You will notice down through this portion that we have read, there are a number of references to the holy things. And the holy things take in that aspect of the ministry of the Levites and especially the priests that they rendered within the tabernacle when they were called upon to eat part of the sacrifices. Not all of the sacrifices were burned upon the altar. Some of them were. For example, the whole burnt offering, as the name suggests, the whole of it had to be burned upon the altar. Some of it was cast out. The unclean parts were cast out without the camp. But there was nothing of the burnt offering that was eaten by the priests or the Levites. But then there were other aspects of the sacrifices that were to be eaten. And as you will observe, for example, at the end of verse 11 there of this portion, they shall eat of his meat. And verse 7, I should have mentioned that before, it says the last phrase, because it is his food, This was the Lord's way of providing sustenance for the Levites and for the priests who had no tribal area of their own, had no land of their own, had no animals of their own, had no way of sustaining themselves and providing for themselves. And the Lord's way of providing for them was that certain portions of the offerings and the sacrifices that were brought were held back from being sacrificed on the altar and were given to the Levites and to the priests. And they were to eat of them. And that was going to be one way whereby the Lord would provide for them in their life. Only the priest, remember, could offer sacrifices. And the priest could only come from the house of Aaron. There's a difference between the descendants of Aaron and the Levites. Aaron was indeed a Levite, but the priests were descendants of Levi. And as successive generations of Aaron's family were born, then the number of the priests multiplied in parallel with the multiplication of the tribe of Israel themselves. But the priests were of the house of Aaron, and then there were the Levites. But both the priests and the Levites would partake of this means of sustaining themselves. One of the very best examples or explanations of this is given in 1 Chronicles chapter 23, if you would turn over there for a moment. And David here is David's time, and there's an explanation about the work of the Levites. 1 Chronicles chapter 23, we'll read from verse 27. It says, 1 Chronicles 23, verse 28 now, because their office was to wait on the sons of Aaron for the service of the house of the Lord in the courts and in the chambers and in the purifying of all holy things and the work of the service of the house of God, both for the showbread and for the fine flour, for meat offering and for unleavened cakes and for that which is baked in the pan and for that which is fried, and for all manner of measure and size, is to stand every morning to thank and praise the Lord, and likewise at even." Those next two verses follow on through as well on the same thing. So we're told there there's a difference between the Levites and the priests. The Levites really ministered to the priests as they offered the sacrifices. The Levites looked after all of the sanctuary. and all of the things that needed to be in place in order for the sacrifices to be offered. But it was the work and the responsibility of the priests to offer the sacrifices themselves. And then the Lord had this means whereby he was going to provide for them. They were going to eat of some of those sacrifices. They were going to eat of them on many occasions in the tabernacle itself. They were not allowed to take the food out of the tabernacle. They had to eat it in the tabernacle confines itself. And that's why it gets this name of the holy things. And in Deuteronomy chapter 18 verse 1, for example, it says, the priests, the Levites, and all the tribe of Levi shall have no partner inheritance with Israel. They shall eat the offerings of the Lord made by fire and his inheritance. So there was this provision made for them to eat of these things within the tabernacle. Now Paul makes mention of this in 1 Corinthians 9, verse 13. He says, do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live off the things of the temple? And they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar. And what Paul is referring to there is what we're talking about and what we have read about here in Leviticus chapter 22 this morning, how there was this provision for them that they would be looked after and provided for as they attended to the ministry of the tabernacle, whether it was the general ministry of the Levites or whether it was particularly the priests who were offering the sacrifices. But it wasn't just something that only applied in Old Testament times. It's not a matter of reading Leviticus 22 and saying, well, that all happened in the past, and it doesn't really have much relevance to me today. Because as we come to consider this portion of Scripture this morning, there is a connection between what is happening here and what we are doing today. We are coming to eat of holy things today. We're coming to eat of holy things today. We're coming to partake of bread and a little from a cup. that's going to represent the Savior, His broken body and His shed blood. We're going to eat of holy things. So there is a parallel to notice, and I think hopefully today as we look at some of these points that are noticeable in this portion that we have read, you will see that there is a carry over into the observance of the Lord's table. That some of the points