Leviticus (5) Not Atonement

The interesting thing about the Ascending Offering is that there is no mention of sin. It is not an offering for sin. A person brings the ascent offering as a way of expressing their love for the Lord. Yet, Leviticus 1:4 declares that the ascent offering makes atonement/expiation for the person offering it. This is odd. If the offering was not for dealing with sin, why does it produce expiation or propitiation? Leviticus provides a different offering for providing expiation for sin, whatever that means, so why would it have another offering that is not for sin, but which also makes expiation? To resolve this conundrum, we need to analyse the Hebrew word translated "atonement" or "expiation/propitiation".

The Hebrew word "kipper" is hard to translate. When Tyndale made the first English translations, he made up the word atonement for this word and its equivalent in the New Testament. It originated with a Middle English phrase "at onement" which means "in harmony". It describes reconciliation between humans and God. The problem with this word is that it confuses the process of the offering with the outcome. Leviticus does claim that the offerings described establish reconciliation with God. They are just a step towards that objective.

Most English versions translate "kipper" with the words "expiation", "atonement" or "propitiation". The problem is that these are religious words that carry meanings that are not in the Hebrew word "kipper", so we get a distorted understanding because we assume that Leviticus is saying more than it contains. We must avoid imposing religious/theological meanings on the word that go beyond its actual sense. The verb "kipper" is a denominative verb, which means that it is derived from a related noun. We can deduce some of its meaning by understanding the parent noun. The noun "kipper" is a ransom gift. This noun is not used in Leviticus. In Exodus 30:12, it refers to a ransom paid by the children of Israel to God. In Numbers 35:31, it describe a payment made in exchange for his life by a murderer. It is used in a bad way in 1 Samuel 12:3 to describe a bribe.

The related verb "kipper" means "cover", "clean", purify" or "remove a contaminant". It does not mean "reconcile" or "forgive". This verb is used throughout the description of the offerings in Leviticus. In the case of the Ascending Offering, there is no sin to remove, so "cover" could be a better translation, because in addition to being an act of worship, it proves spiritual protection for the people of God.

The laity never eats an offering that has an atoning function; only the priests can eat from it. If an offering is for the sins of the priests, they cannot eat from it. Priests and people are not to benefit from their sins. This distinction helps distinguish offerings that have an atoning/cleansing problem.

Feasting is always connected with non-kipper offerings (Num 10:10).

Leviticus (4) My Confusion

I grew up on a sheep farm in New Zealand. In the spring, when lambs are born, we would have about 2000 ewes giving birth. Although they were watched carefully, about twenty would die each spring due to various natural causes. Once the lambs had grown up, we would have 4000 sheep on the farm. Some of these would die from time to time for various reasons. The law required that dead sheep be disposed of within two weeks. This was an unpleasant task. These days the carcasses are buried in deep pits that have been dug in the ground. When we were young, we did not have the machinery to do this, so for a while, Dad tried to burn the carcases of the sheep that died. My brother and I would assist with this task, making sure that the carcasses burnt up as much as possible.

We would pluck the wool of the dead sheep because it could be sold, once it was scoured clean. We would then transport the carcase to the site where we burnt them. We used a couple of metal harrows to keep the carcase off the ground. Four of five carcases would be burnt at the same time.

I learned that getting the carcass of a sheep to burn is a very difficult task. We had to put an accelerant like kerosene on the sheep to start the fire burning, because otherwise, it would just go out. Only when the fire was really hot, and the fat started to melt and drop onto the fire, would it burn strongly. Even then, the fire would go out if we did not watch to ensure that it had plenty of fuel.

The other problem is that when the carcass is burnt with its entrails still inside, it creates a terrible stink. The smell was vile. This is why I was always puzzled when I began to read that the offerings in Leviticus would make a pleasant smell for Yahweh. I could not understand how he would enjoy such a vile smell. It doesn't make sense.

Having studied Leviticus more carefully, I now realise that the entire carcass was not placed on the altar. According to the instructions in Leviticus, only the best parts of the carcass are placed on the altar. The fat is placed on the wood. When the fire gets hot, the fat will melt and become the fuel of the fire. The fire will burn clear and hot. A cold fire produces a lot of smoke with a dirty smell. A hot fire produces clear smoke that does not have a dirty smell. I can see how this would be pleasing to Yahweh.

The priest places the lumps of meat on the altar beside the burning wood, so it will cook. When it is ready to be eaten by the priests, it will be removed from the fire, so it does not burn. So the offering process will produce the smells of meat cooking and the fat burning hot and fast. This smell is very different from the smell that I remember from burning the carcasses of dead sheep. The smell from the altar would be more like the smell that I get when I am cooking beef steak on a gas-fired barbecue. This is a pleasant smell that makes me feel hungry. I can see how this smell would be pleasing to Yahweh.

