God tells Moses to tell the people…and what follows is a litany of instructions about how to properly make offerings to God. I suppose if I titled my posts creatively I would call this one, “There’s more than one way to skin a sacrificial animal.” The instructions include how to dispatch the animal on the altar, how to spread its blood, what to do with the freshly killed carcass, and so on and so forth. Admittedly, I did not read each chapter fully and merely skimmed slowly over them.
All fat is the LORD’s. 17It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations, in all your settlements: you must not eat any fat or any blood.
Bibles, Harper . NRSV Bible with the Apocrypha (p. 221). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
So much for that rare steak with the thin ring of fat around it. Fat is flavor, my friends.
God also tells Moses to tell the people that grain offerings that are baked must not be leavened. So does that mean that God is gluten-free? Leaven and honey should not be turned into smoke.
Reading through these rules, even atonement for property fraud and theft is accompanied by animal sacrifice. Either they had an overpopulation of animals and they were just multiplying daily, or the people were starving because their finest animals were burnt on the altar.
Anyone who consumes any blood will be cut off from their kin. Well, again, I guess that means no rare steaks.
Ordination of priests carries with it an animal sacrifice as well. Question for the pastor that follows my blog, when you were installed as the pastor of the church, did the congregation make a burnt offering? If not, why not? If they didn’t, then you missed out on having blood applied to your earlobe, thumb, and big toe.
OK, that tent must have been pretty rank after a short time. Blood was spattered on the altar from all directions. Animals were carved up and their entrails burned.
Part of the ordination has the new priest’s vestments being sprinkled with anointing oil and blood. Do you know how hard it is to get those two stains out of fabric? They had better pre-treat those vestments for at least a couple days prior to washing. They had to stay in the tent of meeting all week. Those stains are going to set in and they will be impossible to get out.
AlienCG's Bible Study 
Sadly, my ordination many years ago portended the murder of many shrimp (also anti-kosher) and cucumber sandwiches, but, alas, no beef. My installation was bloodless, as well. Should I require a do-over? The meal was delish, but that’s because of all that sausage!
I did hope for blood on my toe, but at least the prior week your girlfriend gave me a pie. So I still love Leviticus.
Peace!
Call me “David”
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