[B]ut your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God[.]...Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully.

Leviticus 13-15

[B]ut your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God[.]...Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. Isaiah 59:2, Psalm 24:3-4

This morning, I continued my study of Leviticus using the Christ-Centered Exposition series commentary for this book - continuing chapter thirteen - Unclean! - covering Leviticus 13-15, looking specifically at the second theme - Sin Separates Us from God.  Here, the commentary starts by making it clear that "these chapters in Leviticus state people were declared unclean and excluded [from worship] because of a skin disease [and bodily discharge], not because of sin." At the same time, the commentary states "skin disease [and bodily discharge are] an external reminder of sin and the physical deterioration sin causes" (see also post yesterday). The commentary then pivots to an examination of why God focused on skin diseases such as leprosy in Leviticus 13-14; while we don't know for certain, once again (see also post from a few days ago regarding how there are no imperfect laws), we are exhorted to avoid questioning the the validity of any of God's laws as although "[w]e may be unable to understand the reason for every law because God did not supply us with a reason....However, if for some reason we reject God's law or decide it is incorrect, we are least being impertinent, if not blasphemous.  God had a reason for the laws He gave, even though those reasons may not be clear to us.  So when we encounter things in the Bible that don't make sense to us, our impulse should be to give God the right to be God.  Skin disease symbolized sin and separation from God because that is the symbol God chose."  Finally, the commentary postulates that leprosy was as apt a symbol of sin as any as this particular skin disease, at least at the time of the writing of Leviticus, was incurable, visible and progressive - all dimensions of sin we of which believers should be aware. The commentary writes: "[b]oth leprosy and sin are incurable.  Also, leprosy affects the nervous system so that infected people become progressively desensitized to pain.  Most forms of sickness cause suffering by making us hurt; leprosy cause suffering by making its victims incapable of hurting.  Sin affects us in the same way.  The more we sin, the more we are desensitized to sin and its pain." Ultimately, the connection is drawn between not only original sin and the subsequent presence of sickness, pain and death, but also between sin and how it separates us from God as God did not allow anyone unclean to worship as described in these chapters in Leviticus. The commentary wraps by pointing us to scriptural examples of these applications, referring us to Isaiah 59:2 and Psalm 24:3-4.  

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who gives me a path to cleanse myself of my sin - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of how You forgive and how You bless me.  I worry and I have other sins.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me. Help me grow in my fatih.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.” And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life[.]

Leviticus 13-15

To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.” And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life[.] Genesis 3:16-17

This afternoon, I continued my study of Leviticus using the Christ-Centered Exposition series commentary for this book - starting chapter thirteen - Unclean! - covering Leviticus 13-15, looking specifically at the first theme - Sickness Exists Because Sin Exists.  The introduction to the this chapter of the commentary starts by stating the main idea we should explore for Leviticus chapters 13-15: "God is interested in every detail of our lives, including our illnesses.  Illness exists because sin exists, but God takes away our sin through Jesus, and God gives us an eternal future in heaven where no sickness exists."  For the commentary's theme for today - Sickness Exists Because Sin Exists - we are reminded that God created a perfect world for Adam and Eve, but because of their disobedience, we have not just the original sin that impacted Adam (Genesis 3:17) and Eve (Genesis 3:16), but sin for all of humanity for the remainder of humanity's time on earth.  While God's hand and design might not provide any comfort for those impacted by illness and pain, it is important to recognize that illness and pain are just as much a part of life as anything else we experience.  Believers can rest in knowing that God is in all things (Colossians 1:15-17), including our illness and pain, and that even though we will have tribulation, we can "take heart; [because Jesus has] overcome the world" (John 16:33).

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God who loves me and who gives me strength to get through difficult times of pain and illness - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of how You never leave or forsake me.  I worry and I have other sins.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You. Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith. Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.     

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.

Leviticus 12

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. 1 John 2:15-16

This morning, I continued my study of Leviticus using the Christ-Centered Exposition series commentary for this book - continuing chapter twelve - God Rules from Our Birth - covering Leviticus 12:1-8, looking specifically at the first theme - God Requires Separation from Unbelievers.  Here, the commentary focuses on how at this point in the Old Testament, the Israelites were preparing to enter Canaan, the land God promised to Abraham (Genesis 12:7), and the land God led the Israelites to out of the wilderness after leaving Egypt. The commentary explores the pagan worship of the cultures in Canaan and its neighbor Moab - the pagan worship of both of these lands included use of human blood and/or human pain/sacrifice.  God of courses detests false gods and worship of these false gods, and the commentary states that childbirth as depicted in Leviticus 12 involves both human pain and blood; so by implication, childbirth, although not sinful, is loosely linked with the pagan worship of Canaan and Moab. Hence, God calls for the mothers to be purified as a prerequisite of the worship experience.  As a key takeaway for today and the theme for today - God Requires Separation from Unbelievers - the commentary urges us to see how our worship separates us from unbelievers.  The commentary also offers two additional takeaways - how believers separate ourselves from unbelievers:

• truth separates us: since (and because of) the Fall, childbirth was painful and often dangerous, sometimes leading to death; death was associated with sin (since the Fall); the concept of original sin and how the wages of sin are death (Romans 6:23) is unique to Christianity as is the role Jesus plays in redemption, forgiveness of sin, justification, sanctification, glorification, and eternal life.
  
• obedience separates us: Leviticus is just one book of the Bible but what we see just in this one book is how God governs every aspect of our lives - including all the details; God does bring about obedience as the fruit of our faith and believers obedience is designed to allow us to not only be separate, but different in the sense that unbelievers see and experience something that draws them to Him.
  

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who created me and those around me and I am grateful for the life You gave me and for those in my community - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of how You bless me.  I worry.  Please forgive me and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.