This week, the Torah portion being read in synagogues the world over is from Leviticus, and begins with some of the behavioural codes to which the Levitical priesthood were commanded to adhere in order to remain holy- set apart to the Lord.

When the Apostle Peter calls believers “a royal priesthood” (1 Peter 2:9), it means we have an enormous amount to learn from the ordinances given to the Levitical priesthood. The Old Testament priests were called to live symbolic lives that we, the priesthood of believers today, would do well to consider.

Not Conforming to the World

This week’s portion includes Leviticus 21, in which the priesthood was called to high standards of ritual purity. They were commanded not to copy pagan customs in their family lives (e.g. cutting their hair or bodies to express grief at the loss of a loved one). Their wives and daughters were also to be sexually pure, so that the priests and their descendants would not be contaminated by sin.

The message here is the same for us today: those called to love and serve the Lord are not to conform to the patterns they see around them in the world, but are to live lives of purity, righteousness and committed holiness, in obedience to God (Rom 12:2; Eph 4:1).

Similarities and Differences

Like the Levitical priests, our lives are consecrated to God: living sacrifices (Rom 12:1) given up as a fragrant offering of loving worship. Like them, our calling is to spend our lives in the presence of the Lord, ministering to Him, ministering to others, and ministering on others’ behalf – standing in the gap for them in intercession as the Lord Yeshua, our Great High Priest, does for us.

Like the priests, we are called to live holy lives, set apart from the standards of the world, reflecting the seriousness of our calling and the holiness of the One to whom we are called. And like them, there are things we must do to ready ourselves for service – like being cleansed and re-robed.

But unlike the priests, our holiness does not come from outward ritual, but from inward reality. Atonement is not a matter of sacrificing animals but of the precious, once-for-all sacrifice of Yeshua. Purity is not about washing hands, but about being washed by the water of His Word. Consecration is not about being anointed with oil, but being anointed with the Holy Spirit. After Christ, our order is not the earthly Levitical order, but a higher, eternal order that is perfect (Heb 7).

Oh, the incredible witness, authority and potential of lives so consecrated to God! As Mother Basilea Schlink put it so eloquently in 1949:

In the shattering events of the end times the full glory of this priestly ministry will become evident. Amid the darkness of the world…amid privation, hardships and misery, the priestly person rests in the peace of the sanctuary. Jesus is all-sufficient for him. Self-denial and suffering, always an integral part of his priestly life of commitment and sacrifice, only serve to unite him more deeply with his Lord and make the nature of Jesus more visible to him.

In a wonderful way, he can convey the radiance of Jesus’ name to a dark world, so that light penetrates darkness. He is privileged to help turn sorrow into joy, to bring release to those in bondage, and to bless and encourage those who are in despair and without hope.¹

Author: Frances Rabbitts

Reference

1 Mother Basilea’s writings on this subject can be read here. The quote used above is taken from pp43-44.

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