Leviticus 21-22

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Leviticus 21:1-24

“And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto the priests the sons of Aaron, and say unto them, There shall none be defiled for the dead among his people: 2 but for his kin, that is near unto him, that is, for his mother, and for his father, and for his son, and for his daughter, and for his brother, 3 and for his sister a virgin, that is nigh unto him, which hath no husband; for her may he be defiled. 4 But he shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself. 5 They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh. 6 They shall be holy unto their God, and not profane the name of their God: for the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and the bread of their God, they do offer: therefore they shall be holy. 7 They shall not take a wife that is a whore, or profane; neither shall they take a woman put away from her husband: for he is holy unto his God. 8 Thou shalt sanctify him therefore; for he offereth the bread of God: he shall be holy unto thee: for I the LORD, which sanctify you, am holy. 9 And the daughter of any priest, if she profane herself by playing the whore, she profaneth her father: she shall be burnt with fire. 10 And he that is the high priest among his brethren, upon whose head the anointing oil was poured, and that is consecrated to put on the garments, shall not uncover his head, nor rend his clothes; 11 neither shall he go in to any dead body, nor defile himself for his father, or for his mother; 12 neither shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of God; for the crown of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am the LORD. 13 And he shall take a wife in her virginity. 14 A widow, or a divorced woman, or profane, or a harlot, these shall he not take: but he shall take a virgin of his own people to wife. 15 Neither shall he profane his seed among his people: for I the LORD do sanctify him. 16 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 17 Speak unto Aaron, saying, Whosoever he be of thy seed in their generations that hath any blemish, let him not approach to offer the bread of God. 18 For whatsoever man he be that hath a blemish, he shall not approach: a blind man, or a lame, or he that hath a flat nose, or any thing superfluous, 19 or a man that is brokenfooted, or brokenhanded, 20 or crookbackt, or a dwarf, or that hath a blemish in his eye, or be scurvy, or scabbed, or hath his stone broken; 21 no man that hath a blemish of the seed of Aaron the priest shall come nigh to offer the offerings of the LORD made by fire: he hath a blemish; he shall not come nigh to offer the bread of his God. 22 He shall eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy, and of the holy. 23 Only he shall not go in unto the vail, nor come nigh unto the altar, because he hath a blemish; that he profane not my sanctuaries: for I the LORD do sanctify them. 24 And Moses told it unto Aaron, and to his sons, and unto all the children of Israel.”

Introduction

[Audio version: https://resources.ccphilly.org/detail.asp?TopicID=&Teaching=WED574]

“Leviticus chapters 21 and 22 deal with things relative to the priesthood in Israel, things that were different for the priests than they were for the rest of the nation, and things that were different in particular for the high priest than for the other priests. There were many priests, but there was one high priest. And there was a higher calling as it were in regards to living a life that reflected and sanctified the God of Israel. There were pagan priests all around them. So they were to live a different standard. Now look, there’s many angles to this chapter, because we’re told in the New Testament we’re a holy priesthood, that we’re a royal priesthood. We know that our Saviour, the Lord Jesus is a High Priest, after the order of Melchizedek forever. He is at the right hand of the Father now, where he ever liveth and maketh intercession for the saints. And we’re being conformed into his image and likeness. So there is part of that, that’s certainly applicable to us. He is the perfect priest we will never be, so there is a reflection of Christ throughout all of these requirements. But there is also a reflection of things that should be standard for every one of us, and maybe in particular those that would be in leadership in some way. He’s going to begin by talking to them about how they mourn for the dead, what they defile themselves with, how they marry and so forth, and kind of saying, the unbelieving world they can kind of mourn and marry however they want to, but things should be vastly different for us, the way we relate to death should be very different from the way a hopeless world relates to death. And the way we look at our families should be vastly different. Paul in the New Testament will say “This is a true saying, if any man desire the office of a bishop [pastor, elder], he desireth a good work, a bishop [pastor, elder] must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behavior, given to hospitality, apt to teach, not given to wine or a striker, nor greedy for filthy lucre (for money), but patient, not a brawler, not covetous, one that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection will all gravity. If a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God.” [Comment: Interesting, in the last ten verses of that Scripture the apostle Paul revealed the ancient name of the Christian Church, “the Church of God.”] And even there, as we read it, if you know the New Testament’s saying that if you’re going to be an elder, you’re going to be a pastor, you’re going to be somebody in leadership, even a home fellowship leader, if you’re going to teach a women’s fellowship, you have to understand that God is more interested in character than reputation. And some people, they only do what they do because they’re seen of men, and they’re worried about what men are going to think of them, that that’s a snare, the Bible says. God is more concerned about our character than he is about our reputation, what we are in private, what we are when no one’s watching. And it’s very interesting when he gives that list in the New Testament for leadership, there’s only one phrase there “apt to teach,” and I think that’s important. But we build seminaries and Bible schools around those three words, and yet when you read the rest of the requirements, it’s almost as if God is saying, ‘If you will give me your heart, if you will give me your life, if you’ll give me your character, you only need to be apt to teach, I can anoint that, I can put my power upon that, I can turn that into something. But if you’ll give me your heart, your patience and your character, and your love and your family, your integrity, if you’ll give me those things, I’ll have everything I’ll need to work with.’ And as we look at the priesthood, there’s many of the same kinds of reflections as we look at these chapters in Leviticus in chapter 21 and 22. He starts by saying, “And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto the priests” plural “the sons of Aaron, and say unto them, There shall none be defiled for the dead among his people:” (verse 1) Now we’re going to hear some specific words through these chapters, “defile” and “defiled” you’re going to hear over and over again. You’re going to hear the word “profane” twelve times in these two chapters, that we don’t “profane” God or the things of God. In the New Testament the word “profane” is from the Latin “profanum,” it means to “put outside the temple, out into the street, to make common” is the idea. The Old Testament word is very interesting, it’s from a verb, and it means “to untie, to loosen, to wound, to undo something that’s supposed to be done,” to profane here is the idea, “to remove the meaning, the worth, the value, the intrinsic beauty of something, to make it common,” in very much the same way. So we’re warned all throughout about making God and his reputation, his work, his place profane. And then he ends each major section by saying, “it is your God that does sanctify you,” you’ll see that over and over, that he’s taking your life and he’s setting it apart for his own purpose, you are sanctified. Now look, that is in standing, certainly, all of us, and it should be in practice too. We are justified, sanctified, and glorified by the work of Christ. That is a completed work, it is imputed to us, your life is set aside, it belongs to him, it is sanctified. And because our lives are his, because he’s the one who was and who is, and who is to come, that he can tell us that we’re justified, sanctified, and glorified, and that he is the God who calls things that are not as though they were, because he stands in all three positions he can see us in all three positions. But there is our standing, and then there is our stance, our practice, where are we tonight. We are sanctified, all of these priests are sanctified, you can only be a priest by birth, you can only be in a priestly family by birth. And you and I can only be in the priestly family by birth, we have that standing [i.e. the new birth, being born-again of the Spirit]. But what is our practice? What is the standard that we’re living to? because he’s asking something more of the believer, certainly, as we want to learn a lesson from this, than he is from the unbeliever, it should be different. But more than that, there’s a wonderful picture of our Lord and Saviour, our example, the author and finisher of our faith here. And there’s practical things throughout.

