In the chapters from Parashat Tzav we read how the Lord God instructs Moshe to instruct Aaron and his sons on the sacrifices. We read in Vayikra / Leviticus 7:1, א וְזֹאת תּוֹרַת הָאָשָׁם קֹדֶשׁ קָדָשִׁים הוּא: 7:1 And this is the instruction of the guilt offering it is a holy of holies. (NASB) When studying these things, “What makes an offering to God holy?” Is it the altar? Is it the manner in which it was brought? Is it the priest? Or is it following the detailed instructions that are laid out in the Torah? What makes something as holy unto the Lord is the setting of something apart for the Lord and doing so according to His instructions. The halakhot of offerings comprise a significant portion of the Torah, and likewise Kodashim, an entire order of the six orders of the Mishna and Talmud, are devoted to those matters. The significance of the sacrificial service in the Temple is so great that the Sages have said that it is one of the pillars upon which the world stands (Pirkei Avot 1:2). Although the offerings ceased with the destruction of the Temple, they are still significant and central in Judaism. The offerings are special mitzvot that facilitate drawing nearer to God. All the types of offerings, despite the many differences between them, manifest the close relationship between man and his Creator. The Talmud describes the bringing of the offerings in the following way:
Talmud Bavli Zevachim 2a
מתני׳ כל הזבחים שנזבחו שלא לשמן כשרים אלא שלא עלו לבעלים לשם חובה חוץ מן הפסח והחטאת הפסח בזמנו והחטאת בכל זמןMISHNA: All slaughtered offerings that were slaughtered not for their own sake, i.e., during the slaughtering the slaughterer’s intent was to sacrifice a different offering, are fit, and one may continue their sacrificial rites and partake of their meat where that applies. But these offerings did not satisfy the obligation of the owner, who is therefore required to bring another offering. This is the halakha with regard to all offerings except for the Paschal offering and the sin offering. In those cases, if the owner sacrificed them not for their own sake, they are unfit. But there is a difference between the two exceptions. The Paschal offering is unfit only when sacrificed not for its sake at its appointed time, on the fourteenth day of Nisan after noon, while the sin offering is unfit any time that it is sacrificed not for its sake.
רבי אליעזר אומר אף האשם הפסח בזמנו והחטאת והאשם בכל זמן אמר רבי אליעזר החטאת באה על חטא והאשם בא על חטא מה חטאת פסולה שלא לשמה אף האשם פסול שלא לשמו
Rabbi Eliezer says: The guilt offering too is unfit when sacrificed not for its sake. According to his opinion, the correct reading of the mishna is: The Paschal offering is unfit only at its appointed time, while the sin offering and the guilt offering are unfit at all times. Rabbi Eliezer said in explanation: The sin offering is brought for performance of a transgression and the guilt offering is brought for performance of a transgression. Just as a sin offering is unfit when sacrificed not for its sake, so too, the guilt offering is unfit when sacrificed not for its sake.
The idea here is when one brings an offering, it is to be for a particular purpose. In Parashat Tzav, the sin offering and the guilt offering are juxtaposed together, and the text states “As is the sin offering, so is the guilt offering” (Vayikra / Leviticus 7:7), this places emphasis upon one placing his hand upon the head of the offering, of both the sin and guilt offerings, and confessing his sins to God and to the Priest in order to receive atonement. Sforno on Vayikra / Leviticus 7:7 Part 1 states “there is a common denominator between the chatat and the asham sacrifice. While the former atones for inadvertently committed sins for which the karet (cutting off) penalty would be in place if the sin had been committed deliberately, the asham, although not atoning for this kind of sin, does have a similar place in the pyramid of offerings, seeing the sin it atones for involves careless behavior vis a vis matters that are holy, something that one needs to be more than usually careful about. Symbolically speaking, i.e. as to their “Torah,” (instruction) they have much in common, תורה אחת.” Again we see the Torah emphasizing the importance of intention in regards to sin and guilt before God. The Mishnah follows this interpretation on the offering being unfit if not offered in an appropriate manner. This is why an offering must be presented by one’s own hand. This is about drawing near to God and details the close relationship that man has with his Creator!
