SURPRISE
TREASURE
Fourth
of five in Wholeness Series
Leviticus
14:43-45
Leviticus
14:43-45: “If the mildew reappears in
the house after the stones have been torn out and the house scraped and
plastered, the priest is to go and examine it and, if the mildew has spread in
the house, it is a destructive mildew; the house is unclean. It must be torn down—its stones, timbers, and
all the plaster—and taken out of the town to an unclean place.”
Amorites lived in Canaan, (the
country that Moses led the Israelites to live).
They hid their gold and valuables in the walls of their homes. If the Israelites would conquer their land,
the Amorites didn’t want them to have their treasures. But God had another plan.
The Israelites did conquer their
land, and moved into these homes that had treasures stowed behind the building
stones for safe keeping.
Israelite new home owners only
discovered surprise treasures if the priest ordered moldy stones to be torn out
and replaced by new ones. Old Testament homes were built like today’s bank
safety deposit boxes. People secure
treasures of delightful keepsakes or even money in them for safe keeping.
Leviticus 14:39: “On the seventh day the priest shall return to inspect the
house. If the mildew has spread on the
walls, he is to order that the contaminated stones be torn out and thrown into
an unclean place outside the town.” What
surprise treasures new homeowners found after replacing contaminated
stones!
Before people believe in Jesus, they
are alienated from God and are evil.
But believers of Jesus are made holy day after day. The Holy Spirit’s job is to sanctify [SANK-ti-fy],
or make believers holy. Colossians 1:22
says, “But now He [God] has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through
death to present you holy in His sight, without blemish and free from
accusation.”
Wholeness
is a trait that often brings believers who cooperate with the Holy Spirit pleasant
surprises. Believers are the righteousness of God in
Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21). Christians
are conscious of being different from the world—surprised by the different way
we think, speak and act.
We’ve learned about unwholesome speech,
and how God often brought diseased skin to those who gossip—and other evil
speech. After repenting of speech sin, a
priest could proclaimed a person clean.
It’s not magic; it’s God’s justice.
Take
Home Nugget
Let’s cooperate with God’s Spirit
who lives inside believers, until His job is complete. By tossing out contaminated building stones
in our character, believers are often surprised by the treasure we’re becoming
to God. Our holiness was hidden behind
the stones of sin that the Holy Spirit tossed away.
Sinful stones are tossed out to reveal
holy treasures.
J.D.
Griffith
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