We saw last time that meat slaughtered to “se-i-rim” or “idols” is the opposite of meat slaughtered to Yehovah.

When I learn new instructions from my Father’s word, I always do my best to conform my life to my new understandings. And when I finally understood what Leviticus chapters 3, 7, 17 were saying about Yehovah’s clean meats, and especially the meat that comes from the herd (cattle) and the flock (sheep and goats), I had to make some major changes to my diet. I saw that there are many ways that a man can get kicked out of Israel for treating this meat improperly. And, the only meat we eat (from the herd or from the flock) is meat that we kill properly.

But currently we have no tabernacle, no temple and no priesthood, so what does a man do if he wants to eat beef, lamb or goat?

When we came out of Egypt the first time, we did not have a tabernacle for almost a year. So, I had to ask myself, what did we do then? What did Enoch, Methuselah and all the righteous men in the antediluvian world do? What did Noah, Shem, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob do?

The answer to this question has been hidden from us because of the English words that are used to cover up Yehovah’s righteous words and ways. As we saw in many of the articles that led up to this one; words like “sacrifice” are used to cover up the Hebrew word “zeh-vach” (or “slaughter” which we (Israel) kill and eat for food). The Hebrew word she-la-mim (a plural form of the word for “thanks”) is covered by the English words “peace offering.”

Did you know that before we received instructions on how to build a tabernacle, with Yehovah’s brazen altar in the courtyard, that He commanded us, men, to build our selves an altar? The instructions are in the same chapter in which the 10 commandments are found. Here is what Yehovah commands us (really, each of His spiritually born sons) to do.

Then Yehovah said to Moses, “Thus thou shall say to Israel’s seed: ‘Ye have seen that I have talked with you from heaven. Ye shall not make anything to be with Me—gods of silver or gods of gold ye shall not make for yourselves.
An altar of earth thou [imperfect, masculine, singular, 2nd person] shall make to Me, and thou shall slaughter on it thy o-lah and thy she-la-mim; thy flocks and thy cattle.
In all the places My name shall be remembered I will come to thee and bless thee.
And if thou shall make Me an altar of stone, thou shall not build it of hewn stone; for if thou use thy tool on it, thou has profaned it. Nor shall thou go up by steps to My altar, that thy nakedness may not be exposed on it.’ (Exo 20:22-26)

OME – You are so good! We can build an altar to remember You when we slaughter our food from the herd and the flock and bring You our o-lah and You will come to Your servant and bless him. Oh – I sooo want your presence and blessing in my life!

We can build an altar to Yehovah today and we are even commanded by Yehovah to do so!

It appears that Cain and Able built altars for their kor-van, their olah and she-la-mim.

The firstborn male of the herd and the flock is to be an o-lah (burnt offering) to Yehovah, and the fat of the she-la-mim is also to be given as food to Yehovah through fire on His altar.

And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to Yehovah. Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And Yehovah respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. (Gen 4:3-5)

Yasher 1:15 And it was at the expiration of a few years, that they brought an approximating offering to Yehovah, and Cain brought from the fruit of the ground, and Abel brought from the firstborn of his flock from the fat thereof, and Elohim turned and inclined to Abel and his offering, and a fire came down from Yehovah, from heaven and consumed it.

Noah built altars to Yehovah.

Then Noah built an altar to Yehovah, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. (Gen 8:20)

Abraham built altars to Yehovah wherever he went.

This is a conversation between Yehovah and Satan.

Yasher 22:50 Hast thou seen Abraham the son of Terah, who at first had no sons, and he served thee and erected altars to thee wherever he came, and he brought up offerings upon them, and he proclaimed thy name continually to all the earth’s sons.
51 And now that his son Isaac is born to him, he has forsaken thee, he has made a great feast for all the inhabitants of the land, and Yehovah he has forgotten.
52 For amidst all that he has done he brought thee no offering; neither o-lah  nor thanksgiving slaughter; neither ox, lamb, nor goat of all that he killed on the day that his son was weaned.

Then Yehovah appeared to Abram and said, “To your seed I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to Yehovah, who had appeared to him. And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to Yehovah and called on the name of Yehovah. (Gen 12:7-8)

Then Abram moved his tent, and went and dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and there built an altar to Yehovah. (Gen 13:18)

Isaac built altars.

So he built an altar there and called on the name of Yehovah, and he pitched his tent there; and there Isaac’s servants dug a well. (Gen 26:25)

Jacob / Israel built altars.

Then Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padan Aram; and he pitched his tent before the city. And he bought the parcel of land, where he had pitched his tent, from the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for one hundred pieces of money. Then he erected an altar there and called it El Elohe Israel [El, Israel’s elohim]. (Gen 33:18-20)

Yasher 36:1 At that time Yehovah appeared unto Jacob saying, Arise, go to Bethel and remain there, and make there an altar to Yehovah who appeared unto thee, who delivered thee and thy sons from affliction.

And don’t forget Elijah who also built an altar on Mt Carmel even when there was still a temple in Jerusalem.

Then with the stones he built an altar in the name of Yehovah; and he made a trench around the altar large enough to hold two seahs of seed. And he put the wood in order, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood, and said, “Fill four water-pots with water, and pour it on the o-lah and on the wood.” Then he said, “Do it a second time,” and they did it a second time; and he said, “Do it a third time,” and they did it a third time. So the water ran all around the altar; and he also filled the trench with water.
And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the gift, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, “Yehovah Elohim [lawmaker and judge] of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are Elohim in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word. Hear me, O Yehovah, hear me, that this people may know that You are Yehovah Elohim, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again.” Then the fire of Yehovah fell and consumed the o-lah, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, “Yehovah, He is Elohim! Yehovah, He is Elohim!” (1Ki 18:32-39)

Building an altar to burn our o-lah and the fat of our she-la-mim is Israel’s way of declaring to the world which Elohim (lawmaker and judge) we serve.

What if Israel is not in or near the camp?

But wait, there is more to this story. All that we have been talking about here is when Israel or the Ger who dwell with them are in or near the camp.

“When Yehovah, thy Elohim, enlarges thy border as He has promised thee, and thou say, ‘Let me eat meat,’ because thou longs to eat meat, you may eat as much meat as your heart desires.
If the place where Yehovah, thy Elohim, chooses to put His name is too far from thee, then thou may slaughter from thy herd and from thy flock which Yehovah has given thee, just as I have commanded thee, and thou may eat within thy gates as much as thy heart desires. Just as the gazelle and the deer are eaten, so thou may eat them; the unclean and the clean alike may eat them. Only be sure that thou do not eat the blood, for the blood is the life; thou may not eat the life with the meat. Thou shall not eat it; thou shall pour it on the earth like water. (Deu 12:20-24)

If a man of Israel or the Ger who dwells with him is too far from the place that Yehovah places his name, than we do not have to bring it to Him. We simply kill the our domestic animal (herd and flock) as we kill all clean wild animals. Please notice it is always the one who kills it, who eats it.

You will see in the last part of this series that we kill clean wild animals the same way.

Here is the last blog in this series. Killing Of Wild Game in Torah

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