We just started watching the show “House,” starring Hugh Laurie. The format of the show is great. Dr. House and his team of doctors have an unusual medical case, they gather around to look at symptoms and come up with one or more diagnoses, and then begin treatment. Sometimes they get it right the first time but other times it takes more attempts to get to the root cause of what is happening.
Leviticus 14-18 has a lot of talk about uncleanliness, disease, mold, and purification processes involving doves, blood, hyssop branches, oil, scapegoats, washing, shaving, bathing, and waiting. Dr. House would have a field day trying to diagnose these issues and have some interesting and controversial ways to treat them.
The issues laid out in Leviticus being unclean and the purification rituals laid out are not only loaded with symbolism (too much to get into), but they also cut straight to the root cause of everything that they were faced with.
So, if a person had sinned or touched anything associated with brokenness and death (such as a corpse or mold in a house), it ruled them “unclean,” tainted by death.
The process of purification from uncleanliness was basically acting out where the touch of death was “washed off” to make them right with God and bring them back into the community whole and complete. Plus, if the person had sinned, there were also sacrifices needed.
This is not a prescription for us to deal with uncleanliness by sacrificing doves or shaving our heads, but to recognize the fact that through Jesus’ sacrifice, he fulfilled the law of cleansing and atonement once and for all and he showers us with unending grace. His mercy is new every morning, and that is an easy pill to swallow.
Questions for reflection:
- What parallel symbolism did you see in the purification processes and the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross?
- How does this passage affect your thoughts on God and how he deals with sin in your own life?