Title Out of the camp.. (Numbers 5:1~10)
Contents
The Book of Numbers is a book that records the 40 years of the Israelites' life in the wilderness. The Israelites' 40-year wilderness life is similar to our life journey, and there are so many similarities to the Christian life.
In verses 1 to 4 of the text, we are told to send out all of the children of Israel who have leprosy, those who have leaks, and those who have become unclean with the dead (those who have come near the body) from the camp. It is sad and heartbreaking to be ill, but it must have been very difficult and painful for the person concerned and their family to be kicked out of the camp. But nevertheless, it has to be done for the sake of the purity of the whole community.
In verses 5-10, when someone sinned, he had to confess his sin and pay back one fifth plus the one who caused the harm. If there was no one to repay, he had to pay his relatives, and if he had no relatives, he had to pay back a fifth to the priest along with the sin offering.
These were the rules that the Israelites had to strictly follow and keep while they were living in the wilderness.
As we meditate on these facts, we must realize that they apply equally to our lives and our religious lives.
To have a successful life and a successful life of faith, you must always live a life that is separated from uncleanness and sin. You cannot be successful at home or at work if you have or maintain such things in your heart. The life of faith is even more so. In a relationship with God, iniquity and sin are incompatible things.
This morning, I hope that I will be able to think deeply about who I am.
Isn't there something unclean in me that needs to be driven out of the camp?
Isn't there a sin that needs to be poured out and confessed before God?
When you think of such things, you must make a decision in faith and boldly send them out of the camp. Because that is the way to keep myself, my home, and all of our communities clean.