Clean, Decent, Holy

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Holiness applies to all of life – all of it.

Deuteronomy 23.12-14

“You shall have a place outside the camp, and you shall go out to it. And you shall have a trowel with your tools, and when you sit down outside, you shall dig a hole with it and turn back and cover up your excrement. Because the LORD your God walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you and to give up your enemies before you, therefore your camp must be holy, so that he may not see anything indecent among you and turn away from you.”

Exodus 22.31

“You shall be consecrated to me. Therefore you shall not eat any flesh that is torn by beasts in the field; you shall throw it to the dogs.”

These two statutes are something of a prelude to more comprehensive regulations concerning cleanness and uncleanness which are explained in Leviticus. Israel’s property must be kept clean and decent, and the people of God must not befoul themselves with unsafe food.

The regulation concerning excrement suggests an aspect of life which, while normal, is nonetheless considered not appropriate for honoring God. This statute, besides the obvious requirement of cleanliness in personal hygiene, suggests other applications that might curtail conduct dishonoring to God: how we use our language, for example, and the kinds of stories we share with one another.

Here again are everyday reminders of the call to holiness, the promise of blessing and prosperity, and the importance of taking God’s Law to heart.

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In the Gates is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore, editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics(Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001, 2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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