Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Leviticus 15:19-24

19 And if a woman have an issue, and her issue in her flesh be blood, she shall be put apart seven days: and whosoever toucheth her shall be unclean until the even.

20 And every thing that she lieth upon in her separation shall be unclean: every thing also that she sitteth upon shall be unclean.

21 And whosoever toucheth her bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.

22 And whosoever toucheth any thing that she sat upon shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.

23 And if it be on her bed, or on any thing whereon she sitteth, when he toucheth it, he shall be unclean until the even.

24 And if any man lie with her at all, and her flowers be upon him, he shall be unclean seven days; and all the bed whereon he lieth shall be unclean.

Now we shift our attention to a bodily discharge from a woman, as opposed to a man. The most obvious example of this, of course, is when she has her period. This is the situation that today’s verses cover, and we are told that she will be ritually unclean for the duration, and anyone or anything that touches her throughout this duration will need to be washed and then be clean again the next day.

It is important to note that the situation for the woman is the same as for the man. There are those that will take special offense that the Bible talks about a woman’s period as being an “unclean time,” while ignoring the fact that women were not singled out in this regard at all. We have already seen in this chapter that all people were subject to unclean times, and that there was no special shame in that condition. We even discussed yesterday how Jesus, while sinless, most probably was ritually unclean at times himself, and that is the greatest evidence of all that there is no condemnation in it.

But so far, we have talked only about a woman’s regular menstrual cycle. What if she had one of the conditions that made the discharge of blood much more prolonged, such as the woman who touched the hem of Jesus’s robes for healing? We will discuss that matter tomorrow.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Leviticus 15:16-18

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.

17 And every garment, and every skin, whereon is the seed of copulation, shall be washed with water, and be unclean until the even.

18 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.

Today’s verses are clearly referencing a man’s ejaculate, and the method for cleanliness around it is very simple. Any person or item that makes contact must be washed, and it will be considered clean again at the start of the next day. This notion of tomorrow being a clean new day is one that we still naturally hold in today’s culture. Especially in the modern era where the day changes in the middle of the night, so we go to sleep in the same day as our troubles and then rise reborn in the morning.

For this next bit of commentary, I want to assure you that I am not trying to be crude or sacrilegious in any way, but I find it worth considering that Jesus’s body presumably followed the standard biological functions, which would include the occasional nighttime emission, which would mean that even he would be ritually unclean at certain times. Far from trying to demean him, I think this demonstrates how our modern culture puts far more shame on the Biblical idea of being “unclean” than was ever intended.

Yes, of course, one could be made unclean by personal error, but it would also come by simply living life. It was an inevitable state. Being declared unclean was simply an appropriate recognition of the perpetual fallen state that we all find ourselves in, not in-and-of-itself a consignment of guilt. It was an invitation to consider that that state we live in is lower than God’s, and we should feel humbled by that fact, but not ashamed.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Leviticus 15:13-15

13 And when he that hath 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 shall be clean.

14 And on the eighth day he shall take to him two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, and come before the Lord unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and give them unto the priest:

15 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.

Yesterday I spoke about how society tends to avoid those who have unpleasantness oozing from them, whether it be physical, spiritual, emotional, or social. While we may not necessarily refer to people as “clean” and “unclean,” anymore, our natural instincts to distance ourselves matches the patterns described in the verses of this chapter.

But someone who has an unpleasant quality does not necessarily always remain so. Either the disease leaves his body, or he matures, or he develops his character, and he may become a welcome part of society again. Today’s verses reflect this aspect through the example of a man who has recovered from his symptoms of a sexually transmitted disease. Hopefully the man has not only healed from this one particular instance but has grown wiser and will behave better moving forward. Apparently, God is willing to give the man a second chance, and so, too, should society.

The sin and burnt offerings are standard, and it makes sense that we see them used here to make atonement for the man. What we do not see here is the narrative ritual of the two birds, one being slain and one being freed, such as we saw in the last chapter for leprosy recovery. It goes to show that leprosy was a special category of affliction, and I would argue represented something deeper and more sacred.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Leviticus 15:8-12

8 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.

9 And what saddle soever he rideth upon that hath the issue shall be unclean.

10 And whosoever toucheth any thing that was under him shall be unclean until the even: and he that beareth any of those things shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.

11 And whomsoever he toucheth that hath the issue, and hath not rinsed his hands in water, he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.

12 And the vessel of earth, that he toucheth which hath the issue, shall be broken: and every vessel of wood shall be rinsed in water.

Today’s verses continue to talk about a man who is unclean from a bodily discharge, most likely as a symptom of a sexually transmitted disease. The verses we have read today emphasize how the man who is unclean also makes that which he touches unclean, and anyone that touches what he has touched is also unclean.

This may seem a harsh rule, one prone to ostracization, but it is also an accurate representation of real-world patterns. It is not only true for physical discharges, either. There is all manner of spiritual, social, and emotional toxicity that we humans spew out, making an unpleasant place for others to reside. Think of someone who is frequently angry, someone who stirs up drama, someone who is constantly immature, someone who repeatedly makes up lies about others, someone who is perpetually narcissistic. It is a natural consequence that people tend to avoid them. This has always been and always will be the pattern of humanity.

