Ritual - Numbers 19

Chapter 19 is just a procedural for how someone would become clean again after becoming unclean and just as a run down, the IM summarizes the whole chapter, saying, “Anciently, an Israelite who had been in the presence of one who died or had been dead was held to be defiled. This chapter in Numbers describes the way he which such a person was purified. First, a red heifer was slain, burned, and the ashes laid aside. Then the ashes were placed in pure water and the mixture sprinkled upon those who had been defiled. This was known as ‘the water of separation,’ since by it one was separated, or purified, from sin. Failure to avail oneself of the cleansing power in this way resulted in being ‘cut off from among the congregation.’”

TB talks about holiness on this lecture, and that concept is just too abstract for me to understand, but he did say something that made me think about it differently. He compared “holiness” as being greater than “cleanness.” Now, I work in medicine and there are “clean” procedures and there are “sterile” procedures, so in my mind I likened “cleanness” to being good but not perfect, and “holiness” to being sterile, which means perfectly removed from all bacteria or other organisms. That doesn’t make sense in the context of holiness meaning perfection, or maybe it does, I’m not sure, again, too abstract for me. And again, what are the requirements for holiness? I think for me right now, a good definition of cleanliness might be qualifying for a temple recommend, and holiness is a purification process that isn’t possible to fulfill in this lifetime, but that’s just me thinking, I’m not married to that definition. And that’s not to say that I think people who don’t qualify for a temple recommend are dirty or unclean, because that’s not my business. I have enough of my own problems, I don’t need anyone else’s.

Another point TB brought up is the purpose of ritual and the mainstream Christian movement away from it. I think it can go both ways, to one extreme you get the Pharisees who obsess over ritual to the detriment of it’s intended purpose, and on the other hand you get the you get a complete abandonment of ritual which means that the people don’t get the benefit of ritualized religion. A quick google search for the psychological benefits of ritual say that the foster connection and belonging in the performing community, reduce anxiety through patterned behaviors, improve focus on the purpose, etc. So in that sense, it’s easy to see why ritual is a good tool that God uses as part of spiritual progression. Just all something to think about, I’m exhausted so I’m about to be done with this for today.