Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share Heaven seeks from us authentic worship and service (Leviticus 21–23)
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
Heaven seeks from us authentic worship and service (Leviticus 21–23)
In this study
Leviticus 21-22: Otherness of the priesthood and their familiesLessons for today from instructions for priests and common people on bringing ‘holy gifts’Leviticus 23: ‘Feasts to the Lord’ bear witness as we return‘I hate your feasts!’: A statement without context is pretextAppointments of God and their Messianic fulfillment‘Sabbath of complete rest’ (Lev. 23:3)Connection between Shavu’ot/Pentecost and Yobel/Jubilee?Don’t hoard the LORD
Leviticus 21-22: Otherness of the priesthood and their families
According to Torah, God places high moral and ethical standards on those who inherit the priesthood (those who are descendants of Aaron) because YHWH has separated them from the rest of Israel and elevated them to a high level for a particular purpose.
They were not elevated to their high station because they could do no wrong, but to serve a unique role in the community of Israel as the people who were allowed to accept the holy gifts from the children of Israel into the presence of the Lord.There are some special rules that apply to the priestly family that do not apply to the regular Israelite.
* Priests mustn’t defile himself for the dead (negative command 166, Lev. 21:1). * Priests must defile himself to take care of the corpse of a close relative (positive command 37, Lev. 21:2–3). * P’rushim (Pharisees) extended this to the body of the wife, because of the provision for a priest’s unmarried sister (Lev. 21:3).1 * Priests can’t serve in the Tabernacle while טְבוּל יוֹם tevul yom, or day of immersion for defilement, i.e., until sunset the day of mikvah (N76, Lev. 21:6). * Priests mustn’t marry a זֹנָה zonah, or an immoral woman (N158, Lev. 21:7). * Priests mustn’t marry a חֲלָלָה khalal woman, or one who is “wounded,” i.e., “defiled” (N159, Lev. 21:7). * Priests mustn’t marry a גְּרוּשָׁה g’rushah, or divorced woman (N160, Lev. 21:7).
The priest’s role is elevated and must be carried out with all seriousness. The priests are to bring the gifts that honor the Lord with extreme care but the Israelites are also called to bestow honor to the priests and their gifts to the priests are also to be of high quality.
The apostle Paul gave us this example. In Acts 23:1–5, Paul was confronted by a group of Jewish leaders, lead by the high priest, and the High Priest was not conducting himself according to the rules God laid out in Torah. Although the high priest was not acting in accordance with his high station, Paul repented because he understood that the office of High Priest still deserves respect regardless of the carelessness that the current holder of that office brings to it.
It’s also reasonable to note that Paul may have been confused about the High Priest’s identity because there were two high priests alive at the time, which is not the norm in the Torah but was not beyond the norm when Rome controlled the High Priest’s office.
King David faced a similar dilemma in his relationship with King Saul,
View all episodes
By Hallel FellowshipIn this study
Leviticus 21-22: Otherness of the priesthood and their familiesLessons for today from instructions for priests and common people on bringing ‘holy gifts’Leviticus 23: ‘Feasts to the Lord’ bear witness as we return‘I hate your feasts!’: A statement without context is pretextAppointments of God and their Messianic fulfillment‘Sabbath of complete rest’ (Lev. 23:3)Connection between Shavu’ot/Pentecost and Yobel/Jubilee?Don’t hoard the LORD
Leviticus 21-22: Otherness of the priesthood and their families
According to Torah, God places high moral and ethical standards on those who inherit the priesthood (those who are descendants of Aaron) because YHWH has separated them from the rest of Israel and elevated them to a high level for a particular purpose.
They were not elevated to their high station because they could do no wrong, but to serve a unique role in the community of Israel as the people who were allowed to accept the holy gifts from the children of Israel into the presence of the Lord.There are some special rules that apply to the priestly family that do not apply to the regular Israelite.
* Priests mustn’t defile himself for the dead (negative command 166, Lev. 21:1). * Priests must defile himself to take care of the corpse of a close relative (positive command 37, Lev. 21:2–3). * P’rushim (Pharisees) extended this to the body of the wife, because of the provision for a priest’s unmarried sister (Lev. 21:3).1 * Priests can’t serve in the Tabernacle while טְבוּל יוֹם tevul yom, or day of immersion for defilement, i.e., until sunset the day of mikvah (N76, Lev. 21:6). * Priests mustn’t marry a זֹנָה zonah, or an immoral woman (N158, Lev. 21:7). * Priests mustn’t marry a חֲלָלָה khalal woman, or one who is “wounded,” i.e., “defiled” (N159, Lev. 21:7). * Priests mustn’t marry a גְּרוּשָׁה g’rushah, or divorced woman (N160, Lev. 21:7).
The priest’s role is elevated and must be carried out with all seriousness. The priests are to bring the gifts that honor the Lord with extreme care but the Israelites are also called to bestow honor to the priests and their gifts to the priests are also to be of high quality.
The apostle Paul gave us this example. In Acts 23:1–5, Paul was confronted by a group of Jewish leaders, lead by the high priest, and the High Priest was not conducting himself according to the rules God laid out in Torah. Although the high priest was not acting in accordance with his high station, Paul repented because he understood that the office of High Priest still deserves respect regardless of the carelessness that the current holder of that office brings to it.
It’s also reasonable to note that Paul may have been confused about the High Priest’s identity because there were two high priests alive at the time, which is not the norm in the Torah but was not beyond the norm when Rome controlled the High Priest’s office.
King David faced a similar dilemma in his relationship with King Saul,