BE HOLY, BECAUSE GOD IS HOLY
Key verse: 45
NIV
Purification After Childbirth
12 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “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.(A) 3 On the eighth day(B) the boy is to be circumcised.(C) 4 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. 5 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.
6 “‘When the days of her purification for a son or daughter are over,(D) she is to bring to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting a year-old lamb(E) for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a dove for a sin offering.[a](F)
Footnotes
- Leviticus 12:6 Or purification offering; also in verse 8
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway
ESV
Purification After Childbirth
12 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, If a woman conceives and bears a male child, then (A)she shall be unclean seven days. (B)As at the time of her menstruation, she shall be unclean. 3 And on the (C)eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. 4 Then she shall continue for thirty-three days in the blood of her purifying. She shall not touch anything holy, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying are completed. 5 But if she bears a female child, then she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her menstruation. And she shall continue in the blood of her purifying for sixty-six days.
6 (D)“And when the days of her purifying are completed, whether for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting a lamb a year old for a burnt offering, and a pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering,
Read full chapterThe Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway
1. Consecrate yourselves and be holy (11:44-47)
Chapters 11-15 tell us that God demands cleanness and purity of his people. The regulations about clean and unclean animals were canceled by Jesus (Mk 7:14-23). But the principle is still valid. God wants us to have pure hearts, clean hands and chaste bodies. Letting our minds dwell on lewd things makes us unclean. God wants us to consecrate ourselves to him.
2. The purpose of ceremonial cleansing (12:1-15:33)
No person is an island. Each life affects the lives of others. Chapters 12-15 describe how unclean persons may be cleansed and restored to the community. Jesus' parents obeyed the regulations of chapter 12. Sin is an infectious disease. No person's sinful life is only a personal matter. He influences society. So the community must take seriously both contagious diseases and moral pollution. The priest was responsible for keeping the community clean.
Prayer: Lord, purify my heart and life by the blood of Jesus. Help us to stop the moral pollution of our times.
One Word: Be holy as God is holy
