Leviticus 15
Unnatural bodily dischargeverses 1-12
And the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron
saying
Speak unto the children of Israel
and say to them
When any man hath a running issue out of his flesh
because of his issue he is unclean
And this shall be his uncleanness in his issue
whether his flesh run with his issue
or his flesh be stopped from his issue
it is his uncleanness
Every bed – whereon he lies that has the issue is unclean
and everything whereon he sits shall be unclean
and whosoever touches his bed shall wash his clothes
and bathe himself in water
and be unclean until the even
And he that sits on anything whereon he sat that has the issue
shall wash his clothes – and bathe himself in water
and be unclean until the even
And he that touches the flesh of him that has the issue shall
wash his clothes and bathe himself in water
and be unclean until the even
And IF he that hath the issue spit upon him that is clean
THEN he shall wash his clothes – and bathe himself in water
and be unclean until the even
And what saddle soever he rides on that has the issue shall
be unclean
And whosoever touches anything that was under him shall
be unclean until the even
and he that bears any of those things shall
wash his clothes – and bathe himself in water
and be unclean until the even
And whomsoever he touches that has the issue
and has not rinsed his hands in water – he shall wash his clothes
and bathe himself in water – and be unclean until even
And the vessel of earth – that he touches which has the issue
shall be broken – and every vessel of wood shall be
rinsed in water
Man healed of bodily discharge – sacrificeverses 13-15
And when he that has an issue is CLEANSED of his issue
THEN he shall number to himself seven days for his cleansing
and wash his clothes
and bathe his flesh in running water
and be CLEAN
And on the eighth day he shall take to him two turtledoves
or two young pigeons – and come before the LORD
to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation
and give them unto the priest
And the priest shall offer them – the one for a sin offering
and the other for a burnt offering
And the priest shall make an ATONEMENT for him before
the LORD for his issue
Discharge of semen from manverses 16-18
And if any man’s seed of copulation go out from him
THEN he shall wash all his flesh in water
and be unclean until the even
And every garment – and every skin
whereon is the seed of copulation
shall be washed with water
and be unclean until the even
The woman also with whom man shall lie
with seed of copulation
they shall both bathe themselves in water
and be unclean until the even
Menstrual period of womanverses 19-24
And if a woman have an issue – and her issue in her flesh be blood
she shall be put apart seven days – and whosoever touches
her shall be unclean until the even
And everything that she lies on in her separation shall be unclean
everything also that she sits on shall be unclean
And whosoever touches her bed shall wash his clothes
and bathe himself in water – and be unclean until the even
And whosoever touches anything that she sat upon
shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water
and be unclean until the even
And if it be on her bed or on any thing whereon she sits
when he touches it he shall be unclean until the even
And if any man lie with here at all – and her flowers be upon him
he shall be unclean seven days – and all the bed whereon he
lies shall be unclean
Blood flow unrelated to menstrual cycleverses 25-27
And if a woman have an issue of her blood many days
out of the time of her separation
or if it run beyond the time of her separation
all the days of the issue of her uncleanness
shall be as the days of her separation
she shall be unclean
Every bed whereon she lies all the days of her issue shall be to her
as the bed of her separation
and whatsoever she sits upon shall be unclean
as the uncleanness of her separation
And whosoever touches those things shall be unclean
and shall wash his clothes – and bathe himself in water
and be unclean until the even
Woman stops having blood flow – sacrificeverses 28-30
BUT IF she be cleansed of her issue
THEN she shall number to herself seven days
and after that she shall be clean
And on the eighth day she shall take to her two turtles
or two young pigeons and bring them unto the priest
to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation
And the priest shall offer the one for a sin offering
and the other for a burnt offering
and the priest shall make an ATONEMENT for her before
the LORD for the issue of her uncleanness
Reason for sacrificeverses 31-33
THUS shall you separate the children of Israel from
their uncleanness that they DIE NOT in their uncleanness
when they defile MY tabernacle that is among them
THIS is the law of him that has an issue
and of him whose seed goes from him
and is defiled therewith
and of her that is sick of her flowers
and of him that hath an issue – of the man
and of the woman
and of him that lies with her that is unclean
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 2 Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, When any man has a running issue out of his flesh, because of his issue he is unclean. (2101 ‘running issue” [zowb] means to flow, drip, suffer a discharge, any of several bodily processes by which substances go out of the body, semen, as a woman in her menstrual flow or a man suffering from gonorrhea)
DEVOTION: This verse deals with a problem that a man has of having a regular bodily discharge. It is thought to be something that happens when he has a venereal disease such as gonorrhea. Having these types of diseases was not unusual for even the children of Israel.
The LORD had to deal with these types of diseases even among HIS people and wanted to be sure that they knew how to deal with them properly. HE left nothing out of HIS instructions to Moses.
