Levítico 14

Levítico 14

MacArthur - the law of the leper. The sense of this law is a prescription, not for healing from leprosy and other such diseases, but rather for the ceremonial cleansing, which needed to be performed after the person was declared clean. (MacArthur Study Bible) Henry Morris on law of the leper. There is no record in the Bible of any leper ever cured by natural means, just as sin cannot be cured by any natural process. Nevertheless, the detailed description of what a leper must do if he ever was cured provides a striking physical parallel to the spiritual cleansing of a sinner. When Jesus miraculously cured ten lepers, it is significant that He sent them to the priest to follow the prescribed ceremony of cleansing (Luke 17:14-note). The priest was probably amazed and completely inexperienced in such a ceremony. Criswell - Although there is no record in the Scriptures of the healing of leprosy apart from God (cf. Num. 12:13; 2 Kin. 5:14, 15; Matt. 8:2-4; Mark 1:40-44; Luke 5:12-14; 17:11-19), the Bible does not present leprosy as an incurable disease. The very fact that a man declared to be free of leprosy was to undergo a ceremonial purification is evidence of that. It is to be remembered, however, that these requirements were ceremonial and not curative. Nonetheless, the purification procedure becomes a beautiful picture of the Person and work of our new High Priest in cleansing us from sin: (1) the priest seeks the leper, not the leper the priest (v. 3; cf. Luke 19:10); (2) the priest goes outside the camp (v. 3; cf. Heb. 13:11-13); (3) the cleansing is not possible without the shedding of blood (vv. 5, 6; cf. Heb. 9:22); (4) the freed bird is identified with the slain bird (vv. 6, 7; cf. Rom. 6:3-5). Fructhenbaum makes the point that the healing of leprosy is classified as a "messianic miracle." The following note on leprosy in his article entitled "The Three Messianic Miracles".... Some time prior to the coming of Yeshua (Jesus), the ancient rabbis separated miracles into two categories. First were those miracles anyone would be able to perform if they were empowered by the Spirit of God to do so. The second category of miracles were called "messianic miracles," which were miracles only the Messiah would be able to perform. Yeshua did miracles in both categories: general miracles and also messianic miracles. So because of the rabbinic teaching that certain miracles would be reserved only for the Messiah to do, whenever He performed a messianic miracle it created a different type of reaction than when He performed other types of miracles. The first messianic miracle was the healing of a leper....From the time the Mosaic Law was completed, there was no record of any Jew who had been healed of leprosy. While Miriam was healed of leprosy, this was before the completion of the Law. Naaman was healed of leprosy, but he was a Syrian Gentile, not a Jew. From the time the Mosaic Law was completed, there was never a case of any Jew being healed of leprosy. Leprosy was the one disease that was left out of rabbinic cures; there was no cure for leprosy whatsoever. Yet Leviticus 13-14 gave the Levitical Priesthood detailed instructions as to what they were to do in case a leper was healed. On the day that a leper approached the priesthood and said, "I was a leper but now I have been healed," the priesthood was to give an initial offering of two birds. For the next seven days, they were to investigate intensively the situation to determine three things. First, was the person really a leper? Second, if he was a real leper, was he really cured of his leprosy? Third, if he was truly cured of his leprosy, what were the circumstances of the healing? If after seven days of investigation they were firmly convinced that the man had been a leper, had been healed of his leprosy, and the circumstances were proper, then, on the eighth day there would be a lengthy series of offerings. All together, there were four different offerings. First, there was a trespass-offering; second, a sin-offering; third, a burnt-offering; and fourth, a meal-offering. Then came the application of the blood of the trespass-offering upon the healed leper followed by the application of the blood of the sin-offering upon the healed leper. The ceremony would then end with the anointing of oil upon the healed leper. Although the priesthood had all these detailed instructions as to how they were to respond in the case of a healed leper, they never had the opportunity to put these instructions into effect, because from the time the Mosaic Law was given, no Jew was ever healed of leprosy. As a result, it was taught by the rabbis that only the Messiah would be able to heal a Jewish leper.... (The Three Messianic Miracles) Leon Hyatt - Commentary on Leviticus 14:1-32 - Leviticus 14:2-4 The procedures to follow to cleanse a person after he had been healed of tsaraath are outlined in this MESSAGE. The first step was to take him to the priest, but not inside the camp