Life, Blood, and Atonement: The Gospel in Childbirth Text: Leviticus 12:1-8
Introduction: The Offense of Leviticus
We come now to a chapter in Leviticus that makes modern sensibilities twitch. To our egalitarian, sterilized, and theologically shallow age, these laws about childbirth seem bizarre at best and misogynistic at worst. A woman gives birth, fulfilling the very first command God gave to mankind to be fruitful and multiply, and the result is that she is declared "unclean." And not only that, but the period of her uncleanness is doubled if she has the audacity to bear a female child. What on earth are we to make of this?
The first thing we must do is refuse to be embarrassed by the Word of God. We must not approach these texts with a red pen, ready to apologize for them or explain them away. God is not the one on trial here; we are. The modern mind, which thinks nothing of the industrial slaughter of the unborn, has no moral high ground from which to critique the God who knits children together in the womb. Our problem is not that these laws are strange, but that we have become strange. We have forgotten the grammar of creation, the reality of the fall, and the logic of redemption that these ceremonial laws are designed to teach.
These laws are not about hygiene, though they had hygienic benefits. They are not a punishment for the act of childbirth. Childbirth is a glorious, God-ordained blessing. Rather, these laws are a profound, symbolic sermon preached in the theater of ordinary life. They are object lessons about the nature of life and death, sin and salvation, curse and covenant. They are designed to teach Israel, and us, that we live in a world that is simultaneously blessed by God's creation mandate and broken by Adam's fall. And most importantly, they point us relentlessly to the one who was born of a woman to redeem those born of women.
This chapter is a picture of the gospel. It shows us that even our greatest blessings, like the birth of a child, are touched by the curse of sin and death. It teaches us that we are born into a world that is estranged from the holy presence of God. And it shows us that the only way back into that presence is through blood, through sacrifice, through a substitutionary atonement. This is not some dusty, irrelevant regulation; it is a roadmap to the cross.
The Text
Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying: ‘When a woman gives birth and bears a male child, then she shall be unclean for seven days, as in the days of her menstruation she shall be unclean. Now on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. Then she shall remain in the blood of her cleansing for thirty-three days; she shall not touch any holy thing; and she shall not enter the sanctuary until the days of her cleansing are fulfilled. But if she bears a female child, then she shall be unclean for two weeks, as in her menstruation; and she shall remain in the blood of her cleansing for sixty-six days. When the days of her cleansing are fulfilled, for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the doorway of the tent of meeting a one year old lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering. Then he shall bring it near before Yahweh and make atonement for her, and she shall be cleansed from the flow of her blood. This is the law for her who bears a child, whether a male or a female. But if she cannot afford a lamb, then she shall take two turtledoves or two young pigeons, the one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering; and the priest shall make atonement for her, and she will be clean.’ ”
(Leviticus 12:1-8 LSB)
Unclean, Not Sinful (vv. 1-2)
The Lord begins by establishing the principle of ritual uncleanness connected to childbirth.
"When a woman gives birth and bears a male child, then she shall be unclean for seven days, as in the days of her menstruation she shall be unclean." (Leviticus 12:2 LSB)
We must get this straight from the outset: ceremonial uncleanness is not the same thing as moral sinfulness. Giving birth is not a sin. It is a blessing. But in the ceremonial law, God uses natural processes to teach spiritual realities. Anything that involved the loss of blood, the stuff of life, rendered a person ceremonially unclean. This included menstruation, certain diseases, and contact with a dead body. Why? Because we live in a fallen world where life is constantly threatened by death. The curse of Genesis 3 hangs over everything. God told the woman, "I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing" (Gen. 3:16). Childbirth, while a profound blessing, is also a stark reminder of the curse. It is a life-giving event that happens on the borderlands of death. The flow of blood, the very symbol of life (Lev. 17:11), is here shed in a process that is marked by the pain and sorrow of the fall.
This state of being "unclean" meant that the woman was temporarily excluded from the sanctuary, from the place of formal worship. It was a tangible picture of mankind's condition after being expelled from the Garden. Adam's sin made us all "unclean," unfit for the immediate presence of a holy God. This is not a statement about the woman's moral character, but a statement about the human condition. We are born outside the camp, estranged from God. The very act that brings new life into the world serves as a potent reminder that this new life is born into a state of alienation from God's holiness.
Covenant Sign and Cleansing (vv. 3-5)
Next, the law addresses the male child and the mother's extended period of cleansing.
"Now on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. Then she shall remain in the blood of her cleansing for thirty-three days; she shall not touch any holy thing; and she shall not enter the sanctuary until the days of her cleansing are fulfilled." (Leviticus 12:3-4 LSB)
Notice the first thing that happens to the male child. On the eighth day, he is circumcised. This is the sign of the covenant, a cutting away of the flesh. It is a bloody sign that marks the child as belonging to God's people. But it is also a sign that something is wrong. From the very beginning of his life, this child must be marked by a symbol of sin's curse being cut off. He is born into the covenant, but he is also born a sinner in need of redemption. This is a graphic illustration of the doctrine of original sin. We do not become sinners when we first sin; we sin because we are born sinners.
