Month: April 2021

The Priest Shall Go Out of the Camp

On By TimIn Jesus, Leviticus 14Leave a comment

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

Leviticus 14:1 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

It was Moses who got a direct revelation from God. I ponder over that, especially in light of what follows in this part.

This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing: It shall be reported to the priest, and the priest shall go out of the camp, and the priest shall examine him and see if the disease is healed in the leprous person.

Leviticus 14:2–3 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

Watch the types and shadows intertwined here. You will probably see more than addressed in this post. But let’s start with the first… Leprosy. It is a Biblical typification of sin. It would follow that a letter would typify all of us in our sin. A leper cleansed of leprosy would be representative of a sinner saved.

The next typology is the priest. And in some ways, his role points to Jesus in subtle ways. The first is factual. It is the priest who declared leprosy on the individual and created the exile. Think back to the garden where Adam sinned. He was expelled from God’s garden. (I could hope that we think together that God’s garden is where He lives and does business. That’s a simple way to think of something that is far greater in importance than just a garden.)

Much more of a representation is that the priest shall go out of the camp.

Remember, this isn’t a ritual to heal a leper. It is for the priest to declare that person cleansed. The priest had to travel outside of the camp… Or garden. He has to go to the place of exile. This is a foretelling of a necessary thing, God will leave His abode and come to the leper in exile.

The priest leaves his place and comes to the one healed of a disease that left him outside of society. This was the ritual to proclaim the leper cleansed and how such would repented society.

In one sense, the overt text is dealing with a person being declared clean. But just under the surface are hints to something far greater. The leper was ostracized by the priest. He was sent away from his family and people.

God is explaining His plan. He is going to undo the ill effects of what transpired in Eden. He will do it by coming to us.

We have the benefit of the New Testament writings. There are many that explain what lingers just inside the plain text. These show that God took on humanity, humbling Himself. This we can read for ourselves.

But those that didn’t have the benefit of the New Testament are given a veiled glimpse into the future. One that shows the panorama of history written in advance. And God will continue to intervene personally.

Why Three Times?

On By TimIn Exodus 23, ResurrectionLeave a comment

Three times in the year you must celebrate a feast to Me.
You shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, in the appointed time of the month Aviv, for in it you came out from Egypt.
No one shall appear before Me empty-handed.
You shall observe the Feast of Harvest, the first fruits of your labors, which you have sown in the field.
You shall observe the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you have gathered in the fruit of your labors from the field.
Three times in the year all your males shall appear before the Lord God.

Exodus 23:14–17 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

God commands three feasts when Jewish men are to be gathered and appear before the Lord.

The first two are Unleavened Bread and First Fruits. The third is the last feast… Ingathering is also known as Tabernacles.

In the Seven Feast calendar given in the Law, the first are two of the three spring feasts. Tabernacles is the last feast on the calendar and the last of the three fall feasts.

Jesus fulfilled the three spring feasts during His first advent on Earth. I am one that believes Pentecost, the center feast to not yet be complete. There is a duality intertwined within this feast and one that uses leavened bread.

It intrigues me that Jewish men are absent from the next three feasts, Pentecost, Trumpets, and Atonement. Jewish men are called to appear before the Lord on that last feast.

That last feast is ultimately fulfilled by Jesus on His second advent when the earth is as it was created to be. The barns and storehouses are full, and Jesus reigns with men… The ingathering and tabernacles.

Could all of this be a hint of the non-Jewish church age?

Do This in Remembrance of Me

On By TimIn 1 Corinthians 11, Lord's SupperLeave a comment

I have received of the Lord that which I delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus, on the night in which He was betrayed, took bread. When He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take and eat. This is My body which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same manner He took the cup after He had supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” As often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.

1 Corinthians 11:23–26 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

As often as this is done, it is always a reminder of our own betrayal of Him, and His yearning to have fellowship with us in spite of that.