Leviticus 22:1-16 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,… We have seen, in the preceding chapter, that blemishes which precluded a priest from ministering at the altar did not hinder him from eating of the holy things. The ordinary Israelite, therefore, would not, by similar blemishes, be debarred from the privileges of his religion. There are, however, other things which would disqualify. These are now brought under our notice, together with the provisions by which they might be removed. Consider - I. DISQUALIFICATIONS FOR EATING OF THE HOLY THINGS. 1. With respect to priests. (1) A priest would be disqualified by any uncleanness in his flesh; thus, if he were a leper. The reason is that leprosy was a notable emblem of sin. Or if he had any running issue. Such things are in themselves loathsome, and evince a corrupt state of the body, and therefore fittingly represent moral corruption. This, under every dispensation, excludes men from that fellowship with God which was shadowed in the eating of the holy things. (2) He would be disqualified by contact with a human corpse, or with the carcase of any unclean animal. The moral lesson here is that "evil communications corrupt good manners," that the "friendship of the world is emnity against God." 2. With respect to the families of priests. (1) The stranger that sojourneth in Israel must become regularly proselyted to entitle him to the privileges of the Law. So those who would enjoy the corresponding spiritual privileges of the gospel must first become disciples of Jesus. (2) The hired servant in the family of a priest is not sufficiently incorporated in the family to entitle him to eat of the holy things. And there are servants of the gospel - persons who take a commendable interest in its outward prosperity - who yet are not of the "household of faith," and have no experience of its spiritual mysteries. (3) The daughter of a priest, by marrying a stranger, forfeits her right to eat of the holy things. If now in her father's house, she is simply a visitor, and has to be provided with common food. By yoking with the ungodly, the children of God forfeit his favour, and are only tolerated in the Church as visitors. 3. These laws may not be invaded with impunity. (1) If by accident they were transgressed, there was mercy for the offender when he made reparation. This was the original value, with a fifth part added (verse 14). Paul obtained mercy for his sin against the gospel of Christ, "because he did it ignorantly in unbelief." (2) For the wilful presumptuous transgression of the Law there was no mercy in its provisions. "That soul shall be cut off from my presence" (yen. 3). "They shall therefore keep mine ordinance, lest they bear sin for it, and die therefore, if they profane it" (verse 9). There is a law of extremity also under the gospel (Matthew 12:81, 82; Acts 5:l-11; Hebrews 6:4-6; Hebrews 10:26-29; 1 John 5:16). II. HOW THESE DISQUALIFICATIONS MAY BE REMOVED. 1. In some cases by statute. (1) Thus the servant of the high priest, bought with his money, though formerly an alien, is now so incorporated into his family that he may freely eat of the holy things. Being purchased, he is permanently under the power of the priest, and has no option to leave his service. So we, being redeemed by the blood of Christ and by a thorough repentance and conversion, renouncing all freedom to act against his will, may claim the privileges of his service. (2) Those born in the house of the priest, viz. to his slaves or permanent servants, are also reckoned as belonging to his family, and privileged to fare as his own children. This birth into the household expresses more than mere natural descent from a godly ancestry. The children of the covenant made with Abraham were not those naturally descended from him, but those who were also the children of his faith. Natural birth in a godly family now gives the initiation to goodness, but the privileges of the gospel can only be enjoyed by those who follow up their advantages. (3) The daughter of a priest, as we have seen, by marrying a stranger, forfeited her right to eat of the holy things. She was the figure of a backslider. But if there were no issue of the marriage, and her husband were dead, and she return to the house of her father as in her youth, she may again partake of the holy things. This teaches us God's mercy to the wanderer from Christ who returns to him with a true conversion (see Luke 15:11). 2. In some cases by ordinance. (1) If a man contract pollution by contact, he "shall not eat of the holy things, unless he wash his flesh with water" (verses 4-6). As the baptism of water was necessary to qualify the ceremonially impure to eat of the holy things which were typical, so is the baptism of the Holy Ghost required to remove moral impurity, and give us the privilege of real fellowship with God (Hebrews 10:22). (2) After this washing, "and when the sun is down, he shall be clean, and shall afterward eat of the holy things" (verse 7). The natural or civil day began at sunrise; the holy day at sunset, viz. when nature is involved in the shadow of death. So it is in the turning from nature to grace that we enter into the privileges of fellowship with God. - J.A.M. Parallel Verses KJV: And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, |
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