Week 8…The Unclean and the Clean.
“You must distinguish between the unclean and the clean…” - Leviticus 11:47 (CSB)
When we read Leviticus 11–13, it can feel foreign…laws about animals you can or cannot eat, detailed instructions about bodily fluids, and elaborate protocols for examining skin disease. It’s tempting to skim these passages and wonder, What does this have to do with me, especially since we don’t follow Levitical law?
Yet God included these chapters because He was shaping Israel into a people who understood that holiness touches every area of life…what goes into our mouths, what happens in our bodies, and even the health of our skin. He was teaching them to discern, to notice, and to care about boundaries that reflected His purity. He was teaching them the lifestyle of being set apart, and that friends is something that we can most definitely relate to today.
Let’s breakdown chapters 11, 12, and 13 in a way that makes it relatable for us living under the cleansing blood of Jesus.
In Leviticus 11, the dietary laws taught Israel that their daily choices mattered. In chapter 12, childbirth, though beautiful and blessed, still involved ritual impurity, reminding the people that life and death were connected in a fallen world. In chapter 13, skin diseases were carefully diagnosed to prevent contamination in the community.
All these laws showed Israel that sin and impurity were serious, and only God could provide the means of cleansing. These visible examples of uncleanness pointed ahead to the deeper uncleanness of the human heart….a problem no ritual could fully solve.
The echo of Jesus? In Christ, we are cleansed once and for all (Hebrews 10:10). But despite this, God still calls us to be set apart, holy in our thoughts, attitudes, and actions. We no longer follow the same ceremonial laws, but we are invited to live with the same awareness: holiness and living set apart is not compartmentalized. It affects everything!
Let’s break down how each chapter relates to our lives today:
Leviticus 11: Discernment in daily life! God cares about habits, routines, and the way we distinguish between what is acceptable and what is not.
Leviticus 12: Acknowledging our need for cleansing…our need for JESUS. This points to the reality that our human weakness (bleeding, frailty, the messiness of life) doesn’t disqualify us from God’s love, but shows us our need for His cleansing.
Leviticus 13: Guarding the health of the community…impurity could spread and endanger the community. Have you ever seen this happen? One person’s actions can most definitely cause a chain reaction! God asks us to be watchful of this within relationships, and within the church. Sin can spread like disease if we aren’t watchful.
Together, each chapter teaches us that being set apart is comprehensive, don’t you think? Living for Jesus forms our choices, it meets us in our weakness, and it protects what God entrusts to us.
I am sooooo grateful for His cleansing blood, for His sacrifice, to cleanse me of every impure thing I may think, do, and act upon! I couldn’t imagine living under Levitical law, could you?0
REFLECTION:
Where is God calling you to greater discernment between what is clean and unclean in your life?
Are there areas you have labeled “neutral,” but the Holy Spirit is prompting you to examine more closely?
How can you invite Jesus’ cleansing work into the hidden places of your heart today?
Prayer:
Lord, thank You that in Christ I am made clean. Help me not to take Your holiness lightly. Give me discernment and courage to separate myself from what contaminates my spirit. Thank You that You care about the smallest details, and that Your desire is always to make me whole. Amen.