Leviticus 12

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Read Leviticus 12

Purification After Childbirth

12 The Lord said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites: ‘A woman who becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son will be ceremonially unclean for seven days, just as she is unclean during her monthly period. On the eighth day the boy is to be circumcised. Then the woman must wait thirty-three days to be purified from her bleeding. She must not touch anything sacred or go to the sanctuary until the days of her purification are over. If she gives birth to a daughter, for two weeks the woman will be unclean, as during her period. Then she must wait sixty-six days to be purified from her bleeding.

“‘When the days of her purification for a son or daughter are over, she is to bring to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting a year-old lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a dove for a sin offering. He shall offer them before the Lord to make atonement for her, and then she will be ceremonially clean from her flow of blood.

“‘These are the regulations for the woman who gives birth to a boy or a girl. But if she cannot afford a lamb, she is to bring two doves or two young pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for her, and she will be clean.’”

Go Deeper

At first glance much of what we see in Leviticus looks like rules and regulations for the Israelites to follow (and more specifically, the priests). The book, however, is an unfolding of the divine-human relationship that became manifest on Sinai. This chapter continues to instruct the people how to deal with sin and impurity so that the Lord can dwell in their midst.

This chapter, on its surface, talks about rules surrounding the time after childbirth when a male child is born (v. 1-4) and circumcision, a female newborn (v. 5), and the length of time the mother is unclean and how to atone at the end of that time (v. 6-8). Going deeper, this chapter is more about having a mediator for one’s sin. From the perspective of the context of the book (within the Pentateuch) Moses has become the mediator between the people and the Lord, and the text outlines how the priests become the mediator in addition to Moses.

We see in Luke 2:22-24 that Jesus’ family still followed these rules, and as a poor family offered only a pair of turtledoves at birth. This part of His life story tells us much about who He was and what He came to give us as a living sacrifice. F.B. Meyer, the 19th century English minister said this about this passage and Jesus’ (and Mary and Joseph’s) obedience to the Law:

“What a glimpse into our Master’s humiliation! He owned the cattle on a thousand hills, yet He so emptied Himself that His parents were compelled to bring the poorest offering the law allowed. He stooped that we might rise; emptied Himself that we might be full; became poor that we might be made rich; was made human that we might be made Divine.”

Jesus became our mediator, and took away the rules surrounding our having to “do something” to earn atonement for our sins. We are simply saved by grace, and what a wonderful testimony we have thanks to Jesus.

Questions

  1. How can we give over areas of our uncleanliness, where we can “let go and let God”? 
  2. What is your testimony when it comes to telling how Jesus atoned for your sin, and gave you abounding grace? 
  3. What ritual do you have that is keeping you from God? 

Pray This

Make this your prayer today in response to the lessons from Leviticus: 

Heavenly Father, how I praise and thank You for the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ. Thank You that He was the sacrifice for my sin and that You act on my account as my heavenly High as the full and final payment for all my sin and the sin of the world. Thank You for what the book of Leviticus helps me to understand what Christ has done for me. It is so wonderful to know that by grace through faith in Him, my sin has been forgiven, once and for all. The power of sin in my life was defeated at the Cross, and the presence of my sinful nature will be finally gone forever when I see Him face to face. Thank You, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

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6 thoughts on “Leviticus 12”

  1. Details
    More details, BUT GOD has a reason and a purpose for all. Some are more difficult to understand, as there is not a clear explantion of why, BUT GOD gave us His word to help us better ourselves. 1 Peter 1:15-16: “But as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy'”
    Holiness
    We are to stive to be holy because God is holy. All things that pertain to life and godliness. 2 Peter 1:3-4
    “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence. By which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature”
    This is why.

    God thank You for having all the answers to all the questions in Your Word. Sometimes it is confusing and is not a black and white explanation BUT GOD You love and desire me to be Your child and to come to You with that child like faith. Matthew 18:3, which states, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. God thank You for the precious and great promises that pertain to life and godliness that I may believe and obey so that I become a partaker of Your divine nature. God thank You that I can be Your hands and feet today in the minutes of this day, You have given me. God thank You for loving words, kind actions, and changing my mind to Your will in Jesus name amen.
    WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  2. “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6
    Rather than causing our own iniquities, sin, and guilt to come to us, God in His mercy has caused instead these wrongdoings to fall upon Jesus who bore our sin. May we never treat casually what Christ died for.

  3. 6 “she is to bring to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting a year-old lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a dove for a sin offering.”

    Interesting that the mother alone is responsible for the offerings. What about the father’s offerings?

  4. Once again I’m reminded God’s proscriptions for His people were for their protection. One commentary likens this period to modern-day maternity leave. Imagine mother saying, “Sorry dear, but I just can’t  take care of the other kids, cook a meal, do the dishes… I’m unclean! You all are just going to have to fend for yourselves a few weeks longer…”

    When our third child was born, I was a SAHM – so, no official mat leave for me – but oh, how I treasured my two days of postpartum hospital care! Nothing to do but read or watch TV, have all my meals brought in when I was hungry … and my son brought to me when he was. And then have him returned to the nursery so we both could get some sleep.

    These biblical directives for postpartum care offered some serious advantages.

    Not the least of which would have been – at a time when most women would not have had much say in the matter – a “hands off to hubby” sign. (IOW, when the wife is unclean, the husband is forbidden to touch her, which protected the new mom from the risk of postpartum infection.) Dad was commanded to keep even his distance!

    What a beautiful reflection of God‘s perfect plan for righteous living. These weeks of marital abstinence were both an act of physical self-restraint AND spiritual obedience – a sacrificial offering on the part of dear husband that simultaneously blessed his wife and honored his God.

    How often do I insist on my own comfort or serve my own flesh – only at someone else’s expense? How much sin has its roots in selfishness!

    Meanwhile, there are all the “birth of a child” offerings. One commentary I found describes them as an act of thanksgiving – gratitude for safe delivery through pregnancy and childbirth – and atonement for “symbolically bringing another sinner into the world.”

    A biblical scholar friend describes them as an opportunity to bend the knee in the presence of so much blood. Bloodshed was considered serious business back then. It seems fitting God’s people would have responded to it as an act of reverence with a comparable blood offering. That is, the gift of new life – produced only through human bloodshed – was consecrated with symbolic bloodshed.

    I’m awed and amazed that while God did not need people to help him make more people, still he chose to allow us to participate with him, fully and intimately, in the creation of new human life. The entire process points us back to original sin … and forward to full intimacy with God.

    For us mortals, everything having to do with bringing life into the world is both messy … and miraculous.

    What would life look like if we faithfully brought offerings to God that reflected this complexity?

    Gracious Lord, 
    Forgive me all my mess.
    Thank you for your “miraculous.”

    For more commentary, see https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/leviticus-12/

  5. Diane Frances Rogers

    Leviticus presents God’s outline of ritualistic laws and practices it would take to cleanse ourselves from our sin. I am thankful that Jesus takes away the sin of the world and I do not have to contend with rituals.

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