Monday, June 10: Leviticus 15– Cleanliness…

Cleanliness is a big deal in Israel. The first step after any discharge was washing or cleansing with water. What was interesting to me as I read was the additional requirement with ‘abnormal’ discharges. (I am not sure what an abnormal discharge is, but the sense of being beyond a normal sexual emission.) Whether by a male or female, an abnormal discharge required a week of ceremonial uncleanliness (no participation in the religious life of the community) and then a sacrifice of atonement on the eight day.

Spiritual cleansing was required in addition to physical cleansing…

There seems to be a lesson here. Abnormal, or maybe we can call them sinful, things we do require spiritual atonement. Sin requires a payment in order to be restored.

Sin can and does occur in every aspect of life so atonement is constantly required.  What a burden sin places on us. What a gift Jesus has given by providing atonement for all our sins…

Thank You, Jesus, that through faith in You our sin, all of our sins, have been atoned for. What a gift, what an incredible gift. The more I read about the all the behaviors that require atonement, the more I appreciate the incredible gift You have provided. Thank You… Amen.

PS: It is interesting to me that after sexual emissions men and women were unclean for the remainder of the day, which meant they could not participate in sacred activities. This was a distinct difference from surrounding cultures, many of which had shrine prostitutes, thus mixing sex with the sacred.

God called Israel to be separate from surrounding people and this is a significant separation.