The Scriptures we are looking at for this week are from Vayikra / Leviticus 7:1-27:
Vayikra / Leviticus 7:1-27
7:1 ‘Now this is the law of the guilt offering; it is most holy. 7:2 ‘In the place where they slay the burnt offering they are to slay the guilt offering, and he shall sprinkle its blood around on the altar. 7:3 ‘Then he shall offer from it all its fat: the fat tail and the fat that covers the entrails, 7:4 and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, which is on the loins, and the lobe on the liver he shall remove with the kidneys. 7:5 ‘The priest shall offer them up in smoke on the altar as an offering by fire to the Lord; it is a guilt offering. 7:6 ‘Every male among the priests may eat of it. It shall be eaten in a holy place; it is most holy. 7:7 ‘The guilt offering is like the sin offering, there is one law for them; the priest who makes atonement with it shall have it. 7:8 ‘Also the priest who presents any man’s burnt offering, that priest shall have for himself the skin of the burnt offering which he has presented. 7:9 ‘Likewise, every grain offering that is baked in the oven and everything prepared in a pan or on a griddle shall belong to the priest who presents it. 7:10 ‘Every grain offering, mixed with oil or dry, shall belong to all the sons of Aaron, to all alike. 7:11 ‘Now this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings which shall be presented to the Lord. 7:12 ‘If he offers it by way of thanksgiving, then along with the sacrifice of thanksgiving he shall offer unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers spread with oil, and cakes of well stirred fine flour mixed with oil. 7:13 ‘With the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving, he shall present his offering with cakes of leavened bread. 7:14 ‘Of this he shall present one of every offering as a contribution to the Lord; it shall belong to the priest who sprinkles the blood of the peace offerings. 7:15 ‘Now as for the flesh of the sacrifice of his thanksgiving peace offerings, it shall be eaten on the day of his offering; he shall not leave any of it over until morning. 7:16 ‘But if the sacrifice of his offering is a votive or a freewill offering, it shall be eaten on the day that he offers his sacrifice, and on the next day what is left of it may be eaten; 7:17 but what is left over from the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day shall be burned with fire. 7:18 ‘So if any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings should ever be eaten on the third day, he who offers it will not be accepted, and it will not be reckoned to his benefit. It shall be an offensive thing, and the person who eats of it will bear his own iniquity. 