This was a sin issue and required a sacrifice for cleansing. The disease was curable and when that happened the first thing that needed to be done was to offer a sin offering to confess the sin and an burnt offering to rededicate the life to the LORD.
Once this was accomplished the man was declared clean and could move on with his life. God forgives sin that is confessed. God can heal any disease. We need to remember that our bodies belong to HIM.
We are to present our bodies as living sacrifices to HIM on a regular basis because the sins of this life are real and they can have lasting consequences if they are not dealt with properly.
Bring all of your sins to the cross for forgiveness. HE is longsuffering with us and willing to forgive.
CHALLENGE: No one needs to be outside HIS forgiveness. No sin is too great for God to forgive.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 8 And if he that has the issue spit on him that is clean; then he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even. (7556 “spit” [raqaq] means expel saliva or expectorant matter form the mouth, to expel or eject saliva from the mouth, or something associative of a non-verbal signal of extreme contempt)
DEVOTION: No spitting allowed. Here we have an occasion when someone is sick and they spit on someone else. If they spit on them they will become sick as well. Spitting can cause others to become sick. It is to be avoided at all costs.
Too often we find that children can spit on each other because they are fighting or don’t like someone. It is wrong to spit on people. We should never use our spit on someone else.
God wants us to control our emotions. This is one area that needs to be under HIS control. Our actions towards others matter to HIM. If we don’t like someone we need to go to HIM in prayer regarding what is causing an issue between us and another person.
As believers we should be able to settle any issue between us and the LORD and then go to the individual and try to settle it with them. Some people will never allow you to settle issues with them.
You have to try and if you are not successful turn it over to the LORD and see what HE can do with the situation. In time, HE might be able to restore a proper relationship with the other person.
Only after we have tried to end the problem can we move on to establish other relationships which are good for us.
CHALLENGE: No spitting on others. It can also mean not to spread the word about our dispute with others – leave it in the hands of the LORD.
: 16 And if any man’s seed of copulation go out from him, then he shall wash all his flesh in water, and be unclean until the even. (2233 “copulation” [zera] means semen, seed, offspring, virile, progeny, sow, make pregnant, or disseminate)
DEVOTION: Sometimes it seems hard to talk about this subject but the LORD has no problem giving instructions regarding normal bodily activity. HE wants Moses to instruct the people in every area of life. This is one of the areas of life.
The New Testament tells us that the bed is undefiled in marriage. There needs to be normal activity between a husband and a wife. This is covered in this passage. The act of marriage is not unclean but the product from the activity needs to be dealt with. This means that there has to be a cleansing of the bodies involved. Both parties are considered unclean until evening because they need to make sure that they wash before they do anything regarding worship of the LORD.
They can’t go to the Tabernacle until after the period of cleansing is past. The next day it is proper to go to the Tabernacle to worship. God wants all those worshipping HIM to be clean and thinking only of HIM when they are coming with their sacrifice.
Now there is no sacrifice necessary for having proper sexual relationship between a husband and a wife. This is to be considered normal. It is not a sin.
This passage even deals with nightly unexpected emissions. These are considered normal as well and there was no sin involved if they happened normally.
CHALLENGE: God includes every area of our life in HIS plan of instructions. HE leaves nothing out and the church should not leave out proper instructions in this area.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 33 And of her that is sick of her flowers, and of him that hath an issue, of the man, and of the woman, and of him that lies with her that is unclean. (5090 “flowers” [niddah] means uncleanness, impurity, filthiness, separation, women’s period, menstruous or set apart)
DEVOTION: Here we find that the LORD deals with intimate matters of men and women. HE doesn’t leave anything to the children of Israel to figure out for them. HE gives the instructions regarding who is clean and unclean in their relationships with each other and with HIMSELF.
We find in the Scripture the use of words to describe physical issues that effecting men and women. We don’t have to use only one word to describe what is going on in the life of men and woman. Sometimes we are told that we need to use exact language to describe things, but here we find that that is not always the case, even in Scripture.
This chapter starts with men who have a running issue that could be an STD. These men are unclean and if this does heal, they have to bring an offering to the LORD. There are two turtledoves or pigeons brought for a sin offering and a burnt offering. These offerings are to made atonement to God.
Next HE deals with the marriage act. It is between a man and his wife. Both of them are to bathe. Both are unclean until evening but there is no sacrifice necessary. This is part of God’s plan for marriage. It is not a sin. The New Testament says that the “bed is undefiled” in marriage between a man and his wife. Again the Bible teaches that a couple is made up of a man and a woman alone.
Everyone knows what is being talked about next in this chapter. There is no doubt regarding some issues. Each month a woman of age has a monthly period. This is natural. It even addresses the issue of a man having relations with his wife during this time period.
