“Adonai said to Moshe and Aharon, ‘When you have entered the land of Canaan which I am giving you as a possession, and I put an infection of tzara‘at in a house in the land that you possess, then the owner of the house is to come and tell the cohen, ‘It seems to me that there may be an infection in the house.’”-Leviticus 14:34-35
The section beginning from Leviticus 14:34 deals with TZARA-AT in houses.
What’s interesting about this part of the Torah is that it looks forward to that future time when this mob of about 3 million Israelites will finally enter and inherit the Promised Land of Canaan.
Yet, as of now, they are still living in tents out in the desert wilderness.
Before we move on, let’s just pause for a moment and take stock of where we’re at in the Scriptures.
When deeply immersed in a certain part of Scripture for an extended period of time, like we have been in studying the METSORA purification rituals, I think one can quite easily forget the big picture.
At this point in the Scriptures hardly a year has passed since the Israelites left Egypt.
It was just barely a year ago that the Israelites per the Lord’s careful instructions held their first Passover, which was that dreadful night when God killed the firstborn of every Egyptian family.
And prior to that, the Lord had unleashed a devastating series of plagues that left Egypt a broken and destroyed land.
Now living in tents under such difficult conditions in the desert, I wonder what kind of thoughts were now stirring in the minds of this ragtag mob of wanderers who just a short while ago were abused and beaten slaves.
Did the promises of God still hold sway in their hearts?
Did they really believe that one day they would actually have a land they could call their very own?
A land flowing with milk and honey as the Lord had put it.
Would they really forever leave behind these weather-beaten tents and live comfortably in cities and towns with their own roads, fertile fields, and water wells?
Amidst the harshness and daily stress of their present conditions, I’m sure that from time to time, those high and lofty promises of God must have seemed like faint, distant memories.
Here’s the thing.
Everything we are currently studying in Leviticus was preparation for a future time (some of it was for the present as well).
And the same goes for us today as well!
Consider this.
Even though Yeshua HaMashiach has already fulfilled much of the Torah, there still remains much to be fulfilled.
All of the prophets, and this includes Yeshua, speak of a time in the future (and when I say “future” I mean future to us) when many things are still yet to happen.
Some of the events yet to occur on God’s prophetic timetable are very positive and some are devastatingly negative.
The question I bring to the table today is this.
Do you really believe those things predicted by the prophets of old are going to happen?
When we witness with our own eyes certain things happen as predicted with Israel, etcetera, are we going to recognize these events for what they really are, God’s handiwork, whether positive or negative, or are we going to let our hearts grow cold?
I think many of us have a tendency to unfairly judge Israel during the Exodus.
When reading the Scriptures, we may say to ourselves, “My Gosh, the Lord pretty much destroyed Egypt and killed thousands of Egyptians to free Israel, He rained MANNA from heaven daily and sprang water from boulders to ensure their livelihood, His presence in the form of a visible pillar of fire and cloud traveled with them, and to top it all off He bequeathed to Israel His divine Teachings or Torah and set them apart as a special people unto Himself.”
“And yet, in spite of all this Israel became rebellious and stiff-necked!”
“What more does God have to do!?!
I suspect that this is the common judgmental train of thought that runs through the minds of modern gentile believers when they read this portion of the Scriptures.
But not so fast.
Ask yourself this hard question: Are you really any different?
I know I’m not.
As a believer, who nows has the HOLY Spirit dwelling within you (man do you know how awesome that is!), do you actually BELIEVE and TRUST that you have an eternal future with the Almighty Creator of Universe?
When things aren’t going well in your life or when nonsensical disasters strike, can you actually have the FAITH that your sufferings here on earth are serving a greater purpose for the Kingdom?
Look, I know life can be hard sometimes.
Pain sucks!
No matter what form it takes, whether it be failed relationships, being betrayed by a close friend, sickness, losing your job, suffering isolation, feeling like a loser, or whatever.
I sympathize but I still pose this question to you: If you really believed and trusted that the day of Yeshua’s return is just around the corner, would your current mindset and lifestyle be the same as it is now?
Personally, I don’t think I can answer this question in the affirmative, not without engaging in some rigorous soul-searching followed by what may have to be some painful lifestyle adjustments.
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