Steve Conover: Thank you for joining us for the Friends of Israel Today. I'm Steve Conover, executive director of the Friends of Israel, and with me is our host and teacher, Chris Katulka.

Chris Katulka: Hey Steve. You know, a great place for our listeners to get connected with our radio program is to go to our website, foiradio.org. That's where you can connect with us and you can actually hear more than 10 years of content right on that website. With great biblical teaching, talking about Israel and the Jewish people and God's value of the land and his people. And also great guest interviews talking about issues that are happening in Israel in the Middle East today. Again, be sure to go to foiradio.org. Now, Steve, a couple of months ago, you and I were in Israel together and we were sitting around and I did a devotional on Leviticus chapter eight. When God set apart Aaron to be the high priest, he sanctified him. And after I got done with that message, you came right up to me and you said, we've got to put that on the radio. So today we're looking at Leviticus 8 and how God called Aaron to be the high priest, but what actually that means for us as we do ministry and we minister to the “Jerusalem” around us.

Steve Conover: I'm very excited for you to hear what Chris has to share. But first in the news, recently released Israeli hostage Keith Siegel thanked US President Donald Trump for his role in securing his release. Siegel, an American citizen, was held by Hamas for 484 days. He expressed constant fear for his life while in captivity saying, “since February 1st, I am a newly released Hamas hostage. I'm a survivor. I was held for 484 days in unimaginable conditions. Every single day felt like it could be my last.”

Chris Katulka: Well, Steve, here's my take. President Trump speaks Middle Eastern. And what do I mean by that? He knows Western style diplomacy in the Middle East smells of weakness. Trump's ultimatum to Hamas produced results—more freed hostages. While negotiations only give Hamas time to perpetuate their war against Israel.

Chris Katulka: I want to talk about a very significant moment in the book of Leviticus, a moment that defines the essence of ministry. It's the moment when Moses ordains Aaron and his sons to serve as the high priest of Israel. This wasn't just a ritual, it was a divine commissioning, setting them apart for a sacred service. Listen to this, Leviticus 8:22 records this powerful moment when he says, “he then presented the other ram, the ram for the ordination, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head. Moses slaughtered the ram and took some of its blood and put it on the lobe of Aaron's right ear, on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot. Moses also brought Aaron's sons forward and put some of the blood on their lobes of their right ears, on the thumbs of their right hands and on the big toes of their right feet, and then he splashed blood against the sides of the altar.”

Now in this passage, there is a direct application of the blood of the sacrifice on Aaron and his sons. The blood is smeared on specific areas of their bodies. This is actually very unusual in Leviticus. Oftentimes the blood of a sacrifice is sprinkled or dashed on the altar to cleanse areas of the altar from impurities. But today we see that it is directly applied, covering sections of Aaron and his son's body. The image is that Aaron and his sons were to be set apart, sanctified, completely set apart from the rest of the Israelites. Their lives were being marked. They were being identified with service to the tabernacle, to the people of Israel and ultimately to the Lord God. This passage is filled with meaning. The application of blood to Aaron's ear, hand, and foot is not random. It's actually a picture of what true ministry is meant to be.

Why? Well, the ear was sanctified to listen, to hear the voice of God and the needs of the people. The hand was sanctified to serve, to offer sacrifices, care for the people and work for the Lord. The foot was sanctified to go, to walk in obedience and bring the presence of God wherever they stepped. So first, let's look at this first part of the body that was sanctified, the ear. This teaches us that ministry begins with listening. Listening to God and listening to others. I would actually say that this is the most vital part of ministry, but also the most difficult. Research actually shows us that the average person hears between 20,000 and 30,000 words during the course of a 24 hour period. The average number of words that you're able to listen to per minute is about 450. Are you listening right now?

Most people usually only remember, you get this? Listen, 17 to 25% of the things they listen to. So before Aaron could serve, he had to learn to listen. God wanted him among his people listening to their needs, listening to their heart, listening to their desires, listening to their shortcomings, listening to their sin. But before he could ever learn to listen to others, first he had to learn to listen to God. Jesus, our high priest, modeled this. Think about it. Jesus often withdrew to pray, spending time listening to the Father before ministering to the people. He said in John 5:19, “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself. He can do only what he sees his Father doing because whatever the Father does, the Son also does.” If Jesus himself ministered by listening to the Father first, how much more should we?

