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.