Acharei Mot (After the Death) / K’doshim (Holy Ones)

6/7) Leviticus 16–18 / 19–20

I am committed to your biblical literacy. These blogs are intended to help you deepen your knowledge of God—think “Relational depth” (RD) with God. As Jeremiah 9:24 says,

But those who wish to boast should boast in this alone: that they truly know me…

After the charge to boast in knowing God, Jeremiah goes on to explain that our understanding comes downstream from this transformational relational knowledge to more informational knowledge of knowing things about God rooted in our own understanding of Him.

…and understand that I am the LORD who demonstrates unfailing love and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth, and that I delight in these things. I, the LORD, have spoken! (NLT)

Knowing God is different than merely knowing about God. Just like knowing about chocolate is different than actually eating it. When you taste chocolate (especially if it is accompanied by peanut butter!) you know it is good. It is very good. Similarly, knowing God and pursuing deeper intimacy with Him is different than pursuing understanding and debating facts about God with others.

Faith is the currency of the Kingdom and “without faith it is impossible to please God” (Heb. 11:6) and without faith it is impossible to go beyond knowing about God to actually knowing God—and tasting His goodness and the joyful satisfaction that flows from His heart. That is why the Psalmist instructs us:

In this Psalm quoted above, the Hebrew for “happy” is actually ashrei and is best translated as joyful satisfaction (the link will take you to a set of Hebrew Treasure reflections from Psalm 119). I am committed to supporting your biblical literacy not just to fill your head with facts but to primarily feed your faith and stoke the flames of your heart to love God with all of it. Love God and others with everything you’ve got for “Kingdom breadth”—to work and wait for Yeshua to return to bring the fullness of God’s kingdom back to earth as it was in Eden and as it is in Heaven.

Love God with all your heart. Love Him with all your soul. Love Him with all your strength. Deuteronomy 6:5 has this original command delivered from Mt. Sinai. The Master quoted it in Mark 12:30 where—with the ability to bring the nuance of Hebrew into the explicitness of Greek—he expands it by adding the charge to love God with all of your mind. Love God with everything you’ve got—and love others with equal fervor and abandon—and He will use you in His Kingdom building work in this age. But this takes work. The work of faith-fueled obedience.

This week is another double portion. Remember, I’ve put some reading strategies online to support you and help you go deeper into God’s word and His love for you and for His ancient (and modern) covenant people. In this email, I want to unpack a little from the names of these two portions to highlight the power of death and the significance of holiness. Moses’ brother, Aaron, had to learn these lessons the hard way.

The first two verses in this week’s portion, Acharei Mot (Hebrew for “after the death”) links us in bookending fashion back to Leviticus 10:1-2. Both sets of verses are below.

Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective firepans, and after putting fire in them, placed incense on it and offered strange fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded them. And fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD. (Leviticus 10:1-2)

Now the LORD spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they had approached the presence of the LORD and died. The LORD said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron that he shall not enter at any time into the holy place inside the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark, or he will die; for I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat. (Leviticus 16:1-2)

Through God’s word and in covenant relationship, He invites us to come into His presence. But He is holy. Not a thing to be trifled with. Aaron’s sons trifled and they paid the price. Not because God is mean but because He is holy.

Furthermore, God’s Kingdom breadth goal is to defeat death—once and for all. God demonstrated His power over death through the resurrection of Yeshua 2,000 years ago…but we still feel this sting of the Fall. But…not forever. As Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:26,

The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

This testimony agrees with the prophets of old. Paul goes on in 1 Corinthians 15:55 to quote Isaiah 25:8 where the sting of death is finally erased from the earth and from all of God’s good creation. In fact, John the Beloved describes this still future event in terms of death being destroyed by fire.

Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. (Revelation 20:14)

Can you feel the hope in the promise? Death does not have the final word. God gets the final word and it will be not be death. Listen to this powerful song by Jason Gray and let the truths about which he sings sink deep into your heart. Take 3 1/2 minutes. It’s worth this small investment of your attention.

After the two oldest sons of Aaron, the anointed high priest, died by unauthorized entry into God’s Presence, God gives saving instructions for the covenant community to safely steward the Holiness of God’s Presence in their midst. Yom Kippur—the Day of Atonement—is lovingly prescribed as an annual sin cleaning (like spring cleaning but MUCH more powerful since blood is involved) so no one else fries outside of the covering of God’s protective instructions.

After the death (Acharei Mot) Aaron’s two oldest sons, instructions are given in Leviticus 16 for this annual Day of Atonement (see Leviticus 23:26-32 for the summary within the larger annual cycle of Biblical feasts of the LORD).

The next chapter contains one of the most potent statements in all the Bible that is explained later by Moses and the writer of Hebrews. Read all three verses below.

For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life. (Leviticus 17:11 ESV)

Only be sure that you do not eat the blood, for the blood is the life, and you shall not eat the life with the flesh. (Deuteronomy 12:23 ESV)

Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. (Hebrews 9:22)

These are deep truths. Deep truths that govern relational dynamics between a Holy God Who longs to dwell among—and now within—His people from both His ancient covenant people and those grafted-in Gentiles from every nation on earth. These commands also impact relational dynamics between God’s people. That is why the original council in Jerusalem, described in Acts 15—predating the one in Nicaea over 300 years later—gave specific instructions regarding refraining from eating blood. Acts 15:19-20 records the words of James (the Greek here says Ἰάκωβος  which is actually “Jacob”) who says,

Therefore it is my [James/Jacob] judgment that we [Jews] do not trouble those who are turning to God from among the Gentiles, but that we [Jewish leaders of the new Messianic community] write to them that they [Gentiles] abstain from things contaminated by idols and from fornication and from what is strangled and from blood.

Jews and Gentiles united by the blood of the Lamb of God who was raised from the dead to purchase our unity with God and with each other is the sacred covenant community destined to be purified by the coming tribulations—and protected from the coming wrath of God. The call to all God’s people is to be holy, as God is holy.

The second portion this week is K’doshim which means “Holy Ones”. Peter actually quotes Leviticus 19:2—the verse from which this portion derives its name—in his first letter (specifically 1 Peter 1:16). I will end this post with his words from 1 Peter 1:13-17 from the Tree of Life version,

So brace your minds for action. Keep your balance. And set your hope completely on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Yeshua the Messiah. Like obedient children, do not be shaped by the cravings you had formerly in your ignorance. Instead, just like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in everything you do. For it is written,

“Kedoshim you shall be, for I am kadosh.”

If you call on Him as Father—the One who judges impartially [among Jews and Gentiles] according to each one’s deeds—then live out the time of sojourning in reverent fear [as we await Messiah’s return].

Maranatha!!

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Readings for the Week (Double Portion):

Torah: LEVITICUS 16:1–18:30
Prophets: EZEKIEL 22:1–16
Apostolic Writings: 1 CORINTHIANS 6:9–20

Torah: LEVITICUS 19:1–20:27
Prophets: EZEKIEL 20:2–20
Apostolic Writings: MATTHEW 5:43–48

Click on the picture above or the title name here for the online Parashah commentary for Acharei Mot and K’doshim.

Shalom,

Thomas