Chapter 15
Have you ever felt like no matter how hard you try, you can’t quite stay clean? Maybe you’ve washed your hands a hundred times during flu season, or double-checked your phone for malware after clicking something suspicious. Cleanliness matters to us physically—but what about spiritually?
Reading Leviticus 15 might seem strange at first. It’s a chapter all about bodily discharges and the rules for staying “clean.” But behind the detailed instructions is a powerful truth that still matters today.
In Leviticus 15, God gives the Israelites specific instructions about what makes a person ritually “unclean.” Things like normal bodily functions—discharges, menstruation, even sexual intimacy—required washing and time before someone could return to worship or community life.
These weren’t punishments. These were reminders: living in a fallen world meant living separated from the perfection of God. Even natural parts of life couldn’t enter His holy presence without a form of cleansing.
God was teaching a deeper lesson: holiness isn’t just about avoiding evil—it’s about being set apart for Him. Even if something isn’t sinful, it can still remind us that we live in a world affected by sin and imperfection.
Think of a cleanroom in a tech lab. The tiniest particle of dust can ruin a microchip. Not because the dust is evil, but because it doesn’t belong in that environment. The same is true with God’s presence—it requires absolute purity, which none of us have on our own.
Leviticus 15 sets the stage for what Jesus came to fulfill. His blood doesn’t just symbolize cleansing—it is the cleansing (Hebrews 9:13-14). He came not just to cover impurity but to remove it entirely. We don’t need repeated rituals anymore because Jesus’ sacrifice was once for all. Still, the lesson remains: We are utterly dependent on Him to be made right with God.
Even things that are good and God-ordained—like marriage—are temporary. Jesus said there will be no marriage in heaven (Matthew 22:30), not because marriage is bad, but because it belongs to this world, not the next.
Everything in eternity will center fully on God. Our attention, our desires, and our worship won’t be divided. That’s what Leviticus is pointing toward: a place where nothing from the natural world—no reminders of our fallen state—can remain in God’s direct presence. Leviticus 15 isn’t just about ritual law. It’s about showing us how separated we are from God—even in our natural state. But it also points us to our hope: Jesus, who makes a way for us to draw near.
So next time you think about what it means to be “clean,” remember—it’s not about how holy you feel. It’s about whether you’ve come to Jesus to be made clean. Because in the end, God isn’t just looking for clean hands—He’s looking for a pure heart.
Discharges Causing Uncleanness
1 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, 2 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When any man has an unusual bodily discharge, such a discharge is unclean. 3 Whether it continues flowing from his body or is blocked, it will make him unclean. [This is a dignified way to address discharges that are not “normal” Such as from an STD or other non-sexual disease.] This is how his discharge will bring about uncleanness:
4 ” ‘Any bed the man with a discharge lies on will be unclean, and anything he sits on will be unclean. 5 Anyone who touches his bed must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening. 6 Whoever sits on anything that the man with a discharge sat on must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening.
7 ” ‘Whoever touches the man who has a discharge must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening. 8 ” ‘If the man with the discharge spits on anyone who is clean, they must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening.
9 ” ‘Everything the man sits on when riding will be unclean, 10 and whoever touches any of the things that were under him will be unclean till evening; whoever picks up those things must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening.
11 ” ‘Anyone the man with a discharge touches without rinsing his hands with water must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening.
12 ” ‘A clay pot that the man touches must be broken, and any wooden article is to be rinsed with water. [The general principle is that when an unclean thing touches the clean, the clean becomes unclean. This principle is reversed in Jesus. When Jesus – who was clean in every sense – touched the unclean, it made that person wholly clean.]
13 ” ‘When a man is cleansed from his discharge, he is to count off seven days for his ceremonial cleansing; he must wash his clothes and bathe himself with fresh water, and he will be clean. [representing the baptism we have in Jesus, the new birth.] 14 On the eighth day he must take two doves or two young pigeons and come before the LORD to the entrance to the tent of meeting and give them to the priest. 15 The priest is to sacrifice them, the one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. In this way he will make atonement before the LORD for the man because of his discharge.
16 ” ‘When a man has an emission of semen, he must bathe his whole body with water, and he will be unclean till evening. 17 Any clothing or leather that has semen on it must be washed with water, and it will be unclean till evening. 18 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. [This was not an act of condemnation by God regarding sexual encounters. But rather a distinct separation between Israel and the other cultures around who incorporated inappropriate sexual acts as a form of pagan worship.]
19 ” ‘When a woman has her regular flow of blood, the impurity of her monthly period will last seven days, and anyone who touches her will be unclean till evening.
20 ” ‘Anything she lies on during her period will be unclean, and anything she sits on will be unclean. 21 Anyone who touches her bed will be unclean; they must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening. 22 Anyone who touches anything she sits on will be unclean; they must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening. 23 Whether it is the bed or anything she was sitting on, when anyone touches it, they will be unclean till evening.
24 ” ‘If a man has sexual relations with her and her monthly flow touches him, he will be unclean for seven days; any bed he lies on will be unclean. [We have already looked at and understand the important significance of the symbol of blood. But this also has another message- one of rest for the woman, and restraint for the man. This really speaks loudly against the idea of, “if it feels good, do it”. God is not opposed to sex. But even here shows that the Father does not want us to be governed and controlled by our passions.]
25 ” ‘When a woman has a discharge of blood for many days at a time other than her monthly period or has a discharge that continues beyond her period, she will be unclean as long as she has the discharge, just as in the days of her period. 26 Any bed she lies on while her discharge continues will be unclean, as is her bed during her monthly period, and anything she sits on will be unclean, as during her period. 27 Anyone who touches them will be unclean; they must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening.
28 ” ‘When she is cleansed from her discharge, she must count off seven days, and after that she will be ceremonially clean. 29 On the eighth day she must take two doves or two young pigeons and bring them to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 30 The priest is to sacrifice one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. In this way he will make atonement for her before the LORD for the uncleanness of her discharge. [This is an abnormal bleeding or discharge, like the one spoken of for men earlier.]
31 ” ‘You must keep the Israelites separate from things that make them unclean, so they will not die in their uncleanness for defiling my dwelling place, which is among them.’ ”
32 These are the regulations for a man with a discharge, for anyone made unclean by an emission of semen, 33 for a woman in her monthly period, for a man or a woman with a discharge, and for a man who has sexual relations with a woman who is ceremonially unclean.