7:19 ‘Also the flesh that touches anything unclean shall not be eaten; it shall be burned with fire. As for other flesh, anyone who is clean may eat such flesh. 7:20 ‘But the person who eats the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings which belong to the Lord, in his uncleanness, that person shall be cut off from his people. 7:21 ‘When anyone touches anything unclean, whether human uncleanness, or an unclean animal, or any unclean detestable thing, and eats of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings which belong to the Lord, that person shall be cut off from his people.’‘ 7:22 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 7:23 ‘Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘You shall not eat any fat from an ox, a sheep or a goat. 7:24 ‘Also the fat of an animal which dies and the fat of an animal torn by beasts may be put to any other use, but you must certainly not eat it. 7:25 ‘For whoever eats the fat of the animal from which an offering by fire is offered to the Lord, even the person who eats shall be cut off from his people. 7:26 ‘You are not to eat any blood, either of bird or animal, in any of your dwellings. 7:27 ‘Any person who eats any blood, even that person shall be cut off from his people.’‘ (NASB)
א וְזֹאת תּוֹרַת הָאָשָׁם קֹדֶשׁ קָדָשִׁים הוּא: ב בִּמְקוֹם אֲשֶׁר יִשְׁחֲטוּ אֶת-הָעֹלָה יִשְׁחֲטוּ אֶת-הָאָשָׁם וְאֶת-דָּמוֹ יִזְרֹק עַל-הַמִּזְבֵּחַ סָבִיב: ג וְאֶת-כָּל-חֶלְבּוֹ יַקְרִיב מִמֶּנּוּ אֵת הָאַלְיָה וְאֶת-הַחֵלֶב הַמְכַסֶּה אֶת-הַקֶּרֶב: ד וְאֵת שְׁתֵּי הַכְּלָיֹת וְאֶת-הַחֵלֶב אֲשֶׁר עֲלֵיהֶן אֲשֶׁר עַל-הַכְּסָלִים וְאֶת-הַיֹּתֶרֶת עַל-הַכָּבֵד עַל-הַכְּלָיֹת יְסִירֶנָּה: ה וְהִקְטִיר אֹתָם הַכֹּהֵן הַמִּזְבֵּחָה אִשֶּׁה לַיהוָֹה אָשָׁם הוּא: ו כָּל-זָכָר בַּכֹּהֲנִים יֹאכֲלֶנּוּ בְּמָקוֹם קָדוֹשׁ יֵאָכֵל קֹדֶשׁ קָדָשִׁים הוּא: ז כַּחַטָּאת כָּאָשָׁם תּוֹרָה אַחַת לָהֶם הַכֹּהֵן אֲשֶׁר יְכַפֶּר-בּוֹ לוֹ יִהְיֶה: ח וְהַכֹּהֵן הַמַּקְרִיב אֶת-עֹלַת אִישׁ עוֹר הָעֹלָה אֲשֶׁר הִקְרִיב לַכֹּהֵן לוֹ יִהְיֶה: ט וְכָל-מִנְחָה אֲשֶׁר תֵּאָפֶה בַּתַּנּוּר וְכָל-נַעֲשָֹה בַמַּרְחֶשֶׁת וְעַל-מַחֲבַת לַכֹּהֵן הַמַּקְרִיב אֹתָהּ לוֹ תִהְיֶה: י וְכָל-מִנְחָה בְלוּלָה-בַשֶּׁמֶן וַחֲרֵבָה לְכָל-בְּנֵי אַהֲרֹן תִּהְיֶה אִישׁ כְּאָחִיו: פ [שלישי] יא וְזֹאת תּוֹרַת זֶבַח הַשְּׁלָמִים אֲשֶׁר יַקְרִיב לַיהוָֹה: יב אִם עַל-תּוֹדָה יַקְרִיבֶנּוּ וְהִקְרִיב | עַל-זֶבַח הַתּוֹדָה חַלּוֹת מַצּוֹת בְּלוּלֹת בַּשֶּׁמֶן וּרְקִיקֵי מַצּוֹת מְשֻׁחִים בַּשָּׁמֶן וְסֹלֶת מֻרְבֶּכֶת חַלֹּת בְּלוּלֹת בַּשָּׁמֶן: יג עַל-חַלֹּת לֶחֶם חָמֵץ יַקְרִיב קָרְבָּנוֹ עַל-זֶבַח תּוֹדַת שְׁלָמָיו: יד וְהִקְרִיב מִמֶּנּוּ אֶחָד מִכָּל-קָרְבָּן תְּרוּמָה לַיהוָֹה לַכֹּהֵן הַזֹּרֵק אֶת-דַּם הַשְּׁלָמִים לוֹ יִהְיֶה: טו וּבְשַֹר זֶבַח תּוֹדַת שְׁלָמָיו בְּיוֹם קָרְבָּנוֹ יֵאָכֵל לֹא-יַנִּיחַ מִמֶּנּוּ עַד-בֹּקֶר: טז וְאִם-נֶדֶר | אוֹ נְדָבָה זֶבַח קָרְבָּנוֹ בְּיוֹם הַקְרִיבוֹ אֶת-זִבְחוֹ יֵאָכֵל וּמִמָּחֳרָת וְהַנּוֹתָר מִמֶּנּוּ יֵאָכֵל: יז וְהַנּוֹתָר מִבְּשַֹר הַזָּבַח בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁי בָּאֵשׁ יִשָּׂרֵף: יח וְאִם הֵאָכֹל יֵאָכֵל מִבְּשַֹר-זֶבַח שְׁלָמָיו בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁי לֹא יֵרָצֶה הַמַּקְרִיב אֹתוֹ לֹא יֵחָשֵׁב לוֹ פִּגּוּל יִהְיֶה וְהַנֶּפֶשׁ הָאֹכֶלֶת מִמֶּנּוּ עֲוֹנָהּ תִּשָּׂא: יט וְהַבָּשָֹר אֲשֶׁר-יִגַּע בְּכָל-טָמֵא לֹא יֵאָכֵל בָּאֵשׁ יִשָּׂרֵף וְהַבָּשָֹר כָּל-טָהוֹר יֹאכַל בָּשָֹר: כ וְהַנֶּפֶשׁ אֲשֶׁר-תֹּאכַל בָּשָֹר מִזֶּבַח הַשְּׁלָמִים אֲשֶׁר לַיהוָֹה וְטֻמְאָתוֹ עָלָיו וְנִכְרְתָה הַנֶּפֶשׁ הַהִוא מֵעַמֶּיהָ: כא וְנֶפֶשׁ כִּי-תִגַּע בְּכָל-טָמֵא בְּטֻמְאַת אָדָם אוֹ | בִּבְהֵמָה טְמֵאָה אוֹ בְּכָל-שֶׁקֶץ טָמֵא וְאָכַל מִבְּשַֹר-זֶבַח הַשְּׁלָמִים אֲשֶׁר לַיהוָֹה וְנִכְרְתָה הַנֶּפֶשׁ הַהִוא מֵעַמֶּיהָ: כב וַיְדַבֵּר יְהוָֹה אֶל-מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹר: כג דַּבֵּר אֶל-בְּנֵי יִשְֹרָאֵל לֵאמֹר כָּל-חֵלֶב שׁוֹר וְכֶשֶֹב וָעֵז לֹא תֹאכֵלוּ: כד וְחֵלֶב נְבֵלָה וְחֵלֶב טְרֵפָה יֵעָשֶֹה לְכָל-מְלָאכָה וְאָכֹל לֹא תֹאכְלֻהוּ: כה כִּי כָּל-אֹכֵל חֵלֶב מִן-הַבְּהֵמָה אֲשֶׁר יַקְרִיב מִמֶּנָּה אִשֶּׁה לַיהוָֹה וְנִכְרְתָה הַנֶּפֶשׁ הָאֹכֶלֶת מֵעַמֶּיהָ: כו וְכָל-דָּם לֹא תֹאכְלוּ בְּכֹל מוֹשְׁבֹתֵיכֶם לָעוֹף וְלַבְּהֵמָה: כז כָּל-נֶפֶשׁ אֲשֶׁר-תֹּאכַל כָּל-דָּם וְנִכְרְתָה הַנֶּפֶשׁ הַהִוא מֵעַמֶּיהָ: פ כח וַיְדַבֵּר יְהוָֹה אֶל-מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹר: כט דַּבֵּר אֶל-בְּנֵי יִשְֹרָאֵל לֵאמֹר הַמַּקְרִיב אֶת-זֶבַח שְׁלָמָיו לַיהֹוָה יָבִיא אֶת-קָרְבָּנוֹ לַיהוָֹה מִזֶּבַח שְׁלָמָיו: ל יָדָיו תְּבִיאֶינָה אֵת אִשֵּׁי יְהוָֹה אֶת-הַחֵלֶב עַל-הֶחָזֶה יְבִיאֶנּוּ אֵת הֶחָזֶה לְהָנִיף אֹתוֹ תְּנוּפָה לִפְנֵי יְהוָֹה: לא וְהִקְטִיר הַכֹּהֵן אֶת-הַחֵלֶב הַמִּזְבֵּחָה וְהָיָה הֶחָזֶה לְאַהֲרֹן וּלְבָנָיו: לב וְאֵת שׁוֹק הַיָּמִין תִּתְּנוּ תְרוּמָה לַכֹּהֵן מִזִּבְחֵי שַׁלְמֵיכֶם: לג הַמַּקְרִיב אֶת-דַּם הַשְּׁלָמִים וְאֶת-הַחֵלֶב מִבְּנֵי אַהֲרֹן לוֹ תִהְיֶה שׁוֹק הַיָּמִין לְמָנָה: לד כִּי אֶת-חֲזֵה הַתְּנוּפָה וְאֵת | שׁוֹק הַתְּרוּמָה לָקַחְתִּי מֵאֵת בְּנֵי-יִשְֹרָאֵל מִזִּבְחֵי שַׁלְמֵיהֶם וָאֶתֵּן אֹתָם לְאַהֲרֹן הַכֹּהֵן וּלְבָנָיו לְחָק-עוֹלָם מֵאֵת בְּנֵי יִשְֹרָאֵל: לה זֹאת מִשְׁחַת אַהֲרֹן וּמִשְׁחַת בָּנָיו מֵאִשֵּׁי יְהוָֹה בְּיוֹם הִקְרִיב אֹתָם לְכַהֵן לַיהוָֹה: לו אֲשֶׁר צִוָּה יְהֹוָה לָתֵת לָהֶם בְּיוֹם מָשְׁחוֹ אֹתָם מֵאֵת בְּנֵי יִשְֹרָאֵל חֻקַּת עוֹלָם לְדֹרֹתָם: לז זֹאת הַתּוֹרָה לָעֹלָה לַמִּנְחָה וְלַחַטָּאת וְלָאָשָׁם וְלַמִּלּוּאִים וּלְזֶבַח הַשְּׁלָמִים:
This week’s Torah portion speaks about the peace offerings and how all of it is to be eating by the third day, any remaining is to be burned up in the fire. We also read about the state of a person if he is ṭâmêʼ (טָמֵא, unclean) he may not eat of the sacrifice.
