I think one good thing about us reading this as New Testament Christians, we have so much grace, we can become sloppy and careless, and lose the edge of holiness and say, Oh, that was only for those Old Testament saints.
Well, not when it comes to the spirit of holiness, it's not. It's for us, too. The details of many of them have have faded, but they have been replaced by other New Testament. doctrines and teachings and examples of Christ This is Cross-Reference Radio with our pastor and teacher, Rick Gaston. Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville.
Pastor Rick is currently teaching through the book of Leviticus. Please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about cross-reference radio. specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching. And now, here's Pastor Rick as he continues teaching through Leviticus chapter 21 on this edition of Cross-Reference Radio. Verse 10, He who is the high priest among his brethren, on whose head the anointing oil was poured, and who is consecrated to wear the garment, shall not uncover his head, nor tear his clothes, nor shall he go near any dead body, nor defile himself.
Verse 11. for his father or his mother, nor shall he go out Of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God, for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is upon him. I am Yahweh.
So this now is the high priest. Previously it was the priest. This is the high priest, and the the standards have Intensified. Affections are taking a second seat to duty. The idea of holiness.
amongst us continues to dominate in the book of Leviticus. There was nothing more he could do for the dead anyway. They were gone. And not to sound flippant about that at all. There were other people that certainly would should rise up and minister.
But the primary care of the high priest was for the temple of God on behalf of the living.
Now, I can tell you as a pastor, there are times when people have past and My presence is just because of my position. has made a big difference. People were looking for me, they were wanting me to show up, and when I got there, it made it very clear. One time I remember It was by the time I was the first one there, the person passed away, the spouse was. Holding them, and they were sitting.
The deceased was in a chair, the spouse was standing up. And I just embraced it was sort of a group hug. With the surviving spouse, the corpse, myself, and the Holy Spirit. And it was a very, it was a God-ordained moment. And where I'm going with this is.
Not to undervalue the office that God has given. The people oftentimes associate their pastor. directly to the authority of God in a proper way. There's a wrong way to do that, and there are right ways to do that. And I was very glad I was there.
And that's not the only time, again, that my presence showing up when death is just visited has been a blessing. to the people. But here the high priest would not be allowed to do that. He'd be out of work for seven days, and God was not going to let ministry stop.
So, some of those differences between the New Testament and Old Testament, very significant. Verse 13: And he shall take a wife in her virginity, a widow, or a divorced woman, or a defiled woman, or a harlot, these he shall not marry, but he shall take a virgin of his own people as wife, nor shall he profane his posterity among the people, for I Yahweh sanctify him.
So as in verse 7, but again, this is the high priest. Verse sixteen, and Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to Aaron, saying, No man of your descendants in succeeding generations who has any defect may approach to offer the bread of his God.
Well, here's a restriction. Here's a place where people, some might want to rebel and protest, especially today's generation.
Well, just as the sacrifice. Was to be without a blemish, so the one receiving and offering the sacrifice. was supposed to be without a physical blemish. God is setting qualifying standards. He is pursuing excellence in ministry.
He has every right to do that. The apostles, when the church was growing there in Jerusalem, And there began to be a need for servants other than the apostles This is what they said to the church. Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. Restrictions. Standards.
Find those who have good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, not just anybody. Those who are proven. not to be a problem.
So restrictions continue. If you do well, you have nothing to worry about. You enter into its rhythm. But if you're in the flesh all the time, Then you're going to You're going to butt heads. And you don't want to do that in ministry.
Because even if you think you succeed, God's going to deal with you for that. God told Ezekiel, I'm going to make your head hard. hotter than their head. since they want a buttheads with you. And it should never come to something like that.
Verse 18. For any man who has a defect shall not approach A man blind Or lame, who has a marred face or any limb too long. Again, disqualifying features.
Well, if you can't run fast enough, you can't be on the track team. There's a fair restriction. And God says, whether you think it's fair or not, this is what I want. Visual things cannot always be discounted. They can interfere.
Years ago, I read about this. tests that was took place in this university. where they cooked up some mashed potatoes. and dyed them blue. And no one could eat them.