Too often I think we rush into ministry with our own plans instead of waiting to hear God's direction. A sanctified ear is one that listens before it acts. Ministry also requires us to listen to the people that God's put in our charge. To serve the best, one must learn to listen with an open ear. And that's why James says in James 1:19, “everyone should be quick to listen and slow to speak and slow to become angry.” True ministry is not about having the answers, it's about understanding the needs of those we serve. People don't just need to be preached at, they need to be heard. And one of the most Christ-like things that we can do is listen. When Jesus met the woman at the well in John 4, he didn't start by preaching. He started by engaging her in a conversation, hearing her story and speaking truth after he had listened.

The best ministry starts with the ear, hearing God's voice and understanding the hearts of the people that God put in our charge. The second part of the body that was sanctified by Moses was the hand. If listening is the foundation, then serving is the action. Ministry isn't just about what we say, it's about what we do. Aaron needed to know that his hand was sanctified to serve those God put before him, the entire nation of Israel. Really the sanctification of Aaron and his sons to serve Israel shows that the high priest is a representative of God to the people. And not only does God hear us, the heart of God is service. Thinking about others before we think about ourselves. And again, Jesus, our high priest, was the greatest teacher. But before he preached, he served. In John 13, he did something shocking. The Son of man, the one to whom all dominion, power and glory has been given, stooped down and washed his disciples feet.

He says, “Now that I, your Lord and teacher have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet.” (John 13:14). The greatest leaders are not those who stand above others, but those who stoop down to serve them. The hand, when Aaron's hand is sanctified by the blood, it represents practical ministry: feeding the hungry, caring for the sick, comforting the grieving. These are the acts of ministry that Jesus prioritized. Mark 10:45 reminds us, “for even the Son of man did not come to be served, but to serve.” Ministry is not about being the loudest voice in the room. It's about serving before we speak. A meal delivered to a grieving family preaches a lot louder than a sermon. A helping hand to a struggling neighbor shares Christ more than a speech. A simple act of kindness opens doors that words alone never could. Before we speak, we should serve.

The hand sanctified in blood reminds us that true ministry is a sacrificial service. Now the third part of the body anointed was the foot. And this symbolizes movement. Going where God calls us. Stepping into obedience and carrying the presence of God wherever we walk. And this is exactly what Aaron and his sons were called to do. To lead the people in obedience to God's commands by carrying God's presence with them wherever they went. This is why the foot or the big toe is sanctified. God's first command, think about this, his first command to Abraham in Genesis 12:1 was to go. Lech lecha in Hebrew. Go Abraham. Jesus' last command to his disciples, do you know what it was? Go. Matthew 28:19. Ministry is never stagnant. It requires movement, a willingness to step out in faith and to go to the places and people God calls us to. A sanctified foot reminds us that our walk must match our words.

We can't preach about love and refuse to walk toward those in need. We can't speak of grace and refuse to walk in forgiveness. We can't declare faith and refuse to walk in obedience. 1 John 2:6 says this, “Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did.” We don't just represent Christ in what we say, we represent him in how we walk. Ministry is not about being the loudest voice. It's about having a sanctified ear, hand and foot. The ear, again, remember? It reminds us to listen to God and others. The hand reminds us to serve before we speak. The foot reminds us to walk in obedience. The best ministry is not what we say, but how we live. May we be people who listen well, serve faithfully and walk in obedience before we ever open our mouths. So let's go back over what God specifically sanctified on Aaron and his sons to do when they were ordained.

You remember? The ear: listen to God and those that we’re called to serve. The hand: to serve those God put in Aaron's charge, to show the love of God through action. The foot: to be able to listen and serve, that you've got to go, that you've got to go represent God. So those are the big three things. Remember the ear, the hand, the foot. Now, but listen, when we come back, I want to share with you one part of Aaron's body that wasn't smeared with blood that day when he and his sons were anointed, sanctified by Moses.