Our Mourning For The Dead Should Not Be Like The Mourning Those In The World Mourn

So he says here ‘that none of the sons of Aaron,’ “There shall none be defiled for the dead among his people: but for his kin, that is near unto him, that is, for his mother,” now this is not the high priest, this is Aaron’s sons, this is the other priests, they can be defiled for their mother, “and for his father, and for his son, and for his daughter, and for his brother, and for his sister a virgin, that is nigh unto him, which hath no husband; for her may he be defiled.” (verses 1b-3) So the Father understanding well the pain of death, understanding the implications of death, having created man not to have died, understanding that every one of us, when someone close to us dies, it’s painful. We know all the verses, I know all the verses that apply, I know what it says. But that doesn’t take the pain away, it’s very painful, it hurts so badly when someone we love dies. But it isn’t without hope for you and I. So God is very cognizant of that. We don’t have a category, it’s interesting to watch someone go through the mourning process for a loved one, they’re mourning because they go through all of these phases because there is not a file to put it in. Because God didn’t wire us to deal with death when he created us and put us in the Garden of Eden, if Adam hadn’t sinned that would never have been part of our existence, and as soon as he has us in heaven [in the New Jerusalem which will be on earth] in Revelation 21, it says there’s no death there, it’s all removed. [And in Revelation 21, if you read verses 1-23, the New Jerusalem will have come to the new earth, and reside there forever, on earth, not in the heavens.] Never his intention for us to deal with death, ever. [And when we as believers die, the very next instant of our consciouses, we’ll be awaking, rising up in the 1^st Resurrection to Immortality, looking in frame just as Jesus does, as described in Revelation 1:13-18 (1^st Corinthians 15:49-54).] He understands the difficulty of it. He doesn’t want it attached to the high priest, because he’s a reflection of Christ, and Christ is free from the fall that took place in Genesis as death entered. But for his sons, it says they can mourn and be defiled by direct family members, if their father or mother dies, God says the sons of Aaron can be involved in the funeral process, for a brother or sister, son or daughter, or a sister that’s not married, doesn’t have a husband to take care of her, she’s a virgin that the son of Aaron is close to, he may be defiled for her. “But he shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself. They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh.” (verses 4-5) Now these are ways that they would see the Canaanites and probably some of this was in Egypt, as they watched them mourn. “They shall be holy unto their God, and not profane the name of their God: for the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and the bread of their God, they do offer: therefore they shall be holy.” (verse 6) So, ok you can be involved in the funeral, not the high priest, but Aaron’s sons. And yet he says ‘I don’t want to see you mourning the way unbelievers mourn.’ Paul says to the Thessalonians 1^st Thessalonians chapter 4, “I would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning those who sleep, that you sorrow not, even as others who have no hope. If we believe” and the class condition is “Since we believe” “that Jesus died and rose again, then those who died in Christ God will bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent [precede] them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, and with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” (verses 13-18) Look, if a loved one is passed away, they haven’t missed the resurrection, this is not a hopeless situation. So Paul’s saying ‘I don’t want you ignorant in regards to the death of a believer, because they’re sleeping, they’re not dead, they’re getting up again,’ he says, ‘and I don’t want you to sorrow as others who have no hope.’ On the tombstones in Greece, from the great Greek philosophers, often it would say “No hope.” And Paul would say, you can sorrow, but I don’t want you to sorrow as those who have no hope. It shouldn’t be hopeless sorrow. The believer weeps, the believer mourns, and it hurts dearly, and deeply, and we cry, and that’s not unspiritual at all, God gave us tear ducts, Jesus wept at the tomb of Lazarus. [Comment: Ezekiel was a priest of the priestly family of Aaron, who was taken captive to Babylon, but in Babylon he was commissioned by the LORD to be a Prophet. In Ezekiel 37:1-14 God gave Ezekiel the only description of a resurrection back to life in the Old Testament, and this appears to be back to physical life, it’s quite a graphic picture. This is also the only Bible promise given to the Jews in Babylon of a hope that they would be resurrected back to life at some unspecified time in the future. Revelation 20:11-13 shows this is the time of the Great White Throne Judgment, the 2^nd resurrection, when all of “unsaved” mankind will be resurrected back to life. In Ezekiel 37:13-14, it shows that at this time, God will give everyone resurrected in this resurrection his Holy Spirit, offering them salvation, which for most coming up in this resurrection, will be the first time that has been offered to them. The unbeliever is unaware of this, and so they mourn as Paul said, as ones that have no hope. But they do have a hope and a future (see https://unityinchrist.com/ezek/Ezekiel%20pt3-2.htm and scroll to Ezekiel 37:1-14 and read that section about what those verses mean). For many Orthodox Jews who study their Old Testament Scriptures, their hope for resurrection lies in those first 14 verses of Ezekiel 37. Most born-again Christians don’t fully understand this incredible Bible truth. So you see, there is hope for believers, and a hope, unrealized as of yet, for the unbelievers who have died without Christ.] But it is wrong for you and I to have a hopeless sorrow. If we are a royal priesthood, and we’re to reflect to the unbelieving world that we have hope in this world, even beyond the grave, they can’t look at us tortured and tortured and tortured and tortured and tortured. There is a place in our mourning, where we take a deep breath, and even in our tears we say “I know I’m going to see him again, I know I’m going to throw my arms around him and hug him again, oh it hurts now, but we believe in resurrection.’ If the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwells in you, he’s also going to quicken your mortal body, and we are to mourn differently than the unbeliever. They might hack off their beard, pagan mourning. There just should be a vast difference between the way you and I deal with death than an unbeliever. And look, if you’re struggling with that, and I see people in our church for years, I understand, but God would say something to our hearts. Our loved ones who have gone on before us to be with Christ are in his arms right now. They are not watching the Wednesday evening study. Even when I do the funeral of a believer, sometimes part of the family will say ‘They’ll looking down here, they’re happy today,’ and I say ‘You know, they’re not looking down here, just try to imagine what is in front of their gaze, they are realizing what eyeballs are really constructed for, right now. Because the eyeball they have right now are enduring a light and a beauty and a glory and magnificence that we can hardly even imagine. They aren’t willing to take their eyes of their Lord of lords and King of kings to look back at what we’re doing here.’ [You already said they’re sleeping, Joe. And the apostle Paul all through his Epistles mentions “soul sleep.” So if Paul is correct, the spirit component of their bodies that rose to heaven are sleeping, awaiting the resurrection back to life. And in the case of the believer, eternal life.] So, yes, it’s painful. Have we really entrusted that loved one into his hands? Do we really believe what God’s Word says to us about those things? We say we do. But when we’re grinding out our existence, is it real? And if it’s not, do we believe enough to go to him and say ‘Lord, I’m so sorry, I’m having such a hard time with this, would you speak to me, would you give me your peace, would you assure me, would you give me what no human, no pastor, no priest could ever give to me, Lord?’ And he does that, and he will do that. That’s who he is, that’s who he is. So he says to them here, they’re not to profane the LORD by mourning the way unbelievers do, and going about their sorrow, practicing any of the habits of the pagans the way they mourn for their loved ones, ‘because their God is holy, they therefore are to be holy.’

