Does Unclean Mean Dirty?
What does unclean till evening mean?
When one becomes “unclean” they are currently in a state in which it is not acceptable to present themselves before our Creator.
There are many ways that a person can become unclean. For example, a woman is unclean after having a child.
Leviticus 12:2
Speak to the people of Israel, saying, If a woman conceives and bears a male child, then she shall be unclean seven days. As at the time of her menstruation, she shall be unclean. This does not mean she did anything wrong. Being unclean is not the same as being in sin. It is simply a temporary state that must pass before one can enter the Temple of Yahweh.
In this case, she is unclean for seven days for the birth of the boy, then an additional 33 days for herself (verse 4). After those days have expired and the appropriate offering is completed, she is no longer unclean.
There are also those that have certain diseases. They were to remain outside the camp as long as that disease was present.
Leviticus 13:45-46
“The leprous person who has the disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head hang loose, and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean.’ He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease. He is unclean. He shall live alone. His dwelling shall be outside the camp.
It should be noted that in this particular case it took a priest to determine whether one was unclean or not. There is not an active Levitical priesthood today, thus, it is impossible for one to be declared unclean in the same way as described here.
Then there are those that ate something that died naturally, or died by other animals. Doing this will cause you to be unclean. This particular uncleanliness expires after bathing in water, washing the clothes, and waiting till evening.
Leviticus 17:15
And every person who eats what dies of itself or what is torn by beasts, whether he is a native or a sojourner, shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and be unclean until the evening; then he shall be clean.
The point of the matter is that being unclean is not in of itself sin. For the most part, being unclean today serves no practical Biblical purpose outside of an established functioning Levitical priesthood and temple.
Many of the remedies related to being unclean simply called for a “mikva” and waiting till evening.
That is the whole point of the baptism as its called today.
It’s called a mikva…or a cleansing. We emulate this practice even today.
Once a decision was reached by a gentile or anyone to no longer dwell in sin (which is unclean, eating pork, pagan practices such as drinking blood, etc), you would take a bath…mikva or Baptism as its called today.
This would put you in a state of being clean and your desire was to stay that way from here on out, that way you were always in a state in which you could present yourself before your Creator.
This was to symbolize moving from a life that was not acceptable and presentable to Yahweh (similar to being unclean) to living a life that was presentable before Yahweh (similar to being clean).
We hope that you enjoyed this teaching, and remember, continue to test everything.