Daily Presenceনমুনা

Reading through Leviticus, we see one word repeated frequently: unclean. In English, we typically think of unclean as simply “dirty”. However, in the context in Leviticus there is a connotation that takes it beyond simply meaning dirty. The word “unclean” we see in Leviticus 14 in Hebrew is: טומאה (pronounced ṭum'ah). It is a word meaning ritual or ceremonial impurity. It goes beyond the idea of too much dirt under your fingernails and extends towards an uncleanliness that separates us from the holiness of God. As we read through the book of Leviticus we see that many things can make a person unclean. So, the Jews of this time spent a great deal of their day either avoiding things that would make them unclean or ritually cleaning themselves over and over. This had to have been exhausting. Not to mention, it wasn’t as simple as washing your hands in the sink. There were very specific rules to remember or consult the priests about to absolutely ensure you were “clean” in God’s eyes.

I’m that guy who never washes my car. Sometimes Bree and I will take her car through a carwash simply because Bree finds it entertaining. However, my car has dirt from Georgia still on it from when I moved to Texas seven years ago. My dad used to joke, “You know a clean car gets better gas mileage because it’s carrying less weight!” If I was a Jew during this time, I would be in trouble. Thankfully, I don’t have to bear this burden because I have something the Jews in Leviticus didn’t have: Christ’s cleanliness.

What a precious gift it is to be clean in God’s eyes all the time because of the blood of Christ. We need not seek out animal sacrifices, isolate ourselves outside the town until sunset, nor must we scrape the plaster from the walls of our soul each time there is a blemish or stain. No, Christ has paid the ultimate price for us and conquered what atonement could not conquer: uncleanliness - a separation from God.