Wholeness and Holiness

June 21, 2023 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ²“When a person has on the skin of his body a swelling or an eruption or a spot, and it turns into a case of leprous disease on the skin of his body, then he shall be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons the priests, ³and the priest shall examine the diseased area on the skin of his body. And if the hair in the diseased area has turned white and the disease appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, it is a case of leprous disease. When the priest has examined him, he shall pronounce him unclean. ⁴But if the spot is white in the skin of his body and appears no deeper than the skin, and the hair in it has not turned white, the priest shall shut up the diseased person for seven days. ⁵And the priest shall examine him on the seventh day, and if in his eyes the disease is checked and the disease has not spread in the skin, then the priest shall shut him up for another seven days. ⁶And the priest shall examine him again on the seventh day, and if the diseased area has faded and the disease has not spread in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him clean; it is only an eruption. And he shall wash his clothes and be clean. ⁷But if the eruption spreads in the skin, after he has shown himself to the priest for his cleansing, he shall appear again before the priest. ⁸And the priest shall look, and if the eruption has spread in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is a leprous disease.

⁹“When a man is afflicted with a leprous disease, he shall be brought to the priest, ¹⁰and the priest shall look. And if there is a white swelling in the skin that has turned the hair white, and there is raw flesh in the swelling, ¹¹it is a chronic leprous disease in the skin of his body, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean. He shall not shut him up, for he is unclean. ¹²And if the leprous disease breaks out in the skin, so that the leprous disease covers all the skin of the diseased person from head to foot, so far as the priest can see, ¹³then the priest shall look, and if the leprous disease has covered all his body, he shall pronounce him clean of the disease; it has all turned white, and he is clean. ¹⁴But when raw flesh appears on him, he shall be unclean. ¹⁵And the priest shall examine the raw flesh and pronounce him unclean. Raw flesh is unclean, for it is a leprous disease. ¹⁶But if the raw flesh recovers and turns white again, then he shall come to the priest, ¹⁷and the priest shall examine him, and if the disease has turned white, then the priest shall pronounce the diseased person clean; he is clean.” – Leviticus 13:1-17 ESV

Decay, disease, and death are the inevitable result of sin’s entrance into the world, and even God’s chosen people are susceptible to their influence. The Israelites had been set apart by God as His treasured possession and had been ordered to conduct themselves according to His laws so that they might reflect His holiness. Their lives were to mirror His.

“I am the LORD your God. You must consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy.” – Leviticus 11:44 NLT

But even if the Israelites managed to keep all of God’s laws, a formidable and impossible task, they still faced the constant threat of being made impure or unholy simply as a result of living in a fallen world. Their relationship with God did not exempt them from contracting diseases or succumbing to death. The world was a dangerous place in which exposure to defilement was an everyday reality. Maintaining ritual purity was virtually impossible and the risk of spiritual contamination was unavoidable. It was just a matter of time.

So God established a series of purity laws that are outlined in Leviticus 13-15. The key to understanding these rather obscure and strangely specific laws is to focus one’s attention on the concepts of holiness and wholeness. These two characteristics are inseparable and interrelated. In the book of Genesis, Moses records a statement God made to Abraham in which He called His servant to a life of wholeness.

“I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.” – Genesis 17:1-2 ESV

The Hebrew word that is translated as “blameless” is תָּמִים (tāmîm), and it is sometimes translated as “perfect.” Abraham was 99 years old when he received this command from God and it would seem that a divine call to live a perfect life would have been an impossible task for him to carry out. Was God demanding absolute perfection from His elderly servant? Was He expecting Abraham to live a sinless and totally righteous life at all times?

The word, tāmîm, might be better understood as a call to wholeness or completeness. Its root word, תָּם (tām), carries the idea of uprightness or integrity. There is a sense in which God expected His servant Abraham to live a life marked by integrity and wholeness. There was to be no compartmentalization or secular/sacred split when it came to how Abraham “walked” before God. And this call to wholeness and holiness was passed down to Abraham’s descendants, the Israelites. They too were expected to walk before God and be blameless or whole. That is what the purification laws are all about.

In attempting to live holy lives in an unholy environment, they would find themselves occasionally contaminated by contact with a fallen world. Their wholeness and holiness would be compromised. They were not inoculated from disease and were not immune from its potentially deadly effects. It is important to note that the diseases and disorders discussed in these chapters are not sins in and of themselves. They are the byproducts of sin’s presence in the world. God’s point is not that the one who contracts these diseases has sinned, but that they have become ceremonially un-whole and, therefore, unholy before God. Just as the act of childbirth is not a sin, neither is contracting leprosy or any other skin disease to be considered a sin.

As chapter 12 revealed, a woman giving birth to her child is subjected to pain and suffers the loss of blood and bodily fluids in bringing new life into the world. This natural and necessary process renders her un-whole and in need of restoration. In the same way, “When a person has on the skin of his body a swelling or an eruption or a spot, and it turns into a case of leprous disease on the skin of his body” (Leviticus 13:2 ESV), he shall be considered unclean. The presence of the disease will have affected the wholeness of his body. The physical integrity of his body will have been compromised, rendering him unholy before the Lord. Again, it is important to remember that the disease is not an indication that the individual has sinned. This was a common misunderstanding among the Jews. Even Jesus’ disciples had been influenced by this misperception and it caused them to see those afflicted with maladies and disorders as somehow under the judgment of God. At one point, Jesus and His disciples passed by a man who had been born blind, and His disciples logically concluded that his disorder was the result of sin. So, they asked Jesus, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” (John 9:2 ESV). To which Jesus replied, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him” (John 9:3 ESV).

The man’s problem was not due to anyone’s personal sin but was simply evidence of the world’s fallen state. And it reflected this man’s lack of wholeness and need for healing. Jesus graciously healed the man by miraculously restoring his sight. He made the blind man whole.

In essence, that is what is taking place in Leviticus 13. The skin disorder described in verses 1-13 is referred to as “a leprous disease” (Leviticus 13:3 ESV). But the term, “leprous” can be misleading. What God describes bears little resemblance to what we know now as Hansen’s disease or leprosy. The skin conditions outlined in chapter 13 refer to a wide range of pathologies, from relatively mild to severe. But each had the potential to render its “victim” unwhole and unholy before God. The various symptoms provided evidence of a lack of bodily integrity or wholeness. These symptoms were visible to the eye and easily examined by a priest to determine their level of danger.

“Anyone who develops a serious skin disease must go to the priest for an examination. If the priest finds a white swelling on the skin, and some hair on the spot has turned white, and there is an open sore in the affected area, it is a chronic skin disease, and the priest must pronounce the person ceremonially unclean.” – Leviticus 13:9-11 NLT

While the results of these examinations could include quarantine or expulsion from the community, the ultimate goal was purification and restoration. Through a series of elaborate and detailed tests, the priests were to determine the ongoing state of the infected individual’s condition. The objective was to isolate in order to eventually reinstate the person to fellowship with God and the faith community.

“…the priest will then pronounce the person ceremonially clean by declaring, ‘You are clean!’” – Leviticus 13:17 NLT

Wholeness was the goal because the integrity of the entire nation was at stake. In a sense, the disease was a symbol of sin, which was a constant threat to the Israelite’s relationship with God. By focusing their attention on the visible signs of disease, God was helping them understand the invisible and even more dangerous presence of sin in their lives. These diseases, because of their infectious nature, could easily spread throughout the camp, and threaten the wholeness of the entire nation. The same thing was true of sin. If left unchecked, unconfessed, and unatoned for, sin could do serious damage to God’s chosen people, rendering them unwhole and unholy.

The presence of disease required separation and purification. Healing was necessary before access to God could be restored and reinstatement within the community could be enjoyed. By teaching His people to take skin disorders seriously, God was helping them to understand their need for moral and spiritual wholeness. Every area of their lives was critical to maintaining their relationship with God. Nothing could be overlooked or ignored. Examination and purification were necessary steps in protecting and preserving the physical and spiritual purity of the community.

King David reflected on his understanding of the need for constant examination and purification. He was a man who recognized his own inability to determine the wholeness and holiness of his life, so he pleaded with God to shine the light of His righteousness on the inner recesses of his own heart so that his sin might be exposed and his wholeness restored.

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
Point out anything in me that offends you,
and lead me along the path of everlasting life. – Psalm 139:23-24 NLT

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Holy Living

June 19, 2023 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

³⁹“And if any animal which you may eat dies, whoever touches its carcass shall be unclean until the evening, ⁴⁰and whoever eats of its carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening. And whoever carries the carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening.

⁴¹“Every swarming thing that swarms on the ground is detestable; it shall not be eaten. ⁴²Whatever goes on its belly, and whatever goes on all fours, or whatever has many feet, any swarming thing that swarms on the ground, you shall not eat, for they are detestable. ⁴³You shall not make yourselves detestable with any swarming thing that swarms, and you shall not defile yourselves with them, and become unclean through them. ⁴⁴For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that crawls on the ground. ⁴⁵For I am the Lord who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.”

⁴⁶This is the law about beast and bird and every living creature that moves through the waters and every creature that swarms on the ground, ⁴⁷to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean and between the living creature that may be eaten and the living creature that may not be eaten.” – Leviticus 11:39-47 ESV

Chapter 11 is the beginning of an entire section of Leviticus that deals with laws concerning purification. The issue is less about physical cleanliness than it is about holiness. The state of “uncleanness” which God repeatedly addresses in this passage does not refer to the presence of dirt but instead, it is a spiritual category that carries a deep underlying message regarding the Israelite’s relationship with Yahweh.

