Leviticus 14:5-7 - And the priest
shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel over running
water. As for the living bird, he shall take it, the
cedar wood and the scarlet and the hyssop, and dip them and the living bird in
the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water. And
he shall sprinkle it seven times on him who is to be cleansed from the leprosy,
and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird loose in the open
field.
In the case that a leper was healed of this horrible disease…
God gave Moses very detailed instructions for how to let the camp now he was
now clean. The full instructions included shaving all their hair…even the eyebrows…7
days of living right outside their tent door…and a full list of sacrifices at
the tabernacle altar. But the beginning
of the process required this curious ritual with two birds.
I couldn’t help but see a parallel to how God cleanses us
from our sin and sets us free from the way it holds us captive in this
ceremony. One bird was killed over running water…and the blood was sprinkled with
the living bird …some hyssop…a piece of cedar…and some scarlet on the one who
was healed from his leprosy. The living bird was then set free in the field
where the ceremony took place.
God does the same thing when he cleanses us from our
sin. Jesus died to provide the blood…and
we are washed in that precious blood. Its power is used to take all our sin
away….and we are then set free. We are free from all the chains…all the power
that sin once held over us. We are free
to praise God and begin a new life that testifies of the love he has for
everyone else who has never realized this awesome power to give us freedom.
This is the very week that Jesus fulfilled his calling to
provide that blood. This sacrifice was killed on two crossed beams of cedar….fed
vinegar on a branch of hyssop…after he had been stripped of the scarlet robe
they placed on his back to mock him. It would have been stained with the blood
that oozed from the wounds on his back… even before they hung him on the cross.
It brings tears to my eyes to think of what he went through
so I could be set free in the world where he gave me life. You can’t dismiss
the sacrifice he made….you can’t deny the pain he must have suffered to provide
a way for me to be free. It brings all the times to my heart and mind that I have
taken this great act of love for granted.
Father…thank you for the reminder that you sent your son to endure
death…a painful scourging … and the mocking and hatred of unbelievers….to provide
a way for me to have complete freedom from sin and its chains of
captivity. Forgive me for the times that
I don’t thank you… and raise you for the love you have shown me. Help me to spread the word about this great
act of love to others in a more passionate way. Let my freedom provide freedom
for other that are still trapped in their sin.
Amen.
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