Leviticus 11:1-12:8 ~ Mark 5:21-43 ~ Psalm 38:1-22 ~ Proverbs 10:8-9
Today is the 21st day of February. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It’s great, of course, to be here with you today, and it’s great that we can take this next step together as we move further and further into the word of God this year. What a year it’s been so far, right? Amazing things that God is revealing through his word. So we will go back out where we’ve been spending considerable time in the wilderness among the children of Israel as their culture is being formed and their customs and rituals and laws are being given, Leviticus 11:1 through 12:8 today, and we’re reading from the God’s Word translation this week.
Commentary
As we’re moving through the book of Leviticus and the law is being given, today we investigate and are informed of the concept of clean and unclean. So what is clean and what is not clean? The underlying theme to all of that is that God is holy and they are invited to become holy because they are set apart as his people. So we can look at this list and go, ‘Well, what makes the lizard unclean? What makes a gecko unclean for eating?’ but that is somewhat beside the point. And we can look at these customs and say, “Man, kind of rigid, isn’t it? Kind of rigid’ but let’s not forget what is going on here. This is a horde of people, massive, over a million, and as far back as they can basically remember, for centuries they have been generational slaves. So this is all new stuff for them. God is establishing this rhythm of life that in everything and in every way is reminding them of the story of their new identity, chosen people set aside by God to be his chosen people.
So as the law is given, you can say, ‘Yeah, that’s kind of rigid. We wouldn’t do that today. Why? Why is all this clean and unclean?’ but embedded into the fabric of the culture is the story that there is a difference between being set apart and being holy and not being those things. So yes, some of these things are for sanitation. Some of these things are for health and not transmitting diseases to each other. Certainly that is embedded in here, but spiritually what is embedded inside of this is the story of their identity. They are reminded of it in just about everything that they do and it is intended to and will have a profound effect on how they live their lives and how they conduct themselves in relation to one another and how they conduct themselves in relation to God.
So we get to the New Testament and this becomes really fascinating because Jesus is invited to come and heal a synagogue leader’s 12-year-old daughter and he agrees and he’s on his way to do just that when the whole scene gets hijacked by a woman who has been perpetually bleeding for 12 years. So she has been bleeding since this little girl that Jesus is going to heal was born. The thing is, she is unclean under Mosaic Law. She has been unclean perpetually for 12 years, unable to participate in holy things and anything that she touches while she is unclean becomes unclean. So for her to have faith well up inside herself and reach out and touch a rabbi on purpose, making him unclean on purpose, that is a no-no. But she did it. She felt like ‘If I could just brush up against his clothes, if I could just reach out and touch is clothes, I think I would be healed” and she did it. That was a risk because had Jesus stopped and said “Who touched me? Who made me unclean?” well, she could have had a bad day, but Jesus didn’t react that way. He wasn’t lost in the rules. He had given the rules and he knew what they were supposed to point to. They had become a cage of ritual when they were supposed to be reminders of identity. The woman was healed and Jesus said, “Go in peace. Your faith has made you well.” It’s really, really beautiful. Striking.
So we can get hung up on the rules. We can call our freedom in Christ and say we can do just about whatever we want because we’re free from all of that and that is fine. But may we understand even in our faith journey there are things that are clean and there are things that are not. There are things that are unclean. If we’re going to dally in the unclean, if we’re going to touch the unclean, then we’re going to be unclean. And we don’t really have to unpack that very much. We know this. It may not be under Mosaic Law, but if we live our lives touching the unclean on purpose, being involved in what is unclean on purpose, then we will be unclean.
Yeah, we’re supposed to be holy and in a way these people that we’re reading about in Leviticus could have never become because we are not only set apart and made holy. We are partakers in the divine nature of God. We shouldn’t be unclean in that. So may we, like this woman, reach out and touch the hem of the garment of the Risen Christ and be made whole again and be made clean. May we hear the voice of Jesus telling us “Go in peace. Your faith has made you well. Be cured.”
Prayer
Jesus, that is what we long for. Put in these terms, we can see clean and unclean everywhere. And we know where we’ve been unclean. So while we don’t bring lambs and sacrifice them to be restored to you, we do lay our own lives down as a living sacrifice in order to be restored to you, and we ask your forgiveness of the unclean in us. It is not supposed to mix with what is holy. And that explains so much of our lives. That explains so much of why things don’t work and why we get mad and estranged from you when you’re not jumping to attention because we’ve called. It explains a lot and it forces us to own our part of this relationship. You are holy and the only way we can walk with you is in holiness and that you have provided even that for us if we will simply partake and participate. And so we do. We invite your Holy Spirit to well up within us and the divine nature of the Risen Christ to overwhelm everything that is unclean in us, crowding it out and sending it away because we have been set apart as holy and we must be holy. So come Holy Spirit, because without you we can’t. There is no possible way. So we invite you. Make us holy as you are holy. And we ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Announcements
Www.DailyAudioBible.com is the website. It’s home base. It’s where you find out what is going on around here and mostly we’re talking about the More Gathering that is coming up in April for women. I think Jill and I have both unpacked it sufficiently, sufficiently that you know what is going on and what it is. If it is kind of the thing that keeps coming to mind, you keep being drawn toward it, then at least check out the details. You can find out everything that you would want to know at www.DailyAudioBible.com. Just look for the More Gathering. You’ll find it fairly easily. And we will look forward to seeing you there.
