Unsanctified

Leviticus 9:1: It came to pass on the eighth day that Moses called Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel.

The Torah Portion labeled Shemini is described in Leviticus 9:1-11:47 and means “Eight.” Shemini, or the eighth day, is not just a day in the calendar but a day of eternity, the day after the Shabbat, or even a double Shabbat. It is the day of ultimate completion, which holds profound spiritual significance. It’s a day that marks the culmination of a spiritual work, a day that points to finishing a masterpiece.

What all happens on the eighth day? For one, circumcision. Circumcision is the cutting away of the flesh, a symbolic act of spiritual transformation and renewal. The Scriptures say that Yeshua circumcises our hearts, which symbolizes cutting away selfishness, pride, and deceitfulness, which are dead things that do not produce life in and around us. The Torah creates a pattern and understanding, and Yeshua accomplishes the pattern, bringing us a new layer of knowledge and insight. He is the active Word of God that divides between soul and Spirit- an internal circumcision.

Deuteronomy 30:6: And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.

Colossians 2:11:  In Him, you were also circumcised with a circumcision done not by hand, in the stripping away of the body of the flesh through the circumcision of Messiah.

Hebrews 4:12:  For the Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword—piercing right through to a separation of soul and Spirit, joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

On the eighth day, the Priests declared an unclean Israelite clean after a process of purification. The Scriptures also describe Yeshua as a High Priest who purifies and declares us clean, bringing a profound sense of spiritual purity and acceptance, a renewal of the soul.

Leviticus 14:10-11: “And on the eighth day he shall take two male lambs without blemish, one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish, three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering, and one log of oil. Then the priest who makes him clean shall present the man who is to be made clean, and those things, before the Lord, at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.

Hebrews 9:14: How much more will the blood of Messiah—who through the eternal Spirit, offered Himself without blemish to God—cleanse our conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

On the eighth day, an Israelite would give God the first fruits of their land and the womb. The first fruits of the womb are also known as the firstborn, the beginning of your strength, according to Genesis 49:3. The Scriptures call Yeshua the firstborn of creation and the first fruits. He sprouted from the grave on the first day of the week, which is also known as the eighth day, symbolizing the new beginning and spiritual renewal that the eighth day represents.

Exodus 22:29-30: You shall not delay to offer the first of your ripe produce and your juices. The firstborn of your sons you shall give to Me. Likewise, you shall do with your oxen and your sheep. It shall be with its mother seven days; on the eighth day, you shall give it to Me.

Colossians 1:15: He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

1 Corinthians 15:20: But now Messiah has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep (died).

As we read in Leviticus 9, the priests are sanctified or consecrated on the eighth day. After a seven-day purification process, the earthly dwelling of the Tabernacle and Temple, where the Divine Presence rested, is complete. Could this point to the final day of Sukkot, when humans are wholly purified as living Tabernacles? I think so.

2 Chronicles 29:17: Now they began to sanctify on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the month, they came to the vestibule of the LORD. So they sanctified the house of the LORD in eight days, and on the sixteenth day of the first month, they finished.

Philippians 1:6: I am sure of this very thing—that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the Day of Messiah Yeshua.

The Scriptures describe God creating the universe in seven days, with a division and unification each day. For instance, God created light and separated it from darkness. There is a re-unification when God calls it one day. Holissa Alewine, author of The Creation Gospel, details this theory in her writings (here). Day two is when God divides the waters and then reunifies them on the second day. On day three, God separates the land from the sea and, again, a unification of the day. Day four is when the Holy One commands the rulers, symbolized by celestial lights, to divide between night and day, and then He unifies the day into one. On day five, God places the birds into the upper waters and the fish into the lower waters, a division allowing for the multiplication of like kinds, the command God gave on day five.

On the sixth day, the division must have been with the trees or a boundary of space. These trees are good to eat from but separate yourself from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Next comes the Shabbat, a day when all creation rests in the work of God’s hands. Shabbat is another level of oneness or completion, as it is part of the definition of a day that seeks shalom, another word that encompasses wholeness. I suggest God divided the male from the female on the eighth day so they would become one when they reunited. This understanding would mean that Sukkot or Feast of Tabernacles, an appointed time with a bonus eighth day, points to the future when the Holy One becomes one with His created beings. It is when all creation is complete and fulfills its purpose of being restored and repaired to its original glory.

Genesis 2:21-22 &24: And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept, and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place (divided). Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man, He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man…Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife (unification), and they shall become one flesh.

Ephesians 5:29-32: For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it—just as Messiah also does His community, because we are members of His body. “For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is great, but I am talking about Messiah and His community.

Yeshua is the King who unified the kingdoms of Heaven and Earth when He ruled over His flesh by the Spirit. Wherever the Spirit reigns, therein lies the Kingdom of God. He is the fullness of the Word and Spirit. For thousands and gazillions of years, religions have consistently fought to separate the Word from the Spirit by calling obedience to the Word legalistic or even attributing death to it. Instead, our focus should be on becoming a testimony showing the power that comes when the Word and Spirit unite.

Deuteronomy 6:4: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!

All the things that happened on the eighth day are essentially the same. Humans become consecrated as a Kingdom of Priests to draw near the Holy One. We can do this only when Yeshua circumcises our hearts from anything unclean. This way, when we draw near, we are not consumed by His Presence, which goes from being external to internal. Adam and Chavah initially drew near to each other, which made them echad or one, in perfect unity with God and each other. In other words, the eighth day is when the purification process is complete and the Divine Presence or Holy Spirit can completely fill us. 

The enemy discovered in this Torah Portion is incompleteness, which can only happen if we do not allow the sanctification process to unfold and if we do not let the Creator complete His work. If we do not show up for the purpose God initially created us for, we will not get to positively engage in the final Great Day, which is the eighth day.