L-INTRO-8: Why were the Samaritans so despised during Yeshua’s time?

Leviticus is organized in a very logical way. 

If a Table of Contents were created for this book, it would probably look something like the following:

Chapters 1–7: The Laws on ritual sacrifice
Chapters 8–10: The Ordination of the Priesthood
Chapters 11–16: Ritual purity and cleanliness
Chapters 17–27: Incorporating holiness into one’s daily lifestyle

Now, here’s the thing.

Israel was pretty sporadic when it came to obeying the laws and rules in Leviticus.

How closely they followed these instructions also varied from one generation to the next.

One notable example of Israel getting off track had to do with the bloodline of the High Priests.

The Torah is clear that all High Priests must descend from the line of Aaron.

But sometime later, at Shiloh, priests descended from Moses’ line took over the priesthood.

This was a no-no. 

King David would later rectify this by restoring the priesthood to the family of ZADOK.

ZADOK was a proper descendant of Aaron.

Later, when Israel split into the two kingdoms of Ephraim and Judah…

Each kingdom established its own priests, sacrificial temples, and worship practices.

This was another no-no.

There was supposed to be only… 

ONE priesthood…

ONE central place of worship…

And all worship practices were to follow Torah regulations.

Finally, another perfect example of unkosher worship gone hogwild was the Samaritans. 

These homies veered way off the track during Yeshua’s time.

And they were despised by the mainstream Jews based in Jerusalem.

Why?

On Mount Gerizim, the Samaritans had built their own separate Temple in Samaria.

They created their own version of the Torah called the Samaritan Pentateuch.

And they set up their own priests and rituals.

None of this was accepted by the rabbis in Jerusalem at the time.

Even Yeshua told the Samaritans they had no idea who they were worshiping.

However, we shouldn’t be too critical of the Samaritans.

Because just look at the gentile church today.

We’ve got an institution that has pretty much tossed the Torah in the trash, despite their so-called allegiance to the Messiah of Israel.

Seriously, if you attend a Christian church, when was the last time you heard a spiritually-nourishing message based on Torah?

Probably never, right?

At the end of the day, what we gotta understand about Leviticus is that this is the book that points us back to pure worship as ordained by the Lord.

I’m talking about proper worship.

When we get off track, Leviticus is the original blueprint we can return to and get back on course.

Ya feeling me here?

You’ll discover important spiritual truths you’d never in a million years get on your own.

You’ll also discover what it means to be WHOLE with the Lord.

When I say “whole”, I mean complete order and perfection.

This is the ideal condition which Israel to this day has not met, but will when Messiah returns.

Leviticus will also give you the power to distinguish between “clean” and “unclean” and the “holy” and “unholy”.

You’ll notice that flaws and imperfections found in the natural world were forbidden among God’s servants or in His sanctuary.

This book is gonna give you the priestly perspective on how Israel was to maintain wholeness with the Lord.

Accordingly, Leviticus also points out the many threats that could damage Israel’s relationship with God.

That’s why it contains so many complex instructions and laws.

They are there to teach us how to remain pure.

And how to be restored when contaminated by impurity or sin.

This code of behavior based on the Lord’s justice system set Israel apart from every other nation on earth.

If worldly contamination was left unchecked, it could lead to the terrifying SEPARATION from a Holy God.

So here’s the big takeaway I want you to embed into the deepest recesses of your cranium.

These laws and regulations were for Israel’s benefit.

Lemme say that again.

These laws were for the benefit of and to protect Israel.

Contrary to what you’ll hear in a Christian church, the Law was NOT a curse.

More than any other book in the Bible, Leviticus teaches us what sin really is and the many ways God provided for us to be atoned for and redeemed.

Alright, I think I’ve beaten this horse to death enough for today.

Done.