Chapters 11-15 contain God’s decrees concerning the very real threat of spiritual impurity – a state that would make God’s chosen people unworthy to enter His presence. There were certain actions that God declared to be off-limits because doing them would render the individual defiled, dishonored, or desecrated. Eating the flesh of certain banned animals fell into that category. Touching a dead body would automatically result in defilement. And God’s desire was that His chosen people would fear any form of separation from Him so much that they would be willing to give up those things that He declared to be unclean and unacceptable.

It’s easy to read this lengthy list of banned animals and focus all the attention on them. But God’s primary concern was that His people would learn “to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean and between the living creature that may be eaten and the living creature that may not be eaten” (Leviticus 11:47 ESV). These dietary laws may sound arbitrary to the modern Western mind, but God was trying to persuade His people to think holistically about their lives. Holiness was a state of being that included all of life. God’s people were to avoid the temptation to compartmentalize their lives and reserve some areas for their own discretion. They belonged to God and He wanted them to understand that every area of their lives was to be dedicated to His use and for His glory. The apostle Paul picked up on this idea in his first letter to the believers in Corinth.

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. – 1 Corinthians 10:31 ESV

That is an apt summary of the dietary laws and a great way to view this entire section of Leviticus. God was commanding His people to avoid anything that might interfere with their covenant relationship with Him. He wanted them to desire nothing greater than their intimate and unbroken fellowship with Him. And if avoiding certain foods would help preserve their set-apart status as His chosen people, that act of self-denial should be an easy choice.

Once again, the apostle Paul provides a practical perspective on this attitude of willing sacrifice in order to pursue a right relationship with God.

…everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. – Philippians 3:8-9 NLT

Nothing was so important to Paul that he would allow it to interfere with his relationship with Christ. He was willing to give up anything if he thought it might help to improve his walk with Christ. And he applied this dedication to abstinence to every area of his life, including his relationship with other believers.

And when you sin against other believers by encouraging them to do something they believe is wrong, you are sinning against Christ. So if what I eat causes another believer to sin, I will never eat meat again as long as I live—for I don’t want to cause another believer to stumble. – 1 Corinthians 8:12-13 NLT

Were the Israelites willing to do the same thing? Was God’s ban on the consumption of certain animals worth obeying in order to maintain a right relationship with Him? Would they be okay with relinquishing their “right” to eat what they wanted so that they might enjoy unbroken fellowship with God?

God had declared certain foods to be unclean and off-limits. He provided no explanation and none should have been expected. It was enough that He had spoken and His will on the matter had been made perfectly clear. God felt no need to explain the reason behind his prohibition of certain animals. He simply declared them to be unclean and, if eaten, they would pose a threat to the Israelite’s relationship with Him. The question the Israelites had to ask themselves was whether the consumption of camel or badger meat was more important to them than maintaining their relationship with God.

When they found themselves facing hunger and possible starvation, would the temptation to eat banned meat override their desire to live in unbroken fellowship with Yahweh? These bans would become increasingly more real when they arrived in the land of Canaan and found themselves surrounded by people groups who regularly consumed many of the items that God had deemed off-limits for them. Compromise and accommodation would pose real threats to their relationship with Yahweh and that is why He provided them with a detailed list of rules concerning their ongoing holiness. They needed to know that they were to live distinctively different lives from all the other nations that occupied Canaan.

What underlies all of these prohibitions is God’s desire that His people live holy lives. He clearly commands them to refrain from making themselves detestable. In other words, each day they had to make a decision to avoid that which God declared to be unclean so that they could remain undefiled. It was a choice. They could choose to become unclean or remain pure in the eyes of God. Holiness was a choice.

“I am the Lord your God. You must consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy.” – Leviticus 11:44 NLT

Ever since the Israelites had left Egypt, they had been faced with a choice to trust Yahweh as their redeemer, provider, and guide. Each day brought new temptations to doubt His goodness and greatness. The lack of food caused them to bicker and complain. The constant scarcity of water led them to question His wisdom and compassion. But at Sinai, more than a year after they had left Egypt, God was still calling them to recognize who He was and to live their lives in a way that reflected their reverence for Him.

“I, the Lord, am the one who brought you up from the land of Egypt, that I might be your God. Therefore, you must be holy because I am holy.” – Leviticus 11:45 NLT

This is a statement of God’s sovereignty and holiness. This all-powerful and completely righteous God had chosen to redeem the people of Israel as His own possession. They belonged to Him. He had miraculously released them from their captivity in Egypt and set them apart to be a separate and distinct nation that would live according to His will. God had not chosen them because they had somehow earned His favor. They had done nothing to deserve His selection of them as His treasured possession. But now that they were His, He expected them to reflect their unique status as His one-of-a-kind people. He was holy, so they must be holy. And the dietary laws were just one more way God set them apart from all the other nations.

God had tasked Aaron and his sons with the responsibility of teaching the people “to distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean” (Leviticus 10:10 ESV). These men were to help the Israelites to distinguish themselves from all the other nations on earth by seeing life from God’s point of view. Yahweh was providing them with divine insight into every area of life so that they might live in keeping with His will. And God reiterated the necessity for them to learn to distinguish the difference between the holy and the command, the clean and the unclean. He declared that these dietary laws were “to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean and between the living creature that may be eaten and the living creature that may not be eaten” (Leviticus 11:47 ESV). All so that His people might reflect His holiness by the way they lived their lives.

His will would become their will. His desires would replace their own. They would live to bring Him glory rather than seek their own good. Being God’s people required that they obey His will. And, in doing so, they would demonstrate that they were His chosen people.

“Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me. And you will be my kingdom of priests, my holy nation.” – Exodus 19:5-6 NLT

The Deadly Influence of Death

June 18, 2023 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

²⁴“And by these you shall become unclean. Whoever touches their carcass shall be unclean until the evening, ²⁵and whoever carries any part of their carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening. ²⁶Every animal that parts the hoof but is not cloven-footed or does not chew the cud is unclean to you. Everyone who touches them shall be unclean. ²⁷And all that walk on their paws, among the animals that go on all fours, are unclean to you. Whoever touches their carcass shall be unclean until the evening, ²⁸and he who carries their carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening; they are unclean to you.

²⁹“And these are unclean to you among the swarming things that swarm on the ground: the mole rat, the mouse, the great lizard of any kind, ³⁰the gecko, the monitor lizard, the lizard, the sand lizard, and the chameleon. ³¹These are unclean to you among all that swarm. Whoever touches them when they are dead shall be unclean until the evening. ³²And anything on which any of them falls when they are dead shall be unclean, whether it is an article of wood or a garment or a skin or a sack, any article that is used for any purpose. It must be put into water, and it shall be unclean until the evening; then it shall be clean. ³³And if any of them falls into any earthenware vessel, all that is in it shall be unclean, and you shall break it. ³⁴Any food in it that could be eaten, on which water comes, shall be unclean. And all drink that could be drunk from every such vessel shall be unclean. ³⁵And everything on which any part of their carcass falls shall be unclean. Whether oven or stove, it shall be broken in pieces. They are unclean and shall remain unclean for you. ³⁶Nevertheless, a spring or a cistern holding water shall be clean, but whoever touches a carcass in them shall be unclean. ³⁷And if any part of their carcass falls upon any seed grain that is to be sown, it is clean, ³⁸but if water is put on the seed and any part of their carcass falls on it, it is unclean to you.” – Leviticus 11:24-38 ESV

In these 15 verses, God uses the word “unclean” 22 times. His repetitive use of this word provides ample proof of just how seriously He took this matter. The Hebrew word is טָמֵא (ṭāmē’), and it refers to someone becoming ceremonially defiled or impure, rendering them unfit for participation in the household of God but, more importantly, making them unholy and incapable of coming into God’s presence. It was not that this “infection” involved actual contagion from harmful bacteria or disease but that the one deemed unclean had violated God’s ban.

All of these restrictions deal with an individual having contact with the dead bodies of particular creatures. The issue had less to do with the species of the animal than its lifelessness. Death was the mitigating factor in the prohibition. God makes it clear that touching the dead body of any of these creatures would render the individual defiled and in need of purification.

“The following creatures will make you ceremonially unclean. If any of you touch their carcasses, you will be defiled until evening.” – Leviticus 11:24 NLT

That the defilement did not involve an actual life-threatening contagion is made clear by the temporary nature of the individual’s isolation. The defilement or uncleanness was ceremonial in nature. The point that God seems to be making is that death, while inevitable and unavoidable, was also antithetical to His nature. He is the God of life. Death entered His perfect creation as a result of mankind’s sin. In the beginning, God breathed life into the body of the man He created.

…then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. – Genesis 2:7 ESV

God is the creator and sustainer of all life. The book of Nehemiah records the people’s declaration of God’s role in giving life to all creatures, human and otherwise.

“You alone are the Lord.
You have made the heavens,
The heaven of heavens with all their host,
The earth and all that is on it,
The seas and all that is in them.
You give life to all of them
And the heavenly host bows down before You.” – Nehemiah 9:6 NASB

Death was an anomaly, caused by the entrance of sin into God’s pristine and perfect creation. And the apostle Paul makes it clear that death was a byproduct of man’s rebellion against God.

When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. Yes, people sinned even before the law was given. But it was not counted as sin because there was not yet any law to break. Still, everyone died—from the time of Adam to the time of Moses—even those who did not disobey an explicit commandment of God, as Adam did. – Romans 5:12-14 NLT

Adam’s sin brought death into an atmosphere that had been marked by life and light. So death, like sin, was unacceptable to a holy and righteous God. And yet, death is not outside the sovereign will of God; it is the result of His justice and righteousness. God had told Adam that if he ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he would die (Genesis 2:17). Death would be the judgment for Adam’s disobedience to God’s command. As the apostle Paul points out, “the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23 ESV). Death is the God-ordained penalty for sin. The very presence of death in God’s creation is a constant reminder of the reality and pervasive nature of sin. Without sin, there would be no death. And, ultimately, death is God’s curse on all creation due to mankind’s rebellion against Him.

