Well, this evening we return for the third and final time to Leviticus chapter 21, where we continue to consider the instructions given in this chapter for the conduct of the priests. We've looked already at verses one to 15 of this chapter. In the opening nine verses, we have instructions for the priests in general, and then we find in verses 10 to 15 specific instructions for the high priest who comes under even stricter laws to abide by. And the nature of these instructions are to do with the mourning of the priests at the time of death in the family and in the community, and also with regards to whom they would marry as well. They were the ones who ministered in and dealt with the holy things of the Lord and all of their lives were to speak of holiness. And so they must make sure that they are kept from all forms of defilement in every area of life. And we're going to see more of that tonight because what we see in verses 16 through to the end of the chapter are a list of certain defects that would disqualify a man from ministering as a priest. You see they're listed from really verse 18 through to verse 21. It's mainly physical deformities that are listed to do with the face or the back or the limbs, extremities as well. If they were disfigured, if they were out of proportion, if they were blind or lame, if they had part of them broken or if there was any sort of disease such as on the skin or any permanent disfiguration to them, then they could not minister as priests. That applies to permanent defects, but also temporary ones as well. And the question I'm sure we're all wondering is, why is this the case? Well, it's important to say a few things to qualify this at the outset. First of all, it's not that the Lord was discriminating unfairly against anyone who was handicapped or disabled or who had deformities. These verses were not meant to be an insult to them, just in the same way that none of the other tribes were meant to be insulted by the fact that it was only the Levites who got to minister in the tabernacle. So these instructions are just for those from Aaron's descent here as well. But remember, the other tribes were excluded from any tabernacle service. Only the tribe of Levi could do so. And even within Levi, only those descending from Aaron could function as priests. The others as Levites with duties in the outer courts, but not offering the sacrifices as the priests. The reality is that God gets to choose who serves in what ways. He can choose tribes, he can choose lines from tribes, just as he chose the kingship of Israel to come through Judah, just as he chose that the firstborn would no longer go to Reuben. The Lord decides who serves him in what way. And of course, we have to remember that even In today's work environment as well, physical and mental disability are still a bar to certain occupations. There are certain jobs you can't do if you have perhaps disability or deformity or imperfection in various ways. It still applies. And I'm sure you know that the temple work was hard work, the work of butchering animals. the work of dealing with the inquiries of the people of Israel, there was an emotional and a physical strain involved in the work of the priesthood, which some would not have been up to. But yet it is something, no doubt, that man in his sinfulness and fallenness doesn't react in a balanced way too. Perhaps we recoil at these instructions and we think that's unfair. Or perhaps, as there has been historically and still is today, there is a sense of stigma even around some forms of disability and deformity as well. It was true in Jesus' day, remember, in John chapter 9. Let me just read the opening three verses of this chapter. It says, Now as Jesus passed by, he saw a man who was blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. The blind man was regarded as being cursed by God, by the disciples and by the, you would guess, the community as well. And so there would have been a sense of stigma and superstition among those who were disqualified for the priesthood and also throughout Israel as well, anyone who had anything deformed in this way. If you turn back to chapter 19, you'll see there that God gives instructions that the disabled and the infirm were to be treated well. If you look at verse 14, the Lord instructs his people there, you shall not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind, but shall fear your God. I am the Lord. And also in verse 32 of this chapter, you'll see there for, respect to be given to those of old age. You shall rise before the grey-headed and honour the presence of an old man and fear your God. I am the Lord. The Lord has made provision for people with infirmities in this way. They were not to be abused or taken advantage of. They were to be treated with respect. And so there's really no incongruity or contradiction between what the Lord has said about taking care of such people in chapter 19 and what we find here. And we can actually see that in the verses themselves. We're told that such men were unable to act as priests and offer the bread or offer the sacrifices. But in verse 22, you see, they can still partake of the priestly portion of them. He may eat the bread of his God, both the most holy and the holy. Remember, when we were looking at the sacrifices at the start of Leviticus, in certain sacrifices, there was a portion allotted to the priests for them to eat and the Levites as well. And so provision is made for these men who cannot serve in that way. The handicapped priests, they were also Levites and they would be supported by the tithes and the offerings. of Israel. So they're not abandoned by God. And it's not that they can't do any other form of service. They could still serve as Levites in the tabernacle. They just couldn't offer the offerings as priests. But the work of the Levites was still open to them. So these are some qualifications we can see as we consider these these verses and might find them quite striking that the Lord might exclude some men from holding this office. But there are now three reasons we can see also why God has done so. First of all, as these instructions are given about those who could not work in this way, It's a reminder to us of the fallenness of this world. It's a reminder of the problems that man's sin has caused and also of how our approach to God has been affected by our sin as well. Because with these physical blemishes that we might picture here, there are also pictures of the moral blemishes that prevent us going directly to God. And when we see the various sicknesses and diseases throughout the scriptures, particularly the Old Testament, it's an illustration for us of the state of our hearts, of our sin that cut us off from going into the holy sanctuary. And so in the ceremonial law, man's spiritual nature is often represented by the state of his body. So in chapters 11 to 15 of Leviticus, we saw there the