Separate

This word, like many words in the English vocabulary has different but similar meaning when used as an adjective or a verb. Separate means things that are apart and not joined together. It also means make things come apart or stay apart from one another. There are lots of things that are joined together that don’t mix well and sometimes they separate themselves. For example, oil and water. These two elements can’t mix. The teachers in school sometimes separate the boys from the girls. They also might separate the “trouble makers” from the “good students”. A really troubling part of American history is when we as a culture separated people because of the color of their skin. Separation is not always bad and it’s not always good.

As Moses continued giving the Israelites the rules and boundaries handed down by God, He makes it clear that there is a separation between clean and unclean. This was not to be confused with sin. Being unclean and disobedient could certainly lead to sin. The Lord wanted His people to be clear on what is clean and unclean. He gave specific instructions about what is unclean and what would make me unclean. He also gave instructions about how to become clean. He’s speaking of ceremonial cleanliness. For example, if a person killed a deer and cleaned it and prepared it for food, he would be ceremonially unclean until evening. He would obviously “wash up” but he couldn’t go offer a sacrifice before the Lord in an unclean state. The Lord wanted careful preparation before coming before Him. Check this out…

31 ‘“You must keep the Israelites separate from things that make them unclean, so they will not die in their uncleanness for defiling my dwelling-place, which is among them.”’ (Leviticus 15:31 NIV)

Because of Jesus, we are no longer under this same law. When Jesus came He changed much of the ritualistic rules and replaced it with relationship that was personal and one on One with God. We now can go before the Lord to repent and be purified from sin. There is no longer a ritualistic ceremony for the unclean person. According to the definition of unclean in Leviticus, there are many days that I become unclean simply by living life. I still have access to the Father because the sacrifice of Jesus makes me clean and gives me access to The Father.

This is not a free ticket to live however I choose. I do have the Spirit of God dwelling inside and directing me to do things that honor God not hurt His heart. I must be aware of the destructive nature of sin. I must eradicate sin from my life. I can do this all the time, but it’s a symptom of a deeper problem. The Lord wants to capture my heart for Him. My actions come out of the depths of my heart. I want to keep my heart clean and pure before the Lord because my activity will follow from my heart. I must guard my heart against the enemy. I’m called to be in the world but not of the world. It’s a separation idea – separate myself from things that could infect my heart with sin.

Pressing On!

Dwayne