Emor (Say!)
8) Leviticus 21-24
If you know me, you know that my favorite book in the Bible is Leviticus. Furthermore, my favorite chapter in Leviticus is chapter 23. In fact, this was the Torah portion from my Bar Mitzvah when I was a child. In Leviticus 23, God gives us rhythms of remembrance to guide our weekly and annual cycles of work and rest. In this chapter, God gives us what He calls the Moedim, which in Hebrew means the “Appointed Times.” These are times when God has purposed to meet His people in a special way.
This chapter is smack dab in the middle of this week’s parashah Emor.
In this post, I want to give you two pictures that each give you a macrocosmic way to frame redemptive history so you can identify where we are today and fix our eyes on the blessed hope of the return of the Messiah.
Picture 1: From Creation to Messiah’s Return
I just returned last night from Ohio, where I attended a conference called “Disabilities and the Church.” This conference is hosted by Key Ministry and has become the largest disability ministry conference in the country. I’ve been off the conference circuit for the past few years and it was refreshing to be back with “my peeps” — those who are focused on God’s heart and purpose for people impacted by disability. But undergirding this passion of mine is a love for theology and doctrine. God’s word is truly “a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105).
Below is a slide I used in one of my presentations where I presented on 10 Biblical Pillars of Disability Theology — something I’ve been developing for a few years in collaboration with others around the world. I’ve tried to help identify some biblical boundaries around what God says about His heart and purpose for disability. These waters can get deep fast.
In the picture below, however, half of these pillars (#1-4, and 10) are more general biblical theology. These 5 pillars represent the familiar “meta-narratives” of God’s story in (1) Creating the world, (2) the fall into Corruption, (3) the promise of a Messiah, (4) His entrance into space and time 2,000 years ago, and (10) the blessed hope of His Return which can be for those who long for His coming “an anchor for our souls” (Heb. 6:19) through the inevitable trials and tribulations of this age.
Gaze at the 5 images above.
Try and wrap your head and heart around the mystery of God’s pursuit of YOU in the gap between Messiah’s 1st and 2nd coming. God’s purpose is to forge faith-fueled obedience in the power of the Holy Spirit (not your flesh) that produces the fruit of love and joy and freedom that transcends the pressure of your circumstances and inevitable trials. God is pursuing you for Relational depth…deeper into His heart and purpose. He is writing a story in your life and it is a good one. Take a minute to stop and pray a prayer of thanksgiving. Thanksgiving stokes the flames of gratitude in your heart and has power to shift your spirit. Psalm 100:4 explains that this is actually how we “enter His gates” and respond to His invitation to go deeper into His perfect Fatherly love.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. (Psalm 100:4)
While God wants to use you and your life to write a unique story in the world, He also is writing a story through the collective story of the Jewish people. Our narrative goes back 4,000 years to father Abraham when God made covenantal promises to restore relational access and intimacy with all of His image-bearers that was lost through the fall’s corruption. Part of Israel’s story includes the heritage of Holy appointed times including weekly Sabbath rest and 7 annual times to remember God by retelling the stories of His past and future works of redemption and restoration.
Picture 2: The Feasts of the LORD (Leviticus 23)
These biblical feasts all announce the works of the Messiah. These biblical feasts are not the feasts of the Jews or the feasts of Israel. Leviticus 23:2, 4, 44 all describe these feasts as the feasts of the LORD. So, if you belong to Him, they are yours.
Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.
Surrounding this chapter on the Biblical feasts of the LORD, Leviticus chapters 21 and 22 give lots of juicy instructions for priests whose mandate is to mediate God’s Presence to others. I hope the devotional commentary linked below in the Parashah Project is a source of scaffolding help and soul encouragement as you pursue Relational depth with God and others for the sake of God’s Kingdom breadth being established here on earth as it is in Heaven.
Readings for the Week:
Torah: LEVITICUS 21:1–24:23
Prophets: EZEKIEL 44:15–31
Apostolic Writings: 1 PETER 2:1–12
Click HERE for the online Parashah commentary.
Shalom,
Thomas