Thought for Thursday
And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean. Leviticus 10:10
Many years ago, I was in a hospital, in the area next to the burn unit, when several people in the burn unit began working with a stack of linen items. The items were in bundled marked ‘Sterile’, and these people were taking the bundles apart and tossing the linens into the laundry bin. When I asked what they were doing, they explained that the linens required to be sterile for burn dressings had exceeded their expiry date, and would need to be re-sterilized. When I looked at the linens, they looked fine to me. And in reality, they were probably still sterile. The problem was, there was a growing risk as time passed that they might not be sterile. So they had to be taken out of inventory, at least until they were re-sterilized. We should be as careful as that about preserving the holiness of the things of God.
In its context, our text is part of the instructions God gave to Aaron concerning his behaviour. In the previous verse, he reminds Aaron that he and his sons were never to drink wine or strong drink when they entered the tabernacle. One of the reasons, as our text declares, is to their minds would always be clear enough to distinguish between the holy and unholy, between the clean and the unclean. I am not necessarily blaming it on strong drink, but there are many around us who are failing to make those distinctions. Among the denominations, we see inappropriate behaviour, as well as rejection of clear Scripture in such areas as deportment, the silence of women, and the elevation of men (and women) to positions of clerisy. A lack of reverence is displayed despite their claims to be entering God’s presence. Unsaved freely mingle with the saved, with no clear distinctions when handling spiritual things. Language of the street prevails rather than reverential tones acknowledging the Lord’s presence. We can see a failure to distinguish between the holy and the unholy. When we enter our Lord’s presence, do we leave behind the casual and flippant attitudes that we can get away with in the outside world. Do we understand the dignity of the One Whose presence we acknowledge, and accord Him His due respect?
The presence of the Lord is a wonderful place to be. Let us never enter it with anything undeserving or unworthy. – Jim MacIntosh