Hello all and welcome back to my blog.
I would like to first apologise for not posting in a consistent way that I wished and ought to. If you are new to Talkinsen blog. Hello and welcome. My name is Ogechi the creator and writer for this blog site. I would also like to use this opportunity to greet all returning readers and wish all a happy 2025 year.
I wish to start this year's blog by talking about things to do with the self. Focusing on self care and wellness and how this is in alignment with God’s will for us. Self grooming and cleanliness are essential part of keeping God’s commandments. Why may you ask? And my answer to you is that is one of the ways you honour God with your body, mind and receive healing.
Do you remember the story of the paralytic man (John 5:1-15) in the bible who because of his illness and disability was unable to get into the waters when stirred to clean himself to receive healing like others. What is important to note is that the cleanliness wasn’t about spiritual cleaning as but the act of going into a place in this case the pool of water was what brought about the healing. This water itself is a spiritual symbol of cleanliness. Therefore, we must recognise that healing of any kind comes with cleansing oneself and on this blog, I focus on physical aspect of self care and wellness, which also has a mental and spiritual symbolism to them. Firstly, I wish to share with you the different bible verses and/or passages that relate to self-care and
From the Old Testament
In the book of Leviticus 15
Focusing on intimate body care
Verses 1-3
The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When any man has an unusual bodily discharge, such a discharge is unclean. Whether it continues flowing from his body or is blocked, it will make him unclean.
Verse 7
“‘Any bed the man with a discharge lies on will be unclean, and anything he sits on will be unclean.
Verse 10-11
whoever picks up those things must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening.
Anyone the man with a discharge touches without rinsing his hands with water must wash their clothes and bathe with water.
Verse 16
When a man has an emission of semen, he must bathe his whole body with water, and he will be unclean till evening.
Verse 18
When a man has sexual relations with a woman and there is an emission of semen, both of them must bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening.
Verse 25
When a woman has her regular flow of blood, the impurity of her monthly period will last seven days, and anyone who touches her will be unclean till evening.
Verse 26
Anything she lies on during her period will be unclean, and anything she sits on will be unclean. Anyone who touches her bed will be unclean; they must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening.
Verse 24
“‘If a man has sexual relations with her and her monthly flow touches him, he will be unclean for seven days; any bed he lies on will be unclean.
Verse 28
“‘When she is cleansed from her discharge, she must count off seven days, and after that she will be ceremonially clean
Leviticus chapter 13
Verse 1-3
The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “When anyone has a swelling or a rash or a shiny spot on their skin that may be a defiling skin disease, they must be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons who is a priest. The priest is to examine the sore on the skin.
Verse 13: 6
On the seventh day the priest is to examine them again, and if the sore has faded and has not spread in the skin, the priest shall pronounce them clean; it is only a rash. They must wash their clothes, and they will be clean.
Verse 13:38-39
When a man or woman has white spots on the skin, the priest is to examine them, and if the spots are dull white, it is a harmless rash that has broken out on the skin; they are clean.
Verse 40-41
A man who has lost his hair and is bald is clean. If he has lost his hair from the front of his scalp and has a bald forehead, he is clean.
Self grooming and skincare
Leviticus chapter 14
Verse 8
“The person to be cleansed must wash their clothes, shave off all their hair and bathe with water; then they will be ceremonially clean
Esther Chapter 2
Verse 7
This young woman, who was also known as Esther, had a lovely figure and was beautiful.
Verse 8-9
Many young women were brought to the citadel of Susa and put under the care of Hegai. Esther also was taken to the king’s palace and entrusted to Hegai, who had charge of the harem. She pleased him and won his favor. Immediately he provided her with her beauty treatments and special food. He assigned to her seven female attendants selected from the king’s palace and moved her and her attendants into the best place in the harem.
Verse 12
Before a young woman’s turn came to go into King Xerxes, she had to complete twelve months of beauty treatments prescribed for the women, six months with oil of myrrh and six with perfumes and cosmetics.