that are highlighted by the Lord are brought over, they're set in a New Testament context. That's very true. But nevertheless, the principle is there still. And really, that is the point that I want us to think about this morning, that there is a reflection in these things. As we look into Leviticus 22, we can see there's a reflection here that applies to ourselves and as we come to eat of holy things this morning. So the first thing I want you to consider here is the purpose for eating of the holy things. What was the purpose? Well, we've explained it a little bit, but there's a greater purpose than that. It wasn't just a matter of maintaining the Levites and the priests in a physical sense. There's more to discern about it than that, because eating of the holy things was an act that was meant to bring the priest closer to God. That is why they were to eat of the holy things in the tabernacle and not to take them home. Because in doing it in the tabernacle, it was emphasizing the point that there is something by doing it here that has a particular bearing upon their own lives and upon their own circumstances and the calling that they have. It was designed to symbolize fellowship and symbolize communion with God. The priest was there in the tabernacle acting on behalf of the people. In Old Testament times, they needed an earthly priest. We don't need an earthly priest today, but they did. And the priest was there acting on behalf of the people. And he was told by the Lord, you're going to eat of some of these things in the tabernacle itself. You're not going to take them home to your own tent. You're there representing the people. And as you're doing this, as you're eating, you're representing the people. So there has to be a spiritual significance in this. And we might ask ourselves the same question. What's the point of coming to this communion table? What's the point of observing the Lord's table today in the fashion that we do? Doing it openly, doing it publicly, doing it together? Well, it symbolizes something for us. It symbolizes that we have partaken of Christ, first of all. And eating and drinking, that is what we are symbolizing. We're giving a public testimony to that, that we have actually come in the physical or in the spiritual sense, and we have eaten of Christ. We have benefited from the Savior. We have benefited from His broken body. We have benefited from His shed blood, just the same way as somebody benefits from eating physical food. The body's going to assimilate it, and the body's going to use it for energy, and so on. Well, we're declaring the very same when we come and partake of these things. We're declaring we have partaken of Christ in the spiritual sense, and we have benefited from him. We are alive today because of him, spiritually alive because of him. So there is most definitely a purpose that is to be set forth in these things. It also symbolizes the thought of fellowship and communion, because the Christian is to fellowship and commune with God. You think about that first occasion when there was the observance of these things in the upper room, when the Lord was there with his disciples, and there was a closeness, and there was a fellowship, and there was a communion. between them all there in the upper room as the Lord instituted the Lord's table and the observance of these things. Oh, it was a difficult night because the Lord was telling His disciples He was taking His leave of them and they were heartbroken. And He had to utter those words to them, let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. They were heartbroken at the thought of leaving the Lord. But the Lord gave them this means of fellowshipping with Him still. Even when He was gone, when He was no longer among His people physically, they could still fellowship with Him and still commune with Him around that table. And today, we are doing the very same. So what was represented in the eating of the holy things in the tabernacle is carried over into our observance of the Lord's table, and we're going to have fellowship and communion with Him. That's one of the purposes for our coming together. One of the words for offering or oblation. If you just go down the chapter here a little bit into that portion that we didn't read, and pick up on verse 18 first of all, and you'll see the word oblation there in that verse. Whatsoever he be of the house of Israel or of the strangers of Israel, that will offer his oblation. And then verse 27 as well, and it's the word offering. There in verse 27, it shall be accepted for an offering made by fire. There's a number of different words for offering and sacrifices and oblation in the Old Testament, but this one that I've pointed you to there in those two verses is one that is carried over actually into the New Testament. Remember that occasion in Mark 7, verse 11, where the Lord Jesus was speaking to them, and he said, "'But ye say, if a man shall say to his father or to his mother, "'It is Corban,' that is to say, a gift. "'By whatsoever thou mayest be profited by me, "'he shall be free.'" Let's set aside what it was the Lord was referring to in the context there, and just take that term, Corban. It's Mark 7, verse 11. if you want the reference again. That's the word that is here in those two verses that I've drawn your attention to, verse 18 and verse 27. And I do that because the verb that lies at the root of that word means to draw near or to approach onto. So when somebody was offering what was termed an oblation there in verse 18, or