Commentary - Leviticus 15:19-24

Bird's-eye view

This section of Leviticus 15 addresses the ceremonial uncleanness associated with a woman's regular menstrual cycle. It is crucial that we read this not with a modern, therapeutic mindset, but with ancient covenantal eyes. The central issue is not hygiene, nor is it a statement about the intrinsic worth or sinfulness of women. The issue is life and death, and their proximity to the holy presence of God in the Tabernacle. Blood is the symbol of life, and its flow, apart from a sacrifice for sin, represents life draining away, a picture of our fallen condition under the curse of death. These laws, therefore, were a constant, tangible reminder to Israel that they were a people surrounded by death and decay, and that they could not approach a holy God on their own terms. Everything touched by this sign of the curse becomes unclean, spreading the reminder throughout the household. This intricate system was a tutor, an audio-visual aid, designed to make them long for a final, perfect cleansing that could not be accomplished by water and waiting, but only by the shed blood of the Messiah who would conquer death itself.

The regulations are specific and far-reaching in their temporary effect, rendering the woman, her bed, her furniture, and anyone who touches them ceremonially unclean. This was not punitive but didactic. It taught Israel that the consequences of the fall permeate every aspect of ordinary life. The law concerning the man who lies with her, while seemingly harsh, underscores the seriousness of this symbolic framework. The entire system was designed to build a deep theological instinct within the people: holiness is separate from uncleanness, life is separate from death, and God's presence is glorious, dangerous, and cannot be trifled with. All of it points forward to the woman whose Son would be born of her blood, and whose own blood would cleanse His people from all uncleanness, once and for all.

Outline

Context In Leviticus

Leviticus 15 is the culmination of a four-chapter block (Leviticus 12-15) dealing with various forms of ceremonial uncleanness that arise from the human body. Chapter 12 dealt with childbirth, chapter 13 with skin diseases, chapter 14 with the cleansing of those diseases, and now chapter 15 addresses discharges. These are not, in the main, issues of sin. A woman's cycle is not sinful; childbirth is a blessing. Rather, they are all potent reminders of the fallenness of our bodies. We are creatures of flesh and blood, subject to decay, disease, and death. In a world where the holy, eternal God has pitched His tent in the middle of the camp, this distinction between the holy and the common, the clean and the unclean, was of paramount importance. These laws functioned as a kind of spiritual immune system for the nation, preventing them from treating God's presence casually. This chapter sets the stage for the Day of Atonement in chapter 16, where the uncleanness of the entire nation, both moral and ceremonial, is dealt with through substitutionary sacrifice, providing the ultimate answer to the problem so vividly illustrated here.

Key Issues

Life and Death in the Camp of God

To understand these laws, we must first get our bearings. The modern world thinks in terms of germs and hygiene, or worse, in terms of personal autonomy and offense. The ancient Israelite was being trained to think in terms of symbols, types, and shadows. God was teaching His people a fundamental lesson about reality: He is holy, and the world is not. He is life, and the world is under a sentence of death.

Every flow of blood, every bodily discharge, every skin disease was a small picture of the grave. It was a reminder of the curse in Genesis 3. Our bodies are not what they were meant to be; they are breaking down. Blood is the stuff of life, as the law states elsewhere (Lev. 17:11). When it flows where it ought not, or in a way that signifies a loss of potential life, it is a powerful symbol of death at work. Because the holy God, the author of life, was dwelling in their midst, these symbols of death could not be allowed near His sanctuary without a prescribed process of cleansing and waiting. This was not because a woman's period is "icky," but because it is a profound theological symbol of our mortal condition. The laws were a tangible, weekly and monthly sermon preached to every household, declaring, "You are unclean, and you need a cleansing you cannot provide for yourselves."

Verse by Verse Commentary

19 ‘If a woman has a discharge, and her discharge in her body is blood, she shall continue in her menstrual impurity for seven days; and whoever touches her shall be unclean until evening.

The law begins with a simple statement of fact, a biological reality. This is a normal, recurring event in the life of a woman. The text does not attach any moral fault to it. The term is menstrual impurity. This is a ceremonial, not a moral, category. The duration is set at seven days, a number signifying completion or perfection throughout Scripture. For one complete week, she is in a state that represents the brokenness of the fallen world. The contagion is immediate: anyone who touches her becomes unclean for the remainder of the day, "until evening." This established a clear boundary, a reminder that the effects of the fall are communicable. Uncleanness is the default state; holiness must be guarded.

