He says to me,
Quit your worship charades. I can't stand your trivial religious games: monthly conferences, weekly Sabbaths, special meetings— meetings, meetings, meetings—I can't stand one more! Meetings for this, meetings for that. I hate them! You've worn me out! I'm sick of your religion, religion, religion, while you go right on sinning. When you put on your next prayer-performance, I'll be looking the other way. No matter how long or loud or often you pray, I'll not be listening. And do you know why? Because you've been tearing people to pieces, and your hands are bloody. Go home and wash up. Clean up your act. Sweep your life clean of your evildoings so I don't have to look at them any longer. Say no to wrong. Learn to do good. Work for justice. Help the down-and-out. Stand up for the homeless. Go to bat for the defenseless.
Come. Sit down. Let's argue this out. This is My Message: If your sins are blood-red, they'll be snow-white. If they're red like crimson, they'll be like wool. If you'll willingly obey, you'll feast like kings. But if you're willful and stubborn, you'll die like dogs. That's right. I say so.Scrub away my guilt, soak out my sins in your laundry. I know how bad I've been; my sins are staring me down. Soak me in your laundry and I'll come out clean, scrub me and I'll have a snow-white life. Tune me in to foot-tapping songs, set these once-broken bones to dancing. Don't look too close for blemishes, give me a clean bill of health. God, make a fresh start in me, shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life. Don't throw me out with the trash, or fail to breathe holiness in me.
I've been cleaned up and given a fresh start by Jesus, Master, Messiah, and by God present in me, the Spirit. He took my illnesses, He carried my diseases. What you're after is truth from the inside out. Enter me, then; conceive a new, true life. Glory and strength to Christ, who loves me, who blood-washed my sins from my life, Who made us a Kingdom, Priests for his Father, forever—and yes, he's on his way!
[Isaiah 6:5 (NIV); Psalm 51:4-5 (Msg); Isaiah 1:13-20; Psalm 51:1-3; 7-12 (Msg); I Corinthians 6:11 (Msg); Matthew 8:17 (Msg); Psalm 51:6 (Msg); Revelations 1:6]
3 comments:
I love how you put all these verses together! Very creative. As I was reading this morning, I was wondering what you were going to write about!
A couple of things stood out to me:
1) I have never noticed before that a scarlet thread was required to be part of the cleansing of people, along with hyssop and other things. Interesting. A foreshadowing of Jesus in this too?
2) It seemed a little weird to me that women are unclean every month for a week or two just because of their period. Something totally natural and normal (and often unwanted!) causes them to be unclean. I don't get it. Just one more reminder that it's on God's terms, not mine.
Okay, not really a spiritual analysis... but because of CiCi's note #2, I'm going to write a thought I had.
If the woman was menstruating about 5-7 days and then was unclean for 7 more ...mmm that's about 14 days. For those who may have tried to "time" their pregnancy... That's typically "primetime". And God promised Abraham his descendants would multiply greatly.
Okay... as I said, not so spiritual, but still interesting. God is so omnipotent and omniscience in every detail of our lives and often we don't even realize it. I doubt those Israelite women knew.
Same thing with the circumcisions on day 8. I've heard that modern medicine has shown that on day 8 the boy child has the most vitamin K in his system than any other day.
For today's message the details of cleansing still so mind baffling. Why, Lord make it so complicated ? However, I keep thinking of past readings and comments. God is serious about sin and God wants us to be Holy as He is Holy. So seemingly complicated for the Israelites of O.T., but praise the Lord, because of Christ's sacrifice our cleansing was paid for once for all.
I Peter 3:18 For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;
Della - Thanks for your kind words. I really appreciate it. Actually, this whole thing has been a labor of love for me. God has been doing a lot in me through the accountability to go deeper into each chapter and figure out what He's saying to me. It makes it more fun though to have others along for the ride. Hope to see you soon! Love you.
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