“‘See now that I, even I, am he,
    and there is no god beside me;
I kill and I make alive;
    I wound and I heal;
    and there is none that can deliver out of my hand.” – Deuteronomy 32:39 ESV

The curse of death has infected all of creation. Animals, insects, birds, and plants all suffer eventual death. Even the universe itself is in a constant state of atrophy. And the apostle Paul describes this unavoidable process of decay and decline in stark terms.

Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. – Romans 8:20-22 NLT

The apostle John states that “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5 ESV). Death is a symbol of the darkness caused by sin. Death is a destroyer and the ultimate source of alienation from God. To die is not only to cease from living but to be separated from the God of life. So, God placed restrictions on His people that were intended to regulate and mitigate their contact with death while still living. The primary point is that death rendered one unholy and unworthy of entering God’s presence.

“The main point of Moses’ instructions was for the people to avoid touching corpses when possible because dead bodies conveyed ritual contagion through contact. This made the person or thing unfit to remain in the camp. Only after the proper ritual cleansing was the person or item reintegrated into the life of the community.” – Kenneth A. Matthew, Leviticus: Holy God, Holy People

Coming into contact with dead animals or people was inevitable. Death was an unavoidable part of life. But even mere contact with death would separate the Israelites from their life-giving God. Touching the carcass of a dead animal would render someone unclean before God. Even an ordinary object that came into contact with a dead animal was to be considered unholy and defiled until properly cleansed.

The repeated use of the word “unclean” also emphasizes the importance of cleanliness or purity. God expected His chosen people to understand their need for purity at all times. The slightest contact with death would deny them access to God and place them outside the community of faith.

Jesus Himself emphasized His Father’s life-giving nature. When confronted by a question from the Pharisees regarding the reality of the resurrection, Jesus alluded to the fact that even Moses believed in the resurrection because he described God as “the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob” (Luke 20:37 ESV). Then Jesus went on to elaborate that His Father is the author of life, not death.

“Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to him.” – Luke 20:38 ESV

This section of Leviticus is meant to emphasize the life-giving nature of Israel’s God. It emphasizes the reality of death and the inevitable and unvoidable impact it would have on the people of Israel. But God provided a means for mitigating its divisive and destructive nature. His people could receive cleansing and have their separation from God restored. But it was essential that they understand the seriousness of sin and the deadly influence it could have on their relationship with God. Every day would be filled with reminders of sin’s presence and their need for purification from its infectious influence. Yahweh was the God of life and death was a reminder of humanity’s sin and its need for His cleansing and forgiveness.

Designated Survivors

June 16, 2023 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

⁸And the Lord spoke to Aaron, saying, ⁹“Drink no wine or strong drink, you or your sons with you, when you go into the tent of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations. ¹⁰You are to distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean, ¹¹and you are to teach the people of Israel all the statutes that the Lord has spoken to them by Moses.”

¹²Moses spoke to Aaron and to Eleazar and Ithamar, his surviving sons: “Take the grain offering that is left of the Lord’s food offerings, and eat it unleavened beside the altar, for it is most holy. ¹³You shall eat it in a holy place, because it is your due and your sons’ due, from the Lord’s food offerings, for so I am commanded. ¹⁴But the breast that is waved and the thigh that is contributed you shall eat in a clean place, you and your sons and your daughters with you, for they are given as your due and your sons’ due from the sacrifices of the peace offerings of the people of Israel. ¹⁵The thigh that is contributed and the breast that is waved they shall bring with the food offerings of the fat pieces to wave for a wave offering before the Lord, and it shall be yours and your sons’ with you as a due forever, as the Lord has commanded.”

¹⁶Now Moses diligently inquired about the goat of the sin offering, and behold, it was burned up! And he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, the surviving sons of Aaron, saying, ¹⁷“Why have you not eaten the sin offering in the place of the sanctuary, since it is a thing most holy and has been given to you that you may bear the iniquity of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the Lord? ¹⁸Behold, its blood was not brought into the inner part of the sanctuary. You certainly ought to have eaten it in the sanctuary, as I commanded.” ¹⁹And Aaron said to Moses, “Behold, today they have offered their sin offering and their burnt offering before the Lord, and yet such things as these have happened to me! If I had eaten the sin offering today, would the Lord have approved?” ²⁰And when Moses heard that, he approved. – Leviticus 10:8-20 ESV

After His removal of Nadab and Abihu, and their replacement with their brothers, Eleazar and Ithamar, God declared a ban on the consumption of alcohol by the priests while they were on duty. The only logical explanation for the placement of this prohibition at this juncture in the narrative is that it was tied to the “strange fire” incident that led to the deaths of Nadab and Abihu. The unacceptable actions of these two men must have been linked to drunkenness. They did what they did because they were under the influence and their cognitive faculties were impaired.

So, with Eleazar and Ithamar anointed and ready to serve as substitutes for their deceased brothers, God warns them to avoid the use of alcohol when performing their priestly duties. And the temptation to imbibe would have been real because the priests would have had access to the drink offerings that accompanied many of the sacrifices.

“…he who brings his offering shall offer to the Lord a grain offering of a tenth of an ephah of fine flour, mixed with a quarter of a hin of oil; and you shall offer with the burnt offering, or for the sacrifice, a quarter of a hin of wine for the drink offering for each lamb.” – Numbers 15:4-5 ESV

With each lamb sacrificed, about a quart of wine was to be poured out on the altar. This would mean that the priests would have ready access to wine while carrying out their priestly duties. But they were to avoid the temptation to consume either wine or strong drink, a reference to what was probably a form of beer made from barley or other grains.

As mediators for God’s chosen people, it was essential that the priests had their cognitive abilities unimpaired at all times. Alcohol has a way of muddling the mind and dulling the senses so that the one under its influence loses full control of his words and actions. This is what led God to speak directly to Aaron, the grieving father and high priest, so that he and his sons could avoid any repeat of Nadab and Abihu’s sin.

“You and your descendants must never drink wine or any other alcoholic drink before going into the Tabernacle. If you do, you will die. This is a permanent law for you, and it must be observed from generation to generation.” – Leviticus 10:9 NLT

And God followed up this new decree with an explanation.

“You must distinguish between what is sacred and what is common, between what is ceremonially unclean and what is clean. And you must teach the Israelites all the decrees that the Lord has given them through Moses.” – Leviticus 10:10-11 NLT

As priests, Aaron, Eleazar, and Ithamar would need to be clear-headed and capable of performing the duties assigned to them by God. These men had been tasked with maintaining the spiritual purity of the Tabernacle but also of the people of Israel. The slightest deviation from God’s prescribed sacrificial plan or any dereliction of duty on the part of the priest could result in severe consequences. If a priest failed to offer a sacrifice exactly as God had commanded, the penitent sinner could be left without atonement and with no forgiveness of his sins.

The priestly role involved matters of life and death. Their own physical well-being was tied to their faithful compliance with God’s commands. The deaths of Nadab and Abihu provided ample evidence of the dangers inherent in disobedience. But there was much more to God’s ban on alcohol. He was concerned that His priests performed their duties with holy fear and reverence so that His redemptive plan for His people would remain pure and spotless. The right sacrifice offered in the wrong way would never produce the desired results. A drunken priest would make a lousy intermediary for God’s people, incapable of telling the difference between the holy and the profane, the clean and the unclean.

A drunk makes a lousy communicator and an even worse teacher. And when you’re responsible for teaching the people of God the laws of God, it pays to have all full access to all your faculties.

Next, God turns His attention from sins of commission to sins of omission. He reminds Aaron and his sons that they must accurately carry out every aspect of their sacrificial duties. God knew that Eleazar and Ithamar were going to be overly cautious when it came to performing their new duties as priests. They had been thrust into the limelight and given the unpleasant task of replacing two men who had been struck dead by God for violating His commands. These young men would have been petrified by the thought of doing anything that might bring down the wrath of God, so there would have been a real temptation to minimize risk by avoiding any actions that might increase their chances of making a mistake.

This led God to reiterate His commands concerning the offering of sacrifices.

“Take what is left of the grain offering after a portion has been presented as a special gift to the Lord, and eat it beside the altar. Make sure it contains no yeast, for it is most holy. You must eat it in a sacred place, for it has been given to you and your descendants as your portion of the special gifts presented to the Lord. These are the commands I have been given.” – Leviticus 10:12-13 NLT

Yes, God wanted them to follow His commands down to the last detail. But He also wanted them to avoid leaving anything out due to their fear of failure and their desire to avoid reprisals. There were portions of the sacrifices that God had reserved for them.

“…the breast and thigh that were lifted up as a special offering may be eaten in any place that is ceremonially clean. These parts have been given to you and your descendants as your portion of the peace offerings presented by the people of Israel.” – Leviticus 10:14 NLT

And God expected them to consume these gracious gifts with gratitude and according to His commands. There were restrictions about when and where these items could be consumed, and God expected Aaron, Eleazar, and Ithamar to comply with His wishes. But Moses discovered that they had failed to follow through on God’s command, choosing to burn the set-apart meat rather than consume it.

When he discovered it had been burned up, he became very angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s remaining sons. – Leviticus 10:16 NLT

This was exactly the kind of action that led to the deaths of Nadab and Abihu and it infuriated Moses to think that the two new priests had made the same mistake. From Moses’ perspective, Eleazar and Ithamar had followed in the footsteps of their older brothers. So, he confronted Aaron and his sons about this serious breach of priestly protocol.

