Introduction

‘The LORD said to Moses, ‘These are the regulations for any diseased person at the time of their ceremonial cleansing, when they are brought to the priest: The priest is to go outside the camp and examine them. If they have been healed of their defiling skin disease, the priest shall order that two live clean birds and some cedar wood, scarlet yarn and hyssop be brought for the person to be cleansed. Then the priest shall order that one of the birds be killed over fresh water in a clay pot. He is then to take the live bird and dip it, together with the cedar wood, the scarlet yarn, and the hyssop, into the blood of the bird that was killed over the fresh water. Seven times he shall sprinkle the one to be cleansed of the defiling disease and then pronounce them clean. After that, he is to release the live bird in the open fields. ‘The person to be cleansed must wash their clothes, shave off all their hair and bathe with water; then they will be ceremonially clean. After this, they may come into the camp, but they must stay outside their tent for seven days. On the seventh day, they must shave off all their hair; they must shave their head, their beard, their eyebrows, and the rest of their hair. They must wash their clothes and bathe themselves with water, and they will be clean. ‘On the eighth day, they must bring two male lambs and one ewe lamb, a year old, each without defect, along with three-tenths of an ephah of the finest flour mixed with olive oil for a grain offering, and one log of oil. The priest who pronounces them clean shall present both the one to be cleansed and their offerings before the LORD at the entrance to the tent of meeting. ‘Then the priest is to take one of the male lambs and offer it as a guilt offering, along with the log of oil; he shall wave them before the LORD as a wave offering. He is to slaughter the lamb in the sanctuary area where the sin offering and the burnt offering are slaughtered. Like the sin offering, the guilt offering belongs to the priest; it is most holy. 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, on the thumb of their right hand and on the big toe of their right foot. The priest shall then take some of the log of oil, pour it in the palm of his own left hand, dip his right forefinger into the oil in his palm, and with his finger sprinkle some of it before the LORD seven times. The priest is to put some of the oil remaining in his palm on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of their right hand and on the big toe of their right foot, on top of the blood of the guilt offering. The rest of the oil in his palm, the priest shall put on the head of the one to be cleansed and make atonement for them before the LORD. ‘Then the priest is to sacrifice the sin offering and make atonement for the one to be cleansed from their uncleanness. After that, the priest shall slaughter the burnt offering and offer it on the altar, together with the grain offering, and make atonement for them, and they will be clean.’ Leviticus 14:1-20

CLEANSING FROM DEFILING SKIN DISEASES

The purpose behind these regulations concerning a leper who was now clean was to let other people know that they should now be accepted back into the community.

The now clean leper was brought to the priest outside the camp, and when the priest saw that the leprosy had gone, the now clean leper was to take two birds, Leviticus 14:4, cedarwood, scarlet and hyssop so that they could perform the cleaning ceremony, Leviticus 14:1-4 / Leviticus 14:7-8 / Leviticus 14:11 / Leviticus 14:14 / Leviticus 14:17-19.

Clarke, in his commentary, says the following.

‘As the priest alone had authority to declare a person clean or unclean, it was necessary that the healed person should show himself to the priest, that he might make a declaration that he was clean and fit for civil and religious society, without which, in no case, could he be admitted; hence, when Christ cleansed the lepers, Matthew 8:2-4, he commanded them to go and show themselves to the priest.’

Barnes, in his commentary, says the following concerning Leviticus 14:4.

‘These three substances were used as the common materials in rites of purification (compare Exodus 12:22 / Numbers 19:8 / Psalms 51:7 / Hebrews 9:19: the ‘cedar’, or juniper, the resin or turpentine of which was a preservative against decay, and employed in medicines for elephantiasis and other skin diseases: the ‘scarlet’, a ‘tongue,’ or band, of twice-dyed scarlet wool, with which the living bird, the hyssop, and the cedar wood were tied together when they were dipped into the blood and water: the colour expressing the rosiness associated with health and vital energy: and the ‘hyssop’, Exodus 12:22, probably the Caper plant, whose cleansing virtues as a medicine, and use in the treatment of ulcers and diseases of the skin allied to leprosy, were known to the ancients. It has been conjectured that the scarlet band was used to tie the hyssop upon the cedar, so as to make a sort of brush, such as would be convenient for sprinkling.’

