Prolonged Issues...

Leviticus 15:25 “If a woman has a discharge of blood for many days, not at the time of her menstrual impurity, or if she has a discharge beyond the time of her impurity, all the days of the discharge she shall continue in uncleanness. As in the days of her impurity, she shall be unclean. 26 Every bed on which she lies, all the days of her discharge, shall be to her as the bed of her impurity. And everything on which she sits shall be unclean, as in the uncleanness of her menstrual impurity. 27 And whoever touches these things shall be unclean, and shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and be unclean until the evening. 28 But if she is cleansed of her discharge, she shall count for herself seven days, and after that she shall be clean. 29 And on the eighth day she shall take two turtledoves or two pigeons and bring them to the priest, to the entrance of the tent of meeting. 30 And the priest shall use one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. And the priest shall make atonement for her before the Lord for her unclean discharge.

This is the fourth section of this chapter, which deals with both male and female discharges. God, through Moses, made it clear that natural normal cyclical discharges were not a problem; there was no cleansing needed for them. What he was addressing was prolonged, abnormal issues.  Flash forward to when Jesus dealt with the woman who had a chronic issue of blood, which had haunted her for years, which he healed. Jesus also said it is not what goes into the body, but what comes out which is a problem. What God is looking for is purity and humility of our hearts before Him. 

Not Hopeless after All!

Leviticus 14: 24 And the priest shall take the lamb of the guilt offering and the log of oil, and the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before the Lord. 25 And he shall kill the lamb of the guilt offering. And the priest shall take some of the blood of the guilt offering and put it on the lobe of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot. 26 And the priest shall pour some of the oil into the palm of his own left hand, 27 and shall sprinkle with his right finger some of the oil that is in his left hand seven times before the Lord. 28 And the priest shall put some of the oil that is in his hand on the lobe of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot, in the place where the blood of the guilt offering was put. 29 And the rest of the oil that is in the priest's hand he shall put on the head of him who is to be cleansed, to make atonement for him before the Lord. 

This chapter follows yesterday's discussion of leprosy and other skin conditions. There was a clear path to being declared clean, which very much parallels that of sanctifying the priests. You couldn't get any more "holy" than that.  So often we come to see people as hopeless, when God clearly says: "There is a way," and that way is also clear: Christ can do it. May we believe and act accordingly.

That Dreaded Disease!

Leviticus 13:24 “Or, when the body has a burn on its skin and the raw flesh of the burn becomes a spot, reddish-white or white, 25 the priest shall examine it, and if the hair in the spot has turned white and it appears deeper than the skin, then it is a leprous disease. It has broken out in the burn, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is a case of leprous disease. 26 But if the priest examines it and there is no white hair in the spot and it is no deeper than the skin, but has faded, the priest shall shut him up seven days, 27 and the priest shall examine him the seventh day. If it is spreading in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is a case of leprous disease. 28 But if the spot remains in one place and does not spread in the skin, but has faded, it is a swelling from the burn, and the priest shall pronounce him clean, for it is the scar of the burn.

The concern for the protection of the population here was obvious.  There was also a picture of the holiness God expected of His people.  At times quarantine was necessary to protect others from infection. But this was viewed to be rather rare and temporary.  There was no spiritual judgment of the individual or sense of superiority. After all, the priest had to have contact for inspection to take place. Instead, we find in Jesus' day some who had such infections were shunned, scorned, and judged. People had lost their sense of compassion and hope for healing. How often do we find ourselves pointing and saying (or at least thinking) "Unclean!" May we have more of Christ's compassion.

Clean or Unclean?

Leviticus 11:24 “And by these you shall become unclean. Whoever touches their carcass shall be unclean until the evening, 25 and whoever carries any part of their carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening. 26 Every animal that parts the hoof but is not cloven-footed or does not chew the cud is unclean to you. Everyone who touches them shall be unclean. 27 And all that walk on their paws, among the animals that go on all fours, are unclean to you. Whoever touches their carcass shall be unclean until the evening, 28 and he who carries their carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening; they are unclean to you.

One the of things that many find most curious about the Levitical Laws is the distinction between clean and unclean animals.  Some of these things go back to Noah and the animals brought onto the ark. It was for more than a healthy diet that these were given. The main reason was to distinguish the worship of Israel from that of her pagan neighboring cultures with their idol worship.  Everything named clean or unclean - not just animals - was to call attention to Israel as being a set apart people who worshipped only the true and living God. There was nothing they were to have in common with the immoral idol-worshipping people whose land they were to receive or who would surround them after they settled. The key question is: Will we obey what God commands without always questioning His wisdom or His ways?

The First Ordination

22 Then he presented the other ram, the ram of ordination, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram. 23 And he killed it, and Moses took some of its blood and put it on the lobe of Aaron's right ear and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot. 24 Then he presented Aaron's sons, and Moses put some of the blood on the lobes of their right ears and on the thumbs of their right hands and on the big toes of their right feet. And Moses threw the blood against the sides of the altar. 25 Then he took the fat and the fat tail and all the fat that was on the entrails and the long lobe of the liver and the two kidneys with their fat and the right thigh, 26 and out of the basket of unleavened bread that was before the Lord he took one unleavened loaf and one loaf of bread with oil and one wafer and placed them on the pieces of fat and on the right thigh. 

If you have ever been to the ordination service for a deacon, elder, priest, missionary, evangelist, or other church leader, it probably was a little different than this first recorded one: that of Aaron and his sons. But the imagery is very powerful here. To serve as priest one had to be truly set apart for service. The blood on the ear, thumb, and toe demonstrated a commitment to hear and speak God's word, to serve Him with one's hands, and to live(walk) in total obedience to Him. God asks no less of us as His priests today - not just the leaders mentioned above, but His whole Kingdom of Priests - each and every confessing follower.

Why Not That?

Leviticus 7:22 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 23 “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, You shall eat no fat, of ox or sheep or goat. 24 The fat of an animal that dies of itself and the fat of one that is torn by beasts may be put to any other use, but on no account shall you eat it. 25 For every person who eats of the fat of an animal of which a food offering may be made to the Lord shall be cut off from his people. 26 Moreover, you shall eat no blood whatever, whether of fowl or of animal, in any of your dwelling places. 27 Whoever eats any blood, that person shall be cut off from his people.”

The reference here is back to the peace offering, detailed in chapter 3, which was for reconciliation and fellowship between God and a sincere worshipper.  Nothing was to be held back for oneself but totally offered to God. In no cases was the blood to be eaten/drunk, as "the life is in the blood", and many pagan rituals involved the drinking of blood. We see here that even animals that died not from sacrifice but were potentially sacrifices were to be treated the same way.  No sacrifice was to be taken lightly or made for any selfish reasons.  All was Holy to the Lord.

Sin Offering Eater

Leviticus 6:24 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 25 “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the law of the sin offering. In the place where the burnt offering is killed shall the sin offering be killed before the Lord; it is most holy. 26 The priest who offers it for sin shall eat it. In a holy place it shall be eaten, in the court of the tent of meeting. 

God spent over two chapters giving instructions for the sin offering, when it was to be offered, and by whom.  He now told about what to do with it.  It was to be eaten by the priests who had been made holy for this service.  God was very specific about who, when, and where it was to be eaten. Fast forward to the upper room, where Jesus said: "This is My body, given for you; take and eat." They were being told to eat the sin offering.  In that same setting He told them that they were made holy through their faith in Him. They, and those after them, were His priests, made holy through faith, who gather in remembrance of Him and what He has done.  This pictures God's acceptance of what Christ has done for us, just as the eating of the sin offering by the priest pictured God accepting the sin offering.