or to The Tabernacle. Since he could not enter the camp because he had not yet been cleansed (see comments on Lev. 13:46 in MESSAGE 16), the priest was to go outside the camp and the person was to be taken to him there. The priest was to examine him to determine if he truly had been healed. If the priest determined that he had been healed, the person was free to conduct cleansing ceremonies so he could return to a normal life. The priest was to give instructions concerning the objects that needed to be gathered for the cleansing ceremonies. No doubt, the affected person was to present those objects in the ceremonies, but others were to secure them for him because he could not go among people to secure them for himself. He was to provide “two living clean birds, cedar wood, scarlet cochineal yarn, and ‘hyssop.’” No specifications are given as to what kind of birds were to be secured. Evidently the choice of birds was left to the discretion of the person securing them as long as they were alive and ceremonially clean, according to the regulations in Leviticus 11:13-24 (see comments on those verses in MESSAGE 14). “Cedar wood” evidently meant a small piece of wood from a cedar tree. “Scarlet cochineal [yarn]” seems to have meant a small length of yarn or thread dyed scarlet by using dyes made from a cochineal worm. “Hyssop” meant a small branch from the “hyssop” bush, though the bush called by that name today is likely not the plant referred to in the Bible. Ezov was the Hebrew name for the plant, and it is not definitely known what plant that name referred to. Quite a number of guesses have been made, but no solid information exists. 1 Kings 4:33 seems to indicate that it was a vine, because that verse calls it, “ezov that springs out of the walls.” The plant called “hyssop” today is not a vine. The Israelites used ezov to smear blood on their doorposts to save them from death during the tenth plague in Egypt, so the plant grew in such a way that it could hold and spread blood like a brush (Ex. 12:21-22). John 19:29 and Hebrews 9:19 indicate that it grew in such a way that it could hold droplets of water that could be dashed from it. Perhaps most important, Psalm 51:7 indicates that ezov was used by the Israelites in cleaning, so it seems to have produced a soapy substance. The significance of esov in the cleansing ceremonies seems to be its connection with cleaning. Though a priest was involved in the ceremonies to be performed with these articles, they were not performed at the Tabernacle and not at the altar. Therefore, these ceremonies should not be understood to symbolize works performed by God. They should be understood to symbolize works to be performed by the person himself. As in all other cleansing ceremonies, personal effort and the passing of time were necessary to remove the effects of sin from the person’s life. Leviticus 14:3 and the priest shall go out to the outside of the camp. Thus the priest shall look, and if the infection of leprosy has been healed in the leper out of: Lev 13:46 healed: Ex 15:26 2Ki 5:3,7,8,14 Job 5:18 Mt 10:8 11:5 Luke 4:27 7:22 Luke 17:15,16-19 1Co 6:9-11 Leviticus 14 Resources - Multiple sermons and commentaries In depth commentaries in Synoptic Gospels where Jesus healed a leper - Luke 5:12-17+, Mark 1:40-44+, Matthew 8:1-4+. cf Luke 17:12-19+, Leprosy (06883)(tsaraath) is a "feminine noun referring to a skin disease, leprosy. It refers to a skin disease on humans (Lev. 13:2, 3, 8; 2KI. 5:3) but also to similarly appearing mold, mildew, or fungus in garments, walls of houses, etc. (Lev. 13:47, 49, 51, 52, 59). Most translations still render this as leprosy, but many scholars hold that it refers to leucodermia, etc. (The Complete Word Study Dictionary: Old Testament) Elmer Martens in TWOT on tsaraath - While usually rendered leper or leprous, the term “leper” is not correct medically, since tsaraath refers to a wider range of skin diseases (cf. “malignant skin disease,” NEB). For convenience, however, the term “leper” can be retained. A person with leprosy. apart from the telltale malignant raw flesh and white hair, was to be otherwise identified by torn clothes, announcement of “unclean” when in the streets and was to live isolated from the community. Four persons are named in the OT as becoming leprous. Not counting Moses (Ex 4:6; cf. also 2Kgs 7:3), there were Miriam (Nu 12:10), Uzziah (2Ki 15:5), Gehazi (2Ki 5:27) and Naaman, the Syrian (2Ki 5:1). God may inflict the disease of tsaraath as punishment for sins such as jealousy (cf. Miriam), anger, and lack of full compliance with God’s commands (cf. Uzziah), and covetousness (cf. Gehazi). One must not conclude, however, that all sickness is a result of an individual’s sin (cf. Job; Lk 13:1–5; Jn 9:1–7). Tsaraath was not necessarily incurable (cf. 2Ki 5:7). Leprosy by contrast, was likely incurable (Lev 13). In any event, healing of tsaraath could serve as a sign of divine power (Ex 4:6; 2Ki 5:8). The isolation of a leprous person was doubtless