Leviticus 15-16

SCRIPTURE REFERENCES FOR THIS SERMON:

Leviticus 15:1-16:34

15:1 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: 2 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘When any man has a discharge from his body, his discharge is unclean. 3 Now this is his uncleanness in regard to his discharge—whether his body secretes his discharge or blocks his discharge, he is unclean. All the days that his body has a discharge or his body blocks his discharge, this is his uncleanness.

4 “‘Any bed the man with a discharge lies on will be unclean, and any furniture he sits on will be unclean. 5 Anyone who touches his bed must wash his clothes, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 6 The one who sits on the furniture the man with a discharge sits on must wash his clothes, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 7 The one who touches the body of the man with a discharge must wash his clothes, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 8 If the man with a discharge spits on a person who is ceremonially clean, that person must wash his clothes, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 9 Any means of riding that the man with a discharge rides on will be unclean. 10 Anyone who touches anything that was under him will be unclean until evening, and the one who carries those items must wash his clothes, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 11 Anyone whom the man with the discharge touches without having rinsed his hands in water must wash his clothes, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 12 A clay vessel which the man with the discharge touches must be broken, and any wooden utensil must be rinsed in water.

13 “‘When the man with the discharge becomes clean from his discharge, he is to count off for himself seven days for his purification, and he must wash his clothes, bathe in fresh water, and be clean. 14 Then on the eighth day he is to take for himself two turtledoves or two young pigeons, and he is to present himself before the Lord at the entrance of the Meeting Tent and give them to the priest, 15 and the priest is to make one of them a sin offering and the other a burnt offering. So the priest is to make atonement for him before the Lord for his discharge.

16 “‘When a man has a seminal emission, he must bathe his whole body in water and be unclean until evening, 17 and he must wash in water any clothing or leather that has semen on it, and it will be unclean until evening. 18 As for a woman whom a man goes to bed with, then has a seminal emission, they must bathe in water and be unclean until evening.

19 “‘When a woman has a discharge and her discharge is blood from her body, she is to be in her menstruation seven days, and anyone who touches her will be unclean until evening. 20 Anything she lies on during her menstruation will be unclean, and anything she sits on will be unclean. 21 Anyone who touches her bed must wash his clothes, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 22 Anyone who touches any furniture she sits on must wash his clothes, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 23 If there is something on the bed or on the furniture she sits on, when he touches it, he will be unclean until evening, 24 and if a man actually goes to bed with her so that her menstrual impurity touches him, then he will be unclean seven days, and any bed he lies on will be unclean.

25 “‘When a woman’s discharge of blood flows many days not at the time of her menstruation, or if it flows beyond the time of her menstruation, all the days of her discharge of impurity will be like the days of her menstruation—she is unclean. 26 Any bed she lies on all the days of her discharge will be to her like the bed of her menstruation, any furniture she sits on will be unclean like the impurity of her menstruation, 27 and anyone who touches them will be unclean, and he must wash his clothes, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening.

28 “‘If she becomes clean from her discharge, then she is to count off for herself seven days, and afterward she will be clean. 29 Then on the eighth day she must take for herself two turtledoves or two young pigeons, and she must bring them to the priest at the entrance of the Meeting Tent, 30 and the priest is to make one a sin offering and the other a burnt offering. So the priest is to make atonement for her before the Lord from her discharge of impurity.

31 “‘Thus you are to set the Israelites apart from their impurity so that they do not die in their impurity by defiling my tabernacle which is in their midst. 32 This is the law for the one with a discharge: for the one who has a seminal emission and becomes unclean by it, 33 for the one who is sick in her menstruation, for the one with a discharge, whether male or female, and for a man who goes to bed with an unclean woman.’”

16:1 The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of Aaron’s two sons when they approached the presence of the Lord and died, 2 and the Lord said to Moses: “Tell Aaron your brother that he must not enter at any time into the Holy Place inside the special curtain in front of the atonement lid that is on the ark so that he may not die, for I will appear in the cloud over the atonement lid.