Ruth Chapter 1
Wash, put on perfume, and get dressed in your best clothes.
Songs of songs Chapter 1
Verse 3
Pleasing is the fragrance of your perfumes; your name is like perfume poured out.
New Testament
Luke chapter 7
Verse 37
The woman pouring perfume on Jesus (Luke 7:37)
“she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume”
Verse 46-47
You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”
House clean
Cleansing From Defiling Molds
Leviticus Chapter 14
Verse 33-36
The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “When you enter the land of Canaan, which I am giving you as your possession, and I put a spreading mold in a house in that land, the owner of the house must go and tell the priest, ‘I have seen something that looks like a defiling mold in my house.’ The priest is to order the house to be emptied before he goes in to examine the mold, so that nothing in the house will be pronounced unclean.
Verse 41- 42
He must have all the inside walls of the house scraped and the material that is scraped off dumped into an unclean place outside the town. Then they are to take other stones to replace these and take new clay and plaster the house.
Blogging
It is well noted that in the few bible verses highlighted in this blog post that God is the author of cleanliness. He doesn’t like dirt, and anyone who lives in such is not just unclean but ungodly. The reason for the need for the priest to be the one to examine the different kinds of issues relating to either skin disease, illness or minor skin issues and perform cleaning rituals relates to the need for a holistic treatment which includes the spiritual acts of confirming healing. In the days of the Old Testament, the priest played one of the highest if not the highest role and influence in the lives of believers. He was not just a religious leader but doctor and advocate and judge of the people. For if the priest pronounced you unclean, so will the public perceive you until it is reversed. You will be avoided by people and isolated.
The isolation is important to prevent the illness becoming contagious and spreading to others and to monitor the issue to determine its diagnosis, effect and impact. Just like how the doctors of today advised on isolation for COVID19, for example. The need is to protect yourself and others. However, medical issues have adverse to the point that illness and disease doesn’t often have a physical sign or symptoms for the naked eye to see. But note that the importance and significance of priest in examining illnesses and determining a diagnosis or solution is still relevant today, especially for those that know and have the specialist skill. The reason being that when Jesus in the New Testament healed the man with leprosy asked he should go to a priest and present himself healed (Luke 5: 13-14) Why? To confirm his cleanliness, to offer sacrifice as instructed by Moses (this fulfilling the Old Testament commands on God on this matter) and so that he can be reintegrated into the society. To me, the need for spiritual guidance on handling illness and disease etc, shows that not all illnesses or diseases has just a physical cause, but some are spiritual. Some illnesses can manifest in physical but the root cause is spiritual. Thus, the need for holistic treatment approach to healing of any skin or body issue for a sustainable and complete healing.
God wants us to have a healthy body because he knows that it makes us feel good about ourselves, build our confidence and social relationships. He knows that it the only way we can fully be like him – loving and carefree as well as caring for others. Illness or disease of any kind of negativity affects us and this is can also bring down our faith and make us question God. Therefore, God love a healthy body and if you read the scripture regarding sacrifices, you will notice that he always commands to not bring any animal with defect on it.
God commandment on intimate area self care
God giving command on how to behave and carry out self care (e.g. cleansing with water) in our intimate area or on the body in general) after sexual intercourse. The practice around this is revealing of how much he wants us to be clean and care for ourselves in every aspect of our live. Doing this also help prevent development of sexual transmitted disease, illness or issues developing in our intimate area. This is why self care is a commandment from God.
God commandment on beauty and skin self care maintenance
Self care and wellness focusing on beauty and maintenance is also important and essential part of this commandment. How can you reduce the likelihood or avoid developing skin rashes or disease without maintaining a proper hygiene routine that supports the body tissues and health?
If you are like me, who love watching beauty and self care videos online and especially on YouTube, the growth of it in the year of 2024 was needed and it helped to promote our standards of looking after oneself to a better one, if you consume them wisely. Taking what is needed, wanted and what is absolutely unnecessary out the equation.