“Why didn’t you eat the sin offering in the sacred area?” he demanded. “It is a holy offering! The Lord has given it to you to remove the guilt of the community and to purify the people, making them right with the Lord.” – Leviticus 10:17 NLT

He assumed the worst and demanded an explanation. But the response he received from Aaron was not what he had expected.

“Today my sons presented both their sin offering and their burnt offering to the Lord. And yet this tragedy has happened to me. If I had eaten the people’s sin offering on such a tragic day as this, would the Lord have been pleased?” – Leviticus 10:19 NLT

“Aaron recognized that the special circumstances of the day’s offerings by which his older sons had offered unauthorized fire compromised the sin offering. Therefore, he reasons that it would be unfitting for them to enjoy the meat as a benefit (6:30). What is significant here is that although the details of the Law was altered, Aaron’s decision reflected the purpose of the Law and received divine approval.” – Kenneth A. Matthew, Leviticus: Holy God, Holy People

Aaron was not drunk and his thinking was not muddled. Although he was still in a state of mourning, his mind was operating clearly and his reasoning was motivated by a desire to do what was right. Aaron understood that the actions of Nadab and Abihu had desecrated the inaugural sin offering and it would have been wrong for him and his surviving sons to enjoy the benefit of eating any meat associated with that sacrifice. So, they chose to offer it up on the altar as an offering to God. They willingly forfeited their right to this gift from God as a statement of their family’s responsibility for the sin of Nadab and Abihu. And when Moses heard Aaron’s explanation, he was pleased.

God expected His priests to do the right thing and to distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean, and Aaron had demonstrated their ability to do just that. Despite all that had happened that day, Aaron and his surviving sons were ready, willing, and able to perform their roles faithfully and in full compliance with God’s commands.

Sanctified to Serve

June 12, 2023 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹⁴Then he brought the bull of the sin offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the bull of the sin offering. ¹⁵And he killed it, and Moses took the blood, and with his finger put it on the horns of the altar around it and purified the altar and poured out the blood at the base of the altar and consecrated it to make atonement for it. ¹⁶And he took all the fat that was on the entrails and the long lobe of the liver and the two kidneys with their fat, and Moses burned them on the altar. ¹⁷But the bull and its skin and its flesh and its dung he burned up with fire outside the camp, as the Lord commanded Moses.

¹⁸Then he presented the ram of the burnt offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram. ¹⁹And he killed it, and Moses threw the blood against the sides of the altar. ²⁰He cut the ram into pieces, and Moses burned the head and the pieces and the fat. ²¹He washed the entrails and the legs with water, and Moses burned the whole ram on the altar. It was a burnt offering with a pleasing aroma, a food offering for the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses.

²²Then he presented the other ram, the ram of ordination, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram. ²³And he killed it, and Moses took some of its blood and put it on the lobe of Aaron’s right ear and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot. ²⁴Then he presented Aaron’s sons, and Moses put some of the blood on the lobes of their right ears and on the thumbs of their right hands and on the big toes of their right feet. And Moses threw the blood against the sides of the altar. ²⁵Then he took the fat and the fat tail and all the fat that was on the entrails and the long lobe of the liver and the two kidneys with their fat and the right thigh, ²⁶and out of the basket of unleavened bread that was before the Lord he took one unleavened loaf and one loaf of bread with oil and one wafer and placed them on the pieces of fat and on the right thigh. ²⁷And he put all these in the hands of Aaron and in the hands of his sons and waved them as a wave offering before the Lord. ²⁸Then Moses took them from their hands and burned them on the altar with the burnt offering. This was an ordination offering with a pleasing aroma, a food offering to the Lord. ²⁹And Moses took the breast and waved it for a wave offering before the Lord. It was Moses’ portion of the ram of ordination, as the Lord commanded Moses.

³⁰Then Moses took some of the anointing oil and of the blood that was on the altar and sprinkled it on Aaron and his garments, and also on his sons and his sons’ garments. So he consecrated Aaron and his garments, and his sons and his sons’ garments with him. – Leviticus 8:14-30 ESV

Aaron and his sons had been cleansed, properly attired, and anointed with the oil of consecration, but they were still not ready to perform their priestly duties or enter into God’s presence. Atonement must be made on their behalf and that required the loss of life and the shedding of blood. Two separate sacrifices were necessary before these men could carry out their mediatory roles. Both of these sacrifices had been predetermined by God and communicated to Moses on Mount Sinai. The first involved the sacrifice of a bull as a sin offering.

“Then you shall bring the bull before the tent of meeting. Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the bull. Then you shall kill the bull before the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and shall take part of the blood of the bull and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger, and the rest of the blood you shall pour out at the base of the altar. And you shall take all the fat that covers the entrails, and the long lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, and burn them on the altar. But the flesh of the bull and its skin and its dung you shall burn with fire outside the camp; it is a sin offering.” – Exodus 29:10-14 ESV

Some of the blood of this animal was smeared or sprinkled on the horns of the bronze altar to purify it, and the rest was poured out at its base to consecrate it. This entire process was intended “to make atonement for it” (Leviticus 8:15 ESV). The act of laying their hands on the head of the animal before it was killed symbolized the transference of their sins. The animal became the payment for their sins. It was their substitute, taking their place and suffering the death they deserved for the sins they had committed. And the blood of the animal consecrated, purified, and atoned for the altar as well. Made by human hands, it too was contaminated by sin and was in need of atonement. Centrally located in the courtyard of the Tabernacle, this large bronze altar would play a primary role in the sacrificial system of the Israelites, so it too had to be properly prepared for service.

Having completed this offering, Moses turned his attention to the ram of the burnt offering. This was the first of two rams offered on behalf of Aaron and his sons. Once again, they placed their hands on the head of the animal to symbolize the substitutionary nature of its role. This unblemished ram was standing in their place and suffering the fate they deserved.

“Then you shall take one of the rams, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram, and you shall kill the ram and shall take its blood and throw it against the sides of the altar. Then you shall cut the ram into pieces, and wash its entrails and its legs, and put them with its pieces and its head, and burn the whole ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the Lord. It is a pleasing aroma, a food offering to the Lord.” – Exodus 29:15-18 ESV

This time, the blood of the animal was thrown against the side of the bronze altar, then the entire carcass of the animal was divided and burned on the altar. No part of the animal was to be reserved or spared, symbolizing that Aaron and his sons were being completely dedicated to God.

The third sacrifice involved a second ram, designated “the ram of ordination.” Aaron and his sons repeated the ritual of laying their hands on the animal, but this time, Moses took some of the blood and “put it on the lobe of Aaron’s right ear and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot” (Leviticus 8:22 ESV). Then he repeated the process with Aaron’s sons. This rather bizarre ritual was intended to emphasize the mediatory role of the priests. Their ears would be essential for hearing God speak and for listening to the confessions and concerns of the people. They would need sanctified ears to serve both God and the people. Their hands would be used to prepare the sacrifices offered to God on behalf of the people, so they too would need to be sanctified. And their feet would be used to navigate the holy environments of the Tabernacle and to enter into the presence of God Almighty. They were to be God’s instruments, literally serving as His hands, feet, and ears.

Next, Moses took the fat portions of the animal and placed them in the hands of Aaron and his sons, along with three grain offerings that included a loaf of unleavened bread, a second loaf made with oil, and a thin baked wafer. Their hands literally overflowing with the bounty of the offerings, the priests then “waved” these items before the Lord, as a sign of dedication. They willingly offered up all their gifts to God as a statement that He alone deserved the first and the best that man had to offer.

Moses then took back the items and placed them on the altar where they were burned. Serving as a priest in this ritual, Moses was allowed to keep the thigh of the sacrificial animal as his portion.

The final step in the ceremony was for Moses to take some of the anointing oil and mix it with the blood from the three animals that had been comingled on the sides of the altar. He used this rather strange mixture to sprinkle the garments of the priests. Their formerly spotless robes of righteousness were now covered with blood, a powerful statement that their sanctification and atonement had been provided for them by another.

The apostle Peter would later remind his Christian brothers and sisters that their atonement had been made possible by the blood of another – the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.

So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time here as “temporary residents.” For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. – 1 Peter 1:17-19 NLT

As believers, we are covered by His blood. We have been purified and sanctified by the sinless blood of the Son of God.

You have come to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks of forgiveness instead of crying out for vengeance like the blood of Abel. – Hebrews 12:23 NLT

And the apostle John describes this very same Jesus returning to earth at the end of the age and He will be wearing a robe sprinkled with blood. This return of the Son of God to earth will preface a might battle, but the blood on His robe will be His own.

Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. – Revelation 19:11-16 ESV

He paid mankind’s sin debt with His own precious blood and will return to earth someday to pass judgment on all those who refused to accept His gracious gift of atonement and restoration with the Father. The Word of God who became the sinless Lamb of God will return as the King of kings and Lord of lords, wearing His royal robes sprinkled with the blood of His righteousness.

Set Apart for God’s Service

June 11, 2023 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²“Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments and the anointing oil and the bull of the sin offering and the two rams and the basket of unleavened bread. ³And assemble all the congregation at the entrance of the tent of meeting.” ⁴And Moses did as the Lord commanded him, and the congregation was assembled at the entrance of the tent of meeting.

⁵And Moses said to the congregation, “This is the thing that the Lord has commanded to be done.” ⁶And Moses brought Aaron and his sons and washed them with water. ⁷And he put the coat on him and tied the sash around his waist and clothed him with the robe and put the ephod on him and tied the skillfully woven band of the ephod around him, binding it to him with the band. ⁸And he placed the breastpiece on him, and in the breastpiece he put the Urim and the Thummim. ⁹And he set the turban on his head, and on the turban, in front, he set the golden plate, the holy crown, as the Lord commanded Moses.

