Leviticus 11:32,33

Containers Contaminated By Dead Animals Or Creeping Things Must Be Washed Or Destroyed (Leviticus 11:32).

Leviticus 11:32

“And on whatever any of them, when they are dead, falls, it shall be unclean; whether it be any vessel of wood, or raiment, or skin, or sack, whatever vessel it may be, with which any work is done, it must be put into water, and it shall be unclean until the even. Then shall it be clean. And every earthen vessel, into which any of them falls, whatever is in it shall be unclean, and you shall break it.”

Contact with dead rodents and reptiles rendered containers ‘unclean'. They have left their proper use. They must therefore be ‘put in water' or destroyed. This was especially important for earthen vessels, which must be destroyed because by their nature they could absorb things that were harmful. Whatever our view it is clear that such uncleanness was seen as having a harmful effect realistically and not just religiously, although the overall idea is undoubtedly that God's people must separate themselves from all that is unclean, from all that comes short of God's perfection, for it is then short of the best.

We may learn from this the necessity for cleanliness, and the necessity for properly scouring pots and pans, especially when they have been in contact with vermin. Cleanliness prevent disease. And we can also learn to avoid things that are unseemly.