Purification of Lepers and Leprosy in a House

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Leviticus 14:1) And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, (2) “This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought to the priest."

In the last chapter, the Lord spoke to both Moses and Aaron about laws pertaining to leprosy and determining whether a person was clean or unclean with regard to leprosy.  Now it appears that the Lord spoke only to Moses, but we can be sure he was to pass the information along to Aaron as what followed most definitely pertained to the priests.  In this chapter the Lord began describing the law of the leper in his day of cleansing, which was the religious ceremony during which he was pronounced clean after his leprosy, described in the following verses.  First the healed leper was to be brought to the priest.

(3) “And the priest shall go out of the camp, and the priest shall examine him; and behold, if the plague of leprosy is healed in the leper, (4) Then the priest shall command to take for him who is to be cleansed two birds alive and clean, and cedar wood, scarlet, and hyssop."

Note that verse 2 said the healed leper was to be brought to the priest, but verse 3 said the priest was to go out of the camp, so obviously the leper was brought to the priest to a location outside the camp.  There the priest examined him, and if the leprosy was indeed healed, he would call for two live clean birds to be taken for the leper.  This does not appear to be a sacrificial offering by the leper himself; rather it appears anyone could bring the birds for him.  They were also to take cedar wood, a band or strip of scarlet ribbon, and the herb hyssop.

(5) “And the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel over running water."

One of the birds was to be killed in an earthen vessel over "running water".  What appears to be meant by this is that water was collected into the vessel from running water, as from a fountain or spring, and not from standing water, as from a pit or well.  Some of the early commentators I study wrote that this was symbolic of the coming Christ.  The blood of the bird would fall into the living water, discoloring it, symbolic of both the death of Christ, when out of his pierced side there came water and blood (John 19:34), and the coming of Christ in general, who came by water and blood (1 John 5:6) to save us from our sins.

(6) “As for the living bird, he shall take it, and the cedar wood, the scarlet, and the hyssop, and dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water."

The priest was to take the living bird, along with the cedar wood, the scarlet strip, and the hyssop, and was to dip them all in the blood mixed water over which the first bird was killed.  I read that they were bundled together and tied with the scarlet band onto the cedar stick and then dipped into the bloody water.

(7) “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."

The priest was to shake the cedar stick with scarlet and hyssop and thus sprinkle the healed leper seven times.  There is discrepancy among the Biblical scholars about whether or not the living bird was actually tied to this bundle that was used in the sprinkling.  Verse 6 stated that the living bird was dipped into the blood mixed water, but it didn't specifically say that any of the items were tied together.  That came from Jewish tradition.  Once the healed leper was sprinkled seven times, the priest would pronounce him clean, and would let the living bird loose in the open field, perhaps symbolic of the healed leper, now clean, who was set free and restored to the company of others.

(8) "And he who is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, shave off all his hair, and wash himself in water, that he may be clean; and after that he shall come into the camp, and shall stay outside his tent seven days."

The healed leper who was being pronounced clean was to wash his clothes, shave off all his hair, and completely wash himself in water.  After that he was allowed to come into the camp, but he had to remain outside his tent for seven days, perhaps as an extra precaution against infecting his family with a lingering leprous contagion.

(9) "But it shall be on the seventh day he shall shave all the hair off his head and his beard and his eyebrows, all his hair he shall shave off; and he shall wash his clothes and wash his flesh in water, and he shall be clean."

On the seventh day the healed leper was to again shave all his hair, wash his clothes and his flesh, and at that point he would be considered clean.

(10) “And on the eighth day he shall take two male lambs without blemish, one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish, three tenth deals of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering, and one log of oil."

On the eighth day, perhaps before he was to return to his own tent, the healed leper was to bring two male lambs and one ewe lamb of the first year, all without blemish, along with three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, and one log of oil.  An ephah was sometimes called a deal, a tenth deal being an omer; three omers or three-tenths of an ephah appears to have been about six quarts.  A log of oil looks to have been about a third of a liter of oil.

(11) "And the priest who makes him clean shall present the man who is to be made clean, and those things, before the LORD, at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation."

The priest didn't literally make the leper clean, but he ceremonially pronounced him clean; that priest was to present the healed leper and the offerings he was to bring from verse 10 to the Lord at the door of the tabernacle.

(12) “And 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."

The priest was to take one of the male lambs and offer it as a trespass offering.  Although leprosy was a disease and not in itself sinful, in the fallen world all diseases were caused by sin, trespasses against God.  Therefore a trespass offering was offered, symbolic of the coming Christ, who was made a trespass offering.  This would keep the people mindful that sin was the cause of all their diseases, and keep them aware of their spiritual diseases and their need for God.  The priest was to take the lamb and the oil and wave them before the Lord as a wave offering.

