Leviticus 14-15

Purification of Lepers and Leprous Houses (Cp Mt 8.1—4; Lk 5.12—14)

Leviticus 14:1 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 This shall be the ritual for the leprous person at the time of his cleansing:

He shall be brought to the priest; 3 the priest shall go out of the camp, and the priest shall make an examination. If the disease is healed in the leprous person, 4 the priest shall command that two living clean birds and cedarwood and crimson yarn and hyssop be brought for the one who is to be cleansed. 5 The priest shall command that one of the birds be slaughtered over fresh water in an earthen vessel. 6 He shall take the living bird with the cedarwood and the crimson yarn and the hyssop, and dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was slaughtered over the fresh water. 7 He shall sprinkle it seven times upon the one who is to be cleansed of the leprous disease; then he shall pronounce him clean, and he shall let the living bird go into the open field. 8 The one who is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, and shave off all his hair, and bathe himself in water, and he shall be clean. After that he shall come into the camp, but shall live outside his tent seven days. 9 On the seventh day he shall shave all his hair: of head, beard, eyebrows; he shall shave all his hair. Then he shall wash his clothes, and bathe his body in water, and he shall be clean.

10 On the eighth day he shall take two male lambs without blemish, and one ewe lamb in its first year without blemish, and a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of choice flour mixed with oil, and one log of oil. 11 The priest who cleanses shall set the person to be cleansed, along with these things, before the Lord, at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 12 The priest shall take one of the lambs, and offer it as a guilt offering, along with the log of oil, and raise them as an elevation offering before the Lord. 13 He shall slaughter the lamb in the place where the sin offering and the burnt offering are slaughtered in the holy place; for the guilt offering, like the sin offering, belongs to the priest: it is most holy. 14 The priest shall take some of the blood of the guilt offering and put it on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, and on the thumb of the right hand, and on the big toe of the right foot. 15 The priest shall take some of the log of oil and pour it into the palm of his own left hand, 16 and dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand and sprinkle some oil with his finger seven times before the Lord. 17 Some of the oil that remains in his hand the priest shall put on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, and on the thumb of the right hand, and on the big toe of the right foot, on top of the blood of the guilt offering. 18 The rest of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he shall put on the head of the one to be cleansed. Then the priest shall make atonement on his behalf before the Lord: 19 the priest shall offer the sin offering, to make atonement for the one to be cleansed from his uncleanness. Afterward he shall slaughter the burnt offering; 20 and the priest shall offer the burnt offering and the grain offering on the altar. Thus the priest shall make atonement on his behalf and he shall be clean.

21 But if he is poor and cannot afford so much, he shall take one male lamb for a guilt offering to be elevated, to make atonement on his behalf, and one-tenth of an ephah of choice flour mixed with oil for a grain offering and a log of oil; 22 also two turtledoves or two pigeons, such as he can afford, one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. 23 On the eighth day he shall bring them for his cleansing to the priest, to the entrance of the tent of meeting, before the Lord; 24 and the priest shall take the lamb of the guilt offering and the log of oil, and the priest shall raise them as an elevation offering before the Lord. 25 The priest shall slaughter the lamb of the guilt offering and shall take some of the blood of the guilt offering, and put it on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, and on the thumb of the right hand, and on the big toe of the right foot. 26 The priest shall pour some of the oil into the palm of his own left hand, 27 and shall sprinkle with his right finger some of the oil that is in his left hand seven times before the Lord. 28 The priest shall put some of the oil that is in his hand on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, and on the thumb of the right hand, and the big toe of the right foot, where the blood of the guilt offering was placed. 29 The rest of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he shall put on the head of the one to be cleansed, to make atonement on his behalf before the Lord. 30 And he shall offer, of the turtledoves or pigeons such as he can afford, 31 one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering, along with a grain offering; and the priest shall make atonement before the Lord on behalf of the one being cleansed. 32 This is the ritual for the one who has a leprous disease, who cannot afford the offerings for his cleansing.

