So, Leviticus is about discharges and emissions. Good stuff. Lots of rules that probably didn't make sense to the Israelites, but to us (the biologically enlightened) it seems reasonable. Surely God was keeping disease from getting everywhere.
Well that may be part of the reason, but the text actually gives another:
Thus you shall keep the people of Israel separate from their uncleanness, lest they die in their uncleanness by defiling my tabernacle that is in their midst. v. 31
The tabernacle, the house of the Lord, was not to be defiled by uncleanness. They were to keep clean, because the Lord was with them. Sure disease was put at bay by good hygienic practices, but let us not try to be too smart for our own good. The concern was honoring the Lord; He was in their midst. That concern has not changed.
BTW - Is this chapter ever the OT lesson from the liturgy?
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