Making Leviticus Matter

Leviticus, the book where attempts to read through the Bible in a year die. The initial rush of enthusiasm lasts through Genesis, with its primeval history and patriarchal narratives, rides the emotional high of Exodus 1–20, struggles through the legal and tabernacle material that comprises the rest of the book… and then slams into a wall with Leviticus.

Law after law follows, often—though hardly only—connected with ritual purity and cleanliness. For example:

And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying to them, “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, “These are the living things that you may eat among all the animals that are on the earth. Whatever parts the hoof and is cloven-footed and chews the cud, among the animals, you may eat. Nevertheless, among those that chew the cud or part the hoof, you shall not eat these: The camel, because it chews the cud but does not part the hoof, is unclean to you. And the rock badger, because it chews the cud but does not part the hoof, is unclean to you. And the hare, because it chews the cud but does not part the hoof, is unclean to you. And the pig, because it parts the hoof and is cloven-footed but does not chew the cud, is unclean to you. You shall not eat any of their flesh, and you shall not touch their carcasses; they are unclean to you. These you may eat, of all that are in the waters. Everything in the waters that has fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the rivers, you may eat. But anything in the seas or the rivers that does not have fins and scales, of the swarming creatures in the waters and of the living creatures that are in the waters, is detestable to you. You shall regard them as detestable; you shall not eat any of their flesh, and you shall detest their carcasses. Everything in the waters that does not have fins and scales is detestable to you.” (Leviticus 11:1–12)

What on earth can these laws mean, and why did God care? And why on earth should the reader in 2025 care, especially since bacon is now one of the delights of life? Some cleanliness laws may have been motivated by health concerns, but certainly not all, as plenty of unclean animals are safely eaten today, and could have been back then as well. How does the reader understand?

Three distinctions are at the heart of the holiness code, and the relationship between them unlocks the relevance of these laws: holy versus common, holy versus sinful, and clean versus unclean. Standing behind them all is God’s statement that God, the Lord, is holy: “Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am holy” (Lev. 11:44).

First, holy contrasts with common, a distinction that rarely occurs to the western reader, who typically thinks of only the second distinction, that of holiness verses sinfulness. The showbread, for instance, was simply bread. It could not be sinful or ethically pure, but it was holy because it was set apart to God. It could only be eaten by the consecrated priests and only in a holy place. Certain spaces, people, and times were set apart, made holy, to God. The Tabernacle and Temple had holy, more holy, and most holy spaces. The Levites and the priests, especially the high priest, were holy, set apart to the Lord. The sabbath was holy, set apart from the other days of the week.

Second, holy contrasts with sinful, the distinction most readers assume. Leviticus 19:1–4 equates holiness with keeping God’s commandments:

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and you shall keep my Sabbaths: I am the Lord your God. Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves any gods of cast metal: I am the Lord your God.” (Leviticus 19:1–4)

Here to be holy is to be set apart from sin, a separate distinction from the first. A high priest, holy by position, could still be a rotten sinner. Many, in fact, were! Yet that high priest could still be called holy in the sense of not being a common man. These senses were related, yet distinct, and the reader must understand which sense of the word “holy” is in view in any given passage in the book.

Third, clean contracts with unclean. Again, this is ritual cleanliness, not an antiseptic purity. To be unclean meant being unable to enter God’s presence, whereas to be clean meant being fit to enter before God. The rationale behind the determination that certain acts and foods were unclean is debated, but at some level seems to relate to the fullness of life. Clean items and foods were about life, and life in its abundant fullness, while unclean items and foods were, in some sense, e.g., carnivores, related to death. Blemished animals were inappropriate sacrifices because they did not show the fullness of life.

How do these three distinctions relate? The relationship between the three is symbolic. Uncleanness symbolizes both commonality and sin. The Israelites were called to be a separate people, called out from the nations, and the cleanliness laws emphasized that distinction:

You shall therefore keep all my statutes and all my rules and do them, that the land where I am bringing you to live may not vomit you out. And you shall not walk in the customs of the nation that I am driving out before you, for they did all these things, and therefore I detested them. But I have said to you, “You shall inherit their land, and I will give it to you to possess, a land flowing with milk and honey.” I am the Lord your God, who has separated you from the peoples. You shall therefore separate the clean beast from the unclean, and the unclean bird from the clean. You shall not make yourselves detestable by beast or by bird or by anything with which the ground crawls, which I have set apart for you to hold unclean. You shall be holy to me, for I the Lord am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine. (Leviticus 20:22–26)

Keeping the cleanliness laws, then, symbolized the separation of Israel from the other nations, God separating them as a nation that was a holy priesthood (Exodus 19:6), not common.

Similarly, uncleanliness symbolized sin. To be unclean was a symbol of human sinfulness, and to be clean was a symbol of holiness, in this sense an ethical holiness—being spiritually fit to enter into God’s presence. Importantly, uncleanness is the symbol of sin, not a sin itself, because Jesus will abolish the categories of clean and unclean. If to be unclean were, in and of itself, a sin, Jesus would not just do away with the distinction (see below), as he does not want people to sin. Deuteronomy 14:21 similarly shows that the distinction was symbolic, not actual: “You shall not eat anything that has died naturally. You may give it to the sojourner who is with your towns, that he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner. For you are a people holy to the Lord your God.” If the eating were a sin, God would not allow it to the foreigner, either, as he does not want anyone to sin.