33 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying:

34 When you come into the land of Canaan, which I give you for a possession, and I put a leprous disease in a house in the land of your possession, 35 the owner of the house shall come and tell the priest, saying, “There seems to me to be some sort of disease in my house.” 36 The priest shall command that they empty the house before the priest goes to examine the disease, or all that is in the house will become unclean; and afterward the priest shall go in to inspect the house. 37 He shall examine the disease; if the disease is in the walls of the house with greenish or reddish spots, and if it appears to be deeper than the surface, 38 the priest shall go outside to the door of the house and shut up the house seven days. 39 The priest shall come again on the seventh day and make an inspection; if the disease has spread in the walls of the house, 40 the priest shall command that the stones in which the disease appears be taken out and thrown into an unclean place outside the city. 41 He shall have the inside of the house scraped thoroughly, and the plaster that is scraped off shall be dumped in an unclean place outside the city. 42 They shall take other stones and put them in the place of those stones, and take other plaster and plaster the house.

43 If the disease breaks out again in the house, after he has taken out the stones and scraped the house and plastered it, 44 the priest shall go and make inspection; if the disease has spread in the house, it is a spreading leprous disease in the house; it is unclean. 45 He shall have the house torn down, its stones and timber and all the plaster of the house, and taken outside the city to an unclean place. 46 All who enter the house while it is shut up shall be unclean until the evening; 47 and all who sleep in the house shall wash their clothes; and all who eat in the house shall wash their clothes.

48 If the priest comes and makes an inspection, and the disease has not spread in the house after the house was plastered, the priest shall pronounce the house clean; the disease is healed. 49 For the cleansing of the house he shall take two birds, with cedarwood and crimson yarn and hyssop, 50 and shall slaughter one of the birds over fresh water in an earthen vessel, 51 and shall take the cedarwood and the hyssop and the crimson yarn, along with the living bird, and dip them in the blood of the slaughtered bird and the fresh water, and sprinkle the house seven times. 52 Thus he shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird, and with the fresh water, and with the living bird, and with the cedarwood and hyssop and crimson yarn; 53 and he shall let the living bird go out of the city into the open field; so he shall make atonement for the house, and it shall be clean.

54 This is the ritual for any leprous disease: for an itch, 55 for leprous diseases in clothing and houses, 56 and for a swelling or an eruption or a spot, 57 to determine when it is unclean and when it is clean. This is the ritual for leprous diseases.

Concerning Bodily Discharges

Leviticus 15:1 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: 2 Speak to the people of Israel and say to them:

When any man has a discharge from his member, his discharge makes him ceremonially unclean. 3 The uncleanness of his discharge is this: whether his member flows with his discharge, or his member is stopped from discharging, it is uncleanness for him. 4 Every bed on which the one with the discharge lies shall be unclean; and everything on which he sits shall be unclean. 5 Anyone who touches his bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe in water, and be unclean until the evening. 6 All who sit on anything on which the one with the discharge has sat shall wash their clothes, and bathe in water, and be unclean until the evening. 7 All who touch the body of the one with the discharge shall wash their clothes, and bathe in water, and be unclean until the evening. 8 If the one with the discharge spits on persons who are clean, then they shall wash their clothes, and bathe in water, and be unclean until the evening. 9 Any saddle on which the one with the discharge rides shall be unclean. 10 All who touch anything that was under him shall be unclean until the evening, and all who carry such a thing shall wash their clothes, and bathe in water, and be unclean until the evening. 11 All those whom the one with the discharge touches without his having rinsed his hands in water shall wash their clothes, and bathe in water, and be unclean until the evening. 12 Any earthen vessel that the one with the discharge touches shall be broken; and every vessel of wood shall be rinsed in water.

13 When the one with a discharge is cleansed of his discharge, he shall count seven days for his cleansing; he shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in fresh water, and he shall be clean. 14 On the eighth day he shall take two turtledoves or two pigeons and come before the Lord to the entrance of the tent of meeting and give them to the priest. 15 The priest shall offer them, one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering; and the priest shall make atonement on his behalf before the Lord for his discharge.

16 If a man has an emission of semen, he shall bathe his whole body in water, and be unclean until the evening. 17 Everything made of cloth or of skin on which the semen falls shall be washed with water, and be unclean until the evening. 18 If a man lies with a woman and has an emission of semen, both of them shall bathe in water, and be unclean until the evening.

19 When a woman has a discharge of blood that is her regular discharge from her body, she shall be in her impurity for seven days, and whoever touches her shall be unclean until the evening. 20 Everything upon which she lies during her impurity shall be unclean; everything also upon which she sits shall be unclean. 21 Whoever touches her bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe in water, and be unclean until the evening. 22 Whoever touches anything upon which she sits shall wash his clothes, and bathe in water, and be unclean until the evening; 23 whether it is the bed or anything upon which she sits, when he touches it he shall be unclean until the evening. 24 If any man lies with her, and her impurity falls on him, he shall be unclean seven days; and every bed on which he lies shall be unclean.

25 If a woman has a discharge of blood for many days, not at the time of her impurity, or if she has a discharge beyond the time of her impurity, all the days of the discharge she shall continue in uncleanness; as in the days of her impurity, she shall be unclean. 26 Every bed on which she lies during all the days of her discharge shall be treated as the bed of her impurity; and everything on which she sits shall be unclean, as in the uncleanness of her impurity. 27 Whoever touches these things shall be unclean, and shall wash his clothes, and bathe in water, and be unclean until the evening. 28 If she is cleansed of her discharge, she shall count seven days, and after that she shall be clean. 29 On the eighth day she shall take two turtledoves or two pigeons and bring them to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 30 The priest shall offer one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering; and the priest shall make atonement on her behalf before the Lord for her unclean discharge.

31 Thus you shall keep the people of Israel separate from their uncleanness, so that they do not die in their uncleanness by defiling my tabernacle that is in their midst.

32 This is the ritual for those who have a discharge: for him who has an emission of semen, becoming unclean thereby, 33 for her who is in the infirmity of her period, for anyone, male or female, who has a discharge, and for the man who lies with a woman who is unclean.

Devotionals, Videos and more ...

American Minute
by Bill Federer

On this day, March 5, in the year 1770, the Boston Massacre took place. The British had been forcing Colonists to house their soldiers. A crowd had gathered to protest and the British soldiers responded by firing into the mob, killing five of them. On the 4th anniversary of the Massacre, in 1774, John Hancock, famous for being the first to sign the Declaration of Independence, stated: “Let us play the man for… the cities of our GOD. While we are using the means in our power, let us humbly commit our righteous cause to the great LORD of the Universe.”

Federer, B. (2003). American minute. St. Louis, MO.: Amerisearch, Inc.

Proverbs
by D.H. Stern

Proverbs 20:10-12

False weights and false measures—
ADONAI detests them both.

The character of even a child
is known by how he acts,
by whether his deeds are pure and right.

The hearing ear and the seeing eye—
ADONAI made them both.

Stern, D. H. (1998). Complete Jewish Bible-OE
: An English version of the Tanakh (OT) and
B'rit Hadashah (NT) (1st ed.). Clarksville, Md.: Jewish
New Testament Publications.

My Utmost For The Highest
by Oswald Chambers

Is he really Lord?

… so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus. --- Acts 20:24..

Joy means the perfect fulfilment of that for which I was created and regenerated, not the successful doing of a thing. The joy Our Lord had lay in doing what the Father sent Him to do, and He says—“As My Father hath sent Me, even so am I sending you.” Have I received a ministry from the Lord? If so, I have to be loyal to it, to count my life precious only for the fulfilling of that ministry. Think of the satisfaction it will be to hear Jesus say—“Well done, good and faithful servant”; to know that you have done what He sent you to do. We have all to find our niche in life, and spiritually we find it when we receive our ministry from the Lord. In order to do this we must have companied with Jesus; we must know Him as more than a personal Saviour. “I will show him how great things he must suffer for My sake.”

“Lovest thou Me?” Then—“Feed My sheep.” There is no choice of service, only absolute loyalty to Our Lord’s commission; loyalty to what you discern when you are in closest contact with God. If you have received a ministry from the Lord Jesus, you will know that the need is never the call: the need is the opportunity. The call is loyalty to the ministry you received when you were in real touch with Him. This does not imply that there is a campaign of service marked out for you, but it does mean that you will have to ignore the demands for service along other lines.

Chambers, O. (1993). My Utmost for His Highest

Good
the Poetry of R.S. Thomas

Here

The old man comes out on the hill
And looks down to recall earlier days
In the valley. He sees the stream shin,
The church stand, hears the litter of
Children's voices. A chill in the flesh
Tells him that death is not far off
Now; it is the shadow under the great boughs
Of life. His garden has herbs growing.
The kestrel goes by with fresh prey
In its claws. The wind scatters the scent
Of wild beans. The tractor operates
On the earth's body: His grandson is there
Ploughing: his young wife fetches him
Cakes and tea and a dark smiles. It is well.

- R.S. Thomas, Collected Poems 1945-1990 (Phoenix Press) .

Swimming in the sea of the Talmud:
Berakhot 8a–b

     D’RASH

     A student has become a serious behavior problem in school. The principal asks the parents, both of whom are psychologists, to come in for a conference. The mother acknowledges that there have been problems at home as well, and the father assures the principal that they are “on top of the situation” and are dealing with it. The principal suggests that they turn to an outside psychologist to deal with the problem. The parents are taken aback.

     “Are you implying that we’re not professionally competent to deal with this situation?” the father angrily asks. “We both have Ph.D.s in clinical psychology; we have been in private practice for over twenty years; and we have outstanding reputations in the community! And how do you think our sending our child to someone else would look? People would say, ‘They can’t even handle their own problems; how in the world can they help me with mine?’ If you meant to insult us, you’ve certainly succeeded!”

     The principal tries to reassure the parents. “The last thing in the world I want to do is question your competence. I have the utmost respect for you, personally and professionally. The issue here is not competence but closeness. Sometimes we’re just too close to a situation to be able to be as effective as we’d like to be. I think I’m a pretty good educator, but my wife and I felt that it would be in everyone’s best interest if our daughter went to a different high school from mine. My sister is a pediatrician, but when her kids get sick, she takes them to another doctor. She feels too close to the situation, too emotionally involved to be able to give them the best treatment. The truth is that I wouldn’t hesitate for a minute to send my kids to you for help; I know how good you are. But I think you ought to consider sending your child to someone else for help. Sometimes, what we can do for others, we can’t do for ourselves. That’s unfortunate, but it’s true.”

     Often in life, we are imprisoned by our own egos. The harder we struggle to free ourselves, the more trapped we become. Sometimes, all that we need is to let someone else give us a hand.

     Rav Huna bar Yehudah said in the name of Rabbi Ammi: “One should always complete one’s portions with the community, twice Scripture and once translation, even ‘Ataroth, Dibon …’ [Numbers 32:3], for anyone who completes the portion with the community has days and years lengthened.” Rav Bivi bar Abaye thought of finishing his portions of the entire year on the eve of Yom Kippur. Ḥiyya bar Rav from Difti taught him: “It is written: ‘You shall practice self-denial, on the ninth day of the month at evening’ [Leviticus 23:32]. Do we fast on the ninth? Don’t we fast on the tenth?! This teaches us that whoever eats and drinks on the ninth is regarded by Scripture as if he fasted both on the ninth and on the tenth.” He [Rav Bivi bar Abaye] thought of finishing earlier, but some elder said to him: “It is taught: ‘As long as he does not go ahead or fall behind.’ ” Just as Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said to his son: “Finish your portions with the community, and be careful of the veins according to [the opinion of] Rabbi Yehudah, and it is taught: Rabbi Yehudah says: ‘Until he slaughters the veins, and be careful with an old man who forgot his learning because of circumstances, as it is said: “The tablets and the broken tablets were placed in the Ark.” ’ ”

