March 1, 2023 – Ordering Of Cleanliness

 March 1, 2023
 Daily Reading – Numbers 3-5 / Mark 6:32-56

 

 GOD’S WORD:

Numbers 5:2-3 Command the children of Israel, that they put out of the camp every leper, and every one that hath an issue, and whosoever is defiled by the dead: Both male and female shall ye put out, without the camp shall ye put them; that they defile not their camps, in the midst whereof I dwell.

 

 GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

    If you have ever been around young children who play outside in the summer, or you can remember back to when you were a child, you may remember a conversation that went something like this. Mom – “Go get in the bathtub and clean yourself up.” Child – “I am not that dirty.” Mom – “your hands and face are filthy, now get in the tub.” Child – “I will do it in the morning.” MOM – “YOU WILL DO IT NOW, RIGHT NOW, AND QUIT TALKING BACK.” Child – “ok.” To the child who had been playing in the dirt all day; they could not see the immediate need. This dirt looked ok all day, how bad can it be? To the mother who saw this cloud of dirt and dust swirling through the house, all she could see was dirty sheets, dirty hand towels, dirty pajamas, in fact a dirty anything they came in contact with.

 

    God gives a command to the children of Israel. Those who are defiled, or diseased must be put out of the camp until they are clean. Why? Well, there was the issue of contamination of others. Also, in the desert with no medical facilities to speak of, a real health issue could arise if they are not quarantined immediately. However, there is another reason that is just as important in the last line of Numbers 5:3. It says, “in the midst whereof I dwell.” Simply put, anyone who might come in contact with God’s tabernacle, the place where His glory would rest, must be clean.  

 

 GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

    Many times, we are contaminated daily by the sin of the world. Sin is around us all day and we may not notice how dirty we are. That is until we read the soul cleansing Word of God. Like the disciples’ feet, we need to wash off the sin of the day by repentance.

 

Is it time for a Holy bath?