5. Circumcision
Circumcision is another ceremonial commandment with deep spiritual meaning. It is a physical token, a symbolic sign in the flesh, of total commitment and obedience to the God of Israel. It signifies the absolute degree of holiness the Most High requires of His people. Yahweh said to Abraham:| Genesis 17: | 11: “And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.” |
| 1 Corinthians 7: | 18: “Is any man called being circumcised? let him not
become uncircumcised. Is any called in uncircumcision? let him not be
circumcised. 19: Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God.” |
On our Sermon Note 98 concerning circumcision further explains that decision and how that even though the ceremonial aspect of the circumcision command was suspended for Gentile believers, its moral objective (holiness) for all believers - abides forever! This leads us to the opinion that if the ceremonial law concerning physical circumcision, which is by far one of the most powerful in Scripture, was suspended for Gentile believers, then the ceremonial laws, concerning ‘the wearing of phylacteries,’ ‘mixing wool with linen,’ ‘wearing fringed garments’ etc., which are all far less permanent than being physically circumcised, are also temporarily suspended for Gentile believers - during this age at any rate.
6. The Wearing of Phylacteries
Phylacteries are prayer bands containing short extracts from Yahweh's law. They were worn on the forehead and forearm.| Deuteronomy 6: | 4: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: 5: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. 6: And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. 8: And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. 9: And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.” |
| Hebrews 8: | 8: “...Behold, the days come, saith the lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: 9: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. 10: For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people.” |
7. Mixing Linen with Wool
Linen is cloth made from flax, a blue flowered plant cultivated for its textile fibre and its seed called linseed. Garments made of linen were used primarily in the worship of Yahweh. Linen was not to be mixed with wool any more than the sacred is to be mingled with the secular, or truth mixed with error. This law symbolizes, amongst other things, the need to keep holy and secular things apart.| Leviticus 19: | 19: “Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind: thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed: neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woollen come upon thee.” |
The Scriptures tell us that linen was used in the following instances:
- The Tabernacle curtains and court were made of linen. (Exodus 26:1, Exodus 27:9)
- The Temple Veil was linen. (2 Chronicles 3:14)
- The Priest’s garments were linen. (Leviticus 16,1 Samuel 22:18, Ezekiel 44:17-19)
- The temple singers wore linen. (2 Chronicles 5:12)
- The prophet Samuel and king David wore linen ephods on special occasions. (1 Samuel 2:18, 2 Samuel 6:14)
- The state dress of Joseph and Mordecai were made of linen. (Genesis 41:42, Esther 8:15)
- Heavenly messengers wore linen. (Ezekiel 9:2, Daniel 10:5)
- The Saviour’s body was wrapped in linen before being placed in the tomb. (Matthew 27:59)
- The Lamb’s Wife will be clothed in linen, which represents holiness and righteousness. (Revelation 19:8)
| Ezekiel 44: | 18: “They shall have linen bonnets upon their heads, and shall have linen breeches upon their loins; they shall not gird themselves with any thing that causeth sweat.” |
8. Fringed Garments
Another symbolic command Israel was given concerned the wearing of fringed borders of blue on their garments. Like the phylacteries on the forehead and forearm these fringed borders would also remind the wearer to keep the commandments of the Lord: each tassel being a symbol of an individual command.| Numbers 15: | 38: “Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them
that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout
their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders
aribband of blue: 39: And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring.” |
9. An Unblemished Priesthood
In ancient Israel no physically blemished descendant of Aaron was allowed to officiate as a priest. Blindness, lameness, a flat nose, the itch, a broken foot, a hunch back, all these and other physical blemishes were enough to keep a person out of the officiating priesthood. Yahweh wanted His priests to be physically perfect; the lesson being that they should be spiritually perfect. That is, they shouldn't be spiritually blind, deaf, deformed, ugly or impotent.| Leviticus 21: | 16: “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 17: Speak unto Aaron, saying, Whosoever he be of thy seed in their generations that hath any blemish, let him not approach to offer the bread of his God. 18: For whatsoever man he be that hath a blemish, he shall not approach: a blind man, or a lame, or he that hath a flat nose, or any thing superfluous, 19: Or a man that is brokenfooted, or brokenhanded, 20: Or crookbackt, or a dwarf, or that hath a blemish in his eye, or be scurvy, or scabbed, or hath his stones broken; 21: No man that hath a blemish of the seed of Aaron the priest shall come nigh to offer the offerings of the LORD made by fire: he hath a blemish; he shall not come nigh to offer the bread of his God. 22: He shall eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy, and of the holy. 23: Only he shall not go in unto the vail, nor come nigh unto the altar, because he hath a blemish; that he profane not my sanctuaries: for I the LORD do sanctify them.” |
10. Uncleanness of Men & Women
The ceremonial laws concerning uncleanness are further examples of commandments which contain deep spiritual truths. When we study these laws we soon realize that symbolic uncleanness is all around. A very brief reference to them is given below.| Leviticus 15: | 16: “And if any man's seed of copulation go out from him, then he shall wash all his flesh in water, and be unclean until the even. 17: And every garment, and every skin, whereon is the seed of copulation, shall be washed with water, and be unclean until the even. 18: The woman also with whom man shall lie with seed of copulation, they shall both bathe themselves in water, and be unclean until the even. 19: And if a woman have an issue, and her issue in her flesh be blood, she shall be put apart seven days: and whosoever toucheth her shall be unclean until the even. 20: And every thing that she lieth upon in her separation shall be unclean: every thing also that she sitteth upon shall be unclean. 21: And whosoever toucheth her bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even. 22: And whosoever toucheth any thing that she sat upon shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even. 23: And if it be on her bed, or on any thing whereon she sitteth, when he toucheth it, he shall be unclean until the even.” |
| Numbers 19: | 16: “And whosoever toucheth one that is slain with a sword in the open fields, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days.” |
What do these laws mean for believers in the 20th/21st century?
