![]() ![]() So why would the things listed in Leviticus 11-15 make a person unclean? The first category of things discussed is clean and unclean animals, with only clean animals being acceptable to the Israelites for consumption. Once a person had been made clean, they could come and offer their sacrifices in the Tabernacle again without violating the presence of God. #TIDINESS IN THE BIBLE HOW TO#The laws in Leviticus 11-15 were designed not only to identify what would make a person unclean, but also how to bring them from a state on uncleanness back to being clean uncleanness was almost always a temporary state, typically only lasting a week or so. There were multiple things that could make a person unclean that were normal parts of life, such as the burial of a relative or a woman undergoing a menstrual cycle, and even things that were considered good and holy like the sexual relations between a husband and wife. The Law makes it clear that being unclean is not the same as being sinful, although sometimes the two categories did overlap. As God repeatedly states in Leviticus, “ shall be holy, for I am holy.” ![]() With this in mind, we can better understand what the Law’s definition of clean is: it’s being in a state of spiritual purity so that one can approach the presence of God. They are not concerned with just the physical state of being dirty or clean, but about being holy before the Lord and honoring His presence amongst Israel by not profaning the Tabernacle. The foundation for our understanding the idea of this ritual cleanliness is Leviticus 10:3: after Nadab and Abihu are killed for violating the holy sanctuary of the Tabernacle, it is recorded that “Then Moses said to Aaron, “It is what the Lord spoke, saying, ‘By those who come near Me I will be treated as holy, and before all the people I will be honored.’” It is after this episode of the priests violating the holiness of God that the cleanliness laws are given in Leviticus, and that helps us to understand the purpose of these laws. #TIDINESS IN THE BIBLE SKIN#While Leviticus 11-15 is sometimes awkward for us to read about because of cultural taboos (let’s be honest, no one really likes discussing semen, menstruation, and skin diseases!), these passages help us to understand how God defines the ideas of clean and unclean that might seem like mere historical knowledge of a past ritual experience, but the reality is that it also reveals an important facet of God’s character as well! The idea of clean in the Old Testament, however, is more complicated than simply washing away physical impurities. Indeed, that idea even shows up in Biblical imagery: the idea of baptism “washing away our sins” is a prevalent one in the New Testament. ![]() The process of removing uncleanness for us is using water to remove it. If someone has gotten dirty or sweaty, they are unclean. ![]() When we use the word clean today, we are often referring to external hygiene if one has taken a shower or bath, they are clean. This idea of cleanliness, which is also referenced frequently throughout the rest of Leviticus as well as Numbers and Deuteronomy, is a crucial concept to understanding the entirety of the Law and the statutes concerning the Tabernacle (and later the Temple). One of the more obscure sections of the Law, at least from a modern Western perspective, is the cleanliness laws of Leviticus 11-15. ![]()
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