But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith, He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, made us alive together with Christ (for it is by grace we have been saved) and raised us up together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Jesus Christ. (Translation, Lane). Eph. 2:4-

The Cleansing of the Leper, part two: The Ritual and the Meaning. Leviticus the 14th Chapter

Leviticus 14

Law of Cleansing a Leper

 1Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,2"This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing. Now he shall be brought to the priest  3and the priest shall go out to the outside of the camp. Thus the priest shall look, and if the infection of leprosy has been healed in the leper  4then the priest shall give orders to take two live clean birds and cedar wood and a scarlet string and hyssop for the one who is to be cleansed. 5"The priest shall also give orders to slay the one bird in an earthenware vessel over running water. 6"As for the live bird, he shall take it together with the cedar wood and the scarlet string and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the live bird in the blood of the bird that was slain over the running water. 7"He shall then sprinkle seven times the one who is to be cleansed from the leprosy and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the live bird go free over the open field. 8"The one to be cleansed shall then wash his clothes and shave off all his hair and bathe in water and be clean Now afterward, he may enter the camp, but he shall stay outside his tent for seven days.9"It will be on the seventh day that he shall shave off all his hair: he shall shave his head and his beard and his eyebrows, even all his hair. He shall then wash his clothes and bathe his body in water and be clean.10"Now on the eighth day he is to take two male lambs without defect, and a yearling ewe lamb without defect, and three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, and one log of oil;
11and the priest who pronounces him clean shall present the man to be cleansed and the aforesaid before the LORD at the doorway of the tent of meeting.12"Then the priest shall take the one male lamb and bring it for a guilt offering, with thelog of oil, and present them as a wave offering before the LORD.
  13"Next he shall slaughter the male lamb in the place where they slaughter the sin offering and the burnt offering, at the place of the sanctuary--for the guilt offering, like the sin offering, belongs to the priest; it is most holy. 14"The priest shall then take some of the blood of the guilt offering, and the priest shall put it on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot. 15"The priest shall also take some of the log of oil, and pour it into his left palm; 16the priest shall then dip his right-hand finger into the oil that is in his left palm, and with his finger sprinkle some of the oil seven times before the LORD  17"Of the remaining oil which is in his palm, the priest shall put some on the right ear lobe of the one to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, on the blood of the guilt offering; 18while the rest of the oil that is in the priest's palm, he shall put on the head of the one to be cleansed. So the priest shall make atonement on his behalf before the LORD  19"The priest shall next offer the sin offering and make atonement for the one to be cleansed from his uncleanness. Then afterward, he shall slaughter the burnt offering. 20"The priest shall offer up the burnt offering and the grain offering on the altar. Thus the priest shall make atonement for him, and he will be clean. 21"But if he is poor and his means are insufficient, then he is to take one male lamb for a guilt offering as a wave offering to make atonement for him, and one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, and a log of oil, 22and two turtledoves or two young pigeons which are within his means, the one shall be a sin offering and the other a burnt offering.23"Then the eighth day he shall bring them for his cleansing to the priest, at the doorway of the tent of meeting, before the LORD 24"The priest shall take the lamb of the guilt offering and the log of oil, and the priest shall offer them for a wave offering before the LORD.
25"Next he shall slaughter the lamb of the guilt offering; and the priest is to take some of the blood of the guilt offering and put it on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot.26"The priest shall also pour some of the oil into his left palm. 27and with his right-hand finger the priest shall sprinkle some of the oil that is in his left palm seven times before the LORD. 28"The priest shall then put some of the oil that is in his palm on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot, on the place of the blood of the guilt offering.29"Moreover, the rest of the oil that is in the priest's palm he shall put on the head of the one to be cleansed, to make atonement on his behalf before the LORD. 30"He shall then offer one of the turtledoves or young pigeons, which are within his means. 31"He shall offer what he can afford, the one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering, together with the grain offering. So the priest shall make atonement before the LORD on behalf of the one to be cleansed.32"This is the law for him in whom there is an infection of leprosy, whose means are limited for his cleansing."