instructions for leprosy and skin disease and how it's a picture of the state of our hearts and the cleansing that they need in order to come into the sanctuary of God. And as we see these various deformities listed, it's also crying out for something more. It's crying out for God to come and to do something for these poor, suffering people. And God did come. He did do something. We see him walk this earth and human flesh in the New Testament, the Lord Jesus. came and he cured many defects, things that people suffered with. He came and at his command, they were healed. So even here we have a foretaste, a pointing forward to the new creation, because it just cries out to us, this isn't the way it should be, this isn't right, but there's one coming who will bring all healing in the end. Wonderful pictures of this in Isaiah, where we have promises that one would come in that day of the Lord's salvation, there would be such healing. Isaiah chapter 35, verses five and six say, then the eyes of the blind shall be opened and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then the lame shall leap like a deer and the tongue of the dumb sing, for water shall burst forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. And again in Isaiah chapter 56, this time reading verses 3 and 4, it says there, this time speaking more of, using the illustration of the eunuchs who were excluded, Do not let the son of the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord speak, saying, The Lord has utterly separated me from his people. Nor let the eunuchs say, Here I am, a dry tree. For thus says the Lord to the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths and choose what pleases me and hold fast my covenant, even to them I will give in my house and within my walls a place and a name better than that of sons and daughters. I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off. So where any eunuch was disqualified from the Aaronic priesthood, there's a day coming, Isaiah's telling. when there's going to be a reversal of the fallenness of creation, and when people's broken and sinful lives are going to be changed and healed by God bringing his salvation, and that's what he's come to do in Jesus Christ. So firstly, we see in these instructions a reminder of the fallenness of the world we're living in, but secondly, It's a reminder of the very perfections of God himself. His perfections were to be reflected in the priesthood as well as in the sacrifices they offered. You remember that the instructions for the sacrifices were an animal without blemish. In the same way, there was to be no evident blemish in those offering the sacrifices. It's teaching us that perfection is required in order to approach the living God. And so to illustrate this to the people of Israel of the moral and spiritual perfection that we need to be right with God, in all of Israel's worship there was to be a visual perfection to it. You see it in the glory of the tabernacle and all its furnishings, in the temple that followed as well. In the sacrifices, they were to be the very best of the animals. In all of Israel's worship, there was to be order. There was to be reverence in the lining up of the musicians and the ornate clothing of the priests. There was to be dignity in all the activity of the tabernacle. No one was meant to be able to look on and mock it. in any way, and it should be the same in the church's worship today as well, all reverent and dignified, because it is the perfect, holy, living God whose presence we come into. So it was a reminder of the fallenness of this world. It's a reminder of the perfections of God himself. But finally, it was also pointing to the perfection of Christ still to come. And that is why there are such strict standards for the priesthood, because as an office, it is representing and foreshadowing Christ himself. And he is the one who fulfills it. And he does so perfectly because he is perfect. And that is something the writer to the Hebrews draws upon time. And again, the contrast between the imperfection of Aaron and his descendants, the multiple sacrifices they had to offer for their own sins. First, the fact that they died in office. Their priesthood couldn't go on because their sin had brought their own death. But Christ comes as a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek. sinless and able to offer to God a perfect unblemished offering of himself. One of the most famous and most helpful commentaries on the Book of Leviticus is by Andrew Bonner. I'm sure some of you might have a copy of it at home and you can see what you make of this but Andrew Bonner suggests that there's a Contrast between the list of deformities listed in our verses before us and actually the perfection of Christ in Solomon chapter five, where his legs are described, his feet, his eyes being a flame of fire. Perhaps you might want to read those and we can discuss. at some point, but Bonner suggests all the things listed here that could be wrong with those in Aaron's line. We see the similar body parts listed regarding the beloved in Song of Solomon 5, so I will leave that with you. But let's turn briefly to Hebrews and see there something of the perfection of Christ's priesthood. We read first of all in chapter 7, verses 26 to 28. For such a high priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens, who does not need daily as those high priests to offer up sacrifices first for his own sins and then for the people's. For this he did once for all when he offered up himself. For the law appoints as high priests men who have weaknesses, But the word of the oath which came after the law appoints the son who has been perfected forever. And also over in chapter 10 of Hebrews. You see there from verse 11 to verse 14. And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices which can never take away sins. But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till his enemies are made his footstool. For by one offering he has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. You see how as believers we can rest on Christ's perfection, the perfection of his person, the perfection of his sacrifice. And through what he has done, he covers all our sins and all our imperfections, the deformities in our lives, the sin has caused. It's all cleansed and covered by him. And so in Ephesians chapter five, verse 25, Paul says, husbands love your wives just as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for her, that he might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the words, that he might present her to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. That's what Christ has come to do for us. And what does this mean for us as believers today then? Well, we have to remember that the symbolism in Israel's worship and ministry in the Old Testament, it's no longer required because the true substance of these shadows has come in Christ and