Now, moving on to Leviticus chapter 22. God continues laying out instructions concerning priests.
Leviticus 22:1-9—1 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to Aaron and his sons, that they separate themselves from the holy things of the children of Israel, and that they do not profane My holy name by what they dedicate to Me: I am the LORD. 3 Say to them: ‘Whoever of all your descendants throughout your generations, who goes near the holy things which the children of Israel dedicate to the LORD, while he has uncleanness upon him, that person shall be cut off from My presence: I am the LORD. 4 Whatever man of the descendants of Aaron, who is a leper or has a discharge, shall not eat the holy offerings until he is clean. And whoever touches anything made unclean by a corpse, or a man who has had an emission of semen, 5 or whoever touches any creeping thing by which he would be made unclean, or any person by whom he would become unclean, whatever his uncleanness may be—6 the person who has touched any such thing shall be unclean until evening, and shall not eat the holy offerings unless he washes his body with water. 7 And when the sun goes down he shall be clean; and afterward he may eat the holy offerings, because it is his food. 8 Whatever dies naturally or is torn by beasts he shall not eat, to defile himself with it: I am the LORD. 9 They shall therefore keep My ordinance, lest they bear sin for it and die thereby, if they profane it: I the LORD sanctify them.’”
Does God take what He says seriously? Does God say things just to hear His own voice? God has spent all this time (which to us is quite a bit of time, but to Him it is nothing. However…) laying out all these commands and rituals and prohibitions and ordinances. And may people would say that these are merely suggestions, that God is really kinda laid back and doesn't consider holiness that big of a deal. But in these instructions, we see God repeat the penalty for a priest who ministers while he has uncleanness upon him. Verse 3, “while he has uncleanness upon him, that person shall be cut off from My presence” and verse 9, “They shall therefore keep My ordinance, lest they bear sin for it and die thereby.” Over and over again, we see God warning the people that the penalty for breaking the rules is death. But we also see the patience and mercy of God, because He gives the priest a chance to make himself clean so that he can minister. If the man is unclean, but he goes through the process God has laid out, then when the sun goes down he shall be clean, and can eat of the holy things and on the next day he can perform his duties.
What does that mean for us? Is it not still true that we—Jesus Christ having made us kings and priests to His God and Father (Revelation 1:5-6); we being a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people (1st Peter 2:9)—cannot just simply barge into God’s presence, ask for this or that from Him, while we still have uncleanness upon us? But then, does God not make provision for us to prepare ourselves to enter His presence? 1st John 1:9—If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Before we can minister the holy things of God, we need for God to cleanse us, to purify us of the filth that clings to us during our walk here on planet earth. Do we need to get saved all over again? No. John 13:10—"He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean." If Christ has already bathed us, then we need not be bathed again. But no matter how much dirt has gathered on our feet, if we ask, He will wash all that dirt off and make us completely clean once again.
Leviticus 22:10-11—“‘10 No outsider shall eat the holy offering; one who dwells with the priest, or a hired servant, shall not eat the holy thing. 11 But if the priest buys a person with his money, he may eat it; and one who is born in his house may eat his food.’” Remember way back when, we were going through the teachings on Passover, and we talked about how, if a person wanted to partake of Passover—or any of the Jewish religion—they had to do what? “Become a Jew.” A Hittite, walking through the desert, could not simply waltz into the camp, bring a goat to the priest and say, “Hey, you guys are having your little feast! Ooh, roasted lamb! Mind if I join in?” Only Jews could eat the holy things. If they hired servants from other nations—those servants could not eat them. But if the priest bought that servant, then he could. Keil and Delitzsch—“Slaves bought for money, or born in the house, became members of his family and lived upon his bread; they were therefore allowed to eat of that which was sanctified along with him, since the slaves were, in fact, formally incorporated into the nation by circumcision.” Those slaves who had “become Jews” could eat of the holy things.
Leviticus 22:12-13—“‘12 If
the priest's daughter is married to an outsider, she may not eat of the holy
offerings. 13 But if the priest's daughter is a widow or divorced, and has no
child, and has returned to her father's house as in her youth, she may eat her
father's food; but no outsider shall eat it.’” How many times do we see
it? A Jewish mother today wants her daughter to marry a nice young man. But not
just any man. “Is he a good Jewish boy?” Now, the word translated
‘stranger’ does not simply mean a Gentile—a man from a nation other than
Israel. It is the Hebrew זוּר (zuwr), and it simply means “stranger.” If
Yitzhak’s daughter Abigail married a man who was not a Levite—whether he were a
Reubenite, or a Gadite, or (especially) a Hivite or a Jebusite—not only was her
husband prohibited from eating of the holy things, but neither could Abigail. Because
we see, time and again, God warning the people about not letting their
daughters marry outsiders. God put rules in place to teach the people
obedience—but at the same time He is merciful. So if Abigail's husband died before he gave her a child, she could return to her father's home and eat his food.
Let’s fast-forward to the New Testament. Keep in mind, we are no longer under the Law; we are free to marry anyone we want. We are warned to not marry anyone who is not a Christian (2nd Corinthians 6:14), but if we do we are not then outside of the grace of God. And if the woman, who is a Christian, experiences the loss of her husband, then there are rules that the church is to follow in caring for that widow. 1st Timothy 5:3 (NASB)—Honor widows who are widows indeed. “What does that mean? Are there women whose husbands are just ‘kinda’ dead?” Uh, no. Paul elaborates on what he means by a woman who a widow indeed in 1st Timothy 5:5 (NASB)—She who is a widow indeed…has been left alone, has fixed her hope on God and continues in entreaties and prayers night and day. In other words, a widow indeed is one who is childless, has no grandchildren or nephews, and has no one to provide her daily support. She is left to the mercy of God for her provision (although, is there a greater provider than God?). Her life is a continuous display of godliness, not living in wanton pleasure. And the widow that is in the charge of the house of God is not to be under sixty years of age. 1st Timothy 5:9-10—9 Do not let a widow under sixty years old be taken into the number, and not unless she has been the wife of one man, 10 well reported for good works: if she has brought up children, if she has lodged strangers, if she has washed the saints' feet, if she has relieved the afflicted, if she has diligently followed every good work.
However, if that woman has children, Paul says that they should be the ones providing for their widowed mother/grandmother/aunt. 1st Timothy 5:8 (NASB)—But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. Because he has neglected his duty, and allows this widow to suffer in the ignominy of poverty, having to beg from others when her son is more than capable, he has brought shame upon his mother and, even worse, upon the name of Christ. Was this not the charge our Lord laid upon the Pharisees? Mark 7:9-13—9 He said to them, "All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition. 10 For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother'; and, 'He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.' 11 But you say, 'If a man says to his father or mother, "Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban"'—(that is, a gift to God), 12 then you no longer let him do anything for his father or his mother, 13 making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do." Instead of taking care of their elderly parents—especially their widowed mothers—they sought to bolster their public image by declaring “Gee mom, I’d love to help you out—but God really needs my money so He can build a bigger and more beautiful temple.” In another place, Christ condemns this thinking when He scolds the Pharisees for taking a widow’s last two copper coins (see Luke 20:45-21:6). And even in the Law, the Levite woman who married one outside her family, should she arrive at that state where she has no one to care for her, should she return to her family, was to be received back into the fold, and allowed to partake of the holy things of God.
Father, let us never come to you without first confessing our sins, that Jesus may provide forgiveness for those sins and make us clean in your sight. May we always remember that we are a royal priesthood, and a holy nation, Your own special people, and never do that which brings shame to Your name. And help us to always care for our families as best we can and not leave them in poverty when we can help.
