The Daily
Sacrifices
Exd. 28:1-8 And the LORD spake unto
Moses, saying, Command the children of Israel, and say unto them, My offering,
and my bread for my sacrifices made by fire, for a sweet savour unto me, shall
ye observe to offer unto me in their due season. And thou shalt say unto them,
This is the offering made by fire which ye shall offer unto the LORD; two lambs
of the first year without spot day by day, for a continual burnt offering. The
one lamb shalt thou offer in the morning, and the other lamb shalt thou offer
at even; And a tenth part of an ephah of flour for a meat offering, mingled
with the fourth part of an hin of beaten oil. It is a continual burnt offering,
which was ordained in mount Sinai for a sweet savour, a sacrifice made by fire
unto the LORD. And the drink offering thereof shall be the fourth part of an
hin for the one lamb: in the holy place shalt thou cause the strong wine to be
poured unto the LORD for a drink offering. And the other lamb shalt thou offer
at even: as the meat offering of the morning, and as the drink offering
thereof, thou shalt offer it, a sacrifice made by fire, of a sweet savour unto
the LORD.
Exd. 29:38-42 Now this is that which
thou shalt offer upon the altar; two lambs of the first year day by day
continually. The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning; and the other lamb
thou shalt offer at even: And with the one lamb a tenth deal of flour mingled
with the fourth part of an hin of beaten oil; and the fourth part of an hin of
wine for a drink offering. And the other lamb thou shalt offer at even, and
shalt do thereto according to the meat offering of the morning, and according
to the drink offering thereof, for a sweet savour, an offering made by fire
unto the LORD. This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your
generations at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD:
where I will meet you, to speak there unto thee.
Other
Scriptural references among some are:
Psalm 5:3,
92:1-5, 141:2. The daily sacrifice, offered morning and evening consisted of:
• One
yearling lamb, for a burnt offering.
• A portion
of flour, for a meal offering.
• 1 1/4
pints of wine, for a drink offering.
2 yearling
male lambs; the first was tied to the altar at dawn (1st hr) & sacrificed
9am (3rd hr). The second lamb was tied to the altar at noon (6th hr) &
sacrificed at 3pm (9th hr Hebrew time) Both lambs included libation of 4.5
liters fine flour mixed w/ 1.87 liters wine poured inside the sanctuary. This
sacrifice was doubled on the Sabbath.
In Judaism
this is usually called the “Tamid Offering,” meaning the “standing, perpetual
or continual offering.” So it goes without saying this offering was a communal,
obligatory offering. It was a whole burnt offering, meaning nothing was taken
from it and used or consumed, but all of it was reduced to ash.
In the
Scriptures it called in Hebrew, “Bayin Ha Erev,” literal translation = between
the twilights = 12 noon. It is referenced in Dan. 12:11 as well as in
Non-Biblical References such as; Mishnah: Tamid 1-4; Antiquities of the Jews,
Josephus 14.4.3; Special Laws I and Philo, XXXV, just to name a few.
The purpose
of such sacrifices was for a daily sin offering for the Covenant people.
Basically
here again was when the Obligatory “Tamid” Burnt Offering was offered:
1. Every
morning and evening (Exo. 29:38-42; Num. 28:3-8).
2. Each
Sabbath day the offering was doubled (Num. 28:9, 10).
3. At the
new moon, the three great festivals, the Day of Atonement, and Feast of
Trumpets (Num. 28:11-29:39).
The Tamid
Offering outlined in the passages above were offered everyday, seven days a
week, every day of the month, 365 days a year and was totally unrelated to the
inauguration ritual. The Torah mentions it here to tell us that it was offered
even before the Tabernacled assumed it’s full sanctity. Ibn Ezra and Chikzuni
said, “Not that the Tamid, like the other offerings of the inaugural week, was
offered by Moses, and the Kohanim assumed their responsibility for it on the
first of Nissan/Aviv.” – Stones Tanak
V.38-39 Two
male yearling lambs were to be obligatorily offered as an Olah/Burnt Offering
by the Priests during Shacharit (Morning) and Mincha (Afternoon) every day,
even on High Holy Days along with their special offerings.
Since the
Temple currently isn’t standing and thus the sacrifices has ceased and because
according to the Torah we are forbidden to sacrifice anywhere but the Temple
Mount in Jerusalem, our prayers have temporarily replaced them and Yeshua’s
blood sufficiently covers the absence of blood of any offering.
