Be Ye Clean

Be Ye Clean TEXT: Leviticus 11:21-28 21. Yet these may ye eat of every flying creeping thing that goeth upon all four, which have legs above their feet, to leap withal upon the earth; 22. Even these of them ye may eat; the locust after his kind, and the bald locust after his kind, and the beetle after his kind, and the grasshopper after his kind. 23. But all other flying creeping things, which have four feet, shall be an abomination unto you. 24. And for these ye shall be unclean; whosoever toucheth the carcase of them shall be unclean until the even. 25. And whosoever beareth ought of the carcase of them shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even. 26. The carcases of every beast which divideth the hoof, and is not clovenfooted, nor cheweth the cud, are unclean unto you; every one that toucheth them shall be unclean. 27. And whatsoever goeth upon his paws, among all manner of beasts that go on all four, those are unclean unto you; whoso toucheth their carcase shall be unclean until the even. 28. And he that beareth the carcase of them shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even; they are unclean unto you. KEY VERSE: “And whosever beareth ought of the carcase of them shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even”- (Leviticus 11:25). MESSAGE: Many people love to worship and serve at the altar of the Lord but are not willing to lay aside the excess weight that slows them down. Today's passage describes an aspect of ceremonial law given to Israel that could disqualify people from worship and shut them out from the congregation of the Lord until they were certified cleansed. God had strictly forbidden them from eating certain animal, and to ensure adherence to this law, they were not to touch such animals or their carcases at all as doing this would automatically render victims unclean. Under the dispensation of grace, Jesus did not in any way degrade the law. But He paved the way for a change. This was made clear in Acts 10:9-29 when God removed the traditional restrictions regarding food. Jesus pointed out that: “It is that which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man”. Sin of any kind and shape is the monster that makes a person unclean and defiled in the sight of God and the heart is the centre of activities where every evil thoughts proceed from. We must be stringent about what we allow into our minds because they could also be sources of defilement. Our inward appearance matters much before God. If as a believer, your mindset and thought processes are always tending towards evil, lust, envy, hatred, covetousness, revenge, etc. then you urgently need the second work of grace (Sanctification). If your desire is to offer acceptable worship and services unto God and eventually see Him at the end of time, you must avoid all unclean things. God is holy and those that serve Him must be clean both inwardly and outwardly. THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Only clean vessels befit the worship and service of the holy God. THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalm 31-35