Chronological Reading Plan for Feb 17, Lev 14-15
Today's readings are
Lev 14-15. Tomorrow's readings are Lev 16-18.
The details of the
sacrificial ceremonies continue. It is becoming clear that God intends to
cleanse all impurity from His people through a complex series of ritual
cleanings and sacrifices. There are two types of sacrifices involved in these
rituals - a guilt offering and a sin offering. Both offerings, we are told, are “holy”
meaning the process of redemption is a sacred and godly one. Using leprosy as
an example of how ruthless the camp must be in eradicating any evidence of
impurity, even the dwelling of the people must be cleansed of its presence (Lev
14:33-53).
Some may speculate on
what the Jews thought of all this, whether or not they assumed the rituals themselves
were effective in atoning for sin. There is even debate on what they believed the nature of atonement to be. Was it temporary? Eternal? Covered? Removed? But, that sort of conjecture misses the
point. The Jews, imperfect as they could be at times, were faithful in carrying
out God’s instructions for these rituals and ceremonies. They may not have
fully understood how it all worked, but they trusted God that it did. They were
perfectly fine with some of God’s ways being a mystery. They understood that
God may not always call His children to a full understanding of His ways but He
always calls them to obedience.
In
these cleansing rituals, we should see the character and nature of God. He is
holy. His rituals and ceremonies are holy. In order for His people to enter
into His presence and dwell together in a holy manner, they must be made holy.
He lovingly and graciously provides a way for them to become holy over and over again. The path is
through obedience and sacrifice. He carefully instructs them on the rituals and
ceremonies so that they can be restored to Him and be a reflection of Him to
the world.
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