Unclean Standards (Part II)
Leviticus 15:19–33 Bible Study NotesRevival Center Hesperia California
God’s holiness, accountability, and protection of His dwelling place
📖 Key Theme:
God’s standards apply to everyone. Holiness is not selective, gendered, or cultural—it is God-defined and God-ordered.
Introduction
Leviticus 15:19–33 addresses female bodily discharges, both natural (menstruation) and abnormal (extended or irregular bleeding). These laws were not punitive or demeaning; they were protective, instructional, and reverent. God teaches His people to honor life, blood, and His presence.
📖 Leviticus 17:11 (NKJV)
“For the life of the flesh is in the blood…”
Verse-by-Verse Study
Verses 19–20
📖 Leviticus 15:19–20 (NKJV)
“If a woman has a discharge, and the discharge from her body is blood, she shall be set apart seven days; and whoever touches her shall be unclean until evening. Everything that she lies on during her impurity shall be unclean; also everything that she sits on shall be unclean.”
Teaching Point:
God distinguishes separation for cleansing from rejection. Being set apart is not punishment—it is order.
Verses 21–23
📖 Leviticus 15:21–23 (NKJV)
“Whoever touches her bed shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. And whoever touches anything that she sat on shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. If anything is on her bed or on anything on which she sits, when he touches it, he shall be unclean until evening.”
Teaching Point:
Uncleanness transfers by contact. God emphasizes personal responsibility in maintaining holiness.
📖 2 Corinthians 7:1 (NKJV)
“Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit…”
Verse 24
📖 Leviticus 15:24 (NKJV)
“And if any man lies with her at all, so that her impurity is on him, he shall be unclean seven days; and every bed on which he lies shall be unclean.”
Teaching Point:
Intimacy creates shared responsibility. Choices made in private still have spiritual consequence.
Verses 25–27
📖 Leviticus 15:25–27 (NKJV)
“If a woman has a discharge of blood for many days, other than at the time of her customary impurity, or if it runs beyond her usual time of impurity, all the days of her unclean discharge shall be as the days of her customary impurity. She shall be unclean. Every bed on which she lies all the days of her discharge shall be to her as the bed of her impurity; and whatever she sits on shall be unclean, as the uncleanness of her impurity. Whoever touches those things shall be unclean; he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening.”
Teaching Point:
Ongoing conditions still fall under God’s care and instruction. Duration does not remove accountability.
Verses 28–30
📖 Leviticus 15:28–30 (NKJV)
“But if she is cleansed of her discharge, then she shall count for herself seven days, and after that she shall be clean. And on the eighth day she shall take for herself two turtledoves or two young pigeons, and bring them to the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of meeting. Then the priest shall offer the one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering; and the priest shall make atonement for her before the LORD for the discharge of her uncleanness.”
Teaching Point:
Healing leads to restoration, but restoration requires obedience and worship.
📖 Psalm 30:2 (NKJV)
“O LORD my God, I cried out to You, and You healed me.”
Verses 31–33
📖 Leviticus 15:31–33 (NKJV)
“Thus you shall separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness, lest they die in their uncleanness when they defile My tabernacle that is among them. This is the law for one who has a discharge, and for him who emits semen and is unclean thereby, and for her who is indisposed because of her customary impurity, and for one who has a discharge, either man or woman, and for him who lies with her who is unclean.”
Teaching Point:
God’s ultimate concern is His dwelling place among His people. Holiness protects life and sustains fellowship with God.
📖 1 Corinthians 3:16 (NKJV)
“Do you not know that you are the temple of God…”
Key Takeaways
God’s standards apply to all people
Separation is for cleansing, not condemnation
Healing requires obedience and reverence
God’s presence demands holiness
Closing Reflection Questions
Where do we confuse separation with rejection?
How does understanding God’s holiness deepen our reverence for His presence today?
Bridge: From the Law to the Living Word
Leviticus 15 defines the woman with the issue of blood before she ever appears in the Gospels. For twelve years, her life was governed by these verses—unclean, separated, unable to worship freely, and constantly reminded that her condition affected everyone around her (Leviticus 15:25–27). The Law named her condition, regulated her separation, and required cleansing—but it offered no cure.
Then Scripture says, “When she heard about Jesus…” (Mark 5:27).
That moment is the bridge between unclean standards and redeeming grace. Under the Law, uncleanness transferred from the person to whatever they touched. Under Jesus, the transfer is reversed—cleanness flows from Him to the one who touches Him in faith (Mark 5:29).
What Leviticus required separation to protect God’s presence, Jesus fulfills by restoring people so they can dwell in God’s presence. He does not lower God’s standard of holiness; He meets it and overcomes it. The woman moves from being defined by Leviticus 15 to being called “Daughter” by Jesus (Mark 5:34).
Leviticus shows us the problem.
Jesus reveals the solution.
