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Topic: Disqualified Through Uncleaness
Text: Leviticus 22:1-16
1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Speak unto Aaron and to his sons, that they separate themselves from the holy things of the children of Israel, and that they profane not my holy name in those things which they hallow unto me: I am the LORD.
3 Say unto them, Whosoever he be of all your seed among your generations, that goeth unto the holy things, which the children of Israel hallow unto the LORD, having his uncleanness upon him, that soul shall be cut off from my presence: I am the LORD.
4 What man soever of the seed of Aaron is a leper, or hath a running issue; he shall not eat of the holy things, until he be clean. And whoso toucheth any thing that is unclean by the dead, or a man whose seed goeth from him;
5 Or whosoever toucheth any creeping thing, whereby he may be made unclean, or a man of whom he may take uncleanness, whatsoever uncleanness he hath;
6 The soul which hath touched any such shall be unclean until even, and shall not eat of the holy things, unless he wash his flesh with water.
7 And when the sun is down, he shall be clean, and shall afterward eat of the holy things; because it is his food.
8 That which dieth of itself, or is torn with beasts, he shall not eat to defile himself therewith: I am the LORD.
9 They shall therefore keep mine ordinance, lest they bear sin for it, and die therefore, if they profane it: I the LORD do sanctify them.
10 There shall no stranger eat of the holy thing: a sojourner of the priest, or an hired servant, shall not eat of the holy thing.
11 But if the priest buy any soul with his money, he shall eat of it, and he that is born in his house: they shall eat of his meat.
12 If the priest’s daughter also be married unto a stranger, she may not eat of an offering of the holy things.
13 But if the priest’s daughter be a widow, or divorced, and have no child, and is returned unto her father’s house, as in her youth, she shall eat of her father’s meat: but there shall no stranger eat thereof.
14 And if a man eat of the holy thing unwittingly, then he shall put the fifth part thereof unto it, and shall give it unto the priest with the holy thing.
15 And they shall not profane the holy things of the children of Israel, which they offer unto the LORD;
16 Or suffer them to bear the iniquity of trespass, when they eat their holy things: for I the LORD do sanctify them.
Key Verse: “Say unto them, Whosoever he be of all your seed among your generations, that goeth unto the holy things, which the children of Israel hallow unto the LORD, having his uncleanness upon him, that soul shall be cut off from my presence: I am the LORD.” – (Leviticus 22:3)
MESSAGE:
Some students of the Bible are often confused by the Old Testament laws regulating uncleanness. They do not understand the purpose of the laws and often wonder how they impact the New Testament Christian. The concept of uncleanness is certainly an old one. It dates back to the days of Noah when animals were categorised as clean and unclean.
God wanted the Israelites to distinguish between holy and unholy, and between clean and unclean. From our text, those that were under any ceremonial uncleanness, made possible by their own fault, were forbidden to eat of the holy things while they continued in their pollution. Those that had a natural blemish, though they were forbidden to do the priests’ work, were yet allowed to eat of the holy things. This obliged the priests to carefully preserve their purity and to dread everything that would defile them.
Uncleanness means physical or moral impurity. Sinners are unclean and cannot offer worship to God. Their offerings are abominations unto Him.
To appear qualified before Him, we must flee from all impurities because He is too holy to behold iniquity. Nothing defiling will enter heaven. Though the Lord has graciously made adequate provision for our holiness, we cannot possess it without our willingness. We must then resolve to be holy both in our secret and public lives. Remember, the key to heaven’s gate remains, “holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14).
Thought For The Day: Sin can never enter heaven.
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