Vayikra / Leviticus 7:18-21
7:18 And if any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings be eaten at all on the third day, it shall not be accepted, neither shall it be imputed unto him that offereth it: it shall be an abomination, and the soul that eateth of it shall bear his iniquity. 7:19 And the flesh that toucheth any unclean thing shall not be eaten; it shall be burnt with fire: and as for the flesh, all that be clean shall eat thereof. 7:20 But the soul that eateth of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, that pertain unto the Lord, having his uncleanness upon him, even that soul shall be cut off from his people. 7:21 Moreover the soul that shall touch any unclean thing, as the uncleanness of man, or any unclean beast, or any abominable unclean thing, and eat of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which pertain unto the Lord, even that soul shall be cut off from his people. (NASB)
I believe that when the Torah wrote וְטֻמְאָת֖וֹ עָלָ֑יו in verse 20, the Lord God Almighty is also teaching us something different altogether. וְהַנֶּ֜פֶשׁ אֲשֶׁר־תֹּאכַ֣ל בָּשָׂ֗ר מִזֶּ֤בַח הַשְּׁלָמִים֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר לַיהוָ֔ה וְטֻמְאָת֖וֹ עָלָ֑יו וְנִכְרְתָ֛ה הַנֶּ֥פֶשׁ הַהִ֖וא מֵעַמֶּֽיהָ׃ 7:20 But the person who, in a state of uncleanness, eats flesh from the LORD’s sacrifices of peace offering, that person shall be cut off from his kin. The impurity spoken of here is either an intrinsic impurity (i.e. someone who suffers from a constant flow, tzaraat skin disease, or nocternal emission) or an extrinsic impurity (i.e. acquired from touching a corpse, or touching someone who suffers from a constant flow [i,e, niddah/menstral], or from someone who has tzaraat, an animal that is unfit for food, or from flying or crawling creatures that are unfit for food). Ibn Ezra says that the reference to his uncleanness being upon him (וְטֻמְאָת֖וֹ עָלָ֑יו, in a state of uncleanness) this was a reference to one having already undergone the purification process of seven days as in the example of having touched someone who was dead but has not yet gone through the sunset of the seventh day. He discusses how there is an impurity (i.e. touching the dead, unclean animal, etc) as in the list of intrinsic and extrinsic impurity, as not having a serious effect upon the soul of the person concerned. Ibn Ezra states this is more like a veil of impurity that only envelops the outside of the body of a person. He says this is why the reason of ritual immersion is sufficient to remove the vestiges of the impurity. He then makes the statement that the immersion (mikvah) would become ineffective if the impurity had penetrated the inside of the body. This is illustrated in the Torah וְהַנֶּ֜פֶשׁ אֲשֶׁר־תֹּאכַ֣ל … וְטֻמְאָת֖וֹ עָלָ֑יו “and the soul that eats … and his impurity is upon him” informs us that joining what is holy (the sacrifice) with what is impure is under the penalty of karet (the cutting off, death). The significance of this is brought out for us when Yeshua taught us how impurity comes from within Mark 7:14-23 after exposing the hypocrisy of the scribe and Pharisees. He said in Mark 7:21 For from within the hearts of men come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 7:22 greed, wickedness, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, arrogance, and foolishness. 7:23 All these evils come from within, and these are what defile a man.” (NASB) Studying the Tanach (תנך, Torah, Neviim, Ketuvim) and the Apostolic Writings, we learn the major premise of the Torah and the Apostolic Writings for all men is (i) to Love God, (ii) to Love our neighbor, and (iii) to live Moral and (iv) Ethical lives before God. All of the Torah can be distilled down to these four things. This may also be reduced further to only points (i) and (ii), loving God and loving your neighbor since loving God we will want to obey His commands living moral and ethical lives.