Cleansing a Leprous House

 33The LORD further spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying: 34"When you enter the land of Canaan, which I give you for a possession, and I put a mark of leprosy on a house in the land of your possession,
  35then the one who owns the house shall come and tell the priest, saying, 'Something like a mark of leprosy has become visible to me in the house.  36"The priest shall then command that they empty the house before the priest goes in to look at the mark, so that everything in the house need not become unclean; and afterward the priest shall go in to look at the house.
  37"So he shall look at the mark, and if the mark on the walls of the house has greenish or reddish depressions and appears deeper than the surface,  38then the priest shall come out of the house, to the doorway, and quarantine the house for seven days.39"The priest shall return on the seventh day and make an inspection. If the mark has indeed spread in the walls of the house, 40then the priest shall order them to tear out the stones with the mark in them and throw them away at an unclean place outside the city.41"He shall have the house scraped all around inside, and they shall dump the plaster that they scrape off at an unclean place outside the city.42"Then they shall take other stones and replace those stones, and he shall take other plaster and replaster the house.43"If, however, the mark breaks out again in the house after he has torn out the stones and scraped the house, and after it has been replastered,44then the priest shall come in and make an inspection. If he sees that the mark has indeed spread in the house, it is a malignant mark in the house; it is unclean.45"He shall therefore tear down the house, its stones, and its timbers, and all the plaster of the house, and he shall take them outside the city to an unclean place.46"Moreover, whoever goes into the house during the time that he has quarantined it, becomes unclean until evening.47"Likewise, whoever lies down in the house shall wash his clothes, and whoever eats in the house shall wash his clothes.48"If, on the other hand, the priest comes in and makes an inspection and the mark has not indeed spread in the house after the house has been replastered, then the priest shall pronounce the house clean because the mark has not reappeared.
49"To cleanse the house then, he shall take two birds and cedar wood and a scarlet string and hyssop,
50and he shall slaughter the one bird in an earthenware vessel over running water.
51"Then he shall take the cedar wood and the hyssop and the scarlet string, with the live bird, and dip them in the blood of the slain bird as well as in the running water, and sprinkle the house seven times.
52"He shall thus cleanse the house with the blood of the bird and with the running water, along with the live bird and with the cedar wood and with the hyssop and with the scarlet string.
53"However, he shall let the live bird go free outside the city into the open field. So he shall make atonement for the house, and it will be clean."54This is the law for any mark of leprosy--even for a scale,  55and for the leprous garment or house  56and for a swelling, and for a scab, and for a bright spot--57to teach when they are unclean and when they are clean. This is the law of leprosy.





I. Leprosy was and is a vicious disease.

A. Often in the OT it was considered a curse from God.

1. As God did unto Miriam when she arrayed herself with Aaron against Moses - Numbers 12:10-15 - and was later healed.

a. This is a case we can directly attribute to God.

b. Moses also gave God the credit."Remember what YHWY did to Miriam." Deut. 24:8-9.

2. Therefore, Leprosy was perceived as punishment for wrongdoing.

a. It rendered the person ceremonially unclean, as well as physically rejected by society.

b. Other diseases in the Bible were "healed" but leprosy in the Bible is "cleansed," (with only two exceptions: Miriam -Numbers 12:13; and the Samaritan of Luke 17:15.)

1) "This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing." Lev. 14:2.

2) The plague, could be healed, but the leper still had to be cleansed." Lev. 14:3.

3. 2 Kings 5:1 presents the episode of Naaman and his cleansing and his disease passed to Gehazi. 2 Kings 5: 27.

4. King Uzziah was smitten for intruding into the priestly function and tried to offer incense, but "YHWH smote him with leprosy." 2nd Chronicles 26: 16-23.

B. And it was generally held that only by Divine intervention could it be cleansed and healed.

1. As in the case of Miriam, Naaman, the Samaritan, et.al.

2. "The lepers are cleansed" was a sign of the Messiah ship - Matthew 11:5, along with other signs given to John the Baptist.

C. It is a classical caricature for sin.

1. Isaiah 53:4 says Christ was "stricken, smitten of God, and

afflicted."

a. "Smitten" can be the same idea as when "YHWH had smitten Him" i.e. King Uzziah - 2nd Chronicles 26:20.

b. Some ancient Syrian versions say - "God made him leprous."

c. Such is the meaning of Psalms 73:5 - "Neither are they plagued (smitten with disease) like other men."

d. Isaiah 53: 4 further states that those diseases Christ bore were ours."Surely he has borne our diseases" as the Hebrew text reads.



2. Jeremiah 8:22 - the "Balm of Gilead" presents sin as a disease that has been neglected in Israel and the fault of her troubles.