The mother then continues in her "blood of cleansing" for another thirty-three days, making a total of forty days. During this time, she is not to touch anything holy or enter the sanctuary. This period is a time of separation, a quarantine from the holy things. It is a living parable of our need for a period of cleansing before we can approach God. Forty is a significant number in Scripture, often associated with trial, testing, and preparation, from the forty days of rain in the flood to Israel's forty years in the wilderness to Jesus' forty days of temptation. This period sets the woman apart, reminding the whole community that entry into God's presence is not a casual affair.
Then we come to the verse that causes so much consternation:
"But if she bears a female child, then she shall be unclean for two weeks, as in her menstruation; and she shall remain in the blood of her cleansing for sixty-six days." (Leviticus 12:5 LSB)
The time of uncleanness is doubled for a female child, making a total of eighty days. Is this because women are twice as sinful or somehow inferior? Not at all. The logic is covenantal and theological. A female child is a potential mother. She carries within her the capacity to bring forth more life, and thus, more life that is born under the curse of sin. The uncleanness is doubled because the chain of sin and death, passed down from our first mother Eve, is represented in her in a way it is not in a male. This law is a sober reminder of the depth and reach of the fall. It is a commentary on the fact that our sin is not just an individual problem; it is a generational reality that is passed on through the very process of procreation. It is a double reminder of our need for a Savior.
Atonement and Restoration (vv. 6-7)
When the days of cleansing are over, the way back into the community of worship is through sacrifice.
"When the days of her cleansing are fulfilled... she shall bring to the priest... a one year old lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering. Then he shall bring it near before Yahweh and make atonement for her, and she shall be cleansed..." (Leviticus 12:6-7 LSB)
This is the heart of the matter. How does the unclean become clean? How does the one who is excluded get brought back in? Through blood atonement. The woman brings two offerings. The first is a lamb for a burnt offering. The burnt offering symbolized complete dedication and surrender to God. It was an offering of worship, acknowledging God's total sovereignty. After being ceremonially separated, her first act upon returning is one of total consecration.
The second is a pigeon or turtledove for a sin offering. The Hebrew word for sin offering here, chattath, can also mean purification offering. She has not committed a specific sin by giving birth, but she has participated in a process that is deeply marked by the fall. The sacrifice is necessary to ritually purify her from the uncleanness associated with life in a fallen world. An innocent life must be given to cover her ceremonial defilement. The priest makes atonement for her, and she is declared clean. Her separation is over. She is restored to fellowship. This is the pattern of the gospel: separation because of the effects of sin, followed by restoration through a substitutionary sacrifice.
Grace for the Poor (v. 8)
Finally, God makes provision for those who cannot afford the prescribed sacrifice.
"But if she cannot afford a lamb, then she shall take two turtledoves or two young pigeons, the one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering; and the priest shall make atonement for her, and she will be clean.’" (Leviticus 12:8 LSB)
This is a beautiful display of God's grace. He does not make access to His presence dependent on wealth. The principle of atonement is upheld, but the cost is adjusted to the means of the worshiper. God is not interested in the monetary value of the animal; He is interested in the heart of faith that brings it. The blood of two pigeons is just as effective for the poor woman as the blood of a lamb is for the wealthy. This ensures that no one in Israel is priced out of forgiveness and restoration.
And it is this very verse that illuminates for us the economic status of the family of our Lord. When Mary and Joseph came to the temple to present Jesus, this is the offering they brought. Luke tells us they came "to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, 'a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons'" (Luke 2:24). The mother of the Son of God came to the temple as a poor woman, identifying herself as one in need of ceremonial cleansing. The one who was without sin submitted to the law for sinners. The one who was perfectly clean underwent the rites for the unclean. Why? To fulfill all righteousness, and to identify with us in our fallen, unclean state, so that He could become the sacrifice for us all.
The Fulfillment in Christ
This entire chapter is a shadow, and the substance is Christ. Every detail points to Him and His work. The uncleanness of childbirth points to the reality of original sin, the condition from which He came to save us. We are all born outside the camp, ceremonially unclean and unfit for God's presence.
The circumcision on the eighth day points to the "circumcision of Christ," by which our old nature is cut away, not by hands, but by the Spirit (Col. 2:11). The separation from the sanctuary points to our separation from God, a gulf that we could never cross on our own.
And the sacrifices, the lamb and the turtledove, point to the ultimate sacrifice. Mary brought her two birds for her purification, but she also brought the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Jesus is our burnt offering, the one who offered Himself in perfect, complete devotion to the Father. And Jesus is our sin offering, the one whose blood cleanses us, not from ceremonial uncleanness, but from all sin (1 John 1:7).
Because of His birth, His life, His death, and His resurrection, the entire ceremonial system is fulfilled and set aside. We are no longer made unclean by childbirth or menstruation or touching a dead body. In Christ, there is no longer male or female, for all are one in Him. The curtain of the temple has been torn in two. We are not kept out for forty or eighty days; we are invited to "draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water" (Heb. 10:22).
The law of Leviticus 12 was a heavy reminder of the curse. But it was also a hopeful signpost pointing to the one who would be born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption as sons (Gal. 4:4-5). He entered into our uncleanness that we might be clothed in His perfect cleanness. He became a curse for us, so that in Him, the blessing of childbirth, and every other good gift, might be received with clean hands and a pure heart.