Handling What Has Been Sacrificed
"If a person touches any unclean thing… and he is unaware of it, he also shall be unclean and guilty." — Leviticus 5:2
A Good Man Who Did a Kind Thing
A man who was a leader in a Bible study group — a man of prayer, thoroughly committed to God, a genuine blessing to everyone around him — went to help a woman who had just come to Christ.
She had recently moved into a rented house and was being tormented at night. She asked him to come and pray through the house with her.
While he was there, she showed him the remains of an animal in the yard. It had been mutilated and killed in a way consistent with a ritual sacrifice. She was horrified and asked him to remove it.
He picked up the carcass, put it in a plastic sack, and put it in the garbage can.
That night he came under a powerful attack. The next day he was attacked again while driving to work, nearly causing an accident. He understood spiritual authority and used it, and still the attacks continued.
The Detail That Explained It
When he described the situation to others, the sequence became clear: the attacks had begun immediately after that visit.
The key question was how he had disposed of the animal.
He had picked it up with his hands.
Anything sacrificed to darkness is unclean. The Old Testament is emphatic that such things are not to be possessed or touched, and that anyone who touches an unclean thing is unclean until he goes through the prescribed cleansing.
We are no longer under the ceremonial law. The spiritual principle it expressed has not changed.
Those who receive such sacrifices regard them as belonging to themselves. A person not in that service who touches or destroys one is regarded as having trespassed, and a curse is placed on him accordingly. God regards the same object as unclean and unholy. Either way, handling it without dealing with the consequence leaves a claim in place.
What He Should Have Done
Two things, both simple.
He could have avoided touching it. A shovel would have accomplished the same task. Practical precaution is not superstition; it is wisdom.
He should have prayed afterward to be cleansed from touching an unclean thing, and commanded any resulting curse broken in the name of Jesus.
When he finally did exactly that — asked the Lord to cleanse him from touching an unclean thing, commanded the curse broken in the name of Jesus, and commanded the associated spirits to leave — the attacks stopped immediately and did not return.
Where This Applies
You may never handle a ritual sacrifice. But the principle applies wherever believers come into contact with what has been dedicated to darkness.
Cleaning out the home of a relative who was involved in the occult. Renovating a property with ritual markings. Removing objects from a house you have purchased. Working in a profession that requires handling such items. Helping someone destroy what they have renounced.
In every case: pray for protection first, avoid direct contact where you reasonably can, and break any curse afterward. Not out of fear. Out of the ordinary competence of a person who knows the terrain.
Point to Ponder
Doing a good thing carelessly is still doing it carelessly. Pray before, take precautions during, cleanse after.
Verse to Remember
"Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." — 2 Corinthians 7:1
Question to Consider
Have I ever handled something dedicated to darkness — even while doing something good — and never thought to cleanse myself afterward?
Today's Practice
Think back over anything you have handled: objects removed from a house, items belonging to someone involved in the occult, ritual materials destroyed, property cleared, or anything you disposed of on someone else's behalf.
Also consider anything you have handled professionally — in construction, cleaning, estate work, antiques, law enforcement, or medicine.
Then pray:
"Lord, cleanse me from every unclean thing I have touched, knowingly or unknowingly. In the name of Jesus Christ, I break every curse placed on me through handling what was dedicated to darkness, and I command every spirit associated with those curses to leave me now."
And going forward, build the habit: pray before, precaution during, cleanse after.
Prayer
Father, I have walked into situations without preparing and walked out without cleansing. I meant well. I was careless.
Cleanse me now from every unclean thing I have touched — in my work, in helping others, in ignorance, or in haste. Wash me in the blood of Jesus Christ.
In His name I break every curse placed on me through such contact, and I command every spirit that gained access through it to leave me and my household immediately.
Teach me to be competent, Lord — not fearful, but wise. Let me be someone who can go where help is needed and come home clean. In Jesus' name. Amen.
He did a kind thing carelessly, and paid for the carelessness rather than the kindness.