"In this chapter, God gives commands for a woman who gives birth to a child. The woman who gives birth to a child must follow certain regulations in order to become purified. After her days of purification, she must offer a burnt offering and a sin offering. The priest will present them before the Lord and make atonement on her behalf. Then, she will be clean."
12 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying,
‘If a woman conceives and gives birth to a male child, she shall be [ceremonially] unclean for seven days, unclean as during her monthly period. 3 On the eighth day the flesh of the male child’s foreskin shall be circumcised. 4 Then she shall remain [intimately separated] thirty-three days to be purified from the blood; she shall not touch any consecrated thing nor enter the [courtyard of the] sanctuary until the days of her purification are over. 5 But if she gives birth to a female child, then she shall be unclean for two weeks, as during her monthly period, and she shall remain [intimately separated] sixty-six days to be purified from the blood.
6 ‘When the days of her purification are completed, whether for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting a one year old lamb as a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a turtledove as a sin offering; 7 and he shall offer it before the Lord and make atonement for her, and she shall be cleansed from the flow of her blood. This is the law for her who gives birth to a child, whether a male or a female child. 8 If she cannot afford a lamb then she shall take two turtledoves or young pigeons, one as a burnt offering, the other as a sin offering; the priest shall make atonement for her, and she will be clean.’”
- MOTHERHOOD. For some reason, the days of being unclean and the span of purification is different between having a male child and a female child. I wonder why. But either way, I believe God established this law for motherhood for the sake of physical and spiritual health of the mothers. It has practical purposes for hygiene, as well as recovery from the rather hard experience of birthing. This was a time without anesthesia or any pain-relieving medicines.
- PERFECT ATONEMENT. The mothers were also commanded by God to bring a sin offering to Him, to make atonement for being 'ceremonially' unclean. God was in the process of instilling discipline and mindfulness to the Israelites. Our lives are always in the state of sinfulness, no matter what we do, and because of that God made a way for us to be totally clean. And that is through the blood of His one and only Son Lord Jesus Christ, the Perfect Lamb of God.
After reading, I always check out the Study Guide Commentary from David Guzik (very helpful!):
b. She shall not touch any hallowed thing: The commanded time of ceremonial impurity should not be regarded as a negative attitude towards birth or child-bearing on God's part. God commands child bearing, in that man is commanded to be fruitful and multiply (Genesis 1:28), children are regarded as a gift from God (Psalm 127:3), and a woman with many kids is considered blessed (Psalm 128:3).
i. The key to understanding this ceremony is to understand the idea of original sin. As wonderful as a new baby is, God wanted it to be remembered that with every birth another sinner was brought into the world, and the woman was here symbolically responsible for bringing a new sinner into the world.
ii. Perhaps just as importantly, the time of ceremonial impurity gave the new mother a time of rest and seclusion that would she no doubt welcomed.
b. She shall continue in the blood of her purification sixty-six days: The longer period of ceremonial uncleanness for the birth of a daughter should not be understood as a penalty. Instead, it is linked to the idea stated in the previous verses - that the time of impurity is for the symbolic responsibility of bringing other sinners into the world. When giving birth to a female, a mother brings a sinner into the world who will bring still other sinners into the world.
i. Some also suggest the longer period of time in connection with the birth of a girl was because girls are usually smaller at birth, and this would allow more time for the mother's focused care and attention on the child. As well, since sons were more prized, the longer time at home for a mother with a new born girl would force the family to bond more deeply, over a more extended period of time with the new born girl.
a. If she is not able to bring a lamb: God knew that not every family in Israel could afford to bring a lamb for sacrifice at the birth of a child. Therefore, He also allowed the lesser sacrifices of two turtledoves or two young pigeons.
i. Jesus' family offered only a pair of turtledoves (Luke 2:22-24) at birth. This shows that Jesus did not come from a wealthy family.
Reference and credits to https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/guzik_david/StudyGuide2017-Lev/Lev-12.cfm © 2004 David Guzik
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