Tag Archives: Levites

Sabbath Manna: Without Holiness, No One Will See Elohim!

Posted on by
2

Heavens Gates Opening

Scripture reveals that the saints are to be a holy or set-apart (kadosh)
priesthood, not a profane (worldly and polluted) one. If Yeshua calls us his kadosh and royal priesthood, then let’s own that identity and start acting like one!

Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see YHVH. (Heb 12:14)

Holiness Is YHVH’s Chief Quality

Holiness is the chief attribute of Elohim and the most defining aspect of his character. It has to do with the fact that Elohim is entirely good and without evil or moral defect and totally sinless. This is why the spiritual beings around his heavenly throne are constantly crying, “Holy, holy, holy” in his Presence (Isa 6:3; Rev 4:8). This is why one of his titles is The Holy One of Israel,which is used more than thirty times in the Tanakh (e.g., 2 Kgs 19:22; Ps 71:22; Isa 1:4; Jer 50:29). This is why the high priest who ministered in the Tabernacle of Moses and later in the temple wore a golden crown or headplate with the words inscribed on it, “HOLINESS TO YHVH.” Not only was this pointing upward to YHVH’s set-apartness, but man himself is to become holy or set-apart even as YHVH Elohim is set-apart, for we read in the Epistle to the Hebrews that the attribute of holiness is a prerequisite for a man coming into the Presence of Elohim (Heb 12:14).

YHVH Elohim made mankind in his own image (Gen 1:27), so that man could eventually become his glorified spirit children (John 1:12; Rom 8:14–15; 2 Cor 6:18; Gal 4:5–6; 1 John 3:1–2; Rev 21:7). As part of the process of becoming an immortal child of Elohim, man must become holy as he is holy (Lev 11:44, 45; 20:7, 26; 1 Pet 1:16). This is the ultimate destiny of those who will submit to YHVH’s process of transforming man from profane or polluted, sin-ridden beings to becoming holy or set-apart. What does this process involve and how does it affect you?

YHVH Is Preparing His Saints to Be a Kingdom of Priests

In the Bible, YHVH declared that it was the destiny of the Israelite nation to become a chosen and peculiar people and a kingdom of priest—to be special and unique among the nations of the world—to reflect the character and nature of YHVH Elohim—to be holy (in Hebrew, kadosh) as he is kadosh. The Hebrew word kadosh means Continue reading →

 

What Was the Purpose of the Sacrificial System?

Posted on by
4

The concept of animal sacrifices may be a hard for modern people to comprehend—especially for those who are squeamish when it comes to death and blood. This ancient ritual, rooted in the nomadic lifestyles of the inhabitants of the Middle East, carried more symbolic significance for a people whose daily existence was tied to the earth and who were dependent on domestic animals for their survival. It is out of this cultural background that the biblical narrative springs and with it the ritual symbols with which the ancient people described therein could relate. With these things in mind, the following is a list showing the main reasons for YHVH’s establishment of an animal sacrificial system as a means to help man to understand spiritual lessons far beyond the actual sacrifice itself.

Sacrifice on Altar-lightening 20260002

The laws pertaining to the sacrificial system were added to the rest of the Torah because of sin, and were in force until the time of Yeshua the promised Seed (Gal 3:19). When and why did YHVH add them making this system incumbent upon the Israelites? This occurred after and because of the sin of the golden calf. It was then that YHVH established the Levitical priesthood and subsequently gave Israel the sacrificial system to not only show them the seriousness and grave consequences of sins, but to guide Continue reading →

 

The Glorious Garments of the High Priest Point to Yeshua

Posted on by
1

Genesis 28–29

The Garments of the High Priest

(Some of this information is derived from Martyn Barrow’s tabernacle web site and from the ArtScroll Stone Edition Chumash along with several other sources as noted in the text.)

High Priest

The high priest was required to wear eight vestments while performing his duties in the tabernacle or else his service was invalid. The garments that the high priest wore along with those of the regular priests set them apart from the rest of Israel thereby elevating them in the eyes of Israel for the special and sacred work of Elohim they were doing.

The priestly attire was called the Eight Vestment (Sh’moneh G’dim) or the Gold Vestments since some of them contained gold. Actually, only seven of his vestments were specifically made for his duties as high priest. His linen breeches would have been worn anyway as a part of his regular dress, so they were not special as were the other seven garments. On certain parts of the Day of Atonement, the high priest wore only four vestments all made of white linen. The ordinary priests wore these four white vestments all the time.

As with so many things found in the tabernacle, the high priest’s garments comprised of four colors: sky blue, royal purple, blood crimson woven onto a background of pure snow white linen. Additionally, the high priest’s head plate was of gold, along with the 72 bells sown onto the hem of his Ephod, the golden chains holding the Breastplate to his shoulders, the bases to the shoulder stones and the gold thread woven into the Ephod. The color blue signifies godliness or heaven. Some see purple as signifying royalty or kingliness. Others see an additional meaning. Red and blue combine to make purple. Blue represents the divine while red speaks of the human, earthly or animal aspect of man (and of Yeshua). After all, red blood is the symbol of life and the name of the first man was Continue reading →

 

The Tribe of Levi: Lemons to Lemonade

Posted on by
2

Genesis 49:7, I will scatter/divide them. For Simeon, this prophecy was fulfilled in that they had an inheritance both in the area Judah and among the region of northern tribes.

For Levi’s part, his descendants were given the priesthood and were scattered in 48 cities throughout Israel (Num 35:7).

