Holiness in Discharges
Leviticus 15:31
Introduction.
This is one of the more uncomfortable sections of Scripture.
It deals with normal bodily discharges, along with abnormal discharges.
Both men and women are under discussion in this chapter.
While uncomfortable, it is still Scripture, and the writers of the NT were very familiar with these things.
As we discussed in class this morning, it is helpful to understand this so we know why the woman with the flow of blood approaching Jesus was such a big deal (Mark 5:25-34).
Recall, uncleanness was not necessarily a bad thing.
It was a state of being that could have arisen from natural bodily functions, circumstances beyond your control, or sinful actions.
It showed the holiness of God, something to which we could never attain.
Just as for us, we can never attain to the sinless of our Lord.
But for us, as well as for them, we are to strive to maintain that purity and cleanliness, though we are not bound by the same standards of physical holiness that they were.
We are still bound by the same standards of moral holiness—they are shown clearly in the NT.
This was serious business back then—violations would defile the tabernacle (sanctuary, Lord’s house), resulting in their death (15:31).
Preview.
Ordinary Discharges (Lev. 15:16-24)
Extraordinary Discharges (Lev. 15:2-12, 25-27).
Regaining Cleanliness (Lev. 15:13-15, 28-30).
Body.
Ordinary Discharges (Lev. 15:16-24).
These were common, regular discharges of both men and women.
These are nothing to be ashamed of, just the facts of life.
Regardless, they still made one unclean.
Some prevented normal marital relations, while all prevented worship in the sanctuary for a period of time.
Ordinary male discharges (15:16-18).
Any regular male emission made the man unclean.
This included any garment it was on and even the woman involved, if a woman was involved.
Any and all had to wash or be washed in water first and were unclean until evening.
This provided a sense of decorum around the act—this is the reason this is so uncomfortable for us to discuss, particularly in this setting.
Such things were not to be allowed in the sanctuary since they made the participants unclean, but this wasn’t so in any other ancient religion.
Temple prostitution was a big part of pagan worship, particularly in ancient Canaanite rituals.
“The law was simply restricting sexual acts from the sanctuary, keeping the boundaries between the physical [common – slh] and the holy” (Ross 308).
Sexual acts in the proper context (between a husband and his wife in privacy) are not sinful at all, hence no sacrifice was to be offered.
But they are common and not compatible with worship.
We do not have such cleanliness laws today, but we should restrict sexual activity to its proper context, establishing proper boundaries that set it and all impure thoughts apart from worship.
Ordinary female discharge (15:19-24).
We discussed this some last month when talking about childbearing (Lev. 12).
Her ordinary discharge has stronger restrictions, not because she is female, but because blood is involved.
Recall that “the life of the flesh is in the blood” (Lev. 17:11).
There should be no blood in the sanctuary except that of the sacrifice.
No ritual but a washing was required after seven days were up.
While this prevented a woman from attending worship at least once a month in the OT system, it should not prevent a woman today from worship.
We do not offer blood sacrifices here—that was done once and for all with Christ 2000 years ago.
Extraordinary Discharge (Lev. 15:2-12, 25-27).
These were diseases that resulted in an abnormal discharge.
Still, this was nothing to be ashamed of, but it did bring about uncleanness.
These were not like leprosy in that one had to be put outside the camp, but they were still diseases that restricted one’s actions particularly in worship.
They all prevented marital relations and worship in the sanctuary for as long as the disease persisted.
Extraordinary male discharge (15:2-12).
This is likely some form of STD or a UTI.
While the primary goal of these laws is not for public health, it is a fortunate by-product in this case.
Such a man was not to touch or be touched while he was experiencing the chronic discharge, let alone have sexual relations—even his spit made one unclean.
Only after the discharge had ceased was he able to go through the sacrificial ritual to make him clean again.
Extraordinary female discharge (15:25-27).
This was a flow of blood that was longer than was customary.
Any number of diseases and conditions could be responsible for this problem.
We talked about that this morning concerning the woman with the flow of blood in Mark 5—while she tried physicians, she could only be healed by the Great Physician.
One thing to note is that the same restrictions apply here as to the man with his extraordinary discharge, but as with a woman and her ordinary discharge, though the time is extended.
Similar to the male’s extraordinary discharge, she had to wait until the flow ceased, wait another seven days, then undergo the same sacrificial ritual.
Regaining Cleanliness (Lev. 15:13-15, 28-30).
For the ordinary discharges, washing and waiting.
All they have to do is wash their clothes and bathe in water, then wait until evening to be clean again.
Bathsheba, when she was bathing, was becoming clean from her ordinary discharge when David spotted her and lusted after her (2 Sam. 11:2-4).
This added to the depravity of David’s sin—lusting after his neighbor’s wife (10th) while she was obeying the Law of Moses and committing adultery with her (7th).
For extraordinary discharges, sacrifices were to be made.
The same sacrifices were made for women as for men.
They were to wait seven days after the discharge ceases, likely to make sure it has actually ceased.
Then they were to offer a sacrifice like that of the poor—two turtledoves or two pigeons.
While one is a sin offering, the other is a burnt offering.
No actual sin was committed (necessarily) as no confession of sin is required, so this sin offering was one of purification.
The burnt offering, again, was to bring them closer to God.
I thank our Lord that His blood handles all these things for us.
Conclusion.
Such discharges should not prevent us from gathering to worship today in the Christian age.
There are some health concerns, particularly for the extraordinary ones, so please see a doctor and follow their recommendations.
But we know the Great Physician, so let us never neglect to pray to Him when these things befall us.
The biggest issue that we face is sin, and we know the cure.
Sin can keep us from offering true worship, and it can certainly keep us from heaven.
Christ is the only cure for our sins.
Only His blood can cleanse us from all our uncleannesses, and will continually cleanse us as long as we are walking in the light.
So concludes this section on ritual uncleanness and cleansing.
This is the prelude to the Day of Atonement when all sins are forgiven.
We’ve covered dietary laws, childbearing, leprosy, and now various other discharges.
All these things represent holiness, separation from the world, sin and how it spreads, and the proper context for certain acts.
These things reveal the human condition and, while many of these things are perfectly natural and normal, they are not compatible with the holiness of God.
They will not be present in heaven, in His sanctuary, and should not be present in that on earth which represented His sanctuary.
Consider what the Lord said to the Sadducees in Luke 20:34-36.
We are to be as the angels in heaven, neither married nor given in marriage. This shows such natural, human things will be absent in heaven. We may enjoy some of them now, but we won’t have need of them there.
But while on this earth, we Christians are to gather together to worship regardless, but do practice common sense so as not to spread disease.
For our sin to be cured by the Great Physician, we must first become a Christian!