¹⁰Then Moses took the anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it, and consecrated them. ¹¹And he sprinkled some of it on the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all its utensils and the basin and its stand, to consecrate them. ¹²And he poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head and anointed him to consecrate him. ¹³And Moses brought Aaron’s sons and clothed them with coats and tied sashes around their waists and bound caps on them, as the Lord commanded Moses. – Leviticus 8:1-13 ESV

At this juncture in the narrative, an important change is about to take place within the Israelite community. Up to this point, Moses has functioned as their de facto priest, leading and serving them as God’s emissary and acting as the divinely appointed mediator between Yahweh and His chosen people. Each time Moses ascended Mount Sinai to meet with the Lord, he did so as the representative of his people. On all the occasions when he had entered Pharaoh’s palace to demand the release of the people of Israel, he had done so as the designated spokesman for God and the divinely appointed leader of the Israelite community.

Along the way, Moses repeatedly interceded before God on behalf of his people. At Mount Sinai, he pleaded with God to forgive and spare the people from His wrath for their worship of the golden calf (Exodus 32:11-14). It was to Moses that God gave the Ten Commandments and His plans for the sacrificial system. Moses was the one to whom God laid out His designs for the construction of the Tabernacle as His earthly dwelling place. But God also gave Moses instructions regarding the priesthood with his brother, Aaron, designated to serve as the first high priest.

More than four decades later, when Moses was nearing death and preparing to turn over the leadership of the nation to Joshua, he offered up this blessing concerning Aaron and the rest of the priestly tribe of Levi.

“The Levites obeyed your word
    and guarded your covenant.
They were more loyal to you
    than to their own parents.
They ignored their relatives
    and did not acknowledge their own children.
They teach your regulations to Jacob;
    they give your instructions to Israel.
They present incense before you
    and offer whole burnt offerings on the altar.” – Deuteronomy 33:9-10 NLT

God had designated the Levites as the sole tribe to serve as priests and caretakers of the Tabernacle. And in chapter 8 of Leviticus, Moses is preparing to officially turn over the priestly duties that he had performed for so long. From this moment forward, Aaron and his sons would serve as the spiritual leaders of Israel, with responsibility for teaching God’s law, maintaining the purity of the Tabernacle, and offering sacrifices before God to atone for the sins of themselves and the people.

In the book of Malachi, God refers to the covenant He made with the tribe of Levi.

“The purpose of my covenant with the Levites was to bring life and peace, and that is what I gave them. This required reverence from them, and they greatly revered me and stood in awe of my name. They passed on to the people the truth of the instructions they received from me. They did not lie or cheat; they walked with me, living good and righteous lives, and they turned many from lives of sin.

“The words of a priest’s lips should preserve knowledge of God, and people should go to him for instruction, for the priest is the messenger of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.” – Malachi 2:5-7 NLT

This divine statement of the Levite’s covenantal relationship with God was included to accentuate their fall from grace. At the time Malachi penned these words from God, the Levitical priesthood was in disarray and morally compromised. The opening verses of Malachi chapter 2 paint a rather bleak picture of their degraded spiritual status.

“Listen, you priests—this command is for you! Listen to me and make up your minds to honor my name,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “or I will bring a terrible curse against you. I will curse even the blessings you receive. Indeed, I have already cursed them, because you have not taken my warning to heart. I will punish your descendants and splatter your faces with the manure from your festival sacrifices, and I will throw you on the manure pile. Then at last you will know it was I who sent you this warning so that my covenant with the Levites can continue,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. – Malachi 2:1-4 NLT

They had broken their covenant bond with God, having failed to maintain their faithfulness to Him. The priests were complicit in the moral and spiritual fall of the people of Israel and God was holding them accountable.

This account from the book of Malachi is important to consider when looking at the watershed moment recorded in the book of Leviticus. Here, Moses records the inaugural moment when the priesthood was established and the Levites assumed their roles as the spiritual leaders of the nation of Israel.

But before Aaron and his sons could serve in their new capacity as priests, they had to be consecrated and purified. So, God commanded Moses to “Bring Aaron and his sons, along with their sacred garments, the anointing oil, the bull for the sin offering, the two rams, and the basket of bread made without yeast, and call the entire community of Israel together at the entrance of the Tabernacle” (Leviticus 8:2-3 NLT).

A special ceremony was arranged for the dedication and consecration of the Levitical priesthood. A new phase in Israel’s spiritual journey was about to begin, and it would be marked by sacrifice, purification, and the dedication of Aaron and his sons to God’s service. From this point forward the Levites would become servants of the Most High God. And to mark the occasion, God ordered a special ceremony that was meant to prepare them for their unique and indispensable role.

This ordination service was to take place under the watchful eyes of the people of Israel. God commanded Moses to “assemble all the congregation” (Leviticus 8:3 ESV). No one was to be left out. The entire community was to serve as a witness to this auspicious event, and Moses told them that what they were about to see was “the thing that the Lord has commanded to be done” (Leviticus 8:5 ESV). In other words, this was going to be a God-ordained ceremony that would forever alter the nature of their interactions with God. Up to this point, they had always seen Moses as their primary intercessor and spiritual leader. When Moses had lingered longer on Mount Sinai than they thought necessary, they had panicked and decided to appoint Aaron as his successor, even demanding that their new leader fabricate a new god for them to worship. But now, God was officially turning over the responsibility for the spiritual well-being of His people to someone other than Moses.

The entire ceremony began with a purification process in which Aaron and his sons were physically and ceremonially cleansed for their new role. The next phase of the process involved their “robing,” a special ceremony that involved Moses placing upon each of the men the sacred garments that God had designed for them. In a sense, these garments symbolized their holiness by distinguishing them from the rest of the Israelite community. God had given detailed instructions for the manufacturing of these special robes, ordering Moses, “you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. You shall speak to all the skillful, whom I have filled with a spirit of skill, that they make Aaron’s garments to consecrate him for my priesthood” (Exodus 28:2-3 ESV). These were to be “holy garments” (beḡeḏ qōḏeš), that served to set apart Aaron and his sons and illustrated that they belonged to God alone. The purification process cleansed them from defilement and sin. Dressing them in the sacred robes that symbolized that God was clothing them in His righteousness.

This elaborate ritual was designed to remind everyone involved that these men were being consecrated for a special role that required cleansing and holiness. In their capacity as priests, there was no place for sin, impurity, or defilement of any kind. Their job would be to maintain their own purity and that of the people so that the presence of God might continue to dwell among them.

“Wearing the brilliant garments of the priestly office indicated to the people that the high priest was God’s representative and was ready to function in any of the priestly capacities. The message of this ritual is that those who minister must be prepared and equipped to do what God called them to do.” – Alan P. Ross, Holiness to the Lord: A Guide to the Exposition of the Book of Leviticus

Having dressed Aaron and his sons in their robes of righteousness, Moses preceded to anoint them for their new roles. This part of the ceremony was to serve as their official consecration to God’s service. The oil represented the pouring out of God’s Spirit upon these men, sanctifying them to serve as His ministers and mediators. They had been cleansed of all sin, dressed in robes of righteousness, and were now being empowered by God to perform the formidable task to which He had called them. The anointing with oil of the Tabernacle, its content, and the priests who would serve within it, also symbolized God’s divine seal of approval on the entire enterprise. He was pleased and was providing His Spirit’s power and enablement so that this tent made with human hands might become all that He had intended it to be. Without the Spirit of God, the Tabernacle would remain just another earthly dwelling place made by human hands. Without the Spirit of God, Aaron and his sons would be nothing more than well-dressed men masquerading as servants of God. Without the indwelling presence of the Spirit of God and His divine enablement, buildings and people remain nothing more than empty shells that lack the power to reflect God’s glory and any hope of accomplishing His will.

God had a job for Aaron and his sons to do, and He not only provided them with proper attire for their new role, but He also provided them with the power to do all that He had called them to do. They had everything they needed to do what He had set them apart to do.

Sin in the Camp

June 2, 2023June 2, 2023 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹³“If the whole congregation of Israel sins unintentionally and the thing is hidden from the eyes of the assembly, and they do any one of the things that by the Lord‘s commandments ought not to be done, and they realize their guilt, ¹⁴when the sin which they have committed becomes known, the assembly shall offer a bull from the herd for a sin offering and bring it in front of the tent of meeting. ¹⁵And the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands on the head of the bull before the Lord, and the bull shall be killed before the Lord. ¹⁶Then the anointed priest shall bring some of the blood of the bull into the tent of meeting, ¹⁷and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it seven times before the Lord in front of the veil. ¹⁸And he shall put some of the blood on the horns of the altar that is in the tent of meeting before the Lord, and the rest of the blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering that is at the entrance of the tent of meeting. ¹⁹And all its fat he shall take from it and burn on the altar. ²⁰Thus shall he do with the bull. As he did with the bull of the sin offering, so shall he do with this. And the priest shall make atonement for them, and they shall be forgiven. ²¹And he shall carry the bull outside the camp and burn it up as he burned the first bull; it is the sin offering for the assembly.” – Leviticus 4:13-21 ESV

The next mandatory blood sacrifice was in the case of the entire community committing an unintentional sin. It seems that it would have been a rare occurrence for the entire nation to be guilty of having committed the same inadvertent sin. How could an entire multitude of people have unknowingly participated in a violation of God’s law without knowing it? It’s difficult to imagine every single Israelite unwittingly or accidentally participating in the very same violation of God’s law.

But the Hebrew word for “congregation” carries a range of meanings that includes a family, crowd, assembly, or gathering. Yet the context of this passage would seem to indicate that God has the entire Israelite community in mind. The actual sin committed might be the work of a few within the community, but God would hold the entire nation responsible. Sin is like an infectious disease and has a way of spreading throughout the entire body if left undetected and untreated. So, even if the violation had been committed by only a handful of the Israelites, the entire nation would find itself impacted by their actions. The impurity of a few would leave the whole congregation in a state of impurity and in need of cleansing.

