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Heaven needs us to ‘other’ us
The Torah reading אָמַר Emor (“say,” Leviticus 21–24) is part of a section of the book (Leviticus 16–25) that focuses on how the people of God are called to live as the “other” in society. That’s the meaning of the Hebrew word קֹדֶשׁ qodesh (Strong’s lexicon No. H6944), commonly translated as holy.
Leviticus 21–22 explains God’s call for the Cohenim (priesthood) to live in that otherness. Priests are called to live at a higher standard because God has elevated them to that higher level. They are elevated to “offer the food of your/his God” (Lev. 21:8, 17, 21).
But God doesn’t get hungry — doesn’t need food — so what is this food they are presenting? The priests present the prayers and praise of His people to him. The priests, offerings and the Mishkan (Tabernacle) are symbols — patterns (Ex. 25:40; Heb. 8:5) — of the perfection of the Creator’s realm, a picture of what was and will be again.
This is a picture of how the holiness of the kingdom of God can be either a preservative or an offense. In the book of Ezekiel, for example, we see that the priesthood had a front row seat in the service of God, yet rather than treating that job with reverence, they treated it as unimportant. The people of Nineveh, in the days of Jonah, responded to the message of God with repentance and awe, while the people of Israel and Judah treated God’s message with disdain and contempt.
The office of the priesthood and the offerings are patterns of the ultimate High breast and His ultimate offering. We as reborn into Israel by Yeshua, are part of a greater “kingdom of priests and a holy nation,” as we read in Ex. 19:6 and 1Peter 2:9 and Rev. 1:6. We don’t have the same roles to perform, but we all have the same mind, that of Christ: the Word and the Spirit (Isa. 40:13; 1Cor. 2:16). We all have access to that. This is what helps us be “other” in a common world.
In Leviticus 23, we read about these festivals, which are not just Israeli or Jewish, they are weekly, monthly and annual memorials of what Heaven has done, is doing and will do in the future. These festivals remind us and guide us each day on how to handle the stress, loneliness, discouragement, frustration rage and dismay we face thought out our lives. We need these reminders to help us grow, they show us our progress through time. We have been changed and continue to change and mature as we face struggles. We can persevere and become complete.
When people give in to despair, it is very damaging to one’s spiritual and physical health.
One of the lessons we see in the instruction to not glean one’s fields completely clean that to do so would be stealing from God because God instructed people to leave the edges of their fields for the poor and destitute to gather up.
Everything we have is a gift from God. Farmers can plan what to plant, they can plan for cover crops, compost, and even irrigation, but with all of that, there’s always something they can’t plan for that can jeopardize all of their efforts. If frost, rain or hail comes out of season, it can hamper or even decimate the yield. There’s always something outside our control.
And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:18–20 NASB
We are not left abandoned. This is incredible hope that Yeshua gives us.
Light for the world vs. darkness for the world
In Leviticus 24, we see a reminder about the Tabernacle’s menorah (lampstand) and shewbread plus a teaching on capital punishment.
The menorah faced the table of bread, the light of Israel shined on the bread of Israel, which was represented by 12 loaves of bread, representing the 12 tribes of Israel. The Messiah and His people are all together. The Messiah is the fullness of the body of Israel.
The story in Lev. 24:10-16 seems like a random insertion into this text, but it’s an important story. This man is introduced to us as a member of the tribe of Dan on his mother’s and grandmother’s side. We are told that his mother was from the tribe of Dan but his father was an Egyptian and his grandfather was also not an Israelite.
He’s accused of dragging down the Name of Life, which is such a crime again humanity that the perpetrator’s life is forfeit for the sake of all. This is the sin that leads to death because if you blaspheme the only one who can call you to repentance and save you, there’s no sacrifice or any other method of salvation. Blaspheming God is like a man who has fallen overboard from a boat and is floating in the ocean. When the people on the boat throw the person a lifesaver or a lifeboat, rather than grabbing the lifesaver and allowing the people to pull them back, they cut the rope. If someone does that, there’s nothing to be done for them, except to watch them die. They have cut themselves off from the source of life.
Unfortunately, as history unfolded, this man from Dan was not the only member of the tribe of Dan who did not have a close connection with the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Every time a prominent member of the tribe of Dan is mentioned in the bible, their life story is not a good example or inspiration to a closer connection with Hashem.
Samson is another example of a leader of the tribe of Dan who was did not live an inspiring life. He’s probably the worst of the judges as far as the living example that he lived. He was supposed to be dedicated as a Nazirite, from birth. And yet, he broke all three of the vows of the Nazirite in one way or other. People reading Samson’s story focus on the fact that he lost all his supernatural strength when his hair was cut. But the reason his strength left him at that point, is that was the last vow he hadn’t broke yet. By the time, he had already broken the vow about not touching a dead body when he ate the honey from the carcass of the dead lion. He also had broken his vow of abstinence from drinking during his wedding.
His story is even more tragic after that because at the end of it all, he had his last chance to really repent of his sins against Hashem, but he doesn’t repent, he just asked God to give him strength to take out revenge because he was humiliated and his eyes were gouged out. So Samson’s not a good example. And it kind of touches on with this blasphemer who is from the tribe of Dan, Samson is from the tribe of Dan.
In the Book of Revelation, we find that the entire tribe of Dan cut itself off permanently from the nation of Israel. The tribe of Dan was probably the most pagan, the most Canaanite of the 12 tribes. All of the northern tribes went off the spiritual rails to some degree, all of the northern tribes went all in with Ba’al and all of that. But Dan, even more so to the point that they were eradicated as a tribe of Israel. In the last days, the tribe of Dan will not be there. All the other child tribes will show up one way or another, but not Dan.
In Revelation 2–3, we see Yeshua walking in the lamp stands that represent the people of God. Some of them were doing well, but most of them were struggling with heresies that were not new, but were actually quite ancient, with references to the Nicolaitans, who were following the way of Bilaam (Balaam) of Beor and even mention Jezebel.
Bilaam, in particular, was a prophet of renown, and this is attested to in the archaeological record. We read in the Torah that God spoke through Bilaam from time to time, despite his double-mindedness. The congregations Yeshua addresses in Revelation struggled with discernment and some of them had cut themselves off to the point that Yeshua had to remove their lamp stand because they did not repent.
Enduring divine appointments to remember Yeshua’s role in Heaven’s reconciliation with humanity
Leviticus 23 is the quintessential chapter to get an overview of Heaven’s מוֹעֲדֵי יְהוָה môꜥᵃḏê YHWH (“appointed times”). These are His festivals (Lev. 23:2), not just Israeli/Jewish culture. They are weekly, monthly and annual memorials of what Heaven has done, is doing and will do. And that’s all about Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus the Christ).
These reminders guide us each day to handle the stress, loneliness, discouragement, frustration, rage and dismay we face many times throughout the day.
| Appointment | Messianic fulfillment |
|---|---|
| Shabbat (Sabbath) | Kingdom of Heaven |
| Khag Pesakh (Feast of Passover) | Yeshua’s death (covering for sins, transgressions and iniquity) and resurrection (new life) |
| Omer/Bikkurm (First Fruits) | Yeshua’s resurrection |
| Khag Shavu’ot (Feast of Pentecost) | Giving of the Spirit (to be able to live God’s ways) |
| Yom Teru’ah (Day of Blowing Trumpets, Rosh HaShanah) | “Last trumpet” of Yeshua’s return |
| Yom haKippurim (Day of Atonement) | Judgment day |
| Khag Sukkot (Feast of Booths/Tabernacles) | Kingdom of Heaven |
| Shemini Atzeret (Eighth Day) | World to come, made new |
Summary: Tammy