“Sabbath by sabbath he shall set it in order before Jehovah continually; it shall be a perpetual covenant on the part of the sons of Israel” (v. 8). This signifies that our enjoyment of Christ as our food should be set in order afresh that we may have rest with God continually.
The word sabbath brings in the thought of rest. Sabbath by sabbath, that is, rest by rest, the cakes are arranged as food for God and also for us.
“It shall be for Aaron and his sons, and they shall eat it in a holy place; for it is a most holy portion for him from the offerings of Jehovah by fire, as a perpetual due” (v. 9). This signifies that we, God’s serving ones, should enjoy Christ as a most holy portion of the food offered to God in the church as the holy place.
It is necessary that we interpret the holy place in verse 9 as signifying the church. It is in the church that we offer Christ to God as His food supply for His enjoyment. Then we shall enjoy this food. We shall enjoy what God enjoys. Christ is what God enjoys and also what we enjoy.
Here we would note that 24:1-9 unveils that for us, the holy people of God, to live a holy life, we need the arrangement of Christ afresh as the divine light to shine over us and as the divine food to nourish us.
The second main section of Leviticus 24 (vv. 12-23) deals with the death-judgment of the blaspheming of the holy Name. This is very important, for along with the enlightenment and the nourishment we must always honor the divine Name. We must take care of the Name of our God.
The story of the blaspheming of the holy Name is recorded after the record concerning the arranging of the showbread table. This signifies that in our enjoyment of Christ in His fullness we should sanctify the holy Name and not profane it.
In the prayer in Matthew 6:9-11, the first petition is “Let Your name be sanctified” (v. 9). To sanctify the Lord’s name is to separate it as something unique. The Lord’s name is unique, and it should not be put with other names. To sanctify, to separate, the name of the Lord from common names is to honor and respect the holy Name.
In Leviticus 24:10 and 11 we are told that “the son of an Israelite woman, whose father was an Egyptian...blasphemed the Name and cursed.” This story signifies that the joining of a man of God with a man of the world brings forth a result that will profane God, causing the profaning one to be cut off from the enjoyment of Christ in His fullness. According to this chapter, if we profane the name of God, making it common and not sanctifying it, we shall be finished with the enjoyment of Christ as our shining light and nourishing food.
In Leviticus 24 we see that we need to take care of our being enlightened and of our being nourished. In order to enjoy Christ as our light and as our food, we must sanctify the holy Name. This means that we must live a life that always sanctifies our God, a life that always regards our God as the unique One, separate from all other names.
This chapter also reveals that we need to take care of both the human life and the animal life. The human life is for the expression of God, and the main purpose of the animal life is to be offered to God. The human life is to express God, and the animal life is to be the means for us to worship God. Therefore, we need to take care of the human life and the animal life, the life for the expression of God and the life for the worship of God.
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