[Leviticus 15] Issue, Issue, What is Your Issue? Have you ever been spit on by someone with a running issue? You may not know it, but you undoubtedly have! In this chapter, God instructs Moses regarding protocols for handling infections and physical wounds in the encampment. There is a real spiritual application here – do you have an issue? Something you haven’t let go of? An injury that affects your walk and how you deal with people around you? God will not leave you in your issue! There is a path of healing and deliverance not only for you but for all those around you. The New Testament says that a root of bitterness defiles not just the source person but all they come into contact with. In this chapter, you will find hope for dealing with persistent and past wounding and disappointments.
[Lev 15:1-33 KJV] 1 And the LORD spake unto Moses and to Aaron, saying, 2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When any man hath a running issue out of his flesh, [because of] his issue he [is] unclean. 3 And this shall be his uncleanness in his issue: whether his flesh run with his issue, or his flesh be stopped from his issue, it [is] his uncleanness. 4 Every bed, whereon he lieth that hath the issue, is unclean: and every thing, whereon he sitteth, shall be unclean. 5 And whosoever toucheth his bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe [himself] in water, and be unclean until the even. 6 And he that sitteth on [any] thing whereon he sat that hath the issue shall wash his clothes, and bathe [himself] in water, and be unclean until the even. 7 And he that toucheth the flesh of him that hath the issue shall wash his clothes, and bathe [himself] in water, and be unclean until the even. 8 And if he that hath the issue spit upon him that is clean; then he shall wash his clothes, and bathe [himself] in water, and be unclean until the even. 9 And what saddle soever he rideth upon that hath the issue shall be unclean. 10 And whosoever toucheth any thing that was under him shall be unclean until the even: and he that beareth [any of] those things shall wash his clothes, and bathe [himself] in water, and be unclean until the even. 11 And whomsoever he toucheth that hath the issue, and hath not rinsed his hands in water, he shall wash his clothes, and bathe [himself] in water, and be unclean until the even. 12 And the vessel of earth, that he toucheth which hath the issue, shall be broken: and every vessel of wood shall be rinsed in water. 13 And when he that hath an issue is cleansed of his issue; then he shall number to himself seven days for his cleansing, and wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in running water, and shall be clean. 14 And on the eighth day he shall take to him two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, and come before the LORD unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and give them unto the priest: 15 And the priest shall offer them, the one [for] a sin offering, and the other [for] a burnt offering; and the priest shall make an atonement for him before the LORD for his issue. 16 And if any man’s seed of copulation go out from him, then he shall wash all his flesh in water, and be unclean until the even. 17 And every garment, and every skin, whereon is the seed of copulation, shall be washed with water, and be unclean until the even. 18 The woman also with whom man shall lie [with] seed of copulation, they shall [both] bathe [themselves] in water, and be unclean until the even. 19 And if a woman have an issue, [and] her issue in her flesh be blood, she shall be put apart seven days: and whosoever toucheth her shall be unclean until the even. 20 And every thing that she lieth upon in her separation shall be unclean: every thing also that she sitteth upon shall be unclean. 21 And whosoever toucheth her bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe [himself] in water, and be unclean until the even. 22 And whosoever toucheth any thing that she sat upon shall wash his clothes, and bathe [himself] in water, and be unclean until the even. 23 And if it [be] on [her] bed, or on any thing whereon she sitteth, when he toucheth it, he shall be unclean until the even. 24 And if any man lie with her at all, and her flowers be upon him, he shall be unclean seven days; and all the bed whereon he lieth shall be unclean. 25 And if a woman have an issue of her blood many days out of the time of her separation, or if it run beyond the time of her separation; all the days of the issue of her uncleanness shall be as the days of her separation: she [shall be] unclean. 26 Every bed whereon she lieth all the days of her issue shall be unto her as the bed of her separation: and whatsoever she sitteth upon shall be unclean, as the uncleanness of her separation. 27 And whosoever toucheth those things shall be unclean, and shall wash his clothes, and bathe [himself] in water, and be unclean until the even. 28 But if she be cleansed of her issue, then she shall number to herself seven days, and after that she shall be clean. 29 And on the eighth day she shall take unto her two turtles, or two young pigeons, and bring them unto the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 30 And the priest shall offer the one [for] a sin offering, and the other [for] a burnt offering; and the priest shall make an atonement for her before the LORD for the issue of her uncleanness. 31 Thus shall ye separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness; that they die not in their uncleanness, when they defile my tabernacle that [is] among them. 32 This [is] the law of him that hath an issue, and [of him] whose seed goeth from him, and is defiled therewith; 33 And of her that is sick of her flowers, and of him that hath an issue, of the man, and of the woman, and of him that lieth with her that is unclean.
This chapter addresses implications for people with wounds and wound treatment in Israel’s encampment in the wilderness. Ask yourself – do you have a running issue? Remember, as we mentioned again yesterday, 1 Cor. 10:11 that these things are not recorded simply as Hebrew history but as metaphor and shadow for us today. 1 Cor. 15:46 tells us, “first the natural then the spiritual…” There are natural and physical contaminations, but there are most assuredly spiritual and emotional contaminations that affect wounded people and everyone around them. Again – do you have an issue? Do you have a “running issue” – something ongoing and persistent in your life that shows up in how you deal with people in situations reminiscent of those who wounded you in the first place? The word issue here means to “flow out, to gush, to run, to overflow, have a running issue.” Have you ever been in a conversation with someone, and suddenly there was a rush of emotions, and suddenly the discussion becomes uncomfortable, and you feel like you are walking on eggshells? You just experienced someone with a running issue.
