"God instructs Aaron and his sons to deal respectfully with the holy offerings to the Lord. The offerings of the Israelites have been consecrated to the Lord, so they must be careful not to profane the name of the Lord. No one outside a priest's family is to eat the holy offering. Last, God speaks about acceptable sacrifices for all the various kinds of offerings. No animals with defects are to be offered as a sacrifice to the Lord. There is to be no blemished animal sacrifices."
Leviticus 22 Amplified Bible (AMP)
Various Rules for Priests
Various Rules for Priests
22 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Tell Aaron and his sons to be careful with the holy things (offerings, gifts) which the children of Israel dedicate to Me, so that they do not profane My holy name; I am the Lord. 3 Say to them, ‘Any one of your descendants throughout your generations who approaches the holy things which the Israelites dedicate to the Lord, while he is [ceremonially] unclean, that person shall be cut off from My presence and excluded from the sanctuary; I am the Lord. 4 No man of the descendants of Aaron who is a leper or has a discharge may eat the holy things [the offerings and the showbread] until he is clean. And whoever touches any person or thing made unclean by contact with a corpse or a man who has had a seminal emission, 5 or whoever touches any crawling thing by which he is made unclean, or any person by whom he is made unclean, whatever it may be, 6 the person who touches any such thing shall be unclean until evening and shall not eat the holy things unless he has bathed his body in water. 7 When the sun sets, he will be clean, and afterward he may eat the holy things, for it is his food. 8 He shall not eat that which dies [of natural causes] or is torn by a predator, becoming unclean by it; I am the Lord. 9 Therefore the priests shall observe My ordinance, so that they will not bear sin because of it and die if they profane it; I am the Lord who sanctifies them.
Hebrews 10:10
"But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth." 2 Thessalonians 2:13
- I AM THE LORD WHO SANCTIFIES THEM. It just struck me that as Aaron and his sons (as High Priest and priests) followed and obeyed the Lord's commandments about cleanliness and purity, it is actually God Himself who is purifying and cleansing them, and not the "ritual" or ceremony. This is important to remember because it is not about the outside works or deeds of obedience, but it's all about the condition of our hearts. As we obey God's commandments, we trust and believe in His mighty power and mercies to cleanse and sanctify us from the inside out.
Hebrews 10:10
"But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth." 2 Thessalonians 2:13
10 ‘No layman [that is, someone outside of Aaron’s family] is to eat the holy gift [which has been offered to God]; a foreigner residing with the priest or a hired man shall not eat the holy thing. 11 But if a priest buys a slave as his property with his money, the slave may eat the holy thing, and those who are born in the priest’s house; they may eat his food. 12 If a priest’s daughter is married to a layman [one not part of the priestly tribe], she shall not eat the offering of the holy things. 13 But if a priest’s daughter is a widow or divorced, and has no child, and returns to her father’s house as in her youth, she shall eat her father’s food; but no layman shall eat it. 14 But if a person unknowingly eats a holy gift [which has been offered to God], then he shall add one-fifth of its value to it and give the holy gift to the priest. 15 The priests shall not profane the holy things the Israelites offer to the Lord, 16 and so cause them [by neglect of any essential observance] to bear the [a]punishment of guilt when they eat their holy things; for I am the Lord who sanctifies them.’”
17 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 18 “Speak to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites and say to them, ‘Any man of the house of Israel or any stranger in Israel who presents his offering, whether to fulfill any of their vows or as any of their freewill (voluntary) offerings which they presented to the Lord as a burnt offering— 19 so that you may be accepted—it must be a male without blemish from the cattle, the sheep, or the goats. 20 You shall not offer anything which has a blemish, because it will not be accepted for you. 21 Whoever offers a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord to fulfill a special vow to the Lord or as a freewill offering from the herd or from the flock, it must be perfect to be accepted; there shall be no blemish in it. 22 Animals that are blind or fractured or mutilated, or have a sore or a running wound or an itch or scabs, you shall not offer to the Lord nor make an offering of them by fire on the altar to the Lord. 23 For a freewill offering you may offer either a bull or a lamb which has an overgrown or stunted member (deformity), but for [the payment of] a vow it will not be accepted. 24 You shall not offer to the Lord any animal which has its testicles bruised or crushed or torn or cut off, or sacrifice it in your land. 25 Nor shall you offer as the food of your God any such [animals obtained] from a foreigner, because their corruption and blemish makes them unfit; there is a defect in them, they shall not be accepted for you.’”