It matters. We're dealing with human beings, not machines. And you know, it's so, how do you manage these things?
Well, that's the scripture helps us. with these things.
So diversity Equity, inclusion. Those things lower standards and are detrimental. God says, This is how I want it to His people. We come away reading this and we say, Well, We're not putting these restrictions on people, but we're paying attention. We're paying attention to things that we have to manage.
to make sure they do not cause damage. And someone's always going to not like it.
Well, that comes with leadership. When you lead, you're not, you know, you hope everybody appreciates it. But they won't always, and that can unless they're right and you know you're wrong. Then you have to make corrections, but if you say, no, this is the way it's going to be, then Will it raise your taxes? What w what is it gonna make you nauseous to submit?
What happens if you submit? What happens if you rebel? What happens if you become an Absalom at the gate? began to badmouth the king. win people over to your side.
Absalom was left dangling between heaven and earth. It counts, it matters, and it shouldn't be this way. You know, Judas Iscariot, that was a rebellion. He thought he had a better way. We all need to hear these lessons.
On the Side of the priests, you say, well, what about them?
Well Ideally. They're so busy pursuing integrity That's the standard that they're trying to conform to for the excellence of ministry, to not be the hypocrite. To be sincere, not superficial. to give the best pastoral ministry that they can they can give. What more would you ask for?
The the church church is not corporate America. The church is The house of God first. For the people of God, it is blood bought. There is violence involved. They're enemies, they're opponents.
Hopefully, they're not going to be coming from within.
So, the priest, incidentally, back to this. With the defect, one blind, one who was marred in the face or limb too long. The priests had to be physically fit to carry out their duties. We covered that in the very early chapters of Leviticus. They had to work hard physically.
And some of these restrictions Would have interfere with the work. Verse 19: A man who has a broken foot or broken hand.
Well, the physicians weren't as skilled in those days as they were today with broken limbs, but Why would God have to say this? Because there's going to be some hard-charging priest who breaks his hand, but I can still do it. I know you can't. You can't skin an ant a bull with one hand. A lame foot.
And so these rules are put in place. Verse 20, or is a hunchback, or a dwarf, or a man who has a defect in his eye, or eczema, or scab. or as a eunuch. More ab Normalities. He doesn't say if he's too tall, but he does mention if he's a dwarf.
And again, that would have to do. with the the amount of work that they were involved with and the size of the animals to deal with. Are the priestly duties physically demanding? A man who has a defect in his eye, a visual deformity, is what is the Hebrew. Points to with that one.
The eunuch. is It's differently interpreted by Jewish writers, and I say that because you might have a translation that's not using the word eunuch, but that's the bottom line to it. What is certain about That Hebrew word is that it has to do with physical emasculation. There's been an injury. Deuteronomy 23:1.
Speaking about others in another setting, another setting but concerning The temple. He who is Emasculated by crushing or mutilation shall not enter the assembly of Yahweh. And so again, you say, oh, well That's not fair.
Well, it's not about fair. It's about what God said. First of all, First off, and secondly, let's just say you had a case of eczema and you were a descendant of Aaron. And you were not allowed to minister in the temple in those days. How are you doing right now?
If you are a man of God. Doesn't matter, does it? You're not up there in heaven kicking the dust. I can't believe they wouldn't let me serve. He's not He doesn't have a handicap anymore.
It is about conformity and submission. to what God wants. The flesh hates restriction, and you all know it. I know it. There's no way around that fact.
A child early on does not like restrictions. Verse twenty one It's worse when you have an adult who behaves like a toddler. that doesn't want restrictions, and there are many of them. Verse twenty one no man Of the descendants of Aaron, the priest who has a defect shall come near. to offer the offerings made by fire to Yahweh.
He has a defect. And he shall not come near to offer the bread of his God.
Now I specified the bread. or the grain offerings would have been included in that. And also the the temple the show bread the twelve loaves of showbread. But The flesh hates restrictions. Which is why I did away with a speed limit in my driveway.
Yeah. Ain't gonna be tough. Sure. Go ahead. Try to get it up to 100 in your driveway.
See what happens to you. Anyway. Maybe you've got a driveway where you can do that. Verse 22.
