Leviticus 10-12 To have discernment
You must know the difference between the sacred and the profane, the ritually pure and the impure and teach the people of Israel the directives, which I have revealed to them through Moses. (Leviticus 10:10-11)
From this verse, I learned that we are called to tell right from wrong. Discernment and wisdom are essential.
If any food in the container that is ready to eat is touched by water, then the food becomes impure. Any drink from a contaminated container will become impure as well. If any part of a dead body touches something-say, an oven or stove-then that oven or stove must be destroyed. They are impure and will always be impure to you. However if a carcass falls into a spring or a container accumulating water, the water will be ritually pure because it is continually renewed. But the person who pulls the carcass out of the water will be ritually impure. If any part of the dead body has contact with a seed that is to be planted, then the seed remains ritually pure because it is dry. But if the seed becomes wet and any part of a dead body touches it, then the seed is ritually impure. (Leviticus 11:34-38)
These verses got some spiritual meaning behind literal words. I remember Jesus said that it was not the food that you put in your mouth that made you impure but rather what came from the heart. It is interesting to see that a seed is an exception from being impure once touched by the contaminated thing. A seed has been used to describe as a person's faith. We also say to plant seeds of faith in one's heart. If the seed is right, nothing can make it impure. But if the seed got wet, meaning if got wrong motivation or weak foundation, then it became impure. All the impure things also mean that things that are not right for us in life, once we get into touch with them, we tend to go astray and our heart isn't in the right place anymore. We are called to have discernment to stop those "impure" things to influencing our lives.
Go, talk with the Israelites, and tell them, "If a woman conceives and gives birth to a boy, then she will be ritually unclean for seven days, just like she is unclean when she is menstruating. (Leviticus 12-2)
But if the woman gives birth to a girl she will be ritually unclean for 14 days-just like she is unclean when she is menstruating. She must wait 66 days for her purification from bleeding to be complete.
(Leviticus 12:5)
It is hard to swallow these verses as a woman. It is very misogynistic. I suppose this was written because of sanitary or hygienic reasons by men, because back then there were no hygienic products to help women go through menstruation every month and after birth. It must have been a bloody mess that could be quite alarming. I can imagine women back then must have been staying at home a lot during those times. Menstruation itself isn't dirty. It is a natural cycle which means fertility and we should celebrate it.
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