"Depart, depart, go out from there; touch no unclean thing; go out from the midst of her; purify yourselves, you who bear the vessels of the Lord."
Isaiah 52:11
God called the people of Israel to come out of Babylon and to keep themselves pure and not contaminate themselves by taking on the values and behavior of the Babylonians. They were to remember that they had been set apart to “carry the vessels of the Lord,” the holy vessels used in the Temple. After seventy years, they would be bringing these vessels back to Jerusalem to place them in the rebuilt Temple.
We are called to remember that we not only carry the vessels of the Lord, we are the holy vessels of the Lord. We hold inside of us the Holy Spirit, who dwells in us.
Don’t become too comfortable with the ethics of the world in which we live, or take on the world’s way of thinking and behaving. We’re leaving here and going home!
Purify yourself; remember that you are different. You have been set apart, a bearer of holy things. You aren’t from around here, you are a stranger in a strange land, and you will soon be going home.
Lord Jesus, keep me aware of the holy calling on my life. Help me to remember who I am by Your grace and keep me from being lulled into thinking and behaving according to the ways of this world. Help me to live here ready to leave and go home when You call me. Amen.
Pastor Dan Giles