgiving leftovers! You have to eat what you’re gonna eat on the day it’s offered. No Tupperware in the fridge. No fridge either come to think of it. Better invite more people.
Vows and Just Because Peace Offerings:
Same as Thanksgiving EXCEPT You CAN eat leftovers from these but only on the 2nd day. Anything leftover by the 3rd day is bad. Toss it. In fact, if you eat it, you’ll be guilty and have to do a guilt offering.
WARNING! ⚠️ If you are unclean and you eat these, you will be excommunicated.
General Food for Everyone
EAT THIS: meat from kosher domestic animals
NOT THAT: fat or blood
GOOD TO KNOW: you can use the fat from animals that are not offered to Yahweh- such as to soften leather, to make soap or other products, to burn for lights, etc. But you can’t eat it. Ever.
In Chapter 8 Moses is going to finally DO the consecration of the priests which we looked at when the process was described to him back in Exodus. It was the one with the blood on the right ear lobe, the right thumb, and the right big toe.
So I just want to mention a couple things.
Introducing… the Urim and Thummim! 🤩
Pronounced: oo-reem and too-meem.
Isn’t that just fun to say?! 😄
It’s kinda like in Canada- they have $1 coins with loons on the face so they’re nicknamed “Loonies.” And they have $2 coins nicknamed “Toonies.”
(Hang in there Canada! 🇨🇦 Jesus loves you!)
You may recall that the im ending is plural in Hebrew. And it sounds like “eem.”
One cherub. Two cherubim.
You said “cherubeem” right? Good job. 👍🏻
Extra points if you said it like: kheruveem. 🤓
Urim (oo-reem) is plural for light.
Thummim (too-meem) is plural for perfect.
The Lights and The Perfections. 👀🤩
SUCH a delicious mystery! No one really knows what they were. But there were likely at least 3 of each because in Hebrew, there is a distinct plural ending for pairs of things (ayim). These have the im ending which implies they are plurals but not pairs.
Whatever they were, they went in the breastplate pocket which was attached to the ephod of the High Priest with gold chains.
The theory I’ve heard that (IMO) fits the few passages where they are mentioned is that they were some kind of multifaceted dice (perhaps gemstones?) with the letters of the Hebrew alphabet engraved on them.
I won’t spill it all here but in future we will see God speaking to people through these Urim & Thummim. Sometimes all He says is a simple yes or no. Sometimes there are whole sentences. It’s fascinating.
It’s also why a pirated copy of the ephod (presumably with a breastplate pocket filled with copied urim & thummim) will later become an idolatrous object. The fake priest uses it for divination and fortune telling. But we won’t get to that story til later in the summer.
Stay with me. Don’t nod off in Leviticus. There are some incredible- Wait. What am I saying? It’s ALL AMAZING!
To The Reader 