Also, there are issues of blood that go beyond the monthly period that need to be addressed. This seems to be a disease that women can have. This disease requires a sacrifice when it is finished.
The reason for these instructions is that the LORD didn’t want individuals coming to the Tabernacle when they were unclean. If they came while they were unclean, they would die. It was a warning. HE didn’t want to leave anything out, so that, there would be doubt regarding who was clean and who was unclean. HE is holy. IF they enter the Tabernacle area they were to die.
We need to say what needs to be said to teach our children what is going on in their physical bodies but we don’t have to be crass or real graphic. It all depends on their age. All teaching has to be age appropriate. We do have to share more today than in any previous generation because more is happening today regarding false knowledge regarding the standards of God and the standards of the world. The world wants to teach too much too young to our children. They think that they can protect our children better than we can. Too much knowledge can hurt them.
Our Biblical worldview teaches us that men and women are to wait until marriage for what is covered in this chapter. There are many who teach that young people don’t have to wait but the Bible teaches that they do. Abstinence needs to be practiced by Christians before marriage. Some churches are not sending the right message to their young people. Let’s send the right message and talk about these issues. It is not a topic to be avoided. God doesn’t avoid it in HIS Word!!
Mothers should be talking to their daughters and fathers should be talking to their sons. Some or most are not comfortable talking about these subjects but if they don’t learn it from a Christian Worldview, they will learn it someplace else.
CHALLENGE: Teach what the LORD wants us to teach our children in all areas of life. There is a Biblical Worldview for all issues. Learn it and teach it.
DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
Tabernacle of the congregationverses 14, 29-31
Priestverses 14, 29, 30
Sin offeringverses 15, 30
Burnt offeringverses 15, 30
Atonementverse 15
DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD (Jehovah)verses 1, 14, 15, 30
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead – God/man,Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Seed of copulationverses 16-18, 32
Flowers of womanverses 24-33
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Uncleanverses 2-11, 16-27, 33
Sinverses 15, 30
Defileverses 31, 32
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Atonementverses 15, 30
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Mosesverse 1
Aaronverse 1
Children of Israelverses 2, 31
Dealing with running issues: uncleanverses 2-13
Dealing with seed of copulationverses 16-18
Issue of womanverses 19-30
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
DONATIONS:
Remember that all donations to Small Church Ministries are greatly appreciated. The treasurer will send a receipt, at the end of the year unless otherwise requested. Please be sure to make check out to “Small Church Ministries.” The address for the treasurer is P.O. Box 604, East Amherst, New York 14051. A second way to give to the ministry is through PayPal on the website: www.smallchurchministries.org Also if you can support this ministry through your local church please use that method. Thank you.
QUOTES regarding passage
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. In pagan religion sexual activity among worshipers was believed to activate the gods into fertilizing the soil with rain. This activity was often performed within the sacred precincts of the pagan god’s shrine (see Hos 4:12–14). This practice and the mythological role of sex was shown to be ungodly by this legislation because sexual activity in fact placed one in the category of uncleanness. Thus it would be an abomination to engage in sexual activity in the tabernacle precinct (see 15:31). This demythologizing of sex thus has a polemical role; the legislation does not indicate that sex was sinful and without value.
(Rooker, M. F. (2000). Leviticus (Vol. 3A, pp. 203–204). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
Anything that was deemed unclean could contaminate the ceremonial purity of the individual. Even though no purificatory sacrifice was necessary in the instances mentioned here, the prescribed ritual procedures had to be undertaken because whatever had come into contact with the emission was unclean for that day. The intent was to keep a legitimate but ‘unclean’ biological function from defiling that which was holy. (Harrison, R. K. (1980). Leviticus: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 3, p. 165). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.)
