“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” Romans 12:1
Our spiritual worship isn’t separated from our daily living. Going to the gym, basic hygiene and eating well are all part of our spirituality insofar as they are meant to glorify the Lord. More still, our health and battle against disease/illness is also under the purview and authority of the Lord.
God’s law-word is holy, infallible and life-giving. The possession of it in our lives, to be able to read it whenever we want, and to pray with it, and meditate upon it, is the greatest treasure of all. This said, there are sections that puzzle – even embarrass – the modern Christian. Leviticus comes to mind, for example. Specifically, chapters like Leviticus 15 and laws about bodily discharges, uncleanness and so forth. At points like Leviticus 15 it’s important to remind the Christian that God’s authority extends to every aspect of life and we aren’t to attempt to be “neutral” anywhere. Unfortunately we have a tendency to be too conformed to worldly philosophy and forget that all the wisdom of the world is hidden in Christ. With regard to Leviticus 15, it causes us to pass over the obvious principles at hand. And that’s the thing: the Bible is a divine set of principles that we are to apply to the vast particulars of our daily lives.
A few points to consider so that our confidence isn’t shaken and, in fact, our love, trust and adoration of His word-law grows deeper.
When the chapter opens with laws about “when any man has a discharge from his body, his discharge is unclean. (Leviticus 15:2)” we’re in some seemingly icky territory. We tend not to want to associate sexual discharges and bodily functions/fluids with the word-law of the Lord, right? Ah, but God doesn’t consult us. His truth isn’t up for a vote. So, what’s going on?
To start, the big issue is hygiene in regard to slowing/stopping the spread of disease. Modern man loves to say, as evidence of his alleged tolerance, that we may serve God in private, but the public domain is “neutral.” That means, secular humanism is king in the public sphere. But God’s authority is cosmic and chapter 15 of Leviticus shows us the practical outworking of this great truth. Yes, we’ll say it again: God’s word is practical, not relegated to the “spiritual realm.” As in the book of Proverbs, which provides tons of practical economic, social and personal wisdom, Leviticus meets the issue of illness, hygiene and overall health head-on.
Our health isn’t merely a personal issue, as we make it today. When a wife says to an obese husband, “honey, you have a responsibility to the kids to stay healthy,” she’s partially correct. The father does, in fact, owe his life to the Lord. We are all the Lord’s. Every part of our lives.
Secular man will workout and do yoga for themselves. The Christian presents their entire body to the Lord as a living sacrifice. Romans 12 shows us the modern and practical application of these principles (“…present your bodies as a living sacrifice…”).
Critics of the Old Testament, particularly passages like Leviticus 15, nevertheless admit the near immunity of the Jews from the plagues and epidemics that have hammered mankind over the centuries. Knight says, “the near immunity of the Jew from infection in reality sprang from the fact that he kept strictly the laws on hygiene that we find in our book of Leviticus.”
Yes, indeed, God’s authority over life, and His divine love for us, both lead logically to the field of personal health. Conditioned by the world’s propaganda, we often think that “public health” is a completely secular domain. This is nonsense. Our body is the Lord’s. He created it. He sustains it. And we worship Him with it. Shall we abuse and neglect what the Lord has made? Medical science is, therefore, a servant of the Lord for this reason. So, there is no “public health” official, no Dr. Fauci or some such authority, that outranks God and His law-word. Public health and private health are still the jurisdiction of the Lord. Our modern philosophy of medicine is in error given that it starts from the premise that the doctor or medical scientist isn’t a servant of the Lord and that the body isn’t His, for His glory. And make no mistake, flawed presuppositions always lead to flawed conclusions at some point down the line.
When the individual is quarantined, they’re separated from the camp, but not from God. This is a point to ponder. We should be careful not to hyper-spiritualize the text of Leviticus 15. God cares about our health. We are fearfully and wonderfully made. We should live like it.
The first emission mentioned in chapter 15 is related to a sexually transmitted disease, in this case, gonorrhea. The requirements for isolation and hygiene in such instances are clearly applicable to all sexual diseases. The exact treatment of these diseases isn’t prescribed but the prevention of spread is. In other words, how to treat the disease isn’t referenced, but the principle of prevention of spread is commanded. Modern medical technology should absolutely be used to treat and cure disease. Any Christian that rejects logical and safe treatments for disease violates what the Lord has commanded insofar as maintaining health is concerned. That said, the Christian may very well reject treatments that are logically suspect and/or not proven. Medical treatments have often been wrong throughout history due to man’s limited knowledge. The methods of treatment men prescribe should always be held with logical suspicion because of this, lest we do more harm than good. The principles of hygiene and quarantine are biblical principles that are to be obeyed because they are the Word of the Lord. It’s the afflicted person only that’s quarantined, not the healthy. No authority is granted by God to isolate or restrict the healthy. Any so-called public health policy that isolates the well and the sick is not biblical. The principle in play limits the power and scope of both political and medical authorities. They may not go beyond their mandate.
Next, normal sexual relations referenced in verses 16-18 are understood by verse 31, which reads “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.” This means that these conditions made people unclean in relation to the Sanctuary. After normal sexual relations bathing and washing should be done. These laws in verses 16-18 didn’t apply to laymen since they mention absence from the camp, which was the Sanctuary proper. A priest going to the Tabernacle must be clean before God and washed properly so as not to infect the people with blood or semen.
Throughout most of history, armies suffered greater casualties in camp than in battle due to unsanitary conditions. Lack of washing and contaminated water has caused more death than bombs and bullets! Even today signs in the restrooms of every restaurant are posted to remind workers to wash their hands.
A third thing to note is the context in which the woman is considered unclean. While she couldn’t, if a Levite’s wife, partake of the Sanctuary meals, she was clearly designated as belonging to the Lord, not her husband. In other words, the freedom of woman is involved in these verses as she is to be clean “before the Lord.” The sex cults that were all around Israel made women into cult prostitutes. Their sexuality and the beauty of sex, in these cults – just as in our day – were both abased. Here we see the assumption that God has created sex for husband and wife only and it’s a beautiful thing. More still, the woman is not property of her husband, but of the Lord. And the Lord’s rule herein was for the health and safety of all involved.
Fourth, we live in a sin-sick world. Sickness and disease exist because of sin although we’re warned not to attribute every instance of these with direct sin. Obviously, most cases of sexually transmitted disease are because of sin. Other diseases can be contracted simply because this is a fallen world, through no fault of our own. Thus, getting ill is in no way immoral but deliberate lack of health and hygiene are considering that we’re temples of the Holy Spirit.
Thus, in summation, every aspect of our lives is under the sovereign care and authority of the Lord. The principles of public health are the Lord’s and a properly functioning medical establishment rests upon them and only them. We are to care for our body since it is the Lord’s. The neglect of our health through sloth, lack of hygiene, sexual sin, gluttony, drug or alcohol abuse are all sinful. Likewise, the abuse of our body and health through idolatrous over-training, or arbitrary severity to the body, is also prohibited. Some people have made shipwreck of their health through things like steroids in order to enhance an athletic goal. The guide is always “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. (Romans 11:36) and “For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin (Romans 14:23).”
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