Emor “speak/say”
Leviticus 21:1–24:23
In this weeks Portion we see the LORD saying to Moses to “𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬/𝘴𝘢𝘺” to the priests the special regulations which they are to observe. These include things like not defiling themselves for a 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥 person, except for those closest to him (mother, father, son, daughter, brother, virgin sister because she has no husband). He lays out how they aren't to make any baldness on their heads, 𝘯𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴. Later in this same Portion, Lev 23:22 says, ’𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘳 𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵; 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘯. 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘎𝘰𝘥.’ Interesting isn't it - we are commanded to leave the edges of our fields, just as the priests are commanded to the leave the edges of their beards. Hmm. The text begins to lay out all the Feasts and Festivals that are to be celebrated each year, as a permanent statute. 𝙎𝙤 𝙈𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙨 𝙙𝙚𝙘𝙡𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙄𝙨𝙧𝙖𝙚𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙊𝙍𝘿.- Lev 23:24 - These are the 𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙊𝙍𝘿, not man-made traditions. These are His - and they include the Sabbath each week!
As I began to really dig in to what these Chapters were laying out this week, I couldn't help but hone in on the regulations for the women the priests could not marry, especially the 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀𝘁. We know Christ is our 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀𝘁 in the Heavens (Hebrews 4:14), so what correlation can be found from these texts? Let's find out!
𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀𝘁 - 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘰𝘵𝘳𝘺, 𝘯𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘶𝘴𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘥; 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘎𝘰𝘥. - Lev 21:7
𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀𝘁 - ‘𝐻𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑎 𝑤𝑖𝑓𝑒 𝑖𝑛 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑣𝑖𝑟𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑦. 𝐴 𝑤𝑖𝑑𝑜𝑤, 𝑜𝑟 𝑎 𝑑𝑖𝑣𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑑 𝑤𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑛, 𝑜𝑟 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑖𝑠 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑓𝑎𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑙𝑜𝑡𝑟𝑦, 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑒 ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑦 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒; 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑟𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 ℎ𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙮 𝙖 𝙫𝙞𝙧𝙜𝙞𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚, 𝑠𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑓𝑎𝑛𝑒 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑜𝑓𝑓𝑠𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑔 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒; 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝐼 𝑎𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐿𝑂𝑅𝐷 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑠𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑒𝑠 ℎ𝑖𝑚.’” - Lev 21:13-14
At first, if I am honest, I would say I was a bit 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 by these verses. I mean what if the woman couldn't help that she was divorced, or what if she was raped and no longer a virgin by no choice of her own, she certainly couldn't help if she was a widow! Talking about a very narrow playing field here, people! It just didn't really seem fair, until the LORD began to show me the truths hidden within.
Throughout this week is has dropped several passages in front of me, which didn't really seem to make sense on their own, until I began to see the fuller picture of what He was showing me. You see, the High Priest, much like the articles in the Temple, were set apart for Holy use. They belonged to the LORD - therefore, they must be completely separate from uncleanness - and this in particular applies to having a wife. Why? Well to begin, we have to go back to the beginning (Ha!).
For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙛𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙝. - Genesis 2:24
Marriage isn't a contract, it is 𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗻𝘁. It brings together man and woman in a way that mirrors our relationship with our Creator. Matthew 19 takes it a bit farther in saying, 𝘚𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘸𝘰, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘩. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘯𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦. So if the High Priest were to take a woman who was 𝙙𝙚𝙛𝙞𝙡𝙚𝙙 in any way, he would in essence be taking the defilement upon himself. Think about that for a few moments. Now I want to take this to our relationship with Christ, as our High Priest.
Do you remember Paul's words in 2 Cor 11:2? He says, "𝙁𝙤𝙧 𝙄 𝙖𝙢 𝙟𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖 𝙜𝙤𝙙𝙡𝙮 𝙟𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙮; 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙄 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙤 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙝𝙪𝙨𝙗𝙖𝙣𝙙, 𝙨𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝘾𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙄 𝙢𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙥𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙫𝙞𝙧𝙜𝙞𝙣." In 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙭𝙩, Paul is worried that this group of believers, is at risk for being led astray to a false Messiah. One that he did not preach or teach them about. Just as Eve was deceived, Paul worried this body was being deceived, too. And from that deception, being led away to a 𝙛𝙖𝙡𝙨𝙚 𝘾𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩, Paul is, in essence, saying they are no longer a '𝙥𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙫𝙞𝙧𝙜𝙞𝙣'...why? Because 𝘪𝘥𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘳𝘺 would lead their hearts astray to another 'lover', basically. Wow. Are we grasping the power of 𝘪𝘥𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘳𝘺? Do we search our hearts to ensure there is no form of it there?!?!?! Revelation 19 goes into detail about a 𝘉𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺. 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗲?!?!?!
Shew. But that isn't all. I also found it interesting in this text we hear about Sukkot. One of the Fall Feasts of the LORD. This image of 'the LORD who caused Israel to dwell in tents' as they came out of Egypt, will once again be fulfilled as the LORD comes to dwell with His Bride, forever. One commentator noted how the Sukkot is supposed to be celebrated with much joy each day of the feast, but how it seems strange to think of joy as they just came out of slavery, they are in the desert, probably with fresh scars from their heavy labor with only the hope of where they were heading. But this is where 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗻𝘁 can truly be seen. It is in faithful obedience while in the desert places that we see our true devotion. It is easy to stay faithful when things are easy and good, but what about when they aren't? When GOD doesn't answer your prayers the way you think He should? When He doesn't seem to come through like you wish He would? What then? Do you stray for the promise of a better mate? 𝗜 𝗦𝗨𝗥𝗘 𝗛𝗢𝗣𝗘 𝗡𝗢𝗧!
Oh friends, we must be ready in and out of season - in the desert, in the valley, on the mountaintop and every place in between. We must walk in faithful covenant until we reach the end! But there is something else interesting in the regulation for the Bride of the High Priest that I think is important to wrestle with before the LORD. It says ℎ𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙮 𝙖 𝙫𝙞𝙧𝙜𝙞𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚. His own people. Who were (and are) His people? 𝗜𝘀𝗿𝗮𝗲𝗹. Over and over in the Word, we see two groups of people - Israel (God's covenant people) and the 'nations' (everyone else). The mystery of the Gospel was that Christ made a way for the nations to become part of Israel! (Romans 11) Once you enter 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗻𝘁, you are no longer 'the nations' but instead, you are now Israel!! That is your identity!! Every promise is now YOURS, the promises to a faithful BRIDE!!
Goodness gracious! What a beautiful picture!!! I will finish with one other verse the LORD dropped on me this week. It comes from Proverbs 19:14 which says, "𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙖 𝙥𝙧𝙪𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩 (𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘦, 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴, 𝘋𝘐𝘚𝘊𝘌𝘙𝘕𝘐𝘕𝘎) 𝙬𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙤𝙧𝙙." Do we discern what the LORD is saying? I sure hope so! To Him belongs the glory forever and ever, Amen!! #Torah #awakeningfire #ancientpath #narrowway #theVoice #MinistryOfReconciliation #bride #makeyourselfready
