Leviticus 14:18-3218And the remnant of the oil that is in the priest's hand he shall pour upon the head of him that is to be cleansed: and the priest shall make an atonement for him before the Lord. 19And the priest shall offer the sin offering, and make an atonement for him that is to be cleansed from his uncleanness; and afterward he shall kill the burnt offering: 20And the priest shall offer the burnt offering and the meat offering upon the altar: and the priest shall make an atonement for him, and he shall be clean. 21And if he be poor, and cannot get so much; then he shall take one lamb for a trespass offering to be waved, to make an atonement for him, and one tenth deal of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering, and a log of oil; 22And two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, such as he is able to get; and the one shall be a sin offering, and the other a burnt offering. 23And he shall bring them on the eighth day for his cleansing unto the priest, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, before the Lord. 24And the priest shall take the lamb of the trespass offering, and the log of oil, and the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before the Lord: 25And he shall kill the lamb of the trespass offering, and the priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering, and put it upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot: 26And the priest shall pour of the oil into the palm of his own left hand: 27And the priest shall sprinkle with his right finger some of the oil that is in his left hand seven times before the Lord: 28And the priest shall put of the oil that is in his hand upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot, upon the place of the blood of the trespass offering: 29And the rest of the oil that is in the priest's hand he shall put upon the head of him that is to be cleansed, to make an atonement for him before the Lord. 30And he shall offer the one of the turtledoves, or of the young pigeons, such as he can get; 31Even such as he is able to get, the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, with the meat offering: and the priest shall make an atonement for him that is to be cleansed before the Lord. 32This is the law of him in whom is the plague of leprosy, whose hand is not able to get that which pertaineth to his cleansing. (Leviticus 14:18‑32)
“AND THE remnant of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he shall pour upon the head of him that is to be cleansed.” This crowns all that had been put upon the peon of the leper previously, and shows how the whole man was to be brought under the power of the Spirit of God. Our thinking, all our thoughts should be under His control, while we are brought through Him into the enjoyment of the atoning work of Christ.
This is foreshadowed in the offering of the sin offering. The work of Christ has not only put away our sins, but the very nature that produced them has been judged at the cross. Then we have the burnt offering and we can enter into thoughts of how God has been glorified in the death of His Son.
Oh how fully our need has been met in Christ, and how wondrous the place into which we have been brought! Again it is said here of the leper, “He shall be clean.” God would have us know that we are clean “every whit,” but how many of His dear people are not in the enjoyment of this!
Then we read of God’s gracious provision for the poor leper who could not afford the offerings called for in his cleansing. This goes bond the fact the leper might not have any earthly resources, and tells of spiritual poverty. But God is full of compassion to one poor in faith due to faulty teaching in divine things. Few rise up to the riches of God’s grace in its Christian fullness. But the truth must be maintained even though there might be a lack in measure of apprehension.
If the leper was unable to take two unblemished lambs and one ewe lamb, he was to take one lamb, one tenth deal of fine flour mingled with oil for a meal offering, and a log of oil. This was required from rich and poor alike. The blood and the oil were applied by the priest to the poor man exactly as to the richest.
But two turtle doves, or pigeons, such as he could get, were sufficient, one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering. We can see how that the man’s poverty must not hinder his full cleansing and acceptance before the Lord. How precious the rich mercy of God and His love for even the poorest sinner.
How often is our apprehension of Christ poor. But where there is faith to trust in His precious blood, there is pardon and cleansing. No one who ever came to God in the precious name of Jesus was ever turned away. It is God’s estimation of the worth of Christ on which all depends, not on our feeble apprehension. If we come in the value of that name we are accepted in Him.
If the reader be one who feels his unworthiness to come to God, come simply as you are in that Name which is above every name, and all will be well.
ML-04/02/1972