Leviticus 10:6-11: a reflection

6Moses said to Aaron, and to Eleazar and to Ithamar, his sons, “Don’t let the hair of your heads go loose, and don’t tear your clothes, so that you don’t die, and so that he will not be angry with all the congregation; but let your brothers, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the LORD has kindled. 7You shall not go out from the door of the Tent of Meeting, lest you die; for the anointing oil of the LORD is on you.” They did according to the word of Moses. 8Then the LORD said to Aaron, 9“You and your sons are not to drink wine or strong drink whenever you go into the Tent of Meeting, or you will die. This shall be a statute forever throughout your generations. 10You are to make a distinction between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean. 11You are to teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the LORD has spoken to them by Moses.”

In instructing the priests, God gives them a task that reaches to the heart of their calling: You are to make a distinction between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean; and you are to teach the children of Israel all the statutes. The priests were to be discerning, distinguishing the holy from the common, the clean from the unclean, not treating all things as the same. Discernment, the ability to distinguish rightly, was part of their calling; they were to know the difference and live and teach accordingly.

Notice the calling to discernment: to distinguish the holy from the common, the clean from the unclean. The priests were not to treat all things as the same, blurring the difference between the holy and the common; they were to discern, to distinguish, to recognize the difference and honor it. Discernment, the ability to tell the holy from the common, the clean from the unclean, was essential to their service. They were to make distinctions, not treating everything alike, but recognizing and honoring the difference between what was holy and what was common.

That calling to discernment is worth taking to heart, for we too are called to discern, not treating all things as the same. We can blur distinctions, treating the holy and the common as if they were the same, failing to discern the difference between what is set apart for God and what is ordinary, between the clean and the unclean; but the priests were called to distinguish. Discernment, the ability to tell the difference and honor it, is part of a life lived toward God. Do not treat all things as the same, blurring the distinction between the holy and the common; cultivate discernment, distinguishing what is holy and set apart for God from what is common, and honoring the difference. Learn to discern between the holy and the common, the clean and the unclean, in your own life, as the priests were called to make such distinctions, rather than treating everything alike; for discernment, recognizing and honoring the difference between the holy and the common, is part of living rightly toward God.

Lord, in instructing the priests, you give them a task that reaches to the heart of their calling: you are to make a distinction between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean; and you are to teach the children of Israel all the statutes. The priests were to be discerning, distinguishing the holy from the common, not treating all things as the same. Discernment was part of their calling. Show me the calling to discernment: to distinguish the holy from the common, the clean from the unclean. The priests were not to treat all things as the same, blurring the difference; they were to discern, to recognize the difference and honor it. Discernment was essential to their service. They were to make distinctions, recognizing the difference between what was holy and what was common. Take that calling to my heart, for I too am called to discern, not treating all things as the same. I can blur distinctions, treating the holy and the common as if they were the same, failing to discern the difference between what is set apart for you and what is ordinary; but the priests were called to distinguish. Discernment is part of a life lived toward you. Keep me from treating all things as the same, blurring the distinction between the holy and the common; help me cultivate discernment, Lord, distinguishing what is holy and set apart for you from what is common, and honoring the difference. Help me learn to discern between the holy and the common in my own life.