Leviticus (3) Ascending Offering (olah)

The Ascending Offering achieves three things for the people of God.

1. Worship/Attraction
   The Ascending Offering is primarily an expression of worship of Yahweh. The offering produces a pleasing smell for God to enjoy. However, it is not just a smell. The smell represents the worship of the person bringing the offering at considerable cost to themselves, and the priests whose lives are devoted to serving God by making regular offerings. Bringing an offering to Yahweh would be an act of worship for the giver.

   The purpose of the Ascending Offering was to attract God's attention and presence. It was an invitation to him to come to bless his people (Ex 20:24). God is drawn down to his people. It ensures his presence in the tabernacle. The core role of the offering is attraction.

   The Ascending Offering is a non-atoning offering.

2. Food for Priests
   The priests and their families receive meat and bread to eat. They do not have any land of their own, so they cannot grow their own food. They do not have any other source of income. The priests and their families live on the meat and bread that are brought in the various offerings brought by the people of God. The meat must be eaten within three days of being offered. Any meat not used up within three days must be burned (Lev 7:16-17). The pots used for cooking must be kept separate from normal use (Lev 6:26-29).

3. Spiritual Protection
   Through the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, the spiritual powers of evil gained authority over humans on earth. When the children put Passover blood on their doorposts, they were protected from the destroyer who killed the firstborn of Egypt. This defeat of the powers of evil enabled them to escape from Egypt. The victory continued when the Egyptian army was destroyed in the Red Sea, but the spiritual powers of evil did not give up. They continued to harass God's people as they travelled through the wilderness.

   The Tabernacle offerings provided an effective method of spiritual protection for the children of Israel. This protection was not possible, but it was the best protection possible prior to the death of Jesus and the total defeat of the spiritual powers of evil on the cross.

   The fall placed humans under the power of the spiritual powers of evil. They demanded blood as the ransom price for setting them free. To live in peace, the children of Israel need to pay a ransom in blood to the spiritual powers of evil who had enslaved them. Prior to the cross, the blood of animals was the ransom they would accept. Unfortunately, this price was not one-off and complete. The ransom price had to be paid again and again. That was painful, but it was worth it to escape the control of the powers of evil. The benefit was that the ransom price was "acceptable" to the spiritual powers of evil (Lev 1:4).

   This spiritual protection had a significant economic cost for the children of Israel because some of the best livestock (without flaws), which were essential for their agrarian economy, had to be killed in their prime. Killing their best animals just as they reached maturity was a big setback for a small-time farmer. Giving up such a valuable animal would be rarely painful for them. The offering is a ransom price that provides spiritual covering against the spiritual powers of evil. This is why Leviticus 1:4 says that the Ascending Offering makes covering because it provides spiritual protection.

   The blood belongs to God, because it is life. He loves life, so he does not seek bloodshed. The spiritual powers of evil love death, so they demand bloodshed at every opportunity. The Ascending Offering was one way the children of Israel could escape their harassment by offering them the blood that they demanded.

Leviticus (2) Four Types of Offering

God revealed to Moses his plans for the Tabernacle, which would be the focus of worship for the children of Israel. Leviticus 1-7 describes the various offerings/sacrifices that would be offered on the altar at the entrance to the enclosed area surrounding the tent where God dwelt. Moses describes four different types of sacrifices that could be offered to God. The names used in many English translations are not very helpful. In subsequent sections, I analyse each offering to identify what it achieves and how it does that.

1. Ascending Offering (olah)
   Most translations use the expression "burnt offering" for the offering described in Leviticus 1. This is misleading because it focuses on the burning of the offering. People assume that the offering works because the animal is burnt, but that is the wrong focus.

   The Hebrew word "olah" means "step" or "stairs". It comes from a verb for "ascending". In this context, it refers to the smoke ascending to God. It could be called a "smoke offering", but that would be misleading because it is the pleasing smell/odour that goes up to God, and the word smoke could indicate an unpleasant smell. Therefore, I have chosen to refer to it as an ascending offering, using the literal meaning of the Hebrew word "olah".

   English translations usually refer to the offering described in Leviticus 2 as a "grain offering" because it is a product of grain (flour or bread) that is offered. However, the Hebrew word "minchah" literally refers to a "gift" or a "donation", so I have chosen to refer to it as a "gift offering". It is actually a different form of the Ascending Offering that provides a pleasant odour for God.

2. Wellbeing Offering (selamim)
   The offering described in Leviticus 3 is often referred to as a "peace offering", but the Hebrew word is "shelem". It is closely connected to the word "selamim", which means peace, but takes a broader meaning that includes "wellbeing, safety, completeness", so I have chosen to call it a "wellbeing offering" to capture this broader meaning.