This isn’t to say that there should be none willing to take on the burden of associating with such people, but it is appropriate to acknowledge that it really is a burden. A man that has bodily discharges from his sexually transmitted diseases is not a bad metaphor for everyone who regularly spews out any manner of spiritual, social, and emotional “dirtiness.” All that they touch, and all those that get pulled into their web of influence, are made unclean from the association.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Leviticus 15:1-7

1 And the Lord spake unto Moses and to Aaron, saying,

2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When any man hath a running issue out of his flesh, because of his issue he is unclean.

3 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.

4 Every bed, whereon he lieth that hath the issue, is unclean: and every thing, whereon he sitteth, shall be unclean.

5 And whosoever toucheth his bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.

6 And he that sitteth on any thing whereon he sat that hath the issue shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.

7 And he that toucheth the flesh of him that hath the issue shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.

Leviticus Chapter 15 launches into a subject that most people would probably rather skip over, but if this matter was good enough for God to teach from, it is good enough for us to learn from. It has to do with “issues” from the body, which of course means some sort of discharge that comes from a person, whether a man or a woman.

Verse 2 describes “a running issue out of his flesh,” and most scholars seem to agree that “his flesh” is euphemistic for the man’s genitals. This is further supported by verse 6’s concern with where the man “sits,” and later verses like 9 and 10. So, what would be a “running issue” from that region of the body? One might wonder about ejaculate, but that later on in this chapter that is referred to directly as “seed” or “seed of copulation,” so that rules that out. Scholars tend to agree that what these first verses are talking about is some emission caused by disease, which are particularly known to happen with certain sexually transmitted diseases. These verses seem to deal with men who are suffering side-effects of diseases contracted through sex.

Thus, if we find this whole subject gross and undesirable to dwell on, that is perfectly appropriate. Our physical revulsion is often well-tuned to guide us from danger and disease, and so too our spiritual revulsion should guide us from the acts that lead there.

Of course, while rarer, it is also possible to contract sexually transmitted diseases through innocent means, such as by non-sexual exposure or rape. Even in these cases, though, the dejected physical state is still real, the stain of fallen mortality is still upon us, and it does take some time to heal from that. Thus, anyone with these diseases, especially those who have obtained them by acts of sin, is in need of a time apart.

Posted on by Abe Austin

The Possibility of an Answer

With difficult spiritual questions we sometimes just need to know that an answer is possible, even if we don’t yet know what it is. Shapes and shadowy forms suggest something concrete beyond the veil, and that is enough for man to believe.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Desire vs God

At one point or another each one of us has to fully resolve between our sinful desires and our faith in God. Let us look at the case of sexual desire.

At first, we may chase for gratification within the bounds of God’s laws. But what if that doesn’t work? Maybe our spouse doesn’t want to have sex with us anymore. Maybe we are more attracted to members of the same sex. Maybe no one wants to marry us. Maybe even if we do have good and frequent sex…our carnal nature still desires the forbidden fruit. In our modern culture, many think of their prohibited sexual desire as “who they really are inside,” making it a fundamental part of their identity. This complicates things further.

At this point, we may try to make the desires go away. We want to be good. We want to be chaste. We pray and ask God to change our hearts, to root out this wicked nature. But many find that He just doesn’t do so. He affirms His love for us, His word assures us that He has a plan for us, but He is not yet freeing us from our temptations.

Now we may start to flounder. We try to find a way to justify our sinful desires. Maybe we can use AI, since the scriptures do not have the language to expressly forbid it? Maybe we can go up to a certain point, but no further? Maybe we can be mostly good, but have a little vice, and Jesus will make it right? Maybe we can shift our belief system to say God didn’t actually command what He commanded? We look for anything to have our faith and cheat it, too.

But eventually, our integrity won’t allow us to do that anymore. Sooner or later, we come to the final, necessary choice. Cleave to the desire or cleave to God. Live a life of faith, even if it means accepting that part of us will always be dissatisfied…or choose to live in sin.

When people say they really tried to make their faith work, I believe them. I have no doubt that they really and sincerely tried to make these two incompatible pieces fit. I’ve been there myself. Sooner or later, so has every sincere follower of Jesus. But at some point, we run into the hardest instruction he ever gave us: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me,” (Matthew 16:24).

And maybe we say no. Maybe we embrace “who we are inside,” and cease to follow Jesus. And that reveals who was our true god all along.

Or maybe we do as he says. We deny “who we are inside,” take up the cross of being a broken person who doesn’t quite fit the image of God, and follow Jesus anyway. And that reveals who was our true God all along.

Either way, “choose you this day whom ye will serve,” (Joshua 24:15).

Posted on by Abe Austin

Transcended Life

One of the great quests of this life,
Is to find something that matters more to you than life,
Something for which you would give up your life.
For if you do not,
Then you haven’t transcended life.