Lev. 15: Mr. Diarrhea, Meet Mrs. Menses

Well, I've heard it. You've heard it. "The Bible is full or beautiful stories that will draw you to God."

The fifteenth chapter of Leviticus is probably one of those not-too-often preached books, as it is just gross. That aside, it is also very practical. Also, it uses a medical word that always made me cringe when I heard it: discharge. *Shudder*

Anyway, let's dig in. I have devised a Discharge FAQ.

What is made unclean by a man (Israelite) with these...discharges?

• The bed upon which he lays
• Anything upon which he sits or rides
  
• Anyone who touches any of the above
• Any person upon which he spits...yep.

So what happens here?

• The toucher, along with any of the above articles or garments are unclean until evening.

Oh, no! I'm unclean as a result of this, what do I do?

• Wash your clothes
• Bathe with water
• Clay pots must be broken
• Wooden items must be rinsed with water

How does Discharge Man become clean?

I don't know. Just kidding. It says so in the Bible starting with verse 13. But you should know by now the drill.

• Wash his clothes
• Bathe with water
• Count off the standard seven days
• Then there is slight deviation, in that the person has to bring two doves or pigeons...one as a sin offering, and one as a guilt offering. This would lead me to believe that an infectious disease or a discharge would be the result of some kind of a sin. Right? If there was a sin offering as part of the cleansing rigmarole.

Verses 16 and 17 presumably refer to masturbation, or at the very least a nocturnal emission. This passage gives me the idea that masturbation is an unclean act, as there are factions that defend it as permissible, if the mind doesn't wander to sexual fantasies. Whether that is true or not, an ejaculation makes the man unclean. A sin though? Verse 18 is about sex between a man and a woman, and that both of them and their garments (if stained) would be unclean until the evening. Is this sex for fun? Why would sex make someone unclean? Is this not how sex was intended?

If a man is having sex with a menstruating woman, and gets her blood on him, that makes him unclean as well.

If a woman is menstuating, or has any other bleeding or discharge, anything she touches, in a way simliar to the man with a discharge described above will be considered unclean. Any articles must be washed, and the toucher will be unclean til evening.

There is also atonement parameters for this. A sin and a burnt offering is made for her discharge. I don't think that would be for her monthly period, probably for the other discharge, outside of her period.

These people were not allowed to enter the Tent of Meeting, as God explains in verse 31. The Israelites were again called to be a separate people. These practices were meant to protect, and to separate.