Vayikra (Leviticus)
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Meaning
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Day Six
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Haftara
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B'rit Hadashah
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1 Our Father, we receive Your Words and hide Your commandments with us; 2 we incline our ear unto wisdom, and apply our hearts to understanding; 3 We cry after knowledge and lift up our voices for understanding; 4 we seek it as silver; and search for it as for hidden treasures; 5 We declare that we shall understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God. Declaration of Proverbs 2:1-5.
Leviticus 15:7-33 (NASB)1
7 'Also whoever touches the person with the discharge shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening. 8 'Or if the man with the discharge spits on one who is clean, he too shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening. 9 'Every saddle on which the person with the discharge rides becomes unclean. 10 'Whoever then touches any of the things which were under him shall be unclean until evening, and he who carries them shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening. 11 'Likewise, whomever the one with the discharge touches without having rinsed his hands in water shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening. 12 'However, an earthenware vessel which the person with the discharge touches shall be broken, and every wooden vessel shall be rinsed in water. 13 'Now when the man with the discharge becomes cleansed from his discharge, then he shall count off for himself seven days for his cleansing; he shall then wash his clothes and bathe his body in running water and will become clean. 14 'Then on the eighth day he shall take for himself two turtledoves or two young pigeons, and come before the LORD to the doorway of the tent of meeting and give them to the priest; 15 and the priest shall offer them, one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. So the priest shall make atonement on his behalf before the LORD because of his discharge. 16 'Now if a man has a seminal emission, he shall bathe all his body in water and be unclean until evening. 17 'As for any garment or any leather on which there is seminal emission, it shall be washed with water and be unclean until evening. 18 'If a man lies with a woman so that there is a seminal emission, they shall both bathe in water and be unclean until evening. 19 'When a woman has a discharge, if her discharge in her body is blood, she shall continue in her menstrual impurity for seven days; and whoever touches her shall be unclean until evening. 20 'Everything also on which she lies during her menstrual impurity shall be unclean, and everything on which she sits shall be unclean. 21 'Anyone who touches her bed shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening. 22 'Whoever touches any thing on which she sits shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening. 23 'Whether it be on the bed or on the thing on which she is sitting, when he touches it, he shall be unclean until evening. 24 'If a man actually lies with her so that her menstrual impurity is on him, he shall be unclean seven days, and every bed on which he lies shall be unclean. 25 'Now if a woman has a discharge of her blood many days, not at the period of her menstrual impurity, or if she has a discharge beyond that period, all the days of her impure discharge she shall continue as though in her menstrual impurity; she is unclean. 26 'Any bed on which she lies all the days of her discharge shall be to her like her bed at menstruation ; and every thing on which she sits shall be unclean, like her uncleanness at that time.
27 'Likewise, whoever touches them shall be unclean and shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening. 28 'When she becomes clean from her discharge, she shall count off for herself seven days; and afterward she will be clean. 29 'Then on the eighth day she shall take for herself two turtledoves or two young pigeons and bring them in to the priest, to the doorway of the tent of meeting. 30 'The priest shall offer the one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. So the priest shall make atonement on her behalf before the LORD because of her impure discharge.' 31 "Thus you shall keep the sons of Israel separated from their uncleanness, so that they will not die in their uncleanness by their defiling My tabernacle that is among them." 32 This is the law for the one with a discharge, and for the man who has a seminal emission so that he is unclean by it, 33 and for the woman who is ill because of menstrual impurity, and for the one who has a discharge, whether a male or a female, or a man who lies with an unclean woman.
27 'Likewise, whoever touches them shall be unclean and shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening. 28 'When she becomes clean from her discharge, she shall count off for herself seven days; and afterward she will be clean. 29 'Then on the eighth day she shall take for herself two turtledoves or two young pigeons and bring them in to the priest, to the doorway of the tent of meeting. 30 'The priest shall offer the one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. So the priest shall make atonement on her behalf before the LORD because of her impure discharge.' 31 "Thus you shall keep the sons of Israel separated from their uncleanness, so that they will not die in their uncleanness by their defiling My tabernacle that is among them." 32 This is the law for the one with a discharge, and for the man who has a seminal emission so that he is unclean by it, 33 and for the woman who is ill because of menstrual impurity, and for the one who has a discharge, whether a male or a female, or a man who lies with an unclean woman.
