Morning Light – Leviticus 17

[Leviticus 17] Where is the Door of Your Tabernacle? In this chapter God instructs Moses regarding the shedding of animal blood. Animal blood in a scriptural context always represents substitutionary life. What do you pour your life out in pursuit of? In every life there is a “Door of the Tabernacle”. Jesus said “I am the Door…” Our lives are to be what theologians have termed “Christo-centric”. Every other focus results in emptiness and frustration.

[Lev 17:1-16 KJV] 1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2 Speak unto Aaron, and unto his sons, and unto all the children of Israel, and say unto them; This [is] the thing which the LORD hath commanded, saying, 3 What man soever [there be] of the house of Israel, that killeth an ox, or lamb, or goat, in the camp, or that killeth [it] out of the camp, 4 And bringeth it not unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to offer an offering unto the LORD before the tabernacle of the LORD; blood shall be imputed unto that man; he hath shed blood; and that man shall be cut off from among his people: 5 To the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices, which they offer in the open field, even that they may bring them unto the LORD, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, unto the priest, and offer them [for] peace offerings unto the LORD. 6 And the priest shall sprinkle the blood upon the altar of the LORD [at] the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and burn the fat for a sweet savour unto the LORD. 7 And they shall no more offer their sacrifices unto devils, after whom they have gone a whoring. This shall be a statute for ever unto them throughout their generations. 8 And thou shalt say unto them, Whatsoever man [there be] of the house of Israel, or of the strangers which sojourn among you, that offereth a burnt offering or sacrifice, 9 And bringeth it not unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to offer it unto the LORD; even that man shall be cut off from among his people. 10 And whatsoever man [there be] of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, that eateth any manner of blood; I will even set my face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among his people. 11 For the life of the flesh [is] in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it [is] the blood [that] maketh an atonement for the soul. 12 Therefore I said unto the children of Israel, No soul of you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger that sojourneth among you eat blood. 13 And whatsoever man [there be] of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, which hunteth and catcheth any beast or fowl that may be eaten; he shall even pour out the blood thereof, and cover it with dust. 14 For [it is] the life of all flesh; the blood of it [is] for the life thereof: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh: for the life of all flesh [is] the blood thereof: whosoever eateth it shall be cut off. 15 And every soul that eateth that which died [of itself], or that which was torn [with beasts, whether it be] one of your own country, or a stranger, he shall both wash his clothes, and bathe [himself] in water, and be unclean until the even: then shall he be clean. 16 But if he wash [them] not, nor bathe his flesh; then he shall bear his iniquity.

In this chapter we see that the killing of animals otherwise eligible for sacrifice was strictly controlled. One of the ongoing generational sins of the nation of Israel was idolatry. For this reason they were not allowed to indiscriminately take animal life. In the first century Middle East it wasn’t possible to buy meat in a market that wasn’t sacrificed to an idol. The problem God is addressing in these statutes regarding the taking of animal life deals with idolatry and the sacredness of all life not just human life. If animal blood was shed it had to be accounted for at the door of the tabernacle.

What is the significance of the door of the tabernacle? This phrase occurs 51 times in the bible. Exodus 33:9 tells us that this is where the Lord talked with Moses. Ask the question where is the door of your Tabernacle? In your life is there something, someone, somewhere, some set of circumstances that constitutes the “door of the tabernacle” for you? This is the place where God’s voice is heard in your life and the place where your consecration to God is expressed and established. That is where the blood must be applied. That is where the blood must be poured out – representing Christ’s blood poured out for you and your life poured out in service to Christ. Animal life in the Old Testament always represents substitutionary life. The animal represents the worshipper. In taking animal life the worshipper is saying “I am giving my life to God, I am offering My life to God.”

What are you offering your life up for? Have you ever heard someone say “this job is killing me”? What is your life centered on? Your spouse? Your children? Your church? Jesus spoke about building on sand. Our lives are to be focused upon the Lord Jesus Christ. When that doesn’t happen, there are consequences. In the Old Testament when sacrificial life was not accounted for at the Door of the Tabernacle that person responsible was cut off from among the people. Many times, people realize they are suffering and they question why. The church answers with psychology, 12 step programs, self help strategies but the problem is a God problem. Calling people into realignment with the person of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Voice of God in their life is the only lasting solution.

We can see that these statutes emphasized the sacred nature and absolute important of the door of the Tabernacle. Jesus said four times in scripture that He was the “Door”:

[Jhn 10:1-2, 7, 9 KJV] 1 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. 2 But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. … 7 Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. … 9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.

When animal life was expended in the open field it had to be accounted for at the Door of the Tabernacle. The person responsible brought the animal directly to the door and was required to give an explanation as to the circumstances of the animal’s death. This was a matter of answerability that could result in capital punishment if ignored. What does this speak to us in the New Covenant? There are many accountability demands upon our lives. The church demands we make ourselves accountable to its agenda. Society as a whole and specifically the government demands we make ourselves and our revenues accountable to them. Our friends and relatives, our spouses and children make accountability demands upon our lives, our time and our resources as well. Where is our accountability? Where are our highest priorities to be set? Our accountability for sacrificial life – what we are sacrificing our life for is at the DOOR OF THE TABNERACLE where the voice of God is heard, where the testimony of Jesus DWELLING IN OUR HEARTS BY FAITH is manifesting itself.

If a sacrifice was made – even to God Himself – somewhere other than the Door of the Tabernacle, this was forbidden. There are consequences when we make sacrificial commitments outside the context of the mandates of the kingdom. Is Israel it resulted in being “cut off from among the people…” Many people are isolated, unfulfilled, empty and spiritually barren and they don’t know why. Spiritual values are trivialized, the scriptures is marginalized, the prophetic word and place of the fivefold ministry is disregarded and sidelined as irrelevant to everyday life. There is something in man that says “I must be a part of something larger than myself…” This is where a sense of belonging comes from. I belong because I am plugged into a scheme of things that transcends I, me, my and mine. The society and community of the church, the mandate of the church is to provide this larger context by which men and women are lifted out of the indignity of self-focus into the greater purposes of the kingdom of God.

13 And whatsoever man [there be] of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, which hunteth and catcheth any beast or fowl that may be eaten; he shall even pour out the blood thereof, and cover it with dust. 14 For [it is] the life of all flesh; the blood of it [is] for the life thereof: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh: for the life of all flesh [is] the blood thereof: whosoever eateth it shall be cut off. 15 And every soul that eateth that which died [of itself], or that which was torn [with beasts, whether it be] one of your own country, or a stranger, he shall both wash his clothes, and bathe [himself] in water, and be unclean until the even: then shall he be clean. 16 But if he wash [them] not, nor bathe his flesh; then he shall bear his iniquity.

To pour blood out and cover it with dust speaks of giving back to God that life which He provided. Our lives are not our own. The Israelite that consumed blood or mishandled blood was contaminated. To live your life for yourself or to lay down your life somewhere other than in sacrifice and service to the greater purposes of the kingdom as an intimate act of worship is idolatry. To look back at your life and see nothing but self focus and the pursuit of personal entitlement is an empty and void proposition. God wants to reproduce himself in you in an organic way that the institutional church cannot facilitate. This isn’t about being in church every time the doors are open or volunteering for every inglorious chore. It’s about finding out what seek the kingdom looks like in your life and pursuing that with abandon, thus fulfilling in are real and personal way the mandates of the great commission that Jesus gave.