Having a nursing background, it was always a puzzle to me as to why, under the law, contaminated vessels received different treatment. Earthen pots had to be destroyed, while wooden ones just had to be rinsed in water (Lev. 15:12). As a young student nurse in hygiene classes, I was taught that wooden surfaces were not to be used in any procedure requiring aseptic techniques as it was porous and therefore harbored bacteria. Wood in relation to food preparation was a “no no!” Wooden bread boards, counter tops, butchers blocks (even when painstakingly scrubbed by the butcher), were assessed as unhygienic.
Years later on coming to Canada, I was horrified to be served a steak on a wooden platter. Soon after, however, I was appeased when the government recognized the “folly” and banned the practice. Hence my bewilderment as to why the Israelites were not instructed to destroy wooden dishes that had obviously come into contact with bacterial contamination.
Science discovers what the Bible knew
Recently while doing the Leviticus 15 reading with a group of friends, this very issue was discussed. One of the brethren was a carpenter by hobby and vaguely remembered an article on a related topic. On his return home to England, he sent me a copy.
The fascinating article1 discussed a report from the University of Wisconsin on experiments performed on a variety of different materials. Cultures taken from glass, plastic laminate and pottery were heavily impregnated with harmful bacteria in comparison with the wooden surfaces which were virtually free. It was discovered that wood has its own built-in cleansing system whereby organisms intrinsic to the wood actually ingest pathogenic bacteria and destroy them.
So my problem was solved — and we see again the wisdom of God versus the vacillating opinions of science.
Spiritual lessons
On reflection, there is a lovely spiritual lesson for us here. As Paul said, we have this treasure in earthenware vessels (II Cor. 4:7). God the potter made us good vessels of the dust of the earth, but, sadly, the vessels became marred with sin as a result of Adam’s fall. Like pathogens on pottery, sin multiplies within us and of ourselves we can do nothing to prevent its proliferation.
Links with cleansing a leper
It is interesting that an earthenware pot was used in the ritual cleansing of the leper. In his book Law and Grace, Bro. Fred Barling makes a link between the pot and the leper. “The earthen dish provided the nexus between the ritual and the man for whose benefit it was being conducted: he himself was but an ‘earthen vessel’ of a different sort.” So both the pot and the leper represented human nature contaminated by sin, eradication of which could only be achieved on God’s terms as the cleansing ritual showed.
Two live birds were taken; the first was killed over the earthenware bowl (representative of man) containing the fresh water (probably taken from a running stream or flowing spring and a token of life and cleansing). The second bird was dipped into the bowl which now contained blood and water and set free. Lastly, cedar, scarlet dye, hyssop (standing for incorruption, healing and purification, respectively) were dipped into the bowl and the leper was sprinkled seven times.
What sublime symbology! The two clean birds parallel the two aspects of Christ’s sacrifice: death and resurrection. One spoke of his death while clothed with mortal flesh. The other pointed to his resurrection when he was no longer bound by an earthly body. The leper could be cleansed through the law’s ritual and we can be cleansed from sin and ultimately death through association with the reality of our Savior.
To complete the analogy, unlike wood, our earthenware substance has no self-cleansing powers. In faith, we are totally dependent upon the cleansing blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One