“Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to Aaron and his sons, that they separate themselves from the holy things of the children of Israel, and that they do not profane My holy name by what they dedicate to Me: I am the LORD.’”

Leviticus 22:1–2 (NKJV)

During the years of COVID-19, we became more aware of infectious diseases and their prevention. A good rule of thumb is, if you’re sick, then stay home. It’s good to spread love, but not disease.

In a similar way, the priests had to separate themselves. If they touched something unclean (a creeping insect for example) then they would become unclean. They were no longer fit to touch the holy things—either the holy offerings that were presented to the LORD or their portion of the sacrifices that were given to them to eat.

A priest could defile himself and no one would know about it except him and God. But while he was unclean, he had to separate himself from touching any holy thing. To fail to do so could be fatal.

Obviously, we don’t live under the law, and many of these ceremonial laws don’t apply to us. However, we can all relate to being defiled by something we’ve seen, heard, said or done. These things can corrupt us and make us unfit to serve or partake of the Lord’s blessings.

The way of restoration is through confession, forgiveness, and abiding in Christ. The Lord is a master at restoring His failing ones. Just look at how He dealt with Peter!

If sin is in our camp, we may need to separate ourselves from the holy things for a period of time. But our “quarantine” period should not last any longer than necessary. We should always pray that God would be merciful and restore us in His time and His way. Even if we cannot do what we used to do, Christ will always find a place for us to serve in His kingdom. After all, He is the Redeemer!

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