a sanitary measure in order to avoid further contagion. That a priest in Israel’s theocracy was to diagnose the illness does not mean that today’s clergy should become health officers. But the principle of God’s concern for the health of bodies is not only self-evident but remains an enduring principle (cf. Jesus, Mt 8:2–3). Diseases with eruptions affecting the skin are sometimes mild, sometimes, as in smallpox, scarlet fever, etc., both dangerous and highly contagious. The only effective control in antiquity would have been isolation. Only the Hebrew laws had this very valuable provision. Tsaraath is found primarily (twenty times) in the two chapters that govern the diagnoses and the cleaning measures for one who had become unclean (tāmē, Lev 13, 14). In the nature of a contagion, tsaraath refers not only to eruptions on the skin but to mildew or mold in clothing (Lev 13) or in houses (Lev 14:34–53); therefore obviously the word is not specific for leprosy. The determination by the priest of an individual as unclean meant separation from the community, and ceremonial unfitness to enter the temple (cf. 2Chr 26:21). The cleansing measures to be performed upon recovery involved a ritual with two birds, which ritual according to KD was necessary for restoration to the community (Lev 14:2–9). An additional set of offerings followed, notably the guilt offering, perhaps because disease is ultimately to be linked with sin (Lev 14:10–20). There is no Scriptural warrant for regarding leprosy as a type of sin, though the analogy can be helpful for illustrative purposes. (Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament) Holman Bible Dictionary - A generic term applied to a variety of skin disorders from psoriasis to true leprosy. Its symptoms ranged from white patches on the skin to running sores to the loss of digits on the fingers and toes. For the Hebrews it was a dreaded malady which rendered its victims ceremonially unclean—that is, unfit to worship God (Leviticus 13:3). Anyone who came in contact with a leper was also considered unclean. Therefore, lepers were isolated from the rest of the community so that the members of the community could maintain their status as worshipers. Other physical disorders or the flow of certain bodily fluids also rendered one unclean (see Leviticus 12:1-14:32; Leviticus 15:1-33 ). Even houses and garments could have “leprosy” and, thus, be unclean (Leviticus 14:33-57 ). Jesus did not consider this distinction between clean and unclean valid. A person's outward condition did not make one unclean; rather that which proceeds from the heart determines one's standing before God (Mark 7:1-23; compare Acts 10:9-16). Therefore, Jesus did not hesitate about touching lepers (Mark 1:40-45) and even commanded His disciples to cleanse lepers (Matthew 10:8 ). Jesus even made a leper the hero of one of His parables (Luke 16:19-31 ). A person with leprosy, apart from the telltale malignant raw flesh and white hair, was to be otherwise identified by tom clothes, announcement of "unclean" when in the streets and was to live isolated from the community. Tsaraath - 33v in the OT translated leprosy(30), leprous(4), mark(1). Leviticus 13:2 "When a man has on the skin of his body a swelling or a scab or a bright spot, and it becomes an infection of leprosy on the skin of his body, then he shall be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons the priests. 3 "The priest shall look at the mark on the skin of the body, and if the hair in the infection has turned white and the infection appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, it is an infection of leprosy; when the priest has looked at him, he shall pronounce him unclean. 8 "The priest shall look, and if the scab has spread on the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is leprosy. 9 ¶ "When the infection of leprosy is on a man, then he shall be brought to the priest. 11 it is a chronic leprosy on the skin of his body, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean; he shall not isolate him, for he is unclean. 12 "If the leprosy breaks out farther on the skin, and the leprosy covers all the skin of him who has the infection from his head even to his feet, as far as the priest can see, 13 then the priest shall look, and behold, if the leprosy has covered all his body, he shall pronounce clean him who has the infection; it has all turned white and he is clean. 15 "The priest shall look at the raw flesh, and he shall pronounce him unclean; the raw flesh is unclean, it is leprosy. 20 and the priest shall look, and behold, if it appears to be lower than the skin, and the hair on it has turned white, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is the infection of leprosy, it has broken out in the boil. 25 then the priest shall look at it. And if the hair in the bright spot has turned white and it appears to be deeper than the skin, it is leprosy; it has broken out in the burn. Therefore, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is an infection of leprosy. 