20 Everything also on which she lies during her menstrual impurity shall be unclean, and everything on which she sits shall be unclean.

The state of uncleanness is not limited to her person. It extends to the common objects of her daily life, her bed and her chair. This is a crucial part of the lesson. The curse of sin and death is not an abstract theological concept; it permeates our environment. It gets into our furniture. It affects everything we touch. The Israelites were being taught that you cannot compartmentalize life. The reality of their mortal condition was something they slept on and sat on. There was no escaping the reminder that they lived in a world that needed redemption from top to bottom.

21 And anyone who touches her bed shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening.

Here the law addresses secondary contact. Not only is the person who touches the woman unclean, but so is the one who touches the things she has touched. The remedy is prescribed: washing clothes and bathing. This is a ritual cleansing, a symbolic act. Water cannot wash away sin or death, but it can and did serve as a powerful picture of the cleansing that God requires and provides. The uncleanness, again, is temporary, lasting until evening. The sun goes down on the old day, and a new day begins. This daily rhythm of becoming unclean and then clean again by evening was a constant rehearsal of the gospel pattern: confession and cleansing, repentance and renewal.

22 And whoever touches any thing on which she sits shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening.

This verse simply repeats the principle of verse 21, applying it to any other furniture she might sit on. The repetition serves for emphasis and clarity. There are no loopholes in this symbolic system. Whether a bed or a stool, the principle is the same. The contagion of our fallenness is thorough. This is why the Pharisees, who misunderstood the point of all this, became obsessed with washing pots and pans. They turned a powerful symbol pointing to our need for a Savior into a soul-crushing system of self-righteousness. Jesus came to wash our hearts, not just our hands.

23 Whether it be on the bed or on the thing on which she is sitting, when he touches it, he shall be unclean until evening.

This is a summary statement, a concluding reiteration of the principle of secondary transfer. It closes the loop, ensuring the Israelites understood the pervasive nature of this ceremonial uncleanness. It is as though God is saying, "Do you see? Do you see how far this reaches? This is what your condition is like before me. You need a deep and abiding cleansing."

24 If a man actually lies with her so that her menstrual impurity is on him, he shall be unclean seven days, and every bed on which he lies shall be unclean.

This final verse addresses a more direct and intimate contact. If a man has sexual relations with his wife during this time, her impurity is transferred to him in a more significant way. His uncleanness is not for a day, but for the full seven days. He takes on the full term of her separation. Furthermore, the contagion now spreads from him to any bed he lies on. This was a strong disincentive, teaching the husband to honor this time of separation. It was not primarily about hygiene, but about respecting the potent symbol of life and death that was at the center of their covenant life. It taught a man to treat his wife not merely as an object for his pleasure, but as a fellow participant in the covenant drama of redemption. His participation in her uncleanness was a picture of a husband's headship, sharing in the condition of his wife. And all of it points to Christ, our true husband, who was not afraid to touch us in our uncleanness, taking our filth upon Himself on the cross, so that He might make us, His bride, holy and without blemish.

Application

For the Christian, these ceremonial laws have been gloriously fulfilled and therefore abrogated. Christ is our purity. The woman with the issue of blood for twelve years touched the hem of His garment and was made clean instantly (Mark 5:25-34). He did not become unclean; she became clean. He is the source of all cleansing, the fountain of life who reverses the flow of death. We are no longer bound to separate ourselves or wash our clothes in this manner. To return to these practices would be to deny the finished work of Jesus.

However, the lesson these laws taught remains. We must never lose the theological instinct they were designed to create. We live in a world that is shot through with the effects of the fall. We ourselves are creatures who are dying. Our only hope is in a radical, external cleansing that comes from God Himself. We must not approach God casually. We come to Him only through the blood of Jesus Christ, which cleanses us from all sin and all uncleanness. These ancient laws should cultivate in us a deep gratitude for the profound and complete cleansing we have in the gospel. They were the shadow; Christ is the substance. They were the constant, messy reminder of the problem; Jesus is the clean, perfect, and final solution.