Thought for Thursday
And when he that hath an issue is cleansed of his issue, then he shall number to himself seven days for his cleansing, and wash his clothes and bathe his flesh in running water, and shall be clean. Leviticus 15:13
I watched a young man nervously and sheepishly stand before a judge in the Saint John courtroom as the judge questioned him about his attitude toward his crime. It was obvious that the young man was repentant, and ashamed of his participation in the crime to which he had just pleaded guilty. The sympathetic judge recognized that this young man recognized the error of his way, and was willing to release him from custody. But, before he did so, he told the young man that he would be on probation for a year. He explained to the young man that, if anytime within that year he got in trouble with the law again, he would return to court to be sentenced for the first offense. Gratefully, the young man thanked the judge, and promised that he would not be back. And he never was. Probation plays a critical role in our justice system, because not every person who gets a break from a judge is as sincerely repentant as the young man I saw. Probation as pictured by today’s text is also important in God’s dealings with us.
The Israelite with a running discharge was unclean until the discharge stopped. But he could not be pronounced clean until seven days had passed. This was to avoid the confusion of being declared clean only to have the discharge break out again. When we as Christians sin in such a way that we bring dishonour on our Lord and His Assembly, there may well be – and should be – restoration and forgiveness. But there should also be an aspect of probation, in that the offending Christian must prove the sincerity of his repentance. The late Albert Ramsay had a good illustration for this. He likened a Christian who fell into sin to a driver who had lost his license through lost points because of driving violations. Such a driver would have to wait for some time to get those points back – points in New Brunswick, for example, are normally lost for two years. When a Christian sins, and is then restored, that Christian has lost the confidence of other Christians, and must gain that confidence back. This can take time. The seven days mentioned in our text is appropriate for confirmation that a running sore is healed. Seven days, seven weeks, or sometimes seven months, might be appropriate for a restored Christian to be confirmed in his restoration.
The purpose of probation is to protect the Lord’s people, to preserve the holiness of God’s Assembly, and to proclaim the honour of the Name of our Lord. For these reasons, let us patiently respect God’s provision for probation. -Jim MacIntosh