 |  |
"If a man eat of the holy thing unwittingly, then he shall put the fifth part thereto
. . . . . they shall not profane the holy thing" (Lev. 22: 14, 15).
"Neither shall ye profane My holy name; but I will be hallowed among the children
of Israel; I am the Lord which allow you" (Lev. 22: 32).
The word translated "profane" is chalal, and means "to penetrate", and so, in its more
intensive forms, it means ruthlessly to violate all sacred bounds, brazenly to enter holy
ground. The adjective chol is rendered "unholy" in Lev. 10: 10, where it is placed in
contrast with "holy" and "clean":--
"That ye may put a difference between holy and unholy: and between unclean and clean."
The idea of being "common" in opposition to
"sacred"
can be seen in
Ezek. 48: 12-15, where chol is translated "profane":--
"This oblation of the land . . . . . a thing most holy . . . . . and the five thousand that are
left in the breadth . . . . . shall be a profane place for the city."
That this "profane" place simply means, the place for the common people is seen by
the concluding words of the verse, "for dwelling, and for suburbs".
Blemish.
Not only are uncleanness and profaneness placed in contrast with holiness, but, in the
setting aside from holy service all that are physically blemished, another aspect is
typified.
"Speak unto Aaron, saying, whoever he be of thy seed in their generation that hath any
blemish, let him not approach to offer the bread of his God . . . . . he hath a blemish; that
he profane not My sanctuaries" (Lev. 21: 17-23).
What is true of the priest is also true of the offering:--
"Whatsoever hath a blemish, that shall ye not offer; for it shall not be acceptable for
you . . . . . it shall be perfect to be accepted: there shall be no blemish therein"
(Lev. 22: 18-25).
How these types force us to the blessed realization of the fullness of the Lord Jesus
Christ! Both as Offering and High Priest He was "without blemish and without spot",
"holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners", and can we not see in Eph. 1: 4-6 the
close connection between holiness, and acceptance in the Perfect One?
"That we should be holy and without blame . . . . . accepted in the Beloved."
Holiness and sin.
The removal of defilement in order to attain to holiness is set forth in a great variety of
ways in Leviticus. We have rinsing in water, washing in water, sprinkling with blood,
anointing with oil, and the making of atonement, in order to cleanse. Some of these