(13) "And he shall kill the lamb in the place where he shall kill the sin offering and the burnt offering, in the holy place; for as the sin offering is the priest’s, so is the trespass offering; it is most holy."

The lamb was to be killed in the place where sin offerings and burnt offerings were to be killed, in the holy place.  We were told in a previous scripture that this was on the north side of the altar (Leviticus 1:11).  As the sin offerings were the priest's, so was the trespass offering to be the priest's, and to be eaten only by the priests in the holy place, for it was most holy.

(14) "And 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."

The priest was to take some of the blood from the male lamb trespass offering and put it on the tip of the right ear of the healed leper, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.  This was symbolic of the healed leper's return to the privilege of hearing the word of God, touching anything without defiling it, and walking in and out of the court of the Lord and into any house or company; he was now freely admitted as ever to communion with God and man.  It's interesting that this was the same ritual used in the consecration of the priests.  Matthew Henry, in his Commentary on the Whole Bible, wrote that it "was a mortification to them to see the same purification necessary for them that was for a leper".  I believe that proves the total depravity of all men, even priests, and should prevent anyone from believing himself more righteous and better than another, for "all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23), and "all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6).

(15) “And the priest shall take some of the log of oil, and pour it into the palm of his own left hand. (16) And 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."

The priest was to take some of the oil and pour it into the palm of his own left hand.  Then he was to dip his right finger into the oil in his left hand and sprinkle the oil with his finger before the Lord seven times, most probably dipping his finger seven times and sprinkling after each dip.  Seven was the number symbolic of completeness and perfection.

(17) “And of 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 in his left hand was to be put on the tip of the right ear of the healed leper, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, in the places in which he first put the blood of the trespass offering.

(18) "And the remnant of the oil that is in the priest's hand he shall pour on the head of him who is to be cleansed; and the priest shall make an atonement for him before the LORD."

The rest of the oil in the priest's left hand was to be poured on the head of the healed leper, and thus the priest would make atonement for the cleansed leper before the Lord.

(19) "And the priest shall offer the sin offering, and make atonement for him who is to be cleansed from his uncleanness; and afterward he shall kill the burnt offering."

The priest was then to offer the sin offering, which Dr. John Gill, in his Exposition of the Entire Bible, wrote was the ewe lamb "according to the rite of every sin offering, as Aben Ezra (Jewish rabbi, scholar, and author from 1100's) says".  This was part of the ritual to make atonement for the cleansed leper.  After that, the priest was to kill the burnt offering, which would be the other male lamb, if Dr. Gill was correct in his assertion that the ewe was the sin offering.

(20) “And the priest shall offer the burnt offering and the grain offering on the altar; and the priest shall make an atonement for him, and he shall be clean."

The priest was to offer on the altar the burnt offering and the grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil from verse 10, and thus he would make atonement for the cleansed leper, and he would then be considered clean.

(21) "And if he is poor and cannot afford it, then he shall take one lamb for a trespass offering to be waved, to make an atonement for him, and one tenth deal of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering, a log of oil, (22) And two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, such as he is able to get, and one shall be a sin offering and the other a burnt offering."

If the healed leper was poor and could not afford as much as three lambs and three tenth deals of fine flour mixed with oil, then he was to bring one lamb for a trespass offering to be waved, and one tenth deal (an omer, about two quarts) of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering.  He was still to bring a log of oil, but in place of the other two lambs, he was to bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons, the best he was able to get by his means, one being for the sin offering and the other the burnt offering.

(23) "And he shall bring them to the priest on the eighth day for his cleansing, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, before the LORD."

In the same way the cleansed leper who brought three lambs, three tenth deal of flour, and oil, was presented by the priest at the door of the tabernacle in verses 10 and 11, so the cleansed leper who, because of his limited means, only brought one lamb, one tenth deal of flour, oil, and two turtledoves or pigeons, was also to be brought to the priest on the eighth day of his cleansing rites to the door of the tabernacle to be presented before the Lord.

(24) “And the priest shall take the lamb of the trespass offering and the log of oil, and the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before the LORD."

As in verse 12 above, the priest was to take the lamb as the trespass offering and the log of oil and wave them before the Lord as a wave offering.

(25) And he shall kill the lamb of the trespass offering, and the priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering, and 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."

With the same rites as the leper who could afford to offer more, the cleansed leper who brought just one lamb and two birds instead, was to have the blood of his trespass offering placed on his right ear, right thumb, and right big toe, by the priest.  In the same way, he was restored to the privilege of hearing the word of God, touching anything, and walking in and out of the court of the Lord and into any house or company, freely admitted as ever to communion with God and man.