27 and the priest shall look at him on the seventh day. If it spreads farther in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is an infection of leprosy. 30 then the priest shall look at the infection, and if it appears to be deeper than the skin and there is thin yellowish hair in it, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is a scale, it is leprosy of the head or of the beard. 42 "But if on the bald head or the bald forehead, there occurs a reddish-white infection, it is leprosy breaking out on his bald head or on his bald forehead. 43 "Then the priest shall look at him; and if the swelling of the infection is reddish-white on his bald head or on his bald forehead, like the appearance of leprosy in the skin of the body, 47 ¶ "When a garment has a mark of leprosy in it, whether it is a wool garment or a linen garment, 49 if the mark is greenish or reddish in the garment or in the leather, or in the warp or in the woof, or in any article of leather, it is a leprous mark and shall be shown to the priest. 51 "He shall then look at the mark on the seventh day; if the mark has spread in the garment, whether in the warp or in the woof, or in the leather, whatever the purpose for which the leather is used, the mark is a leprous malignancy, it is unclean. 52 "So he shall burn the garment, whether the warp or the woof, in wool or in linen, or any article of leather in which the mark occurs, for it is a leprous malignancy; it shall be burned in the fire. 59 ¶ This is the law for the mark of leprosy in a garment of wool or linen, whether in the warp or in the woof, or in any article of leather, for pronouncing it clean or unclean. Leviticus 14:3 and the priest shall go out to the outside of the camp. Thus the priest shall look, and if the infection of leprosy has been healed in the leper, 7 "He shall then sprinkle seven times the one who is to be cleansed from the leprosy and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the live bird go free over the open field. 32 "This is the law for him in whom there is an infection of leprosy, whose means are limited for his cleansing." 34 "When you enter the land of Canaan, which I give you for a possession, and I put a mark of leprosy on a house in the land of your possession, 44 then the priest shall come in and make an inspection. If he sees that the mark has indeed spread in the house, it is a malignant mark in the house; it is unclean. 54 ¶ This is the law for any mark of leprosy-- even for a scale, 55 and for the leprous garment or house, 57 to teach when they are unclean and when they are clean. This is the law of leprosy. Deuteronomy 24:8 ¶ "Be careful against an infection of leprosy, that you diligently observe and do according to all that the Levitical priests teach you; as I have commanded them, so you shall be careful to do. 2 Kings 5:3 She said to her mistress, "I wish that my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! Then he would cure him of his leprosy." 6 He brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, "And now as this letter comes to you, behold, I have sent Naaman my servant to you, that you may cure him of his leprosy." 7 When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, "Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man is sending word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? But consider now, and see how he is seeking a quarrel against me." 27 "Therefore, the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and to your descendants forever." So he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow. 2 Chronicles 26:19 But Uzziah, with a censer in his hand for burning incense, was enraged; and while he was enraged with the priests, the leprosy broke out on his forehead before the priests in the house of the LORD, beside the altar of incense. Scofield: As a type of Gospel salvation the points are: (1) the leper does nothing (Ro 4:4 - 5); (2) the priest seeks the leper, not the leper the priest (Lu 19:10); (3) "without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness" (Heb 9:22); (4) "if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins" (1 Co 15:17). Resources on Leprosy See Medical Article - Biblical Leprosy- A Suggested Interpretation (In depth - 25 page article) Why is leprosy talked about so much in the Bible? Torrey Topical Textbook Leprosy Easton's Bible Dictionary Leprosy Fausset Bible Dictionary Leprosy Holman Bible Dictionary Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible Leprosy Hastings' Dictionary of the NT Leprosy Smith Bible Dictionary Leper, Leprosy Vines' Expository Dictionary Leprosy 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica Leprosy International Standard Bible Encyclopedia Leper; Leprosy Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia Leprosy McClintock and Strong's Bible Encyclopedia Leprosy The Jewish Encyclopedia Leprosy The following are links to "modern" leprosy WHO - Leprosy