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Leviticus 11-15
Clean or Unclean Food,
and Leprosy
Psalm 17:8-15 Kept As The Apple of His Eye
8.Keep me as the apple/pupil of your eye. Hide me under the shadow of your wings,9.from the wicked who oppress me, my deadly enemies, who surround me.10.They close up their callous hearts. With their mouth they speak proudly.11.They have now surrounded us in our steps. They set their eyes to cast us down to the earth.12.He is like a lion that is greedy of his prey, as it were a young lion lurking in secret places.13.Arise, Yahweh, confront him. Cast him down. Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword;14.from men by your hand, Yahweh, from men of the world, whose portion is in this life. You fill/satisfy the belly of your cherished/treasured ones. Your sons have plenty, and they store up wealth for their children.15.As for me, I shall see your face in righteousness. I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with your presence."Observation
17:8-15.David asks God to protect him from his fierce enemies, intent on his destruction. His enemies are those whose focus is prosperity in this life, rather than upon God. The Hebrew text of verse 14 Is very difficult (some say corrupt), so translators are varied in their approaches. The WEB (above) and the marginal reading of the ESV, are closer to the flow of the argument. The wicked have their portion (and payback) in this life. But the righteous will be satisfied and blessed (children and prosperity) by God. The psalmist is confident that God will help him (because of his innocence and integrity), and will be satisfied with God's presence. This will occur after God delivers him from the experience he likens to death/sleep from which he will awake (as in a resurrection??? Daniel 12:2).
Application
God will deliver and satisfy the righteous who take refuge in Him from those who want to destroy them; therefore be righteous and trust, help is on the way.
Prayer
God, You are my refuge and portion in this world; please protect me as the apple of Your eye, from those who seek to harm me. Thanks that You're all I need. Amen.
Proverbs 5:13-14 Listen or Groan
13.neither have I obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor turned my ear to those who instructed me!14.I have come to the brink of utter ruin, in the midst of the gathered assembly."Observation
5:13.The proud sinner hates correction and reproof, because they want to think of themselves as perfect. If they were perfect, they'd be seeking and obeying truth, and listening to advice and counsel. But they don't listen, and as a result, will come to ruin in front of all from whom they sought to hide their sin.
Application
“Get all the advice and instruction you can, so you will be wise the rest of your life.” ESV Proverbs 19:20
Prayer
God, I don't want to be a groaning ruined fool, so help me humbly listen and learn. Thanks. Amen.
Leviticus 11-15 Clean or Unclean Food, and Leprosy
Leviticus 11 Diet of Distinction
1.Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying to them,2.Speak to the children of Israel, saying, These are the living things which you may eat among all the animals that are on the earth.3.Whatever parts the hoof, and is cloven-footed, and chews the cud9.These may you eat of all that are in the waters: whatever has fins and scales...13.These you shall have in abomination among the birds...20.All winged creeping things that go on all fours are an abomination to you.23.But all winged creeping things, which have four feet, are an abomination to you.24.By these you shall become unclean: whoever touches the carcass of them shall be unclean until the even;27.Whatever goes on its paws, among all animals that go on all fours, they are unclean to you...31.These are they which are unclean to you among all that creep: whoever does touch them, when they are dead, shall be unclean until the even.41.Every creeping thing that creeps on the earth is an abomination; it shall not be eaten.42.Whatever goes on the belly...you shall not eat; for they are an abomination.43.You shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping thing that creeps, neither shall you make yourselves unclean with them, that you should be defiled thereby.44.For I am Yahweh your God: sanctify yourselves therefore, and be you holy; for I am holy: neither shall you defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that moves on the earth.45.For I am Yahweh who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: you shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.46.This is the law of the animal, and of the bird, and of every living creature that moves in the waters, and of every creature that creeps on the earth;47.to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean, and between the living thing that may be eaten and the living thing that may not be eaten.Observations
11:44.Believers are to be holy (separate or distinct) because the God they follow and serve is holy
11:47.
Regardless of whatever health benefits may accrue, the main purpose of the distinctive diet was to make the Israelites distinct from those around them.
Application
How do you daily demonstrate your distinctiveness as a follower of the Holy God?
Prayer
Holy God, who redeems His people and requires them to be holy, help me see how to demonstrate Your kind of holiness in my daily life. Amen.
Leviticus 12 Purification after Childbirth
1.Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,2.Speak to the children of Israel, saying, If a woman conceive, and bear a male-child, then she shall be unclean seven days3.In the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.4.She shall continue in the blood of purifying three and thirty days; she shall touch no holy thing, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying be fulfilled.6.When the days of her purifying are fulfilled, for a son, or for a daughter, she shall bring a lamb a year old for a burnt offering, and a young pigeon, or a turtle-dove, for a sin-offering, to the door of the tent of meeting, to the priest:7.and he shall offer it before Yahweh, and make atonement for her; and she shall be cleansed from the fountain of her blood. This is the law for her who bears, whether a male or a female.8.one for a burnt offering, and the other for a sin-offering: and the priest shall make atonement for her, and she shall be clean.Observations
12:2.Childbirth resulted in ritual uncleanness, perhaps because of contact with blood and non-living tissue. The child was not said to be unclean.
12:4.
If you had a daughter you had to wait twice as long.
