Heralds Digest

  “This is the law for any leprous sore and scale, for a swelling and a scab and a bright spot, to teach when it is unclean and when it is clean. This is the law of leprosy.”Leviticus‬ ‭14:54, 56-57‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Just as the law of leprosy, commitment to a consistent study of the word of God without the inspiration of the Holy Spirit is boring. Notwithstanding, the law of leprosy provides illumination and a sense of caution or carefulness against contamination. Anyone who has been subjected to an isolation treatment or quarantine knows how boring but mandatory for him to carefully read through and understand the guidelines and protocol for screening or discharge from the ‘red zone’ facility. Normally, people are always more careful to avoid reinfection after discharge; not because of the fear of the diseases, but because of the stress of reviewing the boring guidelines and protocol. Likewise, the living law of God illumines the hearts against the corruption of sin and unrighteousness. A...

  ““Now the leper on whom the sore is, his clothes shall be torn and his head bare; and he shall cover his mustache, and cry, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ He shall be unclean. All the days he has the sore he shall be unclean. He is unclean, and he shall dwell alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp.” ‭‭Leviticus‬ ‭13:45-46‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Isolation treatment or quarantine has always been the indispensable way of controlling the spread of contagious diseases. As recently adopted globally to arrest the devastation of COVID-19 pandemic, anyone who tested positive under the theocratic screening for leprosy among the children of Israel must not only get quarantined outside the camp; he must take additional responsibility of warning others to stir clear, crying ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ . Today, this additional responsibility would be a shameful service, because no one is proud of any form of isolation treatment. Whereas, abiding alone often offers undiluted access to treatment and an opportunity for sp...

  “For I am the Lord your God. You shall therefore consecrate yourselves, and you shall be holy; for I am holy. Neither shall you defile yourselves with any creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” Leviticus‬ ‭11:44‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ The battle for loyalty is real in different shades and systems of life. Even in our homes, parents battle to buy their children’s loyalty, sometimes through the provision of lifestyles that undermines their devotion to God. Needless to mention the struggle for loyalty by our excellence in physical fitness, financial breakthrough, administrative prowess, political supremacy, etc. While dominion over other creations of God and their beauties is the central purpose of God for humanity, disloyalty to God at the expense of our social, physical, and healthy lifestyles is an obvious corruption of a divinely-inspired dominion. Unfortunately, when we consecrate ourselves to these lifestyles primarily, it is like the same as making the creeping thing that creeps on this...

  “Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them. So fire went out from the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord. And Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord spoke, saying: ‘By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; And before all the people I must be glorified.’ ”So Aaron held his peace.” Leviticus‬ ‭10:1-3‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ One of the beauties of complete consecration and sacred sacrifice upon the altar is the eventual release of the final fire from the Lord. It was a solemn experience in the camp of the Israelites, “ and fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces ” (Leviticus‬ ‭9:24‬ ‭NKJV‬‬). Whereas, before the release of the final fire upon the altar of believer’s sacrifices, diverse energies and intentions are m...

  “And you shall not go outside the door of the tabernacle of meeting for seven days, until the days of your consecration are ended. For seven days he shall consecrate you.” ‭‭Leviticus‬ ‭8:33‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Just as seven symbolizes completion, complete consecration does not necessarily suggests completion by seven days. Complete consecration simply implies the execution of the entire consecration activities within the days of consecration. In this context of the consecration of Aaron and his sons, it involves the consecration of Aaron and his sons by themselves, the consecration of the elements by Moses as the priest, and thereafter followed by the consecration of Aaron and his sons by the Lord. Likewise today, the entire sanctification starts with a deliberate consecration of self as instruments in the hands of the Lord, followed by a completion submission to the words of the Lord from God’s anointed ministers. Thereafter, a ready soul for sanctification must wait prayerfully upon the ...

  “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins.”” ‭‭Mark‬ ‭2:22‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ To the scribes, the Pharisees, and all religious people, Jesus recommends the working on a witted wineskin as a necessary requirement for a wise service of new wine. Old wine skins are full of religious activities, like fasting, prayers, and all religious services, without the heart that relishes righteousness. Even in today’s assemblies and believers’ homes, we struggle to enforce religious ethics, tenets, and regulations without a consistent character of uprightness. Since no one puts new wine into old wineskins, what we need earnestly as we approach the throne of grace on a daily basis is a witted wineskin. And as we wait upon the Lord and glean upon His words, He will work upon the crooked channels of our hearts to release brand new hearts - ready to do all His Will. Go...

  “And every offering of your grain offering you shall season with salt; you shall not allow the salt of the covenant of your God to be lacking from your grain offering. With all your offerings you shall offer salt.” ‭‭Leviticus‬ ‭2:13‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ With all the listed offerings in the tabernacle of meeting, including burnt offering, peace offering, and grain offering, the common denominators comprise the use of fire and salt. While the fire connotes the inspiration of the Spirit of God, the salt signifies the preservation of the goodness or grace of God. Irrespective of the size, choice, and the type of provisions on the basis of the strength, the elaborate procedures must engage the use body and soul of the offerers of sacrifice. Therefore, salt offers the necessary preservatives to the taste that is capable of wearing dullness. Likewise, life’s services to humanity as sacrifice to the Lord are often challenged by dullness, discouragement, and disappointment. Without a consistent supp...