We certainly cannot talk about consecration without making a single reference to cleansing. Consecration involves the purification and cleansing of an individual, a group of people, artefacts etc. at the Lord’s command or request. The cleansing process could be a ritual or an actual washing of the person in question to make them fit for the Lord’s presence or an assignment. 

When we say an individual is being consecrated, we are saying the person is undergoing a purification process which will produce holiness. Holiness is a command therefore we must subject ourselves to the process that allows us to carry out this command. God commanded the Israelites through Moses in Leviticus 19:2 saying “you shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy”. Apostle Peter echoes this command in 1 Peter 1:16. Holiness connotes sacredness, uncommonness, and being set apart or distant from that which is mundane and profane. To be holy is to be like God in character, conduct and deed. It requires putting off the old nature and its demands and putting on the new man which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator (Colossians 3:10). Believers all over the world are undergoing this same process of being made perfect and holy. This is what consecration is all about. 

When it comes to cleansing during consecration, the bible often talks about it in two ways: physical cleanliness and cleanliness of the heart. There is an emphasis on the former in the old testament and an emphasis on the latter in the new. 

Physical cleanliness

In the anchor bible passage for this article, God commands Moses to consecrate the children of Israel in preparation for his meeting with them. The terms of this consecration required the Israelites to wash their garments (Exodus 19:10). This indicates the necessity of a clean appearance before the LORD which is similar to the purity laws outlined in the book of Leviticus. Therefore, the LORD’s command to the Israelites to wash their garments before meeting with him is very consistent with his character. He is holy hence anybody who wants to draw near him must cleanse themselves from filth. Without holiness, it is impossible to see God (Hebrews 12:14). When God manifests physically in a place, your physical appearance and the cleanliness of the environment are very crucial. This idea is evident in the verse below: 

“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. Deuteronomy 23:12-14

The above passage builds a bridge between the cleanliness of the environment and holiness. Prior to this command, it seems the Israelites eased themselves within their camp. This is an environmental problem that could have led to outbreaks of diseases and whatnot. However, the LORD addresses this problem as a spiritual one that has implications on the holiness of the people and his closeness to them. God says, because he walked in the midst of their camp to deliver them and give up their enemies before them, they must be holy. In this case, their environment must be clean. 

Wherever you intend to host God must be clean and devoid of filth. That includes physical locations like temples and prayer rooms. However, in the New Testament (1 Corinthians 6:19), we are told that our bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we are expected to keep the temple (our bodies) as sacred as possible and homely for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. 

This leads me to the next point…

Cleanliness of the heart

God is very much concerned about the state of the human heart: how sinful it is or how hungry it is for righteousness. God who is Spirit outlined several purity and hygiene laws in the Old Testament because he walked in the camp of the Israelites and in some cases he manifested himself physically to them. In whatever space God chooses to appear, it is our responsibility to make that space clean and habitable for him. Be it a physical space or in the heart. 

God is concerned about purity at all levels and in all aspects of a person’s life. Be it in their thoughts, actions, appearance etc. God commands all of us to be holy as he is holy: without spot, without blemish. God wants us to be pure, without any impurities existing in us. In 2 Timothy 2:20-22, Paul makes an illustration that puts the responsibility of becoming an honourable vessel in the LORD’s house on the believer. He put it this way:

Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.

There are many vessels in the master’s house; some are honourable, others are dishonourable. If anybody would put in the work to cleanse themselves from dishonourable activities, the master will set them apart as holy and use them for every good work. When the Apostle speaks about being cleansed from that which is dishonourable, he isn’t referring to physical appearance here. He is referring to sin and in some cases mundane activities. That which is common among men is usually unholy or unlike God. In the New Testament, appearing physically clean and honourable is good, however, being clean in your heart should be the top priority to us all. Jesus made this clear when he rebuked the Scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 23 in what is popularly known as “the 7 woes”. Between verses 25 and 28 Jesus rebukes the Scribes and Pharisees in this manner:

• Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence
• You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.
• Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness.
• So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

The Scribes and Pharisees appeared most righteous among all men. They put in a lot of work to appear clean (kindly read Matthew 23). They put a lot of effort into physically distinguishing themselves from the average person. But they paid very little attention to the cleanliness of their heart. There was greed, self-indulgence, hypocrisy, lawlessness and all manner of uncleanness in their heart but they focused on their appearance before men. They cared very little about their appearance before God. This was the reason why Jesus rebuked them sharply. There are lessons here for all of us: we need to put a lot more effort into cleansing ourselves from that which is dishonourable and indulge in that which is honourable. It is only then that we will become vessels set apart for honourable use. 

How do we cleanse ourselves from that which is dishonourable as New Testament believers? The answer is in what Jesus told the Pharisees: First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, so that the outside also may be clean. Although, physical cleanliness is important the priority should be the cleanliness of the heart. Once we start from the heart, it will be projected on the outside. The Scribes and Pharisees had it in reverse; they thought being physically clean would make them more acceptable to God.