     The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Mark, the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. It shall be a sacred occasion for you: you shall practice self-denial, and you shall bring an offering by fire to the Lord; you shall do no work throughout that day. For it is a Day of Atonement, on which expiation is made on your behalf before the Lord your God. (Leviticus 23:26–28)

     As soon as Moses came near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, he became enraged; and he hurled the tablets from his hands and shattered them at the foot of the mountain. He took the calf that they had made and burned it; he ground it to powder and strewed it upon the water and so made the Israelites drink it. (Exodus 32:19–20)

     “One should always complete one’s portions with the community” refers to study of the weekly public reading of the Torah. All of the Rabbis agree that one should constantly study Torah. Rav Huna has a special understanding of this rule: One should study the same section or portion as is being read in the synagogue that Shabbat, completing it during the same week.

     A story is told about Rav Bivi bar Abaye who fell behind in the weekly study of the Torah portions and hoped to catch up right before Yom Kippur, when he would have some free time. However, he was reminded by Ḥiyya that the day before Yom Kippur is—according to the well-known Midrash on the verse from Leviticus—a day for eating and drinking. The Midrash is based on the fact that the verse says to fast from the ninth day of the seventh month, rather than from the tenth day. The contextual meaning of the verse is simply that the fast of Yom Kippur starts the night before; even though Jewish days start at dark (and, thus, technically at the beginning of the tenth day of the month), people think of Yom Kippur eve as part of the ninth day of the month. When Rav Bivi wanted to finish studying the weekly Torah portions before Yom Kippur, he was reminded that one should neither go ahead nor fall behind, that is, one should follow the weekly cycle at the right time and study along with it.

     The teaching of Rabbi Yehudah adds two pieces of advice. First, when one slaughters a fowl, the cut should be made so that the veins are entirely severed. Even though this is not technically required by law, it is nonetheless good advice. Second, one should honor a person who used to have great knowledge but has since forgotten it. This is analogous to the holiness given to the broken tablets of the Law. When Moses saw the Golden Calf, he became angry and shattered the first tablets that God had given him. These broken tablets of the Law were later carried by Moses in the Ark, along with the second set that God gave to Moses. The first set retained its holiness and was not discarded, even though it was no longer usable. Similarly, one should revere a teacher who had previously been venerated for knowledge, even if this person is now “broken,” that is, forgetful because of old age.

Katz, M., & Schwartz, G. (1998). Swimming in the Sea of Talmud: Lessons for Everyday LIving . Philadelphia, PA: The Jewish Publication Society.

Take Heart
by Diana Wallis

As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him. --- Psalm 103:13

     In children there is something worse than ignorance and weakness, and that is their childish follies. A father and mother will put up with a thousand little ways in their children that strangers would frown at. There are all sorts of excuses made on their behalf, and it is right enough that it should be so. It is not weakness in children, it is just childishness. And so parents bear with their children.

     But oh, how our Father bears with us! We think we are very wise; it is highly probable that we are never such fools as when we think we are displaying our wisdom. We think we are pleasing God sometimes, and in that very act we are displeasing him, though we know it not. There are sins in our holy things—oh, how strange must some of the things that we do seem to our great God! We have gotten so accustomed to them, we put up with them in others, and others put up with them in us.

     There is much about our doubts and fears that must be depressing to the mind of the Father. Do we doubt him? Do we distrust his promises? We try to make out that we do not, but if you sift it thoroughly, it comes to that. Oh, the Father knows that we do not mean it, that we shrink in an instant from calling him a liar, and if anybody else were to put forward the very doubt that we have been entertaining we would be horrified.

