If anyone who is unclean eats any meat of the fellowship
offering . . . Anyone who touches something unclean . . . and then eats any of
the meat of the fellowship offering belonging to the Lord must be cut off from
their people (Leviticus 7:20, 21).
When I read this passage, I have to admit it makes me think:
God is so strict. I mean, being excommunicated for what basically
amounts to unwashed hands?
But maybe the attitude problem isn’t God’s. Maybe it’s mine.
Could it be that I don’t take seriously enough God’s holiness and his desire
for me to reflect that holiness?
After the exiles return to Jerusalem, the prophet Haggai
confronts the priests: If . . . that fold [of your garment in which you are
carrying consecrated meat] touches some bread or stew . . . does it become
consecrated? (Haggai 2:12). The answer is no. Then he turns it around:
If a person defiled by contact with a dead body touches one of these things,
does it become defiled? (2:13). The answer is yes. Apparently, in this
analogy, uncleanness spreads passively by contact. Holiness is never passive…
never follows the path of least resistance.
[Our fathers] disciplined us for a little while as they
thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share
in his holiness (Hebrews 12:10).
God intentionally works holiness into our lives. But it’s a gift. He won’t
force it on us if we don’t want it.
TODAY’S MEDITATION
Is there anything in your
life you’ve dismissed as insignificant, but God calls sin?
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