The Priest Are To Honour Marriage, They’re Held To A Higher Standard

Verse 7 says this, “They shall not take a wife that is a whore,” now you would go ‘Dah, that’s a no-brainer.’ But look, in both in Egypt and in Canaan, many of the pagan priests worked in temples where there were priestesses that were prostitutes that worked in the temples. And many of those priests married those priestesses, it was common, it was not uncommon. This sounds ridiculous to you and I. But there was a reason God was saying it. “They shall not take a wife that is a whore, or profane; neither shall they take a woman put away from her husband: for he is holy unto his God.” (verse 7) He’s asking them to honour marriage. And we’re going to see some interesting things here, “Thou shalt sanctify him therefore; for he offereth the bread of God: he shall be holy unto thee: for I the LORD, which sanctify you, am holy.” (verse 8) He’s saying ‘I have set your life aside, it is important what you go through, when you mourn, I understand the pain of death, it is important to me how you handle marriage, how you pick a spouse, what you do with your life.’ Because your life is to be distinct and different from the lives of unbelievers, we have something else to offer. And if it’s just in our talk and it’s not in our walk, it doesn’t mean anything to anybody. So he’s speaking to them about those things. Verse 9 says this, “And the daughter of any priest, if she profane herself by playing the whore, she profaneth her father: she shall be burnt with fire.” Doesn’t it sound like a pretty serious attitude? I don’t know, I just get that impression as I read through it. The daughter of a priest, if she goes out and becomes a harlot, no doubt she was stoned, and her remains were burned with fire.

If The Pulpit Is Defiled, The Nation Is Defiled

Now verse 10 we specifically begin to look at the high priest. And look, when the priesthood is defiled the nation is defiled. It has to be one of our concerns as we look across the country. If the pulpit is defiled, the nation is defiled. [Comment: And there is a certain defilement taking place amongst a lot of churches. See https://unityinchrist.com/topical%20studies/America-ModernRomans6.htm] If the pulpit is profane and common and there’s no moral standard, there’s no truth, there’s no light, then the culture is profane. You know, those who observe our nation in it’s beginning said, America’s greatness was contained in her pulpits, they flamed with righteousness. It wasn’t in her business, and it wasn’t their commodities, it wasn’t in her national resources, they observed that there was a righteousness, a truth, there was a flame. And God knows so well, as we go through the Old Testament we’ll see Israel, as the priesthood becomes profane the nation becomes profane. As those who are spiritual leaders make every compromise imaginable, the nation does. And God is setting the standard here. [log onto and read through this six part series: https://www.unityinchrist.com/kings/1.html] “And he that is the high priest among his brethren, upon whose head the anointing oil was poured, and that is consecrated to put on the garments, shall not uncover his head, nor rend his clothes; neither shall he go in to any dead body, nor defile himself for his father, or for his mother; neither shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of God; for the crown of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am the LORD.” (verses 10-12) Now the one man that couldn’t be involved with the funeral of a family member was the high priest. He had a specific duty in the Tabernacle that no other human on the planet could fulfill. He didn’t have the liberty to walk out and to leave. Now look, it is certainly in the high priest himself that we see a reflection of Christ. Christ was not contaminated with death. [Comment: Interestingly enough, when he did touch a dead body, it came alive again 😊] He said ‘I lay down my life, no man takes it, I take it up again.’ He was not contaminated with sin or where death entered into the picture. So the high priest, not just relative to himself, but the picture, the type, who he represented in Israel, the High Priest the Messiah who would ultimately come was never contaminated by death. ‘Thou shalt not leave my soul in hell, nor wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption,’ (Psalm 16:10) death did not contaminate him, he rose from the dead. Verse 13, some different standards here, “And he shall take a wife in her virginity. A widow, or a divorced woman, or profane, or a harlot, these shall he not take: but he shall take a virgin of his own people to wife. Neither shall he profane his seed among his people: for I the LORD do sanctify him.” (verses 13-15) Most often the high priests always married one of the daughters Levi, the tribe of Levi. Important to keep the priestly line pure [of the line of Aaron, and not just of the ordinary Levites] because the priestly line, the sons of Aaron, was all in their genealogy, God wanted that to remain pure. It wasn’t of works, it wasn’t because he earned it, it was all of grace. Remember Aaron was the one who made the golden calf. So this is bestowed upon him by God’s sovereignty, and nothing he earned or deserved. But he is a picture of another High Priest. And Jesus himself, our High Priest, has taken to himself a wife that’s a virgin. Paul says to the Corinthian church that he wanted to present her in that day as a chaste virgin to Christ, ‘I’ve betrothed you to one husband,’ and he longed to present them. I might have tried that with the Ephesian church, I might have tried that with some other church, but not the Corinthian church. Can you imagine that? Paul says to the Corinthians church ‘I want to present you a chaste virgin in the day of Christ,’ imagine that, with all of her faults and all of her sins and all of her failures. The beauty of the Bride of Christ is a beauty that is imputed to us. Certainly we are to grow in grace and in the knowledge of Christ, certainly we’re to take heed lest we are removed from our stedfastness, certainly we’re challenged that if we sow to the flesh we reap of the flesh corruption, certainly we hear Paul ‘You were running well, who cut in on you?’ We’re to walk the right way, but here’s the truth, within the boundaries, within the sanctuary of your romance with Jesus. I’m not talking about playing church and playing Christian and then go living however we want to live, I’m talking about the deepest things of your heart, when no one else in this church is around, or your wife or your husband, when no one else is around, in that place where you love Jesus, in the sanctuary of that love, he sees you in your intention and not in your performance, because of the blood of Jesus. If you are sincere with him, and you are committed to him, and you long to live that way, and you’re alone with him saying ‘Lord, I know I need to read more, Lord, I know, I waste too much time, I need to spend more time with you on my knees,’ he sees you in your intention, not in your performance. Because those things, those things couldn’t even be resonating, couldn’t even be real in you if he hadn’t placed the Spirit of his own dear Son in your heart, crying ‘Abba, Father, Abba Father.’ I’m not talking about playing fast and loose with our liberty, I’m not talking about walking carnally, I’m talking about the reality of the place where we’re alone with him, we’re in his presence, when we’re in communion with him. How wonderful it is there. To have the God who calls things that are not as though they were, telling us that we’re justified, sanctified, and glorified. And we love him because he first loved us. Here he is to take a wife in her virginity. “And he shall take a wife in her virginity. A widow, or a divorced woman, or profane, or a harlot, these shall he not take:” this is the high priest, “but he shall take a virgin of his own people to wife. Neither shall he profane his seed among his people: for I the LORD do sanctify him.” (verses 13-15) ‘I have set aside, specifically, Aaron and his line,’ and only Aaron and his eldest son then would be the next high priest, and then his eldest son was then only to marry someone from the nation of Israel, one of his own people, most often it was a gal from the tribe of Levi. The idea is, there is to be a purity to the priestly line, it was never to be mingled and mixed, God would keep the line of Aaron pure. [Interestingly enough, when the Temple was destroyed in 70AD, the records of just who was in that line were destroyed. But 40 years previous to that destruction, Jesus ascended to heaven, taking the place of the earthly high priest, and became our High Priest after the order of Melchisedek.] It’s his decree, but it is a reflection certainly of our High Priest.

