Greetings, Saints of the Most High, on this sizzling but beautiful Sabbath in the DFW.
These are my thoughts and reflections on this week’s Torah Reading, which happens to be the 92nd reading of our 3-year Torah Reading cycle. Given its contents, I’ve entitled this “God’s Requirements for Holiness in Worship.”
This reading is contained in Leviticus 22:1-23:44. We will discuss just chapter 22, but we will not go into 23. Chapter 23, as you may recall, goes into great detail about the Torah around the mandated set-apart days of Yehovah. Given that we’ve posted so much content as it relates to this subject of the set-apart days of Yah, I would encourage you, if you are so led, to put into the search function of https://themessianictorahobserver.org whatever set-apart day you’re interested in. But for our discussion today, we’ll be looking at this question of holiness as it relates to the elements of worship.
I pray this discussion will bless you and enhance your walk in Messiah.
Central Premise–Sacred Offerings (aka qodeshiym) vs. Profane (aka yehalelu) affecting Yehovah’s “Holy Name” (aka shem qodshi). There is a direct correlation between “holiness” (i.e., the holy things of Yehovah) and the “holy offerings” rendered unto Yehovah by the people. These come together contextually as they relate to the officiating Levitical priests’ state of ritual purity.
Special Note: Whenever we come across the wording in the Hebrew Torah of “holy things of Yah,” it references all qualified offerings to be rendered unto Yehovah at the Brazen Altar.
When one encounters the holy things of Yehovah in a state of ritual uncleanness, they are effectively profaning the holy name of Yehovah. A state of uncleanness (aka, ritually impure; impure) was defined by Yehovah throughout the previous readings of Leviticus. In fact, Yah prohibited His priests from even coming into His presence in a state of ritual impurity/uncleanness, thus the warning against unclean priests “encroaching upon the sacred.”
Recall that certain burnt offerings were divided between the offerer, his family, and the officiating Levitical priests. For the offering to be accepted by Yah, the offerer, and the officiating Levitical Priests had to be ritually clean. Especially the Levitical Priests, who, for them to partake in that meal, the food from that divvied-up offering deemed as holy (aka qodeshiym) by Yehovah, even the priestly consumers of the meal had to be ritually clean/pure. Why? Because the meal was holy! And to consume the meal in a state of ritual uncleanness served to profane (i.e., pollute or contaminate) both the substance of the meal and the name and authority of Yehovah Elohim.
Torah teacher and writer Tim Hegg of Torah Resources, touches upon another aspect of uncleanness that had nothing to do with officiating priests rendering unto Yehovah offerings and then partaking in the offerings in a state of ritual uncleanness. He brings up the very real possibility of evil-hearted priests taking advantage of the people’s sacred offerings to have their offerings properly rendered unto Yehovah. In other words, there may be certain evil-hearted priests who might seek to personally profit from the various offerings they officiated over or to even steal those offerings. In such occasions, those rendered offerings would also be profaned and nullified by the evil actions of unscrupulous priests. And certainly, Yah was not having any of that. In fact, Yehovah stipulated that the Levites were to possess no inheritance or real property. Yah told Aharon:
(20) Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land, neither shalt thou have any part among them: I am thy part and thine inheritance among the children of Yisra’el. (21) And, behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Yisra’el for an inheritance, for their service which they serve, even the service of the tabernacle of the congregation…(23) But the Levites shall do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they shall bear their iniquity: It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations that among the children of Yisra’el, they have no inheritance. (24) But the tithes of the children of Yisra’el, which they offer as an heave offering unto Yehovah, I have given to the Levites to inherit: Therefore, I have said unto them, among the children of Yisra’el they shall have no inheritance (Numbers 18; KJV).
Thus, the priesthood would be prohibited from gaining personal wealth from handling and dispensing the holy things of Yehovah.
This scenario recalls the situation of the money changers who operated in and around the Temple during Yeshua’s day. These were no doubt associated with the Jewish religious leadership establishment that was overseeing worship at the Temple. We know that many of those same religious leaders were wealthy and owned material possessions that they no doubt received through selling the worship of Yehovah in one form or another. The Sadducees were essentially the first-century Levitical priests of Yeshua’s day. And because these were unfaithful and disobedient to their charge as Yah’s chosen intercessors, their entire line was “cut off” from before Yehovah! Yikes!
When you think about it, that was a terrible situation that is echoed even today in religiosity, where certain so-called church leaders have grown wealthy beyond reason through their selling of the Word of Yehovah.