(26) “And the priest shall pour some of the oil into the palm of his own left hand. (27) And the priest shall sprinkle with his right finger some of the oil that is in his left hand seven times before the LORD."

Just as was instructed in verse 15, the priest was to take some of the log of oil and pour it into the palm of his own left hand, and take his right finger and dip it into the oil in his left hand and sprinkle it seven times before the Lord.

(28) "And the priest shall put some of the oil that is in his hand on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, on the thumb of the right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, on the place of the blood of the trespass offering."

Just as he was instructed in verse 17, the priest was to put some of the oil in his hand on the tip of the right ear of the healed leper, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, in the places in which he first put the blood of the trespass offering.

(29) "And the rest of the oil that is in the priest's hand he shall put on the head of him who is to be cleansed, to make atonement for him before the LORD."

The rest of the oil in the priest's left hand was to be poured on the head of the healed leper, and thus the priest would make atonement for the cleansed leper before the Lord.

(30) “And he shall offer one of the turtledoves or young pigeons, such as he can get, (31) Such as he is able to get, the one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering, with the grain offering; and the priest shall make an atonement for him who is to be cleansed before the LORD."

Whatever the poorer man could afford within his means, two turtledoves or two young pigeons, one was to be offered for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering, with the grain offering; and thus the priest would make atonement for the poorer man who was to be cleansed before the Lord.

(32) “This is the law for one in whom is the plague of leprosy, whose hand is not able to get that which pertains to his cleansing."

The preceding verses (21-31) gave the law for the leper who was not able to afford or get his hands on what was required for his cleansing as commanded in verses 10 through 20.

(33) And the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, (34) “When you have come into the land of Canaan, which I give you as a possession, and I put the plague of leprosy in a house of the land of your possession",

The Lord now spoke to Moses and Aaron.  I paused in the middle of what He told them, because I thought this first part was so important.  The Lord said that when they came to the land of Canaan which He was giving them, and He put the plague of leprosy in a house in their land...  There is much discrepancy among believers as to whether any bad things are of God.  This verse could be used as proof to suggest that no plague or punishment comes to man without God's providence and His sending.  For one thing, what is really considered bad?  Consider the mother who has prayed for her unsaved son all his life to no avail.  Then he is in a terrible debilitating accident and he comes to salvation in the Lord in his hospital bed.  Did the Lord cause the accident to save the son?  I believe He could have, and it would have been a merciful act to bring the son to Him.  The Lord Jesus Himself said it was better to enter into eternal life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands and two feet and be cast into the everlasting fire of hell (Matthew 18:8).  While it may be that some people honestly believe "bad" things cannot come from a good God, I believe that terribly limits Him and puts Him into our human neatly boxed idea of what good is.  The sovereign God of the universe doesn't just sit back and try to fix things that Satan and his demons run around causing.  Everything is within His power and to be used at His disposal.

(35) "And he who owns the house comes and tells the priest, saying, ‘It seems to me that there is some plague in the house,’ (36) Then the priest shall command that they empty the house, before the priest goes into it to examine the plague, that all that is in the house may not be made unclean; and afterward the priest shall go in to examine the house."

The following laws refer to what was considered leprosy in a house itself.  The owner of the house was to come to the priest and tell him, so that he could examine the house and determine if it was indeed leprosy.  The priest was to command that everything be removed from the house before he went in to examine it.  Removing everything had the dual purpose of preventing anything else from becoming defiled and unclean, and allowed the priest to examine the house itself without everything else in the way.

(37) “And he shall examine the plague, and, behold, if the plague is in the walls of the house with hollow strakes, greenish or reddish, which appear to be deep in the wall, (38) Then the priest shall go out of the house to the door of the house, and shut up the house seven days."

Once the house was emptied, the priest was to examine the plague and if it indeed was in the walls of the house in greenish or reddish hollowed depressions that appeared embedded in the walls, then the priest was to go out the door of the house and shut it up for seven days.

(39) “And the priest shall come again on the seventh day and shall look, and behold, if the plague has spread in the walls of the house, (40) Then the priest shall command that they take away the stones in which is the plague, and they shall cast them into an unclean place outside the city."

On the seventh day the priest was to come and examine the house again, and if he saw that the plague had spread in the walls of the house, then the priest would command that they pull out any stones in which the plague appeared and cast them away in a designated unclean place outside the city.  If the plague was contained within those stones, then hopefully this act would cure it in the house.

(41) “And he shall cause the house to be scraped inside, all around, and they shall pour out the dust that they scrape off in an unclean place outside the city."

In addition to removing the infected stones, all the inside walls were to be scraped, and the dust that was scraped off was to be dumped in an unclean place outside the city.

