Turning Ordinary Places into Special Places
Did you know that your very presence in an ordinary place can turn it into a special place? To get there, we need to start in the part of the Bible we don’t spend as much time in, and that’s Leviticus.
We find many rules and detailed instructions for worshipping God in Old Testament book of Leviticus. A theme that emerges is that some places are more special than others because they are where God is or where he wants to be worshiped.
This comes from the truth that God is very different and separate from us. He is so different that it is hard for us to understand him. The rules in Leviticus about special spaces are intended to help the Hebrew people keep those places special.
The family history of the people of Israel includes much about God’s holiness. Meeting with God was dangerous and could even result in death. Remember when the people met with God at Mt. Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments? They were terrified, and God told them not to cross the line around the mountain if they wanted to stay alive (Exodus 19-33).
C. S. Lewis picked up on this idea in his Narnia stories. The character of Aslan the Lion represents Jesus, and Lewis reminds readers that Aslan is not a tame lion. The child Lucy asks,”Is He safe?” She is told, ” Safe?…. Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King…. ” Lewis wants us to understand: God is good, but he is also wild and dangerous.
Protecting Sacred Space
The system of sacrifices in Leviticus were designed to protect God’s space from contamination and to cleanse it when needed.
There are two types of contamination talked about in these regulations:
Ritual impurity. Actions or conditions that make you unfit to enter sacred space. Being impure is not a sin and does not remove you from God’s people. As long as you follow the rules about impurity, your status in the community remains unchanged.
Moral impurity. Also known as unintentional sins.
A simple picture of contamination comes from everyday life. In many places people take off their shoes before entering a house. This keeps them from tracking mud inside. In the same way, God wants his special places to be free from spiritual “mud” or contamination.
Clean Rooms and Blood Sacrifices
Some industries use a “clean room ” used to manufacture delicate equipment. Workers must put on protective suits before entering to keep the space free from contamination.
God wants his special places to be like these clean rooms. Entering them requires preparation. The priests had to wear special clothing to go into God’s presence, just as clean room workers wear protective suits today.
The blood from sacrifices mentioned in Leviticus is not applied to the person bringing the sacrifice. Instead, it is usually applied to the furniture in the temple, such as the altar, or to the priest making the sacrifice.
Stories of Sacred Spaces
Several Old Testament stories highlight God’s special places. Jacob sees a stairway to heaven at Bethel (Genesis 28). Moses talks with God who speaks from a burning bush (Exodus 3). Joshua has a pre-battle conversation with the Commander of the Lord’s Army (Joshua 5). Naaman is told to wash in the Jordan river by Elisha (2 Kings 5).
Let’s dive deeper into that last one. Naaman, a Syrian military commander with a skin condition, came to Elisha for healing. Elisha told him to wash in the Jordan River, and he was healed. Grateful, Naaman tried to pay Elisha, but Elisha refused.
So Naaman asked for something unusual: dirt from Israel to take home with him (2 Kings 5:17). He understood that Israel was God’s land. By taking some of that soil, he was setting up a small embassy of God’s Kingdom in his hometown. Whenever he stood on that dirt, he was on holy ground.
God’s Presence in the Temple
From the time of the Exodus through the Exile and Return, God’s presence was centered in the most holy place. First it was in the tabernacle as the people traveled through the wilderness. Later it was in the temple that Solomon built and Nehemiah rebuilt in Jerusalem. God’s presence was focused on a place.
The New Testament Shift
In the New Testament, the idea of sacred space changes. In John 2:18-21, Jesus explains that what used to be a place in the Old Testament has now become a person. Jesus himself is the temple where God’s presence dwells.
Romans 12:4-5 reminds us that believers are the body of Christ. When we follow Jesus, we become part of his body and God’s presence lives in us. First Corinthians 3:16 and 6:19 tell us that we are the temple of the Holy Spirit. Peter says the same in 1 Peter 1:5, where he describes believers being built into a spiritual house for God’s presence.
Believers are sacred space. Like Jesus, we are his body. We are like mini-tabernacles, portable vessels of God’s presence and worship. We are like mini-arks of the covenant, carrying God’s holiness wherever we go.
A believer’s presence makes a location into holy ground, because God is inside each believer. The cleaner someone is, the more of God’s presence can fill them. And here we are getting close to how your very presence begins to turn ordinary places into special places.
Portable Embassies of God’s Kingdom
One final image is that of an embassy. An embassy represents the land and authority of another country. Normally, an embassy is fixed in one place. But believers are portable embassies of God’s Kingdom.
Wherever we stand, God’s presence is there. We take his Kingdom with us to school, to work, and into our neighborhoods. We are ambassadors for the King of the Universe, Jesus. We are his representatives, carrying his presence into the world.
God in you makes any ordinary space a special place of his presence.
*Name changed due to security reasons.