This morning a scripture from Sunday’s devotional reading came to mind. In Leviticus chapter 15 it said this,
Leviticus 15:19-30 ‘If a woman has a discharge, and the discharge from her body is blood, she shall be set apart seven days; and whoever touches her shall be unclean until evening. 20 Everything that she lies on during her impurity shall be unclean; also everything that she sits on shall be unclean. 21 Whoever touches her bed shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 22 And whoever touches anything that she sat on shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 23 If anything is on her bed or on anything on which she sits, when he touches it, he shall be unclean until evening. 24 And if any man lies with her at all, so that her impurity is on him, he shall be unclean seven days; and every bed on which he lies shall be unclean.
25 ‘If a woman has a discharge of blood for many days, other than at the time of her customary impurity, or if it runs beyond her usual time of impurity, all the days of her unclean discharge shall be as the days of her customary impurity. She shall be unclean. 26 Every bed on which she lies all the days of her discharge shall be to her as the bed of her impurity; and whatever she sits on shall be unclean, as the uncleanness of her impurity. 27 Whoever touches those things shall be unclean; he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening.
28 ‘But if she is cleansed of her discharge, then she shall count for herself seven days, and after that she shall be clean. 29 And on the eighth day she shall take for herself two turtledoves or two young pigeons, and bring them to the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 30 Then the priest shall offer the one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, and the priest shall make atonement for her before the Lord for the discharge of her uncleanness.
8th Day theology is the belief that it means a “New Beginning.” God gave up a lot of Bible real estate to cover, even repeating uncleanness “defilement” and it’s consequences to people, animals and objects. If you were “unclean” you paid a high price by being almost a cast away of society. There was also a price to pay at the altar to end the consequences of the rejection from being an active, welcomed member of society. It meant a lot of time in isolation, ancient social distancing.
We read a little to quickly past the gospel accounts of the woman with the issue of blood that lasted 12 years. Imagine social distancing for 12 years. What did 12 years of social distancing do for her? I believe it caused her to be shut in with God. Questioning why God made such rules. Questioning her way of escaping this social distancing that seemed eternal. With so much time spent alone and thinking of God, good things can happen.
Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
The caveat in that verse is “who are called” which I think means for those who are listening to or for the “calling of God.”
Luke 8:43-48 And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any, 44 Came behind him, and touched the border of his garment: and immediately her issue of blood stanched.
45 And Jesus said, Who touched me? When all denied, Peter and they that were with him said, Master, the multitude throng thee and press thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me? 46 And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me. 47 And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately.
48 And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.
God knows that for some people it will take a lot of social distancing for them to finally get their mind off themselves, their troubles and rejection and eventually center it on God. I too only truly found God when I dug a deep pit to the point of being an outcast to those that knew me from my minds eye.
Somehow God is always waiting for the called, “set apart ones” in a place called Social Distancing. God told Abraham,
Genesis 12:1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
God said go and “Social Distance” Abraham. God “Social Distanced” Moses, Elijah, John the Baptist. Saul of Tarsus, and even Jesus had a need to “Social Distance” from His disciples and get alone with God.
Turning to God in these times of Social Distancing isn’t mandatory. It’s only an option God makes available to everyone. But as the gospel story of the woman with the issue of blood for 12 years teaches, if you do, you CAN Touch the Heart of God and release Virtue from heaven. God will feed you heavenly food that will give you “strength for the journey ahead may be great”
1 Kings 19:7 And the angel of the LORD came back the second time, and touched him, and said, “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.”
If you set your heart and mind on touching heaven, even only the hem of Jesus’ garment, He WILL Touch you and you may Never be the same again. It just may be an 8th Day, New Beginning for you.
I recommend using this time of Social Distancing wisely. Jesus said, “I Am the Bread of Life.” He Is the Word of God made Flesh, Heavenly Food. Eat the Word of God for Strength because the journey ahead is great. The greatest journey we will ever take is the one “within ourselves” to seek God. Shut yourself in and get alone with God.
Leave the noise and distractions that try to dominate your mind. Howling winds, earthquakes, ferocious fires, “too much action,” even church action can be unprofitable if it robs your quiet, “alone time” to hear God’s Still Small Voice.
In The Word 