32 This is the law of him that hath an issue, and of him whose seed goeth from him, and is defiled therewith; 33 And of her that is sick of her flowers, and of him that hath an issue, of the man, and of the woman, and of him that lieth with her that is unclean. Leviticus 15:32-33.
All of the protocols that we've seen here in these chapters this week are basic hygiene. Wash the hands. Wash the affected clothing and articles that came into contact. Wash the body and apply clean clothing. These are basic health protocols that I learned in my first months of nursing training. I have to confess that I think I'm still a tad bitter over the way things went down back in 2020. We could “follow the science” as it is expressed in the Bible, and without terror, and being bombarded with the message that we could 'kill grandma”. Not once in our reading this week did we see that it was necessary to quarantine the person who was well. The folks who are well don't need to be shut away, it is those who are at risk that need to be guarded. Folks with a suppressed immune system need to be guarded because they may not have the resources to fight an infection. Can I say, “common sense”? I would love to rant but I voluntarily step down and kick my soap box off to the side.
I wonder if the business of being “unclean until evening” was like a 'fence' built into the Scripture itself. Religious leaders in Israel didn't have to add more fences to those that were already there! The people needed to integrate and remember that the notion of 'contamination' was as much spiritual as it was physical. There is a reason that is paramount for the need to recognize and practice discernment between unclean and clean. The Word tells us:
31 Thus shall ye separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness; that they die not in their uncleanness, when they defile my tabernacle that is among them. Leviticus 15:31.
Israel had Yahweh living in their very midst. He taught them through Moses that sin brought uncleanness. He also taught that following the ways of the other nations brought them into sin and the unclean state. If they continued in HIS presence and proximity to mock the protocols for sickness, leprosy, and infection it was like a physical slap in the face. If they were mocking God's protocols then they were in a state of rebellion and therefore in a state of sin and were unclean. If we follow that logic, as believers, who have the Son of God IN us, as He promised, then how important is it to know, discern, and be always conscious of being 'clean'?
3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Romans 8:3-4.
The righteousness of the law is “fulfilled in us”, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit”? Does this mean then, that we're satisfying the righteousness of “the law” when our flesh is being submissive to the Spirit? Can this mean that when we practice as 'clean' believers avoiding sin, it's because God has written his commandments/laws on our hearts?
16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them... Hebrews 10:16.
I have to wonder at times. Are professing believers who do not have that inner miraculous work of the laws of God in their hearts and minds those who still engage in open and/or secret sin? It's not in their hearts or minds to any depth and so they continue in hypocrisy? Are these included in that segment of wolves inside the flock of sheep? Messiah spoke of false prophets as wolves among the sheep. Because of my past, I wonder if these practitioners of hypocrisy were also like wolves among the sheep.
15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Matthew 7:15-16.
I suppose that maturity in Messiah comes with a sharper ability to discern the type of 'fruit' one sees around them. I speak with transparency. It wasn't like my husband and I never had our time of 'terrible twos' in our spiritual journey. I speak for myself when I know I was a little Pharisee at times. I was appalled when people left a service early. I've spent a little time going over a lot of the spiritually immature and just plain stupid things that remain in my memory. I don't speak as one “pointing any fingers”. We all mature at different rates depending on the type of experience we have. Even the way we were raised has a bearing on our adult methods of coping with all sorts of different people and events. When my denominational experience had become more important than God Himself and He kicked the slats out from under me I reacted as I had in childhood. I had come into the denomination setting and found the family and fellowship that I had so craved for and in time, the church itself became an 'idol' in my life. Then God allowed people in who shook it all up and then it gradually became a lot like the dysfunctional family I had left behind me. It took me years to figure it out and at times, I still think I'm trying to come to terms with it. I think I can understand now why that depression became so great that I was ready, SO ready to die.