In Vayikra / Leviticus 7:21 we read the following, כא וְנֶפֶשׁ כִּי-תִגַּע בְּכָל-טָמֵא בְּטֻמְאַת אָדָם אוֹ | בִּבְהֵמָה טְמֵאָה אוֹ בְּכָל-שֶׁקֶץ טָמֵא וְאָכַל מִבְּשַֹר-זֶבַח הַשְּׁלָמִים אֲשֶׁר לַיהוָֹה וְנִכְרְתָה הַנֶּפֶשׁ הַהִוא מֵעַמֶּיהָ: 7:21 Moreover the soul that shall touch any unclean thing, as the uncleanness of man, or any unclean beast, or any abominable unclean thing, and eat of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which pertain unto the Lord, even that soul shall be cut off from his people. (NASB) The rabbis speak of the way this text is written asking why does the Torah chose to write וְנֶפֶשׁ כִּי-תִגַּע, a feminine way of describing the contact instead of writing איש כי יגע the parallel masculine form? Correspondingly, why does Moshe write וְאָכַל in masculine form as opposed to the feminine form ואכלה? (Or HaChaim on Vayikra / Leviticus 7:20 Part 4) The reason this is written in this way is to reveal to us that the contact with impurity was intentional and not merely accidental. This leads us to understand how the person becomes culpable of the penalty mentioned. The word נֶפֶשׁ (soul) alludes to the intentional act and is the why Moshe writes this way instead of using איש (man). This is also why in Vayikra / Leviticus 7:20 the word נֶפֶשׁ was used instead of איש. The word נֶפֶשׁ (soul) alludes to the awareness of the sinner of what he is doing. This draws us back to Parashat Vayikra and that of unintentional sins verses intentional sins, there is no sacrifice for intentional sins. This is why Teshuvah (Repentance) is absolutely necessary. This is why the Lord God is long suffering with His people such that they would repent of their sins and turn from their wicked ways. The word נֶפֶשׁ indicates that the person who committed the trespass cannot claim unawareness of doing something wrong. Just as in these verses here from Vayikra / Leviticus 7:20-21 on uncleanness, the word נֶפֶשׁ implying that the guilty party was aware of touching something he should not have touched (verse 21) or he was aware that he ate something he should not have eaten (verse 20), this exposes the hypocrisy of men in their hearts and why Yeshua said in Mark 7:21 For from within the hearts of men come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 7:22 greed, wickedness, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, arrogance, and foolishness. 7:23 All these evils come from within, and these are what defile a man.” (NASB) The reason the Torah wrote וְנִכְרְתָה הַנֶּפֶשׁ הַהִוא, “this soul will be cutoff / exterminated,” is to teach us that God will not only punish the body of the sinner by premature death, but that He will also punish his soul by death. What these things teach us is how the once saved always saved doctrine is in great error. One does not place his trust and faith in Yeshua (Jesus) and then turn and live a godless life the rest of his days, and the Lord takes him out to bring him home because he was no longer of any earthly use. This is clearly a false doctrine and should be avoided since it has no biblical basis! This is why Peter wrote what he did in his second epistle in 2 Peter 3:9 saying that the Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise as some would say, the Lord does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. The Lord does not delay the promise, as some esteem slowness, but is patient. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness, etc this is because He wants all to repent and to turn from their ways. The eventual destruction that comes is not to whisk one home (to heaven). It is the end result of being cutoff due to a life of unfaithfulness, unrepentance, and sinful living. This is what the book of Vayikra / Leviticus is teaching us in the Torah portion, we are not to live an unrepentant life before God. Our faith just doesn’t work like that, we must have faith and also be faithful to God, His Messiah, and His Word! Three times is the punishment of excision is stated in the Torah with reference to people eating holy sacrifices in a state of bodily uncleanness. This is synonymous to the unrepentant soul who thinks that he is partaking in a heavenly blessing by faith, while continuing to live a life of unfaithfulness to God and His Word. In the teaching on bodily uncleanness, Yeshua refocused us to the impurity of the heart and the need for atonement through repentance and faith! There is a great significance in these things because they are related to the Lord God working in our lives, and our striving for His righteousness. If we teach people once saved always saved, or perpetuate this false doctrine, there is the chance of leading someone right to Hell after a long life of assumption their words were enough to get them into heaven. The unrepentant life is a clear indicator that something is wrong on the inside, and that either one does not truly believe in the One God has sent to save us from our sins. There is a very broad application to this teaching today, because it may directly be applied to those who accept LGBT as a way of life and claim they have the salvation of God by faith in Yeshua the Messiah. Doing so results in an uncleanness on the inside that disqualifies the sacrifice of atonement in Yeshua. This is what the Author of the book of Hebrews was saying in Hebrews 10, “there is no longer a sacrifice for atonement for those who after knowing the truth continue to sin.” These are the reasons why the doctrine of once saved always saved is a great error! This is also why the Torah is a “must have” for God’s people to take the time to study and know what God wants for our lives. It is within this Hebraic way of thought that the Torah and the Gospel Message go hand-in-hand!