The Levitical Priests were meant to foreshadow the Person and Ministry of Yeshua Messiah, who Himself was perfect, both ritually and spiritually pure/clean. He was qualified in every sense to be the world’s atoning sacrifice and officiate as the High Priest in the heavenly Mishkan, offering our prayers, praise, worship, and petitions unto Yehovah. Praise Yah from Whom all blessings flow!
“Being Cut-off from Before Yehovah”
To profane the offerings/the holy things of Yehovah incurred a heavy price upon the one who profaned the offering: They would be cut off from Yah’s presence. For a priest to be cut off from the presence of Yah meant that he was no longer permitted to function and serve in the esteemed Tabernacle service. To function in the esteemed Tabernacle service meant that the priest operated and served in the presence of Yehovah. Contrast transgressions against the Torah for ritual purity for the non-priests of the nation: The penalty was for them to be “cut off from their kin or their people.”
We should not overlook that the unclean priest who would dare to encroach upon the holy offerings of Yah (i.e., to partake of the holy offerings of Yehovah in a ritually impure state) would only suffer personal alienation from Yehovah. Many Torah teachers believe that the penalty for transgression of this mitzvah could involve Yehovah personally meting out judgment and even wrath upon the offender. I believe both forms of penalties are likely, especially given that in most cases, only Yehovah would know the true cleanliness of each officiating and partaking priest. Thus, the thought of Yehovah cutting a priest off from His presence seems to be a very personal retributive active by the Almighty against the guilty priest.
Levitical Priest Clean-up
The logical question that comes to mind in this reading is, given the inevitable event that each priest would come into a state of ritual impurity/uncleanness at some point in their service, how did they get cleaned up and restored back to service? Well, turns out that the prescription for priestly clean-up was quite simple: They would be expected to step aside unilaterally and temporarily from service in anticipation of getting cleaned up (22:4-8; cf., Midrash Rab. Numbers 10:8). This act of separating oneself from priestly service and from the people is referred to as “nazar,” which means to “separate oneself,” “to withdraw,” and even “to fast” (T. Hegg; “Studies in the Torah-Leviticus,” pg. 156). According to Hegg, “nazar” is the Hebrew root word for “natzir,” from which we get “Nazarite.” You may recall that a Nazarite took a vow of service unto Yehovah, and part and parcel of that Nazarite vow was for him to abstain from certain carnal practices and things such as consumption of alcoholic beverages and cutting their hair until their vow was fulfilled.
But having withdrawn from service and from the people and from partaking of the meals provided for them by Yehovah through the sacrificial system for a brief period, they would be afforded the opportunity to get cleaned up and be restored to their priestly duties.
Let’s not overlook the reality that the worshiper (i.e., the offerer) would be required to also be in a state of ritual purity to worship at the Tabernacle properly. So, the same expectation was placed upon every worship when they became ritually unclean/impure: They needed to separate themselves from the place of worship and get cleaned up as quickly as possible.
Yehovah always provides a way back home for His chosen ones, doesn’t He? However, priests and worshipers are expected to be in a state of cleanliness to serve and worship properly. Ignoring this requirement was to transgress Yah’s Torah (i.e., commit sin), profane Yah’s holy offerings, and die due to their sinful actions (22:9).
The remainder of chapter 22 in our reading today goes into moderate detail as it relates to Yah’s requirement that it be in a perfect physical state for it to be accepted by Him. From there, Yah provides specifics on the humane treatment of all sacrifices and the time constraints imposed upon the people for consumption of the resulting sacrificial meals. He wraps up this section by reiterating the importance of adhering to His exacting requirements when transacting the holy things (i.e., the offerings and sacrifices) unto Yehovah to avoid profaning His holy name and to ensure that He was “sanctified among the people of Yehovah” (22:31-33; ESV).
Practical Modern-Day Halachah Application
What does this say about us today, who are aspiring priests in the upcoming Kingdom of Yehovah? Our horsepower, so to speak, comes from our accessibility to the throne-the very presence of Yehovah–that was and is made possible through the Person and Ministries of Yeshua Messiah. To be cut off from Abba Yah’s presence is to make null and void a Netzer’s truest purpose in the world and for the world tomorrow.
When we come to faith (i.e., when we enter a true and substantive relationship with the Almighty), we are cleansed through the Person and Ministries of Yeshua Messiah. Allegorically, we are issued a dazzling set of holy garments. However, it becomes the disciple of the Messiah’s responsibility to maintain that initial cleanliness and to keep their holy garments clean and white.
