Daily Scripture Reading Leviticus 15:13-33
A priest named Zachar made a vow on his 30th birthday to never sin again. He gave away all his possessions and lived a simple life in a simple hut on the edge of the village. He minimized contact with other people to reduce the chances of sinning by word or deed. Even when he did interact with the villagers, he acted slowly and spoke very little, so that he could thoroughly evaluate the righteousness of what he was about to say or do.
One day Zachar heard the villagers refer to him as “the sinless one”. He rejoiced that his efforts to avoid sin were so successful that the villagers had acknowledged his success. However, as he rejoiced in his success, pride entered his heart. He had been so successful at avoiding sin that he became guilty of the sin of pride.
There were times after the Israelites left Egypt that the congregation was determined to faithfully obey Yahweh. Part of that obedience involved avoiding uncleanness. However, the requirements for remaining clean were so intense that it was impossible to never become unclean. It was necessary for the Israelites to constantly purify themselves from something. This illustrates how hard it is for Christians to never sin.
The 15th chapter of Leviticus begins a section that explains the uncleanness that comes from bodily discharges. A man with a discharge was unclean, and anything he touched became unclean.
Lev. 15:13 ¶ ‘Now when the man with the discharge becomes cleansed from his discharge, then he shall count off for himself seven days for his cleansing; he shall then wash his clothes and bathe his body in running water and will become clean.
Notice the words “seven days”. When a man became unclean from a discharge, the problem did not last for just one day. It was at least an eight day process to become clean again.
Lev. 15:14 Then on the eighth day he shall take for himself two turtledoves or two young pigeons and come before Yahweh to the doorway of the tent of meeting and give them to the priest;
Lev. 15:15 and the priest shall offer them, one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. So the priest shall make atonement on his behalf before Yahweh because of his discharge.
Lev. 15:16 ¶ ‘Now if a man has a seminal emission, he shall bathe all his body in water and be unclean until evening.
Lev. 15:17 As for any garment or any leather on which there is seminal emission, it shall be washed with water and be unclean until evening.
Lev. 15:18 If there is a woman with whom a man lies so that there is a seminal emission, they shall both bathe in water and be unclean until evening.
Anytime people engaged in conjugal activity, they were unclean. This alone illustrates it was impossible for the Israelites to never become unclean. If they were never unclean, then the nation of Israel would have died out and ceased to exist. At least in the case of conjugal activity, the uncleanness only lasted until evening.
Lev. 15:19 ¶ ‘If a woman has a discharge, and her discharge in her body is blood, she shall continue in her menstrual impurity for seven days; and whoever touches her shall be unclean until evening.
Once again we see the words “seven days”. Every month, a woman was unclean for at least seven days during her menstrual cycle.
Lev. 15:20 Everything also on which she lies during her menstrual impurity shall be unclean, and everything on which she sits shall be unclean.
Anything a menstruating woman touched was unclean.
Lev. 15:21 And anyone who touches her bed shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening.
Lev. 15:22 And whoever touches any thing on which she sits shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening.
Anyone who touched anything that a menstruating woman had touched was unclean. Think about how complex daily life would have been during a woman’s monthly period. The woman had to be careful that she touched as few items as possible in the house. Meanwhile, other people in her family needed to be careful what they touched. If there were multiple females of menstruating age in the same house, then it was possible that something in the house was unclean every day of the month.
It was impossible for the Israelites to always be clean. This is a picture of the reality that it is impossible for Christians to be perfect. The Apostle Paul wrote that all have sinned (see Romans 3:23). The Apostle John wrote that anyone who claims to be without sin is deceived (see 1 John 1:8). Just as the Israelites were constantly making themselves unclean, so too Christians are constantly sinning. They may be small, perhaps invisible sins. Nevertheless, it is so easy to have sinful thoughts that every believer is guilty of sin.
Lev. 15:23 Whether it be on the bed or on the thing on which she is sitting, when he touches it, he shall be unclean until evening.
Lev. 15:24 If a man actually lies with her so that her menstrual impurity is on him, he shall be unclean seven days, and every bed on which he lies shall be unclean.
Lev. 15:25 ¶ ‘Now if a woman has a discharge of her blood many days, not at the period of her menstrual impurity, or if she has a discharge beyond that period, all the days of her unclean discharge she shall continue as though in her menstrual impurity; she is unclean.
Lev. 15:26 Any bed on which she lies all the days of her discharge shall be to her like her bed at menstruation; and every thing on which she sits shall be unclean, like her uncleanness from her menstrual impurity.
Lev. 15:27 Likewise, whoever touches them shall be unclean and shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening.
Lev. 15:28 Now if she becomes clean from her discharge, she shall count off for herself seven days; and afterward she will be clean.
Lev. 15:29 Then on the eighth day she shall take for herself two turtledoves or two young pigeons and bring them in to the priest, to the doorway of the tent of meeting.
Lev. 15:30 And the priest shall offer the one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. So the priest shall make atonement on her behalf before Yahweh because of her unclean discharge.’
Lev. 15:31 ¶ “Thus you shall keep the sons of Israel separated from their uncleanness, so that they will not die in their uncleanness by making My tabernacle that is among them unclean.”
Take note of the word “tabernacle”. It was impossible for the Israelites to go through life without becoming unclean. However, it was reasonable to expect them to be clean every time they went to the tabernacle. Likewise, Christians cannot go through life without sinning, but God does expect us to partake in the Lord’s Supper in a worthy manner (see 1 Corinthians 11:27-30).
Lev. 15:32 This is the law for the one with a discharge, and for the man who has a seminal emission so that he is unclean by it,
Lev. 15:33 and for the woman who is ill because of menstrual impurity, and for the one who has a discharge, whether a male or a female, or a man who lies with an unclean woman.
A goal within the Mosaic Law was to remain clean, but that was impossible. Every Israelite became unclean at some point. This is a picture of the Christian life. All Christians should desire to be sinless, but that too is impossible. While it is somewhat realistic to mostly avoid sinning by word or deed, it is impossible to completely prevent sinful thoughts and attitudes. Thus, all people, including all Christians, are sinners.
Having said that, just as it was realistic to expect that the Israelites would only go to the tabernacle when they were clean, so too it is realistic to expect that Christians will only partake of the Lord’s Supper when they can do so in a worthy manner.
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“Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.”