So, God provided a means of receiving atonement. He wanted His people to take seriously any form of sin within the camp, and there is a powerful example of this in the book of Joshua. When the people of Israel eventually entered the land of Canaan, God gave them a miraculous victory over the city of Jericho. But this was followed by an unexpected defeat at the hands of the much-smaller city of Ai. Joshua chapter 7 opens up with the statement: “But the people of Israel broke faith in regard to the devoted things…” (Joshua 7:1 ESV).

Before they began their siege of Jericho, God had given the people clear instructions concerning their post-victory celebrations.

“Jericho and everything in it must be completely destroyed as an offering to the Lord. Only Rahab the prostitute and the others in her house will be spared, for she protected our spies.

“Do not take any of the things set apart for destruction, or you yourselves will be completely destroyed, and you will bring trouble on the camp of Israel. Everything made from silver, gold, bronze, or iron is sacred to the Lord and must be brought into his treasury.” – Joshua 6:17-20 NLT

But one man decided to ignore God’s command and enrich himself with some of the plunder from the city. And yet, Moses records, “Israel violated the instructions about the things set apart for the Lord” (Joshua 7:1 NLT). God held the entire nation culpable for Achan’s actions. In fact, Moses notes that “the Lord was very angry with the Israelites” (Joshua 7:1 NLT).

Joshua and the rest of the Israelites were completely oblivious to Achan’s sin. So confident of certain victory over the smaller city of Ai, Joshua sent a contingent made up of 3,000 Israelite soldiers, but their mission ended in defeat. And Moses records that “the Israelites were paralyzed with fear at this turn of events, and their courage melted away” (Joshua 7:5 NLT). Joshua, shaken by this unexpected turn of events, called out to God for an explanation. He couldn’t understand why God had failed to intervene on their behalf against the Amorites living in Ai. But what Joshua didn’t know was that sin had entered the camp of Israel. Achan’s violation of God’s command had left the entire community contaminated and worthy of God’s judgment, and God pulled no punches in declaring the seriousness of the situation.

“Israel has sinned and broken my covenant! They have stolen some of the things that I commanded must be set apart for me. And they have not only stolen them but have lied about it and hidden the things among their own belongings. That is why the Israelites are running from their enemies in defeat. For now Israel itself has been set apart for destruction. I will not remain with you any longer unless you destroy the things among you that were set apart for destruction.” – Joshua 7:11-12 NLT

While Achan’s sin had been anything but accidental, the rest of the nation had been unaware of its occurrence. They were ignorant of Achan’s crime but were just as responsible before God as if they had all taken part. And God made it clear that the entire community would be considered impure and responsible for the crime until the guilty party was sought out and exposed.

“Get up! Command the people to purify themselves in preparation for tomorrow. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Hidden among you, O Israel, are things set apart for the Lord. You will never defeat your enemies until you remove these things from among you.” – Joshua 7:13 NLT

Purification was part of the process. The entire community needed to purge itself of the sin that had left them contaminated and worthy of God’s judgment. The next day, God revealed the identity of the guilty party and ordered his execution.

“The one who has stolen what was set apart for destruction will himself be burned with fire, along with everything he has, for he has broken the covenant of the Lord and has done a horrible thing in Israel.” – Joshua 7:15 NLT

In this case, Achan and his entire family were stoned to death and then burned with fire. The sin was purged from their midst and the nation was spared God’s judgment. But the atonement came at a high price.

And all the Israelites stoned Achan and his family and burned their bodies. They piled a great heap of stones over Achan, which remains to this day. That is why the place has been called the Valley of Trouble ever since. So the Lord was no longer angry. – Joshua 7:25-26 NLT

When it came to the sin/purification offering, God provided a means by which the nation could receive a different form of atonement for inadvertent or unintentional sins committed among them. When someone violated one of God’s laws and it ended up impacting the entire community, there was a way to restore fellowship and receive forgiveness. But it involved a blood sacrifice. A life had to be given so that the guilty might be spared. In this case, it was to be “a bull from the herd” (Leviticus 4:14 ESV). This animal must be free from defects and in perfect health. It represented a payment of high value and illustrated the gravity of the crime committed. Atonement could not be achieved without considerable cost to the guilty party.

As representatives of the people, the elders were to lay their hands on the sacrificial animal, symbolizing its role as their substitute or stand-in. The guilt of the people was symbolically transferred to the bull, then the life of the animal was taken. Its blood was shed so that the Israelites could live and enjoy God’s forgiveness. But before atonement from sin could be enjoyed, the blood of the animal had to be taken by the priest and sprinkled on the veil that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies. The people’s access to God had been impacted by their sin. The entrance into God’s presence, represented by the veil, had been contaminated by sin, and needed to be purified by the blood of the sacrificial animal. As the author of Hebrews reminds us, “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins” (Hebrews 9:22 ESV).

Having purified the veil, the priest was to take the remainder of the blood and purify the bronze altar as well as the altar of incense. This ritual cleansing of the two altars of sacrifice was intended to restore their holiness and reestablish their use for worshiping God. And by following all the details of this pre-established ceremony “the priest shall make atonement for them, and they shall be forgiven” (Leviticus 4:20 ESV).

The Joy of Forgiveness

June 1, 2023June 1, 2023 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²“Speak to the people of Israel, saying, If anyone sins unintentionally in any of the Lord’s commandments about things not to be done, and does any one of them, ³if it is the anointed priest who sins, thus bringing guilt on the people, then he shall offer for the sin that he has committed a bull from the herd without blemish to the Lord for a sin offering. ⁴He shall bring the bull to the entrance of the tent of meeting before the Lord and lay his hand on the head of the bull and kill the bull before the Lord. ⁵And the anointed priest shall take some of the blood of the bull and bring it into the tent of meeting, ⁶and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle part of the blood seven times before the Lord in front of the veil of the sanctuary. ⁷And the priest shall put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense before the Lord that is in the tent of meeting, and all the rest of the blood of the bull he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering that is at the entrance of the tent of meeting. ⁸And all the fat of the bull of the sin offering he shall remove from it, the fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails ⁹and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins and the long lobe of the liver that he shall remove with the kidneys ¹⁰(just as these are taken from the ox of the sacrifice of the peace offerings); and the priest shall burn them on the altar of burnt offering. ¹¹But the skin of the bull and all its flesh, with its head, its legs, its entrails, and its dung— ¹²all the rest of the bull—he shall carry outside the camp to a clean place, to the ash heap, and shall burn it up on a fire of wood. On the ash heap it shall be burned up.” – Leviticus 4:1-12 ESV

Having covered the burnt, grain, and peace offerings, God now addresses two distinctively different sacrifices dealing with unintentional violations of His commands. The Hebrew phrase is בִּשְׁגָגָה (bishgagah) and it refers to a sin committed in ignorance and without premeditation. This could involve a case of someone violating one of God’s commands unknowingly or accidentally. Unlike the first three kinds of offerings, these two offerings place emphasis on the status of the sinner and not the sacrifice itself. It’s not that the type of sacrifice or the manner in which it is given is unimportant but that the specific type of sin is the higher priority.

These sacrifices involve accidental sins or sins of omission. If someone inadvertently committed a sin of which they were ignorant or unaware, there was a way for them to be restored to a right relationship with God. Their ignorance did not excuse or absolve them from guilt or condemnation. Simply claiming, “I didn’t know” would not alleviate their guilty standing before a holy God. Failing to observe one of God’s commands was a violation worthy of judgment whether the individual did so knowingly or not. And, like all other violations of God’s commands, these sins of ignorance required atonement.

So, God provided a gracious and very specific remedy for these unique situations. He knew that not all sins would be blatant displays of willful rebellion against His law. Some would innocently and unknowingly break His commands and find themselves under His righteous judgment. What were they to do? How were they supposed to remedy the situation in a way that God would find acceptable?

First of all, God addressed the priesthood. Even this select group of men would find themselves in the awkward and dangerous spot of having violated one of God’s commands unknowingly. Yet, it seems that these kinds of cases would have been rare since the priests were to be the experts when it came to God’s laws. But God knew that even Aaron and his sons were fully capable of making a mistake and unwittingly violating one of God’s many laws. And, when that unlikely occasion arose, there was a way for them to restore their broken relationship with God.

One of the important things to note in this passage is that God took all forms of sin seriously. It didn’t matter whether the individual intended to sin or not. Once the sin had been committed, it created a barrier between the individual and God. It left the violator impure and unworthy to enter God’s presence. This posed a real problem for those men who had been set apart to minister as mediators between God and His people. If Aaron or one of his sons committed an unintentional sin, their very presence in the Tabernacle and their interactions with the altars and utensils would invalidate any offerings they made. They would end up contaminating God’s house and rendering any of their actions as priests to be unacceptable.

“Purification is the main element in the purification [sin] sacrifice. Sin not only angers God and deprives him of his due, it also makes his sanctuary unclean. A holy God cannot dwell amid uncleanness. The purification offering purifies the place of worship, so that God may be present among his people.” – Gordon J. Wenham, The Book of Leviticus

These men played a vital role in the spiritual well-being of the people of Israel, and if their personal sins, whether willing or unwilling, remained unatoned for, the people will suffer the loss of God’s presence and power in their lives. Not only that, any sacrifices they offered would be deemed unacceptable to God. So, it was essential that the priests had a way to appease God for any and all sins they committed – even those that were the result of ignorance.

