Reading

• Lev. 13:1-59; 14:33-57
• Deut. 24:8-9
• Lev. 15:1-12, 16-27, 32-33
• Num. 5:1-4
• Lev. 15:31

Devotional

GOD gave detailed instructions to the Israelites about cleanliness, determining whether rashes were infectious or clean, bodily fluids, and other specific medical situations. The priests were involved in assessing each case and would follow GOD’s pattern to determine whether the individual, garment or house was clean or unclean. If the item or individual was determined clean, it or they could remain in the camp of the Israelites. But if not, GOD told them to rid themselves of the unclean person or thing so that it would not affect the rest of them nor bring sin upon the people where He dwelt.

And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: “Command the children of Israel that they put out of the camp every leper, everyone who has a discharge, and whoever becomes defiled by a corpse. You shall put out both male and female; you shall put them outside the camp, that they may not defile their camps in the midst of which I dwell.” And the children of Israel did so, and put them outside the camp; as the LORD spoke to Moses, so the children of Israel did.
(Num. 5:1-4 NKJV)

While these laws dealt with physical uncleanness, today we have similar instructions regarding spiritual uncleanness within the church.

I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person. For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? But those who are outside God judges. Therefore “put away from yourselves the evil person.”
(1 Cor. 5:9-13 NKJV)

Cleanliness is important to GOD. Physical cleanliness was important to the physical nation to Israel. Spiritual cleanliness is important to all people everywhere. Christians cannot remain in fellowship with unrepentant brothers or sisters in the church. Individually, we cannot allow our body or mind to be guilty of sin. We must confess and repent of our sin as soon as we realize it. We must put away the uncleanness.