Read: Leviticus 11-13
Focus Verse: “Do not defile yourselves by any of these creatures. Do not make yourselves unclean by means of them or be made unclean by them. I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. Do not make yourselves unclean by any creature that moves along the ground. I am the LORD, who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy.”
Devotional: So a long 3 chapters about what food is ‘clean’ or ‘unclean’, how to handle rashes, and skin diseases, and lastly moldy garments. OK, so, cows are good to eat, that’s about it for us today…but like our meat is ‘cleaner’ now, we don’t have to worry about diseased animals as much, but still, why does pork defile? Why are women defiled in childbirth and need to cleanse after (ch 12)? Why? Blood defiles, contagions defile, and lastly mold and diseases defile/corrupt. I know living in a moldy house can cause health problems. So yeah, stay away from blood, diseases, or other things that can cause sickness or problems within the community. But why are these ancient people so concerned? They desire to be holy as their God is holy (11:44). God is holy, but what does that mean? I think in this instance in Leviticus, holiness means to be Clean. That is, to live healthy, and pure the way God intended for creation. We are made in God’s image and God is holy so we are called to be holy. To be holy is to be made as God intends, to live as God intends, to live our best lives. The image makes me think about the corruption that enters the world from the fall in Genesis, that this attempt to be ceremonially clean is to rid ourselves of what’s corrupt in this world, and THAT is holiness before God. So holiness is to rid ourselves of that which corrupts.
Pray: LORD help me to be pure and made Holy as You are Holy. Help me to reject and expel all corruption in my life and seek to live a life of holiness as Christ did, a life that is Holy because You are holy. Amen.
Additional Scripture: “Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.” (Romans 12:2)