FEBRUARY 22 "WOULD YOU CRY OUT...I AM UNCLEAN!"

 How interesting...or perhaps uninteresting this reading on boils, leprosy and every other manner of disease. What's the point?! Well, there's a very practical application especially considering they did not have doctors back then, I'm sure the Israelites' loved this instruction, it would save many lives. Hmmmm, the saving of many lives...by separating the clean people from the unclean people, lives could be saved. The clean people would not be infected and the unclean people could be healed. Yes this instruction from God was very practical but it was also very spiritual. Notice it was the Priest who "pronounced" if you were unclean. This was not left to the individual to determine for obvious reasons. "Pronounce" is a big word, it describes a definitive statement, it is judgmental in a sense. So let's put all this together now, we have a God who separates the clean from the unclean, he pronounces those that are unclean and commands them to be separated from the people until they are clean, 7 days. Then (check this out!) He (God) says they are to.... cover the lower part of their face and cry out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ 46 As long as they have the disease they remain unclean. They must live alone; they must live outside the camp. From my experience, even from what I saw posted on Facebook today by a supposed Christian, there will be many that God will pronounce unclean on their day of judgement. God will not allow them to determine whether they are clean, he will make a definitive pronouncement on them and they will be deemed unclean and will not be allowed to dwell with those that are clean and they will be ostracized from God's people for Eternity. Notice in the N.T. reading for the day, Jesus gives the disciples authority to cast out...."impure spirits". A spirit, just like a virus or disease is something that attaches itself to you and I thought it was interesting that the New Testament reading would mention this. Revelations reiterates that nothing that is impure will enter God's presence. God says to all of us today, "if you are unclean, cover your face and cry out, UNCLEAN, UNCLEAN" until you are made clean. In other words be ashamed of your uncleanness and hopefully the shame will be a motivator to be made clean. Better to face shame on this side of eternity and be made clean, then to be pronounced unclean for eternity, on the other side.

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