Have you had interactions with a person, and suddenly out comes all these highly personal even intimate details of their life. Leviticus 15 would say this is an “overflow” or as we put it today “too much information”! How do you deal with these things? God is always redemptive, giving a means of addressing these uncomfortable situations in such a manner as to provide a way out and a means of recovering yourself from unforgiveness, wounding, and bitterness that just won’t go away on its own.
In verse 8, we see instructions on what to do if someone in an unclean state spits on another person. Have you ever been spit on spiritually by someone that has an issue? Remember this is talking about the people of God who lived under a supernatural fire by night, ate food that miraculously fell to earth every morning, and drank water that flowed supernaturally out of solid rock, all with the glory of God shining in their tents from the midst of the camp. You would think these people would get along, wouldn’t you? The fact is there are going to be difficult people in your life. There are frequently people who try to take control of their environment and take control of you with anger and abusive behavior. When Jesus said in Matt. 5:39 to turn the other cheek, he wasn’t suggesting that we let these things go undealt with or that we allow difficult people to set the agenda for our lives. Remember, there can be only ONE LORD in your life, and it isn’t that abusive person! When a person with an issue spits on you spiritually speaking, you need to do several things:
1.) Realize you too are now unclean.
2.) Wash your clothes (spiritually speaking)
3.) Wash yourself (with the water of the word [Eph. 5:26]).
You must realize the contaminating effect when someone deals with you outside the spirit of Christ. It contaminates you and defiles you. It provokes you to spread the contamination to others, and they then become contaminated. However, if you put yourself in check and realize, “Hey, now I am unclean – I have to get this off of me…” Then you will have the wisdom to keep quiet and deal with the offense or potential offense so you can move on without complicating your life or contaminating others because of the inappropriate, offensive behavior of others. The clothes of a defiled person also had to be washed in a ritual way. Washing your clothes speaks of your behavior and affectation toward others. Clothes represent our PERSONA or how you present yourself to others. When you are offended, you will tend to respond to others or similar circumstances in anticipation of an offense. When something or someone reminds you of someone who hurt you, then you shun that person and treat them differently. Your clothes need to be washed. When someone with a spiritual issue spits on you, then you must cleanse away that influence so you will refrain from dealing with others in a cruel way in like situations.
Washing yourself means to deal with the wounding caused by the mistreatment of others. Washing involves soap and water. This is the cleansing of the word of God. Matt. 7:1 says judge not that you be not judged. The word judge means to have not opinion. It isn’t about a false love saying, “well, I just love them anyway…” That isn’t an honest response. When you are spit on spiritually by a person with an issue, just let it go. Choose to have no opinion. Don’t keep repeating and rehashing it. Grow up. Forgive, release, and bless. Move on.
What if you are the offended person? What if you have a running issue? Are your friends gently encouraging you to move on and get over it? Do they stop talking when you come into the room? Do you find yourself demanding to be the center of attention in most settings you find yourself in? Are you quick-tempered and making excuses for it because of what you have been through? Do you hide behind your own victimization, making yourself a “sweet rebel” who can’t be corrected because “no one knows what you have been through”? God loves you. He wants you clean. Where do you begin? John 15:3 tells us we are clean through the word that Jesus speaks to us. The starting place is just to hear the word. Be open. Listen. Take down your defenses long enough to consider you may have a running issue that needs to be cleansed. For those who are willing to be cleansed by listening to the word here is the process as defined in our chapter.
1.) In our chapter, we see a seven day cleansing period. Allowing seven days means you are to let the Holy Spirit do a COMPLETE work, not just a partial approach that causes the issue to reoccur, thus becoming a permanent or at least long term part of your character and personality. Change is possible.
2.) Wash your clothes. The clothes we wear are different in different settings. Clothes symbolize the affectation by which we project our self-image to others according to different roles we play (parent, leader, employee, team member, spouse, friend, etc.). Take the detergent of God’s word and cleanse how you deal with others. How do you know you need to do this? Watch the people around you – if they smell you coming, then you need to wash your clothes from your running issue!
3.) Wash your flesh. Wash with the RUNNING WATER of God’s Spirit. This speaks of the fullness of the Spirit of God on the inside of us. You must stir yourself up in God’s spirit and refresh yourself, so the problematic people and situations don’t gain the ascendancy over your state of mind. Paul refers to this approach in Eph. 5:19.
[Eph 5:19 KJV] 19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;
Jesus said the Spirit of God is a well of water – a river of water springing up in you to life everlasting. Let it out and let it flow in praise and worship. The people Paul spoke this to had all seen family members martyred, lost loved ones due to religious practices of shunning, and experienced many hurtful things. They didn’t have much to sing about – but that wasn’t the point. Unbelievers sing because they are happy. Believers sing to release the cleansing joy of God in their lives.
To conclude this chapter, I want to point out that the “running issue” definition in the first verse carries a sexual connotation as well. Issues of self-acceptance, self-image, problems with self-hatred, or trying to earn acceptance through sexualization of a relationship is a common and challenging problem in many lives. The woman at the well when she found herself alone with Jesus (John 4:17) propositioned him with the disclosure, “I have no husband …” She had tried in vain through five relationships to find acceptance and peace with herself while wrapping her persona in an aura of spirituality, theology, and religious activity. Jesus cut right to the heart and ministered to her need rather than dealing with her problem. The result was the activation of a powerful evangelistic anointing that brought her whole city to Christ. If you, as a man or a woman, realize that this story has a familiar ring to it let me say you can be made whole and clean by the love of God, the washing of His word and the outflow of His Spirit in your life just as this lesson suggests.
