Day 10:: Purifying

At first, I was repelled by this passage, wondering again why the God of the Old Testament cared soo much about staying away from this stuff and Jesus of the New Testament (God incarnate) hung out with lepers and prostitutes who probably had STD's. Then, I got it...I think.

There is this theme throughout the whole passage..."I AM GOD!" In the Old Testament with the Israelites in Leviticus, God is still establishing WHO HE IS in the minds of His people. He is HOLY, PURE, RIGHTEOUS. In the New Testament and today, we arrive with a clear picture of God's purity and holiness. That way, when we watch Jesus stoop to touch a leper, we can actually feel the great love that it takes...instead of seeing it as an empty, ordinary, nominal action. Instead, we see this huge, great God...in flesh...loving on anyone and everyone. We wouldn't exactly get this picture if God had not come among His people first to establish who He was and is. He is GOD. He is HOLY. He is RIGHT.

It all points back to God's overall plan to show the fullness of His glory to all His people, yesterday, today, and forever.

Two more thoughts:
1. God provided a pretty easy way for the Israelites to rectify their uncleanliness and make it right with God. It was direct disobedience alone (choosing NOT to clean when you knew you were supposed to in God's presence) that cut them from God's presence. Not as harsh as it sounded, maybe?
2. I HATE spiders, too, God. Thank you for including that in this passage of Leviticus.