Thus you shall keep the people of Israel separate from their uncleanness, lest they die in their uncleanness by defiling my tabernacle that is in their midst. Leviticus 15:31 – Today’s chapter focuses on the unnatural and nature discharges from the body, a possibly awkward read, but one that was very helpful for the Israelites. On a basic level, for a community that didn’t know much about infections, blood borne diseases, and how such things spread, these laws were literal life savers. On a deeper level such laws made it impossible for the Israelites to imitate the despicable sex worship that was happening within many of the pagan temples. While martial sex was certainly not considered sinful, it did make the couple ceremonially unclean which meant they couldn’t be on the temple grounds. How then would partaking in sex within the temple, like the pagans did, ever be okayed by the Lord if it made the couple unclean? These laws forced the Israelites to separate themselves from the pagan practices around them and handle sex with a holier mindset. While we aren’t under the law now, the heartbeat of God for us is to not handle our sexual desires like the pagans do. Holiness is not in the vocabulary of the world when it comes to fulfilling their sexual desires, but it ought to be in the vocabulary of the believer. Sexual desires and having sex when kept within the boundaries the Lord has provided is holy and acceptable in His sight. It’s when we break those boundaries to pursue our sinful desires that we find ourselves far from God’s design. See from this passage that God’s commands have practical and spiritual purposes, both of which matter in our life. We may not understand those purposes fully, but if God instituted the commands, then they have unmatched purpose. Choose to trust the Lord’s wisdom over such things even when our wisdom tells us differently. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 3217
Question To Ponder: Why do you think God made sure His word spoke about how to handle things like sex?
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