February 18th

In Israel, purity does not refer to hygiene.  It refers to good spirits. The sacrifices mentioned in Leviticus have very specific steps so that God can be involved heavily in the process.  This involvement signifies that He is the only God, and that no other idols are worthy of worship. Impurity is when other gods are worshipped. This is an interference with God’s creation and if people are made in His image while recognizing others as their gods, this image no longer holds.  These are deemed as bad spirits because of this interference. They slow down the restoration of communion with God, destroying this sense of purity.

God requires the maintenance purity to further the restoration of communion.  In Genesis, God gives Adam dominion over all the animals on Earth. Animal sacrifices mimic this event.  Pouring out the blood and giving it to God as well as the extensive steps for burning shows this dominion and therefore, progress towards the restoration of communion.  Maintaining this purity also shows how far humans have to go to do so. This maintenance takes time and precision, which sometimes can seem out of reach. This also shows God’s ultimate power over humans and that He is different from other gods because of it.  

The logic of the laws are related to purity in the sense that all bad things are either burned or cleaned from the animals.  Burning allows for the impurity to vanish and disappear, and the animal turns into food for the Lord. This again shows God’s dominion over the Earth as He literally consumes things that may rival him.  God also asks for humans to clean the blood and fat from the animal. The blood would be returned to him, as mentioned in Genesis. Fat was not desirable in Israel in this era either, and therefore the Lord did not want it.