Leviticus 22 & 23

The Israelites had a lot of very specific instructions handed down from God over the course of the stories in Leviticus. The righteousness and the purity of those approaching the throne of God is again told in chapter 22. Moses is told that no one will be allowed to "profane my holy name" as God explans the many different instances that could cause the uncleanliness before the Lord. Uncleanliness also bears some fairly hefty consequences as God goes so far as to warn "If any one of all your offspring throughout your generations approaches the holy things that the people of Israel dedicate to the Lord, while he has an uncleanness, that person shall be cut off from my presence: I am the Lord." (Leviticus 22:3). The important thing to pull from the entirety of this subject on cleanliness is the purity of our God and how His people will be made clean before dwelling with Him. Whats beautiful for me is the reflection that this bears back to the cross as God would present that sacrifice that would make us clean once and for all. 

The theme of cleanliness continues throughout the animal offerings laws which lead eventually to Chapter 23 where God gives Moses the Feasts of the Lord. This for me at least is the most fascinating portion of these two chapters. I love the Jewish traditions, as they present a little bit of the culture that bore our faith today. I'll highlight the three festivals I'm most familiar with. 

The Sabbath- Its quite amazing that this is still such a large part of American culture. Sure no one calls it the Sabbath but for me at least it has always been the Sabbath. Sundays are a day of rest a day of reflection on the gifts God has given me. A holy day to rest in the presence of our Creator. 

The Passover- This is of course is in remembrance of the deliverance of God from Egypt. Its pretty amazing to think think of early days of the passover celebration. The freshness of being removed from slavery. 

Feasts of Weeks- Whats most incredible to me in this section is seeing Gods heart for the poor played out as verse 22 says "And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, nor shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God." I love that last part, God is still God of the poor. 

The point of the Feasts though like all of Leviticus is for Gods commandments to point back to his Greatness. Enjoy the Greatness of getting to serve the God of our universe today.