What deep spiritual lessons do they contain which are relevant in this day? The answer is: they teach us that all mankind is spiritually impure and unclean! Never a month goes by but that most of us will come in contact with someone with a skin disease, a menstruating woman, a corpse, or furniture used by such folk. In ancient days all such physical contacts resulted in a person becoming ceremonially unclean. But what of today? Do the ceremonial aspects of these laws still apply? To be sure physical uncleanness should be washed away with soap and water as soon as possible; (or some disinfectant used if a contagious disease is involved) but what of the spiritual uncleanness those physical conditions symbolized in those commandments? How can the human race be purified from spiritual uncleanness? We echo the words of the prophet Isaiah who, after a brief glimpse at Yahweh's holiness, cried out:| Isaiah 6: | 5: “Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.” |
Is there escape from the frightening variety of sin and its resulting spiritual uncleanness?
I am happy to report that there is: and it is found in the Saviour. Sure, we could and should wash with soap and water and be physically clean: but how can we wash away the filth of unbelief and sin? The answer is: we need the blood of Jesus Christ to cleanse us from all sin. Nothing else will cleanse us.| 1 John 1: | 7: “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” |
| Titus 2: | 14: “Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” |
| James 4: | 8: “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.” |
11. The Big Question Is
Do modern believers in Yahweh the Almighty God of Israel need to keep the ceremonial (instructional) requirements of the above named commandments? In other words: do we need to offer 'animal sacrifices,' 'circumcise our baby sons,' 'wear phylacteries' and 'fringed garments?' Is it a sin to mix fibres: i.e. 'wool with nylon,' 'polyester with cotton,' 'linen with wool?' Is it wrong for a physically blind or blemished person to minister in the church? Are undertakers, doctors and nurses to be classified as 'unclean' seeing that they daily come in contact with symbolically unclean bodies? How do we relate to the ceremonial aspects of these commands?My answer, which is based on the spirit-directed decision of the Apostles concerning circumcision in Acts 15, is as follows: The moral directives and objectives of ceremonial commandments stand forever: they are eternal. But the symbolic tokens or instructional ceremonies given to teach those moral lessons are not required of Gentile followers of the Most High: not in this age at any rate.
Having said that, we are ever conscious of the moral lessons the ceremonial commands contain: and since most of them aim at forgiveness, holiness, obedience and purity we are happy to study them in depth and live up to their moral requirements.
12. Summary
We have seen that Yahweh’s commandments fall into several categories and that each law contains at its heart an eternal truth. As the Scriptures teach:| Psalm 111: | 7: “...All his commandments are sure. 8: They stand fast for ever and ever...” |
- Animal Sacrifices
- Before we can approach Yahweh's throne for mercy or blessing we must come with faith in the blood of Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah, the Lamb of God.
- Circumcision
- All true believers must put away the sins of the flesh and aim for holiness and total commitment to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
- Phylacteries
- We must constantly keep the laws of Yahweh in mind (symbolized by the forehead) and put them into practice (symbolized by the forearm or hand.)
- Linen / Wool / Fringed Garments
- We must never mix or dilute the sacred with the secular. Nor should we forget or be ashamed of the eternal laws of the Most High.
- Unblemished Priesthood
- Those who officiate in spiritual matters should be people of the very highest moral standards: because spiritual defects disqualify from service.
- Spiritual Impurity
- We live in a sinful world and daily come in contact with sin's effects. Only the blood of Jesus Christ (Yeshua the Messiah) can cleanse us from sin. See our Everlasting Gospel Library for details about spiritual cleansing, salvation and life eternal.
Go Here to Ceremonial Laws Part I
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