Here’s another key principle that would be good to review.
The animals chosen to be sacrificed on the Brazen Altar, in and of themselves, were not HOLY.
In other words, they did NOT possess inherent holiness.
And conversely, those animals forbidden for sacrifice such as pigs and rabbits were not in and of themselves UNCLEAN.
Namely, they did NOT possess inherent uncleanness.
Got it?
It was simply God’s sovereign declaration that determined whether one animal was ritually clean or not.
And that’s it Jack.
Any attempt to go beyond just accepting that this was simply God’s choice will lead down various rabbit holes of hopeless futility.
I’m well aware that it’s popular among so-called Hebrew Roots scholars to theorize that the meat from Kosher animals was healthier than the meat from unclean animals…
…or that a given animal’s function in nature was somehow more edifying than another animal and that is what God had in mind when He created the categories of CLEAN and UNCLEAN.
Well, that’s just a bunch of BOOOOOL SHEEEEEEEET.
The simple truth of the matter is every ridiculous attempt to try and understand the Lord’s reasoning behind why he deemed some animals CLEAN and others UNCLEAN has led to exactly nothing!
Because for every one of these theories put forth, we’ll always find major exceptions to the rule that simply don’t fit.
For instance, if CLEAN foods are inherently healthier than UNCLEAN foods, then what do you make of the Japanese race who have the longest life spans compared to practically any other people group on the planet?
I mean these people have pretty much perfected the art of un-kosher cuisine.
Pork and shellfish are practically EVERYWHERE.
Heck, even shrimp pizza is a staple out here.
So no man…
…whether an animal is CLEAN or UNCLEAN…
…or whether its blood has atoning power or not…
…has nothing to do with any inherent physical characteristic of that animal.
And neither does some hocus-pocus magical thing happen to an animal just because it has been chosen to be sacrificed.
So let’s get Scriptural then, shall we?
Here’s the real doggone truth per the Torah.
The only reason the blood of an animal suddenly attains an atoning quality is because…
…HOLINESS WAS TRANSFERRED TO THE ANIMAL’S BLOOD VIA IT COMING INTO PHYSICAL CONTACT WITH THE HOLY BRAZEN ALTAR.
In other words, the Brazen Altar’s holiness was transmitted to the blood of the animal.
Got it Charlie?
That’s why the priests had to capture the blood of the sacrificed animals in a pail.
Because later that blood was going to be splashed onto the sides of the Altar.
Again, since the Altar is itself HOLY, it imparts its holiness to the animal blood, thus giving that blood atoning power.
This also explains why the Israelites were in trouble when they were exiled from the land and didn’t have access to a Brazen Altar.
Because minus the Brazen Altar, the Israelites had no means to atone.
They couldn’t just slaughter an animal and sacrifice it at some makeshift Altar they had built wherever they were living because that homemade altar had not been declared holy by God…
…and if it wasn’t HOLY, it couldn’t transmit holiness to the blood.
This is why the Jews in Babylon faced quite a quandary.
Minus a HOLY Brazen Altar to sacrifice on, they had no other choice but to come up with a bunch of alternate ideas on how atonement could be achieved such as by prayer for instance.
Based on this knowledge, we can also now see why animal blood just poured out on the ground has zero atoning power.
Again, the reason is because it had not come into physical contact with a HOLY object, namely the Brazen Altar.
So let’s get this straight once and for all.
The blood of an animal simply slaughtered for food (which will now be permissible once Israel enters Canaan), is not HOLY and does not in and of itself carry atoning power.
In fact, that’s why it’s poured out onto the ground…
…because unless the blood of a Kosher animal comes into contact with a HOLY object, it is useless to achieve the one spiritual purpose it was designed for: atonement.
I’m done.
Great insight! God’s sovereign declaration! Whew!
Glad you enjoyed this. Be blessed Yvonne!
I enjoyed this explanation on the atonement thanks.
I for one also enjoyed this jack 😉 i love when we add scripture as Christians to our messages because it’s the only way to show possible unbelievers the Bible’s living word and how everything put together makes sense.
I am not Torah observant I am simply just a Christian but I do have one thing to say. Would you eat a bat or a rat? Why not? Seems…gross? Even, unclean to you? The lords law is written on our hearts. We instinctively want to not touch blood or eat rats cats bats ect now of course in some cultures something disgusting is normalized but we have to ask ourselves why did God consider rats cats bats pigs and shrimp ect to be on the same level? They are the bottom feeders the things that eat unclean things in nature. Sure we are free to eat them. But are they still unclean? The answer really is, SHOULD WE? I don’t think so.
Great comment. Thanks for sharing. Be blessed and shalom!
Very few christians understand 1) God’s sovereignty, pay no attention to it, and reject it, most because it interferes with their personal comforts and free will do-it-yourself justification, and 2) they have no understanding that “clean and unclean” is a divine principle introduced to Noah, let alone abide by it. Most christians, because they are churched into oblivion believe that “clean and unclean” is a law and it was done away with at Calvary. Then they find four verses in Scripture, twist them out of context and they say “see, Jesus contradicts God’s will and says it’s okay to eat unclean foods.”
Well, you may be done, but you haven’t really answered the question. The question that remains is, why certain animals were to be sacrificed and others were not. In other words, what qualified some animals to be worthy of sacrifice and disqualified others? What was it about certain animals that made them worthy of sacrifice? Was this simply capriciousness on God’s part? Or was there logic on God’s part but it’s simply not for us to know the wherefore and why? There is an answer but it must be discerned spiritually. I’m not done.
YOUR QUESTION:
The question that remains is, why certain animals were to be sacrificed and others were not.
MY ANSWER:
Based on a sovereign declaration by God. Period.
Great points. Could you take this even further and realize that it all comes down to whatever God declares to be holy. If it wasn’t a brazen alter it could be a tree trunk, or cow dung, or a pile of rocks. It’s not so much about the item or thing itself, but rather the word of the almighty.
God has made a number of “sovereign declarations”, the Ten Commandments for example. Are we clueless about why God made those ten “sovereign declarations”? Maybe you are, but I’m not. They make sense to me, I understand why God made them. Does God intend for us to be clueless about why he does and says things? Maybe your God does, and if you’re happy with that, great. My God reveals his mind to me as I get closer to Him. It’s hard work, getting close to God, but he’ll reward you with new understanding. Just try harder.