     And I believe it is a part of our Father’s compassion that he should thus look on us and often construe what we do in such a kind and tender way. You know how Jesus prayed for his murderers—“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). And the Son is very like the Father; our Father does the same with us, he forgives us because we do not know what we do. It was beautiful of our Lord even with Pilate to say, “The one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin” (John 19:11). It was the best he could say for Pilate, that though his sin was great yet there was a greater.

     And our Father has those kind thoughts ready, we may be sure, for his children’s wild and wayward deeds; Jesus had them ready even for his most wicked adversaries. Yes, he has compassion on our follies and bears with us still.      --- C. H. Spurgeon

Wallis, D. (2001). Take Heart: Daily Devotions with the Church's Great Preachers (27). Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications.

Teacher's Commentary by L.O. Richards
Christ’s High Priesthood: Hebrews 4:14–10:25

     This extended section of the New Testament discusses the high priesthood of Jesus. It compares Him to the Aaronic priests of the Old Testament, and contrasts His ministry to theirs.

     Chapters 4 and 5 of Hebrews emphasize the necessity for the priest to be identified with those he serves. A mediator must have contact with those who need his ministry.

     Hebrews 7 emphasizes the primacy of Christ’s priesthood, stressing its superiority over the Aaronic. The passage also points out a crucial concept: perfection could not come through the old priesthood. By a continual and repetitive ministry the Aaronic priests held the door to God open. But only a permanent priest could save completely and guarantee us access. As believers, we no longer need human priests to meet us at the door and then to turn within, while we stand outside and wait. Christ, in His death and resurrection, has thrown the door wide open, and has invited us to enter freely. Christ Himself, living forever, is God’s eternal guarantee that the door to eternal life will never be closed to you and me.

     Chapter 8 of Hebrews elaborates on this. Christ is a Priest of an entirely new system, a system which reaches within men’s hearts to transform them. According to Hebrews 9 this required that Christ as High Priest present a perfect offering—one able to clear the conscience of the worshiper. Chapter 10 goes on to show the efficacy of Christ’s sacrifice. Through His sacrifice we have been made holy once for all. We are now able to confidently enter into the very presence of God. “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (4:16). Our ever-living High Priest, who has made a single sacrifice and by it perfected us, has thrown open wide the door by which the Old Testament priest once stood—and has commanded us to enter boldly.

     Our Priesthood

     This brief survey of some of the aspects of priesthood helps us understand our present standing with God. Because of Christ, the old need of a doorkeeper is gone. We have direct, personal access to God’s throne through Jesus.

     But what about our priesthood? How do we serve?

     Partly in worship. The offerings made on the altar were not all for sin. Many were offerings of thanksgiving and praise, expressing the joy of communion with the Lord. The Book of Revelation speaks of the prayers of God’s saints, rising up to God as a pleasant incense. This worship is something that we can offer to God as part of our present priestly service.

     In part, we serve as priests by serving our brothers and sisters. As Aaron bore the names of Israel before the Lord, and as Jesus bears our names on His heart, so we are to carry the names and the needs of our brothers before the Lord. There are fellow priests of ours who experience needs. There are fellow believers who experience needs. They have a relationship with God, but do not experience communion. These too we can serve in prayer, and also by reaching out to them to teach and encourage.

     And there is another class of people; those who have never met Christ or come to know Him in a saving way. The concept of priesthood is very important here, in helping us understand ourselves. The priest was “chosen from among men.” He established a point of contact with other human beings, based on his likeness to them. The New Testament stresses the fact that Jesus too became fully human. He did this that He might sympathize with our weaknesses. He never sinned, and yet He knew fully all that it means to be a human being, subject to human weaknesses.

     Because of Jesus’ identification with humanity, Christ is able to reach out to grasp the hand of the sinner and lead him to God.

     Our priestly ministry carries the same demand, the demand that we reach out to people, confessing our common identity with them, and together drawing near to and serving God.

Richards, L., & Richards, L. O. (1987). The Teacher's Commentary (323). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.