These inadvertent sins included such things as failing to keep one’s word or simply neglecting to do the right thing. Living in a sin-stained world could leave someone contaminated without them even knowing it. The key to these kinds of sins is awareness. Once someone became aware that they had unknowingly broken one of God’s commands, they were expected to confess their sin and make atonement for it. The former ignorance would not absolve them from responsibility or assuage their guilt. If they had unknowingly touched something that was unclean, that action would have rendered them unclean. Once they became aware of their unclean status, they were expected to do the right thing and offer the proper sacrifice. And God was quite specific as to the nature of that sacrifice.

While these sin offerings bear similarities to the burnt, grain, and peace offerings, there were slight differences. These offerings were not meant to be a soothing aroma to God. Instead, they were intended to expiate or make amends for the sin committed. As with all the other offerings, the animal that was to be sacrificed had to be without defect. There was a cost involved, even if the sin was accidental. The manner in which the sin was committed did not lessen the penalty or the cost of atonement. A perfect sacrifice was required to restore the sinner’s broken relationship with God.

When it comes to sin, ignorance is not bliss. A misguided sense of innocence did not render one right in the eyes of a holy, all-knowing God. That is why all sin should be taken seriously and it is a sober awareness of sin’s capacity for hiddenness that led David to cry out to God, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life” (Psalm 139:23-24 NLT).

David knew that sin was insidious in its ability to hide in plain sight. There was no way that he could know the true condition of his own heart, so he asked God to reveal any hidden sin that needed to be confessed and atoned for. And God reminded the prophet, Jeremiah, that the key to unlocking the secrets of the human heart lies with God and not man.

“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things,
    and desperately wicked.
    Who really knows how bad it is?
But I, the Lord, search all hearts
    and examine secret motives.
I give all people their due rewards,
    according to what their actions deserve.” – Jeremiah 17:9-10 NLT

Even sins committed in ignorance carry weight and require atonement. They cannot be overlooked, should not be underestimated, or treated apathetically. God wanted His people to live in perfect fellowship with Him, but He knew that sin would create an impenetrable barrier. The presence of sin in the individual’s life rendered them unacceptable and made God inaccessible. But God graciously provided a solution – in the form of a blood sacrifice because “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins” (Hebrews 9:22 ESV).

And once the atoning sacrifice was offered and the blood was sprinkled on the altar, the remaining portion of the slain animal was carried outside the camp and burned.

“…the skin of the bull and all its flesh, with its head, its legs, its entrails, and its dung— all the rest of the bull—he shall carry outside the camp to a clean place, to the ash heap, and shall burn it up on a fire of wood. On the ash heap it shall be burned up.” – Leviticus 4:11-12 NLT

In a sense, these unacceptable portions of the animal represented the unacceptable nature of the individual’s sin. Unworthy for use as an offering to the Lord, these leftovers were to be taken outside the camp and burned. It was David who wrote of the amazing reality of God’s forgiveness.

Finally, I confessed all my sins to you
and stopped trying to hide my guilt.
I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.”
And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone. – Psalm 32:5 NLT

And it was God who assured His stubborn and rebellious people of His willingness to faithfully forgive their repeated acts of sin against Him.

“I—yes, I alone—will blot out your sins for my own sake
and will never think of them again.” – Isaiah 43:25 NLT

Sin was inevitable. Accidental sins were unavoidable. But forgiveness was always available. And the key to restoration was confession and atonement. God would later remind His covenant people of His willingness to forgive if they would only confess.

“…if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.” – 2 Chronicles 7:14 NLT

Men sin but God forgives. This requires that men confess so that God can restore them. And, thankfully, God provided His people with the means to be restored to a right relationship with Himself, even when they had violated His law by mistake.

The great news is, that “if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness” (1 John 1:9 NLT).

Purity and Peculiarity

May 2, 2023May 2, 2023 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹⁷The Lord said to Moses, ¹⁸“You shall also make a basin of bronze, with its stand of bronze, for washing. You shall put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it, ¹⁹with which Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet. ²⁰When they go into the tent of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister, to burn a food offering to the Lord, they shall wash with water, so that they may not die. ²¹They shall wash their hands and their feet, so that they may not die. It shall be a statute forever to them, even to him and to his offspring throughout their generations.”

²²The Lord said to Moses, ²³“Take the finest spices: of liquid myrrh 500 shekels, and of sweet-smelling cinnamon half as much, that is, 250, and 250 of aromatic cane, ²⁴and 500 of cassia, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and a hin of olive oil. ²⁵And you shall make of these a sacred anointing oil blended as by the perfumer; it shall be a holy anointing oil. ²⁶With it you shall anoint the tent of meeting and the ark of the testimony, ²⁷and the table and all its utensils, and the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense, ²⁸and the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils and the basin and its stand. ²⁹You shall consecrate them, that they may be most holy. Whatever touches them will become holy. ³⁰You shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may serve me as priests. ³¹And you shall say to the people of Israel, ‘This shall be my holy anointing oil throughout your generations. ³²It shall not be poured on the body of an ordinary person, and you shall make no other like it in composition. It is holy, and it shall be holy to you. ³³Whoever compounds any like it or whoever puts any of it on an outsider shall be cut off from his people.’”

³⁴The Lord said to Moses, “Take sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum, sweet spices with pure frankincense (of each shall there be an equal part), ³⁵and make an incense blended as by the perfumer, seasoned with salt, pure and holy. ³⁶You shall beat some of it very small, and put part of it before the testimony in the tent of meeting where I shall meet with you. It shall be most holy for you. ³⁷And the incense that you shall make according to its composition, you shall not make for yourselves. It shall be for you holy to the Lord. ³⁸Whoever makes any like it to use as perfume shall be cut off from his people.” – Exodus 30:17-38 ESV

Holiness seems to be the theme of these closing verses of chapter 30.

“…it shall be a holy anointing oil…” – vs 25

“You shall consecrate them, that they may be most holy.” – vs 30

“Whatever touches them will become holy.” – vs 30

“This shall be my holy anointing oil throughout your generations.” – vs 31

“It is holy, and it shall be holy to you.” – vs 32

“…make an incense blended as by the perfumer, seasoned with salt, pure and holy.” – vs 35

“It shall be most holy for you.” – vs 36

“It shall be for you holy to the Lord.” – vs 37

The Hebrew word translated as “holy” is קֹדֶשׁ (qōḏeš) and it refers to something as being “sacred,” “separate,” or “set apart.” Even the oil and incense used in the Tabernacle were to be distinctively different and set apart solely for God’s use. There was to be nothing ordinary or pedestrian about God’s house, His priests, or the rites and rituals performed within it. Purity and peculiarity were essential requirements for the worship of God. Yahweh would not dwell in just any tent. His abode had to reflect His glory and grandeur. And His priests, while ordinary men, must be clothed in garments that matched the magnitude of their calling. When performing their priestly duties, they were to be dressed in clothes of unparalleled beauty and anointed with a costly oil made from a proprietary blend of myrrh, sweet-smelling cinnamon, aromatic cane, cassia, and olive oil.

Their hands and feet were to be washed in the special bronze basin that was located between the altar of sacrifice and the veil that led into the Holy Place. For Aaron and his sons, the old adage, “cleanliness is next to godliness” was especially true because God had warned, “They must wash with water whenever they go into the Tabernacle to appear before the Lord and when they approach the altar to burn up their special gifts to the Lord—or they will die!” (Exodus 30:20 NLT). They were forbidden to even draw near God’s presence in an unclean state. This ritual too, had to do with holiness or set-apartness. Their cleansing at the basin did not completely rid them of all dirt and grime, but it symbolized their need for purification before they could access a holy and righteous God.

This basin was strategically located at the door of the Tabernacle as a visual reminder to Aaron and his sons that their personal purity was essential. One must keep in mind that the basic was the very first stop after the priests had slaughtered and sacrificed animals on the bronze altar. Their hands and feet would have been covered in blood, requiring them to cleanse themselves before they could pass through the veil into the Holy Place.

It was King David who later wrote:

Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
And who shall stand in his holy place?
He who has clean hands and a pure heart… – Psalm 24:3-4 ESV

The practice of ritual cleansing was meant as a constant reminder to the priests that their personal purity was important to God. His holiness was to be honored at all times, and His perfect righteousness was never to be treated lightly or flippantly. To do so would bring the penalty of death.

It’s interesting to note that God set apart Aaron and his sons to serve as priests in the Tabernacle. They were chosen by God for this distinguished honor. But their set-apart status was not enough. They needed the proper clothing to wear. They needed blood sacrifices to atone for their sins and make possible their forgiveness. They required anointing with oil to signify their status as God’s chosen servants. Then they needed to be covered in the sweet-smelling blend of olive oil and spices to mask even the smallest hint of unacceptable odor that might offend a holy God. This whole process speaks of their ongoing need for sanctification. Not one step was to be left out. Every phase of the process was essential in preparing them to serve God Almighty.

The aromatic blend of olive oil and expensive spices was not just reserved for Aaron and his sons. It was also to be used “to anoint the Tabernacle, the Ark of the Covenant, the table and all its utensils, the lampstand and all its accessories, the incense altar, the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the washbasin with its stand” (Exodus 30:26-28 NLT).

This process rendered all the items as holy or set apart to God. And God states that anyone or anything that came into contact with those very same items would be considered holy as well. This is not to say that holiness is contagious or transferable, but that holiness is mandatory. Verse 29 seems to indicate that only those who have been anointed with the holy oil could touch the pieces located within the Tabernacle. No other person, no matter their pedigree or social status, was allowed to enter the Holy Place or touch any of the furniture found within it. Holiness was required.

And God warns that the oil belongs to Him, not Aaron and his sons. It was made for His benefit. The sweet aroma it gave off was for His enjoyment. That meant that no one was to replicate it or use it for any other purpose.