One of the birds was to be killed over fresh water in a clay pot, Leviticus 14:5 / Genesis 26:19 / Numbers 19:17. The live bird was to be dipped, together with the cedar wood, the scarlet yarn and the hyssop, into the blood of the bird that was killed over the fresh water, Leviticus 14:6 / Psalms 51:7. Seven times the priest is to sprinkle the one to be cleansed of the defiling disease, and then pronounce them clean, Leviticus 14:7.

Hahmah, in his commentary, says the following.

‘The text uses the reflexive rather than passive inflection to refer to the leper’s process of purification. In both instances, Leviticus 14:7 / Leviticus 14:11, the leper is referred to as ‘he who is to cleanse himself’ and not as ‘he who is to be cleansed.’ This is to indicate that the leper must do his share to become pure. He himself must seek to attain purity by way of repentance and appropriate conduct.’

After the priests announced that the person was now clean, the bird was set free, Leviticus 14:7 / Leviticus 14:53 / Leviticus 16:5-10, which signified that the person was now free to rejoin the community.

Jellie, in his commentary, says the following.

‘The symbolism of the slain bird suggests the death of Christ, and the soaring bird the resurrection of Christ.’

Coffman, in his commentary, says the following.

‘This release of the bird also suggests a similar thing observable in the two goats on the Day of Atonement, one being sacrificed, the other being released to roam beyond the camp, and the certain identification of that ceremony with Jesus Christ, as outlined in Hebrews 13:12-13, makes it very likely that a similar identification is also in this. In the scapegoat analogy, the goat bore the sins of Israel away into the wilderness, but here the released bird, sprinkled with the blood, flies away into heaven, suggesting the offering of Christ’s blood ‘in heaven’ for us, Hebrews 10:12.’

After washing himself, his clothes and shaving all the hair off their body, they were to go to their tent and remain outside of it for seven days, Leviticus 14:8. After the seven days, if there was still no sign of the disease, they were to go ahead and shave their heads, beards, and eyebrows, Leviticus 14:9.

After doing this, they were wash their clothes and body and be declared clean, Leviticus 14:9, and it was at this point they could return to their family and the rest of the community.

Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.

‘The Son of God proved His divine mission by healing the lepers Matthew 11:5, He did not excuse them from going to the priest to ‘offer for the cleansing those things which Moses commanded’, Mark 1:44 / Luke 5:14, ‘for a testimony to the people,’ Matthew 8:4.’

On the eighth day they must bring two male lambs and one ewe lamb a year old, each without defect, along with three-tenths of an ephah, that is around eleven pounds of the finest flour mixed with olive oil for a grain offering, and one log, which is one-third of a litre of oil, Leviticus 14:10 / Leviticus 14:12 / Leviticus 19:35.

The priest who pronounces them clean is to present both the one to be cleansed and their offerings before the LORD at the entrance to the tent of meeting, Leviticus 14:11 / Leviticus 1:3.

Then the priest is to take one of the male lambs and offer it as a guilt offering, along with the log of oil and he is wave them before the LORD as a wave offering, Leviticus 14:12 / Exodus 29:27 / Numbers 8:11-15 / Leviticus 7:38.

The wave offering is in reference to the manner in which those portions were handled before God’s altar. The breast was waved, passed from right to left and left to right after being elevated in the hands of the worshipper. It was lifted up toward heaven and lowered perhaps several times.

Keil and Delitzsch, in their commentary, say the following.

‘The priest laid the object to be waved upon the hands of the offeror, and then placed his own hands underneath, and moved the hands of the offeror backwards and forwards in a horizontal direction, to indicate by the movement forwards, i.e., in the direction towards the altar, the presentation of the sacrifice, or the symbolical transference of it to God, and by the movement backwards, the reception of it back again, as a present which God handed over to His servants the priests.’

The priest is to slaughter the lamb in the sanctuary area where the sin offering and the burnt offering are slaughtered, Leviticus 14:13. Like the sin offering, the guilt offering belongs to the priest; it is most holy, Leviticus 14:13 / Leviticus 6:25.

Then 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, on the thumb of their right hand and on the big toe of their right foot, Leviticus 14:14 / Leviticus 8:23 / Exodus 29:20.

The priest is to take some of the log of oil, pour it in the palm of his own left hand, and dip his right forefinger into the oil in his palm, and with his finger sprinkle some of it before the LORD seven times, Leviticus 14:15-16.

The priest is to put some of the oil remaining in his palm on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of their right hand and on the big toe of their right foot, on top of the blood of the guilt offering, Leviticus 14:17.