Here is what
an anti-missionary may say in response to my statement above, “Okay, for the
sake of argument, let’s say Yeshua is the Divine Messiah; His so-called
“atoning death on the cross” is meaningless, for we know since the Temple has
been destroyed that our prayers replace the sacrifices. Besides, the God of
Israel does not condone human sacrifices. Also I don’t think you understand the
nature of the ancient blood sacrifices.”
This is a
classic argument to skirt around the issue at hand. The anti-missionaries will
tell you that that the prophets clearly states that G-d did not care for their
blood sacrifices and that since the Temple was destroyed that prayers have
replace the sacrifices and that is sufficient means for atonement today.
Okay, first
off, if the blood sacrifices are of no importance, why was it done in the past
and way is it looked forward to in the future with the rebuilding of the 3rd
Temple and why do Ultra-Orthodox Jews sling a chicken over their head and say
something to the effect, may the blood of this chicken suffice for my atonement
and then they butcher and eat it after Yom Kippur? If sacrifices are not
important anymore why is there a Temple Institute that are training up Priests
to perform such sacrifices when the Temple is rebuilt?
The prophets
did say God did not care for their blood sacrifices, He also said He didn’t care
for the Feasts that they observe that He Himself instituted in Leviticus 23!
Does this mean that God changes His mind, is wishy-washy? No way! God forbid!
Then we must seek the context of such claims and passages to explain this
issue. Isaiah chapter one is perfect for this, for in it God tells Israel that
He loathes their Feasts and Sacrifices. Why? Because they perform it out of
religious rote and not with true intent and sincerity of heart. What makes the
sacrifices effective is the intent and motive in which they are performed. God
wants the heart of the individual before the sacrifice of the animal. God says
continually over and over that a sacrifice given in the right manner is a
pleasing aroma to Him, a sweet smelling savor in His nostrils. This is why God
prefers mercy and not sacrifice (Hos. 6:6).
If you say
that God replaced the sacrificial system and did away with it you are worse
than Christians who says that the Torah has been done away with. For you are
making God a liar and one who changes which He emphatically says He does not
(Mal. 3:6, Titus 1:2, Heb. 13:8).
It is true
however that prayer has temporarily replaced the sacrifices, but has not done
away with them, this was even prophesied, and it was prophesied that they would
again resume (Hos. 3:4-5, 14:1-2). This was cause Israel to repent and desire
the things of G-d and His Torah once more. Besides, even if we did have the
Temple today the majority of us could not sacrifice because we live in the
Diaspora and cannot go to the Temple to sacrifice. So what is the function of
the sacrifices then?
Many
Christian and Messianic believers mistakenly believe that since the Temple is
not standing and we have not functioning Levitical priesthood and that Yeshua
came to die on the cross that the Temple and its sacrifices have become
obsolete. Many Jews believe that because we no longer have a standing Temple
and that prayers have replaced animal sacrifice that sacrifices are no longer
important.
We see that
after the death, burial, resurrection and ascension of Yeshua that the Nazarene
Jewish believers still participated in worship at the Temple.
Acts 2:46
And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread
from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart…
“They
continued,” which means that despite Yeshua being Messiah and dying for our
sins, despite that not everyone accepted Yeshua as Messiah, the early Jewish
believers still attended and participated in religious functions at the Temple.
This was a normal, regular part of their religious life. When Yeshua was on
earth he respected the Temple and revered it as His Father’s house (Lk. 2:49,
Jn. 2:16), so it is natural that His followers would have that same zeal and
respect for the Temple. This did not change because Yeshua came on the scene
and died on the cross for our sins.
Acts 3:1-2 Now Peter and John went up
together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour. And a
certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at
the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that
entered into the temple;
We see in
this passage that it was customary for Kefa (Peter) and Yochannon (John) to go
to the Temple and pray at the time of Mincha (Afternoon) prayers. It didn’t say
that they went to heal or evangelize, they went to pray, and it just so happens
that on their way they say a lame man and healed him in Yeshua’s name. This
caused quite a stir and in Acts 4 we see Kefa and Yochannon speaking to the
people about what happened and ended up telling the people about Yeshua and the
resurrection. This caused such a disturbance they arrested them and
incarcerated them. Acts 5 records their miraculous escape and we see them back
at the Temple preaching. The Sadducees held power over the Temple and yes, the
authorities had an issue of them proclaiming Yeshua as Messiah, because they
say many Messiah’s come and go and they didn’t want a crazed following. But I
believe the Sadducees took more issue with them speaking about the resurrection
because one of the major doctrines of the Sadducees is that they didn’t believe
in the resurrection of the dead, not just Yeshua’s resurrection, but the
phenomenon of resurrection period.