Things That Might Mar Or Blemish The Priestly Line

Verse 16 starts to talk about some of the things that might mar the priestly line. If you’re born blind, and you’re a priest, you can’t officiate, you can’t come within the vail. If you are deaf, if you have a broken ankle, you can’t walk right. I was reading this to my wife and she said ‘That’s kind of mean, Honey.’ I said, ‘No, no, God’s not mean, he’s talking about one guy, the high priest, and he’s a reflection of our High Priest, not a bone of him was broken, our High Priest was not blind, he was not deaf, the One who entered into the vail for us.’ So there’s a reflection of that here. [These restrictions may, and probably did also apply to the others who could have been priests in the line of Aaron’s sons, who were also priests.] And of course the interesting thing is, when we look at this, is, this is saying that the priest is to have a perfection about him. It’s the lamb that comes, if somebody brings a lamb or an ox to the slaughter, to the sacrifice, and the animal was examined, the animal wasn’t allowed to have any blemish, you couldn’t bring an animal with three legs. You couldn’t bring a blind ox to the slaughter. So the interesting thing about our High Priest is he’s both Priest and Offering. He’s both the sacrificer and the sacrificed, he’s both the offering and the offerer. He is our High Priest, but he’s also the offering. So interesting picture here, we’ll read through it. It says “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron, saying, Whosoever he be of thy seed in their generations that hath any blemish, let him not approach to offer the bread of God.” he shouldn’t be in the Most Holy Place, he shouldn’t be offering at the Altar or in the Holy of Holies and so forth, “For whatsoever man he be that hath a blemish, he shall not approach: a blind man, or a lame, or he that hath a flat nose,” I’m never quite sure of that, “or any thing superfluous, or a man that is brokenfooted, or brokenhanded, or crookbackt,” a hunchback “or a dwarf, or that hath a blemish in his eye, or be scurvy, or scabbed, or hath his stone broken;” that basically takes in everything pretty much that anybody might worry about there, “no man that hath a blemish of the seed of Aaron the priest shall come nigh to offer the offerings of the LORD made by fire: he hath a blemish; he shall not come nigh to offer the bread of his God. He shall eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy, and of the holy. Only he shall not go in unto the vail, nor come nigh unto the altar, because he hath a blemish; that he profane not my sanctuaries: for I the LORD do sanctify them. And Moses told it unto Aaron, and to his sons, and unto all the children of Israel.” (verses 16-24) Of course you couldn’t have a blind priest, with somebody running around with a slaughtering knife that was blind, or a guy who couldn’t see. And you don’t want someone whose a eunuch by birth, because it was his responsibility to carry on the priestly line, he was to give birth to the next priest. It just covers the physical blemishes. Now of course here’s the beautiful thing in Christ, we all have blemishes when he came to us. And they’re all fatal, all of them. And we tend to look at someone who maybe is a crack addict or a prostitute and think that they were worse than us. That just proves you don’t know anything about the grace of God. You were just as much in need of his blood as the worst person on this planet. And we all have blemishes. These men of this priestly line stood no chance. They were still, God’s gracious, they were allowed to eat of the sacrifices, they were still allowed to labour in some way. But they couldn’t come and offer the offering, they couldn’t come into the Holy of Holies, couldn’t do that if there was some semblance, some reflections, some infection from the fall, in their being. Because Christ our High Priest was without blemish, without spot, not a bone of him was broken, there was nothing from the fall, in him as it were. The beautiful thing about you and I being made a royal priesthood, a holy priesthood, is all of our blemishes can be removed in Christ--all of our limping, all of our brokenness, all of our blindness, all of the things that other people might think would disqualify us, all of our weaknesses. We’re intellectually different, we have different IQs, we have different natural giftings, we have different, in all of that he is the One who saves and sanctifies, and puts his Spirit in our hearts, saying ‘Dad,’ he is the One who is not ashamed to be called our God and our Father, to call us his children. He is the One who removes every blemish in the New Testament, a wonderful thing. But we have this interesting, to say the least, list here in the Old Testament. “no man that hath a blemish of the seed of Aaron the priest shall come nigh to offer the offerings of the LORD made by fire: he hath a blemish; he shall not come nigh to offer the bread of his God.” he’s not unclean in the sense, in that sense ceremonially, but because he has a blemish physically, “He shall eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy, and of the holy.” he was able to eat of the sacrifices, “Only he shall not go in unto the vail, nor come nigh unto the altar, because he hath a blemish; that he profane not my sanctuaries: for I the LORD do sanctify them. And Moses told it unto Aaron, and to his sons, and unto all the children of Israel.” (verses 21-24) Setting the priesthood aside for his own purpose, setting aside the very high priest for his own purpose. And I think of those, Fanny Crosby, blind, physically, and how she’s touched millions. And Fanny Crosby was asked if it bothered her because she was blind, and she said “No,” and I said “Why not?” and she said “Imagine the first thing I’m going to see.” George Matheson, one of my favourite authors, was a man that was blind. Great preacher, Bible commentator, hymn writer, he was blind. Amy Carmichael, served God from her sickbed, and touched the world. Charlse Spurgeon had the gout, different infections, he had to go to France to get to the warm weather for rehab, and many times his wife couldn’t go with him, because she was an invalid, she laid on a sickbed, but she ran a ministry to missionaries around the world, supplying them with written things and commentaries, from her bed. She couldn’t move, and she supplied missionaries around the world, from her bed. Robert Murray Mishane, one of my favourite all-time’s guy, was a guy with heart problems, and often was laid up, died, 29, 31, very young, but touched millions, still touching people today, such a heart for God. So, there isn’t anything in our physical disabilities that keeps us from serving him. And any of our spiritual disabilities he heals, he removes them.

