Leviticus 15 Devotional

A Holy God Living Close

“You must keep the children of Israel separate from their uncleanness, so that they do not die by defiling My tabernacle, which is among them.”Leviticus 15:31 (BSB)

This chapter speaks plainly about bodily discharges, some unusual and some an ordinary part of life for men and women. Many are cleared by washing and waiting until evening (15:16-18). Longer conditions require counting seven days and bringing two birds to the priest (15:13-15, 28-30). The chapter is frank without being contemptuous of the body.

Its closing verses give the reason for it all. God's tabernacle stands among his people, and to defile it would bring death, so Israel must be kept separate from their uncleanness (15:31). The issue is not that God is far away. He has come so close that everyday bodily life now matters in his presence. Mark tells of a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years, the kind of condition this chapter describes (15:25). She touched Jesus' cloak and was healed, and he called her daughter and sent her away in peace (Mark 5:25-34). In Jesus, holiness came near to make people whole. You can bring him what you would hide from everyone else.

To think about: What part of your life have you kept hidden from God, assuming it is too ordinary or too shameful to bring to him?