20195768

YHVH put this tribe’s passion against evil to good use. Levi’s vengeful anger against Shechem for raping Dinah was excessive and outside the bounds of Torah-law (Gen 38). However, this passion for righteousness and justice became further evident as Levi’s descendants were the ones who stood up against the rebellious Israelites at the golden calf.

Moses used this tribe to execute YHVH’s judgment against the golden calf worshippers (Exod 32:25–29). This time, Levi acted in accordance to and within the bounds of the Torah as prescribed by Moses. For this, they were granted the priesthood and as such, were scattered throughout Israel (in fulfillment of Jacob’s prophecy) to better accomplish their duties. They became responsible for teaching Israel YHVH’s Torah and for acting as judges of the law (Deut 33:10; 24:8; Lev 24:10–11).

The beauty of this story is that YHVH can take the flawed character traits or misguided and even carnal passions of an individual or of a family or a society and redeem them by redirecting them along righteous lines in accordance with Torah principles. Zeal and passion are wonderful character attributes, but they need to be channeled in the right direction.

To the Laodiceans in Revelation YHVH said he would rather they be hot or cold in their passions (Rev 3:15–16). He had no use for lukewarmness, which is apathy. One who is cold or dead is waiting to be awakened spiritually. One who is hot with passion already simply needs direction. One who is lukewarm does even care enough to go one way or the other.

With YHVH Elohim all things are possible. He knows how to take our lemons and turn them into lemonade for his glory! HalleluYAH!

 

 

New Video: Congregation Elim Shabbat Services July 11, 2015

Posted on by
Reply

This video includes live praise and worship, prayer and praise reports, teachings on the prophetic implications of the Sabbath, what the Bible says about sexual lust, the spiritual zeal of Phinehas, and the duties of the Levites along with congregational discussion.

 

The Levitical Priesthood Vs. the Priesthood of All Believers

Posted on by
1

Numbers 3:11–13, I myself have taken. Here YHVH chooses the tribe of Levi instead of the firstborn male of each Israelite family to be Israel’s spiritual leaders. When the Israelites exited Egypt, YHVH chose and sanctified the firstborn male of each family to the be spiritual leader of his home in what is called the law of the firstborn (Exod 13:2, 11–16). As it had been the responsibility of the firstborn to lead his family spiritually, and, as the patriarch of his family, to pass down the family legacy and spiritual traditions to the next generation, YHVH now placed this mantle on the shoulders of the Levites. It was now their responsibility to teach the Israelites what YHVH had commanded them to do (Deut 24:8). They became the Torah teachers in Israel (Deut 33:10; Neh 8:7, 9, 13; 2 Chron 30:22) along with the priests (Lev 10:11; Mal 2:7). They were scattered throughout the land of Israel for this purpose (2 Chron 17:8–9). The reason that YHVH gave this responsibility over to the sons of Levi was because the firstborn of each family had failed to lead their families in YHVH’s paths of righteousness, and they failed to prevent the Israelites from golden calf worship (Exod 32). Only Levi remained faithful to YHVH during the golden calf incident, and thus YHVH granted them the blessing of the priestly service (Exod 32:26–29).

32333208

Originally, it had been YHVH’s intent for the entire nation of Israel to be a kingdom of priests (Exod 19:6) in order to be a light to the nations and lead the nations to YHVH and his Torah by their righteous example (Deut 4:6–8). This is why YHVH placed the land of Israel, and specifically Jerusalem, at the center of the major trade routes of the ancient world between Africa, Asia and Europe.

The Levitical priesthood (along with the elaborate tabernacle sacrificial system) was a temporary institution that YHVH added (Gal 3:19 cp. Jer 7:21–22) to the nation of Israel’s legal system because of the firstborn’s failure to prevent Israel from Continue reading →

 

Why Animal Sacrifices?

Posted on by
Reply

The Purpose of Sacrifice

The concept of animal sacrifices may be a hard for modern people to comprehend — especially for those who are squeamish when it comes to death and blood. This ancient ritual, rooted in the nomadic lifestyles of the inhabitants of the Middle East, carried more symbolic significance for a people whose daily existence was tied to the earth and dependent on domestic animals for their survival. It is out of this cultural background that the biblical narrative springs and with it the ritual symbols with which the ancient people described therein could relate. With these things in mind, the following is a list showing the main reasons for YHVH’s establishment of an animal sacrificial system as a means to help man to understand spiritual lessons far beyond the actual sacrifice itself.

  • The Levitical system foreshadowed and pointed to the Messiah’s ultimate sacrifice (Heb 9:11–12).
  • The tabernacle offerings were specifically designed to spiritually draw the offerer near to Elohim through the sacrifice of a prescribed animal (Ps 51:16–17; 50:12–15 cp. 1 Pet 2:21).

Sacrifice on Altar-lightening 20260002

  • Elohim commanded offerings to assist the offerer to better understand himself; his attitude, and his personal relationship with Elohim (e.g., Gen 3:21; 4:3–5; 8:20; 22:1–2 cp. 1 Cor 11:28).
  • Altars were erected by the patriarchs in order to honor Elohim through sacrifice after having had direct contact with him (Gen 12:6–8; 13:18; 26:24–25; 35:1; 35:2–4; Exod 17:13–16; cp. Exod 20:12).
  • Proper and regular sacrificial offerings kept the children of Israel in direct contact with the Elohim of the patriarchs (Exod 5:3; 10:25; cp. 1 Tim 2:5).
  • To make the offerer holy (set-apart) so that he would be allowed to approach and commune with the Set-Apart Elohim of Israel (Isa 43:15; 57:15; Lev 19:2 cp. 2 Cor 6:16–18).
  • Under certain circumstances, blood, as used in the Levitical system, could serve as Continue reading →