Leviticus 14:43-47: a reflection

43“If the plague comes again, and breaks out in the house after he has taken out the stones, and after he has scraped the house, and after it was plastered, 44then the priest shall come in and look; and behold, if the plague has spread in the house, it is a destructive mildew in the house. It is unclean. 45He shall break down the house, its stones, and its timber, and all the house’s mortar. He shall carry them out of the city into an unclean place. 46“Moreover he who goes into the house while it is shut up shall be unclean until the evening. 47He who lies down in the house shall wash his clothes; and he who eats in the house shall wash his clothes.

In the laws about a spreading mildew in a house, there comes a point where cleansing is not enough. If the plague returns after the stones have been removed and the house scraped and replastered, if it keeps breaking out and spreading, then the verdict is severe: He shall break down the house, its stones, and its timber, and all the house's mortar, and carry them out. The persistent, spreading corruption could not be managed with half measures; where it kept returning and spreading, the house had to be torn down entirely, dealt with radically rather than tolerated.

Notice the radical dealing required for persistent corruption: not managing it, but tearing it out entirely. The lesser measures, removing stones, scraping, replastering, had been tried; but where the corruption kept returning and spreading, these were not enough. It had to be dealt with radically, the whole house broken down and carried away, rather than tolerated or half-managed. Persistent, spreading corruption that would not respond to lesser measures required a radical response, a tearing out, not a tolerating. Half measures would not do where the corruption kept spreading.

That is worth taking to heart, for persistent sin in our lives sometimes requires radical dealing, not half measures. We can try to manage a persistent sin with half measures, minor adjustments, hoping to contain it while keeping it; but where sin keeps returning and spreading, it may require a radical dealing, a tearing out of what feeds it, as the infected house was torn down. Do not try to manage persistent, spreading sin with half measures, tolerating what keeps breaking out; deal with it radically, tearing out what feeds it, rather than letting it spread. Deal radically with sin that persists and spreads, tearing out what feeds it rather than managing it with half measures, as the house where the corruption kept returning had to be broken down entirely; for persistent, spreading corruption is not cured by half measures, and sometimes what feeds our sin must be torn out, not tolerated.

Lord, in the laws about a spreading mildew in a house, there comes a point where cleansing is not enough. If the plague returns after the stones have been removed and the house scraped and replastered, if it keeps breaking out and spreading, then the verdict is severe: he shall break down the house, its stones, and its timber, and all the house's mortar, and carry them out. The persistent, spreading corruption could not be managed with half measures; where it kept returning and spreading, the house had to be torn down entirely. Show me the radical dealing required for persistent corruption: not managing it, but tearing it out entirely. The lesser measures had been tried; but where the corruption kept returning and spreading, these were not enough. It had to be dealt with radically, rather than tolerated or half-managed. Half measures would not do where the corruption kept spreading. Take that to my heart, for persistent sin in my life sometimes requires radical dealing, not half measures. I can try to manage a persistent sin with half measures, minor adjustments, hoping to contain it while keeping it; but where sin keeps returning and spreading, it may require a radical dealing, a tearing out of what feeds it. Keep me from trying to manage persistent, spreading sin with half measures, tolerating what keeps breaking out; help me deal with it radically, Lord, tearing out what feeds it, as the infected house was torn down. Help me deal radically with sin that persists and spreads, rather than managing it with half measures.