Providence

The longer I live, the more faith I have in Providence, and the less faith in my interpretations of Providence. --Jeremiah Day

 I am struck, as always, by the everlasting mercy of a gracious God.   His mercy and grace can be seen even in the most mundane things.  They are evicenced even in the minutiae of each day.

So it was, when I took up my Bible after a brief haiatus, promising to be faithful again in daily reading.  My first assignment was a passage in Leviticus.  "O, Lord," I thought.  "This is surely a test."  In my experience, reading through the Law in the Old Testament can be quite dry and uninspiring.  Yet as I slogged through the passage, the 14th chapter to be exact, God opened my eyes to something I had not seen before.

We are all quite familiar with the story of how Jesus healed the ten lepers, and only one came back to thank Him.  The command that Jesus gave to all ten was to "go, show yourselves to the priests." (Luke 17:14).  This action of going before the priests for inspection, to be declared clean, was actually a lengthy process.  The process is described in greater detail in Leviticus 14.  The Jewish people in Jesus' day were aware of this process, much more aware than those of us Gentiles on this side of the Cross.  I believe it is important to know the background, so that we can more fully understand the Bible.

You see, Jesus came to fulfill the law, not abolish it.

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.  For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven."  --Matthew 5:17-20

Jesus went on in this passage to compare the Law to true Righteousness: The Law says do not murder, but I say don't hate (or be angry with)  your brother.  The Law says do not commit adultery, but I say to you don't look lustfully at a member of the opposite sex.  The Law says love your neighbor and hate your enemy, but I say love your enemy.  On and on Jesus goes beyond what was written in the Law.  And yet we, because we love Freedom (or perhaps because we are lazy), overlook the Law and rely solely on Grace.

Let me show you how the Law is a picture of Grace.  Leviticus 14 tells us what Jesus meant when He told the ten lepers to "go, show yourselves to the priests", and why He marvelled when only one came back to thank Him.  I won't quote verbatim, but will summarize, inserting my own observations of how Grace is evident in the Law.  See if you don't agree.

No other disease in the ancient world was more feared than leprosy.  It could not be hidden.  It was usually incurable.  It was highly contageous, so that if one had it, then he had to be separated from the rest of society.  If he was going to move about where people are, he had to warn others of his approach.  "Unclean!  Unclean!!"  But if the symptoms seemed to resolve, then the job of reintigrating those people back into society fell upon the priests.

The priests were to examing the person outside the camp.  If he could find no evidence of the disease, then the leper was to provide two doves (or pigeons, or some other clean bird), along with some cedar wood, some hyssop, and some scarlet yarn.  The priest would wring the neck of one of the birds over a bowl of clean water.  The yarn, hyssop, and live bird would be dipped in the bowl, which collected the blood of the dead bird.  Then the priest would sprinkle the blood of the dead bird on the supplicant seven times.  Finally, the priest would release the live bird, stained with the blood of the sacrifice, to fly away in an open field.  Then the supplicant would be declared clean, and would be allowed back into the city.

I think the sprinkling of the blood sacrifice reminds us that we are stained with sin.  Yet by the Grace of God, our sin is lifted off of us, and flies up to the heavens, as signified by the release of the live bird into the open field.  "Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sin." (Hebrews 9:22)  This, though, is just the beginning of the process of being declared clean.

The second step is that the supplicant must wash his clothes, and bathe, and shave off all his hair.  Only then could he be seen as ceremonially clean.  I think this signifies a separation from our sin.  We don't want to continue to associate with the things we surrounded ourselves with when we were under sin.  Anything that covered us--the blood that had been sprinkled on us, our clothes, even our hair--must all be removed so that we can be reminded of our separation from sin.  We must approach God with clean hands and a clean heart. (Psalm 24:4)

Even then, the supplicant could not return to his home.  For seven days, he had to stay outside his home.  On the seventh day, he would again be required to shave off all his hair, bathe himself and wash his clothes.  Again, I think this was a week-long reminder that God is our covering.  Everything we hold dear, everything that is close to us, everything that covers us and hides our sin--all of it must be removed in order for us to be in good standing before God.  "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I shall return.  The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the Name of the Lord." (Job 1:21)

Finally, three more sacrifices had to be made.  The supplicant was to bring two male and one female lambs, without blemish, to the priest.  The first was to be a guilt or a sin offering.  This type of offering was known as a "wave offering".  This means that it was to be bled completely, and put next to the fire, and the cooked meat was to be waved in the presence of the Lord.  The priest would eat it, he and his family together.  This was to be a sacrifice for specific sins, sins that the supplicant had committed prior.  As a symbol of God's grace, the priest was to take some of the blood, and smear it on the right earlobe of the supplicant.  Some blood also was to be smeared on the right thumb and the right great toe.  Then the priest was to take some oil and pour it into his cupped left hand.  The priest would dip his right forefinger into the oil and wipe the blood from the earlobe, the thumb, and the right great toe of the supplicant.  The rest of the oil was to be placed on the supplicant's head.

I think the meal is significant.  It is restoring fellowship to the applicant.  Cooking the male lamb, waving it before the Lord, and consuming it together was an act of Communion.  The placement of the blood on the ear, thumb, and toe of the supplicant may have consecrated his mind--his thoughts, what he heard, and what he said--as well as the work of his hands, and his going and coming.  Every part of him was consecrated to the Lord.  The anointing of oil removed the blood, but it was also signifying a setting apart.  Kings and priests were annointed with oil.  "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.  You annoint my head with oil; my cup overflows." (Psalm 23:5)

The other two lambs were also killed.  One was to be a burnt offering, totally consumed by fire.  The smoke that arose signified the sharing of the sacrificial meal with God Himself.  I am reminded that the act of Communion is never just between the pastor and the parishioners.  God Himself should be included.  The third lamb was to be a sin offering, or offering of atonement.  It was not so much for specific sins, as to remind the supplicant that he was a sinner.  It was for the general sin condition, into which we are all born.

Going back to the beginning of the discussion, this process was to be initiated by one who had been healed of leprosy.  It was a done deal.  Remember the New Testament passage, when Jesus healed the ten men.  They were healed.  But under the regulations outlined in Leviticus, each of the steps must be completed by "the person to be cleansed", or "the person who wants to be cleansed."  Think about it.  Each of us has been forgiven by God Himself.  However, if we want full restoration within His fellowship and with the fellowship of Believers, we must make amends.  We must go through a process to reconnect.

Salvation is a one-time event, but the Apostle Paul said for us to "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." (Philippians 2:12)  Paul definitely knew what he was talking about.  He audibly heard the voice of God at his own conversion.  Yet because of  his background as a zealot, a persecutor of the Church, many were at first reluctant to allow them into their fellowship.  It is not the Journey that saves us, but it is through the fire that we are refined.

“My life is but a weaving
Between my God and me.
I cannot choose the colors
He weaveth steadily.

Oft’ times He weaveth sorrow;
And I in foolish pride
Forget He sees the upper
And I the underside.

Not ’til the loom is silent
And the shuttles cease to fly
Will God unroll the canvas
And reveal the reason why.

The dark threads are as needful
In the weaver’s skillful hand
As the threads of gold and silver
In the pattern He has planned

He knows, He loves, He cares;
Nothing this truth can dim.
He gives the very best to those
Who leave the choice to Him.” 
― Corrie ten Boom