Why would YHVH allow such a contamination to appear on
His chosen people?
Perhaps one of the reasons is that even His chosen
have great difficulty to recognize and confess their sins.
Pro 16:2 All the ways of a man are clean in his own
eyes, But יהוה weighs the spirits.
Pro 18:17 The first to state his own case, seems right,
Until another comes and examines him.
1Jn 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we are
misleading ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
1Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is trustworthy and
righteous to forgive us the sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1Jn 1:10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make
Him a liar, and His Word is not in us.
Lev 14:1 And יהוה spoke to
Mosheh, saying,
Lev 14:2 “This
shall be the Torah of the leper for the day of his cleansing: He shall be
brought to the priest,
ב זֹאת
תִּהְיֶה תּוֹרַת הַמְּצֹרָע, בְּיוֹם טָהֳרָתוֹ: וְהוּבָא, אֶל-הַכֹּהֵן.
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2 This shall be the law of the leper in
the day of his cleansing: he shall be brought unto the priest.
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Note the future tense of the Hebrew verb – “ti heyeh.”
Does this imply some future application?
Lev 14:3 and the
priest shall go out of the camp, and the priest shall look and see, if the
leprosy is healed in the leper,
Lev 14:4 then the
priest shall command, and he shall take for him who is to be cleansed two live
and clean birds, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop.
Lev 14:5 “And the
priest shall command, and he shall kill one of the birds in an earthen vessel
over running water.
Lev 14:6 “Let him
take the live bird and the cedar wood and the scarlet and the hyssop, and dip
them and the live bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the
running water.
According to Rashi the Hebrew words “ yikach otah” – “he
shall take it” says the bird is singled
out to indicate that it is treated separately from the three other items used
in this ritual. The cedar wood and the hyssop are tied together with the red
thread. Then the bundle is held together in the right hand together with the
bird and they dipped into the blood water mixture.
For Messianic believers the above ritual naturally draws
our attention to the death and resurrection of the Messiah.
The Torah is implying that the only cure for man’s
contamination is Messiah – Yahshua. Man’s condition is so serious that YHVH
would send His only son to be the cure.
This hidden Messianic message is also found in the
mysterious “chok” of the Parah Adumah -
the statute of the ashes of the Red Heifer. We find this in Numbers 19:2
- Parashat 39 – “Chukat” vs 10 of the same chapter says this is a statute
forever – “le chukat olam.” (see also Numbers 19:6)
Lev 14:7 “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 live bird loose in the open
field.
Lev 14:8 “And he
who is to be cleansed shall wash his garments, and shall shave off all his hair
and wash himself in water, and shall be clean. Then after that he comes into
the camp, but shall stay outside his tent seven days.
Lev 14:9 “And on
the seventh day it shall be that he shaves all the hair off his head and his
beard and his eyebrows, even all his hair he shaves off. And he shall wash his
garments and wash his body in water, and shall be clean.
Lev 14:10 “And on
the eighth day he takes two male lambs, perfect ones, and one ewe lamb a year
old, a perfect one, and three-tenths of an ĕphah of fine flour mixed
with oil as a grain offering, and one log of oil.
Lev 14:11 “And the
priest who is cleansing shall present the man who is to be cleansed, with these
offerings, before יהוה, at the door
of the Tent of Meeting.
Lev 14:12 “And the
priest shall take one male lamb and bring it as a guilt offering, and the log
of oil, and wave them as a wave offering before יהוה.
Lev 14:13 “And he
shall slaughter the lamb in the place where he slaughters the sin offering and
the burnt offering, in a set-apart place. For the guilt offering, like the sin
offering, belongs to the priest. It is most set-apart.
Lev 14:14 “And the
priest shall take some of the blood of the guilt offering, and the priest shall
put it on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, and on the
thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.
Lev 14:15 “And the
priest shall take some of the log of oil, and pour it into the palm of his own
left hand.
Lev 14:16 “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 יהוה.
Lev 14:17 “And of
the rest of the oil in his hand, the priest puts some on the tip of the right
ear of him who is to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on
the big toe of his right foot, on the blood of the guilt offering.
Lev 14:18 “And the
rest of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he puts on the head of him who is
to be cleansed. And the priest shall make atonement for him before יהוה.
Lev 14:19 “And the
priest shall make the sin offering, and make atonement for him who is to be
cleansed from his uncleanness. Then afterwards he slaughters the burnt
offering.
Lev 14:20 “And the
priest shall offer the burnt offering and the grain offering on the altar. And
the priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be clean.
Lev 14:21 “But if
he is poor and is unable to afford it, then he shall take one male lamb as a
guilt offering to be waved, to make atonement for him, and one-tenth of an ĕphah
of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering, and a log of oil,
Lev 14:22 and two
turtledoves or two young pigeons, such as he is able to afford, and one shall
be a sin offering and the other a burnt offering.
