SCRIPTURE
Leviticus 21:1-15 (NRSV)
Dead bodies are unclean
The Lord said to Moses: Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them:
No one shall defile himself for a dead person among his relatives, except for his nearest kin: his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, his brother; likewise, for a virgin sister, close to him because she has had no husband, he may defile himself for her. But he shall not defile himself as a husband among his people and so profane himself. They shall not make bald spots upon their heads, or shave off the edges of their beards, or make any gashes in their flesh. They shall be holy to their God, and not profane the name of their God; for they offer the Lord's offerings by fire, the food of their God; therefore they shall be holy. They shall not marry a prostitute or a woman who has been defiled; neither shall they marry a woman divorced from her husband. For they are holy to their God, and you shall treat them as holy, since they offer the food of your God; they shall be holy to you, for I the Lord, I who sanctify you, am holy. When the daughter of a priest profanes herself through prostitution, she profanes her father; she shall be burned to death.
The priest who is exalted above his fellows, on whose head the anointing oil has been poured and who has been consecrated to wear the vestments, shall not dishevel his hair, nor tear his vestments. He shall not go where there is a dead body; he shall not defile himself even for his father or mother. He shall not go outside the sanctuary and thus profane the sanctuary of his God; for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am the Lord. He shall marry only a woman who is a virgin. A widow, or a divorced woman, or a woman who has been defiled, a prostitute, these he shall not marry. He shall marry a virgin of his own kin, that he may not profane his offspring among his kin; for I am the Lord; I sanctify him.
DEVOTION
Wow! I don’t think I’ve ever had the challenge of writing a devotional from the book of Leviticus. But, here we are; so say a prayer and let’s see what Spirit shares with our hearts today.
When I read this, two things come immediately to mind. First of all, it must have been a tremendous burden and responsibility to be a priest and to live with God’s commandment to judge others. It must have been difficult to always be on your guard, seeking to discern what—and who--was clean or dirty.
It must have been difficult to live with that burden of judgment upon your shoulders. It would be hard because you would always be afraid of being defiled and it would be hard because you would constantly be judging others.
Do you know that in 2009, and this side of the cross, I still know Christians who choose to live like this? They live with a constant sneer of judgment upon their faces. Whenever they meet or see someone, they seek to discern whether they are clean or dirty. They engage in malicious gossip, spreading rumors, lies, and half truths about people they hardly know. They make assumptions about a person’s character based on how they dress or what kind of car they drive.
Oh my! This is such a sad situation because it keeps them from truly loving all of the people within their sphere of influence.
Can I tell on myself today? I have found that when I am suffering from a judgmental spirit, I am less open, kind, loving, and forgiving. When I am beset with the question, “Does this person deserve my help or ministry?,” I fail to serve as Christ would serve or welcome the stranger in Jesus Name!
In the days of Leviticus, God called the priests’ to discern holy from unholy, clean from unclean. But, this side of the cross God instructs us, “Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get (Matthew 7:1-2).”
Wow! Doesn’t this Matthew passage give you pause? It basically says, in the same way that you judge others, God will judge you!
Have mercy Jesus!
I am so glad that in this earthly life I am not called to judge others, but to love them. I have found that I am sometimes a terrible judge, but I am really very good at sharing love, joy, and peace with people who need it.
But, you may be asking, “Then who will judge?”
The answer is simple, JESUS is the only righteous judge! 2 Timothy 4:1 says that Jesus will “judge the living and the dead at the appearing of his kingdom.”
Since Jesus clearly loves and gave his life for all of us, it is Jesus who will judge all of us at the end of the world as we know it.
Until that time, our assignment is clear. We are instructed to “LOVE the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength and LOVE our neighbor as ourselves.”
Will you put away your judgmental spirit and choose to love somebody well?
Dear God, thank you that Jesus is the only righteous judge. I know that I am too sinful to judge anyone else. Please forgive me for standing in judgment of others with my words and actions. Please forgive my sin and fill me with the Holy Spirit so that I can love and serve others well. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Congratulations to all of those people who have recently put all of their hope in Jesus! Welcome to the Christian family! We love you and we are praying for you even now in Jesus’ Name!
If you would like to put all of your hope in Jesus today, please visit my blog entitled, “Putting All Your Hope In Jesus” located at
http://aintathatgoodnews.blogspot.com/2009/04/putting-all-your-hope-in-jesus.html
If you have additional questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, "Come to Jesus"
http://aintathatgoodnews.blogspot.com/2009/03/come-to-jesus.html
Pastor Yolanda is now publishing another blog entitled, “A Spoken WORD” in celebration of Holy Hip Hop, Gospel/Christian Rap and Spoken Word. Please check it out @ http://aspokenword.blogspot.com/
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From Pastor Yolanda's blog http://aintathatgoodnews.blogspot.com
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