Leviticus 22:1-33

“And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2 Speak unto Aaron and to his sons, that they separate themselves from the holy things of the children of Israel, and that they profane not my holy name in those things which they hallow unto me: I am the LORD. 3 Say unto them, Whosoever he be of all your seed among your generations, that goeth unto the holy things, which the children of Israel hallow unto the LORD, having his uncleanness upon him, that soul shall be cut off from my presence: I am the LORD. 4 What man soever of the seed of Aaron is a leper, or hath a running issue; he shall not eat of the holy things, until he be clean. And whoso toucheth any thing that is unclean by the dead, or a man whose seed goeth from him; 5 or whosoever toucheth any creeping thing, whereby he may be made unclean, or a man whom he may take uncleanness, whatsoever uncleanness he hath; 6 the soul which hath touched any such shall be unclean until even, and shall not eat of the holy things, unless he wash his flesh with water. 7 And when the sun is down, he shall be clean, and shall afterward eat of the holy things; because it is his food. 8 That which dieth of itself, or is torn with beasts, he shall not eat to defile himself therewith: I am the LORD. 9 They shall therefore keep mine ordinance, lest they bear sin for it, and die therefore, if they profane it: I the LORD do sanctify them. 10 There shall no stranger eat of the holy thing: a sojourner of the priest, or an hired servant, shall not eat of the holy thing. 11 But if the priest buy any soul with his money, he shall eat of it, and he that is born in his house: they shall eat of his meat. 12 If the priest’s daughter also be married unto a stranger, she may not eat of an offering of the holy things. 13 But if the priest’s daughter be a widow, or divorced, and have no child, and is returned unto her father’s house, as in her youth, she shall eat of her father’s meat: but there shall no stranger eat thereof. 14 And if a man eat of the holy thing unwittingly, then he shall put the fifth part thereof unto it, and shall give it unto the priest with the holy thing. 15 And they shall not profane the holy things of the children of Israel, which they offer unto the LORD; 16 or suffer them to bear the iniquity of trespass, when they eat their holy things: for I the LORD do sanctify them. 17 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 18 Speak unto Aaron, and to his sons, and unto all the children of Israel, and say unto them, Whatsoever he be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers in Israel, that will offer his oblation for all his vows, and for all his freewill offerings, which they will offer unto the LORD for a burnt offering; 19 ye shall offer at your own will a male without blemish, of the beeves [cattle], of the sheep, or of the goats. 20 But whatsoever hath a blemish, that shall ye not offer: for it shall not be acceptable for you. 21 And whosoever offereth a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the LORD to accomplish his vow, or a freewill offering in beeves [cattle] or sheep, it shall be perfect to be accepted; there shall be no blemish therein. 22 Blind, or broken, or maimed, or having a wen, or scurvy, or scabbed, ye shall not offer these unto the LORD, nor make an offering by fire of them upon the altar unto the LORD. [cf. Malachi 1:8] 23 Either a bullock or a lamb that hath any thing superfluous or lacking in his parts, that mayest thou offer for a freewill offering; but for a vow it shall not be accepted. 24 Ye shall not offer unto the LORD that which is bruised, or crushed, or broken, or cut; neither shall ye make any offering thereof in your land. 25 Neither from a stranger’s hand shall ye offer the bread of your God of any of these; because their corruption is in them, and blemishes be in them: they shall not be accepted for you. 26 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 27 When a bullock, or a sheep, or a goat, is brought forth, then it shall be seven days under the dam; and from the eighth day and thenceforth it shall be accepted for an offering made by fire unto the LORD. 28 And whether it be a cow or ewe, ye shall not kill it and her young both in one day. 29 And when ye will offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving unto the LORD, offer it at your own will. 30 On the same day it shall be eaten up; ye shall leave none of it until the morrow: I am the LORD. 31 Therefore shall ye keep my commandments, and do them: I am the LORD. 32 Neither shall ye profane my holy name; but I will be hallowed among the children of Israel: I am the LORD which hallow you, 33 that brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the LORD.”

