Clean and unclean

Leviticus talks a lot about what is clean and what is unclean. While Exodus pointed to the fact that God is holy, Leviticus is concerned with how the Israelites can keep themselves holy.

There are rules for purification, rules for skin diseases, rules for mould. Rules so that the people would see that there is a difference between clean and unclean. Some of it was quite sensible and helpful in that it would keep contagious diseases out of the community. A few things didn't make much sense to me.

One interesting note was about the scape goat. In Leviticus 16, on the Day of Atonement:

6 "Aaron is to offer the bull for his own sin offering to make atonement for himself and his household. 7 Then he is to take the two goats and present them before the LORD at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. 8 He is to cast lots for the two goats—one lot for the LORD and the other for the scapegoat. 9 Aaron shall bring the goat whose lot falls to the LORD and sacrifice it for a sin offering. 10 But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the LORD to be used for making atonement by sending it into the desert as a scapegoat.

There is a lot of sacrifice with blood spoken of in these early books. Looking forward to Jesus, we can see that Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice.
So one goat plays the sacrifice role, and one escapes the sacrifice and one is removed to the desert, never to be seen again. So there is the sacrifice and the removal of sins. Not a happy day for either goat though, I would think!

There is a lot of talk about blood, as I mentioned. One rule is that you can't eat the blood.

Leviticus 17:10 " 'Any Israelite or any alien living among them who eats any blood—I will set my face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from his people. 11 For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life. 12 Therefore I say to the Israelites, "None of you may eat blood, nor may an alien living among you eat blood."

I'm not very keen on eating blood myself, and don't think I would need to be told! But it says a number of times that the life of a creature is in the blood. Now, obviously, if we don't have blood, we don't have life. But is there more than that?

Another line that caught my eye was in Leviticus 19:

14 " 'Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but fear your God. I am the LORD.

For those that are already down, those that are already weak, don't make things worse for them. We should always be seeking to lift up, not push down.