3 “In this way Aaron is to enter into the sanctuary—with a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. 4 He must put on a holy linen tunic, linen leggings are to cover his body, and he is to wrap himself with a linen sash and wrap his head with a linen turban. They are holy garments, so he must bathe his body in water and put them on. 5 He must also take two male goats from the congregation of the Israelites for a sin offering and one ram for a burnt offering. 6 Then Aaron is to present the sin-offering bull which is for himself and is to make atonement on behalf of himself and his household. 7 Next he must take the two goats and stand them before the Lord at the entrance of the Meeting Tent, 8 and Aaron is to cast lots over the two goats, one lot for the Lord and one lot for Azazel. 9 Aaron must then present the goat which has been designated by lot for the Lord, and he is to make it a sin offering, 10 but the goat which has been designated by lot for Azazel is to be stood alive before the Lord to make atonement on it by sending it away into the desert to Azazel.

11 “Aaron is to present the sin-offering bull which is for himself, and he is to make atonement on behalf of himself and his household. He is to slaughter the sin-offering bull which is for himself, 12 and take a censer full of coals of fire from the altar before the Lord and a full double handful of finely ground fragrant incense, and bring them inside the curtain. 13 He must then put the incense on the fire before the Lord, and the cloud of incense will cover the atonement lid which is above the ark of the testimony, so that he will not die. 14 Then he is to take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the eastern face of the atonement lid, and in front of the atonement lid he is to sprinkle some of the blood seven times with his finger.

15 “Aaron must then slaughter the sin-offering goat which is for the people. He is to bring its blood inside the curtain, and he is to do with its blood just as he did to the blood of the bull: He is to sprinkle it on the atonement lid and in front of the atonement lid. 16 So he is to make atonement for the Holy Place from the impurities of the Israelites and from their transgressions with regard to all their sins, and thus he is to do for the Meeting Tent which resides with them in the midst of their impurities. 17 Nobody is to be in the Meeting Tent when he enters to make atonement in the Holy Place until he goes out, and he has made atonement on his behalf, on behalf of his household, and on behalf of the whole assembly of Israel.

18 “Then Aaron is to go out to the altar which is before the Lord and make atonement for it. He is to take some of the blood of the bull and some of the blood of the goat, and put it all around on the horns of the altar. 19 Then he is to sprinkle on it some of the blood with his finger seven times, and cleanse and consecrate it from the impurities of the Israelites.

20 “When Aaron has finished purifying the Holy Place, the Meeting Tent, and the altar, he is to present the live goat. 21 Aaron is to lay his two hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the iniquities of the Israelites and all their transgressions in regard to all their sins, and thus he is to put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the desert by the hand of a man standing ready. 22 The goat is to bear on itself all their iniquities into an inaccessible land, so he is to send the goat away into the desert.

23 “Aaron must then enter the Meeting Tent and take off the linen garments which he had put on when he entered the sanctuary, and leave them there. 24 Then he must bathe his body in water in the Holy Place, put on his clothes, and go out and make his burnt offering and the people’s burnt offering. So he is to make atonement on behalf of himself and the people.

25 “Then he is to offer up the fat of the sin offering in smoke on the altar, 26 and the one who sent the goat away to Azazel must wash his clothes, bathe his body in water, and afterward he may reenter the camp. 27 The bull of the sin offering and the goat of the sin offering, whose blood was brought to make atonement in the Holy Place, must be brought outside the camp and their hide, their flesh, and their dung must be burned up, 28 and the one who burns them must wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward he may reenter the camp.

29 “This is to be a perpetual statute for you. In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you must humble yourselves and do no work of any kind, both the native citizen and the resident foreigner who lives in your midst, 30 for on this day atonement is to be made for you to cleanse you from all your sins; you must be clean before the Lord. 31 It is to be a Sabbath of complete rest for you, and you must humble yourselves. It is a perpetual statute.

32 “The priest who is anointed and ordained to act as high priest in place of his father is to make atonement. He is to put on the linen garments, the holy garments, 33 and he is to purify the Most Holy Place, he is to purify the Meeting Tent and the altar, and he is to make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly. 34 This is to be a perpetual statute for you to make atonement for the Israelites for all their sins once a year.” So he did just as the Lord had commanded Moses.