Lev. 14:10-2010And on the eighth day he shall take two he lambs without blemish, and one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish, and three tenth deals of fine flour for a meat offering, mingled with oil, and one log of oil. 11And the priest that maketh him clean shall present the man that is to be made clean, and those things, before the Lord, at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: 12And the priest shall take one he lamb, and offer him for a trespass offering, and the log of oil, and wave them for a wave offering before the Lord: 13And he shall slay the lamb in the place where he shall kill the sin offering and the burnt offering, in the holy place: for as the sin offering is the priest's, so is the trespass offering: it is most holy: 14And the priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering, and the priest shall 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: 15And the priest shall take some of the log of oil, and pour it into the palm of his own left hand: 16And the priest shall dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand, and shall sprinkle of the oil with his finger seven times before the Lord: 17And of the rest of the oil that is in his hand shall the priest put 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 blood of the trespass offering: 18And 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. (Leviticus 14:10‑20)
In this passage we find the ceremony according to the law for the cleansing of the leper, which is a figure of the cleansing which Christ has accomplished for the believer; for leprosy is a type of sin. There is a distinction to be made between the purification of the leper and that of the priest.
There were but three sprinklings of persons with blood in the Old Testament-the sprinkling of the leper, that of the people, and that of the priest. They each took place once, and were not repeated (Exod. 24:88And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words. (Exodus 24:8); Lev. 8:3030And Moses took of the anointing oil, and of the blood which was upon the altar, and sprinkled it upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon his sons' garments with him; and sanctified Aaron, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons' garments with him. (Leviticus 8:30)).
No individual could do anything for the healing of the leper; it was the work of God.
When sin is hidden (the leprosy internal) the evil is greater, but the manifestation and confession of sin leads to peace, and the heart is set at ease. This is the upright and honest heart.
The symptoms of leprosy are described in Lev. 13 The healing came from God; the priest could only ascertain the disease, and perform the acts for purification. Leprosy excluded its victim from camp, as sin hinders communion between God and His people.
After his cleansing, the leper was re-instated in communion with the children of Israel; but the first effect of the knowledge of sin is to take from us the desire for communion with God, and the seeking after it.
As to the means used for the cleansing of lepers, they are The birds, one dead, which is a type of the death of Christ. It was killed over a vessel of running water. The living bird set free is a type of Christ's resurrection (Lev. 14:4-74Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two birds alive and clean, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop: 5And the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel over running water: 6As for the living bird, he shall take it, and the cedar wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water: 7And he shall sprinkle upon him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird loose into the open field. (Leviticus 14:4‑7)). Our sins brought Jesus to the tomb, but He rose out of it; the work was finished; He had accomplished all.
The leper was to be washed with water (vv. 8, 9). Jesus cleanses us by the word which He has spoken to us. His word does for our souls today what the cleansing with water did for the body then. (See Eph. 5:25-2725Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; 26That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 27That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. (Ephesians 5:25‑27).) This cleansing was done once for all. Sanctification is once for all, but the Christian must grow in it. All believers are justified in Christ. This is an accomplished reality; the Holy Spirit puts us in this position.
3) After cleansing follows the knowledge of what has been done. The leper must understand it and receive its efficacy in his heart (vv. 10-20). The leper is presented to God with a sacrifice for his offense. He was anointed with blood as a sign of sanctification. The Christian is never to allow anything to enter his ear which would be inconsistent with the blood of the Lamb.
The right hand is the symbol of action. The Christian should not do anything which would be dishonoring to the blood of Christ. All that he does every day should be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, and he must not act in any way which would not accord with the measure of God's thoughts in the death of Jesus. All in our actions which is not holy as the blood of Christ, is sin.
Blood on the great toe is a figure of holiness in our walk. We are not to be negative beings; Christ's life should always act in us. Our thoughts, actions, walk, all are under the blood of Christ, and that blood is the measure of what our holiness should be. One is either under the shelter of the blood of Christ, or outside it. The child of God has on him that blood which can neither be effaced nor lose its value. There is never need of another sprinkling. Every day our souls are renewed inwardly by the Holy Spirit as we confess our sins before our Father.
4) Blood was not the only thing necessary; oil was required. The oil, a type of the Holy Spirit, is given because the blood is there. It was not after the water, but after the blood, that oil was applied.
The Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us because the blood of Christ is on us. If we are as pure in the sight of God as that blood, why, indeed, should not the Spirit be in us? The blood of Christ has exhausted the wrath of God against us. There is nothing but love for those who are sprinkled with that blood.
The Holy Spirit is a Spirit of knowledge, joy, peace and love; these are His first fruits. He is also a Spirit of strength and power, able to overcome the obstacles which arise in our path.
The effect of all was to re-establish the leper in communion with God.