I realize I
repeat myself a lot in this thesis but I do so to drive the point home, for
relevance and that repetition helps to solidify learning.
Let us look
once again at Rav Sha’ul (Apostle Paul) and his views in regards to the Temple
and its service. Let us first make clear that Rav Sha’ul, even after
“conversion”, accepting Yeshua as Messiah, didn’t change his Jewish practices,
affiliation and or beliefs to a radical degree.
GALATIANS 1:13-14For ye have heard of
my conversation in time past in the Jews' religion, how that beyond measure I
persecuted the church of God, and wasted it: And profited in the Jews' religion
above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the
traditions of my fathers.
BECAME A
BELIVEING JEWISH PHARISEE:
ACTS 23:6 But when Paul perceived
that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the
council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope
and resurrection of the dead I am called in question.
ZEAL FOR HIS
JEWISH BROTHERS:
ROMANS 10:1 Brethren, my heart's
desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.
WAS TORAH
OBSERVANT AFTER BEING CHANGED BY YESHUA:
ACTS 28:17And it came to pass, that
after three days Paul called the chief of the Jews together: and when they were
come together, he said unto them, Men [and] brethren, though I have committed
nothing against the people, or customs of our fathers, yet was I delivered
prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans.
Here Rav
Sha’ul proudly proclaims that not only has he kept the Torah, but also the
traditions and customs of the Father’s relating to the performance of the
commandments!
ACTS 21:17-26 And when we were come
to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. And the day following Paul went
in with us unto James; and all the elders were present. And when he had saluted
them, he declared particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles
by his ministry. And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord, and said unto
him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe;
and they are all zealous of the law: And they are informed of thee, that thou
teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying
that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the
customs. What is it therefore? the multitude must needs come together: for they
will hear that thou art come. Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have
four men which have a vow on them; Them take, and purify thyself with them, and
be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that
those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that
thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law. As touching the Gentiles
which believe, we have written and concluded that they observe no such thing,
save only that they keep themselves from things offered to idols, and from
blood, and from strangled, and from fornication. Then Paul took the men, and
the next day purifying himself with them entered into the temple, to signify
the accomplishment of the days of purification, until that an offering should
be offered for every one of them.
Here Rav
Sha’ul was accused of teaching Gentiles and Jews that they didn’t have to keep
the Torah, which was a total lie. So to solve the problem the Elder’s suggested
an act on Rav Sha’ul’s part that would prove to the people his allegiance to
the Torah, which was to take on a Nazarite vow (which is a part of the “Old
Testament” Law) along with other believers and to have Rav Sha’ul fit the bill
for the other believers in regards to the sacrifices.
This meant
he took on a Nazarite vow, and when the vow was completed he went to the Temple
to offer the prescribed sacrifice! Why would Rav Sha’ul do this if he thought
the Torah, the Temple and the Sacrifices were done away with, or if he actually
was teaching others to forsake the Torah!?
Either Rav
Sha’ul was a Torah Observant Jew till the end or right here is proving himself
to be a two faced liar, playing whatever crowd he was with at the moment.
I say that
the Scriptures are evident and clear that Rav Sha’ul never abandoned Judaism,
the Torah, nor did he assimilate into the Roman culture at that time, nor did
he convert to “Christianity”.
Unfortunately
As Kefa said in II Peter 3:15-16 that Rav Sha’ul’s texts has been and it is
evident even now have been taken out of context to suit a bias Anti-Jewish and
Anti-Torah doctrine in the majority of Christianity.
Acts 22:17-19 And it came to pass,
that, when I was come again to Jerusalem, even while I prayed in the temple, I
was in a trance; And saw him saying unto me, Make haste, and get thee quickly
out of Jerusalem: for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me. And I
said, Lord, they know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that
believed on thee:
We see from
this passage that the Temple was still a very important place to Rav Sha’ul and
the 1st century believers (It was obviously used and important to mainstream
Judaism at the time as well). So important that we see Rav Sha’ul going there
to pray and receives a vision from God. This even lends validity that even
after Yeshua came and went that God’s favor and power still resided in the
Temple and God expected the followers of Yeshua to go there when appropriate.
