Daily Devotions
Presenting Our Whole Body to God
Reading for February 5th: Leviticus 14-15
"The priest shall take some of the blood of the guilt offering, and the priest shall put it on the lobe of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot."
Leviticus 14:14
This devotion was inspired by a couple of our college students in class yesterday who wondered why the priests had blood put on their right ear, thumb, and big toe (Lev 8:23-24). I was excited to find these instructions again in this chapter about the cleansing of lepers.
So, why did the priests and the lepers have to put the blood of the guilt offerings on their right ears, thumbs, and toes? Perhaps it is because these members of our bodies are the cause of so much sin in our lives. Philo (1st century) commented on this practice saying, "The fully consecrated must be pure in words and actions and in life; for words are judged by hearing, the hand is the symbol of action, and the foot of the pilgrimage of life."
What we learn from this is that God wants us to be completely pure. Every member of our bodies must be sanctified for his use (Rom 12:1-2).
Father, purify our hands, our feet, and all our members that our whole body might be committed to your service.
