Message 45
Scripture Reading: Lev. 15:1-31
In Leviticus 11 through 15, a section of five chapters, four troubling things are covered: our contact with people, the uncleanness of our birth, leprosy, and our discharges. In this message on 15:1-31 we shall cover the matter of the cleansing of the discharges from man’s and woman’s body.
We have pointed out that chapters eleven through twenty-seven of Leviticus intend to give us the way to live a holy life as God’s holy people. If we would live such a life, we need to realize that we are involved with four things. First, we are involved with the common matter of the contact with people. Second, we must recognize the uncleanness of our birth. The source, the origin, of our being is unclean. Third, we have the problem of our leprosy. Our condition is one of being filled with leprosy. Fourth, we have the problem of discharges. No matter what kind of person we may be, we all have discharges, and, as chapter fifteen shows us, these discharges are altogether unclean. Furthermore, the uncleanness of our discharges is contagious.
Leviticus indicates strongly that whatever comes out of our being is unclean. For this reason, chapter fifteen tells us to stay away from any discharge that issues from the human body and from the contagion of uncleanness.
Because we were born uncleanness and are a totality of uncleanness, whatever comes out of us is unclean. Also, the uncleanness of what issues from us is contagious and therefore causes others to be unclean. This is the crucial point in chapter fifteen.
Chapter sixteen of Leviticus is actually a continuation of chapter ten. The intention of God’s revelation in the five chapters that come between chapters ten and sixteen is to show us four basic troubling factors. The first of these factors is our contact with people. We should not consider this an insignificant thing. On the contrary, our contact with people is of great importance. Contacting the wrong kinds of persons can cause us to be defiled and thus discredit us in the matter of a holy living as God’s holy people. The second troubling factor is the uncleanness of our birth. We need to realize that our source, our origin, is uncleanness. We are uncleanness itself. Our birth, source, and constitution are all uncleanness. The third factor is our leprous condition. Inwardly and outwardly we are leprous. The fourth factor is our discharge with its uncleanness and contagion. All the discharges, all the things that issue from our body, are unclean and contagious.
According to the Bible, our body is our embodiment. Our body is our being, our constitution. Whatever comes out of our body, out of our constitution, as a discharge is unclean and contagious.
In 15:1-13 we see that the one who has a discharge is unclean and anything or anyone he touches becomes unclean. As we consider these verses, we realize that there is uncleanness everywhere. Everything has been dirtied by human discharges, by that which comes out of our being. The more we realize this, the more we shall treasure those verses in chapter fifteen which indicate that Christ is the factor of our cleansing.
We need to be deeply impressed with the fact that whatever issues from us is unclean and should be condemned and eliminated. After reading 15:1-13, we may wonder where we can stay without being defiled by the uncleanness of human discharges. Everywhere there is the uncleanness that issues from us human beings. If we realize this, we shall not want to remain on earth but desire to be raptured.
After studying the four troubling factors in chapters eleven through fifteen, I have come to realize fully that we are unclean, corrupt, and contagious. The things that come out of us are uncleanness, and this uncleanness is contagious.
These five chapters on the four negative things show us that we all are a heap of corruption. The entire world, all of humanity, is a heap of corruption. Apart from Christ, there is no place for us to be. We must be in Christ. Only the Lord Jesus can cleanse us. He alone is the cleansing factor.
The title of this message is “The Cleansing of the Discharges from Man’s and Woman’s Body.” Here “body” means our being, our constitution. Thus, the discharges from our body are the discharges from our being or from our constitution.
“Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, When any man has a discharge from his body, because of his discharge he is unclean” (v. 2). This signifies that whatever issues from man’s body, whether or not it is according to the law of the physical body, is unclean. Any kind of discharge is unclean.
“This shall be his uncleanness in his discharge: whether his body runs with its discharge, or has stopped from its discharge, it is his uncleanness” (v. 3). This signifies that whatever issues from man’s natural life, whether good or bad, is filthy.
Verses 4 through 11 tell us that everything and anyone touching man’s discharge is unclean. This signifies that anything touched by or touching the issue of man’s natural life is unclean.
The uncleanness was until the evening (vv. 5c, 6c, 7c, 8c, 10c, 11c). This signifies that the uncleanness of the issue of man’s natural life should be ended (death) that there might be a new beginning (resurrection). The phrase “until the evening” signifies coming to an end through death. Then there will be a new day, a new beginning, which is resurrection.
If we would be clean, having a clean place in which to stay, we must come to an end. We must die by taking the cross of Christ. In this way we come to the evening of our old course, the evening of the old creation. Then through the cross and after the cross, we shall be in a new day. We shall be in resurrection.
In Leviticus 15 washing the clothes and bathing in water are spoken of a number of times (vv. 5b, 6b, 7b, 8b, 10b, 11b). This signifies not only dealing with our outward living and behavior and all the media through which man’s natural life is contacted, but also dealing with ourselves by washing in the water of life in the word of God, purging away anything that is affected by our natural life.
