If the information included in yesterday's "health class" in Leviticus 15 made us feel a little uncomfortable, today's probably will as well. Yesterday we studied the hygiene regulations a man must follow when he experiences an abnormal discharge that indicates a virus or bacterial infection. Today the hygiene regulations have to do with maintaining good hygiene following sexual relations.
We are all adults here, as far as I know. I feel a little squeamish talking about these things but I don't think the Lord intends us to feel embarrassed while we study the subjects included in Leviticus 15. He's simply providing information in a calm and straightforward manner so that people living in a time before antibiotics and viral treatments were available could prevent the spread of infections. Good hygiene is still important in our own times, not just to prevent the spread of disease but so we don't develop offensive smells. We don't enjoy being in close proximity to those who don't bathe regularly and use deodorant, so although we don't have to follow the ceremonial rituals the people of ancient Israel are told to follow in Chapter 15, it's a good idea in any era to bathe every day and to wash our hands any time we come in contact with our own or anyone else's bodily fluids.
We are only going to be looking at three verses today because after verse 18 the text moves on into hygiene regulations for women.
"When a man has an emission of semen, he must bathe his whole body with water, and he will be unclean till evening. Any clothing or leather that has semen on it must be washed with water, and it will be unclean till evening. When a man has sexual relations with a woman and there is an emission of semen, both of them must bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening." (Leviticus 15:16-18) Whether the discharge is voluntary or involuntary, the man must bathe and anything that has come in contact with the discharge must also be washed.
Understandably, I was unable to find hardly any details at all in any Bible commentaries regarding the regulations of verses 16-18. I can see why Bible scholars are reluctant to discuss the subject. I'm reluctant to discuss it too. No doubt Moses and Aaron, whom God instructed to pass these instructions on to the people, were reluctant to discuss the subject. But since I couldn't find out much from religious sources I turned to scientific sources and learned that human semen can carry at least twenty-seven types of viruses. This is not counting the various types of bacterial infections it's capable of carrying.
This helps to answer my question of why a husband and wife would be considered ceremonially unclean for the remainder of the day after having lawful marital relations with each other. For basic hygiene reasons alone we can see why bathing afterward might be a good idea but that didn't explain why even after bathing they were ceremonially unclean until evening and could not socialize in public or go up to the tabernacle. I believe this is so any viral or bacterial material missed by the bathing process would have time to die or at least be rendered noninfectious before the couple goes out of their house.
The viral and bacterial infections that can be transmitted through contact with semen are not comprised only of the kind we think of first: sexually transmitted diseases. In fact, those types of diseases only make up a small part of what can be transmitted in this manner. Potentially, any virus the man might be carrying could be transmitted by contact with this particular bodily fluid, such as the common cold. Very deadly illnesses can also be transmitted this way, such as Zika and Ebola for example. They aren't venereal diseases but they can be spread by semen just as they can be spread by blood or saliva or mucus from the nose. If the year 2020 has taught us anything, we know that viruses can incubate in the body for up to two weeks before a person even knows he is infectious. Suppose a man has picked up a virus just by going about his work or by purchasing food in the marketplace and then after being exposed, before he develops symptoms, he has marital relations with his wife and does not wash his hands or his body or his clothes afterwards but goes right back out of the house and mingles with people in public. If bodily fluids are still present on him and the viral or bacterial material is still alive and active, then he could pass along a serious illness to people he interacts with if this material comes in contact with them. (For example, maybe he shakes people's hands or he sits on a chair someone sits on right after him and the material gets transferred.)
We've probably all heard the expression, "cleanliness is next to godliness", and I don't think we should ignore the spiritual aspects of bodily cleanliness. We are sinful, imperfect creatures who live in a fallen world. Just as our bodies become soiled as we go about our lives, our souls are constantly confronted by trials and troubles and temptations. And just as we need to regularly clean up our bodies, we need to regularly get in the presence of our Lord to confess and be cleansed of the sins we commit as we go through our days. Perhaps the hygiene regulations of Leviticus 15 helped to serve not only a vital health function for the individual and for the community, but also as a reminder that we should interact regularly with the Lord, for, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9)
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