The rest of the oil in his palm the priest is to put on the head of the one to be cleansed and make atonement for them, Leviticus 14:18 / Leviticus 8:11 / Leviticus 8:15.

The word ‘atonement’, means to cover up, later in the New Testament the word ‘atonement’ means to reconcile, Romans 3:25 / Hebrews 2:17. God cannot be approached with the guilt of sin on our shoulders, atonement must be made for sin, Habakkuk 1:13.

Then the priest is to sacrifice the sin offering and make atonement for the one to be cleansed from their uncleanness. After that, the priest shall slaughter the burnt offering and offer it on the altar, together with the grain offering, and make atonement for them, and they will be clean, Leviticus 14:19-20.

This ceremony of sacrifices is basically a series of fellowship meals that celebrate the person who is now healed from their leprosy. Notice that the ceremony is very similar to the opening ceremony done by the priests, Leviticus 8:23-24.

This would be such a happy event for anyone now cured of leprosy, and their family and friends. We can imagine them not only being near their family and friends but actually hugging and kissing them again.

‘If, however, they are poor and cannot afford these, they must take one male lamb as a guilt offering to be waved to make atonement for them, together with a tenth of an ephah of the finest flour mixed with olive oil for a grain offering, a log of oil, and two doves or two young pigeons, such as they can afford, one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. ‘On the eighth day, they must bring them for their cleansing to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting, before the LORD. The priest is to take the lamb for the guilt offering, together with the log of oil, and wave them before the LORD as a wave offering. He shall slaughter the lamb for the guilt offering and take some of its blood and put it on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of their right hand and on the big toe of their right foot. The priest is to pour some of the oil into the palm of his own left hand, and with his right forefinger sprinkle some of the oil from his palm seven times before the LORD. Some of the oil in his palm he is to put on the same places he put the blood of the guilt offering—on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of their right hand and on the big toe of their right foot. The rest of the oil in his palm, the priest shall put on the head of the one to be cleansed, to make atonement for them before the LORD. Then he shall sacrifice the doves or the young pigeons, such as the person can afford, one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, together with the grain offering. In this way, the priest will make atonement before the LORD on behalf of the one to be cleansed.’ These are the regulations for anyone who has a defiling skin disease and who cannot afford the regular offerings for their cleansing.’ Leviticus 14:21-32

God always looks after the poor of society, and here He tells the leper who is now cleansed but is poor to take a tenth of an ephah, which was served for the grain offering, Leviticus 14:21, and two doves or two young pigeons, which they would offer as a burnt offering and a sin offering, Leviticus 14:21-22 / Leviticus 14:32.

Notice that the requirement for the guilt offering remained the same, Leviticus 14:23-31 / Leviticus 14:14-18. This is because the guilt offering was all about relationships; it was all about reconciliation, not only with God but also with His people. Again, we can imagine the joy everyone would experience as the person who had leprosy is now healed and accepted back into the community.

The Pulpit Commentary says the following.

‘The concession to poverty consists in the substitution of two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, for the two lambs required for the sin offering and the burnt offering, and one tenth-deal of flour for three tenth-deals of flour in the meat offering. But no difference is made as to the lamb required for the trespass offering, or the log of oil. These must be provided by the poor as well as by the rich, and the ceremonies used at their offering must be the same for poor and rich, as they are essential to the rite.’

CLEANSING FROM DEFILING MOULD

‘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 mould 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 mould in my house.’ The priest is to order the house to be emptied before he goes in to examine the mould, so that nothing in the house will be pronounced unclean. After this, the priest is to go in and inspect the house. He is to examine the mould on the walls, and if it has greenish or reddish depressions that appear to be deeper than the surface of the wall, the priest shall go out the doorway of the house and close it up for seven days. On the seventh day, the priest shall return to inspect the house. If the mould has spread on the walls, he is to order that the contaminated stones be torn out and thrown into an unclean place outside the town. 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. ‘If the defiling mould reappears in the house after the stones have been torn out and the house scraped and plastered, the priest is to go and examine it and, if the mould has spread in the house, it is a persistent defiling mould; the house is unclean. It must be torn down—its stones, timbers and all the plaster—and taken out of the town to an unclean place. ‘Anyone who goes into the house while it is closed up will be unclean till evening. Anyone who sleeps or eats in the house must wash their clothes. ‘But if the priest comes to examine it and the mould has not spread after the house has been plastered, he shall pronounce the house clean, because the defiling mould is gone. To purify the house, he is to take two birds and some cedar wood, scarlet yarn, and hyssop. He shall kill one of the birds over fresh water in a clay pot. Then he is to take the cedar wood, the hyssop, the scarlet yarn and the live bird, dip them into the blood of the dead bird and the fresh water and sprinkle the house seven times. He shall purify the house with the bird’s blood, the fresh water, the live bird, the cedar wood, the hyssop, and the scarlet yarn. Then he is to release the live bird in the open fields outside the town. In this way, he will make atonement for the house, and it will be clean.’ These are the regulations for any defiling skin disease, for a sore, for defiling moulds in fabric or in a house, and for a swelling, a rash, or a shiny spot, to determine when something is clean or unclean. These are the regulations for defiling skin diseases and defiling moulds.’ Leviticus 14:33-57