3. Decontamination Offering (hattat)
   Leviticus 4 is often translated as describing a "sin offering". The Hebrew word is "chattah", which means sin or offence, but John Goldingay calls it the "decontamination offering" in his First Testament. Although this is a big word, it is a good label because it describes what the offering does, so I have decided to use it.

4. Reparation Offering (asam)
   The final offering is the Reparation Offering. This is possibly a different form of the Decontamination Offering. The Hebrew word used is "ashamaw", which refers to an "offence", but it can also mean "compensation" or "ransom".

An offering is a process. It is not just the death of an animal. Each offering has several steps. Some are the same, but other steps vary according to the offering.

Crowdstrike Struck

The worst computer outage in human history has brought down transport and banking systems all over the world. The problems seem to have been caused by an update to Microsoft provided by Crowdstrike, an important provider of security tools for computer software.

What the mainstream media do not seem to have noticed is the history of Crowdstirke. In 2016, someone stole a huge stash of documents and emails from the servers of the Democratic National Committee (DNC). These ended up on WikiLeaks.

Crowdstrike was responsible for the security of the DNC computers. The servers were never given to the FBI investigators because an investigation had been conducted by CrowdStike. They perpetuated the idea that the data was stolen by Russian hackers. This suggestion became one of the bases for the claims that Donald Trump was in collusion with the Russians. Special counsel Mueller investigated the claims intensively but found no actual proof that collusion had occurred.

In 2019, the president of Crowdstike admitted that they had no evidence that the Russians had stolen the DNC data. He explained that they could see the data had gone but did not see it going, or where it had gone.

Independent investigators have shown that the data theft was an inside job by someone with a grievance against the DNC. The data was moved quicker than could be done over the internet at that time, as had been suggested.

So it is ironic that Crowdstike, which colluded with efforts to bring Donald Trump down via the Russiagate accusations, was taken down on the very day that Donald Trump accepted the Republican nomination for the US presidency.

I am not generally into conspiracy theories, but this alignment of events is too close to be just a coincidence.

Leviticus (1) Revised

Last year I did a completed a detailed study of the book of Leviticus. Until then, in my fifty odd years as a Christian, I had not taken this part of the scriptures very seriously. I just assumed that Jesus had fulfilled all of the sacrifices on the cross, and that is all that mattered.

When I was studying the book last year, taking a three-agent approach, I discovered some amazing insights. Recently, I have been reading a book called Lamb of the Free by Andrew Rillerra. It is a very important book, although he does not fully understand the spiritual significance of impurity and offerings. If you want to understand the relationship between Jesus' death and the Old Covenant sacrifices, you should read his book.

In the light of what I learned, I have revised my article called Levitical Offerings. It is a long article, so in my next few posts, I will describe some of the key insights.

Another Presidency???

I will be disappointed if Donald Trump got elected again as I don’t have great expectations for his presidency, but I have even less confidence in the American political system, so I realise that it could easily happen. Trump is now eight years older than when he was last elected, so his focus and energy levels will have declined. I expect that he will be as mediocre as he was last time.

• The United States is probably heading towards a serious economic crisis. Trump does not have the skills to deal with a crisis. The economic progress during his presidency was just a continuation of the slow recovery from the global financial crisis and had very little to do with his policies.

• Trump's policy of imposing punitive tariffs on China will make the world economic situation worse. Bifurcating the world economy will reduce specialisation and eliminate some of the benefits of economies of scale. Inflation will make everyone worse off.

• The people living in the “Rust Belt” cities feel aggrieved by the way that their nation robbed them of their economic livelihood by sending their jobs to China and other parts of Asia. Trump has tapped into their grievance, but he does not have economic policies that would restore their economic situation. He instinctively supports policies that benefit the wealthy, so many of those who have supported them the most will experience the greatest disappointment.

• Christians who assume that he will place restrictions on the availability of abortion will be disappointed.

• Trump loves military power. He liked the thought of having his finger on the nuclear button. The thought that he could release the power of the American armed forces when he chose animated him. He enjoyed launching 60 cruise missiles against Syria, even though his efforts there failed. There is a danger that he will blunder into another war due to his over-confidence and ignorance of foreign policy. His unpredictability scares the people of the world.

I don’t believe that Trump is capable of being a dictator. I don’t believe that he is even capable of being an effective president. I suspect that if he is elected again, he will be a second-rate president, but that the political system will constrain his worst pretensions.

And it is not a foregone conclusion that he will win. We will have to see what they do with Joe Biden, and who the Democrats put up in his place 

But life will go on, and Jesus is still King.

US Dictator???

The Democratic Party in the United States has created a serious problem for itself, and it has been made worse by the attempted assassination of Donald Trump. The Democratic Party wants to remove Joe Biden, due to his age and perilous health, but they can’t because they are panicked by Donald Trump.

