Day 2
Read Leviticus 13:1-8 and Leviticus 13:47-52
Right now, as we talk about defiling skin diseases and mold, it is a great time to be reminded of Paul’s words in 2 Timothy 3:16 “ALL Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness…”
Let’s talk about why these two sections of scripture are useful for teaching us now. First, we have to recognize that worship in the tabernacle was all about life. The Israelites would come to worship a God who brought life into existence in Genesis 1 and 2, a God who sustained life by providing manna, quail and water for the Israelites, and a God who would eventually secure eternal life for all those that trust in Him. Life represents God, and in the same way, sickness and death represent sin.
Sickness and death didn’t occur until Adam and Eve sinned in the Bible, they were never part of God’s original plan and design for us. So, as we look to these two sections talking about defiling skin diseases and molds that make people unclean, we have to remember that all sickness and death is representative of sin and therefore cannot be in the presence of God. To be unclean would mean you could not go into the tabernacle to worship God until you were clean.
This is another layer of sin that separates us from God. In yesterday’s devotion we talked about the sin offering that dealt with moral purity, specifically the impurity in someone’s heart that caused them to sin. But today we are talking about ritual purity. Think of moral impurity as the internal effects of sin on someone such as desiring wrong or sinful things and the actions that then accompany those desires. This moral impurity separates us from God because He cannot be in the presence of sin. Now think of ritual impurity as the external effects of sickness and death or contact with things that are connected to sickness and death. In the same way that moral impurity separates us from God, ritual impurity separates us from God as well.
Multiple times in His ministry on earth Jesus revealed that when He came, the ritual laws or ceremonial laws were done with, but the moral laws were upheld. The rules and laws about ritual purity were in place for a distinct purpose during that time; to teach the Israelites and us today that there is a clear difference between clean and unclean, holy and defiled, pure and impure. God is so clean, holy, and pure, and people cannot come into His presence with sin (or sickness that is representative of sin) that hasn’t been dealt with. This section of scripture can give us a deeper gratitude and understanding of what Jesus’ blood did for us. His blood not only saves us from our sin, but it completely cleanses us from head to toe so that we are pure and clean before Him.
Questions to consider.
This can be a difficult section of the Bible to understand and relate to your life. What sticks out from the verses you read about how God cares about being “clean” before being able to enter into His presence?
Knowing now that we are not bound by the old ceremonial cleansing laws, in what ways do we take for granted what Jesus has done by being the ultimate sacrifice?
Spend some time in prayer thanking God that we don’t have to do all of this work to get to Him anymore, but instead Jesus has done the perfect work for us.
Right now, as we talk about defiling skin diseases and mold, it is a great time to be reminded of Paul’s words in 2 Timothy 3:16 “ALL Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness…”
Let’s talk about why these two sections of scripture are useful for teaching us now. First, we have to recognize that worship in the tabernacle was all about life. The Israelites would come to worship a God who brought life into existence in Genesis 1 and 2, a God who sustained life by providing manna, quail and water for the Israelites, and a God who would eventually secure eternal life for all those that trust in Him. Life represents God, and in the same way, sickness and death represent sin.
Sickness and death didn’t occur until Adam and Eve sinned in the Bible, they were never part of God’s original plan and design for us. So, as we look to these two sections talking about defiling skin diseases and molds that make people unclean, we have to remember that all sickness and death is representative of sin and therefore cannot be in the presence of God. To be unclean would mean you could not go into the tabernacle to worship God until you were clean.
This is another layer of sin that separates us from God. In yesterday’s devotion we talked about the sin offering that dealt with moral purity, specifically the impurity in someone’s heart that caused them to sin. But today we are talking about ritual purity. Think of moral impurity as the internal effects of sin on someone such as desiring wrong or sinful things and the actions that then accompany those desires. This moral impurity separates us from God because He cannot be in the presence of sin. Now think of ritual impurity as the external effects of sickness and death or contact with things that are connected to sickness and death. In the same way that moral impurity separates us from God, ritual impurity separates us from God as well.
Multiple times in His ministry on earth Jesus revealed that when He came, the ritual laws or ceremonial laws were done with, but the moral laws were upheld. The rules and laws about ritual purity were in place for a distinct purpose during that time; to teach the Israelites and us today that there is a clear difference between clean and unclean, holy and defiled, pure and impure. God is so clean, holy, and pure, and people cannot come into His presence with sin (or sickness that is representative of sin) that hasn’t been dealt with. This section of scripture can give us a deeper gratitude and understanding of what Jesus’ blood did for us. His blood not only saves us from our sin, but it completely cleanses us from head to toe so that we are pure and clean before Him.
Questions to consider.
This can be a difficult section of the Bible to understand and relate to your life. What sticks out from the verses you read about how God cares about being “clean” before being able to enter into His presence?
Knowing now that we are not bound by the old ceremonial cleansing laws, in what ways do we take for granted what Jesus has done by being the ultimate sacrifice?
Spend some time in prayer thanking God that we don’t have to do all of this work to get to Him anymore, but instead Jesus has done the perfect work for us.