To be consecrated is to be conformed to the image of God. Conformity is a proximity issue. You are more likely to conform to the image of the closest person to you. Therefore, in all our pursuits, we need to be deliberate about pursuing God and drawing close to him on a minute-to-minute basis. Jesus made a statement in Matthew 23:17 that captures this thought perfectly. He said the gold in the temple is made sacred because it is in the temple. Gold is valuable in and out of the temple. But gold is only regarded as sacred or holy when it is within the 4 walls of a temple. Where you are and who you are close to determines whether you will be successful at living a consecrated life or not. Choose to draw close to the Holy one and he will expose the uncleanness of your heart and grant you grace to cleanse yourself from that which is dishonourable.

Feature image: @frankfmx on IG

In the bible, consecration is revealed as the setting apart of an individual, an artifact, or anything at the LORD’s request or command. Setting apart means to separate something and make it special or distinct. It can also mean being distant or separated from the crowd. When God commands that a person be set apart for him, it means he has a special assignment for them. Therefore, he will require the individual to operate with a different mindset from that which is common among men and to be unique in values, conduct, and deeds. Not all men enjoy the privilege of receiving assignments from God hence the one who has been set apart for a specific assignment should know that he will journey on a road not common to the ordinary man. Anybody who is destined to journey on a road less traveled must be prepared to be different from the average person. 

The concept of “setting apart for special use” is present in the everyday life of the average person. For example, people often reserve nice, costly, or flamboyant clothes for special occasions. These clothes could hang in the wardrobe for days, months, or even years until there is a special occasion that befits the wearing of such clothes. This very much typifies how God sets people apart for special use. He first chooses them, then separates them from the lot and prepares them, often behind the scenes, to be used for special assignments. It is one of God’s observable ways of dealing with his children both in the Old and New Testaments of the bible as shown below:

In the first verse, God commands Moses to separate or set apart the entire tribe of Levi from among the people of Israel for the LORD. Before God made this statement, he instructed Moses to perform some purification rituals to cleanse the Levites. God, after he struck down the firstborns of the Egyptians, consecrated for himself all the firstborns of Israel. In effect, every firstborn Israelite belonged to the LORD. But on the occasion of commanding the consecration of the Levites, God replaced the firstborns of Israel with the tribe of Levi (v 18). The Levites, on this day, were set apart from their brethren, to belong to the LORD and to perform the special assignment of doing “the service for the people of Israel, at the tent of meeting…”. From that day forward, the Levites were tasked to take care of the tent of meeting and also to make atonement for the people of Israel that there may be no plague among them (v. 19). In this story we can see the theme of “setting apart for special use” clearly illustrated. 

In the second verse, we see Paul and Barnabas being set apart for a special assignment. According to the story, there was a group of Teachers and Prophets who were fasting and worshipping God in the church at Antioch. While doing this, the Holy Spirit instructed them to separate Paul and Barnabas for the work which he had called them to do. This is quite similar to the instruction given to Moses about the Levites. In this case, the special “ritual” that was done afterward was the laying of the brethren’s hands on Saul and Barnabas, after which they were sent off to go and execute the task the Lord intended for them to do. Right after this, they went to Cyprus to preach the word of God and perform miracles. 

In the anchor verse for this article (Exodus 19:23), we are made to understand that in consecration, boundaries are set around the consecrated thing and little or no access is given to it. I will explain. God scheduled a meeting with the children of Israel. As you would know, the characteristics of all physical meetings include the venue, date, time, and the individuals involved. In this case, the venue was the camp of Israel, the date was three days after the meeting was scheduled, and the attendees were God and the entire congregation of Israel. God, being the “chairperson” of this meeting told Moses that he would “…come down on Mount Sinai”. This means that during this meeting, God would be “seated” or “stationed” on Mount Sinai. God is holy, hence, anywhere he dwells must be treated as such. “Anywhere” here includes the hearts of men. He gave Moses clear instructions as to how his “seat”, Mount Sinai, should be treated during the meeting. God expected his “seat” to be consecrated and the attendees of the meeting to be consecrated as well. He commanded Moses to consecrate the children of Israel for two days by washing their garments (v 10) and by staying away from sex (v.15). About the mountain, he said in Exodus 19:12:

And you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, ‘Take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death.

One interesting fact about this instruction is that even animals would be put to death if they touched the mountain. Having direct access to the mountain was such a grievous act that the person or animal that did it would not be touched but stoned to death. 

