A few weeks ago I wrote this up on Leviticus 16-24. I shared with my small group that the previous several days had been incredibly emotional for me and at the same time, incredibly enlightening. I shared that I believed that Torah had the answers and had given me a source of continuity that I wanted to share. I have decided to post this here in an effort to share with those who may find it helpful.
Last week we are introduced to the term Kafar. This word is used in connection with what we think of as atonement. But what it really means is “cleaning away that which keeps us from being in the presence of God”.
This week’s Torah portion brings some nuances that go against traditional thought relative to how we are traditionally taught about the Old Covenant ways. In this week’s Torah portions we are told that God understands, and even accepts under certain conditions, that even the High Priest (let alone the people) will become defiled (by exposure to uncleanliness). This accepted, and even encouraged behavior is simply understood as a part of life. At the same time, the priest is to understand that he cannot approach God in this unclean or defiled state. It is understood that the priest must go through “Kafar” prior to approaching God. There is no condemnation. There is no shame. It simply is.
This same understanding is applicable to all the children of Israel and arguably all the children of God. Simply put, we are to understand that association with those things that He defines as unholy and unclean will leave us in a state that breaks our ability to approach and spend time with Him. But this is not the end of the world. Included within the context of His directions (Torah) He has told us what we need to do to cleans ourselves (or should I say, let Him cleans us) of these defilements so that we can return to that intimacy that we all so deeply crave.
This is an amazing thing that helped me to understand what I believe God is attempting to communicate to us through this physical pandemic and why plague is such a vital part of gaining a rhema word from God. I am going to go in three directions with this but first I want to go back to the laws of leprosy discussed two weeks back.
Within the context of a culture that is obedient to God’s ways, that understands the difference between the clean and the unclean, and within the context of a society that lives by His standards, dealing with “plague like disease” is as simple as putting the “sick” person into quarantine. This is even possible with something that is as infectious as leprosy. Looking at this on the three levels we have: A person who physically has leprosy, a person who is living an immoral life based on the standards of the secular world, and a person who is living an unholy life based on the standards of God.
Regardless as to which form of “sickness” this person is living, putting this person into quarantine resolves the situation and protects society from the “death” they are carrying AND the influence their behavior may have on others. In a perfect world, or in a culture living in perfect harmony with God’s ways, quarantine of the “sick” works.
But, how does all of this shift when the society itself is “sick” with all three forms of disease? What are we to do when society is filled with those who are carrying physical plague, immoral toward secular morality, and immoral towards God’s Holy standards (even within the church)?
Sadly we live in a culture where every day we are bombarded with “unclean” and if we do not recognize what we have allowed to defile us (physically through germs, morally through actions, or at a deeper level through misguided theology) we end up in a state of defilement that does not carry with it condemnation but does 1) keep us separated from God, 2) make us dangerous to others, and 3) hinders us in our ability to remain healthy. Believing that God will protect us, our homes, and our children while not acknowledging the uncleanliness we have allowed ourselves to interact with simply will not work. The entire foundation of our relationship with Jesus and the protection He provides starts with acknowledgment of what we need to be cleansed from so that we can then let His blood do that cleaning through confession. Trusting that God will keep porn out of our homes while not acknowledging how the outside world has influenced our behaviors and doing our part in removing those things that tempt us from our lives won’t work. Trusting that God will keep germs out of our homes while not acknowledging that we put ourselves into a germ filled environment without taking any precautions won’t work either. I believe that both of these are examples of tempting Christ and I believe that many churches and many Christians will be humbled in this regard.
Throughout time God has used Plague to lead His people back to His ways. Understanding what I have just shared leads to an understanding of how this should work and how this just might play out.
We have to realize that the church had its greatest power during those early years when it was still deeply connected to its Hebraic life. Once the Hebraic foundation was washed away in Rome around 350AD the church lost its power and it has yet to return. Through plague and an understanding of the fact that we cannot avoid it, we can make a parallel to God’s ways and our inability to avoid unclean things, being defiled, and needing “kafar” to have the greatest unity with Him. As we walk out life in the environment of plague we use face masks, antiseptic wipes/gels, etc… as a form of “kafar” with our families, friends, and even strangers. This teaches us that living in a plague filled world takes responsibility, acknowledgement, and demands “kafar”. We discover that there is no shame in acknowledging that we may be “sick” and “contagious” while not even knowing it. In an effort to protect those we love and to be responsible to society we take every precaution reasonable without acting in fear. For me this looks like wearing a mask around those that would be offended if I didn’t. It means not wearing a mask around those that would be offended if I did. It means spraying down the gas pump with antiseptic spray before using it and cleaning my hands with antiseptic gel if I accidently shake someone’s hand instead of substituting a fist bump. It means saving eating out for special occasions and not going to the store every time I think I “need” something when in reality I just “want” it.
In other words, all of this is leading me to becoming a more responsible person, someone who is less wasteful, and someone who is more aware of what and how to make others feel acceptable and loved. All this is leading me to understanding how far I still have to go before I meet that righteousness that will allow me to walk in the full power of the Acts church. This is the pivotal understanding. To acknowledge that God is using all that is going on to drive me into that place where I can spend more time with Him and where I can walk in that full power and full authority of one of His children. If you disagree with this and think that we don’t need to walk in that righteousness and holiness to have that authority I would ask for scriptural support of that. Personally I take God at His word and everything I see leads me back to the Holiness of the Hebraic ways and the 6,000 year journey of Him attempting to get His people to embrace that level of holiness as a life standard.
What if what God says is really true? What if He really will send plague when we refuse to honor His laws and statutes? Would He really act that aggressively when we do those little things that make us unclean? Maybe so and here might be why.
Let’s say that over the next year we allow God to really work on our hearts and we start applying what we have learned about acknowledging our physical potential to spread a physical pandemic and embrace “kafar” in our interactions with other human beings. In and through this we discover a new way of life that enhances our love relationships, our economic state, and teaches us a few things about ourselves that we really need to know. We take what we learn about “kafar” on a human perspective and start embracing what God has defined as clean and unclean and look to the blood of Christ to be our “kafar” for those things that we have never before acknowledged as needing to be cleansed of. Maybe in and through this process God will honor the promises that He has made and we truly will feel closer to Him, maybe we will grow in our relationship with Him, and maybe we will gain a power that we have always known is possible but have never been able to tap into. If all this is true, then isn’t this what needs to happen for the Church to step back into the power that it had in the first few hundred years of its existence? I say all this with the notion of “maybe” but isn’t this exactly what God says? And isn’t this exactly what we have observed? If there is even a chance that all this is true, how many of us are willing to give it a try? To trust Him at His Word? To do it His way for once and see what actually happens?
God bless,
Jeff
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