Eighth

This week we resume the Sabbath readings in Leviticus, which is from the Latin, meaning "of the Levites". The Hebrew name of this third book of scripture is Va-yikra meaning "and He (God) called". In this third Book, the LORD is establishing something new. He commanded Moses to construct a tabernacle and furnishings for worship which would follow a pattern that God had shown to Moses on the mountain. Also established at this time would be a priesthood, led by Aaron, Moses' brother, as the high priest. The priests would be accepting and offering specific sacrifices for the atonement for their sins and the sins of the people, and for their forgiveness. Why was God establishing this new pattern? Sacrifices had been offered to God since Genesis, including Abel, Cain, Noah, Abraham, and so on, all done without the mediation and reconciliation ministry of the priest. While only the tribe of Levi could form the priesthood, the LORD had previously said to Moses in scripture regarding His people: "You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you will be a special treasure to Me above all people; for the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." (Ex. 19:6). We can see here a prophetic promise of a priesthood that goes beyond the tribe of Levi, and extends to all of Israel. Long after this Levitical priesthood was established, Isaiah prophesied: "But you shall be named the priests of the LORD, they shall call you the servants of our God." (Isa. 61:6). This prophecy comes in a section that begins: "The Spirit of the LORD God is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed (masah - to rub with oil, to anoint, to consecrate, to spread out and expand (like a liquid)) Me..." (v. 1). As Jesus read this passage from Isaiah in the synagogue, He declared that part of the prophecy was fulfilled in that moment by Him. This prophecy is considered to be connected to the Anointed One, the Messiah, the Christ. Over a thousand years after Moses, the apostles Peter, and also John in the Book of Revelation, wrote about a royal priesthood, and of kings and priests, who are connected to the Messiah, Jesus. This priesthood consists of people who do not seem to be directly connected to the Levites: "His own special people...who once were not a people but are now the people of God..." (1 Peter 2:9-10). Perhaps this week's Sabbath reading will help us to understand more about the formation of the priesthood, and its ordained transformation to our present day. The title of this week's reading portion is Sh'mini, which means "eighth" in English. This portion covers Lev. chapters 9 through 11. Aaron and his sons had completed the seven days of their consecration as priests. Then, on the eighth day, their priestly ministry began with offerings for both Aaron and sons, and the people of Israel: "... make atonement for yourself and the people." (Lev. 9:7). Something unusual would happen, as Moses prophesied the Word of the LORD, as a result of the atonement made on this eighth day: "...for today the LORD will appear to you...This is the thing (hadabar) which the LORD commanded you to do, and the glory of the LORD will appear to you." (Lev. 9:1-4, 6). The glory would come as a result of obedience to "the thing" which the LORD had commanded them to do. "The thing" is dabar in Hebrew, or "the word, speech, voice, command, song" of God. The meaning of the individual letters in the word dabar, which are daleth, beth, and reysh, with the letter he added to the beginning of them, could also mean "Behold, the door to the house/family of the Highest". The glory and presence of God that comes from the service of the priesthood is a result of obedience to the Word of the LORD. That Word of creation, salvation, deliverance, life, abundance and holiness would be wonderful enough just as it is written, but even greater is that the glory of the Word is of such a nature that it became flesh, and dwelt among us. It is light, it is living, it is Spirit, it is truth and grace, and it is the Person of Jesus Christ, who possesses the glory as of the only begotten of the Father (Jn. 1:1-5, 14). The priests followed the hadabar command of God, and the glory of the LORD did indeed appear to all. We see the opposite of this in the second reading portion for this Sabbath from Lev. 10. Two of Aaron's sons, who were consecrated priests, put fire in their censers, added incense to it, and "offered profane/strange (zur - another place, strange, foreign, enemy, loathsome, falsehood, turn aside, depart) fire before the LORD which He had not commanded them. So fire went out from the LORD and devoured them, and they died before the LORD." (Lev. 10:1). Aaron's other two sons had to go and carry out the bodies of their brothers from before the sanctuary. Some may think that this seems harsh of God, but we can find out why this action of seeming worship cost the two brothers their lives. One thing we know for sure that made this fire "profane" in God's eyes is that He did not tell them to do it. If it is not of the Spirit and the Word (of God), then it is of corrupted flesh. Let's look and see how Paul explained this: "For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace...So then those who are in the flesh cannot please God...For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God." (Rom. 8:5-8, 14). We can get more understanding perhaps in the names of the two sons who offered this "profane fire". One was named Nadab, which means "generous, spontaneous, freely offered, incite to anything, to impel oneself". It is good to be generous, but giving by the flesh rather than by the Word and the Spirit is like bringing death before God. Our "good ideas", or "good intentions" mean nothing if they have not been birthed by the Spirit of Truth. The second son ws named Abihu, meaning "he is my father". A son of God, as Paul wrote, is led by the Spirit of God. It is not enough to say, "My father is Aaron, or My Father is God, so I can do this". An anointed son