Bible Study: Cleansed By The Blood

Hello My Friend/Guest,

Today is Friday February 05, 2010 and we are reading through the Bible in a year. Today's message comes from the reading of the Book of Leviticus, chapters 11-13. If you would like to read the chapters along with us here online you can Click Here to read them or copy & paste this URL onto your browser: http://www.readytofollow.com/bible-february-5

Title: Bible Study: Cleansed By The Blood
Today's chapters focus on things that clean and unclean, God gave the Israelite's instructions on food they were allowed to eat or even touch to keep them clean. Though every creature of God be good and pure in itself, yet it pleased God to make a difference between the clean and unclean. “And the LORD spake unto Moses and to Aaron, saying unto them, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, These are the beasts which ye shall eat among all the beasts that are on the earth. Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is clovenfooted, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall ye eat. Nevertheless these shall ye not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the hoof: as the camel, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.” - Leviticus 11:1-4. Although we are exempt from these laws today, several things come to mind. This was a test of the people's obedience, to teach them self-denial, and the government of their appetites. It also was to keep the Israelite's distinct from other nations, many of these forbidden animals were objects of superstition and idolatry to the heathen. The law forbade, not only the eating of the unclean beasts, but the touching of them as well. Today, for Christian's, this would mean that we are to avoid every temptation that would cause us to sin. We must be careful not to abuse our freedom given to us by the Lord, Jesus Christ. When Jesus redeems us and cleans us from our sins, we are called His people, children of the living God, meaning that we are to be holy, just as He is holy. In other words we are to separate ourselves from the world, those who are unclean cause us to be unclean.

Of all the sins committed those of the flesh are considered the worse, although the conception of a child in most cases is not a sin, God addresses a woman's purity after giving birth. “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a woman have conceived seed, and born a man child: then she shall be unclean seven days; according to the days of the separation for her infirmity shall she be unclean. And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. And she shall then continue in the blood of her purifying three and thirty days; she shall touch no hallowed thing, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying be fulfilled.........And when the days of her purifying are fulfilled, for a son, or for a daughter, she shall bring a lamb of the first year for a burnt offering, and a young pigeon, or a turtledove, for a sin offering, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, unto the priest: Who shall offer it before the LORD, and make an atonement for her; and she shall be cleansed from the issue of her blood. This is the law for her that hath born a male or a female.” - Leviticus 12:1-4,6,7. What God is referring to here is not regarding a woman unclean from the conception of a child, she was considered unclean due to her infirmities, which is referred to as menstruation or the expelling of unclean blood, which lasted about seven days. The purifying of her blood refers to the complete purification of a woman's body after she gives birth, which took about forty days if she gave birth to a male and eighty for a female. The reason a woman had to wait twice as long was to keep the female population from getting larger than the male. It is called the blood of her purifying because by the expulsion of that blood, which is done by degrees, she is purified. After the cleansing period the woman was to bring offerings to God, they were used to stress the importance of the strength of her surrender and absence from being in the presence God. A man was not to even touch a woman in this state because he too would be considered unclean. Today, while these laws do not refer to us to such a degree, it is a reminder that we are to consider the uncleanness of being immoral with our bodies and the consequences we face in doing so.

God did not just point out women, men too are to keep their bodies pure as well, chapter thirteen refers to the disease of leprosy. “And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, saying, When a man shall have in the skin of his flesh a rising, a scab, or bright spot, and it be in the skin of his flesh like the plague of leprosy; then he shall be brought unto Aaron the priest, or unto one of his sons the priests: And the priest shall look on the plague in the skin of the flesh: and when the hair in the plague is turned white, and the plague in sight be deeper than the skin of his flesh, it is a plague of leprosy: and the priest shall look on him, and pronounce him unclean.” - Leviticus 13:1-3. Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease that affects and controls the entire body, it starts out as a white spot then slowly eats through a persons muscle, causing the nervous system to shut down as well as hair loss and even loss of limbs. The reason God addresses the issue of leprosy is that it represents sin, it may start off as a little spot, but slowly destroys a person over time. “And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean. All the days wherein the plague shall be in him he shall be defiled; he is unclean: he shall dwell alone; without the camp shall his habitation be.” - Leviticus 13:45,46. If someone had been diagnosed with having leprosy, he had to literally shout out unclean, unclean if someone were to come near him as he was not able to be around those who were clean because if he had gotten around them they too would catch the disease. Sin not only affects the person committing the sin, but those around them as well, either they become victims or fall right into their sinful ways as well. God gives each of us a choice to either follow Him or sin, the choices we make need to be within the Word of God, if they go against His Word than we will face the consequences. God told us exactly what He expects from us, and when we treat His Word lightly, and without regards and respect, then we tell Him that we reject His Laws and commandments. At that point we have no one to blame, but ourselves for the consequences we face. We are to be holy, because He is holy, therefore, especially when it comes to our bodies, we need to keep everything we do moral. Of course we will fall from time to time, but when we do, we can keep ourselves from spreading the disease simply by calling on the only man who can heal us from our infirmities. That man is the one and only Jesus Christ, who shed His blood to cleanse us from all our infirmities, even those done with the body. Praise God!

Enjoy the rest of your day/night and weekend.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

Visit: I'm Following Jesus!
http://www.readytofollow.com

Missed A Lesson?
Go to: Daily Bible Study
http://www.readytofollow.com/daily-bible-study

Learn About Salvation Only Made Through Jesus Christ
Go to: I'm Ready to Get Saved
http://www.readytofollow.com/salvation

Want To Receive These Devotions in Your Email?
Send me a blank email with the word Subscribe in the Title to:
devotion@readytofollow.com