Habla a Aarón y dile: Ninguno de tus descendientes por sus generaciones, que tenga algún defecto, se acercará para ofrecer el pan de su Dios. Porque ningún varón en el cual haya defecto se acercará; varón ciego, o cojo, o mutilado, o sobrado, o varón que tenga quebradura de pie o rotura de mano, o jorobado, o enano, o que tenga nube en el ojo, o que tenga sarna, o empeine, o testículo magullado. Ningún varón de la descendencia del sacerdote Aarón, en el cual haya defecto, se acercará para ofrecer las ofrendas encendidas para Jehová. Hay defecto en él; no se acercará a ofrecer el pan de su Dios.
Levítico 21:17-21
Después de varios días de estudiar este pasaje del Antiguo Testamento y considerar las razones por las cuales los hombres con impedimentos físicos no podían servir en el tabernáculo, creo que hemos captado ya las enseñanzas que encierra. Sólo quisiera decir algo más, a modo de aclarar la frase “que tenga nube en el ojo”. En hebreo, la palabra “nube” quiere decir: oscuridad, defecto o confusión. Es importante saberlo porque la palabra nube en sí misma no aclara mucho el significado de la expresión.
Hoy día podemos ir directamente al Nuevo Testamento y aprender lo que este versículo tiene que ver con nuestra vida cotidiana y nuestros ministerios. Un hombre con una nube en el ojo no podía servir. Tú sabes lo que significa tener algo extraño dentro del ojo. Es irritante. No puedes ver bien y te hace difícil concentrarte en cualquier otra cosa. A veces, producto de esta situación, envías mensajes confusos y equivocados a la gente que te rodea. Es lo que le pasó hace unas semanas a una amiga que tiene años con nosotros, sirviendo en la iglesia. Estaba conversando conmigo después de la reunión de oración. ¡Pero mientras hablaba me guiñaba el ojo! Por lo menos es lo que algunos hubiesen pensado de haberla visto, pero yo sabía que tenía algo en el ojo. Nos reímos mucho cuando le dije que iba a contarle a mi esposa lo que me estaba haciendo.
Ahora hablemos en serio… Mucha gente mira a los pastores y líderes de la iglesia y piensa que debe de ser lindo que tanta gente los busque y respete. No saben que una de las cosas más difíciles en el ministerio es tratar con personas que te atacan, que mienten en contra de ti y te hacen daño. A veces el ministerio se vuelve duro porque hay que tratar de no cruzar la tenue y delgada línea que separa el ser tonto del permitir que tu corazón se endurezca. Es muy fácil tener un espíritu que no perdona. Y cuando no perdonas, te vuelves incapaz de juzgar las cosas de manera piadosa. Empiezas a tomar decisiones basándote en tus emociones, en tu perspectiva torcida, en el deseo de cuidar de ti mismo. Cuando tus juicios se basan en suposiciones equivocadas ya no puedes ministrar.
Una de las tentaciones más grandes de Satanás es enviar a enemigos para que nos acusen de cosas tan malas y tontas que llegan a ser ridículas. ¿Por qué hace algo así? Porque sabe que hay personas dispuestas a creer cualquier cosa. Pero también hay otra razón: para nosotros, la tentación consiste en odiar a los enemigos que nos acusan, pero también en guardar rencor hacia aquellos que creyeron sus mentiras. No lo hagas. En el largo plazo, no vale la pena. Debes perdonar como Cristo te ha perdonado.
Aquí hay algunos versículos que podrías considerar:
Mateo 6:12: “Y perdónanos nuestras deudas, como también nosotros perdonamos a nuestros deudores”.
Mateo 6:14-15: “Porque si perdonáis a los hombres sus ofensas, os perdonará también a vosotros vuestro Padre celestial; mas si no perdonáis a los hombres sus ofensas, tampoco vuestro Padre os perdonará vuestras ofensas”.
Mateo 7:1-5: “No juzguéis, para que no seáis juzgados. Porque con el juicio con que juzgáis, seréis juzgados, y con la medida con que medís, os será medido. ¿Y por qué miras la paja que está en el ojo de tu hermano, y no echas de ver la viga que está en tu propio ojo? ¿O cómo dirás a tu hermano: Déjame sacar la paja de tu ojo, y he aquí la viga en el ojo tuyo?! Hipócrita! saca primero la viga de tu propio ojo, y entonces verás bien para sacar la paja del ojo de tu hermano!”
