Leviticus 22:1-16 (CLICK HERE FOR BIBLE VERSES)
Hi GAMErs,
Today’s passage is Leviticus 22:1-16. With a humble heart, see what sticks out to you in this passage. Is there a verse, a phrase, or a lesson you think the Holy Spirit may be highlighting for you in this passage? After you’ve thought about the passage yourself a bit, read the GAME sharing below. Let’s go!
Leviticus 22:1-8 (NIV)
1 The LORD said to Moses,
2 “Tell Aaron and his sons to treat with respect the sacred offerings the Israelites consecrate to me, so they will not profane my holy name. I am the LORD.
3 “Say to them: ‘For the generations to come, if any of your descendants is ceremonially unclean and yet comes near the sacred offerings that the Israelites consecrate to the LORD, that person must be cut off from my presence. I am the LORD.
4 “‘If a descendant of Aaron has an infectious skin disease or a bodily discharge, he may not eat the sacred offerings until he is cleansed. He will also be unclean if he touches something defiled by a corpse or by anyone who has an emission of semen,
5 or if he touches any crawling thing that makes him unclean, or any person who makes him unclean, whatever the uncleanness may be.
6 The one who touches any such thing will be unclean till evening. He must not eat any of the sacred offerings unless he has bathed himself with water.
7 When the sun goes down, he will be clean, and after that he may eat the sacred offerings, for they are his food.
8 He must not eat anything found dead or torn by wild animals, and so become unclean through it. I am the LORD.
On verses 1-8: In ancient Jewish culture, the Israelites considered each new day to begin in the evening when the sun set, not in the morning when the sun rose. In current Western culture, when we see the sun rise, we think, “A new day is just about to start”. In contrast, the Israelites saw evening when the sun set as the mark of a new day. That’s why in Genesis 1 it says, “And there was evening, and there was morning – the first day”.
So in Leviticus 22:6, when it says a descendant of Aaron the high priest will be unclean “till evening“, it means that no matter how unclean the priest was, God’s mercy makes that priest new when a new day begins. Aren’t you glad that God’s mercies are new every day? It reminds me of Lamentations 3:22-23 which says, “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
Every day, whether intentionally or unintentionally, I am sinning against God in some way. But praise God! No matter how unclean with sin I become, God’s mercies are new with each new day.
Leviticus 22:9-16 (NIV)
9 “‘The priests are to keep my requirements so that they do not become guilty and die for treating them with contempt. I am the LORD, who makes them holy.
10 “‘No one outside a priest’s family may eat the sacred offering, nor may the guest of a priest or his hired worker eat it.
11 But if a priest buys a slave with money, or if a slave is born in his household, that slave may eat his food.
12 If a priest’s daughter marries anyone other than a priest, she may not eat any of the sacred contributions.
13 But if a priest’s daughter becomes a widow or is divorced, yet has no children, and she returns to live in her father’s house as in her youth, she may eat of her father’s food. No unauthorized person, however, may eat any of it.
14 “‘If anyone eats a sacred offering by mistake, he must make restitution to the priest for the offering and add a fifth of the value to it.
15 The priests must not desecrate the sacred offerings the Israelites present to the LORD
16 by allowing them to eat the sacred offerings and so bring upon them guilt requiring payment. I am the LORD, who makes them holy.'”
On verses 9-16: Verses 9 through 16 begin and end with this phrase, “I am the Lord, who makes them holy.” For the Israelites back then, and for us today, it is a reminder that it is not our effort to obey God’s commands that makes us holy. It’s not our performance or our resume that makes us holy. It is the Lord who makes us holy.
On our own we have no hope of being holy. “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” (Romans 3:23) But because God did not want to live apart from us, because He loves us, the whole story of the Bible is about a God who makes us holy. How? By sacrificing Himself and giving us His holiness in exchange for our sin. To this day, by His Holy Spirit living in us, He empowers us to live holy lives that we could not live by our own strength. I could never make myself holy, but praise God. He is the One who makes us holy.
Thank You, Lord, for Your mercies, which are new every morning! And thank You that it is You who makes me holy. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
copyright © 2022 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.