Leviticus 13 Everything You Never Wanted to Know About Leprosy and Then Some
1.Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,2.When a man shall have in the skin of his flesh a rising, or a scab, or a bright spot, and it become in the skin of his flesh the plague of leprosy, then he shall be brought to Aaron the priest, or to one of his sons the priests:3.and the priest shall look on the plague in the skin of the flesh: and if the hair in the plague be turned white, and the appearance of the plague be deeper than the skin of his flesh, it is the plague of leprosy; and the priest shall look on him, and pronounce him unclean.4.If the bright spot be white in the skin of his flesh, and the appearance of it isn`t deeper than the skin, and the hair of it isn`t turned white, then the priest shall shut up him who has the plague seven days:5.and the priest shall look on him the seventh day: and, behold, if in his eyes the plague be at a stay, and the plague isn`t spread in the skin, then the priest shall shut him up seven days more:6.and the priest shall look on him again the seventh day; and, behold, if the plague be dim, and the plague hasn`t spread in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him clean: it is a scab: and he shall wash his clothes, and be clean...59.This is the law of the plague of leprosy in a garment of woolen or linen, either in the warp, or the woof, or anything of skin, to pronounce it clean, or to pronounce it unclean.Observation
13:1-59.You can skip a lot of verses if you understand 15:31
Lev 15:31 Thus shall you separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness, that they not die in their uncleanness, when they defile my tent that is in the midst of them.
Just like Leviticus 11 separated Israel from what God considered the uncleanness of their neighbors, with reference to their diet, so chapters 13-15 are designed to separate Israel from their physical uncleanness. Spiritual uncleanness is discussed in future chapters.
Some things worth noting on the physical level:
- God is concerned about containment, and preventing contamination.
- Uncleanness/unholiness results in separation.
- Cleansing results in fellowship.
- Physical cleansing alone was inadequate for fellowship, both burnt and sin offerings were required to reinstate the unclean into the holy community.
Application
The applications to spiritual uncleanness and contamination aren't specified, but it's probably a good idea to avoid contact with anything that causes us to be out of fellowship with God.
Prayer
Holy God thank You for having a standard for being clean in Your sight that benefits me in ways I haven't even considered. Thanks too, that you provide a path to get back into fellowship with You and Your people. Amen.
Leviticus 14 And Even More About Leprosy
1.Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,2.This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing: he shall be brought to the priest:3.and the priest shall go forth out of the camp; and the priest shall look; and, behold, if the plague of leprosy be healed in the leper,4.then shall the priest command to take for him who is to be cleansed two living clean birds, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop:5.The priest shall command to kill one of the birds in an earthen vessel over running water.6.As for the living bird, he shall take it, and the cedar wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water:7.He shall sprinkle on him who is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let go the living bird into the open field.8.He who is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, and shave off all his hair, and bathe himself in water; and he shall be clean: and after that he shall come into the camp, but shall dwell outside his tent seven days.9.It shall be on the seventh day, that he shall shave all his hair off his head and his beard and his eyebrows, even all his hair he shall shave off: and he shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe his flesh in water, and he shall be clean.10.On the eighth day he shall take two he-lambs without blemish, and one ewe-lamb a year old without blemish, and three tenth parts of an ephah of fine flour for a meal-offering, mingled with oil, and one log of oil.11.The priest who cleanses him shall set the man who is to be cleansed, and those things, before Yahweh, at the door of the tent of meeting.12.The priest shall take one of the he-lambs, and offer him for a trespass offering, and the log of oil, and wave them for a wave-offering before Yahweh:13.and he shall kill the he-lamb in the place where they kill the sin-offering and the burnt offering, in the place of the sanctuary: for as the sin-offering is the priest`s, so is the trespass-offering: it is most holy:14.and the priest shall take of the blood of the trespass-offering, and the priest shall put it on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the great toe of his right foot.15.The priest shall take of the log of oil, and pour it into the palm of his own left hand;16.and the priest shall dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand, and shall sprinkle of the oil with his finger seven times before Yahweh:17.and of the rest of the oil that is in his hand shall the priest put on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the great toe of his right foot, on the blood of the trespass-offering:18.and the rest of the oil that is in the priest`s hand he shall put on the head of him who is to be cleansed: and the priest shall make atonement for him before Yahweh.33.Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,34.When you are come into the land of Canaan, which I give to you for a Leviticus possession, and I put the plague of leprosy in a house of the land of your possession...Leviticus 15 Other Uncleanness
1.Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,2.Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, When any man has an issue/discharge out of his flesh, because of his issue he is unclean.13.When he who has an issue is cleansed of his issue, then he shall number to himself seven days for his cleansing, and wash his clothes; and he shall bathe his flesh in running water, and shall be clean.14.On the eighth day he shall take to him two turtle-doves, or two young pigeons, and come before Yahweh to the door of the tent of meeting, and give them to 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 atonement for him before Yahweh for his issue...30.The priest shall offer the one for a sin-offering, and the other for a burnt offering; and the priest shall make atonement for her before Yahweh for the issue of her uncleanness.31.Thus shall you separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness, that they not die in their uncleanness, when they defile my tent that is in the midst of them.Digging Deeper
God in a nutshell: God is holy, and He requires holiness of His people; uncleanness is not allowed among His worshipers. Uncleanness causes separation until it is contained and nullified. God specifies the path back into fellowship with a Holy God.Us in a nutshell: We need to be separate from the uncleanness around us and within us in order to experience the blessings of a relationship with God. If we become defiled, we miss out on fellowship, and must wait until our uncleanness is contained and nullified. Only then can we come back into God's presence, according to the means He has specified.