an offering in verse 27. It comes from a word that actually has the idea of drawing near to and approaching onto. They were coming near unto the Lord. That's what they were doing in offering sacrifices. One of the things that they were doing, as I say, there's a number of different words for offering and sacrificing. Each one of them has a different meaning that you can think upon. But this one that is over there in Mark 7 and verse 11 is korban. This is what it means. It is the idea of drawing near or approaching unto. So as the worshiper came into the temple and as he offered his sacrifice, possibly a part of it being given unto the priest for him to go and eat, there's this idea of communion and fellowship and closeness. All of that's represented in what is taking place in the offering of the sacrifice and in the priest eating of it then afterwards. And all of that is represented in the communion feast as well. There's to be a drawing near. There's to be a communion. There's to be an approaching unto the Lord. The word fellowship appears in the New Testament. If you turn over for a moment to 1 John, and certainly John was somebody who knew a closeness to the Savior. You'll remember in In John 13, verse 23, we're told that there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples whom Jesus loved. And that's John's way of speaking about himself. He never mentions himself by name. He never mentions his brother by name. He doesn't even mention his own mother by name in his writings. He refers to them indirectly. And it's commonly taken that that's John that is referred to there in John 13 verse 23, where he was leaning on Jesus' bosom in the upper room. So there was a closeness. There was a closeness between them. And then when you come to 1 John, his little epistle, or the first of his epistles here, and 1 John 1, this is a particular theme that John picks up on because three times in this short chapter he mentions fellowship. 1 John 1 verse 3, that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you that ye may also have fellowship with us. And truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. And then verse 6, if we say we have no fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth. Verse 7, if we walk in the light and as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with the other. And the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanseth us from all sin. Now, we know that John is the apostle of love and that his first epistle has many references to love, but surely tied in with love is the thought of fellowship and communion. And here, well, there's four references there, for there's two of them in verse three. There's four references in that short chapter in 1 John 1 about fellowship. And there's this thought of closeness and communion. We can have closeness and communion among one another and fellowship one among another, but John is here particularly referring to the fellowship that we have with the Father and with the Son. There's a fellowship the Christian has with the Father and the Son. We're thankful for Christian communion and fellowship. We're certainly thankful for that. But there's something even above that, Christian. And while we rejoice in the company of the saints and even coming to the house of God and being able to do so and being able to meet one with another, while we're glad of that and thankful for that, there's something even above that. There is a fellowship that you and I have with the Father and with the Son. And we can have that in our times of devotion. We can have that when we come to the regular services, but we particularly have that when we come to the Lord's table. That's something that stands out here in Leviticus with regards to eating of the holy things. So you have the purpose of the eating. I want you secondly to consider the preparation for eating of the holy things. Because there's some details that are given to us here, particularly in verses 1 to 9, about who it was that could eat of the holy things and who it was that could not eat of the holy things. There were some individuals who were excluded in verses 1 to 9. They fall into two to three types of categories. First of all, there's defilements that are within, verse 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. So there's some defilements that were inward, that were constitutional if we want to call them like that, particularly the disease of leprosy or the affliction of a running issue. And anybody who was afflicted in this particular way were separated from the sanctuary and from their service as a priest. And they could not offer sacrifices. And they could not eat of the holy things in the tabernacle. They would have to be provided for some other way. They could certainly not come into the tabernacle and function as a priest and partake of these things, they were not permitted to do so. So there were defilements that were outward. And then in verses 4 and 5, there are defilements that are constitutional inward. Then in verses 4 and 5, there's defilements that are outward. And if you follow on through the end of verse 4, where it says, whoso touches anything that is unclean by the dead, or a man whose seed goeth from him, or whosoever touches any creeping thing, whereby he may be made unclean, or a man of whom he may take uncleanness, whatsoever uncleanness he hath. So there's certain uncleannesses here as well. And again, anybody that falls into any of these particular categories is not going to be able to eat. They are forbidden