Leviticus 11:26-38: a reflection

26“‘Every animal which has a split hoof that isn’t completely divided, or doesn’t chew the cud, is unclean to you. Everyone who touches them shall be unclean. 27Whatever goes on its paws, among all animals that go on all fours, they are unclean to you. Whoever touches their carcass shall be unclean until the evening. 28He who carries their carcass shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening. They are unclean to you. 29“‘These are they which are unclean to you among the creeping things that creep on the earth: the weasel, the rat, any kind of great lizard, 30the gecko, and the monitor lizard, the wall lizard, the skink, and the chameleon. 31These are they which are unclean to you among all that creep. Whoever touches them when they are dead shall be unclean until the evening. 32Anything they fall on when they are dead shall be unclean; whether it is any vessel of wood, or clothing, or skin, or sack, whatever vessel it is, with which any work is done, it must be put into water, and it shall be unclean until the evening. Then it will be clean. 33Every earthen vessel into which any of them falls and all that is in it shall be unclean. You shall break it. 34All food which may be eaten which is soaked in water shall be unclean. All drink that may be drunk in every such vessel shall be unclean. 35Everything whereupon part of their carcass falls shall be unclean; whether oven, or range for pots, it shall be broken in pieces. They are unclean, and shall be unclean to you. 36Nevertheless a spring or a cistern in which water is gathered shall be clean, but that which touches their carcass shall be unclean. 37If part of their carcass falls on any sowing seed which is to be sown, it is clean. 38But if water is put on the seed, and part of their carcass falls on it, it is unclean to you.

These laws about clean and unclean deal at length with how uncleanness spreads. Touching an unclean carcass made a person unclean; and the uncleanness could spread further, to vessels, to food, to whatever the dead thing touched, so that contaminated vessels had to be broken. The picture is of defilement as something contagious, that spreads by contact, tainting what it touches, requiring vigilance to contain.

Notice the theme running through these laws: uncleanness spreads. It was not contained in the unclean thing itself, but passed by contact to whatever touched it, spreading its defilement. This taught Israel to be watchful about contamination, aware that defilement was contagious and could spread if not guarded against. Uncleanness, in these laws, was not static but active, spreading, tainting, requiring care to contain its reach.

That picture of spreading defilement is a picture of how corruption and sin can work in and around us. Sin and corruption are contagious; they spread, by influence and association and habit, tainting what they touch, and they require vigilance to contain. What we tolerate can spread; the corrupting influence we allow near us can taint us; the sin we do not guard against can spread through our lives. Be watchful, then, about the spread of corruption, in your own heart and around you; do not treat it as static and contained, but recognize that it spreads if not guarded against. And take heart that, in Christ, there is a cleansing stronger than the contagion of defilement; where he touched the unclean, he did not become unclean, but made them clean. Guard against the spread of corruption, watchful as these laws taught Israel to be; and rely on the cleansing of Christ, which is stronger than the defilement that spreads, to keep and cleanse you.

Lord, these laws about clean and unclean deal at length with how uncleanness spreads, passing by contact to vessels, food, and whatever the dead thing touched, so that contaminated vessels had to be broken; a picture of defilement as contagious, spreading, tainting what it touches, requiring vigilance. Show me in that how corruption and sin can work in and around me. Sin and corruption are contagious; they spread, by influence and association and habit, tainting what they touch, and require vigilance to contain. What I tolerate can spread; the corrupting influence I allow near me can taint me; the sin I do not guard against can spread through my life. Help me be watchful about the spread of corruption, in my own heart and around me; keep me from treating it as static and contained, and help me recognize that it spreads if not guarded against. And let me take heart that, in Christ, there is a cleansing stronger than the contagion of defilement; where he touched the unclean, he did not become unclean, but made them clean. Help me guard against the spread of corruption, watchful as these laws taught Israel to be, and rely on the cleansing of Christ, stronger than the defilement that spreads, to keep and cleanse me, Lord.