He Has Made Me Clean

Scripture: Having determined the allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God. Acts 17:26

Observation: Leviticus 13 and 14 are in the middle of detailed priestly instructions concerning one point: How priests determine who is ritually clean and unclean. Food, disease, childbirth—all sorts of things made someone ritually unclean. While there were probably health reasons, Acts 17 sheds some light on this. God set the boundaries (including ritual rules), so that people might seek God. How do rules about leprosy help people seek God? Seeing the value God places on being ritually clean would remind people of the value God places on being spiritually clean. And ultimately, we are unable to keep clean on our own. So our only option is to seek God. The lambs and doves sacrificed to make atonement for physical uncleanness are insufficient for dealing with our spiritual uncleanness.

Application: If I confess my sins, He is faithful and just to forgive my sins and cleans me from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). Today, I give thanks that Christ delivered me from the rigorous rituals of cleanliness. And I praise Christ that he has made, and continues to make, me clean.

Prayer: Jesus, being clean before God is a big deal to you. Forgive me for not honoring that in my life. I trust you to forgive me and cleanse me today.