Leviticus 14: Cleansing Rituals and Christ's Redemption

Leviticus chapter 14 deals with the rituals that were to be conducted in ancient Israel under the law of Moses the rituals that were to be conducted on the cleansing of a leper Leviticus chapters 13 and 14 deal with the issue of leprosy chapter 13 was mostly about the diagnosis of leprosy there was no provision in the law of Moses for how to treat a leper that is what kind of medical treatment to give them the emphasis is rather upon examination and then if a person is determined to have leprosy then they were to be isolated they were to be kept uh away from the general community of the people of Israel. [00:00:09]

The leper was outside the camp of Israel sort of in their own smaller Community with other lepers and the priest as it says in verse three shall go out of the camp when it was believed that someone was healed of leprosy, Arrangements were made for the priest to examine The Afflicted person the leper did not come to the Tabernacle no the priest went out of the camp to the community of lepers to make the examination now I should repeat something that we spoke about a lot when we went through Leviticus chapter 13. [00:01:45]

The priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earn vessel over running water as for the living bird he shall take it the cedar wood and the scarlet and the hsip and dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water and he shall sprinkle it seven times on him who is to be cleansed from the leprosy and shall pronounce him clean and shall let the living bird loose in the open field all right let me see if I can explain to you this unusual and if I could say fascinating ritual that was to be carried out to Mark the cermonial cleansing of the leper who had already to be determined to be medically cleansed. [00:04:05]

The cedar wood served for the handle the hsip and the living bird were attached to it by means of the Scarlet wool or crimsom thread the bird was so bound to this handle as that its tail should be downwards in order to be dripped in the blood of the bird that had been killed the whole of this made for an instrument for the sprinkling of this blood so how Clark conceptions it is you have this this stick of cedar wood and using the Scarlet yarn as sort of something to bind it you bound together the the bird and the hsip on the seed stick with the yarn and then you would dip the whole thing in this mixture of blood and water uh the blood from the sacrificed bird. [00:09:47]

This unusual ritual can be summarized with these points number one this happened outside the camp away from the normal conduct of the system of sacrifice and there a living thing of the heavens a bird was sacrificed in an earth and vessel but even as the bir bird was killed it was cleansed by the running water and this death that was associated with water and blood was then applied to the leper and it was applied perfectly that is seven times uh in connection with the living bird the sacrificial blood was also applied to Scarlet yarn and a piece of wood together with hup but then bearing the mark of sacrif rice remember it had blood sprinkled upon it or dipped in the the living bird then flew away ascending to the heavens and out of sight. [00:12:42]

The application of the oil upon the ear thumb and toe of the restored leper it was then applied in a more customary way anointing the head of the restored leper in the same manner that priests and kings were anointed friends this dramatic act said to the left leper there's a sense in which God regards you as specially anointed just like a king just like a priest there's something else very interesting about this section here there's the repetition of a phrase you'll find it in verse 18 for example but it's all throughout the chapter the phrase is this him who is to be cleansed him who is to be cleansed it's used 10 times in this chapter matter of fact in the new King James Version it's used nowhere else except for 10 times in this chapter. [00:32:58]

The priest shall take some of the log of oil and pour it into the palm of his own left hand then the priest shall dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand and shall sprinkle some of the oil with his finger seven times before the Lord and the rest of the oil in his hand the priest shall put some on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot on the blood of the trespass offering the rest of the oil that is in the priest's hands he shall put on the head of him who is to be cleansed so the priest shall make atonement for him before the Lord. [00:26:47]

The priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering and the priest shall put it on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot so the first male lamb according to verse 12 was offered according to the instructions that we find back in Leviticus 5 and in chap 7: 1-10 the meat from this offering belonged to the priest it didn't belong to the restored leper then in the process of these sacrifices the priest would take some of the sacrificial blood and in a dramatic break from the normal trespass offering the priest would take some of the blood of that first sacrifice lamb and apply it to the right ear the right thumb and the right big toe of this cleansed leper. [00:23:55]

The leper was outside the camp of Israel sort of in their own smaller Community with other lepers and the priest as it says in verse three shall go out of the camp when it was believed that someone was healed of leprosy, Arrangements were made for the priest to examine The Afflicted person the leper did not come to the Tabernacle no the priest went out of the camp to the community of lepers to make the examination now I should repeat something that we spoke about a lot when we went through Leviticus chapter 13 that it should be remembered that the Old Testament word the Hebrew word that's translated leprosy in our Bibles in includes the modern diagnosed disease of leprosy uh it's also called Hansen's Disease but it also included many other skin diseases it was a broader category than what properly goes by the name of leprosy today. [00:01:45]

The priest shall take one male lamb and offer it as a trespass offering and the log of oil and wave them as a wave offering before the Lord then he shall kill the lamb in the place where he kills the sin offering and the burnt offering in a holy place for as the sin offering is the priests so is the trespass offering it is most holy the priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering and the priest shall put it on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot so the first male lamb according to verse 12 was offered according to the instructions that we find back in Leviticus 5 and in chap 7: 1-10 the meat from this offering belonged to the priest it didn't belong to the restored leper. [00:22:31]

The priest shall take some of the log of oil and pour it into the palm of his own left hand then the priest shall dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand and shall sprinkle some of the oil with his finger seven times before the Lord and the rest of the oil in his hand the priest shall put some on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot on the blood of the trespass offering the rest of the oil that is in the priest's hands he shall put on the head of him who is to be cleansed so the priest shall make atonement for him before the Lord. [00:26:47]

The priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering and the priest shall put it on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot so the first male lamb according to verse 12 was offered according to the instructions that we find back in Leviticus 5 and in chap 7: 1-10 the meat from this offering belonged to the priest it didn't belong to the restored leper then in the process of these sacrifices the priest would take some of the sacrificial blood and in a dramatic break from the normal trespass offering the priest would take some of the blood of that first sacrifice lamb and apply it to the right ear the right thumb and the right big toe of this cleansed leper. [00:23:55]

The priest shall take some of the log of oil and pour it into the palm of his own left hand then the priest shall dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand and shall sprinkle some of the oil with his finger seven times before the Lord and the rest of the oil in his hand the priest shall put some on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot on the blood of the trespass offering the rest of the oil that is in the priest's hands he shall put on the head of him who is to be cleansed so the priest shall make atonement for him before the Lord. [00:26:47]