“The leprous person who has the disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head hang loose, and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean.’ He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease. He is unclean. He shall live alone. His dwelling shall be outside the camp.” – Leviticus 13:45-46

This was the miserable life of anyone infected with a contagious skin disease in ancient Israel! To have leprosy was to be unclean – in the sight of God, in the sight of your neighbors, and in your own sight. If you were a leper, UNCLEAN became your identity. You had to dress unclean, look unclean, and shout “unclean” whenever a regular person got too close. A leper couldn’t live with anyone. Couldn’t participate in religious or social life. Cut off from God and cut off from people. As a literal outcast, a leper couldn’t even experience the touch of another human being, because their uncleanness would spread.

That’s what makes it so profoundly moving when Jesus not only heals a leper but touches him. Jesus didn’t need to touch anyone to heal them. But He reached out to touch a man who hadn’t been touched in years. He restored his dignity. He let them, once again, feel human touch. He made clear that they were no longer defined by uncleanness. They weren’t rejected by God but touched by Him. It’s one of the most beautiful, compassionate, humane acts our Savior did during His earthly ministry. Why did Jesus do it? Because that’s Who He is!

Please know that there’s no uncleanness – literal or figurative – that Jesus can’t touch and make clean. There’s nothing and no one so hopeless that Jesus won’t lovingly reach out to give dignity and transformation. If there are dark, shameful, or unclean parts of your life, it’s time to let Jesus touch them. Invite Him to make them clean. Refuse to let “unclean” be your identity. Welcome the love and grace of Jesus Christ that makes you clean and whole in Him. #FollowJesus

“If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer a male without blemish. He shall bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting, that he may be accepted before the Lord.” – Leviticus 1:3

Most Christians are inclined to skip or skim Leviticus. It’s natural…. This book is meticulously detailed, long, repetitious, and bloody. Resist that temptation, at least from time to time. There’s a holy purpose to this divinely inspired book. Through it, we see the terrible price of sin. All sin. Any sin. Your sin. Sin always brings death and the removal of sin always requires that something innocent die.

That’s the fundamental principle laid out in this third verse of the entire book. Those sacrifices must be without blemish. In the context of animal sacrifices, this has to do with physical condition and appearance. The animal has to genuinely represent a sacrifice, something healthy and valuable that the person making the sacrifices regrets to part with. Infinitely more important is what this tells us about the sacrifice Jesus made on our behalf. He had to be without blemish. He had to be perfect and without any sin. He had to live a life that perfectly fulfilled God’s Law in order to be able to offer Himself an acceptable sacrifice for our sin.

Jesus resisted every temptation in order to be without blemish. He kept every law so he would be without blemish. He spoke, thought, and acted righteously in every situation, no matter how trying, to be without blemish. Because He did, His sacrifice on the cross paid the penalty for your sins. Because Jesus was the Lamb of God without blemish, all who believe in Him are washed clean, forgiven, and reconciled to God. Guilt is gone and shame is no more because Jesus was the sacrifice without blemish. Jesus is the fulfillment of everything the book of Leviticus points toward and illustrates. Remember that as you choose NOT to skim or skip over this God-breathed book! #FollowJesus

“There were twelve stones with their names according to the names of the sons of Israel. They were like signets, each engraved with its name, for the twelve tribes.” – Exodus 39:14

Throughout the many centuries the High Priests of Israel served in the Tabernacle and later Temples, they wore a breastplate with twelve engraved gemstones representing the twelve tribes of Israel. They also wore stones engraved with the names of the tribes on their shoulders. Whenever the priest went before the Lord, he put on these representations of all God’s people. This was because the role of the priest was to represent the people before God. To make sacrifices for their sins, offer incense to God, and intercede on their behalf in prayer.

