“And whosoever beareth ought of the carcase of them shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even” (Leviticus 11:25).
TEXT — Leviticus 11:24-40
Message
There is this universal phrase, “Cleanliness is next to godliness”. It underscores the fact that maintaining personal hygiene and clean environment prevents the spread of diseases and promote healthy living. Both cleanliness and godliness express outward and inward/moral healthiness. There is no form of uncleanness which our holy God does not hate. Cleanliness or abhorrence of all forms of uncleanness is His charge to all.
When God chose Israel as His people, He gave them dietary laws, among others, to guide them in their dealings with Him. Some animals were unclean; their carcasses were not to be touched. Anyone who held them was also rendered defiled. Cooking utensils, clothes and body of water would be unclean if the dead bodies of these creatures came into contact with them. The remedy was that a person so contaminated “shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even”.
These commandments relate to the physical life of the people but they come to us with far-reaching spiritual implications. Walking with a holy God demands that the believer keeps up with His holy standards. If we hope to live with Him in His heavenly habitation, where “there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither… abomination”, we must be washed in the blood of Jesus.
Cleansing with water in Leviticus is an adumbration of the work of the blood of the Lord. He shed it on the cross for everyone sullied by sin to wash in for spiritual godliness. Sinners, like the Israelites who were given the opportunity to wash off their impurities, have the chance to immerse themselves in the blood of Jesus for purging. Besides, believers of all ages enjoy the privilege of pleading the blood of Jesus “…that speaketh better things…” in all situations of life (Hebrews 12:24).
Listed among “500 most powerful people on the planet” by the Foreign Policy magazine in 2013, Pastor (Dr.) William F. Kumuyi is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM) headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. DCLM started in 1973 as a 15-member Bible study group right in Kumuyi’s apartment at University of Lagos where he was a lecturer. His revolutionary Bible teaching on personal holiness and commitment to evangelism soon gained so much traction and resulted in a widespread revival.