Lev 14:23 “And he
shall bring them to the priest on the eighth day for his cleansing, to the door
of the Tent of Meeting, before יהוה.
Lev 14:24 “And the
priest shall take the lamb of the guilt offering and the log of oil, and the
priest shall wave them as a wave offering before יהוה.
Lev 14:25 “And he
shall slaughter the lamb of the guilt offering, and the priest shall take some
of the blood of the guilt offering and put it on the tip of the right ear of
him who is to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big
toe of his right foot.
Lev 14:26 “Then
the priest pours some of the oil into the palm of his own left hand.
Lev 14:27 “And the
priest shall sprinkle with his right finger some of the oil that is in his left
hand seven times before יהוה.
Lev 14:28 “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, and on the thumb of the right hand, and on
the big toe of his right foot, on the place of the blood of the guilt offering.
Lev 14:29 “And the
rest of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he puts on the head of him who is
to be cleansed, to make atonement for him before יהוה.
Lev 14:30 “And he
shall prepare one of the turtledoves or young pigeons, such as he is able to
afford,
Lev 14:31 that
which he is able to afford, the one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt
offering, with the grain offering. And the priest shall make atonement for him
who is to be cleansed before יהוה.
Lev 14:32 “This is
the Torah for one who had an infection of leprosy, who is unable to afford for
his cleansing.”
Three stages of cleansing could refer to a complete
future cleansing when Messiah returns and we all become one people – Yisrael
again.
The first stage of purification was when the priest
declared the metzorah clean. He was then allowed in the camp.
The second stage of purification was the shaving of all
his or her body hair – 14:9
The third and final stage of purification was the
offerings. In this matter the metzorah is an exception to the rule, since sin
and guilt offerings are not usually accompanied by meal offerings. According to
Rashi it may be that the metzorah is accorded this honour as YHVH’s Own
testimony to the sincerity of his or her repentance, as evidenced by the removal
of their bodily affliction.
Lev 14:33 And יהוה spoke to Mosheh and to Aharon, saying,
Lev 14:34 “When
you come into the land of Kenaʽan, which I am giving you as a possession, and I put a
plague of leprosy in a house in the land of your possession,
Lev 14:35 then
shall the one who owns the house come and inform the priest, saying, ‘It seems
to me that there is some plague in the house.’
Lev 14:36 “And the
priest shall command, and they shall empty the house, before the priest goes in
to look at the plague, so that all that is in the house is not made unclean.
And after that the priest goes in to look at the house.
Lev 14:37 “And he
shall look at the plague and see, if the plague is on the walls of the house
with sunken places, greenish or reddish, which appear to be deep in the wall,
Lev 14:38 then the
priest shall go out of the house, to the door of the house, and shut up the
house seven days.
Lev 14:39 “And the
priest shall come again on the seventh day and look and see, if the plague has
spread on the walls of the house,
Lev 14:40 then the
priest shall command, and they shall remove the stones with the plague in them,
and they shall throw them outside the city, into an unclean place,
Lev 14:41 while he
lets the house be scraped inside, all around, and the dust that they scrape off
they shall pour out in an unclean place outside the city.
Lev 14:42 “And
they shall take other stones and put them in the place of those stones, and
take other mortar and plaster the house.
Lev 14:43 “And if
the plague comes back and breaks out in the house, after he has removed the
stones, after he has scraped the house, and after it is plastered,
Lev 14:44 then the
priest shall come and look and see, if the plague has spread in the house, it
is an active leprosy in the house, it is unclean.
Lev 14:45 “And he
shall break down the house, its stones, and its timber, and all the plaster of
the house, and he shall bring them outside the city to an unclean place.
Lev 14:46 “And he
who goes into the house, all the days while it is shut up, becomes unclean
until evening.
Lev 14:47 “And he
who lies down in the house has to wash his garments, and he who eats in the
house has to wash his garments.
Lev 14:48
“However, if the priest indeed comes in and looks at it and sees that
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.
Lev 14:49 “And to
cleanse the house, he shall take two birds, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and
hyssop.
Lev 14:50 “And he
shall kill one of the birds in an earthen vessel over running water,
Lev 14:51 and he
shall take the cedar wood, and the hyssop, and the scarlet, and the live bird,
and dip them in the blood of the slain bird and in the running water, and shall
sprinkle the house seven times.
Lev 14:52 “He
shall thus cleanse the house with the blood of the bird and the running water
and the live bird, and with the cedar wood, and with the hyssop, and with the
scarlet,
Lev 14:53 and he
shall let the live bird loose outside the city in the open field, and shall
make atonement for the house, and it shall be clean.
Lev 14:54 “This is
the Torah for any infection of leprosy, and eruption,
Lev 14:55 and for
leprosy of a garment, and of a house,
Lev 14:56 and for
a swelling, and for a scab, and for a bright spot,
Lev 14:57 to teach
when it is unclean and when it is clean. This is the Torah of leprosy.”