Daily Scripture Reading Leviticus 14:10-27
Mia was twenty-seven and lived by a simple motto: “Life is short; don’t take it too seriously.” She partied hard, slept around, and gossiped endlessly. She had two abortions and never lost any sleep over them. She spent the night with a married coworker and never felt any remorse. Her attitude was that his marriage was not her problem.
When a friend confessed that Mia’s gossip had cost her a promotion, Mia accused her friend of being too sensitive. When Mia’s younger sister became pregnant, Mia encouraged her to just get rid of it. Mia gave no thought to whether any of her actions were wrong because she was thoroughly convinced that sin was an old religious word that is used to control people.
The 14th chapter of Leviticus explains how an unclean leper could become clean. The process was quite extensive and difficult. This illustrates the seriousness of sin. Just as there was a high cost for being cleansed from leprosy, so too Jesus paid a high price to cleanse all people from sin. Sin is not something any human should treat casually or dismissively.
After the leprosy was healed, the priest would slaughter a bird and sprinkle the healed leper seven times. Then the one to be cleansed would wash his clothes, shave off all his hair, and bathe in water. On the seventh day he would repeat the washing and shaving.
Lev. 14:10 ¶ “Now on the eighth day he shall take two male lambs without blemish, and a yearling ewe lamb without blemish, and three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, and one log of oil;
The sacrifice for being cleansed from leprosy involved three animals, flour, and oil. That was expensive.
Lev. 14:11 and the priest who pronounces him clean shall present the man to be cleansed as well as these things before Yahweh at the doorway of the tent of meeting.
Lev. 14:12 Then the priest shall take the one male lamb and bring it near for a guilt offering, with the log of oil, and wave them as a wave offering before Yahweh.
Lev. 14:13 Next he shall slaughter the male lamb in the place where they slaughter the sin offering and the burnt offering, at the place of the sanctuary—for the guilt offering, like the sin offering, belongs to the priest; it is most holy.
Lev. 14:14 The priest shall then take some of the blood of the guilt offering, and the priest shall put it on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot.
The procedure also involved putting blood on the person to be cleansed.
Lev. 14:15 The priest shall also take some of the log of oil and pour it into his left palm;
Lev. 14:16 the priest shall then dip his right-hand finger into the oil that is in his left palm, and with his finger sprinkle some of the oil seven times before Yahweh.
Next, the priest was required to sprinkle the oil before Yahweh.
Lev. 14:17 Of the remaining oil which is in his palm, the priest shall put some on the right ear lobe of the one 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 but the rest of the oil that is in the priest’s palm, he shall put on the head of the one to be cleansed. So the priest shall make atonement on his behalf before Yahweh.
Then some of the oil was placed on the healed leper.
Lev. 14:19 The priest shall next offer the sin offering and make atonement for the one to be cleansed from his uncleanness. Then afterward, he shall slaughter the burnt offering.
Lev. 14:20 And the priest shall offer up the burnt offering and the grain offering on the altar. Thus the priest shall make atonement for him, and he will be clean.
The leper was not cleansed until after multiple sacrifices and multiple sprinklings of blood and oil. The point is that being cleansed of leprosy was not cheap nor quick. It involved multiple animals and multiple steps. It was a somewhat complex process.
The cleansing from leprosy illustrates the difficult process of being cleansed from sin. Sin requires death (see Romans 6:23). Unfortunately, humans are not capable of gaining salvation from death on their own. We only escape death through the gift of salvation provided by the death of Jesus (see Ephesians 2:8-9 and Titus 3:5).
Many people have a casual attitude toward sin. However, if the wages of sin are death, then sin is not something that should be treated flippantly. It must be taken seriously.
Lev. 14:21 ¶ “But if he is poor and his means are insufficient, then he is to take one male lamb for a guilt offering as a wave offering to make atonement for him, and one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, and a log of oil,
Lev. 14:22 and two turtledoves or two young pigeons which are within his means, the one shall be a sin offering and the other a burnt offering.
Even though there was a provision for poor people, being cleansed from leprosy still involved three animals: a lamb and two birds.
Lev. 14:23 Then the eighth day he shall bring them for his cleansing to the priest, at the doorway of the tent of meeting, before Yahweh.
Notice the words “eighth day”. This was not a quick, one-day process.
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 Yahweh.
Lev. 14:25 Next 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 lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot.
Lev. 14:26 The priest shall also pour some of the oil into his left palm;
Lev. 14:27 and with his right-hand finger the priest shall sprinkle some of the oil that is in his left palm seven times before Yahweh.
There are many people who think sin is an outdated concept that should be rejected and ignored. They are determined to live life to the fullest. Their decisions in life are based on what feels good and what is best for them. They care little how their actions affect other people. They certainly don’t care at all how God expects them to live.
However, sin is very serious. Iniquity separates people from God (see Isaiah 59:2). Ezekiel warned that the soul who sins will die (Ezekiel 18:4). The Book of Proverbs tells us the fear of Yahweh is to hate evil.
In the New Testament, James wrote that when sin is fully grown, it brings forth death (see James 1:15). Paul wrote to the Romans that the wages of sin are death (see Romans 6:23).
Just as the process for cleansing a healed leper was expensive and extensive, so too Jesus paid a high price for the sins of the world. Jesus was mocked, beaten, and crucified. He suffered the cruelest form of execution that mankind has ever invented. Jesus endured all that because sin requires the shedding of blood.
What is your attitude toward sin?
Do you treat sin flippantly, as if it is no big deal?
Do you avoid sin, knowing the gravity of the consequences of sin?
Thanks for visiting Bible Mountain. If you have already joined my email list, thank you and please tell others about Bible Mountain. If you have not joined my email list yet, please do so now. In order to join, go to Bible Mountain dotcom, click on subscribe, and that will take you to a page where you can sign up. Your email address will not be sold nor given away. Once again, thanks for visiting Bible Mountain.
“Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.”