When we look into the bible including the verses and chapters highlighted in this blog, you can see the benefits and reward those who engage in it gain. It not just intangible but tangible results. In the case of Esther, the bible described her as beautiful already with a lovely figure. This natural beauty was what got her through the doors of selection for a king’s queen but it wasn’t the only thing required for her for be noticed or even be chosen by the king for a queen. What I am saying is that people cannot always or will not just accept you the way you are, that if you are looking for elevation, be valued and respected, especially of such magnitude.
When you see a queen, you do not just admire her look but what brings the look about. In Esther’s case, the 12 months treatment of oils, perfume and cosmetics was to help nourish her skin, make her smell good in the presence of that which she wishes to attract and to beautify her beauty even more. Her personality also helped her gain favours but since my focus is not on the interior but the exterior, I wish to help you see that self grooming for men and women and beauty maintenance are part of God’s wish for his children.
I absolutely love the story of Naomi and Ruth because it shows us the importance of learning from a more experienced person in the regard of marrying a nobleman, respectful and wealthy. It also shows the need to always dress well and appropriate for any place and and in this case for the man you wish to attract and vice versa for the female you wish to attract for the men. Naomi knows that it is time for Ruth to remarry and noticing from the stories that Ruth tells of (the man) that he is good and may also like Ruth. The advice given to Ruth will not be explored in this blog, but I would, like to say that it is impeccable and ever relevant in all contexts, and time.
Ruth dressing well to meet Moab is an act to show us all that God loves us to dress well. At one point in my life last year, I kind dresses however I wished to dress to go out to certain places without caring how I looked, even if my hair looked unkempt and without makeup. With gentle advise and conscience probing, God and Mother Mary started instructing me to maintain and I later improved my look when going out. And of recent times, even in the house. This is not to say that you must have your hair always done or wear makeup, what was happening to me was that with issues I was experiencing, I lost who I was. I was also at the time was experimenting with different look. Wearing or not wearing makeup is not of God’s concern but it was that I had unknowingly started becoming uncaring of my look including the way I dressed. It was in this period of reminding and advising that God gave me his word. Your beauty has a purpose and when this is under attack, rather than retreat, you must highlight or present yourself in an elevated way.
It doesn’t matter if you are a natural girly, look good with it, be presentable and if you wear makeup and like to dress up, look good doing it. The key here is maintenance, which requires consistency. For Ruth to attract Moab to the extent of him asking to marry her, she had to go the extra mile and present herself worthy, besides her character. To be noticed is not the same as to attract. Moab already noticed Ruth and commended her character and was impressed by her person. But he always saw her dressed in work clothes for picking wealth in the fields (e.g. farm clothes). For the attraction to build, Ruth had to do something different in accordance with Naomi’s advice.
The reward of standing out, doing self care, dressing well and doing beauty maintaining routine pays off and the case of Esther which support of Ruth text, as she was not just chosen to become a wife and a queen.
Esther 2 verse 17
“Now the king was attracted to Esther more than to any of the other women, and she won his favour and approval more than any of the other virgins. So he set a royal crown on her head and made his queen.
I put the verses regarding house or home care as an extra bonus because self care and wellness with looking after the environment you live inside; in this case your home would not be helpful. Why, because good, clean and healthy environment or home supports your mental and spiritual wellness as the physical.
Until next time, I hope this blog not only increases your knowledge on the extent which God cares for us but advises you that looking after yourself is important God and your relationship with him and others. Thus, he commands the need for it and cleanliness. Note that from a physical standpoint, it starts with water cleansing. Or at least water must be involved as it is a self-cleaning element to all self care and wellness one can practice. The importance of self care is not just for you but also for others in building useful and gainful relationships.
Remain blessed and if you have any other thoughts on this topic and feel you wish to comment, please feel free to do so.
Kind regards
Talkinsen
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