If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at www.DailyAudioBible.com. There is a link. It is right on the home page. Thank you. Thank you for your partnership in allowing us to continue in this journey that we are on together of building community centered around the rhythm of the scriptures every day. If that has been life-giving to you, then thank you for your partnership. If you’re using the Daily Audio Bible App, you can press the More button. It’s in the lower right-hand corner of the main screen. Or if you prefer, the mailing address is P.O. Box 1996, Spring Hill, TN 37174.
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And that’s it for today. I’m Brian. I love you. I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.
Community Prayer Requests and Praise Reports
Hi Daily Audio Bible family. This is Christine from Washington State. I’ve called in a few times for prayer requests for my marriage and I actually am seeing some progress there with my husband. He still isn’t a believer, so I still need prayers, but he is changing. I think I changed coming closer to God and I just wanted to call in and give a testament to the women’s conference, the More Gathering. I for the first couple years, this is my fifth year through the Bible, I heard about the More Gathering and I wanted to go really bad, but I wanted to go and I didn’t act on it. So two years ago, it was like one of the lowest points in my life and I signed up and everybody is like, “Is somebody going with you?” I went by myself because I could only deal with myself and it was good because I could focus on Jesus and myself and getting closer with him. It was a life-changing experience. I went again last year and then signed up this year. Satan tried to stop me. He tried but I went and it was amazing. I met some of the most beautiful people there and still stay in contact with them, so I urge you. If anyone is on the fence or afraid to go alone, you’re not alone when you get there and you are surrounded by people that love you. And Jesus is there. So I just say that if you’re thinking about it at all, just do it and don’t let anything stop you. You just do it because it is the best thing for your spirit. I love you all, Daily Audio Bible. Have a good day.
As I speak, my niece Jody is dying of brain cancer. She knows God’s plan for salvation, but to my knowledge has never accepted. Please pray in her final thoughts she will reach out to the only one who can save her and her unbelieving family will somehow know. Thank you.
Hi, my name is Lloyd. I’m calling out of California. It’s February 16th. I’ve been listening to Daily Audio Bible for a year now and I’m calling about… Well, I’m calling for prayer. It’s been such a tough couple years of my life. I just need prayer, please. I’ve been struggling. I haven’t been faithful in going to church. I just need Jesus right now to move in my life and my family’s life, so I ask, please, the Daily Audio Bible community, please lift me up in prayer. I need help. Thank you.
Hi Daily Audio Bible family. This is Marcia from West Virginia and I was just listening to the February 15th podcast and I heard Cory from Newhaven, WV. In this little state of ours, when we hear West Virginia, our heads perk up and we take an extra special time to listen and I just wanted to encourage Cory that my husband and I have been married 43 years and it is not always easy. I just want to say don’t give up. Do whatever it takes. And just I want you to know that I will be praying for you, as one West Virginian to another. Cory, God bless you and your family. Like I said before, just don’t give up. Thanks. Bye-bye.
Good morning Daily Audio Bible family. This is Tamberly calling again. I heard Bill B. call in and I just want to pray now for him. He’s been such a blessing to all of us and the work that he’s doing with young men. So anyway, if we could pray for him. Father God, thank you so much for this man of God. Thank you for the love that he shows others. Thank you for the life that he has lived. And Lord, we thank you for the blessing that he has been to us, the strength, the voice of positivity and a beacon of light for you. Lord, we pray now that you would give Bill comfort, Lord. Help him breathe better. Help his heart heal. Lord Jesus and Father, we pray that you would just surround him with your love. Father, help him know in his heart that we’ll all thinking about him and we wish we could be there in San Antonio to help him out with whatever he might need. O God, we just thank you for these mighty men of God, the example that they give us and the example they give to our young men. We’re just so thankful for that. And so Lord, we just ask a hedge of protection around Bill. Thank you, Father, for just loving him and loving us right where we’re at. In your Son’s name I pray, amen.
Good morning guys. This is Jen in SoCal, aka Prayer Warrior Princess and I have a tiny testimony for you. So I’m working this basic fraction problem in the tutoring office with all the kids around me and I’m wondering ‘Why was I unable to do math before, given how easily it is coming to me now?’ and the Holy Spirit starts to minister to me and he reminds me this concept is from fourth grade when you were 9 years old. And then like a flood, his compassion starts washing over me because I know. I made the connection why I couldn’t do math before. From ages 9 through 11, I was being sexually abused at home and there was a lot of other crazy stuff happening and I couldn’t do homework. But I got by in all the other school subjects, but math requires a lot of practice and a grasp of the foundational skills so you can keep moving through the higher problem-solving concepts. And I just couldn’t keep up. So the Holy Spirit started speaking into my heart “It wasn’t your fault. You did the best you could do in those circumstances and I’m really proud of you. I gave you this love for learning. I’m a God of order and logic. I created math and I’m going to teach you how to do it now. I love you. You’re precious to me and I am going to redeem this for you. For everything there is a season. Forty-one years and now it is harvest time for math and for you to see yet again how creatively I redeem and restore everything that is mine.” In five days I learned 4-½ years’ worth of math concepts and before this, on the sample test, I couldn’t even answer one question. I took the test on Monday and I answered 18 correctly. I look up to the mountains. Where does my help come from? It comes from the God of order and logic who created math and restores what the swarming locusts have eaten.