And on the eighth day she shall take for herself two turtledoves or two young pigeons, and bring them to the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 5Anyone who touches his bed must wash their clothes(B) and bathe with water,(C) and they will be unclean till evening. Any saddle on which he who has the discharge rides shall be unclean. It more refers to emissions of a sexual nature that are likely outside of regular sexual activity. Copyright 2002-2023 Got Questions Ministries. Itishis uncleanness, Every bed is unclean on which he who has the discharge lies The act between the man and his wife (which it must be according to the Bible, in all dispensations and in all circumstances), is never considered either sinful nor to be abstained from, except when mandated by the Lord, under the law, and for specific reasons. Leviticus Chapter 15 The Lord also spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, "Speak to the sons of Israel, and say to them, 'When any man has a discharge from his body, his discharge is unclean. No defilement results from the marriage bed. Leviticus 15. Its the right thing to do. And be unclean until evening As I said, the place where one sits is their place of discourse and fellowship. However and secondly, it could be that the person who is touched by the unclean person immediately washes his hands, and is thus symbolically purified. It is not because I can celebrate and say Whew! What is ahead discusses defilement and ritual purification due to bodily discharges. a. The declaration of semen as unclean in this passage illustrates the sharp distinction between Israelite religion and the pagan religions of the ancient Near East. Giving Glory to God from Sarasota, Florida, Leviticus 15:1-18 And theLordspoke to Moses and Aaron, saying 3Whether it continues flowing from his body or is blocked, it will make him unclean. What they had missed was the spirit and intent of what the passage is conveying to us. 28When she is cleansed from her discharge, she must count off seven days, and after that she will be ceremonially clean. The picture is fulfilled, the requirement in the law is ended. But it was only a picture, a picture of Christ. As a noun, it can also be the action of discharging something like a liquid. The first level was the uncleanness of the man afflicted with the abnormal genital discharge (15:1-3). Why are discharges treated so seriously? They would remain in that state until evening at the time of the new day. Leviticus 15. 17For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.Galatians 5:16, 17. Whether it continues flowing from his body or is blocked, it will make him unclean. d. Whoever touches his bed shall wash his clothes and bathe in water: People and things made unclean on the second or third level could be purified by a ceremonial washing of the object and the person involved. Nederlandstalige Bijbelstudies door Stan Marinussen, Copyright - Enduring Word       |      . The life of sin, pictured by the discharge, is atoned for and covered over. Or, it may still be speaking euphemistically about his private parts in particular. And whoever touches his bed shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. The bed and the chair are both places one occupies. And to You, O God, we give all of our praise, Paul implores us to walk in the Spirit. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. He then says this allows him to go about the Lords altar. And be unclean until evening 16-1, 25-30) or unnatural (vv. Show us the way, and to there we shall go, II. 8Lord, I have loved the habitation of Your house, Please consider becoming a monthly supporter of Deeper Waters. This seems more sure because in verse 16, it will add in the words, which, though involuntary, might arise from some lustful dream or imagination. After a period of seven days (presumably without the discharge), there was a ceremonial cleansing. (L) 14On the eighth day he must take two doves or two young pigeons(M) and come before the Lord to the entrance to the tent of meeting and give them to the priest. It is the verb rur, or run. When King Saul was looking for a good time to kill David, a hint of this law is evident at the table he sat at , Then David hid in the field. All rights reserved. b. The word for body is basar, or literally, flesh. It speaks of the body itself, but it is also used euphemistically of he organ of generation, as when a male is circumcised in the foreskin of his flesh. Judaism obviously follows this precept if they adhere to the law. By the merciful hand of the Lord, all is now right, The sin offering has been made; I am free from guilt The general principle was that when the unclean comes into contact with the clean, it is the clean that is made unclean. Can such a thing ever come about? Nick Peters It is a precept of the law intending to look forward to Christ. The third level was someone who came in contact with an object made unclean. The link to make a donation can be found, Why should you care about the work of Deeper Waters? Otherwise you will be prompted again when opening a new browser window or new a tab. This will be explained in greater detail in verse 13. Cleansed! 1 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, 2 Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'When any man has an unusual bodily discharge, such a discharge is unclean. In Acts 15, the early Christian community properly discerned the work and will of God in the New Covenant: that under the New Covenant, the believer was not bound to these laws of ritual purity. It said that there is something broken and inherently impure in us, even in what comes from us normally. 24When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but ratherthata tumult was rising, he took water and washedhishands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just Person. And theLordspoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, These are the words to them He was relaying. i. As to you I now clearly tell, And whomever the one who has the discharge touches In type, our coverings are cleansed and purified though the work of Christ, pictured by the evening, or the start of the new day. 7Then they shall answer and say, Our hands have not shed this blood, nor have our eyes seenit. Our iniquities stained us through and through, But in Your amazing love, and in your magnificent mercy The second is ets, or wood. Now eternally cleansed, and eternally pure, A few things about verse 16, and those to come. So his discharge will bring about uncleanness. Before answering, this is something that is known to exist in many religions. Thus, we have another implicit reference (of the hundreds elsewhere) to the ending of the the law. The garments go from defiled to purified. This would be comparable to what is seen here. If we were to look for what this is picturing, it is that which proceeds out of the mouth, and thus unclean communication. Leviticus 15:2 Note that things that the man sat on during his defilement, those things under him (bed, chair, saddle), became unclean and a source of defilement themselves. What is being conveyed is not simply for the priests to have rolled up in a scroll and secreted away for times of need, but it is to be regular instruction for the people at all times. For the law-abiding Israelite, he was told to wash all his body in water. The principle of sexual restraint is often stated in the New Testament. And in this matter I am guiltless, no doubt. a 3 he is unclean from the discharge, whether the discharge continues to flow from his genitals or is obstructed, he is still unclean. (U) 22Anyone who touches anything she sits on will be unclean; they must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening. As we have seen in other passages, everything in verses like this occurs simultaneously. A person in the church might slip and join together with the drug addict. The word discharge has several meanings depending on the context. When any man has a discharge from his body, his discharge is unclean: The idea is of some obviously abnormal genital discharge, indicating some type of disease. "'when a man is cleansed from his discharge, he is to count off seven days for his ceremonial cleansing; he must wash his clothes and bathe himself with fresh water, and he will be clean.on the eighth day he must take two doves or two young pigeons and come before the lord to the entrance to the tent of meeting and give them to the priest.the It is more valuable, considered non-porous, and thus non absorbent. Laws, rites, and sacrifices are revealed for cleansing those who have a discharge and other types of uncleanness. On the other hand, the stopped up discharge would be a person who looks at pornography. The word, As I said, the first section, which now begins in verse 2, is directed to uncleanness in men. We also remember that Jesus is the One who makes us clean and fit for fellowship: You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you (John 15:3). To you forever will the saints break forth and sing As we saw before, this then is a ceremonial defilement of the conscience. With him, he is to bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons. But if it was voluntary, and by a mans own procurement when awake, it was esteemed abominable, and a degree of murder. He has freed us from our unclean discharge forevermore In such, the person is defiled and unclean. And finally, the most notable occurrence of washing ones hands in all of Scripture is seen in Matthew 27 , But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. One is active, one is passive. 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