Daily Reading: Leviticus 15
Scripture Focus: And this is the law of his uncleanness for a discharge: whether his body runs with his discharge, or his body is blocked up by his discharge, it is his uncleanness. (Leviticus 15.3)
Devotional Thought: When I told my wife that I was going to write about the uncleanness of bodily discharges for today’s devotion, she said, "Yuck! That’s the worst!" It is not pleasant thinking about some of the topics in Leviticus. But as we have seen, God’s grace is easy to see in these instructions and regulations - if we just look for it!
God is concerned for our cleanness. That concern takes shape in the form of our physical health in Leviticus 15. But, God’s concern extends way beyond physical cleanness. He has provided atonement for our spiritual uncleanness. And, he points out the fact that not only is uncleanness in the discharge, but also in the disease that precedes the discharge!
Reading about unclean discharges reminded me of what Jesus said in the New Testament: “It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth: this defiles a person” (Matthew 15.11). What comes out of our mouths (discharges) makes us unclean because of the heart. The festering envy, anger, hatred, and unforgiveness within us find expression in the harsh and cutting words we say. Both the discharge and the disease need cleansing.
Thanks be to God that Jesus has provided the remedy for all of our uncleanness. The actions and the heart of sin are
healed in Jesus. He forgives our sins (discharge) and gives us a new heart (disease).
Praise the Lord!
Prayer: Lord, by your grace, may the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight. Amen!
Psalm of the Day: 24 Then they despised the pleasant land, having no faith in his promise. 25 They murmured in their tents, and did not obey the voice of the LORD. 26 Therefore he raised his hand and swore to them that he would make them fall in the wilderness, 27 and would make their offspring fall among the nations, scattering them among the lands. 28 Then they yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor, and ate sacrifices offered to the dead; 29 they provoked the LORD to anger with their deeds, and a plague broke out among them. 30 Then Phinehas stood up and intervened, and the plague was stayed. 31 And that was counted to him as righteousness from generation to generation forever. (Psalms 106:24-31)
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