We Are Told To Sanctify The Things Of God

“Chapter 22 says, “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron and to his sons, that they separate themselves from the holy things of the children of Israel, and that they profane not my holy name in those things which they hallow unto me: I am the LORD.” (verses 1-2) We’re told this in 1^st Timothy, in chapter 4, it says ‘Let no man despise thy youth, but be thou an example of the believer, in word, in conversation, lifestyle, in charity, in Spirit and faith and purity.’ What he’s going to say here now is, you know, you have to draw a line and separate between the holy things you minister in, and your own life. ‘I don’t want you taking home stuff from the Tabernacle, I don’t want you leaving the Tabernacle in the dark some night and taking a menorah with you so you can see where you’re going. I don’t want you taking the priestly garments to the laundromat. I don’t want you taking showbread home to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.’ God is saying to them, ‘Now I want you not to make common the ministry I’ve called you to.’ That any of us that are serving the Lord in any capacity, any capacity, any capacity, and everyone in this room should be serving the Lord in some capacity, that we don’t take the holy things he’s given to us and profane them, we don’t use the language of the unbeliever. We don’t make the course sexual jokes of the unbeliever, we don’t laugh at those things, we don’t act the way they act, we don’t demonstrate our anger. Oh we get angry, but we don’t demonstrate it the way they do. We don’t mourn the way they mourn, we don’t take for granted the things of God. Because what happens is when that starts to happen, then the church, we have hardening of the categories as Warren Wiersby says, the church starts to get calcified, there starts to be a deadness when things are taken for granted. Because, look, none of us have any entitlements, none of us are entitled to anything. One of the things that we struggle with out here is people get settled in, they think they have a territory, they think a room belongs to them, or they think a ministry belongs to them. It’s all blood-bought, none of us died on the cross and shed our blood for any of this, the carpet on the floor, the lights on the ceiling, the sound system, the room, the building, the lives, the children, none of us have any entitlements [it all belongs to Jesus]. When people ask me ‘How you doing?’ and I say ‘Better than I deserve,’ and they’ll say ‘What do you mean by that?’ and I say ‘Well I deserve to go to hell, I’m going to heaven when I die.’ There’s no entitlements, that’s the way it is. And when we lose the sense of that, it’s all blood-bought. The price on heaven [the Kingdom of heaven] was unimaginable, unimaginable, immeasurable, it says even in the ages to come we’re still going to be learning of his mercy and grace. And God says to the priests, ‘Be careful you don’t take the things of the Tabernacle, the holy things I’ve given you, and treat them like they’re common, like they aren’t sanctified, like they’re not set apart [when they are sanctified], don’t profane them.’ He asks them to set an example for the believer. Look, we need to sanctify our God because the enemies of the Faith in this country are never going to sanctify him or set him apart. And if we don’t do it, who will do it? “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron and to his sons, that they separate themselves from the holy things of the children of Israel, and that they profane not my holy name in those things which they hallow unto me: I am the LORD. Say unto them, Whosoever he be of all your seed among your generations, that goeth unto the holy things, which the children of Israel hallow unto the LORD, having his uncleanness upon him, that soul shall be cut off from my presence: I am the LORD.” (verses 1-3) Don’t go in to minister in the Tabernacle unclean. Now of course they remember Nadab and Abihu so clearly. “What man soever of the seed of Aaron is a leper, or hath a running issue; he shall not eat of the holy things, until he be clean. And whoso toucheth any thing that is unclean by the dead, or a man whose seed goeth from him; or whosoever toucheth any creeping thing, whereby he may be made unclean, or a man whom he may take uncleanness, whatsoever uncleanness he hath; the soul which hath touched any such shall be unclean until even, and shall not eat of the holy things, unless he wash his flesh with water.” (verses 4-6) God is asking for them to pay the same respect they ask everyone else to pay to the things that are holy. They have no entitlements, they don’t have any right to anything, they can’t be defiled and go when the whole nation is taught you can’t do this. They can’t do one thing and do another, is what he’s saying to them. You can’t handle this lightly, you can’t take this for granted, when you’re defiled you have no right, just because you’re the priest or the son of the priest to go in and do what the children of Israel are not allowed to do. “And when the sun is down, he shall be clean, and shall afterward eat of the holy things; because it is his food. That which dieth of itself, or is torn with beasts, he shall not eat to defile himself therewith: I am the LORD. They shall therefore keep mine ordinance, lest they bear sin for it, and die therefore, if they profane it: I the LORD do sanctify them.” (verses 7-9) setting aside for his purposes. “There shall no stranger eat of the holy thing: a sojourner of the priest, or an hired servant, shall not eat of the holy thing.” (verse 10) So one of the hard things, he says if you have a foreigner, somebody staying with you, you can’t give them the holy things to eat. Here’s the son of a priest or one of the priest’s family in a tough position to say to someone who might be staying with them, ‘I’m sorry, this is not for you.’ He’s asking them to take a stand, as the Lord has asked us to take a stand in the world that we live in. “But if the priest buy any soul with his money, he shall eat of it, and he that is born in his house: they shall eat of his meat. If the priest’s daughter also be married unto a stranger, she may not eat of an offering of the holy things. But if the priest’s daughter be a widow, or divorced, and have no child, and is returned unto her father’s house, as in her youth, she shall eat of her father’s meat: but there shall no stranger eat thereof.” (verses 11-13) a daughter goes out and marries outside the economy of Israel, someone outside the tribe of Levi, that husband then takes care of her, she no longer eats of the sacrifices. If she ends up widowed or that person leaves her, divorced, she’s left alone, and she comes back to her father’s house, God is gracious, says she can partake again. Look at verse 14, “And if a man eat of the holy thing unwittingly, then he shall put the fifth part thereof unto it, and shall give it unto the priest with the holy thing. And they shall not profane the holy things of the children of Israel, which they offer unto the LORD; or suffer them to bear the iniquity of trespass, when they eat their holy things: for I the LORD do sanctify them.” (verses 14-16) If somebody eats unknowingly, God doesn’t say your ignorance is bliss, that if you do it ignorantly you’re off the hook. In fact he says, if it’s done ignorantly, that has to be dealt with the proper way and straightened out. If somebody does this unknowingly, there is a proper way to deal with that. verse 16 says “or suffer them to bear the iniquity of trespass, when they eat their holy things: for I the LORD do sanctify them.” Now of course it’s interesting, you remember Jesus in his argument with the Pharisees on the Sabbath, he said ‘Haven’t you ever read how David and his men profaned the Sabbath when they were hungry and at the Tabernacle, Abiathar the priest gave them the bread to eat,’ and he makes an interesting point there, that the man wasn’t made for the Sabbath, the Sabbath was made for man, that when the man’s highest need is at stake, in the New Testament we hear from Jesus, that that took place, and he says ‘the Son of man, he is Lord also of the Sabbath,’ which of course they didn’t appreciate.