We need the cross of Christ to end our old life, and we need the resurrection of Christ to have a new beginning. In addition, we need the water of life, which is the washing, cleansing, Spirit. We also need the word because the cleansing Spirit of life is embodied in the word. Whenever we come in our spirit to the word we touch something within the word that washes us. After we touch this washing element in the word, we shall continue to be cleansed in our being by it throughout the day. Therefore, we need the cross of Christ, the resurrection of Christ, and the Holy Spirit as the water of life in the word of God. Now we should come to the word with our spirit. As a result, we shall purge away anything that has been affected by our natural life.
Verse 11a refers to rinsing the hands in water. This signifies purging away our filthiness with the word of God and with the life and Spirit in the word of God.
Again we would emphasize our need of the cross of Christ, the resurrection of Christ, the Spirit, the divine life, and the holy Word. These things are the place where we should be. We should be in the death of Christ and in His resurrection. We should also be in the Spirit, in the divine life, and in the holy Word. We thank the Lord that there is a place for us! Naturally speaking, there is no clean place on earth. But, spiritually speaking, there is a wonderful place for us to stay. This place is the death of Christ, the resurrection of Christ, the Spirit of life, the divine life, and the holy Word.
“The earthenware vessel which he who has the discharge touches shall be broken; and every wooden vessel shall be rinsed in water” (v. 12). This signifies that the created and fallen man (earthenware vessel) should be broken, whereas the God-created humanity (wooden vessel) should be kept but needs to be rinsed with the word of God and with the life and Spirit in the word of God.
After the fall, we human beings became quite complicated. On the one hand, we are God’s created people; on the other hand, we have become a fallen, corrupted people. As fallen, corrupted people, we need to be broken. This is signified by the breaking of the earthenware vessel. As God’s created people, however, we do not need to be broken, yet we do need to be rinsed with the Spirit, the divine life, and the holy Word. This is signified by the rinsing of the wooden vessel in water. Day by day we should live under the rinsing of the Spirit, the divine life, and the holy Word.
“When he who has the discharge is cleansed from his discharge, he shall count seven days for his cleansing; then he shall wash his clothes, and bathe his body in fresh water, and he shall be clean” (v. 13). This signifies that the dealing with our natural life should be to the extent that our natural life is fully terminated, and that we should be cleansed with the word of God in His Spirit.
“Then on the eighth day he shall take two turtledoves or two young pigeons and come before Jehovah, to the entrance of the tent of meeting, and give them to the priest; and the priest shall offer them, one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering. Thus the priest shall make propitiation for him before Jehovah because of his discharge” (vv. 14-15). This signifies that man living by his natural life needs not only the redemption of Christ to deal with his sinful nature, but also the life of Christ that he may live for God.
Here Christ is typified by the two turtledoves or two young pigeons. One of these birds is a sin offering, and the other, a burnt offering. The function of Christ as the sin offering is to deal with our sinful nature. The function of Christ as the burnt offering is to be our life that we may live a life that is absolute for God. We need Christ in these two ways, in these two aspects. Only Christ can meet our need. When we have Christ as our sin offering and as our burnt offering, the problem of our discharges is solved.
In 15:2-15 we see how certain discharges are to be dealt with. Verses 16 through 30 show us that all other discharges of man and woman are to be dealt with in the same way.
“Thus you shall separate the sons of Israel from their uncleanness, that they may not die in their uncleanness by defiling My tabernacle which is in their midst” (v. 31). This signifies that once a man, having been defiled by any issue of his natural life and having not yet been separated from his uncleanness, touches the church, he will suffer death (mainly spiritual death).
Verse 31 indicates that human discharges are related to God’s dwelling place. If we still have discharges, we shall defile God’s dwelling place. In typology this means that if we still have the defilement that comes from the issue of the natural life, we shall defile the church life. For the church life, we need to be fully dealt with in our natural life by the cross of Christ, by the resurrection of Christ, by the Spirit with the divine life, and by contacting the holy Word with our spirit. Then we shall be kept from the filthiness of the human, natural discharges.
Although man’s discharge is not as serious as leprosy, its effects are more serious than those of leprosy. From experience we know that even if we seem to be perfect and complete, doing nothing wrong, we still have discharges, the issue of the natural life, in our family life or church life. We need to realize that anything that issues from our natural being is uncleanness, and this uncleanness is contagious, causing everyone, everything, and every place to be defiled. For this reason, the effects of our discharges are even more serious than those of leprosy.
It may be rather easy to stay away from leprosy, but it is not easy to stay away from the effects of human discharges. There is no need for us to do anything outwardly in order to be defiled. As long as we are alive, we shall have unclean discharges. We shall be made unclean by that which issues from our being.
This matter of our discharges should cause us to be discredited in our own eyes. However, everyone gives himself high credit. We may regard only ourselves as right and everyone else as wrong. We may think that we are excellent and hold on to our prestige. Nevertheless, there is something about us that is not worthy of credit, and this thing is our natural discharge. Seemingly we have no problems, but we are still defiled by the unclean discharges of our natural life.
Because of our discharge, we need Christ. We need His death, His resurrection, His Spirit, His life, and His word. All day long we need to stay in the death, resurrection, Spirit, life, and word of Christ. In our Christian life we need to learn not to move out of these five things. If we stay in Christ’s death, resurrection, Spirit, life, and word, we shall have a proper Christian life and church life. Then day by day we shall live a revived life and an overcoming life in the death, resurrection, Spirit, life, and word of Christ.
