Prayer Journal

Tuesday, February 24, 2004

If you've been reading Leviticus, you've no doubt found it hard to deal with the legal regulations Moses gave the people. "Clean" and "Unclean" were terms used to describe a person's freedom to approach God. The Tabernacle, where the presence of God's Spirit rested on the top of the Ark, required absolute holiness of those who even came close to it.

The debate over what is clean and unclean has continued for generations among Jewish people and their priests. So much so, many times a person charged with understanding the full extent and intent of the law was called on to interpret special situations. That was the role assumed by the Pharisees, so you can imagine the stir caused when Jesus used their accusation against him to teach them something about God and the law. Can you say, "one more straw on the camel's back?"

The words, "you nullify the Word of God by your tradition," as spoken by Jesus, had to be the final blow to the perceived righteousness of the Pharisees. (Re: Mk 7:13) The legalists, because of their outrage at Jesus' words, couldn't reply to his charge. It was then that Jesus turned to address ordinary people. No more would they need to seek the intercession of a lawyer to appeal to God. Access to the Father had now arrived in the person of Jesus.

Every sacrificial animal offered on the altar was to be free of defects, but there is nothing holy save God himself. No matter how few defects the priests found in lambs and goats, perfection has always been impossible unless the sacrificial animal is the Lamb of God. He is holy; the perfect sacrifice, unblemished through beaten, willing and able to be the atonement for men.

Lev 11:44 said God expects us to be holy. You might be asking, "How can I be that way?" Simply, we must be clean, but not by using soap and water. Instead, we are expected to be clean through the forgiveness of our confessed sin. It's true that we can't be perfect, but we can be holy if it is God who cleans us up. And if we're holy, we can approach God. And when we approach God, we should thank him for Jesus, who makes us holy and gives us access by prayer into his presence.

Just Thinkin'... WebServant

1. Developed from Read the Bible Thru (Lv. 15:1-16:28 Mk. 7:1-23 Ps. 40:11-17 Pr. 10:13-14 )
2. Scripture comes from the Holy Bible, New International Version; (c)1978 by New York International Bible Society

Copyright © 1998-2004 James R. Green and Prayertower Ministries
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