Okay ladies, another week has gone by and this week we have been in the notoriously tedious book of Leviticus. How are you doing with it? I personally cannot even begin to express how much this blog has helped me stay focused on the "big picture" and not get bogged down by the details. I thank each one of you for the amazing posts and subsequent comments!
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These three chapters deal with clean versus unclean in several different areas: animals, after childbirth, and leprosy. When I was researching about the clean and unclean animals, my ESV Study Bible had a few interesting things to say in the study notes. The reasoning behind exactly why one animal is considered "clean" and the other "unclean" has puzzled commentators throughout time. There is no consensus on why the classification is set up the way it is. However, this quote from the study notes out of my ESV Study Bible is worthy of quoting here, as it gets to the bottom line of why this was important: "Significantly, making these distinctions in the ritual realm would no doubt serve as a constant reminder to the people of their need for making the parallel distinctions in the moral realm as well. Further, adherence to these food laws expresses Israel's devotion to the Lord: just as he separated the Israelites from the other nations, so they must separate clean from unclean foods." Remember, God is ALWAYS concerned about the heart, not just the law-keeping! To connect this to the New Testament, in Acts chapter 10, verses 9-16, Peter has a vision about eating unclean animals and God tells him to "kill and eat" the unclean animals in this vision. What God was trying to do here was tell Peter that NOTHING should get in the way of fellowshipping with the Gentiles and sharing The Gospel with them. Are we letting any thoughts of someone or something being "unclean" keep US from telling them about The Gospel????
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The horrible disease of leprosy was bad enough with all of the actual health issues that it brought on and the fact that it was contagious. But more than that were the social implications. Much humiliation, loneliness, and rejection came from this terrible affliction, as the leper had to remain outside of the camp during his infection. You will notice, the chapter on the laws concerning leprosy is VERY long. They even had to walk around shouting "Unclean!" when another person got near. Can you imagine having to walk around while having your period shouting "Unclean!"? How humiliating would that be? Now, once again, let's connect this to the New Testament. In Luke chapter 17, verses 11-19, Jesus has compassion and mercy on 10 lepers and heals them all, but only ONE comes back to thank Jesus for this...ONE! I want to be the ONE that remembers to thank Jesus for ALL that He has done for me! Will you join me in this attitude of thanksgiving??? By the way...the ONE leper that came back to thank Him and praise Him was...a Samaritan (the Jews HATED, I mean HATED the Samaritans!!!!!). Unclean? Not when JESUS cleanses you!!!