he has fulfilled it all. We have to remember that no one under the gospel is prohibited from offering spiritual sacrifices to God. And by that I mean that with today's priesthood, the priesthood of all believers, there is no exclusion. based on anything physical or mental. And we have to remember that the church has a ministry to the physically and mentally disabled as well. And they should always be welcomed and be part of our family and be encouraged to worship as well. And I have confidence that we will meet believers in heaven whom we were never able to know whether they were believers on this earth because they were unable to communicate in such a way. But I think we can have confidence that the Lord works in places and in minds where man cannot get to. And so what a thought for us that as priests in God's house today, we can offer our spiritual sacrifices and there's no physical or mental deformity that keeps any believer for doing so, but also there's no moral or spiritual deformity. There's no sin that keeps us away because Christ has covered them all. He's paid for them all. He's bled for them all for us. And so we can come, all can come. None are excluded from the priesthood of God, but we can all come and worship him. in his sanctuary. But just two final points of application. Firstly, we've seen how there were ways that a man could be disqualified from holding office, and it was to do with physical, but there are also moral and spiritual ways that we can become disqualified today through sin. And if someone is found to have gotten caught up in some scandal of some way, then sin can disqualify a man from holding office as a minister, an elder, or a deacon, or if his household is not ruled well and his wife and family were told in the pastoral epistles he can be disqualified. But remember also, by sin you may disqualify yourself from the privilege of certain areas of service to God. Sin will reduce your opportunities to serve in the house of God. God will use people that he can safely use, and it may be sins that are not known to anyone else. And if in our arrogance and pride we think, well, I can go on in this, God can just say, that's fine, I will use someone else. Someone else will get the blessing, of serving me in this way. Someone else will see the fruit of it as well. Finally, just a word about reading Providence as well. Any man in Aaron's line who had such issues as listed here, they would know that they couldn't serve in the priesthood. they would know that automatically they were disqualified by the law for it. And so there was no point in imagining being in the priesthood or even preparing for being in the priesthood because of their own providence. But we should make us ask, how has God equipped and furnished us to serve him? What gifts has he given us? What resources has he given us? Because perhaps due to discouragement or for other reasons, we can start looking for other forms of service. We can think the grass will be greener if we're serving elsewhere, when in actual fact, in God's providence, there's nothing to suggest we should be serving elsewhere. He's placed us where we are. He's given us what we've given, and we have to read providence in that way, as if there was no point in someone with these conditions thinking they could serve in the priesthoods. There's no point in us thinking maybe God's got this lined up for me or this, when actually, He's made it quite clear, the gifts he's given us, the ways we can serve him with the means that we have been given. So we should all, if we're thinking about perhaps other forms of service, ask what's the motive and what from providence do I see gives me reason to think I should be taking taking something you honour or giving something up. How is God making it clear to me or is it just my own dissatisfaction at this time that wants to escape? Well friends, we'll leave it there tonight. May God bless his words to us. Let us pray. Our gracious God and loving Father in heaven, we thank you for these great truths we see in your word. We thank you for revealing to us in various ways the holy perfection of your character and nature and we thank you for showing us the power that you have and the great day when you will bring great change over all creation and you have given foretaste of that in your Son, Jesus Christ, and his ministry on earth. And we thank you, Lord, that none are excluded. We thank you that the doors are open into the tabernacle of God and the gospel is to be proclaimed to all. All are to be invited and compelled to come in. And we pray, Lord, that you would indeed be working in our day to build your church And we thank you that you can use the weak things of this world to confound the wise. And we pray, Lord, that you would build your church even among those who feel despised and ostracized by society, perhaps for various physical or mental conditions they may have. We pray, Lord, that they would never be discriminated against in this place and that we would love all who come into our building and that truly that you can use anyone in your service and we thank you and bless you for that and so we pray that you would go before us this night be with all in our congregation draw near to the sick and the suffering we ask please strengthen them and help them in their weakness. Please work powerfully in those who do not confess your name. Please stir up their hearts, convict them, and do not leave them where they are, but bring them on. Draw them out, we pray, O Lord, that they might confess you and go on to serve you publicly in this world. And so we pray that you would bless your word to us this night and go before us for Jesus' sake. Amen. Well, let us conclude by singing to God's praise in Psalm 65 in the Scottish Psalter. Psalm 65, and we sing the opening four verses. Praise waits for thee in Zion, Lord, to thee vows paid shall be. O thou that hear our art of prayer, all flesh shall come to thee. Iniquities, I must confess, prevail against me do. But as for our transgressions, them purge away shalt thou. Blessed is the man whom thou dost choose and makes the approach to thee. that he within thy courts, O Lord, may still a dweller be. We surely shall be satisfied with thy abundant grace and with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy place. So we can stand and praise God as we sing Psalm 65, verses one to four. He waits for thee in Zion, Lord, to thee Vashpech shall be. O thou that eateth of the flesh, all flesh shall come to thee. Iniquities, I must confess, prevail against me too. But as for our transgression, them part, Yahweh shalt thou. ♪ West is the land ♪ ♪ Whom thou dost choose ♪ ♪ A mixed approach to thee ♪ ♪ But here within thy courts, O Lord ♪ ♪ May still our dweller be ♪ ♪ We surely shall be satisfied ♪ ♪ With thy abundant grace ♪ and with the goodness of thy hands in the holy place. Now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.