Our OT passage today has some very specific rules for the priests of Israel. At first glance, v16-23 make it seem as though God is unfairly discriminating against handicapped people when He said they were not allowed to offer sacrifices as part of their priestly duties.
As is the case so often in life, we continue to have some misguided notion that life is all about us and unfortunately, that misconception distorts our assumptions about life, about God and about His Word. Life is not. all. about. us. We need to drill this into our thick, self-centred skulls. It’s about God and His holiness and His glorification.
These verses, these requirements, are reflective of God’s holiness. Littered throughout this passage are phrases like “I am the Lord”, “my holy name”, “I the Lord am holy”, “I who make you holy”, etc.
The sacrifices used by the priest were supposed to be perfect because animals with defects did not represent God’s holy nature. They needed to foreshadow the perfect, sinless life of Jesus – the very (and only!) reason the sacrifice of His life was able to restore our relationship with God.
Similarly, the priests themselves had to match as closely as possible the perfect God they served. Obviously total perfection was humanly impossible, and was only fulfilled completely by Jesus. So in the meantime, God used imperfect humans to minister as priests, but they needed to be as close to perfect as humanly possible. This meant that they could have no physical defects, and that they had much stricter rules to follow in all areas of their lives, including selecting marriage partners and in how they conducted themselves in every situation.
Again, this was to emphasize to the Israelites, and to us, how utterly incapable we are of reaching perfection. We are completely unable to rescue ourselves from sin and the consequences of our sin. We cannot restore our relationship with such a holy God on our own – it’s impossible. And these rules help to demonstrate just how impossible it really was for God's chosen people and continues to be for us today. These verses draw attention to our defects and our imperfections, in order to magnify God’s glory and for us to see the infinite contrast between our filthy rags and God’s ultimate holiness.
We cannot live a perfect life. Only Jesus did.
We cannot find a savior or send one to help us. Only God could.
We cannot even believe on our own strength. Only the Holy Spirit can work that miracle within us.
It is not now, nor ever has been, about us. It’s about Him.
Glory be to God, the One true God, the Holy One – who by His strength alone makes us holy.
Tomorrow's passage: Leviticus 23-24, Mark 10:32-52
5 comments:
I'm really being hit by how serious the pursuit of holiness is here, again. It's obviously VERY important to God that His people are to look, act, and think NOTICEABLY differently from the unbelievers around them, and WHY they are to be different. I fear this is something most North American Christians these days ~ myself included ~ don't spend much time thinking or caring about. Without spending time in the OT, I think we lose sight of how important it is to God, and how serious it is to neglect it.
I'm glad you posted about that, Tammy, because as I read the passage I wondered why the physical being was important. Isn't it much more important that the heart, mind and soul are dedicated to following God and obeying Him and His laws? It is obvious why the animals to be sacrificed have to be perfect, but it seemed a little harsh to me to discount someone based on a handicap or deformity over which that person has no control.
However, as you say, it is NOT about us, or how we feel about the subject, but about God and how HE feels about it. It was made abundantly clear in the New Testament that Jesus loved and had compassion on the deformed and crippled, and that we should do the same. And since priests are no longer called upon to make sacrifices, I suppose it is no longer necessary for a priest to be free from physical affliction or deformity.
Also, it occurred to me that there is a very physical aspect to the priests' work, in the killing of the animals, particularly the large ones, and separating the pieces etc. If any of you have ever seen an animal butchered, you'll know what I'm getting at. Many men with physical deformities wouldn't be physically capable of performing some of these duties.
Both you ladies are bang on.
Miriam - their physical limitations possibly impacting their ability to do the job is another great point. Thanks.
It looks like I posted on the wrong verses! *oops!* I followed Tammi's links without realizing that I was linking the same verses as I had just written on. Sorry!
It is interesting to see what stands out for different people from the same verses.
It's all good Pam. You posted on the right verses, you just referenced the wrong ones at the bottom of your posts (I fixed it now), and then I just copied and pasted that error onto mine (I fixed it now too). So, I "said" I was posting on your passage, but actually posted on my passage.
Clear as mud? :)
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