It wasn't “the church” that was longing to nurture me into spiritual and mental health balance and wellness, it was God Himself. And there I was, thinking that “the church” was the fulfillment of all those childhood deficits! Of course, I would sink so low when I felt that “the church” let me down as it did. I've certainly opened one of those drawers today in the proverbial 'dresser of life' that many folks keep closed and departmentalized. But good has come out of it. I've taken it out and sorted it and understand better than ever that “kicking those slats out” was the only way that our Father God could move me into a totally different stream. All of it hurt like blazes. I spun off the Potter's wheel and landed in such a damaged state! Death seemed to be the only way to: STOP.THE.PAIN. After the day came when I knew I wasn't going to take myself out, it was seven years of waiting on Him. I snagged part of a verse from Job and it kept me, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him.”
I debated for a long time whether I should wipe out a good part of today's edition because I had gone in a direction that I had not intended. It was because I was asking all those questions. But I shall remain transparent and perhaps there is someone who needs this today. I know I'm not the only one who has crashed into a corner off that Potter's wheel. Mental health in the life of believers has emerged as a viable talking point these days. There are more grounded believers willing to talk about mental and emotional health. Jonathon M. Seidl is one of them. Amber Ginter is another who is open and believers can feel more comfortable in matters of depression, obsessive-compulsive disorders, and maybe even a degree of autism. In my past, I expressed the angst that “If I hear one more preacher say that “Christians should never be depressed” I'm gonna pop him on the nose right then and there.” Childish, yes. But their attitude was SO NOT helpful. If a person has never experienced true depression, they don't understand it so it's easy to dismiss it.
We, as His creations, can’t afford NOT to take God seriously about things we might consider trivial but are of importance to God! Is Anne saying that now to follow the Levirate laws of marriage or follow the instructions verbatim when personal accidents might occur? Anne is simply saying to look to the rationale behind the Torah teaching and get a glimpse of the mind of God. And then it occurs to me as I consider this day's reading: How much did we miss out on knowing the mind of God when we followed our old path of accepting Messiah except for that bit about Him being Torah-observant? We can know the mind of God in a small capacity as only a human is able—but we can get that glimpse and well…even a glimpse of the very mind of our Father God is incredible!
All of the protocols that we've seen here in these chapters this week are basic hygiene. Wash the hands. Wash the affected clothing and articles that came into contact. Wash the body and apply clean clothing. These are basic health protocols that I learned in my first months of nursing training. I have to confess that I think I'm still a tad bitter over the way things went down back in 2020. We could “follow the science” as it is expressed in the Bible, and without terror, and being bombarded with the message that we could 'kill grandma”. Not once in our reading this week did we see that it was necessary to quarantine the person who was well. The folks who are well don't need to be shut away, it is those who are at risk that need to be guarded. Folks with a suppressed immune system need to be guarded because they may not have the resources to fight an infection. Can I say, “common sense”? I would love to rant but I voluntarily step down and kick my soap box off to the side.
I wonder if the business of being “unclean until evening” was like a 'fence' built into the Scripture itself. Religious leaders in Israel didn't have to add more fences to those that were already there! The people needed to integrate and remember that the notion of 'contamination' was as much spiritual as it was physical. There is a reason that is paramount for the need to recognize and practice discernment between unclean and clean. The Word tells us:
31 Thus shall ye separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness; that they die not in their uncleanness, when they defile my tabernacle that is among them. Leviticus 15:31.
Israel had Yahweh living in their very midst. He taught them through Moses that sin brought uncleanness. He also taught that following the ways of the other nations brought them into sin and the unclean state. If they continued in HIS presence and proximity to mock the protocols for sickness, leprosy, and infection it was like a physical slap in the face. If they were mocking God's protocols then they were in a state of rebellion and therefore in a state of sin and were unclean. If we follow that logic, as believers, who have the Son of God IN us, as He promised, then how important is it to know, discern, and be always conscious of being 'clean'?
3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Romans 8:3-4.
The righteousness of the law is “fulfilled in us”, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit”? Does this mean then, that we're satisfying the righteousness of “the law” when our flesh is being submissive to the Spirit? Can this mean that when we practice as 'clean' believers avoiding sin, it's because God has written his commandments/laws on our hearts?
