Leviticus 14:10-Leviticus15 (Click title for audio access)
"The Diary Of A Clean Man •
9.29.11 • Thursday Night Bible Study, Calvary
Christian Fellowship
Intro.
- Last week, we
looked at the plight of the leper among God's people. He physically had a skin
disorder that presented itself in a lesion that eventually spread and covered
his entire body.
- The man in
such a condition was removed from fellowship and forced to live in isolation
among the waste and death that was found outside of the camp.
- Leprosy is a
perfect picture of sin. Sin presents itself and usually spreads, invariably
causing greater and greater damage.
- Like leprosy,
persistent practiced sin leads to a greater insensitivity towards things of the
Lord and eventually, the pain of the Holy Spirit's conviction is gone, the
conscience seared.
- Thankfully, God
left a redemptive provision in the law that allowed for the cleansing of a
leper, a perfect picture of the Lord's death and ascension in the sacrifice of
the birds.
- Last week was
about redemption. This week is focused on a restored life.
Text
• Leviticus
14:10-13 : "And on the eighth day he shall take two male lambs without
blemish, one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish, three-tenths of an
ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering, and one log of oil. Then
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 meeting. 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. 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 priest’s, so is the
trespass offering. It is most holy." : It is now the 8th day since his cleansing and he is about
to be reinstated into the worship of God, which is predicated on sacrifice.
- Two males, one baby lamb for the burnt
offering, the flour and the oil for the grain or fellowship offering. Consecration
to the Lord and fellowship with Him.
- Imagine what a wonderful moment that this
was! Here would be a person who was farthest from God's presence, brought to
the place where he could be nearest to the Lord, at the very door.
- The offerings, the burnt offering, the
fellowship offering, the sin and the trespass offering are all offered on
behalf of this man, the Priest eating up what remained, testifying to the man's
cleansing.
- Fellowship is restored with God and with man!
That's what God can do!
• Leviticus
14:14-18 : "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. And 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 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 that is in the priest’s hand he shall put on the
head of him who is to be cleansed. So the priest shall make atonement for him
before the Lord." : When
the priests were annointed for service, they were similarly treated.
- The priest would confer that same message to
the cleansed leper. The blood would cover his right ear, symbolizing the care
that he would take in what he heard.
- The blood on his hand would remind him of his
responsibility to use his hands for the service of the Lord who had cleansed
him.
- The blood on his foot would remind him of the
Lord's sovereignty over his direction. When God changes a life, what that
person listens to and does is radically affected!
- From there, after sprinkling the oil before
the Lord, he would them place the oil on the man at the same points with the
final amount poured over his head.
- The blood of the sacrifice and the annointing
oil would cover him. The blood of the pre-figured Christ and the pre-figured Holy
Spirit. That is the picture of every believer who has been cleansed.
- They have been cleansed through the sacrifice
of Christ and empowered to walk by the baptism and subsequent filling of the Holy Spirit!
- You and I are not bought by the blood and
then released to be my own free moral agent. I am bought by the blood and then
freed to serve as the Holy Spirit leads!
• Leviticus
14:19-32 : "Then the priest shall offer the sin offering, and make atonement
for him who is to be cleansed from his uncleanness. Afterward he shall kill the
burnt offering. And the priest shall offer the burnt offering and the grain
offering on the altar. So the priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall
be clean. But if he is poor and cannot afford it, then he shall take one male
lamb as a trespass offering to be waved, to make atonement for him, one-tenth
of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering, a log of oil, and
two turtledoves or two young pigeons, such as he is able to afford: one shall
be a sin offering and the other a burnt offering. He shall bring them to the
priest on the eighth day for his cleansing, to the door of the tabernacle of
meeting, before the Lord. And the priest shall take the lamb of the trespass offering
and the log of oil, and the priest shall wave them as a wave offering before
the Lord. Then 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. And the priest shall pour some of the oil
into the palm of his own left hand. Then the priest shall sprinkle with his
right finger some of the oil that is in his left hand seven times before the
Lord. 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. 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.
And he shall offer one of the turtledoves or young pigeons, such as he can
afford— such as he is able to afford, the one as a sin offering and the other
as a burnt offering, with the grain offering. So the priest shall make
atonement for him who is to be cleansed before the Lord. This is the law for
one who had a leprous sore, who cannot afford the usual cleansing.'" :
This part is a bit of repeat and is given by the Lord in the case of
poverty. God did not want cost to be an issue. Heart is always the issue.
