In our study of Leviticus chapter fourteen, we look at the process of restoring a person to a place in the community of God's people.
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ADONAI said to Moshe, "This is to be the law concerning the person afflicted with tzara'at on the day of his purification. He is to be brought to the cohen, and the cohen is to go outside the camp and examine him there. If he sees that the tzara'at sores have been healed in the afflicted person, then the cohen will order that two living clean birds be taken for the one to be purified, along with cedar-wood, scarlet yarn and hyssop leaves.
In the last chapter, we learned the basics about leprosy and how it was detected and here we see someone that has been cured of leprosy and the process for bringing them back into the community of witnesses. As we saw then, the person that had leprosy was banned from the camp and so we see the priest going outside the camp to examined the person that has been cured. In this we see spiritual authority and submission to that authority as, even though the person was cured physically, they were not considered clean until the priest conducted the ceremony that follows. We remember that leprosy was the disease of pride and we see humility in waiting for the priest to perform this ceremony.
The cohen is to order one of the birds slaughtered in a clay pot over running water. As for the live bird, he is to take it with the cedar-wood, scarlet yarn and hyssop and dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird slaughtered over running water, and sprinkle the person to be purified from the tzara'at seven times. Next he is to set the live bird free in an open field. He who is to be purified must wash his clothes, shave off all his hair and bathe himself in water. Then he will be clean; and after that, he may enter the camp; but he must live outside his tent for seven days.
We see that the first part of the process of reconciliation with the community is the sacrifice of a clean bird and we notice that it is done outside the camp at a place where there is living water. In the Hebrew text it is called living water while it is translated as running water and it was water that was in motion. After the person was sprinkled with the blood seven times, the other clean bird was released and the person had to wash their clothes, bathe, and shave off all of their hair. At that point, they were allowed back in the camp but were not allowed to go into their tent. This is another stage in the testing of humility as it might have been a long time since the person had been in their home and yet they were called to remain outside for seven days. We are repeatedly seeing the number seven and we are reminded that the number speaks of holiness and God's purposes.
On the seventh day he is to shave all the hair off his head, also his beard and eyebrows - he must shave off all his hair; and he is to wash his clothes and bathe his body in water; and he will be clean.
At the end of those seven days, the person had to wash the clothes, shave, and bathe again to be considered clean and then would have been allowed to go into the tent. What we are seeing is best described as progressive freedom as, with each step of humble obedience, more freedom is given but it is not the freedom that we probably think of where we are free to do whatever we want. This is the freedom of being in the will of God and, in that position, we are blessed with no need to worry.
"On the eighth day he is to take two male lambs without defect, one female lamb in its first year without defect and six-and-a-half quarts of fine flour for a grain offering, mixed with olive oil, and two-thirds of a pint of olive oil. The cohen purifying him is to place the person being purified with these items before ADONAI at the entrance to the tent of meeting.
The next step in the process is gathering the required sacrifices and we see that there is also a physical cost to this restoration. When they are gathered, the offerings and the person being purified was then stood at the entrance to the tent of meeting and this was another measure of freedom as the person would not have been able to properly worship God during the entire time they had leprosy.
The cohen is to take one of the male lambs and offer it as a guilt offering with the two-thirds-pint of olive oil, then wave them as a wave offering before ADONAI. He is to slaughter the male lamb at the place in the sanctuary for slaughtering sin offerings and burnt offerings, because the guilt offering belongs to the cohen, just like the sin offering; it is especially holy. The cohen is to take some of the blood of the guilt offering and put it on the tip of the right ear of the person being purified, on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot.
We see that one of the male lambs is sacrificed for a guilt offering and that offering was a public acknowledgment that God's judgement upon the person was justified. We see that this was done in the same place as the sin and burnt offerings because it is especially holy. Then we see some of the blood put on the right ear, right thumb, and the right big toe of the person. This speaks of a desire to hear the word of God, serve God, and to go wherever God tells them to go.
Next, the cohen is to take some of the two-thirds-pint of olive oil and pour it into the palm of his own left hand, dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand and sprinkle from the oil with his finger seven times before ADONAI. Then the cohen is to put some of the remaining oil in his hand on the tip of the right ear of the person being purified, on the thumb of his right hand, on the big toe of his right foot and on the blood of the guilt offering. Finally, the cohen is to put the rest of the oil in his hand on the head of the person being purified; and the cohen will make atonement for him before ADONAI.
The oil was used for anointing which speaks of power and we see that some of this oil was put on the same places as the blood. This speaks of empowering the person to to hear, serve, and to go where God instructs.
The cohen is to offer the sin offering and make atonement for the person being purified because of his uncleanness; afterwards, he is to slaughter the burnt offering. The cohen is to offer the burnt offering and the grain offering on the altar; thus the cohen will make atonement for him; and he will be clean.
We see the process of restoration to the community completed with the sin offering, the burnt offering, and the grain offering. This was a normal part of the worship process where sin was atoned for, access to God was granted, and worship brought about obedience to the purposes of God.
"If he is poor, so that he can't afford to do otherwise, he is to take one male lamb as a guilt offering to be waved, to make atonement for him; two quarts of fine flour mixed with olive oil for a grain offering; two-thirds of a pint of olive oil; and two doves or two young pigeons, such as he can afford, the one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. On the eighth day, he will bring them to the cohen for his purification, to the entrance of the tent of meeting before ADONAI.
