Leviticus.
It’s often the bane of yearly Bible-reading plans. It can be a confusing book filled with laws, rituals, and ceremonial statutes that make reading a difficult exercise.
But Paul reminds Timothy that “all scripture is breathed out by God” and that it is profitable for us. Leviticus can be intimidating but when we read it with an eye to Christ as the fulfillment of the Old Testament, we begin to join with the psalmist in beholding “wondrous things” in God’s law (Psalm 119:18).
Recently, I read Leviticus 14 and saw Christ all throughout the passage. The chapter is concerned with the laws about the cleansing of lepers and those with skin diseases in ancient Israel. In the process, it points beautifully to Christ’s redemption of His people from their sins and towards the judgement coming against those who are corrupted and resist Christ’s Kingdom.
This article will be the first in a series of articles that will offer a verse-by-verse commentary on Leviticus 14, unveiling the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament law.
The Problem of Leprosy
First, we must give some context to our passage.
Leviticus 13 gives the priests of Israel specific instructions for examining skin diseases (including leprosy-proper, also known as Hansen’s Disease) and for determining if the disease requires quarantine and isolation. Leprosy is a picture of sin in the Bible. It isolates us, numbs us, and eats away at us until we die. Like sin, leprosy was (and still is) a disease that numbs the nerves and causes terrible suffering, eating away at the body until death. Because of the seriousness of the disease, Israelite lepers were sent outside the camp and isolated from society, often forming leper colonies of their own.
During Jesus’ ministry he cleansed many lepers. However, the Bible never refers to this as “healing” of the lepers. It always refers to it as “cleansing”. Likewise, Christ’s blood has cleansed us from our sin but our full healing does not come in this life.
With this picture of leprosy as a biblical symbol of sin, let’s dive into the laws concerning the cleansing of leprosy in Leviticus 14.
The Priest’s Examination (Lev. 14:1-4)
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “This shall be the law of the leprous person for the day of his cleansing. He shall be brought to the priest, 3 and the priest shall go out of the camp, and the priest shall look. Then, if the case of leprous disease is healed in the leprous person, 4 the priest shall command them to take for him who is to be cleansed two live clean birds and cedarwood and scarlet yarn and hyssop.
Leviticus 14:1-4
After instructing Israel in the examination, diagnosis, and isolation of leprosy in chapter 13, God instructs Moses on the procedure for cleansing the leper and accepting him back into the community.
It’s important to note that the priest, the one responsible for the examination and for the subsequent cleansing ceremony, goes outside the camp. In the same way, Christ, the one who cleanses us from sin, came to us (Heb. 13:11-13). He emptied Himself of His divine privilege and took the form of a human servant (Phil. 2:5-8).
The incarnation itself was Jesus leaving Heaven and going “outside the camp” (i.e. the dwelling place of God) to cleanse us. The leper was unclean and therefore unable to enter the Tabernacle and come to the priest. God instructs the priest to go out to the leper instead. Romans 5:8 reminds us that while we were yet sinners, Christ came and died for us. The parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15 reminds us that while we were a long ways off, God jumped up and ran to draw us into his home (Luke 15:20).
To complete the cleansing ceremony the priest would need several things: two live clean birds, cedar wood, a scarlet string, and a Hyssop branch. These have symbolic significance. The bird was a creature of the heavens. As we shall see, the significance of the birds in the ceremony was considerable. Cedar wood was strong and resistant to rot or decay. It could therefore be used in connection with a ceremonial cleansing of leprosy since it was strong against impurity. The scarlet thread would be used to tie one of the birds to the branch and its scarlet color represented the significance of blood. Finally, hyssop was associated with purification (Psalm 51:7). In fact, all three: cedar, scarlet yarn, and hyssop, were associated with other purification ceremonies as laid out in Numbers 19. As we will see, these elements were also connected to Christ’s atoning death centuries after the laws were established in ancient Israel.
The Two Birds (Lev. 14:5-7)
And the priest shall command them to kill one of the birds in an earthenware vessel over fresh water. 6 He shall take the live bird with the cedarwood and the scarlet yarn and the hyssop, and dip them and the live bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the fresh water. 7 And he shall sprinkle it seven times on him who is to be cleansed of the leprous disease. Then he shall pronounce him clean and shall let the living bird go into the open field.
Leviticus 14:5-7
Now we come to the ritual of cleansing.
The priest is to take one of the clean birds and kill it in an earthenware vessel over “living water”. The essence of the water here is that it is fresh running water, from a stream, not from a well or cistern. Then the second clean bird is bound to the wood and hyssop branch, using the scarlet yarn, and dipped in the blood of its fellow bird, mixed with the water. Finally, the blood and water mixture was sprinkled on the cleansed leper by means of the live bird before it was set free to fly out into the open field.
This ritual is steeped in rich foreshadowing of the cleansing affected by Christ’s atoning death.
First, Christ is the fulfillment of the two birds. He is a being whose home is in Heaven. Like we mentioned above, however, He emptied Himself and lived in an earthenware vessel (a human body). Not only that, but He was obedient to the point of death. His blood cleanses us. When He died, the proof was in the blood and water (John 19:34). His death was also associated with wood and hyssop (John 19:29).
He is also the second bird, the living bird through whom the blood of the dead one is applied. Jesus did not just die, He rose again. And it is through His resurrection that we have victory and salvation (1 Cor. 15:17). Even in His resurrection, Jesus bore the marks of His death, just as the second bird bore the marks of the first one’s death. And just as the second bird applied the blood of the first to the cleansed leper, so Christ’s resurrection applies to us the atoning blood of His death. (This was done by sprinkling seven times, marking a complete cleansing through the symbolism of the number seven.)
Finally, the second bird was let free to ascend into the sky. In like manner, Christ ascended into Heaven to take His throne at the right hand of God after His resurrection. Even now, He stands there interceding for us, bearing the marks of His death.
Not only does the second bird represent Christ, it also points to the freedom we have in Christ. We are set free because of the blood that covers us.
There is so much more significance in Leviticus 14. As we continue to walk through this passage verse-by-verse I hope you pay attention to the rich symbolism that points to Christ, our atoning sacrifice and cleansing purifier. I hope you have seen something fresh and new from these first seven verses of Leviticus 14. We’ll be back in the chapter soon to continue examining the beautiful and powerful connections between Old and New Covenants.