[Leviticus 22] Called to Separation! In Leviticus 22, God commands that Aaron and his priestly family live separated lives. As Aaron and his sons were priests, even so, Jesus is your high priest, and you are likewise a priest unto God. Aaron’s command to be separate is a reflection of God’s expectation that you and I, as believers in Jesus, should live separated lives. What does it mean to “come out and be separate”? Are you expected to live your life as a shrill, religious zealot? Is there a sane approach to holy living? Does it even matter? This inconvenient mandate of scripture is mostly ignored and much misunderstood by modern believers. In this study today, you will find a thoughtful and compelling approach to what it means to live a consecrated life before God.
[Lev 22:1-33 KJV] 1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 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. 3 Say unto them, Whosoever [he be] of all your seed among your generations, that goeth unto the holy things, which the children of Israel hallow unto the LORD, having his uncleanness upon him, that soul shall be cut off from my presence: I [am] the LORD. 4 What man soever of the seed of Aaron [is] a leper, or hath a running issue; he shall not eat of the holy things, until he be clean. And whoso toucheth any thing [that is] unclean [by] the dead, or a man whose seed goeth from him; 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; 6 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. 7 And when the sun is down, he shall be clean, and shall afterward eat of the holy things; because it [is] his food. 8 That which dieth of itself, or is torn [with beasts], he shall not eat to defile himself therewith: I [am] the LORD. 9 They shall therefore keep mine ordinance, lest they bear sin for it, and die therefore, if they profane it: I the LORD do sanctify them. 10 There shall no stranger eat [of] the holy thing: a sojourner of the priest, or an hired servant, shall not eat [of] the holy thing. 11 But if the priest buy [any] soul with his money, he shall eat of it, and he that is born in his house: they shall eat of his meat. 12 If the priest’s daughter also be [married] unto a stranger, she may not eat of an offering of the holy things. 13 But if the priest’s daughter be a widow, or divorced, and have no child, and is returned unto her father’s house, as in her youth, she shall eat of her father’s meat: but there shall no stranger eat thereof. 14 And if a man eat [of] the holy thing unwittingly, then he shall put the fifth [part] thereof unto it, and shall give [it] unto the priest with the holy thing. 15 And they shall not profane the holy things of the children of Israel, which they offer unto the LORD; 16 Or suffer them to bear the iniquity of trespass, when they eat their holy things: for I the LORD do sanctify them. 17 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 18 Speak unto Aaron, and to his sons, and unto all the children of Israel, and say unto them, Whatsoever [he be] of the house of Israel, or of the strangers in Israel, that will offer his oblation for all his vows, and for all his freewill offerings, which they will offer unto the LORD for a burnt offering; 19 [Ye shall offer] at your own will a male without blemish, of the beeves, of the sheep, or of the goats. 20 [But] whatsoever hath a blemish, [that] shall ye not offer: for it shall not be acceptable for you. 21 And whosoever offereth a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the LORD to accomplish [his] vow, or a freewill offering in beeves or sheep, it shall be perfect to be accepted; there shall be no blemish therein. 22 Blind, or broken, or maimed, or having a wen, or scurvy, or scabbed, ye shall not offer these unto the LORD, nor make an offering by fire of them upon the altar unto the LORD. 23 Either a bullock or a lamb that hath any thing superfluous or lacking in his parts, that mayest thou offer [for] a freewill offering; but for a vow it shall not be accepted. 24 Ye shall not offer unto the LORD that which is bruised, or crushed, or broken, or cut; neither shall ye make [any offering thereof] in your land. 25 Neither from a stranger’s hand shall ye offer the bread of your God of any of these; because their corruption [is] in them, [and] blemishes [be] in them: they shall not be accepted for you. 26 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 27 When a bullock, or a sheep, or a goat, is brought forth, then it shall be seven days under the dam; and from the eighth day and thenceforth it shall be accepted for an offering made by fire unto the LORD. 28 And [whether it be] cow or ewe, ye shall not kill it and her young both in one day. 29 And when ye will offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving unto the LORD, offer [it] at your own will. 30 On the same day it shall be eaten up; ye shall leave none of it until the morrow: I [am] the LORD. 31 Therefore shall ye keep my commandments, and do them: I [am] the LORD. 32 Neither shall ye profane my holy name; but I will be hallowed among the children of Israel: I [am] the LORD which hallow you, 33 That brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I [am] the LORD.
When we read these verses, always remember that they have something to say about who Jesus is to you and how you fit into God’s purposes. The value of studying the Old Testament for us is established by Paul when he made the following verses:
[1Co 10:11 KJV] 11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
[Col 2:17 KJV] 17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body [is] of Christ.
Everything recorded in the Old Testament contains a message to the born again believer. There is an end-time strategy to be found for New Covenant believers in these passages. The shape of spiritual things of which we are the substance is foreshadowed in the Old Covenant writings. Again, remember that Jesus is our high priest:
[Heb 3:1 KJV] 1 Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;
Not only is Jesus our high priest, we likewise are priests unto God:
[Rev 1:6 KJV] 6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him [be] glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
In this chapter, we read that Aaron and his sons (the priestly family) were to consider themselves a separated people. This is not a distinction between God’s people (making one believer better than another); instead, it is a line of demarcation between us and the world at large. Jesus confirms this in His great intercessory prayer in John 17:
[Jhn 17:15 KJV] 15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.
