Day 37, or February the 6th. Cleanliness is next
to godliness. Our thoughts today are rooted in
Leviticus chapter 14, verse 8. The person to
be cleansed must wash their clothes, shave off
their hair, and bathe with water. Then they will
be ceremonially clean. After this, they may come
into the camp, but they must stay outside their
tent. for seven days. First, the big picture
surrounding this verse. Today's reflection comes
from a rather intimate passage. It talks about
bodily examinations and the cleansing of people
with their clothing and homes. At first sight,
it may seem strange that God is interested in
such apparent trivial things. but God is interested
in every part of us. Jesus said, the very hairs
on your head are all numbered, Matthew 10 verse
30. I'm sure you have heard it said that cleanliness
is next to godliness. This part of Leviticus
could easily have inspired this saying, which
is first accredited to Rabbi Phineas Ben -Yer,
who is thought to have used it in the second
century. And now, our action step for today.
I recently heard an elderly gentleman say to
a pharmacist, I'm sorry to bother you, but I
didn't want to take up valuable time by asking
my doctor. We often treat God like that, not
wanting to waste his time with trivia. We demote
God to, for emergencies only, break the glass
only when absolutely essential. There's a reminder
of this in that lovely old German hymn translated
in the 19th century by Catherine Winkworth, Now
thank we all our God. It includes this line,
And guide us when perplexed. In other words,
only when I can't figure it out by myself. To
be fair, it may not be what was meant, but that's
how I read it every time, and so will you after
hearing this. Sorry. Leviticus reminds us that
we need to be cleansed when we come before a
holy God. God is interested in the most intimate
and seemingly insignificant things in our lives
when they mar our purity. Nothing's too small
for cleansing if it's a barrier between you and
God.