26 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 27 “When a bull or a sheep or a goat is born, it shall remain for seven days with its mother; and after the eighth day it shall be accepted as an offering by fire to the Lord. 28 And whether [the mother] is a cow or a sheep, you shall not kill both it and its young in one day. 29 When you sacrifice an offering of thanksgiving to the Lord, you shall sacrifice it so that you may be accepted. 30 It shall be eaten on the same day; you shall leave none of it until the next morning; I am the Lord. 31 So you shall keep My commandments and do them; I am the Lord.
32 “You shall not profane My holy name [using it to honor an idol, or treating it with irreverence or contempt or as a byword]; but I will be sanctified (set apart as holy) among the Israelites. I am the Lord, who sanctifies and declares you holy, 33 who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God; I am the Lord.”
Footnotes: Leviticus 22:16 Lit iniquity.
- UNBLEMISHED AND FREEWILL OFFERING. The word "unblemished" and "freewill" offering always point me to who Jesus is, and what He has done for us. He is the unblemished, perfect lamb of God that was offered for the atonement of all our sins, and He also did it willingly. Out of His freewill, out of His great heart and great love for us-- and His great love and obedience to the Father.
Jesus the Good Shepherd
"Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.
“Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.” John 10:7-18
"By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren." 1 John 3:16
"This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. These things I command you, that you love one another." John 15:12-17
"This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. These things I command you, that you love one another." John 15:12-17
After reading, I always check out the Study Guide Commentary from David Guzik (very helpful!):
a. Who goes near the holy things which the children of Israel dedicate to the LORD, while he has uncleanness upon him, that person shall be cut off: Because the Old Covenant was a covenant of shadows and types, pointing to the glory of the New Covenant (Colossians 2:16-17; Hebrews 8:4-5; 10:1), the idea that a priest could not minister in a ceremonially defiled (unclean) state was important. Israel needed to know that drawing close to God was to be pure.
b. And when the sun goes down he shall be clean. The Jews start their days at sundown, not sunrise or midnight. With this description, God indicates that one can start the new day clean and pure to the LORD. No matter how we might have failed the day before, we can begin each new day pure and close to the LORD. His mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:23).
i. In application, we can stop beating our self up for yesterday's sin. We should confess it, repent of it, and then get on with the business of walking with the LORD today.
b. For I the LORD sanctify them: This shows why the offerings had to be regarded with special care. These offerings were specially sanctified by the LORD.
a. Who goes near the holy things which the children of Israel dedicate to the LORD, while he has uncleanness upon him, that person shall be cut off: Because the Old Covenant was a covenant of shadows and types, pointing to the glory of the New Covenant (Colossians 2:16-17; Hebrews 8:4-5; 10:1), the idea that a priest could not minister in a ceremonially defiled (unclean) state was important. Israel needed to know that drawing close to God was to be pure.
b. And when the sun goes down he shall be clean. The Jews start their days at sundown, not sunrise or midnight. With this description, God indicates that one can start the new day clean and pure to the LORD. No matter how we might have failed the day before, we can begin each new day pure and close to the LORD. His mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:23).
i. In application, we can stop beating our self up for yesterday's sin. We should confess it, repent of it, and then get on with the business of walking with the LORD today.
b. For I the LORD sanctify them: This shows why the offerings had to be regarded with special care. These offerings were specially sanctified by the LORD.
a. Whatever has a defect, you shall not offer: Blemished or deformed animals were obviously unacceptable to the LORD, and the priests had a responsibility to make sure that the animals brought before them by the people were good enough to bring to the LORD. God didn't want the cast-offs from the people; He had right to their best.
ii. This also was a foreshadowing of Jesus, our perfect sacrifice. He was perfect in His nature as both God and man, perfect in His motive, perfect in His personality, perfect in His obedience, perfect in His sacrifice for sin on our behalf.
a. Therefore you shall keep My commandments, and perform them: God commanded Israel - and especially the priests - to keep His commandments and to honor His name because of who He is (I am the LORD), because of what He is (My holy name), because of what He is doing (I am the LORD who sanctifies you), and what He has done (who brought you out of the land of Egypt).
b. I am the LORD: Surely, these four things are true of the believer in relation to God today - and are each valid and important reasons for obedience.
Reference and credits to https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/guzik_david/StudyGuide2017-Lev/Lev-22.cfm © 2004 David Guzik
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