Page 72 - Pentateuch

have had mold of any kind. Even the “normal” functions of sexuality, both male and female, have been
tainted. None of these experiences is completely ruined. God’s gifts can still be enjoyed. Yet the distinctions
of clean and unclean communicate the all-pervasive nature of sin. We cannot avoid all sin, nor is there
always a one-to-one connection between sin and the consequences of sin. To be human is to live in a sinful
world.

Using just one type of clean/unclean, we can illustrate the issue. The structure of the order of animals
discussed in Leviticus 11 parallels that of Genesis 1:20-30, where the animals were divided among those
that fly across the sky, those that walk on land, and those that swim in the water. “Each sphere has a
particular set of motions and characteristics, and so creatures that correspond to their types are [clean],
whereas [unclean] animals violate the division in some way. For example, a fish without fins and scales is
unclean, off-limits. Thus, the cleanness of animals was symbolic of the pristine order that God wanted or,
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more exactly, that God had created.”

Perhaps a more personal illustration will help us understand. Scholars suggest that psoriasis may be the
modern equivalent of one of the skin diseases described in chapters 13 and 14. Imagine what it might mean
to have this disease and be required to live outside the camp until it clears up. Psoriasis afflicts about 3% of
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the population of the U.S., most often affecting adults. For ancient Israel, with a total population of over
two million, that would mean several thousand people were affected at any given time.

Modern medicine does not thoroughly understand this disease. It is a “common skin condition that changes
the life cycle of skin cells. Psoriasis causes cells to build up rapidly on the surface of the skin. The extra skin
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cells form thick, silvery scales and itchy, dry, red patches that are sometimes painful.” Even today, we
have no cure. An Israelite would be miserable, indefinitely living outside the camp. When healing came, it
came from God’s hand. In coming out of Egypt, they had been taught to view Yahweh as their only healer
(Exodus 15:26, cf. Deuteronomy 32:39). The ceremony that brought them back into the camp and allowed
them to worship again emphasized both atonement and the joy of return. Among other steps, blood was
applied to the cleansed person’s right ear, right thumb, and right big toe, signifying atonement. Oil was also
applied to these same three places, welcoming the whole person joyfully back into the community of faith
(Lev. 14:14, 17).

While the theme is muted in the Pentateuch, God desires to reclaim all
creation. He does not just want to transform the everyday for his use. He
wants to bring even the profane into his presence through cleansing.
What refuses to be cleansed will finally be cast away. The prophets wrote
with some surprise about daily items becoming special. “On that day,
HOLY TO THE LORD will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, and the
cooking pots in the LORD’S house will be like the sacred bowls in front of
the altar (Zech. 14:20).” They envisioned a highway back to God. “The
unclean will not go about on it,” but the “ransomed of the LORD will Fig. 53: HOLY TO THE LORD
return” and “will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their
heads (Isa. 35:8, 10).” The issue is serious for “nothing impure will ever enter” the New Jerusalem (Rev.
21:27).

84 Ross, Holiness, p. 253.
85 PubMed Health. “Plaque Psoriasis,” accessed April 30, 2016,
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMHT0022696/.
86 Mayo Clinic Patient Care and Health Information, Psoriasis, accessed April 30, 2016, retrieved from
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/psoriasis/basics/definition/CON-20030838
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