ALPHA MAAMA (A.M.)

Falaite ‘Epeleli 21, 2023

What's Wrong with Natural Body Functions?   נדה

Ko e ngaahi huhu‘a fakanatula ‘o e sino 

LEVITICUS 15:32-33

32 This is the law for him who has a discharge and for him who has an emission of semen, becoming unclean thereby; 33 also for her who is unwell with her menstrual impurity, that is, for anyone, male or female, who has a discharge, and for the man who lies with a woman who is unclean.

LEVITIKO 15:32-33

32 Ko e lao ia ‘o e tangata ‘oku mahaki ‘au, mo ia ‘oku tafe hono huhu‘a, ‘o ne ta‘ema‘a ai; 33 pea mo e fefine ‘oku mahaki fakafefine, pea mo ia ‘oku mahaki ‘au, pe ko e tangata pe ko e fefine; pea mo e tangata ‘oku mohe mo e fefine ‘oku ta‘ema‘a.

To moderns, all this talk about semen and menstruation seems bizarre. Why would a woman in niddah ("menstruation") be unclean (tame )? Or a man with a seminal discharge? These are natural bodily functions. Most likely, this was God's way of declaring that a woman's blood and a man's semen were not sacred. In the cultures around them, the opposite was often true, especially in religions that practiced ritual prostitution. To that, God says an emphatic No. His sanctuary must be kept clean of all such pagan ideas and practices. Thus the Lord established ways whereby men and women could purify themselves before entering the holy courts of his tabernacle.

One of the most remarkable stories in the Gospels is when a woman who had been unclean for twelve years due to menstrual bleeding touches the fringe on the garments of our Lord (Mark 5:25-34). This touch would have rendered Jesus ritually unclean. Rather than rebuking the woman, however, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be Jesus says, healed of your disease" (v. 34). The Messiah absorbs our uncleanness, that in him we might be clean, restored, and healed.

"Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow" (Ps. 51:7).