These verses deal with moulds which are found on physical things within a person’s home, Leviticus 13:47-59. These laws are given in reference to Israel coming into the land of Canaan and also in reference to the homes they built afterwards.

The reason for this is simply that when they finally inherited the Promised Land, most of them would move into the houses which already existed, the unclean houses built by the Canaanites.

Notice that God says, ‘I put a spreading mould in a house’, Leviticus 14:33-34. This simply means that God would allow the normal course of the work of mould to happen within the structure of a house.

God wants His people to understand that when they enter the land, there is no such thing as evil spirits cursing people. He wants them to know that there is no such thing as someone’s home being possessed by an evil spirit or any object within that home being possessed by some kind of evil spirit, as many of the Canaanites believed.

Clarke, in his commentary, says the following concerning Leviticus 14:33-34.

‘It was probably from this text that leprosy has been generally considered to be a disease inflicted immediately by God himself; but it is well known that in Scripture God is frequently represented as doing what, in the course of his providence, he only permits or suffers to be done. It is supposed that the infection of the house, as well as of the person and the garments, proceeded from animalcule, Leviticus 13:47 / Leviticus 13:52.’

Notice that if the owner of the house found mould, they were to ‘tell the priest’, Leviticus 14:35. Mould, like leprosy, had to be assessed by the priest to see if it was a concern or not, Leviticus 13:9-28.

If the house was judged to have mould, then the contents of the house were to be removed, and the house was to be left closed up for seven days, Leviticus 14:36-38.

If the mould had spread during those seven days, then the infected stones were to be removed and placed somewhere outside of the city, which was designated unclean, and the house should be rebuilt, Leviticus 14:39-42.

If the mould returned, the whole house was to be totally destroyed, Leviticus 14:43-45. If anyone goes into the house while it is closed up, they will be unclean till evening, Leviticus 14:46, and if anyone who sleeps or eats in the house must wash their clothes, Leviticus 14:47.

If the house was announced clean, Leviticus 14:48, then there was to be a public ceremony done so that everyone would know the house was now clean to visit, and the owners of the house could return to live in it and invite guests into the house to visit them.

To purify the house the priests is to take two birds, some cedar wood, scarlet yarn and hyssop, Leviticus 14:49 / Psalms 51:7. He is then to kill one of the birds over fresh water in a clay pot, Leviticus 14:50, and then take the cedar wood, the hyssop, the scarlet yarn and the live bird, dip them into the blood of the dead bird and the fresh water, and sprinkle the house seven times, Leviticus 14:51 / Psalms 51:7.

The priest is to purify the house with the bird’s blood, the fresh water, the live bird, the cedar wood, the hyssop and the scarlet yarn, Leviticus 14:52 / Psalms 51:7.

Then the priests are to release the live bird in the open fields outside the town, Leviticus 16:5-10, and so, in this way he will make atonement for the house, and it will be clean, Leviticus 14:53 / Leviticus 14:7, which signified that the person was now free to re-join the community.

These are the regulations for any defiling skin disease, for a sore, Leviticus 14:54 / Leviticus 14:1-33, for defiling moulds in fabric or in a house, Leviticus 14:55 / Leviticus 14:33-53 / Leviticus 13:47-59.

And for a swelling, a rash or a shiny spot, Leviticus 14:56, to determine when something is clean or unclean, Leviticus 14:57 / Leviticus 13:1-46. These are the regulations for defiling skin diseases and defiling moulds, Leviticus 14:57.

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