Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Leviticus 11:33-38


Verse 33 talks about how if any dead creeping thing from Leviticus 10:29-30 falls into an earthen vessel then it must be broken and that anything inside it becomes unclean. I didn't really know what an earthen vessel was until I did a Google image search, but they just look like clay pots. Maybe, they were easily contaminated and not that resilient like the cooking pots we have today.


Verse 34 says that "in such a vessel", so it looks like it's referring to the vessel that was made unclean from the last verse; if water falls out and touches food or any other drink then they become unclean. Based on how those dead creatures might have some harmful bacteria or germs, I think it makes sense that one should dispose of those edible or drinkable items.

Verse 35 talks about how if the dead creeping thing from verses 29-30 fall on anything such as an oven or cooking stove then it shall be broken down and replaced. I would really have a hard time with this verse from back then because I would want to be lazy. However, if I was back there with Moses leading the way and observed the Lord's wraith taking a lot of people and believed it in my heart with trembling fear, then okay, I think I would disregard my lazy feelings and do what God commanded me to do here. I would end up smashing the stove and turning it into a game, so I would make my kids do it for me!

Verse 36 states that if a small creeping thing like a dead lizard touches a spring or a cistern then the whole water supply becomes unclean! Imagine how frustrating that would have have been for back then, while you are so thirsty and then some strong wind managed to pick up the carcass and dump it right in front of you while you were fetching water.

Verse 37 is really interesting because it says that a dry seed it lands on is immune to being unclean. However in Verse 38, if there was water on it then it becomes unclean! These last two verses remind me of the parable in the New Testament of how just a grain of salt that lands in a pool of pure water can make the water impure. There's just no way we can be morally perfect and pure from everything that's already happened in this world!