What is the value of this symbolic relationship? Simply this: it was impossible to be a human being and not become unclean. Normal bodily functions would make anyone unclean at various times (Lev. 12:2–5, 15:1–3, 16–19). Uncleanness, then, was a teaching tool about human sinfulness, that just as all humans need their uncleanness washed away to be ritually fit enter God’s presence, so all humans need our sinfulness to be washed away to be morally fit to enter God’s presence. Cleanliness and uncleanliness manifested spiritual realities in the physical realm. Avoiding becoming unclean reminded Israel to strive to be holy.

We teach young children with object lessons, not abstract truths, as formal abstract reasoning only develops around ages 11–12. Reasoning through abstract truths does not work with a toddler, nor should it be expected to work. He or she is not ready for it. Galatians 3 speaks exactly this way of the law:

So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. (Galatians 3:24–26)

More specifically, in verse 24, Paul refers to the law as a pedagogue, a teacher. In Leviticus, the cleanliness laws taught Israel about the universality of human sinfulness. Yes, one should try to avoid becoming unclean, but even with the very best efforts, it was guaranteed to occur, sooner or later. And so it was with sin—sin should be avoided as much as possible, but for a human being, sinlessness was simply not possible.

Once Jesus had come, however, Paul states that the pedagogue of the cleanliness laws would be expected to be removed. And the New Testament indicates exactly that:

And he called the people to him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.” And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” (Mark 7:14–23)

Peter learned the same lesson in his vision in Acts 10:

The next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray. And he became hungry and wanted something to eat, but while they were preparing it, he fell into a trance and saw the heavens opened and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners upon the earth. In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. And there came a voice to him: “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.” But Peter said, “By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.” And the voice came to him again a second time, “What God has made clean, do not call common.” This happened three times, and the thing was taken up at once to heaven. (Acts 10:9–16)

Immediately upon this vision, representatives from Cornelius, a Gentile, arrive asking for Peter, and Peter understands the vision to remove not only the cleanliness laws, but the distinction between Israel as holy and all other peoples as common:

So he invited them in to be his guests. The next day he rose and went away with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa accompanied him. And on the following day they entered Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. When Peter entered, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him. But Peter lifted him up, saying, “Stand up; I too am a man.” And as he talked with him, he went in and found many persons gathered. And he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean. So when I was sent for, I came without objection. I ask then why you sent for me.” (Acts 10:23–29)

Once Jesus had arrived, the symbols of the cleanliness laws had been fulfilled, so Christians no longer keep them, as—to use Paul’s language—in Christ Jesus, we are “sons of God, through faith.” We no longer follow the symbols. Instead, being no longer children, we follow the truth to whom they point.

By the time of Jesus, the law had become twisted. All the cleanliness laws worked to remind the Israelites that everyone would be unclean at times, that no one was by nature right to enter the presence of God. But what did the Pharisees do with this, as sin twisted the law? It did not take long for sinful people to twist the point. Instead of a teaching tool, the cleanliness laws became “don’t touch anyone unclean. Just make sure you’re personally clean. Don’t touch the poor and the outcast and the unclean.”

Just like with us today, Pharisaical religion often devolved to personal piety and became uncaring about all the others. Why did that occur? Because people forgot the point—everyone will be unclean.

But what did God do when he came down to earth? Jesus, our Lord and Savior, proclaimed freedom for the oppressed. In Luke 8, he both let a woman who had a discharge touch him and touched a dead body:

Now when Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. And there came a man named Jairus, who was a ruler of the synagogue. And falling at Jesus’ feet, he implored him to come to his house, for he had an only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying. As Jesus went, the people pressed around him. And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and though she had spent all her living on physicians, she could not be healed by anyone. She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, and immediately her discharge of blood ceased. And Jesus said, “Who was it that touched me?” When all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the crowds surround you and are pressing in on you!” But Jesus said, “Someone touched me, for I perceive that power has gone out from me.” And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.” While he was still speaking, someone from the ruler’s house came and said, “Your daughter is dead; do not trouble the Teacher any more.” But Jesus on hearing this answered him, “Do not fear; only believe, and she will be well.” And when he came to the house, he allowed no one to enter with him, except Peter and John and James, and the father and mother of the child. And all were weeping and mourning for her, but he said, “Do not weep, for she is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. But taking her by the hand he called, saying, “Child, arise.” And her spirit returned, and she got up at once. And he directed that something should be given her to eat. And her parents were amazed, but he charged them to tell no one what had happened. (Luke 8:40–56)

The woman’s touch made Jesus unclean, as did his taking the young girl by the hand.

Jesus dealt with prostitutes and lepers, becoming unclean. It is remarkable if we read the gospels with this in mind. Given those with whom Jesus interacted, those he touched, Jesus would have spent much of his earthly life and ministry doing things that made him unclean. Uncleanness symbolized sin, and Jesus taking on uncleanness symbolizes the astonishing exchange: “God made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

In seminary, I was taught an amazing exercise, one I use with my students to this day. In the first seven chapters of the book, Leviticus details the major types of offerings, twice, giving a priestly procedure manual. The material seems as dry as reading the owner’s manual for a new appliance. Until my professor told us to do this: read the first seven chapters of the book of Leviticus with a highlighter in hand, and every time it occurs, highlight the phrase “He will be forgiven.” Suddenly, Leviticus becomes the most devotional book in the Bible. May it be so.