Dirty Talk!

Leviticus
13
– 15

In these chapters the main focus is on skin diseases and
emissions. I find it interesting that today if we contracted leprosy, our first
stop would be the doctor. During this time the priests were trained to
recognize the problem so the person could be quarantined. This protected the
nation from a rampant infection.

Verses 13:38 & 39 talk about an instance of what is
done:

38 If a man
or a woman discovers bright shiny spots on the skin, including
bright white ones, 39 the priest must check them
out. And if he determines that the bright spots on the skin
are pale, this is only a minor skin rash; the person is clean.

The Law goes into great detail on how these instances must
be contained and handled since there was no real treatment. The goal was to
contain the infected and ensure the greater population’s safety. The priest
therefore needed to be trained and skilled in determining if this was a danger
or not. So we get chapter after chapter detailing skin problems and what to do
when identified. Unfortunately I glossed over much of this since skin problems
today may be treated by a dermatologist, but most seems to repeat itself. I did
not see a huge difference between the various skin conditions discussed.

Verse 13:56 highlights a section concerning clothing and
other items we may be in contact with:

But if the priest examines it, and
the affected area has faded after it has been washed, the priest must rip the
affected material out of the garment, leather, or woven or knitted material.

There is great detail to ensure their clothing is clean
also, to the point of inspection. Many skin problems are contracted from
contact with clothing that has mildewed or rotted. Again modern cleaning
techniques have developed to ensure this does not happen, but we often leave
wet stuff in our gym back for too long and have to throw it out.  I find it interesting how much emphasis there
is on ensuring the nation is safe from disease. This is much of why I believe
the nation of Israel has become targets, for example instead of adopting the
Jews habits during the black plague, people died and detested the Jews for
remaining healthy.

Verse 15:16 gets to the things that really matter:

 If a man
ejaculates, then he must bathe his whole body with water and remain impure
until dusk.

Now we get to be sophomoric and see how many times I can use
“ejaculate” in a paragraph. I often wonder if they were talking about nocturnal
ejaculations or manual ejaculations, since later it discusses ejaculations
while in bed with a woman. This makes me wonder, since that ejaculation will
keep them impure until dusk implying activity during the day was normal. I
wonder what is in the ejaculated semen that makes it impure. I can’t do this
anymore!!

I think the point is to ensure purity throughout the nation
and its people. The point is not to make these emissions wrong per-se but
rather to ensure people remain clean at all times. These details are not to
show the sexual side of man, but rather to show how much God cared for His
people that every last detail is spelled out. No matter how uncomfortable it
makes us today, these are natural functions that need to be addressed.

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