Torah reading Emor (אמר): Leviticus 21–24

God has a grand design unfolding over eons and generations, using even flawed individuals to fulfill prophecy. This study explores how through King Saul’s massacre of the priests who gave fugitive David some of the retired Bread of the Presence, God removed Eli’s sinful priestly line as foretold years earlier. Though Saul faced due punishment, God first used his wickedness to kill Eli’s descendants as promised. Generations after that promise and hundreds of years after the instructions given in Torah reading אָמַר Emor (“say,” Leviticus 21–24), David felt convicted for the priests’ and neighboring villagers’ death but not for…

The otherness (aka holiness) of the Kingdom of God can be a preservative for the world and an offense. Heaven’s messages and messengers can bring life-saving hope or abhorrent reminders of a life that’s being squandered. A key lesson from the Torah reading אָמַר Emor (“say,” Leviticus 21–24) is the ongoing and recurring work Heaven does through us by way of Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus the Christ).

Two of the great characteristics of the Creator is that He is both the Holy One, vastly different from us, and God With Us, wanting to be near us. The otherness of God is a key theme of the Torah reading אָמַר Emor (“say,” Leviticus 21-24), how God is separate from us, how He called the priesthood to be separate from the rest of Israel in service to Him and how we are to live separate from but near to the rest of the world. This separation, called “holiness,” is not to be taken as a source of arrogance or pride, but…

We love great actors when they’re on the screen or stage, but they’re odious when they fill the pews or the pulpits. A key lesson in the Torah reading אָמַר Emor (“say,” Leviticus 21–24) is that those in the service of the Creator of Heaven and Earth (Ex. 19:6; 1Pet. 2:5, 9; Rev. 1:6; 5:10) must deeply respect what they’re bringing closer to the Presence: “good gifts” of the heart cry of humankind. And those who bring those gifts must not pretend they’re transparently offering their best, what Heaven has set aside in them from normal ways of an Earth…

Our choices can cause irreparable harm to others, including the next generation. That’s a key lesson from the Torah reading אמר Emor (“say,” Leviticus 21-24). The Holy One of Israel loves mercy more than rote obedience, and He loathes hypocrisy. God looks at our conduct, as well as the heart behind our actions. We can fool those around us, we might even fool ourselves, but we can’t fool God.

Like the pattern of the Tabernacle reveals the character and plan of the God and the LORD’s Messiah, the pattern of the LORD’s appointed times (מוֹעֲדֵי יְהוָ֔ה mo’adey YHWH) in Torah reading אָמַר Amar/Emor (“say,” Leviticus 21–24) gives us memorials in time for the patient care of Heaven toward us and our role in the LORD’s appeal to the world.This time, we’ll take a look at the overview of the annual appointments of the LORD, outlined in Leviticus 23. Didn’t the LORD say He hated them (Isa. 1:14)? So why should we care about them?

Rules about “clean” and “unclean” in Leviticus 12–15 (Torah portion אמר Emor, “say”) apply primarily to the priests of Israel, and they are object lessons to teach us about “our great High Priest,” Messiah Yeshuah (Christ Jesus). Priests were held to a higher code of conduct than the regular native-born Israelites, and that will be the case in the Messianic age, too, as described in this week’s parallel reading, Ezekiel 44:15–31.

In the Torah reading אמר Emor (“to say, speak or tell”), we will spend most of our time together discussing how God instructed the High Priest and the priestly line to respond to the reality of death around them. We will also ponder how God teaches us to give and receive charity and the difference between legalism and obedience in keeping Torah and God’s appointed times, aka the festivals of Yisrael.

The Torah reading אמר Emor (“say,” Leviticus 21–24) calls YHWH’s servants to model a different way of life and keep anniversaries of important things Heaven has done, is doing and will do to make things right again, particularly the mission of Yeshua haMashiakh (Jesus the Christ).

An appointment can be a place, a time or an event. When we use the word moedim, it’s an appointment or an assignment. The Tabernacle of Meeting is the Tabernacle of Appointments. When we “proclaim” His holy days, God can work in us to sanctify us. How do you proclaim an appointed time? Proclaiming is an active verb, not a passive verb. It’s not something we say, it’s something we do. You proclaim an appointed time or moedim by what you do on that day. You either do it or don’t do it. You show up or you don’t….

Is this of any value to us in the 21st century? Just as in Leviticus 21, Leviticus 22 is about the function and lifestyle of the High Priest in the physical plane. I want to reiterate this to try to not move this in the 21st century. Imagine you were living in Moshe: You were only a year beyond Mitsraim (Egypt), and you are learning this for the first time.

All of Leviticus is primarily addressed to the priesthood, but Leviticus 21 is about qualifications of the High Priest, not regular priests or the lay Israelites. There are things that other Israelites can do, within limits that are totally forbidden to the High Priest. His family, descendants of Aharon (Aaron) is held to a higher standard than other families. This chapter also shows us how holy — set apart — our High Priest, Yeshua, was to be.

The 23rd chapter of Leviticus is a relatively obvious passage. The explanations are simple and self-explanatory, except for questions about the biblical timing of Firstfruits and Pentecost. The 24th chapter is a bit unusual and not so simple to decipher. When you read the book of Leviticus and you find the phrase “the LORD spoke to…” pay attention to whom is supposed to hear the message. There were some messages for the sons of Aaron but some messages were for the people of Israel. Each group had their own duties and responsibilities, and it’s God Himself Who decides.

These two chapters of Leviticus and the vision George Washington had at Valley Forge during the U.S. War of Independence have some interesting connections.