to eat. And then if you go down to verse 8, there are defilements that are digested. If you eat of anything that dieth of itself or is torn of beasts, he shall not eat to defile himself therewith. And so, again, he is separated and not permitted to eat. So there's certain circumstances that are outlined here that the priest could not eat of the holy things. If they did, they were going to be ceremonially unclean. If any of these defilements, in verse six it says, the soul which has touched any such shall be unclean until even and shall not eat of the holy things unless he washes flesh with water. And when the sun is down, he shall be clean and shall afterward eat of the holy things because it is his food. So this ceremonial defileness is not going to permit him to eat, and he must absence himself. Well, can we not see the parallel how that is brought over into the communion feast? When we go to 1 Corinthians 11, and we'll be reading it later this morning, is there not instructions there about who can eat and who cannot eat? Is Paul not writing those things to the church at Corinth because there was an abuse of the Lord's Table in the church in Corinth. There were many other abuses as well of things in the church at Corinth, but one of them was the abuse of the Lord's Table. And that's why Paul had to write in 1 Corinthians 11, and he had to say the things that he did because he was seeking to put right certain abuses. And one of the abuses was that there were people who were coming to the Lord's Table who ought not to come, who had no right to come. They were abusing the Lord's table. And because they were abusing the Lord's table, then Paul is very pacific about this. If you turn over to that portion, 1 Corinthians chapter 11, and particularly as we come down towards the end of it, we'll find here what it is that Paul is particularly thinking about. We'll read from verse 28. We'll read the earlier verse at another time. But 1 Corinthians 11 verse 28, let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup. For he that drinketh and eateth unworthily eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you in many sleep. So there was judgment that had come from the Lord upon them. Some of them had even been taken home. The Lord had taken them home early because of the abuse of the Lord's table in the church at Corinth. And many of them, he says, are sick and weak. And then he goes on, for if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord that we should not be condemned with the world. Wherefore, my brethren, when you come together to eat, tarry one for another. And if any man hunger, let him eat at home. that ye come not to gather unto condemnation, and the rest will I set in order when I come." So what was specifically the abuse of the Lord's table in Corinth was that there were people who were coming to it for their food, their regular food. They weren't coming to it with the right spirit. They weren't coming to it to draw near to the Lord and to remember his death in his own appointed way. They were coming because they were hungry. were coming for pure physical appetite, no spiritual appetite at all. That's not why they're coming. And Paul says, if you hunger, you eat at home. So there were certain requirements that applied to the observance or applies to the observance of the Lord's Table that are a carryover from The eating of the holy things in the Old Testament when those priests and Levites were told, if you are afflicted by any of these things, you cannot partake. These things make you unclean. If you're from a Presbyterian background, you will be well aware in Presbyterian church history of what happens usually at communion times and what the old practice that was described as fencing the table. It mightn't be something that we use just as much today, but certainly in a bygone day in Presbyterian church history, there would have been that statement used far more frequently, fencing the table. And that was putting a guard around the Lord's table, that only those who are in Christ can come to partake of it. If we are still defiled by sin, when you think about the uncleanness that is mentioned there in Leviticus 22 that hindered somebody from coming and eating, if we are still defiled by sin, we cannot come. The unconverted cannot remember the Lord in this way. They cannot come to this table. They cannot partake of these things because they have not partaken of Christ. Why would they then come and partake of these things that represent Christ? It's only the saved that can come. It's only those who are converted that can come. We are exhorted to come and commanded to come if we know Christ as our Savior. It's not the table of a denomination. It's the table of the Lord. It's not that you have to be in membership to come to this table, but you have to be in Christ to come. That's what is required of an individual. They have to be in Christ before they can come and partake of these things. The defilement of sin has to have gone. There has to be that washing and cleansing. All of this is mentioned in Leviticus chapter 22 in a ceremonial sense of how they were to wash in water and be clean, and then they could come and eat of these things. And it's exactly the same with observing the Lord's table. We cannot come unless we've been washed and cleansed There certainly needs to be that fresh cleansing that we seek from the Lord to come. As we draw near, there is to be that preparation of heart and examining of ourselves and come. It's not an examining of ourselves