“It must never be used to anoint anyone else, and you must never make any blend like it for yourselves. It is holy, and you must treat it as holy. Anyone who makes a blend like it or anoints someone other than a priest will be cut off from the community.” – Exodus 30:32-33 NLT

Violation of this command would result in expulsion from the community of Israel. Some rabbinical scholars speculate that the penalty actually involved physical death. To be “cut off” meant to be permanently eliminated by means of execution. But whether the penalty involved ex-communication or execution, it would prove to be a costly mistake to violate God’s command.

The same penalty was reserved for any misuse of the incense that was to be placed before the Ark of the Covenant. This special blend of spices was also set apart solely for God’s use. It was to be considered as holy or sacred, and never to be replicated or repurposed for any other use.

“Never use this formula to make this incense for yourselves. It is reserved for the Lord, and you must treat it as holy. Anyone who makes incense like this for personal use will be cut off from the community.” – Exodus 30:37-38 NLT

The Tabernacle did not belong to the people of Israel. It was God’s possession just as they were. And everything associated with the Tabernacle was to be set apart for His use and for His glory. From the anointing oil and incense to the priestly robes and particular pieces of furniture that filled the inner recesses of the Tabernacle, it all belonged to the Lord. The holiness of these items was not tied to the actual composition of the oil and spice blend. What rendered them holy was God’s selection of them as His own. The oil was nothing more than a ceremonial reminder of their set-apart status. God wanted His people to know that His choice of them had rendered them holy. They were His prized possession, and He expected them to demonstrate that reality in their everyday lives. The Tabernacle was meant to be a visual reminder to God’s people of what it means to be holy and set apart. Cleanliness, purity, distinctiveness, and total dedication were required of the Tabernacle and of His people. They were to keep themselves pure and undefiled in all their ways. As the psalmist wrote years later:

Blessed are those whose way is blameless,
    who walk in the law of the Lord!
Blessed are those who keep his testimonies,
    who seek him with their whole heart,
who also do no wrong,
    but walk in his ways! – Psalm 119:1-3 ESV

The Breastpiece of Judgment

April 26, 2023April 27, 2023 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹⁵“You shall make a breastpiece of judgment, in skilled work. In the style of the ephod you shall make it—of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen shall you make it. ¹⁶It shall be square and doubled, a span its length and a span its breadth. ¹⁷You shall set in it four rows of stones. A row of sardius, topaz, and carbuncle shall be the first row; ¹⁸and the second row an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond; ¹⁹and the third row a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; ²⁰and the fourth row a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They shall be set in gold filigree. ²¹There shall be twelve stones with their names according to the names of the sons of Israel. They shall be like signets, each engraved with its name, for the twelve tribes. ²²You shall make for the breastpiece twisted chains like cords, of pure gold. ²³And you shall make for the breastpiece two rings of gold, and put the two rings on the two edges of the breastpiece. ²⁴And you shall put the two cords of gold in the two rings at the edges of the breastpiece. ²⁵The two ends of the two cords you shall attach to the two settings of filigree, and so attach it in front to the shoulder pieces of the ephod. ²⁶You shall make two rings of gold, and put them at the two ends of the breastpiece, on its inside edge next to the ephod. ²⁷And you shall make two rings of gold, and attach them in front to the lower part of the two shoulder pieces of the ephod, at its seam above the skillfully woven band of the ephod. ²⁸And they shall bind the breastpiece by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, so that it may lie on the skillfully woven band of the ephod, so that the breastpiece shall not come loose from the ephod. ²⁹So Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel in the breastpiece of judgment on his heart, when he goes into the Holy Place, to bring them to regular remembrance before the Lord. ³⁰And in the breastpiece of judgment you shall put the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be on Aaron’s heart, when he goes in before the Lord. Thus Aaron shall bear the judgment of the people of Israel on his heart before the Lord regularly.” – Exodus 28:15-30 ESV

The high priest’s sacred garment was to include a second feature: the breastpiece of judgment. This smaller, color-coordinated accessory was also made of fine linen and woven with gold, blue, purple, and scarlet yarns. It hung from two gold chains which were attached to the shoulder straps of the linen ephod. This long piece of handcrafted fabric was folded into a square and stitched on three sides, forming a pocket. Attached to the front of the breastpiece were 12 precious gems, each engraved with the names of the 12 tribes of Israel. The gems were surrounded with gold filigree, accentuating the beauty and worth of each stone. Inside the pocket of the breastpiece were placed the Urim and Thummim, special stones used to discern the will of God.

“The purpose of the breastpiece was ‘for making decisions’ (v. 15). The Urim and Thummim, deposited in the pouch, were sacred lots used as the ‘means of making decisions’ (v. 30). The word ‘Urim’ begins with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet and ‘Thummim’ begins with the last letter, so the lots were probably restricted to giving either positive or negative responses to questions asked of them. Strengthening that likelihood is the fact that the phrase ‘Urim and Thummim’ is best translated into English as ‘curses and perfections,’ meaning that if ‘Urim’ dominated when the lots were cast the answer would be no but if ‘Thummim’ dominated the answer would be yes.” – Ronald Youngblood, Exodus

Little is known about how the Urim and Thummim were used, but in the book of Numbers, Moses told his successor, Joshua, that these “sacred lots” were to be used to “determine everything” the Israelites were to do.

“When direction from the Lord is needed, Joshua will stand before Eleazar the priest, who will use the Urim—one of the sacred lots cast before the Lord—to determine his will. This is how Joshua and the rest of the community of Israel will determine everything they should do.” – Numbers 27:21 NLT

In the book of Joshua, it appears that the Urim and Thummim were used to determine who among the Israelites was guilty of violating the command of God.

“In the morning therefore you shall be brought near by your tribes. And the tribe that the Lord takes by lot shall come near by clans. And the clan that the Lord takes shall come near by households. And the household that the Lord takes shall come near man by man.” – Joshua 7:14 ESV

Prior to their defeat of the city of Jericho, God had given the Israelites clear instructions regarding what to do with the plunder of the city.

But a man named Achan had violated God’s command, and his son resulted in the Israelites’ failure to conquer the much smaller city of Ai. Apparently, the Urim and Thummim were used to determine the identity of the guilty party. For whatever reason, God chose to use this rather strange system to guide Joshua and the people of Israel. Rather than speaking to Joshua directly, as He had done with Moses, God provided the Urim and Thummim as the primary means for revealing His will. And because the Urim and Thummim were under the care of the high priest, Joshua was required to seek the aid of Eleazar in order to receive direction from God.

This breastpiece worn by the high priest was adorned with the 12 gemstones, signifying the 12 sons of Jacob and the 12 tribes of Israel. Inside the pouch formed by the breastpiece were the Urim and Thummim, which were essential tools for determining God’s will for the 12 tribes. And this vital accessory was worn next to the heart of the high priest, signifying both his role as mediator but also as shepherd of the people of God.

Two additional gold chains hung from the bottom of the breastpiece which attached to two gold rings affixed to the front of the linen ephod.

“This will hold the chestpiece securely to the ephod above the decorative sash. In this way, Aaron will carry the names of the tribes of Israel on the sacred chestpiece over his heart when he goes into the Holy Place.” – Exodus 28:28-29 NLT

Aaron was to hold the people of God close to his heart at all times, especially when serving in his role as the high priest. Every time he entered the Holy Place to offer atoning sacrifices on behalf of the people, he did so as their representative. He bore the 12 tribes on his shoulders and close to his heart. And between his heart and the 12 stones representing the people of God, were the tools for determining the will of God.

God had made it perfectly clear that in order for the Israelites to remain His treasured possession, they would have to obey His will.

“Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” – Exodus 19:5-6 ESV

Like priceless gems, the Israelites were of great value to God, and in his role as the high priest, Aaron was to share God’s care and concern for them. By carrying the Urim and Thummim, Aaron would play an important role in determining God’s will. But he would also serve as the agent of atonement, offering up the required blood sacrifices to cover the inevitable sins of the people.

In giving the Decalogue and the Book of the Covenant, God made His will known. He had disclosed the laws that were to regulate the behavior of the people of Israel. They knew what was expected of them. The apostle Paul summed up God’s expectations of His people when he wrote, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification…” (1 Thessalonians 4:3 ESV). When all is said and done, what God demands of His people is a life of holiness. He expects them to live in keeping with their status as His children. The Israelites didn’t need the Urim and Thummim to determine how to live. God had already revealed that to them. These little-understood stones were to be used in special instances when the Law of God could not be applied. They were not to be used for personal decision-making but only for determining the will of God for the entire community of God. In the rare instance that the Law was not applicable, the nation was to seek the will of God through this divinely ordained decision-making system.

Every child of God wrestles with the desire to know God’s will. But as the apostle Paul points out, the will of God is quite clear: He desires our holiness. Yet we tend to want God to be more specific. Who should I marry? What career path should I take? Is this the house you want me to buy? And it is not that God has no opinion about those matters, but it is that He is more concerned about your holiness. In most cases, our decision-making would be greatly simplified if we learned to ask the question: Will this decision help or hinder my pursuit of holiness? If I marry this individual will they become a partner in my desire to live a holy life? Will that job or career path pave the way to greater sanctification or lead me to a life of self-reliance and a love of the world?

As the high priest for the people of God, Aaron was given the tools to determine God’s will. But from the sparse references to the Urim and Thummim in the Scriptures, it appears that they were infrequently utilized. Aaron knew what God expected of His people. The Decalogue and the Book of the Covenant were quite specific and left little to the imagination. God demanded holiness. And the primary role of the high priest was to help the people of God maintain their holiness by atoning for their sinfulness. Their purity was to be his highest priority.

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The Bible Made Accessible and Applicable

purity