(42) "And they shall take other stones and put them in the place of those stones, and he shall take other mortar and plaster the house."

Different stones and mortar were to be used to replace the infected stones that had been removed from the house.

(43) "And if the plague comes again and breaks out in the house, after he has taken away the stones, after he has scraped the house, and after it is plastered, (44) Then the priest shall come and look, and, behold, if the plague has spread in the house, it is an active leprosy in the house; it is unclean."

However, if after removing the stones, scraping the walls, and replastering, the plague reappeared in the house, the priest was to reexamine it, and indeed, if he determined the plague had spread in the house, it was determined to be a "fretting" (KJV) or active leprosy and was pronounced unclean.  I would imagine that leprosy of a house, and probably leprosy of garments (chapter 13) was some kind of mold or mildew.

(45) “And he shall break down the house, its stones, its timber, and all the mortar of the house, and he shall carry them out of the city to an unclean place."

If it was found to be unclean, the entire house was to be broken down.  I don't imagine the priest himself broke down the house, but he commanded it be done.  All the stones, wood, and mortar of the house was to be carried out of the city to an unclean place and not to be used again.  The disease of leprosy is symbolic of the leprosy of sin.  If it spreads and then remains after attempts to purge it, it will eventually destroy or be destroyed completely.  Chapter 51 of Jeremiah refers to the fallen and destroyed Babylon that could have been healed, but was not (v. 8-9).  Verse 26 said that not even one of Babylon's stones was to be used again, and she was to be desolate forever.  That seems to be a reference to the law regarding the stones of a leprous house.

(46) “Moreover he who goes into the house at all while it is shut up shall be unclean until evening. (47) And he who lies down in the house shall wash his clothes, and he who eats in the house shall wash his clothes."

During the time a house was shut up to be reexamined in seven days, if anyone entered the house he would be considered unclean until evening.  If he stayed long enough to lie down in the house or eat in the house, then he was also to wash his clothes, which supposed that he may have infected them with his more extended stay.

(48) "And if the priest comes in and examines it, and behold, the plague has not spread in the house after the house was plastered, then the priest shall pronounce the house clean, because the plague is healed."

If, after the house had been scraped and shut up for seven days, the priest found upon reexamination that the plague had not spread in the house after it had been replastered after removal of the diseased stones, then the priest would pronounce the house clean because the plague had apparently healed.

(49) “And he shall take, to cleanse the house, two birds, cedar wood, scarlet, and hyssop."

To ceremoniously cleanse the house, just as was done in verse 4 to ceremonially clean the healed leper, the priest was to take two birds, cedar wood, scarlet string or a strip of scarlet material, and hyssop.

(50) "And he shall kill one of the birds in an earthen vessel over running water; (51) And he shall take the cedar wood, the hyssop, the scarlet, and the living bird, and dip them in the blood of the slain bird and in the running water, and sprinkle the house seven times. (52) And he shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird and the running water and the living bird, with the cedar wood, the hyssop, and the scarlet."

Again, as done for the healed leper, the priest was to kill one of the birds (or command it to be killed) in an earthen vessel over running water.  Then he was to take the cedar wood, the scarlet strip, the hyssop, and the living bird, and dip them in the blood of the slain bird and the running water, and sprinkle the house seven times.  Thus he ceremoniously cleansed the house.

(53) "But he shall let the living bird go out of the city into the open fields, and make an atonement for the house, and it shall be clean."

Just as the living bird was let loose in verse 7 after the ceremonial cleansing of the healed leper, the priest was to let this living bird go out of the city into the open fields.  With this ceremony, he made atonement for the house and it was then pronounced clean.

(54) “This is the law for all manner of plague of leprosy, and scall, (55) And for the leprosy of a garment, and of a house, (56) And for a swelling, and for a scab, and for a bright spot, (57) To teach when it is unclean and when it is clean; this is the law of leprosy."

This was the conclusion of the law pertaining to all kinds of leprosy, scall, and leprosy of garments and houses.  It discussed swelling, scabs, and bright spots, giving instructions for determining when they were considered clean and when they were unclean.  It was a summary statement of the laws relating to all kinds of leprosy that had been delivered in this chapter and the preceding one.

Once again, it can be noted that leprosy was symbolic of sin, and in the same way that a cured leper was not considered clean until he had been sprinkled and washed and had offered a sacrifice, so it is with sin.  A person is not made righteous by his acts alone. Even though he may have healed his wicked ways, he is still as filthy rags before the Lord.  In the case of the sinner, the "spiritual leper", the Lamb of God was slain and His blood was sprinkled to make atonement for the sinner.  Only then is he considered washed clean and made white in the blood of the Lamb.