Leviticus 22:4–7 By Jon Courson

Leviticus 22:4–7 By Jon Courson

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; 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; 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. And when the sun is down, he shall be clean, and shall afterward eat of the holy things; because it is his food.
Leviticus 22:4–7

The remedy for uncleanness is first waiting and then washing. First, the unclean person was to wait until evening. Why evening? Because in Jewish economy, the setting of the sun signaled a new day . . .
It is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. – Lamentations 3:22–23
The Lord ordered our lives in such a way that every day after about sixteen or eighteen hours, we go to bed and basically “die.” To me, His plan is ingenious because I find that after about sixteen hours of living, I’ve pretty much messed it up. I’ve dropped the ball once too often and fumbled one too many times. I need to die and start over in a fresh way. So I think it’s wonderful that God lets us die every eighteen hours.
How I love the morning hours. Whether I spend them at church, in my place of prayer at home, or walking the streets of town on a spring or summer morning, I love the morning when it’s quiet, when I can receive a piping hot batch of mercy fresh from the oven of God’s grace.
Second, the priest who was unclean – whether by his own flesh or through contact with the dead things of the world – was to wash. As New Testament priests, the washing refers to the water of the Word (John 15:3). Did you wash today in the water of the Word? We’re bombarded every day by creeping things and dead carcasses, by that which would defile us and render us unable to serve or eat that which would satisfy our souls. God would say, “The solution is simple, the remedy is real: wait on Me in this new day and wash in the water of My Word.”

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