Leviticus 11-15: Clean and Unclean

1.  Overview

Chapter 1-16: Ritual Code

Chapter 12 - 27 Holiness Code

Leviticus 11-15 speaks about two Hebrew words: Tahor (Clean/Pure) and Tame (Unclean/ Impure). They will appear many times in these chapters. The focus is on ritually pure. In the past, we have rules on how to approach kings, and in China, when you leave, you must walk backwards as you are not to turn your back on the emperor. 

Lev 15:31 says: “Thus you shall keep the people of Israel separate from their uncleanness, lest they die in their uncleanness by defiling my tabernacle that is in their midst.”

1. What are the ritual states? 

a) More Holy - High Priests entering into the Holy of Holies.

b) Holy - Priests as they enter into the tabernacle

c) Pure - Common People

d) Impure - Common People - the ritual codes make you pure again.

e) Defiled - Non-Israelites (foreigners)

Ritually pure allows us to be fit in order to approach and worship Him.  Morally pure deals with our relationship with God. 

2. What areas are covered under the ritual code? 

Leviticus 11 - Clean and Unclean Animals

Leviticus 12 - Purification After Childbirth

Leviticus 13 - Laws About Leprosy, including skin diseases.

Leviticus 14 - Laws for Cleansing Lepers; Laws for Cleansing Homes

Leviticus 15 - Laws about Bodily Discharged - menstruation or semen discharge.

3. What makes something pure and impure?

Numbers 12:12 said "Let her not be as one dead, whose flesh is half eaten away when he comes our of his mother's womb."  Meaning that leprosy in like death. with the analogy of a baby born dead. 

Decay of the skin represents death. Menstruation looses a lot of blood, and since blood represents life, menstruation are also considered unclean or impure. 

God calls us to live with distinction

a) Live in His Presence

God chose to live with us, to dwell with us. Even in Genesis, God was dwelling with man at first (Genesis 3:8), but He separated from us after the fall. In Leviticus, they had another opportunity to allow God to dwell with them through the ritual codes. 

For us, the question is what are some holy rhythms in your life that are worth cultivating to remind you of the God you worship today? Examples could be praying before eating, personal devotions,  ministry to the people, servicing the church, etc.. 

b) Live our His Purpose

Lev 20:25 said to separate the clean beast from the unclean, where God has set apart. Gen 1 also separated light from darkness, day from light, etc. 

In Geb 1:27, we are created in the image of God. That's why we have to be separated or set apart from impurity. Lev 11:44 says "For I am the LORD your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy."  

Every we go, we represents God, and we need to reflect His character.  We cannot compromise by following others who asked us to do controversial actions, or to take away our time from our family or God. Instead of spending our savings in holidays, we should use it to reach out to others. 

New Testament View of Cleanliness

Instead of being pure in rituals, Jesus has thought us to be pure in our hearts. Jesus said to the Jews: "But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.” (Matt 15:18-20)

Once we receive Jesus, the Holy Spirit enters us and works on our heart to be pure. This is the sanctification after salvation. We no longer need to practice the rituals, but we need to let God have our hearts. 

In Acts 10:9-16, Peter had a vision that a voice asked him to eat the unclean food. He refused, but was asked 2 more times. Then Peter realized that there is nothing unclean, when God had made it clean, including Gentiles. This is before Peter went to Cornelius from his invitation. At that time, Peter said: 

"Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears Him and does what is right is acceptable to him. (Acts 10:34)  

No one is excluded from God's cleansing. We, who have been cleaned, must go out to the people, to bring them to be cleansed by God. 

No one is exempted from God's commands. Acts 10:42-43 said: "And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”  This commandment applies to us as well. The great commission is not a great suggestion. (Matthew 28:19-20)

Postscript 

In Matthew 8:1-4, Jesus told the healed leprosy to tell the priest and offer the gift of Moses. Jesus' first instruction to for him to go to the temple and obey the sacrifice Moses wrote in the law in Lev 14:1-32. 

Lev 14:1 said that the diseased person should go to the priest to confirm that they have been healed. If the priest agreed that he was healed, he will given a bird to be sacrificed and it's blood will fall into the water in a clay pot. Then the priest give him a living bird to be dipped into the blood of the sacrificed bird, together with cedar wood, scarlet yarn, and hyssop. The blood and water will be sprinkled on the bird seven time, then the bird will be released in the open field. The rest of the chapter detailed other sacrifices the healed person has to made. 

Isn't the above matches the redemption story? The scarified bird represent Jesus, who died on the cross with a lot of blood spilling out from his hands, his feet, his brow and his body. His blood is considered pure, represented by the water. Water is also used to represent the Holy Spirit (John 7:37-39).  The uncleaned man, due to sin, are to bring himself and "dip" in the blood of Christ.  

He is to be covered by Jesus blood together with Cedar wood, scarlet yarn, hyssop. In Jewish tradition, Cedar wood represents human pride, which must be humbled before he goes for the cleansing. The scarlet yarn It represents the stain of sin but also the cleansing power of sacrificial blood, pointing to the transition from impurity to purity. Finally, the hyssop symbolizes cleansing and purification. It was also used during the first Passover to apply the lamb's blood to doorposts (Exodus 12:22). 

The living bird was set free, as we are spiritually "set free" by Jesus, as he said in John 8:36: "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."  Moses' law symbolizes the atonement and the deliverance of man from their sin, and we were set free from the curse of death. Hallelujah!

In Matt 8:4. Jesus told him to see the priest, as a testimony to them. I believe He meant that the priest, after knowing who healed him, and comparing it with Moses' law, will understand that He is the Messiah and will be sacrificed for the redemption of sinners, as symbolized by the first bird! Unfortunately, the priests were blind and could not accept Jesus as the messiah, and ended up killing him, in order to fulfilled what Jesus was here in the first place!!