Leviticus 14:2-32 This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought to the priest:… (Leviticus 14:4.) Text chosen to illustrate one simple truth. A very little and insignificant thing may be used for very important work. Of this "hyssop" the Jews were to make a sort of brush to sprinkle the door-posts with. It was but a little plant, for of Solomon it is said, "He spake of trees, from the cedar-tree even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall." It is a short-stemmed plant, growing in crevices like the ferns in our walls. It is bristly, and so suitable for making into a brush. It is bitter, and so it was thought to have cleansing properties; and, therefore, the Psalmist prays, "Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean." 1. God uses little things for His work. True He uses the great cedar for making His temple, and the acacia boards for His tabernacle; but He also uses the little hyssop. Children are but "little things," and yet the Lord needs and uses them. Illustration: Naaman's maid. Children at our Lord's triumphal entry. The nurse who influenced the good Lord Shaftesbury. 2. God chooses the little things He wants to use. There are many little plants besides the hyssop; but only that one was chosen for this particular work. There are many sorts of grass, but only one, with specially interlacing roots, is used to keep up the great dams that hold back the sea in Holland. God will find out some particular work for each one of us; and all through life, as well as now, our joy will be to do what He finds for us to do. 3. God expects us to put something of our own into our service. The hyssop had something of its own. It put it into its work when it was used to soothe Christ's pain on the Cross. It is not enough just to do right, we must try to do right earnestly, skilfully, cheerfully, prettily: putting our own best selves into the doing. We are to be God's agents, but we must never forget this — He would have us put our love, our goodwill, our abilities, and our happy spirit, into all His work. Parallel Verses KJV: This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought unto the priest:WEB: "This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing. He shall be brought to the priest, |
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