Continuing a chronological Bible study:
(Leviticus 12:1) And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
The dietary laws in the preceding chapter were delivered both to Moses and Aaron, but now the Lord spoke only to Moses.
(2) “Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘If a woman has conceived, and borne a male child, then she shall be
unclean seven days; as in the days of her customary impurity she shall
be unclean.'"
The Lord instructed Moses to tell the
children of Israel of these additional clean and unclean laws. First He
began with a woman whom had given birth to a male child. Immediately
after the birth, she was to be considered unclean for seven days
afterward which is apparently the same amount of time a woman was
considered unclean after her regular monthly menstruation began.
(3) "‘And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.'"
On
the eighth day, that is, the baby boy's eighth day of life and after
the seven days that the mother was considered ceremonially unclean, the
baby boy was to be circumcised.
(4) "'And she shall
then continue in the blood of her purifying thirty-three days; she shall
touch no hallowed thing, nor come into the sanctuary until the days of
her purifying are fulfilled.'"
After the circumcision
of her male child, the mother was to continue a period of purification
for another 33 days, which made a total of forty days' purification.
During this time, she was to touch no hallowed thing, nor come into the
court of the sanctuary. This uncleanness was in no way considered the
fault of the woman or as a punishment to her, but was a result of the
time it took for the natural expulsion of blood and afterbirth after the
birth of a child. As the Lord considered it a blessing to bring forth
children, this was an example of a time when a person would necessarily
become unclean, through no fault of her own, but by observing the days
of purification, she would then be restored to a clean state, and could approach the Lord. Thankfully, our Lord Jesus Christ came as our ultimate sacrifice to cover us with His precious blood, so that we are now able to approach our Lord God with boldness and confidence (Ephesians 3:12).
(5) "‘But if she bears a female child, then she shall be unclean two weeks,
as in her customary impurity, and she shall continue in the blood of her purifying sixty-six days.'"
If
the woman gave birth to a female child, she was to be considered
unclean for two weeks, in the same way she was considered unclean during
her regular monthly menstruation. Why double the time as for a male
child? For one thing, the male was to be circumcised on the eighth day;
no such time constraint was on a female child. The mother's period of
purification for a female child continued another 66 days, making it a total of 80 days,
doubling the forty days for a male child. Offended feminists have long
hated such perceived discrepancies between the sexes in the Bible, but
there may be a plausible and justified explanation for the discrepancy.
Not that God Almighty needs a justification; that it was His will alone
is justification enough. However, generally there was what we lesser
humans would consider good sound reasoning behind such laws of the
Lord, and this may be no exception. Through circumcision, the male
child satisfied half the required purification time. It was not that
more time was required when a woman had a female child, but rather only
half the usual time was required when a woman had a male child because
the baby participated in the purification requirements.
(6)
"'And when the days of her purification are fulfilled, whether for a
son or a
daughter, she shall bring a lamb of the first year for a
burnt offering and a young pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering, to
the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to the priest.'"
Once
her purification period had ended, whether 40 days or 80 days, the
woman was to bring to the tabernacle to the priest, a lamb of the first
year for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or turtledove for a sin
offering. She offered a burnt offering in thanksgiving to God for
bringing her safely through child-bearing and in gratefulness for the
blessing of the child; and she offered a sin offering to either complete
her purification process from her ceremonial uncleanness, or to make
atonement for what was really sin that may have occurred during the
difficult pains of child-bearing.
(7) "'Who shall offer
it before the LORD, and make an atonement for her; and she shall be
cleansed from the flow of her blood. This is the law for her who has
borne a male or a female.'"
The priest would take what
the woman brought to him at the door of the tabernacle, and in turn,
offer it before the Lord to make atonement for her for whatever sin may
have occurred during her child-bearing, and to ceremonially cleanse her
from the flow of blood from childbirth. This same law applied whether
it took place after 40 days for a male child, or if it took place after
80 days for a female child.
(8) "‘And if she is not
able to bring a lamb, then she shall bring two turtledoves or two young
pigeons—one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering; and
the priest shall make atonement for her, and she will be clean.’”
If
the woman was unable to bring a lamb, because she did not have one, nor
could afford one, then the law allowed that she could bring two
turtledoves or two young pigeons instead, one being for the burnt
offering and the other for the sin offering. This was the case for
Mary, the mother of Jesus; it was written in Luke 2:22-24 that when her
days of purification were accomplished, she brought either a pair of
turtledoves or a pair of pigeons. It was suggested earlier that perhaps
the sin offering was to atone for any sin which may have occurred
during the difficulty of childbirth, but more likely it was
acknowledgement that all are born into sin and guilty and deserving of
death since the original sin by Eve. This sin offering may have served
as a remembrance of that original sin and of the promise as stated in 1
Timothy 2:15 that she would be saved through child-bearing if she would "continue in faith, love, and holiness, with self-control"; that is what pleases the Lord better than sacrifice:
"To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice." - Proverbs 21:3
I will end this short post here. I had originally continued my study and post into the next chapter, but as it is so long and unrelated, I will start a new post for that one, and will end this one here.