Don’t Offer God Your Second-Best

“And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron, and to his sons, and unto all the children of Israel, and say unto them, Whatsoever he be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers in Israel, that will offer his oblation for all his vows, and for all his freewill offerings, which they will offer unto the LORD for a burnt offering; ye shall offer at your own will a male without blemish, of the beeves [cattle],” now that’s not Ward Cleaver and his family, the beeves are the cattle, “of the sheep, or of the goats. But whatsoever hath a blemish, that shall ye not offer: for it shall not be acceptable for you. And whosoever offereth a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the LORD to accomplish his vow, or a freewill offering in beeves [cattle] or sheep, it shall be perfect to be accepted; there shall be no blemish therein. Blind, or broken, or maimed, or having a wen, or scurvy, or scabbed, ye shall not offer these unto the LORD, nor make an offering by fire of them upon the altar unto the LORD. [cf. Malachi 1:8]” (verses 17-22) It’s a picture of Jesus Christ, so the offering was to be without blemish, it was to be perfect. Now look just what the LORD has to say here. “Blind,” verse 22, “or broken, or maimed, or having a wen,” a disease, “or scurvy, or scabbed, ye shall not offer these unto the LORD, nor make an offering by fire of them upon the altar unto the LORD. [cf. Malachi 1:8]” He knows our tendency to give our cast-offs. Isn’t it interesting, what God is saying is, “If I wouldn’t give you guys this instruction, when you came to sacrifice you’d be looking out into your field saying ‘Get that three-legged one out there. Get that one with three eyes, you know, get the one with the scab all over it, who cares if we burn that one, keep the cute ones, get the one with two heads out there.’” Isn’t it interesting when he has to tell us, ‘When you come to offer your sacrifices, don’t come with a blind animal or one that’s broken or maimed, or has a wen or scurvy, is all scabbed up and beat up, don’t bring those when you come to offer at the LORD’s altar.’ “Either a bullock or a lamb that hath any thing superfluous or lacking in his parts,” there’s your three-legged ox, “that mayest thou offer for a freewill offering; but for a vow it shall not be accepted. Ye shall not offer unto the LORD that which is bruised, or crushed,” ‘Go get that lamb that was run over by the Mack truck, the front half of it still looks pretty good,’ “or broken, or cut; neither shall ye make any offering thereof in your land.” (verses 23-24) Isn’t it something, doesn’t the LORD know us, doesn’t the LORD know us?--so willingly to offer our second best. I’m guilty of that. Not as much as you who looked so surprised. I mean in the sense that how often does the Lord, you know, asking for some of our time, asking us, ‘those who rise and seek me early, who seek me with all of their heart shall find me.’ And my alarm goes off, and it’s cold, I actually keep my alarm clock on another counter so I have to get out of bed and turn it off. And I actually keep a particular “teacher” on there who drives me nuts, so I get up to turn it off, I can’t stand listening to him, he drives me out of my mind. You know, it’s cold and dark, I want to get back in bed for 15 more minutes. And it’s the 15 minutes that comes after another hour and a half that’s usually the problem. How many times did I offer my second best?--in giving? You know, you drive down the street and you see somebody from church broken down with a flat tire, and you hear the Holy Spirit say ‘Help them,’ so you call 911, ‘There’s somebody broken down,’ and you offer your second best. When I read this, I understand how well he knows me, and the tendency that I can have, in my own life, sometimes not to give him my best. And I know that he’s given his best, he’s withheld nothing from me personally. Within the confines of my personal relationship with Jesus Christ, I know that he loves me. Let me tell you this, this is what’s really mind blowing. I know that he likes me. We can all be theological and believe that he loves us. Here’s the really mind blowing thing, he likes me. It says in John 16 that the Father loves us, it’s Phileo there, Jesus said the Father, not only that he just loves you, he’s actually fond of you. Not only that he just loves you, I know he loves us in Christ. Let me tell you another part of that, he likes you too. And isn’t it interesting, we can almost be more impressed with that than the fact that he loves us. But in the confines of my own relationship with him, when I sit alone with him, I know he loves me. Well that gets tested, soon as I get a flat tire ‘You love me, and you let my tire go flat?’ But I know that he loves me, and he likes me, that he likes me. And he’s held nothing back from me, he’s given his own Son to die in my place, so that he can call me his son. I’m overwhelmed with that. But sometimes my response is impoverished. I’m not bringing any three-legged oxen or anything. But I understand exactly why he’s saying this, ‘Don’t bring me something that’s bruised or crushed or broken or cut up,’ “Neither from a stranger’s hand shall ye offer the bread of your God of any of these; because their corruption is in them, and blemishes be in them: they shall not be accepted for you.” (verse 25) God says ‘I’m not going to accept them from you because the sacrifice they reflect, that’s coming, is my own Son, without spot, without blemish, perfect, unspotted from the foundation of the world, who laid out his life in your place, and I will not accept anything blemished as an offering to be accepted on your behalf.’

Your Free-Will Offering Of Thanksgiving--I Am The LORD Which Hallow You--You Are Hallowed

