Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Leviticus 7:19-21

19 And the flesh that toucheth any unclean thing shall not be eaten; it shall be burnt with fire: and as for the flesh, all that be clean shall eat thereof.

20 But the soul that eateth of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, that pertain unto the Lord, having his uncleanness upon him, even that soul shall be cut off from his people.

21 Moreover the soul that shall touch any unclean thing, as the uncleanness of man, or any unclean beast, or any abominable unclean thing, and eat of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which pertain unto the Lord, even that soul shall be cut off from his people.

These verses emphasize the separation that there must be between unclean and clean. If part of an offering touches that which is unclean it is now also unclean and must be burned with the unclean parts. Given that different parts of the same animal were clean and unclean, one could easily see how this might happen on a fairly regular basis.

It is also made clear that sometimes people go through unclean periods. These will be spelled out more later, but symbolically it is observably true that we all go through times of guilt and shame, times where we have done things that we know we shouldn’t have, times where we feel out-of-place among the innocent and pure. Verses 20 and 21 make it clear that if we then did mingle ourselves with the pure, that would be living in a spiritually disingenuous way, and that is actually worse than the original uncleanness.

This brings up a theme that I have been noticing during this study of Leviticus. We are so often told that the Old Testament and the Mosaic Law are strict and demanding and cruel, oppressive laws that we are much better off to be rid of. But that isn’t what I’ve seen at all. What I’ve seen is a law that understands and accepts the fact that its people will sin, and which asks them to just be honest when they are in that condition, and to excuse themselves in those moments without shame. So long as an Israelite was honest about his failures, the law was perfectly willing to work with him, to allow him time to become clean and whole again.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Leviticus 5:2-3

2 Or if a soul touch any unclean thing, whether it be a carcase of an unclean beast, or a carcase of unclean cattle, or the carcase of unclean creeping things, and if it be hidden from him; he also shall be unclean, and guilty.

3 Or if he touch the uncleanness of man, whatsoever uncleanness it be that a man shall be defiled withal, and it be hid from him; when he knoweth of it, then he shall be guilty.

Yesterday’s verse talked about an omission of doing good, where the perpetrator knew he wasn’t behaving as he ought. Today’s verses are different in that the person does something and “it be hidden from him.” Also, they describe situations that are not always a choice: such as stumbling over a carcass or having a nighttime emission.

Later chapters (11-15) will explain that these and other situations make a person temporarily unable to enter the tabernacle. It is not that the person has sinned, just that they are in a common state where they need to wait a day before entering the holy place of the Lord, and in certain cases bring a small offering.

Therefore, the situations described in this verse are not an indictment of the individual so much as an acknowledgement of the crudity of this world. Take, for example, how it obviously isn’t a wrong thing to defecate, but also, we would be mortified to do so in front of others. Just by living this mortal life, we will all have moments awkwardness. We do not need to feel ashamed for them, but neither should we deny that they are, in fact, awkward. And when we come to the house of the Lord, we should make the effort to come as the best that we can be.

Posted on by Abe Austin

The Doing Muscle- Proverbs 28:13, Romans 10:10

He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.

For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

COMMENTARY

He that covereth his sins shall not prosper
The effort of self-improvement is too great to also be burdened by unconfessed wrongs. I have had personal experience in trying to make myself a healthier, better balanced, more faithful person…while also harboring secret shames. It simply didn’t work. I felt that I was running on frictionless ice, flailing my arms and legs about valiantly, but all to no effect. My system was broken, and I simply could not prosper.

But whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy
And with the mouth confession is made unto salvation
Eventually I made confession to God, to my family, to my spiritual leaders, and started attending therapy for my addictions. Shortly thereafter one of my spiritual leaders asked me how I was doing and I expressed that I had felt a wall breaking down. Suddenly all my efforts weren’t cursed anymore. Suddenly striving to improve myself actually felt like it was going somewhere.
Yes, confession had brought me mercy, and it had put me on the path of salvation. I had anticipated that. But what had come as a surprise was that now when I sowed, I finally had the opportunity to reap.