WEEK 2 — DAY 2
Morning Nourishment
Lev. 14:8-9. "And the one who is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes and shave off all his hair and bathe in water, and he shall be clean. And after that he may come into the camp, but he shall dwell outside his tent seven days. And on the seventh day he shall shave off all his hair; he shall shave his head and his beard and his eyebrows, even all his hair..."
The hair of the head signifies man's glory in self-display; the beard, man's self-assumed honor; the eyebrows, man's excellencies, merits, and virtues issuing from his natural birth; and all the hair of the body, man's natural strength and ability. The shaving off of all the hair and the bathing in water equal getting rid of the self with all its glory, honor, excellencies, merits, virtues, strength, and ability through the "razor" of the cross. When we have nothing and are nothing, we shall be clean (cf. Phil. 3:7-11). (Lev. 14:9, footnote 1)
The leper's shaving of his entire body, washing his clothes, and bathing his flesh a second time after waiting and watching seven days signifies that a sinner who is to be cleansed needs to bear the responsibility for dealing with every part of his natural life and daily walk. This shows that if we deal with our sin and our sinful self seriously, in a definite, thorough, and absolute way, we shall be clean. (Lev. 14:9, footnote 2)
Today's Reading
In the third stage [of the experience of life is the] ... "shaving of the hair," that is, dealing with the problems of our own self. [In Leviticus 14:8-9] the hair, which is something grown out from a man's body, signifies the difficulties within ourselves. Therefore, shaving the hair means dealing with the difficulties of our own self. This is the work of the cross in dealing with our being. After one passes through the dealing of the cross, his whole being is cleansed in a practical way. This kind of dealing is not once for all; it must be repeated again and again to become thorough. Therefore, "on the seventh day he shall shave off all his hair; he shall shave his head and his beard and his eyebrows, even all his hair. Then he shall wash his clothes and bathe his flesh in water, and he shall be clean" (v. 9). This continuous dealing is not only thorough but detailed; that is, it is not only the shaving of the hair in general, but it also differentiates between the hair of the head, the beard, the eyebrows, and the hair of the whole body. These areas must be dealt with one by one, and eventually the whole body completely shaved.
In the Bible each of the different kinds of hair has its own significance. The hair of the head signifies the glory of man, the beard represents the honor of man, the eyebrows speak of the beauty of man, and the hair of the whole body denotes the natural strength of man. Everyone has his boasts in certain areas. Some boast of their ancestry, some of their education, some of their virtues, some of their zeal in their love for the Lord. Almost everyone can find an area in which to boast, to glorify himself, and to make a display before man. This is typified by the hair of the head. Moreover, people esteem themselves honorable with regard to their position, their family background, or even their spirituality; they always have a superior feeling that they are above others. This is their beard. At the same time, men also have some natural beauty, that is, some naturally good and strong points, which did not issue from the experience of God's salvation but from natural birth. This is the eyebrows of man. Finally, as human beings, we are full of natural strength, natural methods and opinions, thinking that we can do this or that for the Lord and that we are capable of doing all things....All these are not outward contaminations but problems of our natural birth. The outward contaminations need only to be washed with water; however, our own natural problems must be shaved with a razor, which means that they must be dealt with by the cross. This kind of dealing is deep and severe,
hurting us within and causing us much pain. (The Experience of Life, pp. 189,188-189)
Further Reading: The Experience of Life, pp. 188-189
Morning Nourishment
Lev. 14:8-9. "And the one who is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes and shave off all his hair and bathe in water, and he shall be clean. And after that he may come into the camp, but he shall dwell outside his tent seven days. And on the seventh day he shall shave off all his hair; he shall shave his head and his beard and his eyebrows, even all his hair..."
The hair of the head signifies man's glory in self-display; the beard, man's self-assumed honor; the eyebrows, man's excellencies, merits, and virtues issuing from his natural birth; and all the hair of the body, man's natural strength and ability. The shaving off of all the hair and the bathing in water equal getting rid of the self with all its glory, honor, excellencies, merits, virtues, strength, and ability through the "razor" of the cross. When we have nothing and are nothing, we shall be clean (cf. Phil. 3:7-11). (Lev. 14:9, footnote 1)
The leper's shaving of his entire body, washing his clothes, and bathing his flesh a second time after waiting and watching seven days signifies that a sinner who is to be cleansed needs to bear the responsibility for dealing with every part of his natural life and daily walk. This shows that if we deal with our sin and our sinful self seriously, in a definite, thorough, and absolute way, we shall be clean. (Lev. 14:9, footnote 2)
Today's Reading
In the third stage [of the experience of life is the] ... "shaving of the hair," that is, dealing with the problems of our own self. [In Leviticus 14:8-9] the hair, which is something grown out from a man's body, signifies the difficulties within ourselves. Therefore, shaving the hair means dealing with the difficulties of our own self. This is the work of the cross in dealing with our being. After one passes through the dealing of the cross, his whole being is cleansed in a practical way. This kind of dealing is not once for all; it must be repeated again and again to become thorough. Therefore, "on the seventh day he shall shave off all his hair; he shall shave his head and his beard and his eyebrows, even all his hair. Then he shall wash his clothes and bathe his flesh in water, and he shall be clean" (v. 9). This continuous dealing is not only thorough but detailed; that is, it is not only the shaving of the hair in general, but it also differentiates between the hair of the head, the beard, the eyebrows, and the hair of the whole body. These areas must be dealt with one by one, and eventually the whole body completely shaved.
In the Bible each of the different kinds of hair has its own significance. The hair of the head signifies the glory of man, the beard represents the honor of man, the eyebrows speak of the beauty of man, and the hair of the whole body denotes the natural strength of man. Everyone has his boasts in certain areas. Some boast of their ancestry, some of their education, some of their virtues, some of their zeal in their love for the Lord. Almost everyone can find an area in which to boast, to glorify himself, and to make a display before man. This is typified by the hair of the head. Moreover, people esteem themselves honorable with regard to their position, their family background, or even their spirituality; they always have a superior feeling that they are above others. This is their beard. At the same time, men also have some natural beauty, that is, some naturally good and strong points, which did not issue from the experience of God's salvation but from natural birth. This is the eyebrows of man. Finally, as human beings, we are full of natural strength, natural methods and opinions, thinking that we can do this or that for the Lord and that we are capable of doing all things....All these are not outward contaminations but problems of our natural birth. The outward contaminations need only to be washed with water; however, our own natural problems must be shaved with a razor, which means that they must be dealt with by the cross. This kind of dealing is deep and severe,
hurting us within and causing us much pain. (The Experience of Life, pp. 189,188-189)
Further Reading: The Experience of Life, pp. 188-189
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