Principle: Do Not Touch

There are many warnings in the Old Testament about what believers should and should not touch. The overarching reason that God forbid the Israelites from touching certain items had to do with separation. Israel was set apart and separate from the rest of the Gentile nations. However, there is more to it than that.

God did not sit arbitrarily in His Heaven and dictate what the Israelites should and should not touch – just to keep them separate. He knew what was good for them, what was best for them. And as Israel obeyed God, He protected them – not just supernaturally, but also practically. Recall that God promised the Israelites that if they obeyed His commands, He would keep them from the diseases of the nations. See Exodus 15:26.

Let us look at some of the things that God told the Israelites:

Do Not Touch:

1. Animal and Insect Carcasses: Leviticus 5: 2; 11:7-40; Deuteronomy 14:21
   1. It was forbidden to touch the carcass of a ceremonial unclean animal
   2. A person became unclean from touching the carcass of a ceremonial clean (i.e. for food) animal
   3. Objects that contact the carcasses of unclean animals and insects become unclean
   4. Do not eat animals that have died natural deaths
   5. The Prescription
      1. Wash clothes and hands that touched the carcass
      2. Wash, break, or smash the items that touched the carcass depending on item
2. Human Corpses: Numbers 19: 11-22
   1. Anyone who touches a human corpse is unclean for seven days
   2. A person becomes unclean even without touching if in close proximity with a corpse in an enclosed area such as a tent or room
   3. A vessel is unclean if it’s cover is not fastened down given the same enclosed situation
   4. Prescription:
      1. Wash clothes
      2. Bathe in water
      3. Purification
      4. Quarantine
3. A Diseased Male with Unnatural Discharges: Leviticus 15: 2-12
   1. Man with discharge is unclean
   2. His bed is unclean
   3. Anything on which he sits is unclean
   4. A person becomes unclean if the man with the discharge spits on him
   5. A person is unclean if the same man touches him with unwashed hands
   6. Prescription:
      1. Wash clothes and bathe in water
      2. Quarantine
      3. An earthenware vessel touched must be broken
      4. A wooden vessel touched is rinsed with water
4. Males with Natural Seminal Discharge: Leviticus 15: 16-18
   1. Anything on which the discharge touches such as the man, any garment or leather, or a woman is unclean
   2. Prescription:
      1. Bathing for the man/woman
      2. Washing of other items that touched the discharge
      3. Quarantine (til evening)
5. A Menstruating Woman: Leviticus 15: 19-24
   1. A menstruating woman is unclean
   2. Her bed is unclean
   3. Anything on which she sits is unclean
   4. A man become unclean by having relations with a menstruating woman
   5. Anything upon which the man lies shall be unclean
   6. Prescription:
      1. Wash clothes
      2. Bathe in water
      3. Quarantine
6. A Woman with an Unnatural Blood Discharge: Leviticus 15: 25-29
   1. The same requirements as above
   2. Plus a sacrifice
7. Human Wastes: Deuteronomy 23: 12-14; Leviticus 5:3
   1. Human waste is unclean and must be separate from the camp of the Lord
   2. If a human is defiled by any human uncleanness (including excrement) he is unclean
8. Biblical Leprosy
   1. The issue of biblical leprosy is different than what most have grown up to understand and believe
   2. For this reason, this topic will be addressed in a separate post

Conclusion

God was very concerned about what the Israelites did and did not touch. Touching many of the items above was not an issue of sin. For example, it was not a sin for a man to have relations with his wife. Yet, if he did have relations, He was required to cleanse himself. If he failed to do this cleansing, then according to Leviticus 5:2-3 he was guilty – whether he knew about it or not.

Clearly this would be a burdensome way to live, but it was a constant reminder of the Israelites inability to live a sinless life before a holy God – which should have led them to seek grace and mercy from the same God. But that truth is not the focus of this study. This study is examining the practical outcome of following the above cleanliness laws.

We have heard our entire life that “cleanliness is next to godliness.” It is such a universally known phrase, that the popular health food store, Trader Joe’s, has created a line of cleaning products based on this idiom called “…Next to Godliness.”

Before the Israelites knew about “The Germ Theory,” they were already practicing a principle that would guard against germs: Do Not Touch.

Many of these principles have been passed down to us in America, though we do not practice the identical cleansing rituals.

But perhaps, there are changes we can make to step closer to these principles. The most obvious is the importance of washing our hands. But what about our clothes and bedsheets? Do we wash as often as we should? What about our cooking utensils? What about a house in which a loved one has deceased? In future posts, we will look at some additional “wisdom principles” that can be derived from these ideas. There are applications (not specifically addressed) that are relevant to our lives today in the chemical infested world in which we live.

We will look at leprosy in the next post and see how our ideas of leprosy differ from those in the Bible – there may be some surprises.  We now continue on with the first principle, cleanliness, in the Living Under God’s Design series.

Next: Healthy Blood Through Cleanliness: The Leprosy Principle

Return To: Biblical Health Study

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Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.

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© 2017 Mischelle Sandowich
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