Leprosy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Leprosy- Medline Plus Medical Encyclopedia Hansen's Disease (Leprosy) - CDC Scofield sees in this teaching a "type" of Gospel because of these points... (1) the leper does nothing (Ro 4:4-5); (2) the priest seeks the leper, not the leper the priest (Luke 19:10); (3) "without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness" (Heb 9:22); (4) "if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins" (1 Co 15:17). Leviticus 14:4 then the priest shall give orders to take two live clean birds and cedar wood and a scarlet string and hyssop for the one who is to be cleansed. two: Lev 1:14, 5:7, 12:8 cedar: Lev 14:6,49-52 Nu 19:6 scarlet: Heb 9:19 Leviticus 14 Resources - Multiple sermons and commentaries In depth commentaries in Synoptic Gospels where Jesus healed a leper - Luke 5:12-17+, Mark 1:40-44+, Matthew 8:1-4+. cf Luke 17:12-19+, Criswell - As was sometimes the case in the OT sacrificial system, one animal could not portray the whole truth (cf. the use of two goats on the Day of Atonement, Lev 16:5). Two live clean birds (most likely turtledoves or young pigeons) were needed -- one perhaps representative of the death of Christ, the other of the resurrection of Christ (cf. Ro 4:25; 1 Cor. 15:3, 4). Evidently the hyssop plant was tied to the cedar wood with the scarlet thread. The same combination of objects (all denoting cleansing) was also used in connection with the ordinance of the red heifer (cf. Num. 19:6), which dealt with purification after defilement resulting from contact with death. Scofield - The bird slain and the live bird, dipped in blood and released, present the two aspects of salvation in Ro 4:25. Christ "was delivered over to death for our sins, and was raised to life for our justification." Scarlet (08144) (shani) refers to the dye (or sometimes the dyed material) obtained from the eggs of the female kermes or cochineal scale insects which attach themselves to the kermes oak. NET Note - The term rendered here “crimson fabric” consists of two Hebrew words and means literally, “crimson of worm” (in this order only in Lev 14:4, 6, 49, 51, 52 and Num 19:6; for the more common reverse order, “worm of crimson,” see, e.g., the colored fabrics used in making the tabernacle, Exod 25:4, etc.). This particular “worm” is an insect that lives on the leaves of palm trees, the eggs of which are the source for a “crimson” dye used to color various kinds of cloth (B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 86). That a kind of dyed “fabric” is intended, not just the dye substance itself, is made certain by the dipping of it along with the other ritual materials listed here into the blood and water mixture for sprinkling on the person being cleansed (Lev 14:6; cf. also the burning of it in the fire of the red heifer in Num 19:6). Both the reddish color of cedar wood and the crimson colored fabric seem to correspond to the color of blood and may, therefore, symbolize either “life,” which is in the blood, or the use of blood to “make atonement” (see, e.g., Gen 9:4 and Lev 17:11). See further the note on v. 7 below. Shani - 42v - Gen 38:28, 30; Ex 25:4; 26:1, 31, 36; 27:16; 28:5f, 8, 15, 33; 35:6, 23, 25, 35; 36:8, 35, 37; 38:18, 23; 39:1ff, 5, 8, 24, 29; Lev 14:4, 6, 49, 51f; Num 4:8; 19:6; Josh 2:18, 21; 2 Sam 1:24; Pr 31:21; Song 4:3; Isa 1:18; Jer 4:30. Here are representative uses... Josh 2:17 And the men said to her (Rahab the Harlot), “We shall be free from this oath to you which you have made us swear, 18 unless, when we come into the land, you tie this cord of scarlet thread in the window through which you let us down, and gather to yourself into the house your father and your mother and your brothers and all your father’s household.2:21 And she said, “According to your words, so be it.” So she sent them away, and they departed; and she tied the scarlet cord in the window. Isa 1:18 “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson (towla), They will be like wool. Comment: Here is God's invitation to come for cleansing. He will remove even bloodguiltiness, symbolized by a garment dyed scarlet. As impossible as it would otherwise be, God makes the garment pure, shining, white, representing an unsullied righteousness (cf. Ps 51:7; Rev 7:14). The story is told of a woman in northern England who hung out her washing and was so proud of its whiteness. She thought it glistened! Then snow came making a beautiful blanket of white. Seeing her clothes and the snow side by side, she exclaimed, "What can a poor woman do against God's almighty snow?" "So, in the white radiance of God's holiness, we are led to exclaim, 'What can any man or woman do against the purity of God Almighty?" Notice that the word crimson is the same word used in the prophetic description of Jesus in Ps 22:6 which it is translated literally ''WORM''. Towla was the worm from which Israelites of that day obtained red dyes = usually translated "crimson" or "scarlet." The female worm when laying her