Unclean (Leviticus)

First of all, condolences to the Alberastine family for their loss. May God fulfill His promise and reunite them with their loved ones in eternity.

** note that i've only read up to Lev. 15, so there maybe some things that i might have gotten wrong.

Reading through the extensive laws of Exodus and Leviticus was getting pretty boring. but then something clicked in last night. from Exodus to Leviticus 10, there are extensive laws about animal sacrifices and atonement for sin. reading through them, you realize how serious God is about sin and how He wants you to atone for even the smallest sin that you might not know about. (Lev. 4:13 - a congregation is still guilty for unintentional sin). on top of that you have your different kinds of offerings to atone for different kinds of sins:
- Sin offering
- trespass offering
- peace offering
how the offerings are carried out:
- wave offering
- burnt offering

but then when you get to Leviticus 11 and onward, the laws seem to become more practical. and what i mean about practical, is that it talks about uncleanliness. i maybe wrong, but i suspect that uncleanness is not a sin. but even though uncleanness is not a sin, atonement is still needed:
Lev 12 -> a woman is unclean when giving birth so she must go through purification and be cleansed by an offering.
Lev 14:10-21 -> offering is needed to cleanse leprosy.
Lev 14:52 -> the blood of a bird is needed to cleanse a house.
Lev 11 -> of course is about unclean foods... although i have not found examples of atonement needed.

so, by studying these laws, i try and imagine Jesus replacing these sacrifices. It is much better now that we do not need the blood of animals to atone for our sins, but some Christian churches preach that uncleanness is a thing of the past. but what if uncleanness still exists today. what if cancer is the leprosy of today? how often do we ask Jesus to cleanse us from the sicknesses and uncleanness of today? Instead of relying on the blood of animals, we now have Jesus to cleanse us from sin and uncleanness!


Besides the cleansing by blood, Leviticus states practical laws to go about dealing with uncleanness:
Lev. 13 -> isolate the sick so that it does not spread.
Lev. 11:24 -> don't touch dead animals. (theyre swimming with disease.)
Lev 14:33-47 -> if a house is infested with a plague, take out the stones of the walls, scrape the surfaces, and plaster the house. if all else fails, break down the house and discard everything in an unclean place.

so, Lev. not only states a practical way of dealing with plague and uncleanness, but it also tells you to rely on God to cleanse.