3. Jeremiah 17:9 in the RSV says "the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick.

4. Malachi 4:2 promises to those who fear the Name of the Lord that "the sun of righteousness shall arise with healing in its wings; and you shall go forth and gambol (skip about) as calves of the stall."

a. The "Sun of Righteousness" is clearly Christ.

b. The "healing in its wings" or beams - symbolizes the spiritual healing we receive from Christ.

c. "Gambol" (is to skip about). Christ will bring back our youth.

1) As in Isaiah 40:31 - the men who wait for YHWH "shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not grow weary; they shall walk and not grow faint."

2) For their weakness and disease is gone.

5. Psalms 51:7 - "purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean" alludes to the ritual of the cleansing of the leper.

D. And Christ is then presented as the Great Physician who will heal our diseases.

1. He did not simply "heal" the disease but He "TOOK, BORE" them.

a. Matthew 8:17 – "He himself took our infirmities and bore or diseases."



b. By His stripes we are healed" from Isa. 53:5.

2. Matthew 9:12 - He knew that "they that are whole have no need of a physician but they that are sick."

a. That these diseases are spiritual and the presentation a caricature for sin is evident.

b. Matthew 9: 13 removes any doubt about the caricature. "I came not to call the righteous but to call the sinners."

E. Any diseased soul that rejects the healing and cleansing of the Great Physician shall keep their disease and perish under God's judgment.

1. John 9:39-41 is categorical! Recognize your ills and Christ can heal, but deny the need "and your sins remain."

2. Revelation 21:27 -"the unclean" shall not enter into God's heavenly city."

3. Revelation 22:15 - "without are the sinners of all types."

II. Social and religious exile was imposed by Law upon the leper.

A. Leviticus 13: 45-46 - when leprosy is the diagnosis, this demanded of the leper:

1. He must rend his clothes, his hair must be left unkempt.

a. These are signs of mourning for the dead - though he is physically alive.

b. Leviticus 10:6 - after Nadab and Abihu were fried, Moses commanded Eleazar and Ithamar: "Let not the hair go loose neither rend your clothes that you die not."

2. He MUST cover his upper lip: "Unclean, Unclean."

3. He "shall dwell alone outside the camp," as long as he has leprosy.

B. He is to assume all the external expressions of mourning for the dead.

1. He is to be regarded by others as a dead man including himself.

2. In other words, he is a mourner at his own funeral.

C. It is the High Priest that declares the presence of the malady - Lev. 13:44.

1. And it is the Priest that "shall surely pronounce him unclean."

2. And only the High Priest can declare the disease cleansed.

3. And restoration and fellowship is possible only through the High Priest.

III. The Ritual for the Cleansing of the Leper - Leviticus 14- there are two distinct parts: the cleansing and the restoration.

A. The Cleansing ritual - according to the stages set by law.

1. The priest goes out to the leper - out of the camp - when he hears that the disease has passed. The priest takes the initiative.



a. The leper being an outcast cannot go to the priest - nor we to the Christ - Romans 10:6 "Who shall ascend into heaven?(that is to bring Christ down)"

b. The priest must go to the "dead man" and effect a spiritual resurrection to a new social life.

c. The priest takes with him these ingredients:

1) Two living, clean birds (Sparrows)

2) Cedar wood - for its near incorruptibility.

3) Scarlet - symbol of life and death (blood)

4) Hyssop, for its detergent qualities.

2. The priest kills one bird and catches the blood in "an earthen vessel over running water."

a. That is water from a fresh running stream. An important concept here is at purification is where the blood and water meet. The blood from the bird combines with the living water for purification.

b. Cannot be from stale or stagnant water.

c. Must be "living water." In the earthen vessel is where the blood and the water come together.

d. John 19:34, and there came out blood and water.

e. See John 19:29,30. Our Lord drank from a sponge of hyssop and scarlet wool. His eye was on this shadow when He cried,"It is finished."

f. He then dips the live bird in the blood of the dead bird.

a. Perhaps tying the live bird to the cedar wood and.

scarlet.

3. This makes it easy to asperse the the leper with the blood, as the live bird becomes a brush to splatter the blood on the leper.

4. He then sprinkles the blood of the first bird that was killed with the live bird that was dipped in the blood.

a. The sprinkling is done seven times.

b. Same as the 7-fold sprinkling of the Tabernacle and the Altar on the Day of Atonement. It was to "cleanse" them. Lev. 16:19.

5. The live bird is released in an "open field" Leviticus 14:7.

6. The former leper now must:

a. Thoroughly wash his clothes - they could still be contaminated.

b. Shave off all his hair.

c. Bathe himself in water.