Bear in mind, beloved, I’m not talking about the modern Netzer maintaining a state of ritual purity. That ritual purity as outlined in Torah applied specifically to one being in an acceptable state of cleanliness, making worship at the Tabernacle and Temple permissible. We’re not talking about that form of ritual purity here. Here we’re talking about simply being cleansed and free from sin and having one’s heart and mind in a circumcised state that makes true worship of Yah–that which is in Spirit and in Truth–possible. You see, Yah will not tolerate sin in His presence, nor will He tolerate the presence of sin in our relationship with Him. So, we are expected to be clean from sin by (1) no longer sinning when the Holy Spirit convicts us. (2) confessing our sins to Yehovah, repenting of that sin, and asking Yah’s forgiveness. And then stop sinning and resume walking blamelessly in His ways. Resisting sin. Avoiding situations where we may be led to sin. And so forth. Why? Because sin profanes; it pollutes; it contaminates our praise; our worship; our prayers; our petitions; and even our covenant relationship with Yehovah. For our praise and worship and prayers and so forth are holy unto Yehovah when they are rendered unto Elohim from one who is pure of heart and who is undefiled.
To think that we can simply live whatever hellish life we want to after coming into faith with the Almighty and not being liable for being cut off from Him is to be naive at best. Yah will only tolerate foolishness on our part for so long before He ultimately decides to cut us loose. And no Kingdom-bound, kingdom-minded believer wants any part of that. So, our Torah reading certainly should give us spiritual cause to pause and ensure that we are always in a state of cleanliness. Yah will not receive our worship, praise, petitions, and prayers if we remain unclean. So, let’s always assess our state of purity before Yehovah. Seek the Spirit’s help to spotlight any and all areas and incidents of filth that so easily besets us (Hebrews 12:1). Open ourselves to the Spirit’s leading in helping us keep our garments dazzling white and undefiled (Revelation 3:4; 16:15).
When it comes to rendering unto Yehovah that which belongs to Him–those things that are holy unto Him such as our tithes and offerings, our worship and praise, and our service to Him, in addition to being in a spiritually and physically clean state, it falls to each of us to ensure that we render unto Him the very best that we have, every aspect of such elements of worship must be perfect and without defects. He gave us and continues to give us His very best, and it falls to us to reciprocate and render unto Him our very best.
Unfortunately, many people of faith simply go through the motions to render unto Yehovah elements of worship that are less than perfect. In fact, most folks render unto Yah half-hearted elements of worship (e.g., meager offerings and partial tithes; half-hearted praise and worship efforts; less than transparency in their prayers and petitions, often with personal agendas overriding what should be the true aim of that form of worship; and of course, self-serving elements of worship that serve to enrich the individual at whatever personal level suites them such as receiving accolades, fame, and fortune for their service and worship). If our worship is to be accepted by Yah, every element of our worship must be as spiritually perfect as Yah has made possible.
So, when we come before Yehovah, even in our intimate times of prayer (i.e., intercessory and petitions), it is vitally important that we critically assess our motives, the state of our hearts, and the purity of our walk (i.e., undefiled by sin) so that our worship may be accepted of Yah and that He receives the glory and honor that He so richly deserves. The Holy Spirit (aka, Ruach HaKodesh) will help us with these things. We simply need to “let go and let Yah” do His thing in us. Anything lacking in us and in our offering must be corrected as soon as it is noticed or revealed to us. Then, and only then, will our worship be accepted of Yah.
When looking at these readings each week, it is highly important that we bear in mind that the contents contained therein always, in one way or another, point us toward Yeshua. The content of these readings provides the Kingdom-minded/Kingdom-bound disciple a prophetic shadow picture of the good things that our Master has brought us, and they paint for us a beautiful portrait of His Person and Ministries (Hebrews 10:1; 8:5). Not only was Master the perfect offering and sacrifice to atone for our sins and to bring us into a right relationship with the Creator of the Universe, but He also serves in the heavenly Temple (aka the heavenly Mishkan) as our perfect and sinless High Priest (aka, our Cohen HaGadol) on our behalf (Hebrews 5:6; 6:20; 7:17).
Thus, when everything is spiritually and physically in place and in order, we can, as the writer of Hebrews proclaimed, “come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16; KJV).
Shabbat Shalom Saints, until next time, may you be abundantly blessed and have an overcoming week in Yeshua Messiah.