and then staying away. There's sometimes, you know, people read 1 Corinthians 11 and those words there that we have read a moment ago, let a man examine himself. And there's people who do that and then they stay away. from the Lord's table. And they'll say, oh, I examined myself before the Lord and I felt I shouldn't come. That's not what the New Testament says. The New Testament says, it's not a matter of saying, examine yourself and then stay away. It says, examine yourself and put the things right and then come to the Lord's table. Then let him eat, it says. Let him eat. So there is to be an examining of ourselves and a putting out of defilement and a seeking of fresh cleansing so that we can come and eat. That is the purpose of the examining of ourselves. But it is mirrored in what you have here in Leviticus chapter 22 and what was found among the priests and the Levites as they partook of these holy things. If you go back to Leviticus 22, you'll see here that any defilement was a profaning of the Lord's holy name. And that's mentioned three times down through this portion that we read in verse 2. You'll find the words that they profane not my holy name and those things which they hallow unto me, I am the Lord. And then verse nine, you'll find the thought repeated, if they profane it, I the Lord do sanctify them. And verse 15, then also is the third place where it says, and they shall not profane the holy things of the children of Israel, which they offer unto the Lord. So if they were to eat, defiled in any of these ways, then what they were offering was going to be defiled. And they were going to profane the Lord's name through it. And a number of times there the Lord says, I am the Lord. I am Jehovah. And Jehovah is a holy God. And he cannot abide uncleanness. And therefore, there was this prohibition that existed. Now it tells us there that if they did not put these things right and they did eat with uncleanness. For example, at the end of verse 3 it says, that soul shall be cut off from my presence, I am the Lord. Cut off from my presence. I think we maybe need to just stop there a moment and consider the various ways whereby somebody was cut off in Israel. Because There was that reference of somebody being cut off from the land of the living. And that means they were going to be put to death. It was a capital crime that they had committed. And therefore, the Lord commanded they were to be cut off from the very land of the living. And you'll find references like that, cut off from the earth. In fact, it's used about the Lord Jesus in Isaiah 53. And in verse 8, it talks about the Messiah being cut off. And that's a reference to being put to death. But there's other times in the scriptures where, for example, it will speak about being cut off from his people or cut off from the congregation of Israel. And that's a reference to somebody being put outside the camp of Israel for a period of time. The camp was to be clean. We're not just thinking about the tabernacle now. We're thinking about the whole wider camp of Israel. The camp of Israel was to be clean. And if somebody was defiled, in fact, it was a means of good hygiene as well and keeping disease from among them. But there are times when people had certain afflictions, and they were to be put out without the camp. They were to be cut off from among the people in that sense. And for a period of time, however long it was, they were to live outside the camp. And then you have the third one here. which is what we have in verse 3 of Leviticus chapter 22, where the Lord says, that soul shall be cut off from my presence. Now, we're talking about the priests and the Levites. We're talking about those who ministered within the tabernacle, and particularly the priests who went into the holy place. repeatedly, and then the high priest went into the holiest of all once a year. And it says here that the soul that does this shall be cut off from my presence. And we know where the Lord's presence was. His presence was in the tabernacle. The shekinah glory was on the mercy seat. So what is being stated there to us in Leviticus 22 and verse 3 is not that they're going to be cut off and put to death. It's not the capital crime that is here in view. It is the breaking of fellowship. It is the breaking of this communion that we were thinking about, this nearness. They're not going to be able to draw near onto God anymore until the matter is put right. And there you have this carryover into the observance of the Lord's table, where there's things we are to examine ourselves and put things right and then eat. So the pattern that is laid down for us in Leviticus 22 with eating of the holy things is something that's carried over into the New Testament and our observance of eating of the holy things. We need to put away defilements. We need to seek cleansing from sin, even today as we come, now as we're before the Lord. Seek to prepare our hearts to come to remember Him in the way appointed. We need to pray, Lord, put away defilements, put away uncleanness, cleanse me. We need to acknowledge our sins before Him, that there's no breaking of this fellowship, that we're not then separated from His presence, or cut off from His presence, as the term is in Leviticus 22. So in order not to be cut off, not to mar the fellowship between us and the Lord, we need a fresh cleansing today. And there's fresh cleansing to be had. And we can come, and we can fellowship. One further thing I want you to consider here, and that's the participation in eating