Holy Things Holy Name Leviticus 22

Leviticus 22:2 "Speak unto Aaron and to his sons, that they separate themselves from the holy things of the children of Israel, and that they profane not my holy name in those things which they hallow unto me: I am the Lord."

Outline:
v1 The priests in their uncleanness must abstain from the holy things
v6 How they shall be cleansed
v10 Who of the priest's house may eat of the holy things
v17 Th sacrifices must be without blemish
v26 The age of the sacrifice
v29 The law of eating the sacrifice of thanksgiving

I believe this is the first time I have noticed the mention of 'beef'. Verse 19 "Ye shall offer at your own will a male without blemish, of the beefs, of the sheep, or of the goats."

In this chapter there is a distinction made between what can be offered for a vow and what can be offered as a free will offering. Verse 23 Either a bullock or a lamb that hath anything superfluous or lacking in his parts, that mayest thou offer for a freewill offering; but for a vow it shall not be accepted."

The first part of the chapter deals with the cleanliness of the priest in such things as touching the unclean: verse 5 Or whosoever toucheth any creeping thing, whereby he may be made unclean, or a man of whom he may take uncleanness, whatsoever uncleanness he hath; v6 The soul which hath touched any such shall be unclean until even, and shall not eat of the holy things, unless he wash his flesh with water."

There are other restrictions as well. It also covers the issue of strangers and those who marry strangers, are divorce from strangers and so on. I am amazed at the detail which covers so many various possibilities of daily life. The main issue seems to be that even though uncleanness will occur anyone must go through the process of being cleansed before coming before the Lord.

The chapter closes with the pronouncement that the Lord's holy name is to be respected. It is He who brought Israel out of Egypt and not another.

A special notice should be given to the phrase in verse 33 "...I am the Lord." Remember back when Moses was called to lead Israel out of Egypt Exodus 3:14 "And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you."

Read with me in John 18 where the temple leaders heard those words again:

John 18:4 Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye? v5 They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he...." v6 "As soon then as he had said unto them I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground."

In the darkness of their soul a small light still burned for the great historical name of the Lord "I AM."

It could have stopped there, I suppose, but then there would have been no redemption had not the sacrifice been made and Jesus' blood shed. There would have been no fulfillment of all the scripture and no victory over death and no perfect blood shed to take to the throne of God. No, Jesus would not let it end here. He persisted in telling them who he was and they gained courage once again. Verse 8 "Jesus answered I have told you that I am he: if therefore ye seek me, let these go their way:" verse 12 "Then the band and the captain and officers of the Jews took Jesus and bound him, v13 And led him away..."

So down through the ages it is taught that the name of the Lord is to be respected. Someone once asked the question 'What's in a name?'. I respond that in this case, every thing is in this name. Look in Acts 4:12 "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."

On this night in the garden the great I AM was forever linked to the name of Jesus. v5 "They answered Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he...."

The Lord who in Leviticus 22 is teaching his people is the same Lord who stood in the garden unafraid and submitted himself to the mob as a lamb without spot or blemish. He was not a stranger but one of their own. He had the family ancestry of a king. There was no doubt of his heritage. Yet even in their blindness they were part of the fulfillment of prophecy and the plan of salvation.

Psalm 146:13 "Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations."