Leviticus 14

Making People "Clean" From Skin Diseases

1 The LORD spoke to Moses. He told him to say to the people,

2 "Here are the rules for making someone 'clean' if he has had a skin disease. They apply when he is brought to the priest.

3 "The priest must go outside the camp. He must look the person over carefully. Suppose he has been healed of his skin disease.

4 Then the priest will order someone to bring him two live 'clean' birds. He will also order someone to bring him some cedar wood, bright red yarn and branches of a hyssop plant. All of those things will be used to make the person 'clean.'

5 "The priest will order someone to kill one of the birds. It must be killed over fresh water in a clay pot.

6 Then the priest must take the live bird. He must dip it into the blood of the bird that was killed over the fresh water. He must dip it into the blood together with the cedar wood, the bright red yarn and the hyssop plant.

7 "The priest will sprinkle the blood on the person who had the skin disease. That will make him 'clean.' The priest must sprinkle him seven times. Then the priest must announce that he is 'clean.' After that, the priest must let the live bird go free in the open fields.

8 "The person must also wash his clothes to be made 'clean.' He must shave off all of his hair. He must take a bath. Then he will be 'clean.' After that, he may come into the camp. But he must stay outside his tent for seven days.

9 "On the seventh day he must shave off all of his hair. He must shave his head. He must shave off his beard. He must also shave off his eyebrows and the rest of his hair. He must wash his clothes. He must take a bath. Then he will be 'clean.'

10 "On the eighth day he must bring two male lambs and one female lamb as an offering. The female must be a year old. The lambs must not have any flaws. He must also bring 24 cups of fine flour as a grain offering. He must mix it with olive oil. He must also bring five ounces of oil.

11 The priest who announces that the person is 'clean' must bring him and his offerings to me. He must do it at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.

12 "Then the priest must take one of the male lambs. He must offer it as a guilt offering. He must offer it along with five ounces of oil. He must lift all of it up and wave it in front of me as a wave offering.

13 "He must kill the lamb in the holy place where sin offerings and burnt offerings are killed. The guilt offering belongs to the priest, just as the sin offering does. The guilt offering is very holy.

14 "The priest must take some of the blood from the guilt offering and put it on the person's right ear lobe. He must put some on the thumb of his right hand. He must also put some on the big toe of his right foot.

15 "Then the priest must take some of the oil and pour it into his own left hand.

16 He must dip his right forefinger into the oil that is in his hand. He must use his finger to sprinkle some of the oil in front of me seven times.

17 "The priest must put some of the oil that is in his hand on the same places he put the blood of the guilt offering. He must put some on the person's right ear lobe. He must put some on the thumb of his right hand. He must put some on the big toe of his right foot.

18 He must put on his head the rest of the oil that is in his hand. It will pay for the person's sin in my sight.

19 "Then the priest must sacrifice the sin offering. It will pay for the person's sin. He will be made 'clean' after being 'unclean.' After that, the priest will kill the burnt offering.

20 He will offer it on the altar. He will offer it together with the grain offering. It will pay for the person's sin. Then he will be 'clean.'

21 "But suppose he is poor. Suppose he can't afford all of those offerings. Then he must bring one male lamb as a guilt offering. It must be lifted up and waved in front of me to pay for his sin. He must also bring eight cups of fine flour along with the lamb. He must mix the flour with olive oil. It is a grain offering. He must offer it along with five ounces of oil.

22 He must also bring two doves or two young pigeons that he can afford. One is for a sin offering. The other is for a burnt offering.

23 "On the eighth day he must bring them to the priest so he can be made 'clean.' He must bring them to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. He must do it in my sight.

24 "The priest must take the lamb for the guilt offering. He must take it together with the five ounces of oil. He must lift all of it up and wave it in front of me as a wave offering.

25 He must kill the lamb for the guilt offering. He must take some of its blood and put it on the person's right ear lobe. He must put some on the thumb of his right hand. He must also put some on the big toe of his right foot.

26 "The priest must pour some of the oil into his own left hand.

27 He must dip his right forefinger into the oil that is in his hand. He must use his finger to sprinkle some of it seven times in front of me.

28 "He must put some of the oil that is in his hand on the same places he put the blood of the guilt offering. He must put some on the person's right ear lobe. He must put some on the thumb of his right hand. He must also put some on the big toe of his right foot.

29 He must put on his head the rest of the oil that is in his hand. It will pay for the person's sin in my sight.

30 "The priest will sacrifice the doves or the young pigeons that the person can afford.

31 One is for a sin offering. The other is for a burnt offering. The priest must offer them together with the grain offering. In that way he will pay for the person's sin in my sight. He will do it to make him 'clean.' "

32 Those are the rules for anyone who has a skin disease. They are for people who can't afford the regular offerings that are required to make them "clean."

Making Things "Clean" From Mold

33 The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron. He told them to say to the people,

34 "You will enter the land of Canaan. I am giving it to you as your own. When you enter it, suppose I put mold in one of your houses. And suppose the mold spreads.

35 Then the owner of that house must go and speak to the priest. He must say, 'I've seen something that looks like mold in my house.'

36 "The priest must order everything to be taken out of the house. It must be done before he goes in to look carefully at the mold. If it is not done, the priest must announce that everything in the house is 'unclean.' "After the house is empty the priest must go in and check it.

37 He must look carefully at the mold that is on the walls. Suppose it looks as if it has green or red dents in it. And suppose the dents look as if they are behind the surface of the wall.

38 Then the priest must go out the door. He must close the house up for seven days.

39 "On the seventh day the priest will return to check the house. Suppose the mold that is on the walls has spread.

40 Then he must order someone to tear out the stones that have mold on them. He must have them thrown into an 'unclean' place outside the town.

41 He must have all of the inside walls of the house scraped. Everything that is scraped off must be dumped into an 'unclean' place outside the town.

42 "Then other stones must be put in the place of the stones that had mold on them. The inside walls of the house must be coated with new clay.

43 "Suppose the stones have been torn out. The house has been scraped. And the walls have been coated with new clay. But the mold appears again.

44 "Then the priest must go and look things over carefully. Suppose the mold has spread in the house. Then it is the kind of mold that destroys things. The house is not 'clean.'

45 "It must be torn down. The stones, the wood and all of the clay coating must be torn out. All of it must be taken out of the town to an 'unclean' place.

46 "Suppose someone goes into the house while it is closed up. Then he will be 'unclean' until evening.

47 If he sleeps or eats in the house, he must wash his clothes.

48 "But suppose the priest comes to look things over carefully. And suppose the mold has not spread after the walls had been coated with new clay. Then he will announce that the house is 'clean.' The mold is gone.

49 "To make the house pure, the priest must get two birds. He must also get some cedar wood, bright red yarn and branches of a hyssop plant.

50 He must kill one of the birds over fresh water in a clay pot.

51 "Then he must take the cedar wood, the hyssop plant, the bright red yarn and the live bird. He must dip all of them into the blood of the dead bird. He must also dip them into the fresh water. He must sprinkle the house seven times.

52 "The priest will use the blood and the water to make the house pure. He will use the live bird to make it pure. He will also use the cedar wood, the hyssop plant and the bright red yarn to make it pure.

53 "Then he must let the live bird go free in the open fields outside the town. In that way he will make the house pure. It will be 'clean.' "

54 Those are the rules for skin diseases. They apply to itches.

55 They apply to mold in clothes or in houses.

56 They also apply to swellings, rashes or bright red spots on the skin.

57 Use those rules to decide whether something is "clean" or not. Those are the rules for skin diseases and for mold.

Leviticus 14 Commentary

Chapter 14

Of declaring the leper to be clean. (1-9) The sacrifices to be offered by him. (10-32) The leprosy in a house. (33-53) Summary of the law concerning leprosy. (54-57)

Verses 1-9 The priests could not cleanse the lepers; but when the Lord removed the plague, various rules were to be observed in admitting them again to the ordinances of God, and the society of his people. They represent many duties and exercises of truly repenting sinners, and the duties of ministers respecting them. If we apply this to the spiritual leprosy of sin, it intimates that when we withdraw from those who walk disorderly, we must not count them as enemies, but admonish them as brethren. And also that when God by his grace has brought to repentance, they ought with tenderness and joy, and sincere affection, to be received again. Care should always be taken that sinners may not be encouraged, nor penitents discouraged. If it were found that the leprosy was healed, the priest must declare it with the particular solemnities here described. The two birds, one killed, and the other dipped in the blood of the bird that was killed, and then let loose, may signify Christ shedding his blood for sinners, and rising and ascending into heaven. The priest having pronounced the leper clean from the disease, he must make himself clean from all remains of it. Thus those who have comfort of the remission of their sins, must with care and caution cleanse themselves from sins; for every one that has this hope in him, will be concerned to purify himself.

Verses 10-32 The cleansed leper was to be presented to the Lord, with his offerings. When God has restored us to enjoy public worship again, after sickness, distance, or otherwise, we should testify our thanksgiving by our diligent use of the liberty. And both we and our offerings must be presented before the Lord, by the Priest that made us clean, even our Lord Jesus. Beside the usual rites of the trespass-offering, some of the blood, and some of the oil, was to be put upon him that was to be cleansed. Wherever the blood of Christ is applied for justification, the oil of the Spirit is applied for sanctification; these two cannot be separated. We have here the gracious provision the law made for poor lepers. The poor are as welcome to God's altar as the rich. But though a meaner sacrifice was accepted from the poor, yet the same ceremony was used for the rich; their souls are as precious, and Christ and his gospel are the same to both. Even for the poor one lamb was necessary. No sinner could be saved, had it not been for the Lamb that was slain, and hath redeemed us to God with his blood.

Verses 33-53 The leprosy in a house is unaccountable to us, as well as the leprosy in a garment; but now sin, where that reigns in a house, is a plague there, as it is in a heart. Masters of families should be aware, and afraid of the first appearance of sin in their families, and put it away, whatever it is. If the leprosy is got into the house, the infected part must be taken out. If it remain in the house, the whole must be pulled down. The owner had better be without a dwelling, than live in one that was infected. The leprosy of sin ruins families and churches. Thus sin is so interwoven with the human body, that it must be taken down by death.

Verses 54-57 When that God who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us by his grace, ( ephesians 2:4 ephesians 2:5 ) , we shall manifest the change by repenting, and forsaking former sins. Let us follow after holiness, and let us compassionate other poor lepers, and desire, seek, and pray for their cleansing.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO LEVITICUS 14

This chapter treats of the purification of lepers, and the rules to be observed therein; and first what the priest was to do for his cleansing when brought to him, by making use of two birds, with cedar wood, scarlet and hyssop, as directed, Le 14:1-7; what he was to do for himself, shaving off all his hair, and washing his flesh and clothes in water, Le 14:8,9; the offerings to be offered up for him, two he lambs and one ewe lamb, and a meat offering, with a particular account of the use of the blood of the trespass offering, and of oil put upon the tip of his right ear, the thumb of his right hand, and the great toe of his right foot, Le 14:10-20; but if poor, only one lamb was required, a meat offering of one tenth deal, and two turtle doves or two young pigeons, and blood and oil used as before, Le 14:21-32; next follow an account of leprosy in an house, and the signs of it, and the rules to judge of it, Le 14:33-48; and the manner of cleansing from it, Le 14:49-53; and the chapter is closed with a recapitulation of the several laws concerning the various sorts of leprosy in this and the preceding chapter, Le 14:54-57.