Topical Bible: Defilement: Cleansed by Legal offerings

◄ Defilement: Cleansed by Legal offerings ►

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Topical Encyclopedia

In the biblical context, defilement refers to a state of impurity or uncleanness that separates individuals from the holiness required by God. This concept is deeply rooted in the Old Testament, where the Law of Moses outlines various causes of defilement and the prescribed means of purification. The legal offerings serve as a divine provision for cleansing, restoring the individual to a state of ritual purity and fellowship with God.

Causes of Defilement

Defilement can arise from a variety of sources, including contact with dead bodies, certain diseases, bodily discharges, and the consumption of unclean foods. Leviticus 11-15 provides detailed instructions on what constitutes defilement and the necessary steps for purification. For instance, Leviticus 11:24-25 states, "These will make you unclean. Whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean until evening, and whoever picks up one of their carcasses must wash his clothes, and he will be unclean until evening."

Legal Offerings for Cleansing

The Law prescribes specific offerings to cleanse defilement, emphasizing the need for atonement and reconciliation with God. The sin offering and the guilt offering are central to this process. Leviticus 14:19-20 describes the ritual for cleansing a person healed from a skin disease: "Then the priest is to offer the sin offering and make atonement for the one to be cleansed from his uncleanness. After that, the priest shall slaughter the burnt offering and offer it on the altar, together with the grain offering, to make atonement for him, and he will be clean."

The Role of the Priest

The priest plays a crucial role in the cleansing process, acting as a mediator between the defiled individual and God. The priest's duties include examining the person, offering sacrifices, and declaring the individual clean. Leviticus 14:11 states, "The priest who cleanses him shall present both the one to be cleansed and his offerings before the LORD at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting."

Symbolism and Spiritual Significance

The legal offerings for cleansing defilement symbolize the need for holiness and the seriousness of sin. They foreshadow the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who provides the perfect and final atonement for sin. Hebrews 9:13-14 reflects on this, "For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that their bodies are clean, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works to serve the living God?"

New Testament Fulfillment

In the New Testament, the concept of defilement is expanded to include moral and spiritual impurity. Jesus emphasizes the importance of inner purity over external rituals. Mark 7:15 records His teaching, "Nothing that enters a man from the outside can defile him, but the things that come out of a man, these are what defile him." The sacrificial system of the Old Testament finds its fulfillment in Christ, who cleanses believers from all defilement through His sacrifice on the cross.

The legal offerings for cleansing defilement in the Old Testament underscore the holiness of God and the necessity of atonement. They point to the redemptive work of Christ, who provides the ultimate cleansing for all who believe in Him.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Numbers 19:18,19
And a clean person shall take hyssop, and dip it in the water, and sprinkle it on the tent, and on all the vessels, and on the persons that were there, and on him that touched a bone, or one slain, or one dead, or a grave:
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Hebrews 9:13
For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies to the purifying of the flesh:
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

Entire Sanctification in Type.
... The Mosaic dispensation was legal, ceremonial and typical. ... If we would belong to
the royal priesthood, we must be cleansed from the defilement of sin. ...
/.../clark/the theology of holiness/chapter iv entire sanctification in.htm

The Cavils of the Pharisees Concerning Purification, and the ...
... The legal distinction between a vow, an oath, and the ... grand principle of what
constituted real defilement, He called ... by this: What God hath cleansed, make not ...
/.../the life and times of jesus the messiah/chapter xxxi the cavils of.htm

Book ii.
... sacred purifications, with the other legal rites used ... our sacrifices, whereby we
are cleansed after a ... themselves; for there is a defilement contracted thereby ...
//christianbookshelf.org/josephus/against apion/book ii.htm