The Bible contains God’s plan for the salvation of the world. It shows how we can be brought back into a right relationship with God. To highlight the way of salvation the Bible therefore constantly draws attention to what it is we need to be saved from. To draw our attention to the solution the problem is constantly highlighted. Leviticus 1-9 shows us the solution to our problem, chapters 10-15 then highlight the problem. The story of Nadab and Abihu epitomises the nature of human rebellion, which forms a literary ‘hinge’ into Leviticus 11-15 where God institutes a body of laws designed to remind the people of their fundamental uncleanness. Any kind of bodily discharge or anything that distorted the appearance of a person, a garment or a house was to be used as such a reminder. These things did not make the people unclean, but rather were to be used as reminders of their fundamental uncleanness. Uninformed readers of Leviticus, particularly those who are looking for something to criticise, are quick to complain about these poor people who are labelled ‘unclean’ simply because of a natural discharge or skin condition. However, these people were more likely to have benefitted from God’s saving work precisely because they were more likely to be aware of their need for salvation. This is precisely what we see demonstrated in the ministry of Jesus. It was the ‘unclean’ who regularly encountered his transforming power whilst those who considered themselves clean and righteous missed out. We are all unclean. Some, however, are blessed to be more aware of this.
Ask God to make you more aware of your problems and your need for Christ.
Read Leviticus 12 and 13