“Speak to Aaron, saying: ‘No man of your descendants in succeeding generations, who has any defect, may approach to offer the bread of his God. ‘For any man who has a defect shall not approach: a man blind or lame, who has a marred face or any limb too long, ‘a man who has a broken foot or broken hand, ‘or is a hunchback or a dwarf, or a man who has a defect in his eye, or eczema or scab, or is a eunuch. ‘No man of the descendants of Aaron the priest, who has a defect, shall come near to offer the offerings made by fire to the Lord. He has a defect; he shall not come near to offer the bread of his God.” [1]
Leviticus 21:17-21
Well after several days of studying this passage and seeing that there are reasons why physical impairments disqualified men from ministry in the Old Testament, I think we’re getting that idea down pat.
Today let’s just go right to the New Testament teaching which has to do with our very day lives and ministries. The next phrase that we have to study in this passage says that if a man had a defect in his eye he couldn’t minister in the tabernacle. You know what it’s like to get something in your eye. It irritates you and clouds your vision. You have a hard time thinking about anything else. You can even send out the wrong signals to people. That’s what happened to a friend of mine in a humorous way several weeks ago. My friend was sending me the wrong message. This friend is a young woman in the church that has been ministering with us for years. She was speaking to me after prayer meeting but as she spoke, she kept winking at me. At least that’s the way some people could have seen it but I knew that she had something in her eye. We had a good laugh because I told her that I was going to tell my wife what she had been doing!
Now let’s get serious…
A lot of people look at those who are in leadership and think, “Wow, it must be great to have so many people to you and respect you.” Little do they know that one of the hardest things in the ministry over the long haul is dealing with the people that attack you, that lie about you and that just down right hurt you. Ministry is tough because you have to ride that fine line between being gullible and being hard hearted. It’s so easy to have an unforgiving spirit. When you don’t forgive you are no longer able to judge things in a godly way. You begin making decisions based on your own emotions, your own twisted perspective and your own self preservation. You’re no longer able to minister when you judge things based on wrong assumptions. One of the biggest temptations that Satan throws our way is sending us enemies that accuse us of things that are so completely wrong they’re just ridiculous. Why would he do that? Obviously some people will believe anything but there’s another reason. The temptation for us is to hate our enemies or at least harbor bitterness toward those that have believed the lies. Don’t do it. It’s not worth it in the long run. Forgive as Christ has forgiven you.
Here are some important verses to consider today.
Leviticus 21:17-21
Well after several days of studying this passage and seeing that there are reasons why physical impairments disqualified men from ministry in the Old Testament, I think we’re getting that idea down pat.
Today let’s just go right to the New Testament teaching which has to do with our very day lives and ministries. The next phrase that we have to study in this passage says that if a man had a defect in his eye he couldn’t minister in the tabernacle. You know what it’s like to get something in your eye. It irritates you and clouds your vision. You have a hard time thinking about anything else. You can even send out the wrong signals to people. That’s what happened to a friend of mine in a humorous way several weeks ago. My friend was sending me the wrong message. This friend is a young woman in the church that has been ministering with us for years. She was speaking to me after prayer meeting but as she spoke, she kept winking at me. At least that’s the way some people could have seen it but I knew that she had something in her eye. We had a good laugh because I told her that I was going to tell my wife what she had been doing!
Now let’s get serious…
A lot of people look at those who are in leadership and think, “Wow, it must be great to have so many people to you and respect you.” Little do they know that one of the hardest things in the ministry over the long haul is dealing with the people that attack you, that lie about you and that just down right hurt you. Ministry is tough because you have to ride that fine line between being gullible and being hard hearted. It’s so easy to have an unforgiving spirit. When you don’t forgive you are no longer able to judge things in a godly way. You begin making decisions based on your own emotions, your own twisted perspective and your own self preservation. You’re no longer able to minister when you judge things based on wrong assumptions. One of the biggest temptations that Satan throws our way is sending us enemies that accuse us of things that are so completely wrong they’re just ridiculous. Why would he do that? Obviously some people will believe anything but there’s another reason. The temptation for us is to hate our enemies or at least harbor bitterness toward those that have believed the lies. Don’t do it. It’s not worth it in the long run. Forgive as Christ has forgiven you.
Here are some important verses to consider today.
Matthew 6:12, “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”
Matthew 6:14, 15, “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. “But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” [3]
Matthew 7:1-5, “Judge not, that you be not judged. “For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. “And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? “Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? “Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. [4]
[1]The Holy Bible, New King James Version, (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc.) 1982.
[2]The Holy Bible, New King James Version, (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc.) 1982.
[3]The Holy Bible, New King James Version, (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc.) 1982.
[4]The Holy Bible, New King James Version, (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc.) 1982.
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