Year 1, Day 103: Leviticus 14

Cleansing

Yesterday we spoke of leprosy, today we get to speak about the ritualistic cleansing of lepers and homes containing infectious diseases.  Note that these are spiritual and ritual cleansings, not physical treatments.  This is often a mistake people bring to this text.  As I said yesterday, the priests were not here to cure the leprosy.  The priests were there to identify it, protect the community through quarantine, and then certify when the quarantine was to be finished through a sacrifice to God.

That being said, I do think that it is important to understand something significant about the process.  The priest went out to the unclean person to see whether they had become clean or not.  (See Leviticus 14:3)  Of course the priest had to be the one to go, because the unclean person was forbidden from coming in. 

When a person takes part in identifying another person’s uncleanliness, that person takes ownership of walking the unclean person through the process and helping them come back into the community.  All too often people think our job as Christians is to point out sin and condemn it.  No, our job is to identify sin and help people deal with it – working with them until they are spiritually/ritually ready to come back into the camp.  We don’t cast someone out and then wait for them to come back – we identify their sin, help them work on it, and welcome them back into the fold at the right time!

The Importance of the Birds

The ritual cleansing given in Leviticus 14:4-7 is also very interesting. Think about what happens here.  Two birds are taken.  One is killed after being put into a clay vessel.  The second bird is dipped in the blood of the first and released as a sign of cleanliness. 

This is not too unlike the story of Christ.  Jesus Christ was paired up with humanity.  At the very least, paired up with you and me.  There is the analogy to the two birds.  The first bird (Christ) is put into a clay jar (analogy for coming into a human body) and then killed.  The second bird (you and me) is dipped in the blood of the first (washed in the blood of Christ) and released freely as a sign of being cleansed.  I think that is a pretty neat way to think about the death of Christ and the process of cleansing from the infectious disease of sin.

Ears, Thumbs, and Toes Again

Did you notice the emphasis on the right ear, the right thumb, and the right toe again?  We first saw this in the ordination ceremony of Aaron and his sons.  We now see it here.  This is a forerunner to the New Testament idea of the priesthood of all believers. 

Everyone cleansed from an infectious disease comes back to the Lord and has his ear, thumb, and toe touched.  Everyone cleansed of an infectious disease comes to the tabernacle and symbolically is told that they are now ready to hear, do, and follow God’s ways.  To bring that into the New Testament, everyone who is cleansed of the infectious nature of sin is brought before God and told that they have the same calling as the priests: go forth hearing, doing, and following God’s ways.

Leprous Property

I find it interesting that the Levitical code mentions property – much like I found it interesting yesterday that garments made of animal hide could contract leprosy.  There is something to be considered here – especially when the idea of infectious disease is made analogous to the concept of sin.  The claim that is being made is that things of this world can be transmitters of sin. 

I think we all know this, but how many of us ignore it?

We all know that a $20 bill found lying on the ground can bring about temptations to steal or be greedy.  A pornographic picture can bring about thoughts of lust and other violent behavior.  A fancy car driving by might evoke a sense of envy.  A beautiful husband or wife might evoke pride (if the spouse is your own) or jealousy (if the spouse is another’s). 

Things in our life – even good things! – can be conveyers of sinful behavior when we are not careful.  It is important for us to keep watch not only over ourselves, but also over those things in our lives that interact with our person as well.

Ending On a Dark Note

I found Leviticus 14:34 to have a point that is easy to gloss over.  In Leviticus 14:34 we hear God declare that “I put a case of leprous disease in a house in the land of your possession.”  Do you hear it?  God owns up to putting leprosy in the homes.

So often we like to think of God as the God of grace.  He is loving.  He is kind.  He is compassionate.  All of these are true, of course.

But He is also judge.  He is the jury.  He is the one who executes punishment.  He doesn’t have a problem with that.  We shouldn’t either.  He is love.  Sometimes that love is gracious.  Sometimes that love is tough.

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