All of that pointed forward to what Jesus does for His people. The Book of Hebrews proclaims that Jesus is our eternal great high priest, always representing us to God the Father and making intercession on our behalf. However, Jesus doesn’t wear a breastplate or shoulder pieces to represent us. Instead, He put on humanity itself. The eternal and divine Son of God took on a human body and nature, being born into our world. He become fully human in addition to being fully divine. He did this so He could represent us, offer Himself as a sacrifice for our sins, and continue to intercede for us up to this very moment.

Jesus is our great and perfect high priest! He doesn’t merely wear engraved stones to represent us, He became flesh and dwelt among us. He doesn’t have to make atonement for any sins of His own, so He made complete atonement for all who believe in Him. Unlike the high priests of old, Jesus never takes off His priestly garb. He remains in a glorified human body, always making intercession for us from the right hand of the Father. If Jesus is your Lord, then He is also your great high priest, able to save you to the uttermost and always interceding on your behalf. #FollowJesus

“And said to Moses, ‘The people bring much more than enough for doing the work that the Lord has commanded us to do.’” – Exodus 36:5

It’s always breath-taking to see how God moves to accomplish His plans. Throughout the Exodus, He moves in several different ways to accomplish His purpose. He moved through dramatic and miraculous interventions, including the plagues on Egypt and the parting of the Red Sea. He moved by speaking and showing the way, appearing in a bush, in a cloud, and on a mountain. However, sometimes He invited His people to be the means by which He moved. He gifted and called certain craftsmen to build His tabernacle. Then He stirred the hearts of all His people to give generously from their possessions to provide all the materials needed to build the tabernacle.

There’s nothing quite like seeing God move His people to accomplish His will on earth. There’s such power and beauty in seeing people come together for something greater than themselves. For those invited to join that work, there’s such an abundance of joy. The people of Israel gave with joy. So much so that the craftsmen had to ask them to stop! God still works in this way. He often changes the world by inviting His people to join His work. For those who answer the call, there is joy and delight. We get to be part of blessing the world with the knowledge and love of God. Incredible! It’s impossible to put the delight of that into words.

In our own day and age, God is working in so many ways to reach those far from Him and bless those who are suffering. He still invites His people to join into His work. We are the means by which He proclaims the Gospel to the end of the earth. We are the means by which He cares for the most vulnerable around the world. As a follower of Jesus, you’re invited to join God in that glorious work in many different ways, including prayer, service, going, and giving. Have you fully, joyfully accepted His invitation? If not, take time to really wrestle with what is holding you back. Is God calling you into deeper, more committed, more impactful partnership with Him? #FollowJesus

“The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.’” – Exodus 34:6-7

This is one of the most significant moments in the Bible. Moses had begged God to show him His glory. God did so (with necessary safety precautions for Moses) and also proclaimed His name, meaning His fundamental nature. This is the essential nature of God. God’s description of Himself is repeated countless times afterward in the Old Testament, because it is, most fundamentally Who God is. Learn these words! Remember them. Meditate on them. Delight in them, because this is Who you worship.

God is merciful by nature. He doesn’t delight in punishing but in showing us mercy we don’t deserve.

God is gracious by nature. He loves to lavishly give blessings His people don’t deserve.

God is slow to anger. Though we sin and fall short of His glory often, He doesn’t give up on us, doesn’t throw us in the garbage out of frustration for our foolishness. God continues to call us back into His grace and mercy far longer than we could possibly imagine.

God is abounding in steadfast love. He overflows with faithful, loyal love that’s never based on “what have you done for me lately.”

God is faithful. He keeps His word, His promises, and His covenants, even though we don’t.

God is forgiving. When we repent and ask forgiveness, God is always delighted to forgive.

God is just. He will certainly deal with sin justly in His perfect timing and will.

All of these traits intersect at the cross of Jesus Christ. Through the sending, sacrifice, and resurrection of His eternal Son, God demonstrated His perfect mercy, grace, patience, steadfast love, faithfulness, forgiveness, and justice. This is Who God is! If this isn’t how you think of Him, correct your thinking! Then think about Him more, remembering these characteristics and worshiping the Lord! #FollowJesus