February 22- Unclean, Unclean!

February 22, 2011

Leviticus 13; Mark 6:1-29;
Psalm 39:1-13; Proverbs 10:10

Other men's sins are before our eyes; our own are behind our backs.
 ~Seneca

Leviticus 13

When I was young some of the kids in my neighborhood told me that if I touched a toad I would get a wart.  Needless to say, I avoided touching toads. It was with great consternation that I got a wart in third grade. I didn't want anyone to see the wart on my finger because they would think I had been fondling frogs and toads.  I would never do that. That would be gross, very unclean.

Today we see one of the strongest symbols of sin in the Scriptures- leprosy.  The laws for dealing with leprosy are full of imagery about mankind and our struggle with being unclean because of sin. According to J. Vernon McGee, leprosy is a type or shadow of sin in the following ways:

1. It begins small.  "a bright spot"
2. It progresses slowly, but surely. Leprosy will eventually be a living death, whereby the victim is consumed by the disease.
3. Leprosy does not have sharp pain, but dull pain that keeps a person sad and restless.
4. Leprosy is thought to be hereditary.
5. Leprosy is a horrible condition.
6. Leprosy becomes overtly obvious in loathsome ways.

Sin is like leprosy in our lives.  Sin starts small in children. It progresses slowly, but surely.  Sin will dull a person and keep them sad and restless. Sin will eventually cause a person not to feel anything.  Sin is handed down to us from Adam. It is hereditary. Sin is the horrible condition of people since the Fall. Sin becomes the ugly behaviors of abuse, neglect, immorality, anger, lying, revenge, bitterness, jealousy, rebellion, and all forms of pride.

Just as the victim of leprosy had to be set apart from the community, sin will cause a person to be set apart from God for eternity if no salvation from sin is received. The victim of leprosy had to cry out, "Unclean, unclean!" This is our cry until Christ saving death on the cross cleanses us from all unrighteousness. God provided ceremonial methods for diagnosing and recognizing leprosy in the nation of Israel.  Notice that He did not suggest methods for curing leprosy.  The point was to diagnose and declare the uncleanness of the disease.  This picture provided the Israelites with the problem, but not the solution. God provides a cure for sin today. The medicine, the cure, is Jesus Christ.

Do you have a bright spot or festering wound of sin in your life?  How do you intend to treat the problem of sin?  Christ is the great Physician.  He, alone, can cure the leprosy of sin in your life and bring you cleansed into the Kingdom of God.

Mark 6:1-29

Today Jesus is rejected in his hometown and does not perform many miracles there.  This does not stop him from performing them in other places, as well as equipping his disciples to do the same.  The people are trying to figure out if Jesus is Elijah, John the Baptist come back to life, or just another prophet. 

We also get a more detailed account of how Herod came to behead John the Baptist. This story shows that Herod was a prideful, arrogant, insecure putz.  He had to impress his dinner guests, so he agrees to Herodias' daughter's request for John's head on a platter to be brought to the banquet where she had entertained the crowd with dancing.  The story indicates he was drunk, lustful after the seductive dance, and too embarrassed  to back down at the young woman's challenge to his manhood.  Herod is an example of how NOT to conduct your life.

Herod's life is an example of the slow insidious effects of sin on a person.  Herod is a leprous individual.

Has sin infected your life like leprosy?  Have you taken the offer of cleansing that Jesus provides or have you, like the people in his hometown, rejected his offer?

Psalm 39:1-13

This psalm shows how difficult it can be to try to control sin with our own efforts.  Vs. 7 says, "And so, Lord, where do I put my hope? My only hope is in you."

Proverbs 10:10

Don't wink at wrong doing like Herod did.  Have a bold reproof like Christ.

What did you notice today?

Blessings,

Jubilee Gal
Kathy Fullerton