Steve Conover: Have you ever wondered why God chose the Jewish people to bring his plan of redemption to the world and why after all these years they're back in their ancient homeland? From former executive director of the Friends of Israel, Elwood McQuaid, we're pleased to offer our popular book, It is No Dream. It Is No Dream covers the entire biblical and prophetic program throughout history for the Jewish people, complete with historical photos and maps. You'll see it's nothing short of a miracle that the Jewish people exist today. To purchase your copy of It Is No Dream, visit us at foiradio.org. That's foiradio.org. We'll put a link on our homepage.

Chris Katulka: Welcome back everyone. We're talking about the day Moses sanctified Aaron and his sons to serve the Lord as high priests of Israel. And we saw in Leviticus 8 that Moses smeared blood on Aaron's ear lobe, the thumb and the big toe to set them apart, setting them apart to listen, serve and go. Just listen. Leviticus 8:22, “He then presented the other ram, the ram for the ordination, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head and Moses slaughtered the ram and took some of the blood and put it on the lobe of Aaron's right ear, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.” Now did you notice though that there's one part of the body that was noticeably absent from this sanctification? That's right. It's the mouth. It's the mouth.

It's the tongue. It's the lips. There was no blood that was smeared on this part of Aaron's body. This omission speaks volumes. It suggests from the Lord that the best ministry happens before a word is spoken. It starts with listening, serving, and in obedience. Too often we've come to equate ministry with speaking, with preaching and teaching. It's all amazing. You go to church on Sunday, you hear a message, it's great. You need that. It's encouragement. You need to be fed with God's Word. But God shows us that ministry first requires ears that hear, hands that serve and feet that obey. The sanctification of Aaron's ear, hand, and foot in Leviticus eight symbolizes the foundation of true ministry. This is why I love serving with the Friends of Israel. Before we ever say a word, our teams that serve all around the world are in the Jewish community serving the Jewish community.

And there they listen to their struggles. They volunteer in the local Jewish community and they go in obedience to serve the Lord and love his Chosen People. We've been doing this since our founding in 1938 when our very first executive director, Dr. Victor Buksbazen, a Jewish believer in Jesus, would go to the Port of Oswego, New York to meet beleaguered Holocaust survivors arriving in America for the first time. And he would serve them by giving them coats and clothes and food and more. And he would listen to them in their pain and anguish. And this afforded him the opportunity to share the hope of the Messiah Jesus that lives in him. Because a believer who listens to the hurting, preaches more than a thousand sermons. A believer who serves selflessly, displays the gospel in action. A believer who walks in obedience, proves their faith is real.

Ear, hand, foot. Listening, serving, going… is ministry that earns the right to speak the truth of God's Word into people's lives. The message roots deeper into the heart when the soil is prepared to receive it. The ear, the hand, the foot—the listening, serving and going in obedience tills the soil of one's heart to allow God's Word to grow and bear fruit in one's life. Ministry again is not about the loudest voice. It's about having a sanctified ear, hand and foot. Remember, the ear reminds us to listen to God and others. The hand reminds us to serve before we speak and the foot reminds us to walk in obedience. The best ministry is not what we say but how we live. May we be people who listen well, serve faithfully, and walk in obedience before we ever open our mouths.

Steve Conover: Now Apples of Gold, a dramatic reading from the life and ministry of Holocaust survivor, Zvi Kalisher.

Mike Kellogg: A few years ago, a religious school invited me to speak about the Holocaust. Few of us are left who passed through those terrible days. So students listened with great attention and asked questions.

I also spoke about my faith in Christ and how the Lord helped me. Some became angry and said such things as, “This man should not be at our school!” “Why did he come here?” “Who brought him here?”

When students asked how I came to believe as I do, I told them, “I came to know the Lord according to the Holy Bible.” They were surprised and wanted to know where it is written in the Bible about “this man,” meaning Jesus. I was happy to show them.