In verses 21 and 22, the LORD elaborates on this instruction by telling Moses to warn the people not to penetrate the limits Moses had set around the mountain. He also instructed the priests to consecrate themselves before they came near the mountain lest the LORD breaks out against them. In this passage, we understand that the mountain had been consecrated unto the LORD therefore he permitted little or no access to it. Why? Because he was going to be stationed on Mount Sinai. It is very important that as a consecrated individual you set boundaries around you. Not everybody should have access to you nor should you be influenced by any thought, philosophy, idea, or way of life. You must learn to set boundaries around you. Imagine how Samson’s life would have turned out if he had a strong principle against going near Philistine women or allowing them to have access to him. Who or what has access to you is very important in your consecration. The following are a few thoughts I noted down on this sub-theme:

• Access is very important in consecration. The level of access that people have to you and the level of influence and control material things and worldly ideas have over you has a bearing on how well you will keep the terms of your consecration. 
• There must be a cap on who and what has access to you when you are consecrated. Everybody should not have access to your time and everything shouldn’t have your attention. Especially when it comes to people or things that can have a negative influence on your life. 
• You must set boundaries all around you for this purpose. Implement strict measures to keep things out and be intentional about who and what gets in. 
• Boundaries are set to keep things within a specific area and/or to keep things from entering that area. Setting boundaries around you as a consecrated person means you are consciously taking steps to prevent yourself from indulging in unholy activities and from overindulging in the mundane. It also signifies that you will be content to indulge in that which God has sanctioned for you personally.
• Your heart could morph into a wild beast if not put on a leash. For the sake of the occupant of your heart, learn to set boundaries around his place of abode. Be strict about it and don’t compromise your standards. 

In conclusion, as a person who is undergoing consecration, you must learn to keep the terms of your consecration. Carry yourself with dignity and respect. Just as Moses treated Mount Sinai, do the same with yourself. For the Holy Spirit of God is domiciled in you (1 Corinthians 3:16). Walk in this consciousness and do not indulge in unholy things and overindulge in the mundane. Set boundaries all around you. Not everybody is supposed to have access to you nor are you supposed to be influenced by any and every person. You are the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, act like it.

Feature image: @frankfmx on IG

There are 2 major censuses conducted in the book by Moses and they are the central theme of this blog post. We are going to examine some similarities and differences in both of them. The book basically opens with the first one in Numbers 1. We are told that God commanded Moses to do a census in Israel and count the number of males who were 20 years and above and were capable of going to war. They were to be counted according to clans and ‘fathers’ houses’. The tribe of Levi was to be excluded because they were given the charge to take care of the tabernacle. At the end of the first census, Moses counted 603,550 men. This census was conducted by Moses and Aaron in the wilderness of Sinai. The visualization above is a representation of the data collected by Moses and how the tribes of Israel encamped around the tent of meeting.

Throughout the remaining chapters of the book, we see the children of Israel sin against God at different times and God strikes with different forms of fatal punishments. Notable amongst them is the story of Korah, Dathan and Abiram who rebelled against Moses, asking why he had exalted himself above the entire congregation when everybody else was as holy as he was. This kindled the anger of God so he caused the earth to split open and swallow these men together with their families. Just the following day, the children of Israel started grumbling, accusing Moses of Killing the three men. Again God’s anger was kindled and he struck the camp with a plague that killed 14,700 people.

In Numbers 25, the Lord struck the children of Israel again with a plague. While the entire congregation dwelt in the land of Shittim, the men of Israel started whoring after the daughters of Moab which led them to sacrifice to the gods of Moab. While the issue was being discussed by Moses and the judges of Israel, one of such men, Zimri, was seen openly walking with a Midianite woman, Cozbi. It infuriated Phinehas (the grandson of Aaron the Priest) and he took a spear and impaled both of them. This act by Phinehas greatly pleased God so he stopped the plague. However, 24,000 people had lost their lives already as a result of the plague.

After this plague, the Lord commanded Moses to and Eleazar the priest and son of Aaron to conduct another census. Similar to the first one, God commanded them to count males who were 20+ years old and were able to go to war. The total number of people counted was 601,730. Again, the tribe of Levi was excluded from this census for the same reason as the first. In some tribes, the people counted in the second census exceeded the number counted in the first census and in other tribes the number reduced. Do check out the visualization below to compare the first census to the second one.

What really struck me about the second census is found in the verse below:

But among these there was not one of those listed by Moses and Aaron the priest, who had listed the people of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai, for the LORD had said of them, “They shall die in the wilderness.” Not one of them was left except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. Numbers 26:64-65 ESV

Only 2 of the men counted in the first census were alive to see the second. This is a testament to the fact that God hates sin and he deals with it severely. Also find below another visualization that displays the percentage increase or percentage decrease in the populations for each tribe after the second census.

The above visualization tells us that the population of the tribe of Simeon decreased by 63% while that of Manasseh increased by 64% after the second census. Judah and Dan recorded the slightest change in number as both tribes increased by 3%. While Asher and Benjamin both increased in number by 29%.

The book of Numbers was named as such because of these 2 censuses and their significance to the Israelites right after they left Egypt and just before they entered the promised land. To me, the most interesting fact about these 2 censuses is that after Moses counted 603,550 men in the first census, only 2 of them (Joshua and Caleb) lived to see the second census. The second census was conducted only 38 years after the first one, according to Adam Clarke. This shows us how many Israelites died in 38 years most probably as punishment for their sins and rebellion.