Leviticus 11:32-4732And upon whatsoever any of them, when they are dead, doth fall, it shall be unclean; whether it be any vessel of wood, or raiment, or skin, or sack, whatsoever vessel it be, wherein any work is done, it must be put into water, and it shall be unclean until the even; so it shall be cleansed. 33And every earthen vessel, whereinto any of them falleth, whatsoever is in it shall be unclean; and ye shall break it. 34Of all meat which may be eaten, that on which such water cometh shall be unclean: and all drink that may be drunk in every such vessel shall be unclean. 35And every thing whereupon any part of their carcase falleth shall be unclean; whether it be oven, or ranges for pots, they shall be broken down: for they are unclean, and shall be unclean unto you. 36Nevertheless a fountain or pit, wherein there is plenty of water, shall be clean: but that which toucheth their carcase shall be unclean. 37And if any part of their carcase fall upon any sowing seed which is to be sown, it shall be clean. 38But if any water be put upon the seed, and any part of their carcase fall thereon, it shall be unclean unto you. 39And if any beast, of which ye may eat, die; he that toucheth the carcase thereof shall be unclean until the even. 40And he that eateth of the carcase of it shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: he also that beareth the carcase of it shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even. 41And every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth shall be an abomination; it shall not be eaten. 42Whatsoever goeth upon the belly, and whatsoever goeth upon all four, or whatsoever hath more feet among all creeping things that creep upon the earth, them ye shall not eat; for they are an abomination. 43Ye shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping thing that creepeth, neither shall ye make yourselves unclean with them, that ye should be defiled thereby. 44For I am the Lord your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 45For I am the Lord that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy. 46This is the law of the beasts, and of the fowl, and of every living creature that moveth in the waters, and of every creature that creepeth upon the earth: 47To make a difference between the unclean and the clean, and between the beast that may be eaten and the beast that may not be eaten. (Leviticus 11:32‑47)
TN THE next verses the Lord I shows that if the dead body of one of these creatures previously mentioned touched anything, the touch of death defiled the thing itself so that it must be cleansed by water, and be unclean until even.
It might be a vessel of wood, or a garment, a skin, or sack, or something in which work was done, if touched by a dead body it was unclean. These things would tell us of how the very means by which we earn a living, or whatever form of service we are engaged in, we are constantly brought into contact with defilement in a world where sin and death reign. The Spirit warns us against having fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, and of being unequally yoked with unbelievers in anything.
Even if the dead body fell on the thing, that is, it was not a voluntary act, still it was defiled, and needed to be cleansed.
Putting the vessel into water speaks of applying the Word of God in its cleansing power to any defilement, whether at work or play, at home or elsewhere. A vessel that could not be cleansed had to be broken. This tells us that no matter what faithfulness to the Lord might cost us, we should not draw back. In all things He must have the preeminence and other considerations take their proper place.
There was, however, these exceptions to this rule: a fountain, a pit or well in which there was plenty of water, would not be polluted, nor seed for sowing defiled if a dead body fell on it. Sufficient water would withstand the pollution and this finds its answer in the cleansing by the Word, while the seed for sowing speaks of the quickening power of life. Both of these are above and beyond death, found in Christ, and in Him alone. He is the Source of cleansing for His own. He washes us by His Word (Eph. 5:2626That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, (Ephesians 5:26)), and purifies us by the hope of His coming (1 John 3:33And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. (1 John 3:3)).
Then we have a group of crawling things Israel were forbidden to eat. “Whatsoever goeth upon the belly, and whatsoever goeth upon all four, of whatsoever hath more (many) feet among all creeping things that creep upon the earth, them shall ye not eat; for they are an abomination.”
Man, fallen and degraded by sin, is easily led to feed on the most loathsome things. Even the Christian still has the old fallen nature which, if not kept in the place of death, will ever seek after the base and unholy pleasures found in the world. May we seek grace to feed only on Christ, the holy and the true. Since He is holy, those who are called into association with Him must be holy too.
ML-01/16/1972