This morning I am pondering an interesting scripture from the book of the Prophet Ezekiel, as follows:
Ezekiel 44:17-19NIV:
[17] “ 'When they enter the gates of the inner court, they are to wear linen clothes; they must not wear any woolen garment while ministering at the gates of the inner court or inside the temple. [18] They are to wear linen turbans on their heads and linen undergarments around their waists. They must not wear anything that makes them perspire. [19] When they go out into the outer court where the people are, they are to take off the clothes they have been ministering in and are to leave them in the sacred rooms, and put on other clothes, so that the people are not consecrated through contact with their garments."
The very last line is what caught my attention, the people could become consecrated (sanctified or made holy) through contact with the garments of the Priests. When I read that I was immediately reminded of how people touched Jesus' cloak and were healed instantly. I wanted to understand the reason and there was a cross reference to a scripture in Leviticus so I turned there and found the following verses with a similar context:
Leviticus 6:17-18, 26-27 NIV:
[17] "It must not be baked with yeast; I have given it as their share of the food offerings presented to me. Like the sin offering and the guilt offering, it is most holy. [18] Any male descendant of Aaron may eat it. For all generations to come it is his perpetual share of the food offerings presented to the Lord. Whatever touches them will become holy. ' ”
[26] "The priest who offers it shall eat it; it is to be eaten in the sanctuary area, in the courtyard of the tent of meeting. [27] Whatever touches any of the flesh will become holy, and if any of the blood is spattered on a garment, you must wash it in the sanctuary area."
It seems to me that there is a Spiritual principle being laid out here that finds its ultimate fulfillment in Christ Jesus. In each of the cases, there are offerings that are being made, offerings that are meant to bring forgiveness for sins, and they are ministered unto God in the Holy of Holies, that inner sanctum where only the priests were allowed. They represent the cleansing and purification of the people for their sins, which obviously Jesus fulfilled once and for all on the cross (see Heb. 10: 1-18).
The Hebrew word that is translated consecrated is the word Quadash and it means to be set aside, set apart for God, as in God's portion. Under the old covenant the priests were considered set apart to service of God, and the tribe of Levi was specifically selected or set apart. As they are God's portion, they are provided for by God, and this is described quickly in the following verses from Ezekiel 44:28-30 NIV:
[28] “ 'I am to be the only inheritance the priests have. You are to give them no possession in Israel; I will be their possession. [29] They will eat the grain offerings, the sin offerings and the guilt offerings; and everything in Israel devoted to the Lord will belong to them. [30] The best of all the firstfruits and of all your special gifts will belong to the priests. You are to give them the first portion of your ground meal so that a blessing may rest on your household."
Thus, those which are made holy, set apart for God are provided for by God.
Now jumping forward to the verses that popped into my head concerning people who were healed by touching the garment of Jesus, we find a couple of descriptions, the most well known being the woman with the internal bleeding (Luke 8:40-48). She is healed the moment she touches Jesus' outer garment. Later we find hundreds of people trying to touch His garment, for all who did were healed - Matthew 14:34-36 NIV: "When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret. [35] And when the men of that place recognized Jesus, they sent word to all the surrounding country. People brought all their sick to him [36] and begged him to let the sick just touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed."
So my conjecture is that this healing of the people is the same thing as what we see alluded to in Leviticus and Ezekiel. The people when they touch the cloak of the perfect sacrifice (Jesus) are made holy, and healed. The word most commonly used for being saved or salvation is the Greek word sozo which means both salvation for the soul, protection from the requirements of the law, but also healing and cleansing. In a very real way, they were experiencing the reality of God's Kingdom present on the earth, made possible through the sacrifice of Jesus. being healed both internally (soul) and externally (body). It was as if, when they touched the garment of Jesus, some of His holiness, His reality affected them, and they received sozo.
It only makes sense that if this passing of holiness was true for the old testament regulations, it would be true in the greater reality as demonstrated by Jesus. There is clearly so much more to all this, and I am surely just scratching the surface of the Kingdom realities.
Lord help us to understand and experience the fullness of all that You have for us, Your church.
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