Afterward, when students would see me on the streets of Jerusalem, they would point me out to others, and say, “This is the one who came to our school and tried to brainwash us to believe in this man.”

Recently someone who works at the school recognized me on the street. He asked if I remember speaking at his school. He said, “We want you to come back. Many of the pupils are new, and they will be very interested to hear you.”

I was surprised. I thought the school would never invite me again. I was happy to go. The students were not quiet. Each one wanted to prove he was smarter than I. So they asked many questions and tried to attack me. But my answers came from the Holy Bible, so I was not afraid. They do not know about the Lord from the Bible.

Finally they asked how I came to know the Lord. One asked, “Why did you leave the Jewish faith?”

“I did not leave my faith in the Lord,” I replied. “You need to ask yourselves, ‘In whom do I believe?’ Do you follow the Lord, or do you follow men with such faithfulness that you have almost turned them into false gods?” They do not realize they respect their rabbis more than they respect God’s Word.

One demanded, “We want to see with our eyes where the Bible speaks about this man.” I opened my Bible to Isaiah 53 and read:

“But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. For He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgressions of My people He was stricken” (vv. 5, 8).

“How did you find this?” one asked.

“I read what is written in God’s Word,” I replied. “There it says, ‘You shall fear the LORD your God and serve Him . . . You shall not go after other gods.’” (Dt. 6:13–14).

“Do you have a Bible with you?” one asked. So I showed them my Bible. They looked through it very carefully.

I asked, “Have you read enough? Do you think I am telling you what is right?”

Then they gave my Bible to their teacher, who told the students, “If he is following God according to the Bible, I cannot be against him.” Then the teacher started to ask questions. “Why is it that most Jewish people do not believe as you do?” he asked. 

I replied that, “it is because so many do not read the Bible for themselves. And when they do read, they do not trust God to show them what is right. Instead, they ask their teachers and believe their interpretations rather than what they have read with their own eyes.”

I said, “If they will believe according to the Holy Bible only, which was written by the Holy Spirit of God, they would believe as I do.”

Please pray for these children, that they will read the Bible for themselves and trust God alone to give them understanding.

Chris Katulka: The impact of Zvi's life in ministry in Israel, it didn't end when he went home to be with the Lord. In fact, Zvi's legacy lives on. Our Friends of Israel Ministry representatives continue to share the gospel in Jerusalem, Israel, and really all throughout the world. We also serve Holocaust survivors and their families. We provide free food, medicine, and clothing, and we even promote the safety and security of the State of Israel and the Jewish people everywhere. So when you give to The Friends of Israel, your donation actually allows us to advance the gospel of our Messiah Jesus. You can give online by visiting foiradio.org. Again, that's foiradio.org. You can click right there on our donate link. Also, be sure to let us know where you listen when you contact us.

Steve Conover: Such an encouraging word from Chris today. May we listen well, serve others to God's glory before we quickly speak. Thanks for joining us for today's episode of The Friends of Israel Today. Chris, where are we headed next week?

Chris Katulka: Yeah, I just got back from Israel, Steve, and I had a great opportunity to take ministry leaders over to see the land for the very first time, While we were there we stayed at Kibbutz Ein Gev where we heard from some of the displaced Israelis that have been out of their homes in the northern part of Israel since October 8th, 2023. And so we're going to hear from them and what they’re feeling as Israelis and their anticipation to go home.

Steve Conover: Join us next week. As mentioned, our web address is foiradio.org. Again, that's foiradio.org. Our mailing address is FOI Radio PO Box 914, Bellmawr, New Jersey 08099. Again, that's FOI Radio PO Box 914, Bellmawr, New Jersey 08099. You can call our listener line. That number is 888-343-6940. Again, that's 888-343-6940. Our host and teacher is Chris Katulka. Today's program was engineered by Bob Beebe. Edited by Jeremy Strong, who also composed and performs our theme music. Lisa Small is our executive producer. Sarah Fern is our associate producer. And I'm Steve Conover, executive director of The Friends of Israel. The Friends of Israel Today is a production of The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry. Passion for God's Word. Compassion for God's Chosen People.