Topic: Divine Cleansing [Saturday April 1, 2017]
Text: Leviticus 14:21-32
Key Verse: “This is the law of him in whom is the plague of leprosy, whose hand is not able to get that which pertaineth to his cleansing” (Leviticus 14:32).
As leprosy is off-putting to people, so is sin odious to God. Our text for today narrates how a person having a leprosy disease could be healed. When somebody plagued with leprosy was identified, he was excluded from the camp. Before he could be called back into the camp, he must have been healed. The plague of leprosy should be healed before the ceremony of purification starts and this has to be done with the sprinkling of blood and water.
The cleansing of the leper is a representation of the absolution of a sinner. Until the leper is cleansed, he cannot enjoy fellowship with either members of the family or the entire society. In the healing and cleansing of the leper, it is to be noted that it is God who did the healing, while the cleansing was done by the priest. It is a complex ceremonial act whose result was not only to deliver from the leprosy, but to serve as an assurance to the man himself and to the whole community into which he was restored. It is in God’s position to heal and to forgive sins. We can see the cleansing of sin as illustrated in the cleansing of the leper.
After cleansing, he is admitted into the congregation of God’s people. Our Lord Jesus directed the cleansed leper to go and offer for his cleansing what Moses commanded in the Old Testament. Therefore, our Saviour is the Great Physician who cures all ailments, physical or spiritual. Cleansing from sin proceeds from the blood of Jesus Christ. A leper was not accepted into the fold on the ground of his cure but on the basis of sacrifice. Jesus died on the Cross of Calvary for our sins.
A mere confession of sins without the recognition and acceptance of the sacrifice of Jesus will amount to a mere religious observance. As somebody who had leprosy could not have access into the congregation in the Old Testament’s dispensation, so also no sinner would be allowed into the kingdom of God. But when such comes to Jesus Christ, he will receive divine cleansing and pardon for sins committed. Repentance and cleansing from sin makes a sinner a heir of God’s family.
Thought for the day: There is divine pardon and cleansing for every sinner through the blood.
Bible Reading in one Year: Micah 5-7
DCLM Daily Manna was written by Pastor William Folorunso Kumuyi; is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Bible Church situated at KM 42 on the busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Nigeria.
