February 17th

Leviticus 4:1-6:30

Moses told the Israelites what to do in the case that they sinned unintentionally. God had a procedure for cleansing them of their wrongdoing, but they had to do it exactly as He described. It is interesting to note that in every instance, someone had to lay their hands on the head of an animal (4:15, 24, 29, 33). The laying on of one’s hands was a visual reminder that the people were transferring their sins onto that which was to be sacrificed; it was, of course, symbolic that this animal was taking their place in death so that they themselves could live.

In the big picture, this process was a foreshadowing of what Christ would do on the cross, as God transferred our sins onto Him. “For He made Him (Christ), who knew no sin, to become sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21).

As I read all of the scenarios in which the Israelites could sin unintentionally, it was a reminder to me of how sensitive we should be of sin in our lives. God takes sin very seriously, and so should we. Therefore, we must be aware of wrongdoing in our lives, so that we can maintain clear communication with the Lord. Of course, Christ paid our penalty at the cross; we are forever clean in His sight, but sin does tend to cloud our communication and daily fellowship with Him, so we must be diligent to keep the sky “clear of clouds.”

The longer I live, the more finetuned my sin awareness becomes. Early in my Christian life, I could see my big sins and I had to make major changes to remove the fog between the Lord and me. But now that the fog is gone, I can hone in on individual “clouds” that could possibly loom large in the future. Though you are already forgiven, you should be proactive in identifying and confessing sin.

Daily Reflection

How would you rate your sin awareness? How sensitive are you in regards to your obedience to the Lord’s will?

How proactive have you been to eliminate sin in your life? Is this a practice that you repeat often or would you say that you regularly neglect it?

How clear are the skies of communication between you and the Lord? Are you currently in a fog? You may need to clear up any unconfessed sin so that you can have clear communication and daily fellowship with Him again. He is waiting to hear from you.

“If we say we have no sin, we have deceived ourselves, and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8, 9 NASB).

BiAY.org | Day 48 — 317 Days to Go