Deuteronomy 23:9-14: a reflection

9When you go out and camp against your enemies, then you shall keep yourselves from every evil thing. 10If there is among you any man who is not clean by reason of that which happens to him by night, then shall he go outside of the camp. He shall not come within the camp; 11but it shall be, when evening comes, he shall bathe himself in water. When the sun is down, he shall come within the camp. 12You shall have a place also outside of the camp where you go relieve yourself. 13You shall have a trowel among your weapons. It shall be, when you relieve yourself, you shall dig with it, and shall turn back and cover your excrement; 14for the LORD your God walks in the middle of your camp, to deliver you, and to give up your enemies before you. Therefore your camp shall be holy, that he may not see an unclean thing in you, and turn away from you.

These laws govern the camp of Israel when at war, and they require even the ordinary, mundane matters of the camp to be handled with care and cleanliness. And the reason given is striking: because the LORD your God walks in the midst of your camp; therefore your camp shall be holy. Because God himself was present in their midst, walking among them, even the most ordinary matters were to be handled with care, so that the camp where God dwelt would be holy. God's presence made even the mundane an occasion for holiness.

Notice the reason for the care required: God's presence in the midst of the camp. Because the LORD walked among them, nothing was too ordinary or mundane to be affected by his presence; even the most common matters were to be handled with a care befitting the nearness of God. God's presence made the whole camp holy ground, so that even ordinary things were touched by the reverence his nearness required. Because God was present, even the mundane became an occasion for holiness.

That is worth taking to heart, for God is present with his people still, and his presence touches even the ordinary and mundane parts of our lives. We can think of holiness as belonging only to religious moments, and treat the ordinary, mundane matters of life as beyond its reach. But God's presence, walking in the midst of his people, makes even the ordinary an occasion for care and holiness; nothing is too mundane to be touched by the reverence his nearness calls for. Remember that God is present with you, in the ordinary as well as the sacred moments of your life; and let his presence shape how you handle even the mundane matters, with the care and reverence his nearness calls for. Because God walks in the midst of his people, even the ordinary becomes holy ground; do not confine holiness to religious moments, but let the awareness of God's presence make even the mundane parts of your life an occasion for care and reverence, as the presence of God made even the ordinary matters of the camp a concern of holiness.

Lord, these laws required even the ordinary, mundane matters of Israel's camp to be handled with care, and the reason was striking: because the LORD your God walks in the midst of your camp; therefore your camp shall be holy. Because you were present in their midst, even the most ordinary matters were to be handled with care, so that the camp where you dwelt would be holy. Show me that reason: your presence made even the mundane an occasion for holiness; nothing was too ordinary to be affected by the reverence your nearness required. Take that to my heart, for you are present with your people still, and your presence touches even the ordinary parts of my life. I can think of holiness as belonging only to religious moments, and treat the mundane matters of life as beyond its reach. But your presence, walking in the midst of your people, makes even the ordinary an occasion for care and holiness. Help me remember that you are present with me, in the ordinary as well as the sacred moments; and let your presence shape how I handle even the mundane matters, with the care and reverence your nearness calls for. Because you walk in the midst of your people, even the ordinary becomes holy ground; keep me from confining holiness to religious moments, Lord, but let the awareness of your presence make even the mundane parts of my life an occasion for care and reverence.