Leviticus 22:22

20 ^aWhatever has a defect, you shall not offer, for it shall not be acceptable on your behalf.

21 And ^awhoever offers a sacrifice of a peace offering to the Lord, ^bto fulfill his vow, or a freewill offering from the cattle or the sheep, it must be perfect to be accepted; there shall be no defect in it.

22 ^aThose that are blind or broken or maimed, or have an¹ ulcer or eczema or scabs, you shall not offer to the Lord, nor make ^ban offering by fire of them on the altar to the Lord.

23 Either a bull or a lamb that has any limb ^atoo long or too short you may offer as a freewill offering, but for a vow it shall not be accepted.

24 ‘You shall not offer to the Lord what is bruised or crushed, or torn or cut; nor shall you make any offering of them in your land.

25 Nor ^afrom a foreigner’s hand shall you offer any of these as ^bthe bread of your God, because their ^ccorruption is in them, and defects are in them. They shall not be accepted on your behalf.’ ”

26 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

27 ^a“When a bull or a sheep or a goat is born, it shall be seven days with its mother; and from the eighth day and thereafter it shall be accepted as an offering made by fire to the Lord.

Commentaries:

Forerunner Commentary
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What Does Leviticus 22:22 Mean?

Leviticus 22:18-25

Some claim that, since these specific instructions are given in reference to animals offered to God, the principle of giving one's best to the Master does not apply to vegetable or grain offerings! Does that mean we may give God any old vegetation we happen to have lying around? As living sacrifices (Romans 12:1-2), are we free to give God any old thing, and He must accept it or else? Does He not deserve the best we have?

A holy people must give holy offerings! A holy offering is one given according to the details that God lays down. Jesus gives a practical application of this principle in Matthew 5:23-24: "Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift."

He is essentially saying, "First things first." If a reconciliation does not take place, God has no obligation to accept the offering. It has been made based on a corrupt relationship with a brother, making the offering unacceptable. Likewise, God has no obligation to accept a defective, corrupted animal or unqualified grain offered before Him.

Furthermore, the principle of holiness comes to the fore in an additional way, for God plainly stipulates in Leviticus 22:25 that nothing is to be offered to Him from a foreigner's hand because the foreigner's corruption is in them. The uncleanness from the foreigner's idolatries is in the thing offered. The foreigner is not a holy, sanctified, or set-apart person.

In the case of Joshua 5:10-11, the Israelites clearly would have had to offer produce from the foreigner's hand—if they offered anything, which they did not—because that was all they would have had to offer. Having just come from the wilderness, they had no harvest of a crop they had sown, as Exodus 23:16 demands.

John W. Ritenbaugh
Pentecost Revisited (Part Two): Joshua 5

Other Forerunner Commentary entries containing Leviticus 22:22:

Leviticus 16:5
Joshua 5:10-11

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Leviticus 22:23 >>

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What Does Leviticus 22:22 Mean?

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