Reflection: Precise purity
Until the 10th chapter of Numbers God is still reining in his impatient flock with practicalities. For example, could they (or we) ever comprehend how dangerously important purity is, if a holy God is to be present with us? How can they, their camp and their reputation keep anything like pure? Simply the logistics of defecation (pardon being so blunt) would have been mind-boggling. Say nothing of keeping relationships and hearts pure.
God is obsessed with clean…right down to the minutia of weights, measures and time periods. Take the Nazarite vow, for example. Even though it was a voluntary choice to be set apart for God, each aspect of abstinence (no haircuts, no alcohol, no contact with the dead) was to be fastidiously kept, down to the day of a particular time period.
I’m sure you grew up with some family rules. Ours were very particular especially when it came to mealtime. Guidelines to foster good habits. God’s persnickety purity protocols were training his people to live with him in a sullied and sin-sick world where we’re defiled inside and out. That was…until God came to live with his people as a mediator and clean us from the inside out!
Prayer:
We worship you, holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty. With blood you’ve sprinkled our dark hearts to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and washed our bodies with pure water (Hebrews10:22). Showered fresh and free, help me to meet the challenges of today in your precious and holy company.