Sorry, I said that out of envy. He may eat the bread of his God, both the most holy and the holy.
Well, while the handicapped priests were not permitted. to hold certain positions. They were not outcast. The priest who had a Physical defect was not deprived. From the food that came from the offerings.
Which the priest would have been entitled to. had he been in the position of service.
So he was simply prohibited from performing the duties at the altar and in the tabernacle. There were other duties he could have assumed. Not specified, but there would have been plenty of work there at the temple. Verse 23. Only He shall not go near the veil or approach the altar because he has a defect.
Lest he profane the sanctuaries. For I, Yahweh, sanctify them. I'm waiting for these leftist, progressive liberals to try to make it. legal for blind people to drive. They come up with so many other dumb things, we'll be beyond them.
You have to understand just things that are make effective. It won't work. That's the meaning of a defective thing. Anyway. While the handicapped priest could not minister in the sanctuary or the altar, The prohibition against serving in other capacities would have existed.
Um Verse twenty-four And Moses told it to Aaron and his sons. and to all the people of Israel.
Well, there's benefits in educating the people about the restrictions. More than why the restrictions. You know, the most important part is: no, you can't do it. The secondary part Is here's why, which is helpful. You know, we don't allow umbrellas.
in the sanctuary, not open ones.
Well, you say why?
Well, because we don't allow water in here. It's a joke. It's a joke. It's a good one too. Anyway Moses told it to Aaron and his sons and to all the children of Israel.
As one of my favorite quotes, Ethan Allen, high-end furniture, the educated consumer is our best customer. He knows what we're talking about when we tell him the features of this Why it costs so much, and what kind of materials have been put into it, and the craftsmanship, the educated consumer will say, ah, yeah, I see that, that's why I want it. The uneducated one, I can't see why it's so much. I can get this out of Walmart. We'll go to Walmart and get it.
So it's the same with Christianity. The educated Christian without pride. There's your servant right there. That's the one that is going to be. Useful to God and to the people at the same time.
Well, after this there was a question and answer session. I've said this before. I really enjoyed that. When I went to boot camp, they not once did they ask my opinion on anything. And I'm so glad they didn't ask anybody else either.
And if they did, you're in big trouble. If they said something like, What we got here, Prive, you knew it was going to be a bad day for you. Anyway, Chapter 22.
Now, the instructions already given are repeated with a little bit more detail, a little bit wider application. Then the Lord's. But Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to Aaron. And his sons? And that they separate themselves from the holy things.
of the children of Israel, and that they do not profane my holy name by what they do. dedicate to me I am Yahweh.
So they were not to casually handle holy things. Any work you do in the house, and we've got quite a few servants that understand that, and they don't need anybody to tell them that. It's just, you know. Even if they're just sweeping up and doing things, they know this is God's house and they're very serious about it. Separation of the sacred from the secular.
and compliance to God's will. That's what counts. It was not enough to be one of Aaron's sons. One had to be sensitive to God's purity and holiness, as Nadab and Abihu, unfortunately. found out the hard way.
Carelessness in ministry is unacceptable. I mean, we all make mistakes. do, but to be careless, that's another th That's another thing. That means you don't care. Verse 3, and God says he cares, and he wants his servants to care.
Say to them Whoever of all your descendants throughout your generation, Who goes near the holy things which the children of Israel dedicate to Yahweh, while he has uncleanness upon him, that person shall be cut off from my presence. I am Yahweh.
Well We do believe that some things are sacred, holiness to the Lord. This person presented here is careless at the altar, and he would suffer penalty.
So When the man gathered sticks in Israel, and was stoned to death, he was careless. It was brazen sin. He knew this was forbidden. He had six days in a week where he could gather sticks. And this day he did it anyway, and he suffered the consequence.
And Moses was careful. He took it right to God first. He didn't just go ahead and execute the man.
So that carelessness had to be dealt with, or else it would have just spread throughout. Israel. And same with Adam and Eve. They had all the other trees they could have eaten eaten from, but The one that they were forbidden to eat from, they chose to violate.