[Jhn 15:19 KJV] 19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
We can see then that we are to be separate not from each other but from the world. What then, is the world as referred to in scripture? The word for the world there is “an aggregate of harmonious systems.” It is the Greek word “Cosmos.” How do we define that as something we are to be separate from? One of my mentors describes the world we are to forsake as “man organizing himself independent of God.” What does separation mean? We separate ourselves from things that aren’t important to us. We are not to place importance on the world. We are not to be preoccupied with what the world thinks of us. We are not to be preoccupied with a so-called need for religious freedom. Religion is the ghetto that the world places people of faith on the way to the gas chambers.
We are not promoters of religion, just as Jesus was not a promoter of religion. We are representatives of the kingdom of God. We are called to walk in the kingdom among the kingdoms of this word (business, education, religion, politics, etc.). We are in the world but not of it. We are to see ourselves as separate, and our lives are to reflect that separation in a morally distinctive way. There are many religious ideas regarding what separation means, but the most important thing is that you recognize that the theme of separation is ubiquitous in scripture and being a people of the Book, we then do what Paul told the Philippians:
[Phl 2:12 KJV] 12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
In Leviticus 22, the primary idea of separation is connected with avoiding that which is unclean. What is clean and unclean? Listen to your heart. There are many things that Christians stumble over in this area that are merely issues of cultural differences. The story goes that an American Christian traveled to Germany to a Christian conference. In sharing a meal with others, she sat at the table of a group of German ladies of a strict Pentecostal emphasis. They were dressed very plainly, with no jewelry, no make-up. The American lady was wearing earrings, smartly dressed, nicely made up as was her custom. In the midst of the meal, one of the conservative German ladies burst into tears. The American lady leaned over and clasped the sobbing German’s hand. “What is wrong dear sister”? She inquired. The German Pentecostal lady answered: “I am heartbroken that you are going to hell because you don’t have God’s understanding about not wearing jewelry and make-up”! The irony was that as she wept, her tears were falling in her beer! We must identify cultural norms and not allow them to be tripwires for us that create unnecessary division among believers.
Separation is a personal matter by which we sequester ourselves in service to God out of love and devotion. It is not a matter by which we accuse and judge one another. Every one of us is accountable before God to know what “touch not the unclean thing” means and to apply ourselves to that revealed standard no matter what the cost or what criticism may come our way.
In v. ten, the priests were warned regarding the company they kept. They were not to partake of the holy things with a stranger. One of the primary areas of separation for you as a believer is in the area of relationships. You can interact with anyone within certain boundaries, but you cannot have relationships, deep and lasting relationships outside of Christ. Paul affirms this in 2 Cor. 6:14:
[2Co 6:14 KJV] 14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
These are not suggestions but commands. If we accept the mandate of scripture, then we must hold ourselves accountable. What does this mean to you? What relationship would you terminate if this was the day that God required your accountability to this precept? Or is it an arcane passage of scripture that has no bearing on our lives today? I know a dear, sweet young woman who received Christ and grew into a powerhouse worship leader. In time, however, she denied her faith because, in the southern culture, she was a product of, a woman was expected to seek out and marry a man well-born, financially stable regardless of his faith. She married into one of the most prominent and corrupt families in the community. When that marriage failed, she found another man just like the first because she was unwilling to pay the price of separation from the world. She isn’t walking with God today.
In the Corinthian church, a believer was cohabiting with a woman formerly married to the believer’s father. The Corinthian leadership priding itself on its tolerant views on such things accepted the couple. Paul, upon hearing of this, gave these instructions:
[1Co 5:9-13 KJV] 9 I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators: 10 Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world. 11 But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat. 12 For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within? 13 But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.
This speaks directly to the issue of allowing those in our midst who consider themselves believers yet who live in open and obstinate contradiction to the clear testimony of scripture. Yet we are encouraged in the same verse that this is not a prohibition from interacting with those in sin who have yet to accept Jesus as savior. This question is at the forefront of Christian culture today. Some churches turn into homophobic religious snobs, whereas others openly admit people with alternative lifestyles without any call for accountability to the explicit testimony of scripture. They are both wrong. It is uncomfortable and challenging but again, “work out your OWN salvation with fear and trembling…” Your church may be compromising in this area but remember you are personally accountable regardless of what the Christian community you are involved with decides. In other words, just because YOUR CHURCH can’t get it together doesn’t mean you are “off the hook.”
In v. 22, the priests were warned about compromised commitment to their duties before God. They were not allowed to bring the blind, the broken, maimed, etc., to God. In other words, the people were bringing what we call “roadkill” and offering it in sacrifice to God. That is unacceptable. My father, a retired minister, frequently preached a sermon called “giving God the leftovers”. Many approach their relationship with God as a mere enrichment, a spiritual condiment if you will, to enhance and better the lives of self-direction they have arbitrarily chosen to live. They customize the experience, jettisoning any problematic aspects of the bible, and challenge anyone who dares suggest their commitment to Christ is anemic and untenable. Throughout Hebrew history, the prohibition of bringing defective sacrifices was seldom obeyed. Finally, through the prophet Malachi the Father simply cries out that someone should just shut the temple door, let the holy fire go out, and no longer that his name would be profaned by such insincere worship. What followed was 400 years of silence on God’s part and suffering on the part of God’s people.
Since the 1960s, God’s people have been moving into what one prophet called “the gap between the church age and the millennium.” It is a time similar to that of the Judges when “every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” I believe that the character of this season (for good or evil) and the length of this season (in anticipation of a coming move of God) is measured by the piety and sincerity, not of Christian institutions but the individual believer. God is placing you and me on our own recognizance and calling upon us to bring ourselves into accountability to the scripture and the Holy Spirit’s conviction transparently and honestly.