- There is never a time in your life when what
you have to offer is too little to offer to the Lord. The heart should always
be, "What I have I offer with thanksgiving to the Lord!"
• Leviticus
14:33-42 : "And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: 'When you have
come into the land of Canaan, which I give you as a possession, and I put the
leprous plague in a house in the land of your possession, and he who
owns the house comes and tells the priest, saying, ‘It seems to me that there
is some plague in the house,’ 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. And he shall examine the plague; and indeed if the plague is
on the walls of the house with ingrained streaks, greenish or reddish, which
appear to be deep in the wall, then the priest shall go out of the house, to
the door of the house, and shut up the house seven days. And the priest shall
come again on the seventh day and look; and indeed if the plague has spread on
the walls of the house, 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. And he shall cause the house to be scraped inside, all
around, and the dust that they scrape off they shall pour out in an unclean
place outside the city. Then they shall take other stones and put them in the
place of those stones, and he shall take other mortar and plaster the house." : One interesting thing about a former
leper: He would be hyper sensitive to it's presence in his life! What if he
found something in his home?
- What has been said of the person can be said
of the house. Is it skin or cover deep? Can some of it be removed?
- One notable difference is that God says that
He is responsible for putting the leprous plague in the house. That is
something that He has not said till now.
- In the Old Testament, there are many things
that God takes credit for that we wish that He did not. Here, in His
sovereignty, He reserves the right to allow such a thing to take place.
- Here is a man who is looking to replace
anything that has any leprosy in it. Perhaps some home improvement will do the
trick.
• Leviticus
14:43-47 : "Now if the plague comes back and breaks out in the house, after
he has taken away the stones, after he has scraped the house, and after it is
plastered, then the priest shall come and look; and indeed if the plague has
spread in the house, it is an active leprosy in the house. It is unclean. And
he shall break down the house, its stones, its timber, and all the plaster of
the house, and he shall carry them outside the city to an unclean place.
Moreover he who goes into the house at all while it is shut up shall be unclean
until evening. And he who lies down in the house shall wash his clothes, and he
who eats in the house shall wash his clothes." : The house was
to be demolished if the leprosy was active. This is how serious it was to be to
them. All of it's parts were to be burned outside of the city.
- How serious is it to you? What avenues for
sin are open in your life? Where does the enemy of your soul have a foothold or
a place from which to attack you?
• Leviticus
14:48-57 : "But if the priest comes in and examines it, and indeed 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. And he
shall take, to cleanse the house, two birds, cedar wood, scarlet, and hyssop. Then
he shall kill one of the birds in an earthen vessel over running water; 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. 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. Then he shall let the living bird loose outside the
city in the open field, and make atonement for the house, and it shall be
clean. This is the law for any leprous sore and scale, for the leprosy of a
garment and of a house, for a swelling and a scab and a bright spot, to teach
when it is unclean and when it is clean. This is the law of leprosy.'" : The priest was to offer the same
sacrifice that had been given for the leper when he was cleansed.
- Let the sacrifice of Christ be the center of
your home! The Priest would make atonement for the house, making it clean. What
makes atonement for our homes? The blood of Jesus!
• Leviticus
15:1-3 : "And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 'Speak to the
children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When any man has a discharge from his
body, his discharge is unclean. And this shall be his uncleanness in regard to
his discharge—whether his body runs with his discharge, or his body is stopped
up by his discharge, it is his uncleanness." : The word
"discharge" can literally be translated "running issue" ie.
an active infection or stopped up, ie., not showing. It is uncleanness unto the
Lord.
- This could relate to any kind of blood sore,
pus discharge or something like diarhhea.
- Some of these discharges relate also to
sexually transmitted disease, many of which are on the rise even today in spite
of the world's love for the message of safe sex.
- In our day and age, it's alarming to know
that chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis have all increased to levels between two
and four times in the last several years.[i]
- In those ancient days, especially among the
Canaanites, you will remember that sexual activity was associated with the
worship of their gods. Nothing safe was happening there!
- It's interesting that the transformed,
restored life, begins with the blood sacrifice, the Holy Spirit oil type, the
home cleanse and now, at least some reference to relationships with others.
- We'll move quickly through this chapter,
understanding that hygiene in the desert in a close knit community where
epidemics could rapidly grow remains our context.