So from verses 3 through 9, unclean priest is the subject. then from ten to sixteen unqualified people. And then seventeen to thirty-three, unacceptable sacrifices. Remember, we are covering. restrictions and standards that are given by God, And we should not be intimidated by these things.
We should learn how. To best let them serve us and we serve them, learn how to use them.
Well, anyway, the priest would end up defiling himself The sacrifices and the altar, if he was permitted to just do whatever he wanted to. Verse 3, where it says he's cut off from my presence, probably defrocked. We've we've bounce that around a bit, that it's not always clear if cut off means Executed, sometimes we know that it doesn't, but other times it's not all that clear. To so Anyway, now we come to verse 24. Unclean priest is what this is going to address.
Whatever man of the descendants of Aaron who is a leper or has a discharge shall not eat holy offerings until he is clean. And whoever touches anything made unclean by a corpse, and it lists some other things, verse 5. And who because it doesn't need to be read. Out loud. Or whoever touches any creeping thing by which he would be made unclean, or any person by whom he would become unclean.
Now listen here, it's very important. Whatever his uncleanness may be. In case I forgot something. You know what I'm talking about. And so that's Paul has a similar thing, you know, and whatever else.
And so that's a couple of those wise guys.
So, well, mine is not listed. It doesn't say I can't run over people with a car. Anyway. Whatever his uncleanness may be, verse 6, the people who has touched anything such thing shall be unclean until evening, and shall not eat the holy offerings unless he washes his body with water. And when the sun goes down he shall be clean.
And afterward He may eat. The holy offerings. Because it is his food.
Well, I think one good thing about us reading this as New Testament Christians, we have so much grace, we can become sloppy and careless and lose the edge of holiness and say, Oh, that was only for those Old Testament saints.
Well, not when it comes to the spirit of holiness, it's not, it's for us too. The details of many of them have have faded, but they have been replaced by other New Testament Doctrines and teachings and examples of Christ. In verse four, Well, we we covered that actually. I'm glad you're glad I caught that before reading it again, aren't you? According to Chapter ten The priests were entitled to certain portions of certain sacrifices.
For their own nourishment, so long as the proper precautions were taken.
Well, here, of course, they would not be allowed if they were unclean. Eight. Whatever dies naturally or is torn by beasts, he shall not eat to defile himself. with I am Yahweh.
Well, because the blood was still in the animal, which was Made the meat unclean. They couldn't partake in that, whatever died naturally. Deuteronomy 14. You shall not eat anything that dies of itself. You may give it to the alien who is within your gates that he may eat it.
Or you may sell it to a foreigner, for you are a holy people. to Yahweh your God. This is a righteous standard. If you need something stolen, you ask an unbeliever to do it. They're already going to hell.
Yeah. That certainly isn't the case here.
Well, there was nothing wrong with the meat itself. It was fit for human consumption, but it was outside of God's protocols. And that's all the Jews needed to know. And so, you know, this would be helpful when you get to the New Testament. There's nothing wrong with the meat.
It's not poison.
Now If they ate this kind of meat unintentionally. You're going to come in and you grab a bite. Hey, don't eat that, it's too late. Then you'd have to go through a cleansing process until evening. What may be acceptable for believers, this is the lesson, may not be acceptable.
What may be acceptable for unbelievers may not be acceptable for believers. That's the lesson from Deuteronomy 14:21, and here also. When we come to Exodus, I think it's Exodus 21. If an animal kills something. The Jews were not to eat that meat.
and it specifies they were to give it to the dogs, the meat.
So again. Just because Something is Harmless. doesn't mean it's permitted. Thanks for tuning in to today's edition of Cross-Reference Radio. Pastor Rick Gaston is currently going through the book of Leviticus.
We're glad you joined us. We trust that you're gaining some valuable insights into God's Word as we go through this Old Testament book. Cross-reference radio comes to you from Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville, in Virginia. If you'd like to subscribe to our podcast, you can do so by going to your favorite app store and downloading from there. For any additional information about this ministry, we invite you to visit our website, Crossreference Radio.com.
Make sure to come back again for the upcoming edition in the book of Leviticus, as Pastor Rick has much more to share. We thank you for being with us right here on Cross Reference Radio.
