This is a devotion written by Joni Eareckson Tada my Women's Devotional Bible.
Come Before God in Purity
I recall the good old days-or should I say the bad old days-when I was struggling to understand God's view of my disability. It didn't help matters when I stumbled across Leviticus 21:16-24. "No man who has any defect may come near (to offer sacrifices to God): no man who is blind or lame, disfigured or deformed' no man with a crippled food or hand."
I slammed shut my Bible. I knew it-God did have a problem with my handicap. It seemed my handicap offended him in the same way my wheelchair offended waiters in restaurants!
But years later I discovered the true meaning behind these verses. Leviticus 21 is a strict list of do's and don'ts for men entering the priesthood of Aaron. Such a priest had to be pure with no physical defects. Why? Because the priest was a physical symbol of a future spiritual reality-a very important type of the coming Messiah. God was looking for a physically perfect man as a priest to represent the spiritually perfect man, the Lord Jesus.
That's why Old Testament priests could not be lame, blind, or handicapped in any way. A violation of the Old Testament picture would defile the New Testament fulfillment of Christ's perfection a sour high priest.
This passage can speak to us today, whether we're disabled or not. As part of the "royal priesthood" (1 Peter 2:9), God welcomes us into his presence, accepting us no matter how "disfigured or deformed" we are. But when we come before him in worship, we need to make certain that we have been washed in Jesus' blood and our hearts are clean, harboring no blemish of pride or defect of impurity. We may not be tied to strict do's and so nots, but if God wanted Old Testament people to be pure when they came before him, surely he expects the same of us.
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