of these holy things. Again, there's a reflection here when we think about what follows on there from verse 9, starting at verse 10. There were certain people that had no right to participate, and there were certain people who had a right to participate. And first of all there, regarding those in verse 10 who had no right to participate, it says that the stranger had no right, the sojourner had no right, nor the hired servant had any right at any time to eat of these things. Now the stranger is someone who's of another tribe and who might for some reason be in The obvious reason is worshiping. They're bringing a sacrifice. But they are in the confines of the tabernacle court. They can never eat of those things that the priests were going to eat of. The stranger can't eat them. The sojourner, if somebody is sojourning in the house of the priest or the tents of the priest, again, can't be allowed to partake of these things, nor somebody who's a hired servant, hired by the day or by the week or even by the year, waiting until that day of jubilee comes when they would have their liberty. That individual can't eat either. We might think, well, why is this so? Why is the Lord so particular here? It's because of what it represents. and because of the application to you and me in the New Testament sense. And before we get there, I want you then to notice who has the right to eat. Because there's two particular individuals that are mentioned in verse 11 who most certainly have the right to eat. Those bought by the priest. And if the priest buy any soul with his money, he shall eat of it. Remember there was a means in Israel whereby if somebody fell into hard times that they could be redeemed, paid for. They became like an indentured servant in somebody's house, not a hired servant, that's different, but somebody who would come into the priest's house or any other household in Israel and work off their debts, really. So there's somebody here mentioned in verse 11, the soul bought by the priest, he can eat of it, and then also the one who's born in his house And verse 11, they can eat of this as well. So there's some individuals who are barred and there's some individuals who most certainly have the right to come and enter into and partake of these things. Do we not see there an obvious reference to who it is that can partake of these things? Those who are bought by precious blood and those who are born of the Spirit of God. Isn't that the two categories that are mentioned there in verse 11, who can come? Those who are bought and those who are born. They're the two categories that can eat of these things. Well, isn't that a very applicable point to the observance of the Lord's table? Those who are bought by precious blood. Every redeemed soul is a bought soul. You and I are being bought, bought with a price. We belong to somebody today. We belong to the Lord. We're not our own. As the Bible tells us, we belong to him. He has bought us by the precious blood. He shed his blood at the cross, and in shedding it, he bought us. That's why Paul uses that term to refer to himself in Romans 1 and verse 1, where he describes himself as a bond slave. Paul, the servant of Jesus Christ. Well, not look it up, but Romans 1 and verse 1 starts with that phrase, Paul, the servant of Jesus Christ. And the word there is doulos, and it means bond-slave. Not a hired servant. It's a bond-slave. And Paul said, I'm the bond-slave of Jesus Christ. And he wasn't only referring to his service. He was referring to the fact that he was a redeemed soul. he'd been bought by the Lord, that the Lord had shed His blood for him at Calvary, and he belonged to the Lord. He was the Lord's every bit as much as in old times when there were people who were bought in the physical sense and became slaves. Paul says, I'm the bond slave of Jesus Christ. I belong to Him. So the person who is bought by precious blood can certainly come and eat. And then the person who is born, that's the second category that is mentioned there in Leviticus 22 in verse 11. The one born in the priest's house will have a new and I been born, if we're the children of God today, saved by His grace, we've been born of His Spirit. Those words of the Savior spoke to Nicodemus, John 3, verse 6, that which is born of the flesh is flesh, that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whether it goeth. So is every one that is born of the Spirit. Child of God's born of the Spirit. We fit into the category that is here highlighted as to who can eat. The bought and the born. And when we come now in a moment or two to remember the Savior and partake of these things, are those two things not the very things we're going to testify to? Lord, you've bought us. We're going to remember the buying of the blood. But Lord, we're born of your Spirit too. There's been a work of grace in our hearts that has brought us on to thyself, and we belong to the Lord today, the bought and the born. So if we ask the question, who can eat of these holy things? That's the answer, the bought and the born. And if you fall into that category today that you've been bought by the Lord, by the precious blood, and you've been born of His Spirit, Well then the Lord invites you to come and remember Him. You've got a right to come then. You've got a right to come. On the grounds of Scripture you can say, I have a right to eat of these things because I have been bought and I have been born in the New Testament sense. And therefore we can come. And may the Lord bless us even as we do so.