Leviticus 15:1-6: a reflection

1The LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 2“Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘When any man has a discharge from his body, because of his discharge he is unclean. 3This shall be his uncleanness in his discharge: whether his body runs with his discharge, or his body has stopped from his discharge, it is his uncleanness. 4“‘Every bed on which he who has the discharge lies shall be unclean; and everything he sits on shall be unclean. 5Whoever touches his bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening. 6He who sits on anything on which the man who has the discharge sat shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening.

In the laws of ritual purity, God gives careful instructions about uncleanness arising from the body, showing how uncleanness could spread by contact, touching what the unclean person had touched. Whoever touches his bed shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until the evening, the law says. These laws mark out how readily ritual uncleanness could pass from one thing to another, requiring washing and waiting to be made clean again. Underlying them is a deep awareness that uncleanness is real and pervasive, and that cleansing is needed to come before a holy God. The laws point to our need for cleansing to approach a holy God. Uncleanness spreads and must be washed away to approach God. These laws show a deep concern for cleansing before a holy God. The need for cleansing runs through these laws, pointing beyond themselves.

Notice what these detailed purity laws convey. They show a world in which uncleanness is pervasive, spreading readily by contact, requiring repeated washing and waiting to be made clean again. Beneath the specific rules lies a profound truth: that to come before a holy God, cleansing is needed, and that uncleanness, once recognized, must be dealt with, not ignored. The endless washings pointed to a need that the washings themselves could not finally meet, a need for a deeper cleansing. And this points us to Christ. For all these outward washings, necessary as they were, could not cleanse the heart; they pointed forward to the cleansing Christ would bring, who cleanses us not merely outwardly but within, making us truly clean to come before God. The deep need for cleansing that these laws express is met, at last, in Christ. What the washings could not finally do, Christ does: he cleanses us to approach God. Our need for cleansing, pictured in these laws, is met in Christ. Christ cleanses within what outward washings could not reach. The cleansing we truly need comes from Christ.

That is worth taking to heart, for the deep need for cleansing that these purity laws express is met, at last, in Christ, who cleanses us to come before a holy God. We can find such laws strange and remote; but underlying them is a truth that touches us: that uncleanness is real, that cleansing is needed to approach a holy God, and that the endless outward washings pointed to a deeper cleansing they could not themselves give. That cleansing comes in Christ. When you feel your need to be made clean before God, remember that Christ cleanses within what no outward washing could reach. Take to heart that the deep need for cleansing pictured in these purity laws, which showed uncleanness spreading by contact and requiring repeated washing to approach a holy God, is met at last in Christ; for such laws can seem strange and remote to us, but beneath them lies a truth that touches us, that uncleanness is real and pervasive and that cleansing is needed to come before a holy God, and the endless outward washings, necessary as they were, could not cleanse the heart but pointed forward to a deeper cleansing they could not give, which Christ brings, cleansing us not merely outwardly but within, so that what the washings could not finally do he does, making us truly clean to approach God, and when we feel our need to be made clean we can turn to him.

Lord, in the laws of ritual purity, you give careful instructions about uncleanness arising from the body, showing how uncleanness could spread by contact, touching what the unclean person had touched. Whoever touches his bed shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until the evening, the law says. These laws mark out how readily ritual uncleanness could pass from one thing to another, requiring washing and waiting to be made clean again. Underlying them is a deep awareness that uncleanness is real and pervasive, and that cleansing is needed to come before you, a holy God. Show me what these detailed purity laws convey. They show a world in which uncleanness is pervasive, spreading readily by contact, requiring repeated washing to be made clean again. Beneath the specific rules lies a profound truth: that to come before you, a holy God, cleansing is needed, and that uncleanness, once recognized, must be dealt with, not ignored. The endless washings pointed to a need that the washings themselves could not finally meet, a need for a deeper cleansing. And this points me to Christ. For all these outward washings could not cleanse the heart; they pointed forward to the cleansing Christ would bring, who cleanses me not merely outwardly but within, making me truly clean to come before you. Take that to my heart, for the deep need for cleansing these laws express is met, at last, in Christ, who cleanses me to come before you. I can find such laws strange and remote; but underlying them is a truth that touches me: that cleansing is needed to approach you, and that the endless outward washings pointed to a deeper cleansing they could not give. When I feel my need to be made clean before you, help me remember that Christ cleanses within what no outward washing could reach, Lord, and turn to him for the cleansing I truly need.