16–18 Normal sexual activity resulted in temporary uncleanness requiring washing, but no guilt was attached and no offering required. The Bible says a good bit about sex. It heavily condemns extramarital and perverted sex. Marriage, however, is plainly said to be honorable (Heb 13:4). A Christian perhaps may not speak much of sex, not because it is shameful, but because it is intimate, wonderful, and holy when God’s governing laws are followed. (Harris, R. L. (1990). Leviticus. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers (Vol. 2, p. 586). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
15:16–18. The second case pertaining to males was the periodic discharge of an emission of semen, whether possibly a nocturnal emission or one during intercourse. For this case, no sacrifice was required and the uncleanness was removed by a simple wash-and-wait (till evening) procedure (cf. comments on 11:24–28). It is noteworthy that while the normal sexual process between husband and wife (15:18) made both partners ceremonially unclean, it did not make them sinful—no guilt was involved and no sacrifice was required. So the chronic discharges which required a sin offering were not necessarily related to personal sin. (Lindsey, F. D. (1985). Leviticus. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 195). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
Unnatural male discharges (vv. 1–15). These could be anything from diarrhea to discharges caused by a venereal disease such as gonorrhea. Anything the afflicted man touched or spat upon was unclean. In fact, those defiled by touching him had to wash themselves and their clothes, and they remained unclean until evening. Clay vessels that he touched were to be broken and wooden vessels washed. The possibility of infection was taken very seriously. (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be Holy (p. 63). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
HEAVEN is a place on EARTH by Michael E. Wittmer
Just as the Israelites stopped their work and rested on the Sabbath, so we stop trusting our religious or good works and rest in Christ. (p. 149)
This is implied in Genesis 3: 22, which says God expelled Adam and Eve from the garden lest they eat from the tree of life and continue to exist in their sinful condition. (p. 162)
Adam’s autonomy is so strong that he knowingly sides with Eve and voluntarily joins her rebellion against God. (p. 168)
How often do we play the role of Eve? How many times do we reject God’s will and do just what we want, when we want, only because we want to do it? How many times do we listen to the serpent and cave in to our own autonomy? (p. 169)
Placing Adam’s 930 years into the genealogy of Genesis 5, we discover that the next person born after Adam’s death was Noah. (p. 177)
Now, a few generations late, his originally good creation is full of people whose every thought of every day has become nothing but premeditated, calculated evil. (p. 177)
This is to be expected, for as we learned in the previous chapter, once people operate from autonomy, deciding what is right and wrong for themselves, fighting with one another becomes inevitable. (p. 178)
Romans 6
We are to present our bodies to God as instruments of righteousness.
INSIGHT
Micky Cohen, a noted gangster of a past generation, said that after he embraced Christianity, he felt betrayed. No one had explained that God would require a change in his behavior. “There are Christian athletes and Christian businessmen. Why not Christian gangsters?” he reasoned. But when we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, we are no longer free to continue living as we did in the world. Our affections and activities must change to reflect the God whom we serve. The term “Christian gangster” contradicts itself because the activities of a gangster generally oppose the character of Christ. (Quiet Walk)
FELLOWSHIP WITH THE FATHER–FROM GOD’S SIDE
…and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.
1 John 1:3
There are always two sides to fellowship. We will now look at fellowship from God’s side. Paul said in writing to the Philippians, “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (2:13). That is the way to have fellowship with God. You are aware of the surging of those holy desires, and you say to yourself, “It is God speaking to me; it is God saying something and calling forth a response in me.” “We love him, because he first loved us,” says John later on in 1 John [4:19], and God has fellowship with us in that way.
Not only that, He reveals His will to us. He shows us what He would have us to do. He leads us. He opens doors and shuts them; sometimes He puts up barriers and obstacles. You know what I am speaking about. It means that you are aware of the fact that you are in the hands of God, and that He is dealing with you, and that
as you go forward in this journey called life, God is there. Sometimes the door is shut, and you cannot understand it. You say, “I wanted to go there, but I cannot,” and then you say, “But God is with me, and He has shut the door.” Then suddenly you find the door opened, and you know it is the One who is walking with you who has suddenly opened it. That is having fellowship with God–knowing that He is there in these various ways in which He manipulates our lives and speaks to us and gives us wisdom and understanding. Every one of these things contains a danger; they all need to be carefully qualified, and yet they are essential to fellowship and communion.
Then He supplies us with strength according to our need and according to our situation.
A Thought to Ponder: Having fellowship with God means knowing that He is there.
(From Fellowship with God, pp. 85-86, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
Least in the Kingdom
“Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:19)
The Lord Jesus was evidently speaking here not of the differences between saved and unsaved people but rather of degrees of reward in His future kingdom. The criterion for achieving “greatness” in the future life is simply to believe, teach, and obey the complete Word of God in this life, not just the major doctrines and general principles. Those who undermine any part of God’s Word, either in teaching or practice, will be relegated to “least in the kingdom of heaven.” In the words of the apostle Paul, such a person “shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire” (1 Corinthians 3:15).
Thus, no Scripture is unimportant, for “all scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable” (2 Timothy 3:16). In fact, the verse just previous to our text, providing the basis for the Lord’s warning about breaking even the least commandment, is His remarkable assertion about the verbal inerrancy of Scripture: “For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled” (Matthew 5:18).
There are many Christians (especially among intellectuals) who say they believe the Bible but are nevertheless quick to adapt their interpretations of Scripture to the latest speculations of scientists or to current fads of world living. This is insulting to God, who surely can say what He means! “Yea, let God be true, but every man a liar” (Romans 3:4).
If we aspire to greatness in the coming kingdom, then clearly we must believe and teach “all the counsel of God” (Acts 20:27) according to His revealed Word.
(HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
Visit our Facebook page for Small Church Ministries – please invite others to join us on Facebook. Thank you. Look for the logo from the devotionals.