eggs, affixes her body to a wooden surface on which she will die after the young are born. The wood (think of the crimson stained Cross, 1Co 1:18, 1Pe 2:24, 2Co 5:21), her body, and the young are reddened with the death of the life-giving mother. In a similar image the Lord Jesus made "peace through the blood of His Cross" (Col 1:20). NET Note - Twigs of hyssop (probably one or several species of marjoram thymus), a spice and herb plant that grows out of walls in Palestine (see 1 Kgs 4:33 [5:13 HT], HALOT 27 s.v. אֵזוֹב, and J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 195), were particularly leafy and therefore especially useful for sprinkling the purifying liquid (cf. Lev 14:5–7). Many of the details of the ritual procedure are obscure. It has been proposed, for example, that the “cedar wood” was a stick to which the hyssop was bound with the crimson material to make a sort of sprinkling instrument (Hartley, 195). In light of the burning of these three materials as part of the preparation of the ashes of the red heifer in Num 19:5–6, however, this seems unlikely. Hyssop (0231) ('ezob) refers to a small leafy shrub, was an integral element both in the purification of the leper and also in removing the defilement resulting from contact with a dead body (cf. Nu 19:6). David applies hyssop figuratively to the purification of the soul from guilt when he prays, “Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean” (Ps 51:7). 'Ezob - 10v - Ex 12:22; Lev 14:4, 6, 49, 51f; Nu 19:6, 18; 1Kgs 4:33; Ps 51:7 Ex 12:22 “And you shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood which is in the basin, and apply some of the blood that is in the basin to the lintel and the two doorposts; and none of you shall go outside the door of his house until morning. Leviticus 14:5 "The priest shall also give orders to slay the one bird in an earthenware vessel over running water. earthenware: Lev 14:50 Nu 5:17 2Co 4:7, 5:1, 13:4 Heb 2:14 Leviticus 14 Resources - Multiple sermons and commentaries In depth commentaries in Synoptic Gospels where Jesus healed a leper - Luke 5:12-17+, Mark 1:40-44+, Matthew 8:1-4+. cf Luke 17:12-19+, Running water: Literally "living water" (Lxx = hudor zao). This beautiful phrase, ("living waters") occurs 1st in Ge 26:19 and then in Lev 14:5,6, 50, 51, 52, 15:13 > running water, Nu 19:17 > flowing water Song 4:15 > fresh water, Jer 2:13 > living waters, Jer 17:13 > living water, Zech 14:8 > living waters from Jerusalem during 1000 YEAR reign of Messiah. A similar phrase is found in Jn 4:10,11,13,14, Jn 7:37,38, and finally in Rev 7:17, 21:6, 22:1,22:17, the latter Scriptures referring to the NEW HEAVEN and NEW EARTH! NET Note on running water - Heb “into a vessel of clay over living water.” The expression “living [i.e., ‘fresh’] water” (cf. Lev 14:50; 15:13; Num 19:17) refers to water that flows. It includes such water sources as artesian wells (Gen 26:19; Song of Songs 4:15), springs (Jer 2:13, as opposed to cisterns; cf. 17:13), and flowing streams (Zech 14:8). In other words, this is water that has not stood stagnant as, for example, in a sealed-off cistern. Although there are those who argue that the water and the blood rites are separate (e.g., E. S. Gerstenberger, Leviticus [OTL], 175–76), it is usually agreed that v. 5b refers to the slaughtering of the bird in such a way that its blood runs into the bowl, which contained fresh water (see, e.g., N. H. Snaith, Leviticus and Numbers [NCBC], 74; G. J. Wenham, Leviticus [NICOT], 208; J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:836–38; cf. esp. Lev 14:51b, “and dip them in the blood of the slaughtered bird and in the fresh water”). This mixture of blood and water was then to be sprinkled on the person being cleansed from the disease. Living Water is a beautiful picture of our Eternal Life in Christ, the Source of all Life. The picture of living water is especially poignant in the Middle East with paucity of any water at all. Thus sources of "living water" were even more rare and their discovery was accompanied by considerable rejoicing. How tragic that God's people rejected His offer of life giving water! Leon Hyatt - Commentary on Leviticus 14:1-32 - The bird ceremony (Lev 14:5-7) And the priest shall command to kill one of the birds in a clay vessel over running water. The priest was to begin the cleansing ceremonies by ordering that one of the birds be killed and its blood drained into a pottery bowl that had been filled with water from a spring or running stream. The water corresponded to washing in cleansing ceremonies from contact with unclean creatures (see comments on Lev. 11:25,28,32,40 in MESSAGE 14). The water was to be running water to represent washing by human effort, since people of that day went to springs or streams to bathe and wash their clothes. It showed that human effort was required to remove the effects and marks of sin from a person’s life. The pottery bowl also added to the picture of human effort, because pottery bowls