16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them... Hebrews 10:16.
I have to wonder at times. Are professing believers who do not have that inner miraculous work of the laws of God in their hearts and minds those who still engage in open and/or secret sin? It's not in their hearts or minds to any depth and so they continue in hypocrisy? Are these included in that segment of wolves inside the flock of sheep? Messiah spoke of false prophets as wolves among the sheep. Because of my past, I wonder if these practitioners of hypocrisy were also like wolves among the sheep.
15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Matthew 7:15-16.
I suppose that maturity in Messiah comes with a sharper ability to discern the type of 'fruit' one sees around them. I speak with transparency. It wasn't like my husband and I never had our time of 'terrible twos' in our spiritual journey. I speak for myself when I know I was a little Pharisee at times. I was appalled when people left a service early. I've spent a little time going over a lot of the spiritually immature and just plain stupid things that remain in my memory. I don't speak as one “pointing any fingers”. We all mature at different rates depending on the type of experience we have. Even the way we were raised has a bearing on our adult methods of coping with all sorts of different people and events. When my denominational experience had become more important than God Himself and He kicked the slats out from under me I reacted as I had in childhood. I had come into the denomination setting and found the family and fellowship that I had so craved for and in time, the church itself became an 'idol' in my life. Then God allowed people in who shook it all up and then it gradually became a lot like the dysfunctional family I had left behind me. It took me years to figure it out and at times, I still think I'm trying to come to terms with it. I think I can understand now why that depression became so great that I was ready, SO ready to die.
It wasn't “the church” that was longing to nurture me into spiritual and mental health balance and wellness, it was God Himself. And there I was, thinking that “the church” was the fulfillment of all those childhood deficits! Of course, I would sink so low when I felt that “the church” let me down as it did. I've certainly opened one of those drawers today in the proverbial 'dresser of life' that many folks keep closed and departmentalized. But good has come out of it. I've taken it out and sorted it and understand better than ever that “kicking those slats out” was the only way that our Father God could move me into a totally different stream. All of it hurt like blazes. I spun off the Potter's wheel and landed in such a damaged state! Death seemed to be the only way to: STOP.THE.PAIN. After the day came when I knew I wasn't going to take myself out, it was seven years of waiting on Him. I snagged part of a verse from Job and it kept me, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him.”
I debated for a long time whether I should wipe out a good part of today's edition because I had gone in a direction that I had not intended. It was because I was asking all those questions. But I shall remain transparent and perhaps there is someone who needs this today. I know I'm not the only one who has crashed into a corner off that Potter's wheel. Mental health in the life of believers has emerged as a viable talking point these days. There are more grounded believers willing to talk about mental and emotional health. Jonathon M. Seidl is one of them. Amber Ginter is another who is open and believers can feel more comfortable in matters of depression, obsessive-compulsive disorders, and maybe even a degree of autism. In my past, I expressed the angst that “If I hear one more preacher say that “Christians should never be depressed” I'm gonna pop him on the nose right then and there.” Childish, yes. But their attitude was SO NOT helpful. If a person has never experienced true depression, they don't understand it so it's easy to dismiss it.
We, as His creations, can’t afford NOT to take God seriously about things we might consider trivial but are of importance to God! Is Anne saying that now to follow the Levirate laws of marriage or follow the instructions verbatim when personal accidents might occur? Anne is simply saying to look to the rationale behind the Torah teaching and get a glimpse of the mind of God. And then it occurs to me as I consider this day's reading: How much did we miss out on knowing the mind of God when we followed our old path of accepting Messiah except for that bit about Him being Torah-observant? We can know the mind of God in a small capacity as only a human is able—but we can get that glimpse and well…even a glimpse of the very mind of our Father God is incredible!
4 I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul. 5 I cried unto thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living. 6 Attend unto my cry; for I am brought very low: deliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than I. 7 Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name: the righteous shall compass me about; for thou shalt deal bountifully with me. Psalm 142:4-7.
1 NASB www.lockman.org for daily reading and KJV in commentary unless otherwise specified.
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