“Be ye holy, for I am holy” – Leviticus 11:44 & 1 Peter 1:16.

In Genesis, we started with Adam in the Garden of Eden / Paradise, and God walked there with him – Genesis 3:8-10. Adam lost Paradise through sin. But later, God established the Tabernacle in the Wilderness as the place where He would meet with man; this would subsequently become the Holy Temple at Jerusalem. These were prophetic types of God’s heavenly dwelling place with man, which will come to Paradise on the renewed earth – Hebrews 8:5 & Revelation 2:7.

As we must be holy to enter that future Paradise on earth, so we must indicate our quest for holiness through symbols of holiness to enter the Tabernacle / Temple of this present earth.

The general subject of the past several chapters has been distinguishing between clean and unclean. (Leviticus 9:10) “To make a distinction between the holy and the profane, and between the unclean and the clean”. We have studied purification for ordination to the priesthood, kashrut – what is clean for food, and tzaraat – uncleanness for slander,

The subject today is . . . purification represented by immersion in a mikvah (baptism). This immersion is a non-public act of going into a stream or pool of water, without any clothing, jewelry, hair ties, etc. Another person may accompany the one being immersed for purposes of safety and verification of total immersion. Immersions may be performed as groups of men or groups of women.

In preparation for entering the mikvah, one states his purpose (such as: to certify purification from a certain tumah / impurity). John the baptizer preached “the baptism of repentance for remission of sins” – Mark 1:4 & Luke 3:3: this was properly to be performed every year during the forty days preceding Yom haKippurim / the Day of the Atonements.

Upon ascending from the mikvah, one must put on clean clothes. (Leviticus 15:5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13, 16, 18, 21, 22, 27) “Shall wash his clothes and bathe in water”. “In like figure (a symbolic representation of purification) even baptism does now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the response of a pure conscience toward God)” – 1 Peter 3:21.

Of the three categories of commandments (judgments, ordinances, and statutes), baptism is one of the ordinances – acts we perform to portray spiritual truths. Paul told gentiles at Corinth to “keep the ordinances” – 1 Corinthians 11:2.

More was lost with Paradise than we begin to understand. Common elements of eating and reproducing became involved with death: animals and man kill to eat, and the reproductive processes bring about more death than life. Some of the male and female “emissions” referred to in this chapter are the results of unfulfilled new life, and others result from sickness: both categories have their origins in the sin of Adam. Thus their stains are not allowed in God’s presence. (Leviticus 15:31) “Thus you shall keep the sons of Israel separated from their uncleanness, lest they die in their uncleanness by their defiling My tabernacle that is among them.”

Adam and Eve, who were presumably the most beautiful people ever, and were healthy enough to live more than 900 years – they had three sons in 130 years. On the basis of present conditions, they could have been expected to have a child about once a year. Did they have 127 daughters in that time? (Can you imagine Adam, with a wife and 127 daughters, living more than 900 years? :) The conclusion is that we lost, in the fall, more than we understand.

This should be a clue for us, concerning the holiness of God: not only sin itself, but even the results in us of the fall, must be cured before we can enter His presence. “Who may ascend into the hill of Yahweh? And who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood, and has not sworn deceitfully. He shall receive a blessing from Yahweh, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is the generation of those who seek Him, Who seek Thy face — even Jacob. Selah” – Psalm 24:3-6 (In the triennial Torah reading cycle used during Second Temple times, Psalm 24 is sung on the Sabbath preceding Yom haKippurim).

(Psalm 80:19) “O Yahweh God of hosts, restore us; cause Thy face to shine upon us, and we will be saved.”

(Philippians 3:20-21) “For our citizenship is in heaven, from whence also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Yeshua the Messiah;  who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory”.

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also – John 14:3.

And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God – Revelation 21:1-3.

And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of its street, and on each side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bore twelve kinds of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him – Revelation 22:1-3.

Leviticus 15 is arranged as a chiasmus (parallel statements, inverted order): they ascend from abnormal to marital, then descend to abnormal.

Seven days after an abnormal discharge is healed, and following immersion in a mikvah, bird offerings must be taken to the priest. In the case of a metzorah, the penitent’s sin was public, and the animal offering was public; it is commendable for a person to display repentance. In the cases in view here, the uncleanness was private, and the bird offerings are performed by a priest, not making the giver public.

[Any female discharge beyond seven days is considered abnormal, and the Biblical rules for abnormal would apply. Because the Talmud (Niddah 66a) states that it is often difficult to determine when a woman is niddah (normal discharge) and when she is zavah (abnormal discharge), Orthodox Jewry applies the much more stringent zavah rules to both.]

Many people like to perceive these commandments as applicable only to a people of a distant past: if so, if it is ridiculous for us, why would it have been sensible for anyone? These are ordinances – from the category of commandments to perform acts to show spiritual truths. They are part of His unchanging Torah – instruction to His creation.

“The  priests have done violence to My law and have profaned My holy things; they have made no distinction between the holy and the profane, and they have not taught the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they hide their eyes from My Sabbaths, and I am profaned among them” - Ezekiel 22:26.

These instructions will not be accepted by those who think they are “saved” (from what?) by “I believe”, and feel free to live like the rest of the world. They are for those of us who wish to show sorrow for having fallen into sin, and desire to go back to Eden – the promised Paradise. They represent holiness.

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