were formed by human work. The bird that was killed also showed that the investment of a person’s life was required to remove the effects of his sin. The bird was not killed at the altar but outside the camp, so killing the bird also should be understood to represent human effort to cleanse the effects of sin from the sinner’s life. In the likeness of the altar offerings, the bird must have represented the person who was being cleansed (see comments on Lev. 1:4 in MESSAGE 1). Killing the bird and spilling its blood over a bowl of clean running water represented the sinner’s giving or investing his life in the effort to remove the effects sin had left on him. Killing the bird corresponded to “the blood of purifying,” in cleansing ceremonies from uncleanness caused by childbirth, which also symbolized human effort to remove the effects of sin from the person’s life (see comments on Lev. 12:4,5 in MESSAGE 15). He shall take the living bird with the cedar wood and the scarlet cochineal [yarn] and the hyssop, and he shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water. The cedar wood represented permanence, because cedar is almost totally resistant to rot. When a person worked hard to remove the effects of sin from his life, he would be permanently different and better than he was before. The ezov also represented the person’s efforts to remove the effects of sin from his or her life, just as a person had to invest effort in washing clothes and bedding. The scarlet yarn represented life, because blood is red and life is in the blood (Lev. 17:14). It also symbolized that the person invested his life in the effort to remove sin’s effects from his life. All of these symbols were to be dipped into the mingled blood and water in the clay pot. Thus, the blood, running water, pottery bowl, cedar wood, and scarlet yarn all showed that a forgiven sinner still needed to invest his life and effort into removing the effects of sin. After the water in the bowl was touched by all of these symbols of human effort, the living bird was to be dipped into it. The living bird also represented the person’s life. When it was dipped in the symbols of the person’s efforts to remove sin’s effects from his life, it represented the person’s life that resulted from those efforts. What was done with the living bird showed the results of a person’s investing his life and effort into removing the effects of sin from his life. And he shall splatter it on the one who is to be cleansed of tsaraath seven times. And he shall declare him clean. The priest was then to splatter the mingled blood and water on the person being cleansed. The word translated “splatter” is the same as the word used in Leviticus 4:6,17; 5:9; 8:11,30 (see comments on Lev. 4:6 in MESSAGE 2). Splattering the blood and water on the person being cleansed showed that the whole ceremony applied to and represented the person being cleansed, who in turn symbolized a person who was overcoming the effects that sin had left on his life. He was the one who was to invest his life and effort into removing sin’s effects from his life. No one else could do it for him. The blood and water were splattered on the person seven times to show the completeness and earnestness he was to invest in the effort. and he shall let the living bird go into the open field. Finally, the living bird was to be set free in the open field. The bird’s release showed the results that would come from a person’s investing his life into removing the effects of sin from his life. The result would be a free life, no longer burdened with the load of sin and able to live how God intended him to live. The person who invests his life into the effort to remove the effects of sin from his life will gain a life that is free and strong. That life will not waste away. It will last, and the person will find true freedom. These ceremonies conducted outside the camp did not have the power in themselves to remove the effects of sin. They symbolized what the person had to do to remove those effects and the good results that would follow. Leviticus 14:6 "As for the live bird, he shall take it, together with the cedar wood and the scarlet string and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the live bird in the blood of the bird that was slain over the running water ("living water"). live bird: John 14:19 Ro 4:25 5:10 Php 2:9-11 Heb 1:3 Rev 1:18 dip them: Lev 14:51-53 Zec 13:1 Rev 1:5 Leviticus 14 Resources - Multiple sermons and commentaries In depth commentaries in Synoptic Gospels where Jesus healed a leper - Luke 5:12-17+, Mark 1:40-44+, Matthew 8:1-4+. cf Luke 17:12-19+, Criswell - The live bird was dipped in the combination of water and blood and then allowed to fly away. The live bird thus received its freedom at the price of the slain bird (cf. Lev 14:2). The live bird became symbolic not only of the resurrection of the Lord, but also of the new freedom that is found in one whose sins have been cleansed (cf. Ro. 8:2; Gal. 5:1). Warren