Pastor John
I, too, do not know why leaven was required by God in certain cases, but I have noticed a consistent feature of when peace offerings were required.
The only feast day for which a peace offering was commanded to be offered was the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost) (Lev. 23:19). Aaron’s first sacrifices included peace offerings (Lev. 9:18). The fire that came out from before Jehovah that day consumed the burnt offering and the fat pieces of the peace offerings (vv.19, 24).
As these peace offerings were not offered for a vow or freewill offering (compare Lev. 7:12 & Lev. 7:16), then it would appear that leavened bread would have been brought with each of these offerings.
At Mt. Sinai, on the day the Old Covenant was instituted, the young men Moses sent offered burnt offerings and peace offerings (Ex. 24:5). These were not Levitical offerings, so we do not know the details.
These peace offerings were all associated with Old Testament figures that foreshadowed the making of the New Covenant, which was when men entered the kingdom of God. Leaven is used as a symbol of sin in the New Testament, but there is also Jesus’ parable in Luke 13.
- Again, he said, “To what will I compare the kingdom of God?
- It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid within three measures of flour until it was all leavened.”
So, maybe leaven was required as a figure of the Spirit that men would receive, beginning with the day of Pentecost in Acts 2 when the New Covenant began.
Also, the two leavened loaves that were waved on Pentecost were brought out from their dwellings (Lev. 23:17). I believe these loaves represent people. The leavened bread in Leviticus 7 was brought by the person offering the peace offering. So, the act of bringing leaven before God might also point to the spiritual condition of those who are ready to receive the Spirit, or something like that.
Damien
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So, the bottom line of our answer to Zoli is that we do not know, as you said at the beginning of your email. We can conjecture reasonably about connections with the New Testament, as you have done, if we understand basic truths of the New Testament, as you do. But we cannot know anything for certain without revelation knowledge.
Thanks, Damien. That kind of information is helpful, and may prove to be crucial to out understanding. Let’s keep digging.
Pastor John
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