Here, we see the alternate offerings for those that could not afford to purchase the animals required for the sacrifices.
The cohen is to take the lamb of the guilt offering and the two-thirds of a pint of olive oil and wave them as a wave offering before ADONAI. He is to slaughter the lamb of the guilt offering; and the cohen is to take some of the blood of the guilt offering and put it on the tip of the right ear of the person being purified, on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot. The cohen is to take some of the olive oil and pour it into the palm of his own left hand, and sprinkle with his right hand some of the oil that is in his left hand seven times before ADONAI. The cohen is to put some of the oil in his hand on the tip of the right ear of the person being purified, on the thumb of his right hand, on the big toe of his right foot - in the same place as the blood of the guilt offering. Finally, the cohen is to put the rest of the oil in his hand on the head of the person being purified, to make atonement for him before ADONAI. He is to offer one of the doves or young pigeons, such as the person can afford, whatever his means suffice for - the one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering - with the grain offering; thus the cohen will make atonement before ADONAI for the person being purified. Such is the law for the person who has tzara'at sores if he cannot afford the usual elements used for his purification."
The process of offering the sacrifices is much the same as we saw before but it is good to see that there were no financial barriers to being restored to the community of witnesses.
ADONAI said to Moshe and Aharon, "When you have entered the land of Kena'an which I am giving you as a possession, and I put an infection of tzara'at in a house in the land that you possess, then the owner of the house is to come and tell the cohen, 'It seems to me that there may be an infection in the house.' The cohen is to order the house emptied before he goes in to inspect the infection, so that everything in the house won't be made unclean; afterwards, the cohen is to enter and inspect the house.
Now, God addresses a problem that would happen in the future after Israel had taken possession of the land of Canaan and this is a reminder of the Avrahamic covenant where God promised to give them that land. We see that, at some point, God would judge a house by sending leprosy to it and we are reminded that it is associated with pride and specifically the pride of the owner in refusing to submit to the purposes of God. We also see a picture of God's grace and mercy as the contents of the house are removed prior to the inspection by the priest. If this was not done, then, everything that was inside the house would be unclean if the priest discerned the presence of leprosy. So, even though it would have been very bad to lose a home, at least it was not a total loss. We also are reminded of the fact that the priest could make this assessment merely by looking at it and this is a reminder to us that we are to avoid things that even give the appearance of evil.
He will examine the infection; and if he sees that the infection is in the walls of the house, with greenish or reddish depressions that seem to go in deeper than the surface of the wall, he is to go out of the house to its door and seal up the house for seven days. The cohen will come again on the seventh day and examine the house; if he sees that the infection has spread over its walls, he is to order them to remove the infected stones and throw them into some unclean place outside the city. Next, he is to have the inside of the house thoroughly scraped, and the scraped-off plaster is to be discarded outside the city in an unclean place. Finally, other stones must be set in the place of the first stones and other plaster used to replaster the house. If the infection returns and breaks out in the house after the stones have been removed and the house scraped and plastered; then the cohen is to enter and examine it. If he sees that the infection has spread in the house, it is a contagious tzara'at in the house; it is unclean.
We see that the process involves inspection and quarantine as it was in the case of a person affected. If, upon reinspection after seven days, the leprosy has spread, then the affected building materials must be removed and the house had to be scraped or scrubbed clean with all of that material taken outside the city to an unclean place. Then, the house was put back in order with new materials but, if the leprosy returned the house was considered to be unclean. All of this speaks of discerning the spiritual state of the home and, if the leprosy returned, it was a sign that there was a spiritual problem in the home.
He must break down the house and take its stones, timber and plaster out of the city to an unclean place. Moreover, whoever enters the house at any time while it is sealed up will be unclean until evening. Whoever lies down or eats in the house must wash his clothes.
If the home was determined to be unclean spiritually, then, the entire house and everything in it was to be torn down and removed to the unclean place but we see that the ground that the house was on was not considered unclean. A new home could be built on the land and that speaks of our becoming a new creation when we accept Yeshua Messiah; the old is gone and new takes its place.
If the cohen enters, examines and sees that the infection has not spread in the house since it was plastered; then he is to declare the house clean; because the infection is cured. "To purify the house, he is to take two birds, cedar-wood, scarlet yarn and hyssop leaves. He is to slaughter one of the birds in a clay pot over running water. He is to take the cedar-wood, the hyssop, the scarlet yarn and the live bird and dip them in the blood of the slaughtered bird and in the running water, and sprinkle the house seven times. He will purify the house with the blood of the bird, the running water, the live bird, the cedar-wood, the hyssop and the scarlet yarn. But he is to set the live bird free outside the city in an open field; thus will he make atonement for the house; and it will be clean.
In the case where the leprosy did not return after the home renovation, there was still a ceremony of purification required. We see that the process is very similar to that of the first part of the purification of a person that had been cured of their leprosy.
"Such is the law for all kinds of tzara'at sores, for a crusted area, for tzara'at in a garment, for a house, for a swelling, for a scab and for a bright spot, to determine when it is clean and when it is unclean. This is the law concerning tzara'at."
Once again, we see that these regulations are from God and the fact that all of this is for the purpose of setting things in order for the community of witnesses.
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