Lame Priests
Leviticus 21:18 "For no one who has a blemish shall draw near, a man blind or lame, or one who has a mutilated face or a limb too long."
As I sit in church today, I accidentally sat near the group who is hard of hearing. They praise Ya with their hands and listen by watching their fearless leader: the sign language interpreter. She does a wonderful job. Standing on stage next to the speaking pastor, she echoes his words for the benefit of the deaf. As she beautifully signs, I remembered Leviticus 21:18. Here Yahweh says that no priest who conducts his services in front of the crowd should have a debilitating handicap that impedes on their ability to do their duties. What if the sign language interpreter was missing a few fingers? What if one hand was deformed at birth? Would she still be great at interpreting? Yes. But would she still be the lead interpreter for the entire church? Probably not. It would be so distracting that others would have a hard time paying attention to God's message. For that reason God reminds us to be practical. God asked me to step down from leading praise music because I had headaches. My disability impeded my physical endurance. I needed the physical endurance to conduct long practices so that our praise band would have a good music set. I stepped down and Yah gave me an alternative: leading bible studies. Preparation for a bible study requires much less physical stamina. It is a better fit. There is always a place to serve in God's house for those who are willing. Be open to God's guidance when submitting yourself to the Lord. Let Him guide you. He is just like a parent teaching their baby how to walk. He wants us to take the first steps. And when we start to walk, He stands by our side. He guides us to the destination of His choice.
Image caption: A Levite priest in white robes and a multicolored breast plate carrying a sensor and dispersing smoke.
Image taken from https://picryl.com/media/lev-8-high-priest-in-robes-and-breastplate-3ec3b7
