Tag Archives: the disease of sin

The Fabric of My Life

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Leviticus 11-13

I learned something today. The CSB uses the words, “warp,” and “weft” and I don’t remember hearing those words before. Google tells me they refer to the woven threads in fabric. One is the horizontal threads, the other the verticals ones. (The NIV uses the words “one side or the other.” The ESV says “warp and woof.” Whatever. It all speaks to me today.)

If there was a question about mold or disease on a piece of fabric, the priest evidently examined it closely enough to consider each thread. Sometimes a good washing took care of the problem Sometimes a diseased patch had to be cut from the rest of the cloth and destroyed. Sometimes the whole garment had to be burned. (lots of spiritual imagery there if you think about it).

But what occurred to me is that the spot in question was not ignored, dismissed, or pushed aside to be addressed at a later date, no matter how simple or drastic the treatment it required.

Looking at these chapters as a picture of Jesus helps me appreciate the cross even more. I can be assured that when Jesus examines my heart He doesn’t do a quick look-over. He carefully touches every thread in the fabric of my life, and deals with the microscopic disease of sin that, if left there would grow and contaminate my life.

Jesus absolutely took care of my “big” sins there on the cross. But He also dug deeper and died for the unclean thought, the unclean attitude, the little shift away from His Holiness. Now, when I am convicted at the first sign of disease, I can repent and know God forgives and cleanses me before that thought or attitude or shift begins to grow.

I thank God for a conscience, for conviction that addresses the uncleanness of the warp and weft in the fabric of my life. Those are signs of God’s loving, gentle. and personal care of my life to save me from a world of hurt later on if those things are left untreated.

May I – may you – allow God to cleanse us at the first sign of sin. The disease of sin is never stagnate. It either spreads left unchecked, or it is stopped by God’s hand. One leads to contamination. The other to holiness.

Let’s choose holiness.

Leviticus 15&16; We Are Healed

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It’s tempting to pass over the chapters that talk about diseases. I certainly don’t like reading them when I’m eating. But I sit here today and consider why God included these instructions to us in His Word.

What do you think? Should we read them, thank God for antibiotics, and move on? Or can there be a lesson we need to learn in 2017 in these verses?

All Scripture is given for inspiration, reproof, correction, instruction. So I’m thinking there’s a lesson here.

It occurs to me that we are all born with a terminal blood disease called sin. Left unchecked, that disease will kill us. But when we get a blood transfusion, so to speak, and have Jesus’ precious blood flowing through our veins, we are miraculously healed! No longer a disgusting disease. Clean!

Sin is not only terminal, but that disease is highly contagious.

So God, through Moses, is telling us to stay away from the disease (sin). Don’t touch it. Don’t take it lightly. Cleanse yourselves and your surroundings to prevent contamination. In other words, don’t put yourself in situations or have things around you that would compromise your spiritual health, that would tempt you to sin.  It’s clear that we live with, and love people who are diseased. But we need to be careful that their disease does not cause us to sin, too.

Isaiah 53:5 came to mind as I was thinking about disease. I have often heard that verse quoted as people claim the promise of healing from cancer, or some other sickness. After all, it says “… by His stripes we are HEALED.”

But when I read the whole verse, Isiah is referring to the sickness of sin:

He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities, the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. (NIV, emphasis mine)

Healed of what? The disease of sin. Our transgressions refer to our terminal heart condition, our iniquities our incurable blood disease. But through Christ, we are healed!

So that’s what I’m taking from reading this chapter this morning. Moses’ instructions help me understand that there are some things I need to do to prevent being contaminated by the world. And it’s pretty consistent with what Paul tells us to do as well. Flee. Resist. Strive. Turn.

I am clean through the blood of Jesus. No longer carrying a terminal disease. I am healed!