I believe it
is abundantly clear that the first century believing Nazarene Jews still went
to the Temple to sacrifice and worship during the pilgrimage festivals and to
pray and even give money in support of the Temple (Exodus 23:17, Acts 2:46,
Acts 24:14-18).
As for today
the Temple and a working Levitical priesthood does not exist, and most Jews
would agree it is on account of our sin and disobedience to the Torah. So
obviously the Commandments regarding our duties and obligations in regard to
Temple service has been temporarily suspended until the 3rd Temple is rebuilt
and I believe prophecy is clear that the Temple will be rebuilt and sacrifices
will resume.
I believe
similarly to Maimonides of the 11th century who said that we do not need a Temple
in order to worship the God of our Father’s. I can worship God anywhere. But,
if there was a fully functioning Temple that met all Torah requirements to be
legitimate, I would not have to think twice about going up to the “House of the
Lord” and do what the 1st century believers did before the Temple was destroyed
in 70 C.E., which is to pray and offer sacrifices to ADONAI.
Once again
let me repeat for you the reasons sacrifices we still offered even by the
Apostles after Yeshua’s death, burial, resurrection and ascension.
1. It was to
be a physical object lesson that pointed to the coming Messiah and what He
would do. It acted as a credit card that covered, did not take away, and rolled
back the sin debt until someone, Messiah, could come along and pay it. In the
time of the Third Temple the sacrifices will be a reminder of the Messiah who
came and what He did (Is. 56, 66; Zech. 14:16-21). The sacrifices that took
place before Yahshua came, only pointed to the Messiah which was to come. The
sacrifices that will take place after Yahshua, and that will take place in the
Millennial Reign, point back to Messiah’s atoning work.
2. It
provided and will provide food, materials and income for the Priests and their
families (Leviticus 5-10).
There were
also special occasions where the Burnt Offerings were mandatory:
1. At the
consecration of Priests (Exo. 29:15; Lev. 8:18; 9:12).
2. At the
purification of women (Lev. 12:6-8).
3. At the
cleansing of lepers (Lev. 14:19).
4. For
removal of other ceremonial uncleanness (Lev. 15:15, 30).
5. On any
accidental breach of the Nazarite vow, or at its conclusion (Num. 6:11, 14).
From the
accounts in the book of Acts we can clearly see the first century Nazarene
Jewish believers in Yeshua meet “daily” and during appointed festival times at
the Temple and offered “offerings”, “sacrifices” and “gifts” as practiced by
all Jews at that time. The first century believers in Yeshua clearly saw no
conflict with this and their belief in Yeshua being the ultimate atoning
sacrifice. There was no problem or issue with belief in Yeshua and
participating in Temple activities and having both coexist simultaneously.
According to
the Midrash when Abraham bound Isaac for a sacrifice, God instituted the
offering of two lambs daily, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. It is
said that, “When man is young, he is full of zest, and pursues his aspirations
of wealth and success. Scaled to the day, this stage of life is the
"morning services" the morning period. Many times, unfortunately, he
claims that this preoccupation does not allow time for Torah study and service
of God.
When man
passes the mid-years of his life, which corresponds to the afternoon he claims
that he lacks the strength to study Torah due to physical weakening.
At the
binding of Isaac, Abraham was an old man of 137 years and Isaac was a young man
of 37. Regardless of their respective ages, the two of them dedicated
themselves entirely to the service of God. At that time, God instituted the two
daily sacrifices, to teach man that, regardless of his age, he must serve God
every day. -- http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/349086/jewish/Tetzaveh-QA.htm
Spiritually
speaking we see that Messiah is the Standing (Tamid) Sacrifice. Now we have
already discussed the procedures of how a Burnt Offering is made and how it
points to Messiah, so I will not going much into that here. His death on the
execution stake during Pesach occurred in the same time 42 frame as the “Tamid”
Daily Sacrifice:
• At dawn He
was condemned (Mat 26:66-75).
• At 9am He
was crucified (Mk 5:25-6).
• At 12 the
sun turned dark (Mat 27:45).
• At 3pm He
died (Mat 27:46-50).
Yochannon
(John) sees Yeshua as the Standing Sacrifice in:
Rev. 5:6 And I beheld, and, lo, in
the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders,
stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are
the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.
And yet He
is also our Kohen Ha Gadol (High Priest):
Heb 8:1-3 Now of the things which we
have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the
right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; A minister of the
sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man. For
every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of
necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer.
