Today’s Reading: Numbers 8; Numbers 9; Acts 28
Scripture: Numbers 8:5-7
5 The LORD said to Moses: 6 "Take the Levites from among the other Israelites and make them ceremonially clean. 7 To purify them, do this: Sprinkle the water of cleansing on them; then have them shave their whole bodies and wash their clothes, and so purify themselves.
Observation: The Levites were given the responsibility of assisting the priests in the worship of God. There were 22,000 Levites (Numbers 3:39). Here, they are commissioned for their ministry. There are three parts of the purification ritual given in verse 7. First, "sprinkle the water of cleansing on them." Second, "have them shave their whole bodies." And third, "wash their clothes." It is this second part that caught my attention: "shave their whole bodies." This is a very demanding requirement. To ask 22,000 males to shave, not just their face or head, but their entire bodies is downright radical. I think of what it would take for me to do this and it is revolting! I certainly wouldn't want to do it. For one thing, I couldn't do it without help, because there are parts I can't even reach, much less shave. And another thing is that they didn't have any Remington electric or Gillette Fusion razors or anything like that. I'm not sure exactly what kind of blades they did use for shaving but I would bet that knicks and cuts were unavoidable and this makes a whole-body shave a pretty hazardous undertaking. The whole thing seems extreme and a bit bizarre.
Application: My point is that to serve the Lord involves our whole being and being surrendered to what God says to do, no matter how radical or even painful it might be. This also tells us that God takes personal purification very seriously and wants those who serve him to take it seriously. This is no casual undertaking. And it starts with surrendered hearts and covers every part of our lives.
Prayer: Lord, help us to be serious about serving you and dedicated to doing whatever it takes to be purified for your purposes in our lives. Keep us from any casual or relaxed approach to entering the service of Almighty God.
This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.
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