Leviticus 15 deals with hygiene regulations regarding certain types of bodily fluids. Some of the material in this chapter may make us feel a little uncomfortable just as some of the health classes back in school made us feel uncomfortable. But the Lord is giving the people these regulations to prevent the spread of bacterial infections and viruses and bloodborne pathogens. We need not feel embarrassed when the Creator of the human body and the Great Physician teaches us the health information included in Chapter 15. But in case you do feel a little squeamish when reading today's study, maybe it will help to keep in mind that Moses and Aaron actually had to get up in front of the people and teach this material. Thankfully that is something you and I aren't being asked to do!
When we conclude this chapter we'll be moving away from the main portion of the health regulations of Leviticus and moving on into matters that have more to do with man's spiritual condition than with his physical condition.
"The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 'Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'When any man has an unusual bodily discharge, such a discharge is unclean. Whether it continues flowing from his body or is blocked, it will make him unclean.'" (Leviticus 15:1-3a) It is assumed that the Lord is speaking of a discharge from the genital region. Most scholars think this indicates a sexually transmitted disease. But there are types of naturally occurring infections a man might contract without having indulged in illicit sex, such as a urinary tract infection or a fungal infection. Either of these can potentially cause a discharge and either of these can potentially spread to a man's wife during marital relations and could spread to other household members through the mingling of laundry items or from sitting or sleeping on the same surfaces. If a man is having a discharge he is to take steps to prevent spreading his condition to anyone else.
"This is how his discharge will bring about uncleanness: Any bed the man with a discharge lies on will be unclean, and anything he sits on will be unclean. Anyone who touches his bed must wash their clothes and bathe in water, and they will be unclean till evening. Whoever sits on anything that the man with a discharge sat on must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening." (Leviticus 15:3b-6) The man can't sleep in the same bed with his wife. He can't sit on a chair that anyone else in the house might sit on. If his wife changes the sheets on his bed for him she will have to wash her clothes and take a bath and self-isolate until evening. I am sure in some cases there were men who had discharges that were not infectious at all, but in ancient times there was no way to tell. A person couldn't go to a doctor and get a blood test or a urinalysis or have a swab taken and looked at under a microscope. Any discharge had to be regarded as a risk of infection.
It's not only the indoor items that are to be considered unclean after the man has sat on them. His donkey saddle and the padding that goes underneath the saddle are unclean as well. "Everything the man sits on when riding will be unclean, and whoever touches any of the things that were under him will be unclean till evening; whoever picks up those things must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening." (Leviticus 15:9-10)
The man must observe good hand washing practices. If he should happen to touch a person without washing his hands first, that person is rendered ceremonially unclean till evening. "Anyone the man with a discharge touches without rinsing his hands with water must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening." (Leviticus 15:11) Men, unlike women, have to touch their genital area to empty their bladders. It's very important for men and women both to wash their hands after using the restroom, but we can see why for a man it is especially important. But we don't always know whether a person has washed his hands after using the restroom, do we? So the man had to wash his hands in front of whoever he was about to interact with. In his home he would need to wash his hands before hugging his wife or kids. Outside the home he would have to wash his hands before he could shake hands with someone.
If a man with a discharge handles any dishes or cookware in the house, these items are to be treated differently according to the material they're made of. "A clay pot that the man touches must be broken, and any wooden article is to be rinsed with water." (Leviticus 15:12) Bacteria and viruses can survive for quite some time and remain infectious on porous surfaces such as a clay pot. It has to be broken. A wooden item can be reused after it has been washed thoroughly. I did a brief internet search to find out how long bacteria and viruses can live on wood and it appears that they can't remain infectious on wood for as long as they remain infectious on highly porous clay. Some types of wood are less friendly to germs than other types.
Depending on the cause of the man's discharge, his body may heal naturally or there may have been some ancient home remedies a person could use that were effective in clearing up some of the ailments of this sort. If the man recovers from his illness, he undergoes a cleansing ritual. "When a man is cleansed from his discharge, he is to count off seven days for his ceremonial cleansing; he must wash his clothes and bathe himself with fresh water, and he will be clean. On the eighth day he must take two doves or two young pigeons and come before the Lord to the entrance to the tent of meeting and give them to the priest. The priest is to sacrifice them, one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. In this way he will make atonement before the Lord for the man because of his discharge." (Leviticus 15:13-15)
I don't think the text is indicating that the man caused his illness due to a sinful act. In some cases that was undoubtedly true because he had illicit sexual relations. But in other cases the illness occurred simply because something in the body got out of balance, such as when bacteria gets out of balance in the urinary tract and multiplies to the point of causing an infection. If we want to look at it another way, though, all illnesses are the result of man's fall from grace. From the day Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden until now, illness and death happen in our world because sin entered the world and polluted it. So in that sense the man's illness can be attributed to sin. The sacrifices that are made for the recovered man at the tabernacle not only restore him to ceremonial cleanliness (so he can go about his normal religious, social, and business life) but these sacrifices are also an acknowledgement that he is a sinner (whether or not his illness was a result of a personal sin) and that he needs atonement for his sins from a holy God.
In tomorrow's study we will conclude the portion having to do with hygiene regulations for men and then the following day we will move on into hygiene regulations for women.
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