obeys his Father (see Phil. 2:5-11), who is Spirit. We see this in what the LORD spoke after this sad event: "By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; and before all the people, I must be glorified." (Lev. 10:3). We, the priests of the LORD, cannot come so disrespectfully into the presence of God in the rotting death of flesh. By doing so, we rob all of the people of the glory of God. Scripture says in an earlier part of Leviticus that if an anointed priest sins, it brings guilt on all the people, and he must make a burnt offering sacrifice for his sin (Lev. 4:3). In another portion from this Sabbath's reading, we see another example of seemingly "good intentions" gone horribly wrong. In 2 Sam. 6, David wants to bring the Ark of God up to Jerusalem, to be placed in a tabernacle there. However, they did not transport the Ark as the LORD commanded Moses to do, carried on poles by the priests, but they placed the Ark on a new cart pulled by oxen. As the oxen stumbled, and the cart shifted, the Ark began to slide off the back of the cart. Uzziah (meaning "strength") put his hand forward to steady the Ark. God struck Uzziah there, and he died by the Ark of God. David was angry at the death of Uzziah (v. 1-8). Later, David would make a second attempt to bring up the Ark to Jerusalem, but this time, they would do so according to the Word that the LORD had commanded Moses: "And so it was, when those bearing the Ark of the LORD had gone six paces, that he sacrificed oxen and fatted sheep." (v. 13). This time, the Ark was carried, as it was commanded by God generations before. "New" ideas, like new carts, and the strength of men, if they break the Word of God, will not result in the blessings and life of the Spirit, but in the death found in the flesh. In another portion from this Sabbath's reading, King Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes: "All the labor of man is for his mouth, and yet the soul is not satisfied." (Eccl. 6:7). He wrote that if a man seems to have everything, "but his soul is not satisfied with (he-behold) goodness (he-behold)...I say that a stillborn child is better than he...Though it has not seen the sun or known anything, this has more rest than that man, even if he lives a thousand years twice - but has not seen (vawhe - behold)..." (v. 3-6). In these verses, "goodness" is greatly emphasied by the addition of Hebrew letters not normally part of the word "goodness" that translate to "behold!" and "nail". This emphatic goodness required by the soul of men cannot be satisfied by the desires or comfort of the flesh, as Solomon wrote. As mentioned earlier, there is a ministering priesthood connected to the obedience and sacrifice of the Messiah, our Savior Jesus, revealed openly in the New Testament (1 Peter 2:4-5, 9-10, Rev. 1:5-6). There is also a connection to Messiah, the Son of David, Jesus, mentioned in this week's Sabbath reading portion which deals with the ministry of the priests. In 1 Chron. 17, David was given a promise from God, later called the Davidic Covenant, in which the LORD promised that David's Son would rule on the throne forever: "He shall build Me a house, and I will establish his throne forever. I shall be his Father, and he shall be My son...and I will establish him in My house and in My kingdom forever; and his throne shall be established forever." (v. 12-14). David understood very well what God had just promised him - that the Messiah would come from David's house, and would rule on an eternal throne. Because of this understanding, David was overwhelmed and humbled exceedingly (v. 16-20). Now knowing all of these things, what does the Sabbath title Sh'mini, or "Eighth", have to do with this? The eighth day in this Sabbath portion from which we get the title, marks the end of the seven day sanctification period of the priests, and the beginning of their ministry in the tabernacle before God on behalf of themselves and the people. The eighth day also memorializes the end of one day of Passover plus the seven days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and it is a special Sabbath commanded by God (see Lev. 23:5-8). The meaning of the "Eighth Day" in rabbinical teaching is expressed this way: seven days mark the completion of the natural order, but the eighth day signifies a step above/beyond the natural order. The priesthood of God in Christ is to bring all of the people up to a higher level, beyond the natural realm and into the spiritual realm of God. This is not done by ruling over the people by natural understanding and strength, nor by approaching God in any way we please, but in leading the people into the way of the sacrificial atonement of Christ, and God's forgiveness (Lev. 4:26,31, 35). Jesus, our great High Priest who has passed through the heavens (Heb. 4:14-16), is also the atoning sacrifice that we minister to all people as God's priests: "...these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate (parakletos - comforter, advocate, one who pleads another's cause before a judge, an intercessor) with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world." (1 Jn. 2:1-2). If you would like to learn more about this special priesthood in the atoning sacrifice of Christ, you can pray with me: Dear Father, You established a priesthood that followed a specific pattern of atonement and forgiveness. You fulfilled that pattern through Your dear Son, Jesus, and You have made us priests and kings before You on behalf of all people through Him. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit so that I can minister the atonement and forgiveness in a manner that upholds Your holiness and glory before the people. Help me to walk in obedience to Your Word and Spirit, and not in my own flesh. Forgive me for those occasions when I have relied on my own understanding and strength, rather than Your hadabar commands. Let my life glorify You, and lift all people into the heavenly realm of Your presence. I ask these things in Jesus' name. AMEN."