• Leviticus
15:4-12 : "Every
bed is unclean on which he who has the discharge lies, and everything on which
he sits shall be unclean. And whoever touches his bed shall wash his clothes
and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. He who sits on anything on
which he who has the discharge sat shall wash his clothes and bathe in water,
and be unclean until evening. And he who touches the body of him who has the
discharge shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until
evening. If he who has the discharge spits on him who is clean, then he shall
wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. Any saddle
on which he who has the discharge rides shall be unclean. Whoever touches
anything that was under him shall be unclean until evening. He who carries any
of those things shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until
evening. And whomever the one who has the discharge touches, and has not rinsed
his hands in water, he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be
unclean until evening. The
vessel of earth that he who has the discharge touches shall be broken, and
every vessel of wood shall be rinsed in water." : Whatever the
man with the running issue touches is unclean. Whoever touches what He has
touched is also unclean. The spitting man likely refers to a sneeze.
- Today, we understand the need to isolation
and purity when we care for another. That was not the case in these ancient
days.
• Leviticus
15:13-15 : "And when he who has a discharge is cleansed of his discharge,
then he shall count for himself seven days for his cleansing, wash his clothes,
and bathe his body in running water; then he shall be clean. On the eighth day
he shall take for himself two turtledoves or two young pigeons, and come before
the Lord, to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and give them to the
priest. Then the priest shall offer them, the one as a sin offering and the
other as a burnt offering. So the priest shall make atonement for him before
the Lord because of his discharge." :
The procedure for this man's cleansing took him through the same
offering that the leper went through. His sickness, resulting from sin or not,
required sacrifice.
• Leviticus 15:16-24 :
"If any man has an
emission of semen, then he shall wash all his body in water, and be unclean
until evening. And any garment and any leather on which there is semen, it
shall be washed with water, and be unclean until evening. Also, when a woman
lies with a man, and there is an emission of semen, they shall bathe in water,
and be unclean until evening. If a woman has a discharge, and the discharge
from her body is blood, she shall be set apart seven days; and whoever touches
her shall be unclean until evening. Everything that she lies on during her
impurity shall be unclean; also everything that she sits on shall be unclean. Whoever
touches her bed shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until
evening. And whoever touches anything that she sat on shall wash his clothes and
bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. If anything is on her bed or on
anything on which she sits, when he touches it, he shall be unclean until
evening. And if any man lies with her at all, so that her impurity is on him,
he shall be unclean seven days; and every bed on which he lies shall be
unclean." : Gonorrhea has a semen looking discharge that was often
misdiagnosed in the ancient world. God also commands that a woman is unclean
during her period.
- If sexual
relations took place during that week between a husband and wife, and that is
the only context God approves of, then they would both be unclean.
- I like the
way one commentator put it: It's as if God said, "You've got enough going
this week. Take a week off and blame me!"
• Leviticus
15:25-33 : "If a woman has a discharge of blood for many
days, other than at the time of her customary impurity, or if it runs beyond
her usual time of impurity, all the days of her unclean discharge shall be as
the days of her customary impurity. She shall be unclean. Every bed on which
she lies all the days of her discharge shall be to her as the bed of her
impurity; and whatever she sits on shall be unclean, as the uncleanness of her
impurity. Whoever touches those things shall be unclean; he shall wash his
clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. But if she is
cleansed of her discharge, then she shall count for herself seven days, and
after that she shall be clean. And on the eighth day she shall take for herself
two turtledoves or two young pigeons, and bring them to the priest, to the door
of the tabernacle of meeting. Then the priest shall offer the one as a sin
offering and the other as a burnt offering, and the priest shall make atonement
for her before the Lord for the discharge of her uncleanness. Thus you shall
separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness, lest they die in their
uncleanness when they defile My tabernacle that is among them. This is the law
for one who has a discharge, and for him who emits semen and is unclean
thereby, and for her who is indisposed because of her customary impurity, and
for one who has a discharge, either man or woman, and for him who lies with her
who is unclean.'" :
God went through all this detail, lest they die! Lest they die by
ingesting poisons though food. Lest they die of contagious skin diseases.
- Lest they die
from sexually transmitted diseases. In what looks severe and harsh, there is a
thread of God's kind and wise hand that covers their ignorance and saves their
lives!
Conclusion
- The restored
man is a man who is blood bought and Spirit filled and directed. A restored man
is careful how he walks, dilligent with what he alllows in his home and
discerning in his relationships.
- When one has
been cleansed, one cannot be too careful about being defiled again!
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