The seventh commandment

Leviticus 18.19

“You shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness while she is in her menstrual uncleanness.”

Leviticus 20.18

“If a man lies with a woman during her menstrual period and uncovers her nakedness, he has made naked her fountain, and she has uncovered the fountain of her blood. Both of them shall be cut off from among their people.”

Here is the first instance in which “uncovering nakedness” is equated with fornication. It’s not clear to me why this particular example of uncovering nakedness had to be singled out, except that a woman would be less likely to conceive during her menstrual period, and might be tempted, as might a man, to try to take advantage of this time for an illicit sexual liaison.

Presumably, however, this would also apply to married couples. The idea of making “naked her fountain” is mysterious; nevertheless, while we (I) may not completely understand the rationale for this, the plain meaning is unmistakable. We don’t have to understand all God’s commands completely in order to obey them faithfully.

This series of In the Gates we present a detailed explanation of the Law of God, beginning with the Ten Commandments, and working through the statutes and rules that accompany each commandment. For a practical guide to the role of God’s Law in the practice of ethics, get The Ground for Christian Ethics by going to www.ailbe.org and click on our Book Store.