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Response
Leviticus 15:18 states, “When a man engages in sexual relations with a woman and there is an ejaculation of semen, both of them must bathe with water, and they will be impure until evening.” This directive likely pertains to sexual intimacy within marriage, as the Law explicitly prohibits adultery and fornication elsewhere. Therefore, whenever a husband and wife engaged in sexual activity, they would be considered impure for the remainder of the day. It may seem peculiar that marital relations, which are not sinful, would result in a married couple being deemed impure.
Being impure under the Law did not equate to being sinful. The Old Testament Law distinguishes between two types of impurity—moral and ceremonial. Moral impurity stemmed from immoral behaviors, as outlined in Leviticus 20:10–21, carrying penalties ranging from infertility to death. The “uncleanness” associated with marital relations fell under the ceremonial category and did not incur any punishment.
An individual in an impure state was required to refrain from touching sacred objects and adhere to the Law’s guidelines to regain purity. This state of impurity prevented a person from approaching the sanctuary «both male and female you shall put outside the camp; you shall put them outside the camp, so that they will not defile their camp where I dwell. », (Numbers 5:3). An impure individual could not partake of consecrated food or present it as an offering (Leviticus 7:20-21;Deuteronomy 26:14 ). If someone was impure during the Passover period, they had to wait one month before participating in the feast (Numbers 9:6-13 ).
Apart from marital sexual relations, there were other causes of ceremonial impurity. A nocturnal emission of semen would render a man ceremonially impure.Initially, he was ceremonially unclean that day, and he had to spend the day outside the camp (Deuteronomy 23:10-11). Also, women were ceremonially unclean during menstruation (Leviticus 15:19-23) and after giving birth (Leviticus 12:1-8). In marriage, two become one (Genesis 2:24;Matthew 19:4-6) and share the ceremonial uncleanness in sexual union «The woman also with whom a man shall lie with the seed of copulation, they shall both bathe themselves in water, and be unclean until the evening.», (Leviticus 15:18). However, there is nothing sinful or immoral about marital sex, which was God’s invention and decree for humans, even before sin entered the human race «And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.», (Genesis 1:28).
We can assume any number of reasons God had for making these rules governing uncleanness, from physical hygiene for individuals and communities to helping couples appreciate the specialness of His gift of sex. In contrast, some ancient societies had descended into a shockingly foul and savage state, living more like wild animals driven by every kind of impulse rather than living as God’s highest creation, made in His image (Genesis 1:26-27).
But the ultimate purpose for everything in the Law is spiritual. In the case of the laws governing uUncleanness, the purpose was to show the people of Israel that God is holy and mankind is not. The fact that normal sexual relations caused a married couple to become ceremonially unclean shows that we are impure before God, even when we are not committing outright sin. We are fallen people living in a fallen world, and even the day-to-day activities of life make us unclean. We require cleansing before we can approach the Holy God.
God told Israel, “You are to be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own” «And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the LORD am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine. », (Leviticus 20:26). Israel’s lack of holiness was kept front and center in the Law. “What is the use of the Law? It was given . . . to show that we sin” «Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. », (Galatians 3:19, CEV). What Israel needed—and what all of us need—is the faith of Abraham, because “those who have faith are children of Abraham” (verse 7), that is, those who trust God’s promises are recipients of God’s blessing.