“And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, When a bullock, or a sheep, or a goat, is brought forth, then it shall be seven days under the dam; and from the eighth day and thenceforth it shall be accepted for an offering made by fire unto the LORD. And whether it be a cow or ewe, ye shall not kill it and her young both in one day. And when ye will offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving unto the LORD, offer it at your own will.” (verses 26-29) How else could it ever make any sense? As a parent, as a parent, as a mom, and there’s a lot of moms here. You live with an endless pile of wash, you live with a dishwasher running and running, you care and you give and you care and you give, and you care and you give. And somewhere hopefully between 17 and 30, on behalf of the one you’re caring for, when they’re between 17 and 30 you get a letter, ‘Thanks, thankyou for not compromising, thankyou for your walk with the Lord, thankyou for a thousand things that I never said thankyou for when I was too young to understand.’ How Kathy and I loved those things when they began to come. Your labour is not in vain, to hold a standard, to demonstrate your love with order, caring enough to hold the line. And then finally when that thanks comes, it’s a freewill offering, it comes from a real place, and the whole world is not worth that when it comes. It says ‘If you come with a thanksgiving offering unto the LORD, you offer it at your own will.’ “On the same day it shall be eaten up; ye shall leave none of it until the morrow: I am the LORD.” and look at this conclusion, “Therefore shall ye keep my commandments, and do them: I am the LORD. Neither shall ye profane my holy name; but I will be hallowed” sanctified, “among the children of Israel: I am the LORD which hallow you, that brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the LORD.” (verses 30-33) Can you imagine that? The nation of Israel, he has hallowed them. He’s gotta tell them ‘Don’t bring me anything crushed or messed up or beaten with one eye and three legs,’ but he says ‘I’ve hallowed you, I’ve hallowed you.’ And here’s the amazing thing, when we get to the Book of Numbers, and the children of Israel are going through the wilderness, griping, complaining, all of this stuff going on--and finally when they’re getting, after about 38 years, passed Kedesh Barnea they’re getting ready to come into the land, they’re doing battle with the Amorites and so forth, and they come into the area of Bashan and south of there--then Balak hires Balaam to come and to curse the children of Israel. And whenever he opens his mouth to try to curse them a blessing comes out. And he looks at the children of Israel and it says ‘the Spirit of the LORD comes on him, and he says ‘How lovely are thy tents of Jacob, there is no iniquity found in thee.’’ Wait a minute, these are the people who made the golden calf, these are the people who fell at Kibroth Hataava, at the Graves of Lust, these are the people who end up in fornication under Baalam’s leading, with the Moabite women, these are the people with all kinds of flaws. And when it says the Holy Spirit came on Baalam he said ‘How lovely are thy tents of Jacob, there is no iniquity found in thee.’ And I know in my own life there have been times when I’m griping and complaining, happened in ’76, happened in ’82, but you know, and the Lord said to me, ‘You got a problem,’ and I said ‘I know Lord, I’m glad you finally realized that, they are really…’ and he said, ‘Not them, you!’ And he said ‘Look at Baalam.’ It was one of those times the Lord spoke to me, because I don’t normally think about Baalam. He said ‘Look at Baalam, he was an antagonist to my people, and it said when the Holy Spirit came on him, all he could see is the beauty of my Bride. And if you’re griping, you’re problem is you’re not filled with the Holy Ghost. If all you can do is criticize the Body of Christ, and all you can see is what’s wrong with them, it’s because you need to get filled with the Holy Ghost.’ She is beautiful by his completed work, and she is not beautiful by her performance. But she is beautiful to him, ‘How lovely are thy tents of Jacob, there is no iniquity found in thee.’ “Neither shall ye profane my holy name; but I will be hallowed” sanctified, “among the children of Israel: I am the LORD which hallow you, that brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the LORD.” I love to read Joseph Parker, he’s one of my favourite authors, he had a small church between F.B. Myer and Charles Spurgeon, so he didn’t get much going in his day. But he was a great thinker and a greater writer, and he said “When intellect supersedes worship, when human ability replaces the power of God, when skill quenches the Spirit, it’s time to write Ichabod over our doors.” When human ability, human understanding, church-groweth seminars, human wisdom, psychology, when all of this stuff with all of its stench of the flesh supersedes the supernatural work of God in the Church, it’s time to write Ichabod over our doors. Because everyone in this room, whatever you’re going through, should have the freedom to come directly to Jesus Christ and expect a powerful hand to touch your life, to change you, to set you free. The same God that hallowed you, that washed you, the same God that loves you and says you’re lovely, there’s no iniquity found in you, the same God that gave the blood of his Son to make you his own is all-powerful, all-loving, and has the capacity as much today as he did 2,000 years ago, or 4,000 years ago to take someone whose broken and heal them. To take someone whose longing for help and to renew them. And yes there are gifts in the Church, and we’re glad for that. But any time we put anything of humanity in God’s place, and in the place of his power, and in the place of love, and in the place of his genius and his worship, it’s time to write Ichabod, “the Glory Has Departed,” over our door. ‘I want you to hallow me’ he says ‘because I am the LORD that hallowed you.’ Imagine that, go home and look in the mirror tonight and say “I’m hallowed, I’m hallowed, look at me. I just brought a three-legged ox this morning, and tonight he told me I am hallowed.” That is the God that we serve, and he’s begun a good work with you, everyone here, no matter what you’re struggling with, if you’re born-again by God’s Spirit, he’s begun a good work in you, and he’s gonna complete it. He is going to complete it. Our confidence is in Jesus Christ, our confidence is in Jesus Christ. Amen? Amen. Let’s have the musicians come, and let’s lift our hearts and our voices to him. And I encourage you this evening, if you’ve got something you’ve been carrying and carrying it and carrying it, as you lift your heart, to lift it to him. To say ‘God, you’re the one who calls things that are not as though they were, and here I am Lord, I struggle with this, and struggle with this, and struggle with this, I don’t get victory.’ Or ‘Here I am Lord, I’ve lost a loved one, it’s been years now, I can’t get over it, and I know they’re in your arms this evening, and somehow I haven’t let go of them,’ and maybe you need to say ‘God, I haven’t done business with you yet, I am bitter at you for taking this loved one from my life, I’ve forgotten that they were yours all along, that they were yours all along, I have no entitlements. Lord, I relinquish them to glory this evening, into rest, into the majesty of your presence, I’m so thankful there’s going to be a day of reunion Lord, to throw my arms around them, as we walk hand in hand into your presence.’ Maybe a good night to take a second look at your home, your kids, are you holding the standard? The enemy’s not going to do it. And to say ‘Lord, forgive me, my kids have been getting away with murder, I’ve been letting them do whatever the world they want to do, and I’ve forgotten, they’re not my kids, they’re your kids, they’re on loan, and someday I’m going to stand in front of you and give an account for their lives.’ And if you’re a kid here, and you haven’t written that Thank You letter yet, man, you want to buy some points, write that Thank You letter, I’m telling you, let if be a freewill offering, and let it be with all of your heart, but man I’m telling you, it’s an important thing to do, it’s an important thing to do. Let’s stand, let’s pray together. Read ahead, chapter 23 begins the Feasts of Israel, they’re beautiful, they’re prophetic, there’s some wonderful things in there, so start reading, 23 through 26, some remarkable things…[transcript of a connective expository sermon on Leviticus 21:1-24 and Leviticus 22:1-33, given by Pastor Joe Focht, Calvary Chapel of Philadelphia, 13500 Philmont Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19116]