7. The ex-leper is now free to enter the camp of Israel.

a. But must dwell outside his tent for seven days."

b. This is not probational but a precaution.

8. On the 7th day the ex-leper shall shave his beard, his hair even his eyebrows.

a. And he shall again wash thoroughly all his clothes.

b. And bathe his whole body.

B. The second stage - the restoration ritual begins on the 8th day. The New Week begins on the 8th day. (The 1st Day of the Week).

1. Presentation of the ex-leper and his paraphernalia "before YHWH at the door of the tent of meeting - verse 10-11.

a. The former leper must bring these animals and ingredients.

1) Two he-lambs without blemish, one year old.

2) One ewe-lamb without blemish, one year old.

3) Three tenths part of an ephah of flour for a meal offering.

4) One log of oil - approximately one liquid pint.

b. These are all sacrifices or elements of consecration.

2. Wave Offering unto YHWH in form of one of the he-lambs

and the log of oil- the lamb is waved while alive.

3. The he-lamb is killed by the priest for a trespass offering.

a. The lamb is killed at the same place where the sin-offering and burnt offering are normally killed.

b. And as the officiating priest gets the flesh in the sin offering (for the commoner or ruler), so he also receives the trespass offering (verse 13).

c. The priest must act on behalf of the ex-leper for he is not yet fully restored.

4. The priest anoints the ex-leper with the blood of the Trespass offering.

. With the blood he puts it on the tip of the right ear, on the thumb of the right hand, and on the great toe of his right foot.

b. This is the exact ceremony involved in the consecration of Aaron and his sons and the other Levities in their priestly office - see Leviticus 8:22-24.

c. This is for the CLEANSING of the ex-leper.

d. The trespass offering was demanded in this case because the time the man was in exile he missed worship.

5. The priest anoints the ex-leper with oil.

a. This is for CONSECRATION to the priestly position (Exodus 19:6) which all Israel enjoyed - but was lost while outside the camp.

b. The ceremony is performed by the priest pouring oil in his left hand and dipping his right finger he "sprinkles oil with his finger seven times before YHWH."

c. He then from the oil in his left hand puts oil on the ex-lepers right ear, thumb of the right hand and the great toe of the right foot - see Leviticus 8:30 where oil is used in the consecration ceremonies of the priests and Aaron.

d. The rest of the oil in his hand is poured out on the head of the leper - and what is left on the hin of oil is given to the priest - see Psalms 133:2 for the significance.

6. The other he-lamb is offered by the priest as a sin-offering according to the regular ritual of the sin offering.

7. The ewe-lamb is offered by the priest as a burnt-offering - and this too according to the regular ritual.

8. The meal offering is burned on the altar - it is the 3/10 ephah of fine flour.

IV. The Meaning of the ceremony of the Two Birds.

A. A caged bird is suggested.

1. Jesus, just as a free bird, belongs to heaven.

2. But he submitted to being caged.

B. It is a living bird - that is to give its life to cure the most loathsome disease - leprosy.

C. It is a clean bird. The sinless perfection of Christ.

D. It is killed - as a source or cause of cleansing and healing.

E. The living bird is dipped in the blood of the first and sprinkled on the disease.

1. It is one sacrifice. A unit between the living and the dead.

2. Just as the two goats on Yom Kippur are a unit.

3. And also here the first bird is seen as the SOURCE of the healing or cleansing and the second bird is the RESULT.

F. But there is more here than just the cleansing of a disease.

1. There is the resurrection to social and religious life of a man that was considered dead.

2. The ex-leper now lives again with all rights and privileges.

G. The second bird is then released to return to heaven.

1. Since the two birds are a unit, then second bird is seen as surviving death. At least the symbol.

2. This is the sacrifice of Christ presented as dying but later raised from the dead and returning to heaven.

H. All the other sacrifices in the ritual maintain the symbolic values already assigned to them.

1. This indicates the total sacrificial function of Christ.

2. But herein, as in the ritual of the two goats on Yom Kippur, it pertains to the resurrection of Christ.

3. But that resurrection of the second bird was only possible after the first bird had taken on itself the "death" (or disease) of the leper.

I. The second bird then flies to heaven with the blood of the first on its wings.

1. This symbolism is rich because it all took place -"outside the camp" and not at the tabernacle.

2. Christ is also symbolized by the actions of the priest.

a. He had to leave the courts of heaven and go to the diseased outcasts of the earth.

b. And He provided all the ingredients for the restoration and resurrection of the "dead man" who had the disease.