Leviticus 15:1-33


The children of Israel were to remain ceremonially clean in order to go into the tabernacle and participate in the corporate worship held there.  Failure to recognize this and act accordingly would be displeasing to God and could result in death.  God wants His children to realize that coming before Him and being in His presence is an honor that should not be taken lightly.  He is holy and wants us to be holy as well.

MEN WERE DECLARED UNCLEAN BY BODILY DISCHARGE: When a man had a discharge from his body in the form of seamen or as a result of some sort of infection, he was unclean and not permitted to enter the tabernacle during that period of time.  He was also to be avoided by other people as others could be made unclean by touching him or the objects on which he sat or things that he touched.  This reality was to be taken seriously and was symbolic of God’s holiness.  Men must realize that God is pure and holy and that our only hope of being welcomed into His presence is to be cleansed.  The physical impurity that man would so often face through the course of his life was to be a reminder of the spiritual impurity caused by sin.  Man must realize that His only hope of being pure and experimenting favor with God is through the eternal sacrifice that Christ made on our behalf.  Through Him we have not only physical; but also spiritual cleansing.

WOMEN WERE DECLARED UNCLEAN BY THEIR MENSTRUAL CYCLE: There was nothing sinful about the woman’s monthly cycle.  However, during that period, she, like the man, was declared to be ceremonially unclean and too was prohibited from going into the tabernacle.  I wonder how all of these things would have been had Adam and Eve not sinned.  The reality is that they did sin and the consequences of their sin have been passed on to all of humanity.  There is no way that any man or woman can avoid being touched by the consequences sin in life.  That is why every man and woman must trust Christ to receive cleansing from sin and be restored to God.  Forgiveness is the only means by which we can experience the cleansing that God has prepared for us through Christ.

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