““Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.” –Jesus, Matthew 23:23-26 

As we read through the detailed directions of God to his appointed, anointed, consecrated, and ordained priests who stood as mediators for God’s people, we wonder what went wrong over the centuries?  At what point in obediently doing their appointed work given to them by God did they lean more heavily on the rules and less on the relationship that God so greatly desired from His people?  First and foremost, God wanted His people to love Him back. 

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment.” Jesus said to one of the “experts” of The Law who was actually testing Jesus about performing of the Law. (Matthew 22:37) 

Then Jesus added, “And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:39-40)  (Read the rest the story—there’s a twist to proclaim truth in the storyline!)

God, who is Love, tells Moses to tell Aaron how to treat all offerings to God with respect for God.  “I am the Lord” is repeated often because God knows mankind needs constant reminders of who God is and that He alone is Holy.  God is also teaching his priests that all that is given to God must be done with a sincere heart for God. 

Leviticus 22

The Lord said to Moses, ² “Tell Aaron and his sons to treat with respect the sacred offerings the Israelites consecrate to me, so they will not profane my holy name. I am the Lord.

³ “Say to them: ‘For the generations to come, if any of your descendants is ceremonially unclean and yet comes near the sacred offerings that the Israelites consecrate to the Lord, that person must be cut off from my presence. I am the Lord.

⁴ “‘If a descendant of Aaron has a defiling skin disease or a bodily discharge, he may not eat the sacred offerings until he is cleansed. He will also be unclean if he touches something defiled by a corpse or by anyone who has an emission of semen, ⁵ or if he touches any crawling thing that makes him unclean, or any person who makes him unclean, whatever the uncleanness may be. ⁶ The one who touches any such thing will be unclean till evening. He must not eat any of the sacred offerings unless he has bathed himself with water. ⁷ When the sun goes down, he will be clean, and after that he may eat the sacred offerings, for they are his food. ⁸ He must not eat anything found dead or torn by wild animals, and so become unclean through it. I am the Lord.

⁹ “‘The priests are to perform my service in such a way that they do not become guilty and die for treating it with contempt. I am the Lord, who makes them holy.

¹⁰ “‘No one outside a priest’s family may eat the sacred offering, nor may the guest of a priest or his hired worker eat it. ¹¹ But if a priest buys a slave with money, or if slaves are born in his household, they may eat his food. ¹² If a priest’s daughter marries anyone other than a priest, she may not eat any of the sacred contributions. ¹³ But if a priest’s daughter becomes a widow or is divorced, yet has no children, and she returns to live in her father’s household as in her youth, she may eat her father’s food. No unauthorized person, however, may eat it.

¹⁴ “‘Anyone who eats a sacred offering by mistake must make restitution to the priest for the offering and add a fifth of the value to it. ¹⁵ The priests must not desecrate the sacred offerings the Israelites present to the Lord ¹⁶ by allowing them to eat the sacred offerings and so bring upon them guilt requiring payment. I am the Lord, who makes them holy.’”

Unacceptable Sacrifices

¹⁷ The Lord said to Moses, ¹⁸ “Speak to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites and say to them: ‘If any of you—whether an Israelite or a foreigner residing in Israel—presents a gift for a burnt offering to the Lord, either to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering, ¹⁹ you must present a male without defect from the cattle, sheep or goats in order that it may be accepted on your behalf. ²⁰ Do not bring anything with a defect, because it will not be accepted on your behalf. ²¹ When anyone brings from the herd or flock a fellowship offering to the Lord to fulfill a special vow or as a freewill offering, it must be without defect or blemish to be acceptable. ²² Do not offer to the Lord the blind, the injured or the maimed, or anything with warts or festering or running sores. Do not place any of these on the altar as a food offering presented to the Lord. ²³ You may, however, present as a freewill offering an ox or a sheep that is deformed or stunted, but it will not be accepted in fulfillment of a vow. ²⁴ You must not offer to the Lord an animal whose testicles are bruised, crushed, torn or cut. You must not do this in your own land, ²⁵ and you must not accept such animals from the hand of a foreigner and offer them as the food of your God. They will not be accepted on your behalf, because they are deformed and have defects.’”

²⁶ The Lord said to Moses, ²⁷ “When a calf, a lamb or a goat is born, it is to remain with its mother for seven days. From the eighth day on, it will be acceptable as a food offering presented to the Lord. ²⁸ Do not slaughter a cow or a sheep and its young on the same day.

²⁹ “When you sacrifice a thank offering to the Lord, sacrifice it in such a way that it will be accepted on your behalf. ³⁰ It must be eaten that same day; leave none of it till morning. I am the Lord.

³¹ “Keep my commands and follow them. I am the Lord. ³² Do not profane my holy name, for I must be acknowledged as holy by the Israelites. I am the Lord, who made you holy ³³ and who brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord.”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”—Jesus, Matthew 23:37-39 (Read Matthew 23 entirely for the full message of woes declared by Jesus to the Law keepers who added to the Law to gain power and wealth over the people, seeing only themselves worthy before God.)

We are appalled at the Pharisees and Sadducees’ behaviors when we read the woes Jesus pronounced against them until we look inside ourselves and observe our own hearts filled with pride.  We might recall our own judgement of people who come into our churches.  We “size them up” and judge them with merely a first impression based on human instinct.  We gossip with other rule keepers who agree with us.

The Holy Spirit who lives within us will confront and convicts us of being the very person that breaks the heart of God.  If we are listening, we will repent and transform.  If we go on about the business of doing all the churchy things required of us as our adopted habits of behavior, we might miss out on the beautiful, loving relationship that God loves to bless.

Am I making this too simple? Sometimes it is the simple, unnoticed sins of wanting to feel important that slowly erodes the motivation of a once pure heart for God.

The rules for the Levitical line of priests eventually became the “first and greatest commandments” and trumped the relationship God was seeking with His people.

We do the same if our hearts are not pure and our behaviors are mere performance.  

Jesus sought God’s direction often before doing anything significant on earth in his mission “to seek and to save” people.  Who are we to think that seeking God’s direction is not needed for us?  We might know all the church rules but without a growing relationship with our God who created guidelines of behavior that lead us to Him; we are useless to His Kingdom work.  Too strong?  I don’t think so after reading Matthew 23.

We not only need God’s detailed direction and guidance; we need constant reminders of WHY we do what we do—because we love God back and want to please HIM in all we think, say, and do.  This is the why than purifies and motivates our hearts. 

Jesus demonstrated this truth for us as He would “get away by Himself” to seek God first.  We follow his example by seeking God first before beginning each new day that is full of opportunities to love God back, love each other, and tell of His redemption.  His disciples caught on and ask Him to teach them to pray—which Jesus did.  “Hallowed be YOUR Name. May YOUR Kingdom come; May YOUR Will be done” was at the beginning of this profound but simple prayer that reaches the heart of God!

God is looking for us whose hearts are committed to Him!  “The eyes of the LORD search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.” 2 Chronicles 16:9

God’s intentions for Aaron and his sons were to encourage people to give their best to the Lord. The priest who had respect for his ministry and high regard for the sacrifices of God would accept only those animals that met God’s requirements. To send a worshiper away from the altar with a false assurance of forgiveness would be to do great damage to his or her spiritual life.

Lord,

Doing what you say with a heart committed to you is key to our growing relationship with You as we tell others about you.  Cleanse our hearts, renew our minds, restore the joy of your salvation at work within us.  Make us holy before you.  I love you, Lord with all my heart, all my mind, and all my soul.  Fill me with all of you.  Lead me, Lord.

In Jesus Name, Amen