The Democrats and the news media have so seriously demonised Donald Trump that the possibility of his being elected to the presidency is terrifying. Their scaremongering and attack adverts equating Trump with Hitler have totally spooked their people. Sadly, some Christian thinkers have joined in this excessive demonization of Trump.

So they have to keep tired Joe Biden on because they think that he is the only one who can keep Trump out. So they are clinging to Joe Biden in desperation because they are freaked out by Donald Trump.

I believe that the Democrats and the news media have greatly the danger of Trump. In my view, he was a mediocre and ineffective president last time around, and I don’t expect him to be any more effective than he was last time that he was president. (Sadly, the US political system seems to be designed to throw up mediocre leaders). There are several reasons for his failures.

• Trump is an extremely effective campaigner who loves debating hostile politicians and TV interviewers. He has the gift of the gab. But the skills that make him good at campaigning make him poor at governing. His rhetoric always outruns his ability to get things done. Changing reality is much tougher than speaking the truth.

• Trump is proud and arrogantly thinks that he knows everything. He is not willing to take advice. During his presidency, he preferred watching Fox News to reading detailed position papers.

• Trump is lazy, so he is not willing to put in the effort that a president leading a powerful country needs. He assumed that he could give orders and the people in his administration would just carry them out. He did not do the work necessary to ensure his instructions were followed.

• Trump made bad judgments when choosing the people to serve in his administration. He did not understand that when people with political skills are appointed to a political role, they bring a political agenda. Many of his appointees thwarted his policy goals. They need to be watched carefully to ensure that they are implementing the president’s policies. Trump seemed to be too lazy to do this, so many of his appointees were able to work against him and undermine his policy goals. Accordingly, he failed to achieve his main policy goal, which was to build a border wall to prevent illegal immigration from Mexico.

Dictator???
Many Democrats and commentators are suggesting that if Trump is elected, he will set himself up as a dictator. These claims are totally unrealistic.

Trump is too lazy and too old to become a dictator. Being a dictator is a young man’s game. Stalin and Hitler were both in their late forties when they gained power. I can’t think of any historical dictator who rose to power when they were nearly eighty.

A dictator has to control everyone who works for them. They have to watch all their lieutenants to check that they are doing what they are told and that they are not planning to overthrow their leader.

A dictator cannot rest, because there is too much to control, and someone will always be plotting against them. There is no time for golf. Donald Trump simply does not have the energy or the skills needed to be a dictator.

Washington is controlled by a massive and deeply entrenched political system. If they were to close ranks, Trump would not be able to control them. Even if he gets control of both houses of Congress, many of those elected would not dance to his tune. If they were to stand against him when he became autocratic, he would not have the energy or organisational skills to beat them.

Some commentators cite January 6th as an example of Trump trying to organise an insurrection to destroy the democratic system. For me, that event is proof that he is incapable of it.

I doubt that Donald Trump was trying to start an insurrection, but if he was, then all he achieved was a shamble. A few protestors broke into the Congress building, but when they got there, they did not know what to do, except to pose for selfies. There was no plan for actually seizing control. The protests took over the grounds of the New Zealand parliament for several weeks were far better organised, and they did not achieve anything either.

Trump’s legal efforts did not do any better. There were plenty of problems with the 2020 election process, due to absentee voting because of COVID. The politicised electoral systems were not up to the task due to inadequate registration processes, but Donald Trump was simply incapable of organising a single successful legal challenge. There was a lot of rhetoric, but now realistic action. The judicial system should not be trembling.

Another example of his incapability is the top-secret documents stored in his Palm Beach. His supporters assumed that he kept evidence that would expose the crimes of people in government. But it turned out that he had nothing. The documents were there because they had to be removed from the Whitehouse and he had not bothered to deal with them and he arrogantly assumed that he could declassify them.

There is simply no evidence that Trump is capable of becoming a dictator, even if he wanted to, which seems unlikely because he hates failure.

Organising an insurrection in an unstable with outside interference by a great power is not that easy. Getting an insurrection going in a developed country with a robust political system is extremely difficult. It is far more difficult than most commentators assume. The American Fathers managed to organise an insurrection that shook off the British, but they had two big advantages. Britain was constrained by its ongoing war with the French, which was a far greater threat to the British Empire. Secondly, the British were already getting tired of the fractious colonists and were soon glad to be rid of them. If the British had been able to put all their resources into the task, the revolution would most likely have failed.

I am certain that Donald Trump is incapable of organising a successful insurrection that would enshrine him as a dictator. If the United States ever becomes a dictatorship, it will be because the political establishment gets frightened during community breakdown, economic collapse or massive military defeat and installs a dictator to turn the situation around; it will be one of their own. The political establishment might be tempted to install a dictator who would have the power to bring about massive changes that they think their country needs, but which the electorate rejects. Any potential dictator will be a political insider, not someone from the fringes of power.