2nd February

Leviticus 11-13; Psalm 33

Bible in a Year
5 minutes

Leviticus 11-13

The focus of these chapters is all about cleanliness. Not in the sense of having a shower to get clean, but the idea of certain things can contaminate you so that you are unworthy to enter God’s presence.

The first category we get is clean and unclean foods. God lays out a list of animals it’s okay to eat and animals that are unclean and should not be eaten.

With our modern heads, we can often think that these animals were banned because they were unhealthy or because they would have been difficult to cook well without risking food poisoning.

The reality was these were animals that, for whatever reason, were considered ritually unclean. It may be because they didn’t have clear categories they fit into. For example, amphibians, which are animals that aren’t fish but live happily in water and on land, are forbidden.

The reasoning for this might be that that there was an Ancient Near Eastern association with mixtures of stuff and being unclean. Later on we see that different kinds of cattle or crops weren’t allowed to crossbreed, and garments weren’t allowed to be made of different kinds of material.

Remember the nephilim from back in Genesis 6:1-4. They were an unholy mix of spiritual being and human. Because God’s people are to be a clean people and avoid anything unclean, these animals are forbidden.

There are no offerings made for people who eat one of these animals. They would have just been cut out of the community. However, there are offerings made for those that accidentally touch one of these animals.

Next are the rules around a woman after giving birth. Again, this can seem so foreign to us today. How dare you say a woman is unclean after giving birth.

But the thinking at the time was that it takes a lot out of a woman to give birth. She loses a lot of fluids and blood. This loss would have made her less whole, and so she needed time to recover. It would be wrong for her to enter God’s presence, not fully whole.

It’s also worth mentioning that while a woman brings a sin offering after giving birth, that doesn’t mean she has done something wrong. Sin is also what we call the contaminating force that is opposed to God. Because she has lost a lot of her life force, a woman may be considered contaminated by sin in a way that is not her fault and is not held against her.

You may think this is all unfair, but God is really trying to bring home a point here. We’ve seen this before. Everything needed to be perfect in the tabernacle for God’s presence to come down. The priests had to be perfect, clean and whole to work in God’s presence.

The same applies to everyone else, including women who have given birth. Anything that could even be considered to make them unclean, or not whole, needs to be dealt with before they can be brought back into God’s presence.

Finally, we have rules on skin diseases. This is perhaps a clearer example of how something would make you unclean. A disease, particularly at this time, was a symbol of death.

We see it less with modern medicine, but this stuff would literally waste away your flesh. In many ways, a skin disease is a physical example of how sin works. Both infect and contaminate and then spread outward.

Again, this contamination needs to be dealt with before someone can reenter God’s presence. We get a similar metaphor for sin in tomorrow’s reading.

Just to clarify, because of the work Jesus did at the cross, and because of the new relationship we have with God, this stuff does not make us unclean today. Jesus makes us completely clean and pure.

Psalm 33

This is the first psalm we’ve read since Psalms 1-2 that isn’t attributed to king David. Instead, this psalm is anonymous. It fits in the category of praise psalm.

Psalm 33:1-3 - A call to praise

Psalm 33:4-9 - Praising the word of the Lord

Psalm 33:10-12 - Praising the counsel of the Lord

Psalm 33:13-19 - Praising the Lord’s eye and his might

Psalm 33:20-22 - concluding declaration of trust

The psalm opens with a call to those who are upright and righteous to praise God. They are to shout for joy, give thanks, sing songs, and play instruments. It then lists a number of reasons why.

The first is the word of the Lord. God’s word maintains order through righteousness and justice. It is one of the primary ways that we see God’s faithful love, as we read of his promises.

It is also through God’s word that the haven and earth and all that are in them are created. Because of this, everyone should fear God and be in awe of him.

Next up is the Lord’s counsel. His plans, purpose, and leading. While the plans of humans will often lead them to be frustrated, blessed are those allowed themselves to be counselled and led by God.

After that we see a connection between the eye of the Lord and his might. God sees all things. Nothing is missing from his sight. He evens sees the intentions of our hearts.

See humans might look to kings to save them, but the reality is a king isn’t saved by a great army, or strong warriors, or war horses. Might belongs to God, and with his eye he is able to see the hearts of all. Those who love him and those who do not.

And so the psalm draws to a conclusion on a declaration of trust. We will wait on the Lord as we trust in him. Finally, we end with a request of God. Be faithful and loving to us.

From this psalm we see the power and authority of God in every area of our lives. As we read through these words, this truth should lead us to a place of praise and trust.

Anything you think I've missed? Maybe you've got a question that still needs answering. Send me a message over on my Instagram (@brynjoslin). I'd love to talk it through with you some more.

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  • CLEAN AND UNCLEAN ANIMALS | Bible Study | Leviticus 11

    Spoken Gospel

    This Bible study devotional covers Leviticus chapter 11. Here we read about God's command that Israel refrain from eating unclean animals, and only eat the animals he has called clean.

    As always, Spoken Gospel are committed to showing you how Jesus fulfills these specific passages. In Leviticus 11, we see that Jesus overturned this command in order to show that no one should be called unclean. This was God's way of showing that all nations, not only "clean" Israel, are to be included in his people.

  • Podcast

    Naked Bible podcast

    Naked Bible #74: Leviticus 11

    The Naked Bible Podcast

    The Naked Bible Podcast is for those that want intense Bible study. Be warned, many will find these podcasts go too deep for them. But for those that persevere this will be a rich source of teaching for you.

    Check the podcast out here
  • Further Study

    Overview: Leviticus

    Video

    Understanding the context of your passage is always important. BibleProject always do an incredible job of breaking down each book so you can see how your passage fits into the wider story.

    The Book of Leviticus

    Video

    BibleProject have done an animated recap of Leviticus to help you fit today's passage into the overarching story of Leviticus.

    The Bible Explained: Leviticus

    Video

    Spoken Gospel outlines the book of Leviticus and point out some of the key themes, all in the medium of spoken word.

    Holiness

    Video

    In this video, the guys at BibleProject explore the paradox that God’s holiness presents to human beings. God is the unique and set-apart Creator of all reality and the author of all goodness. However, that goodness can become dangerous to humans who are mortal and morally corrupt. Ultimately, this paradox is resolved by Jesus, who embodies God’s holiness that comes to heal His creation.

    Sacrifice and Atonement

    Video

    God is on a mission to remove evil from His good world, along with all of its corrosive effects. However, He wants to do it in a way that does not involve removing humans. In this video on sacrifice and atonement, the guys at BibleProject trace the theme of God’s “covering” over human evil through animal sacrifices that ultimately point to Jesus and his death and resurrection.

    LEPROSY, BLOOD, AND UNCLEANLINESS | Bible Study | Leviticus 12-15

    Video
    This Bible study devotional covers Leviticus chapters 12-15. Here we learn about how the priests were to treat people with unclean conditions like leprosy or discharges of blood. The main thing to notice is that people with unclean conditions could not come near the presence of God.

    As always, Spoken Gospel are committed to showing you how Jesus fulfills these specific passages. In Leviticus 12-15, we see that Jesus comes to us while we are still unclean in order to make us clean and bring us into his presence.

© Bryn Joslin