Leviticus 14:33-57 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs,
Today’s passage is Leviticus 14:33-57. Let’s go!
Leviticus 14:33-48 (NIV)
33 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron,
34 “When you enter the land of Canaan, which I am giving you as your possession, and I put a spreading mildew in a house in that land,
35 the owner of the house must go and tell the priest, ‘I have seen something that looks like mildew in my house.’
36 The priest is to order the house to be emptied before he goes in to examine the mildew, so that nothing in the house will be pronounced unclean. After this the priest is to go in and inspect the house.
37 He is to examine the mildew on the walls, and if it has greenish or reddish depressions that appear to be deeper than the surface of the wall,
38 the priest shall go out the doorway of the house and close it up for seven days.
39 On the seventh day the priest shall return to inspect the house. If the mildew has spread on the walls,
40 he is to order that the contaminated stones be torn out and thrown into an unclean place outside the town.
41 He must have all the inside walls of the house scraped and the material that is scraped off dumped into an unclean place outside the town.
42 Then they are to take other stones to replace these and take new clay and plaster the house.
43 “If the mildew reappears in the house after the stones have been torn out and the house scraped and plastered,
44 the priest is to go and examine it and, if the mildew has spread in the house, it is a destructive mildew; the house is unclean.
45 It must be torn down–its stones, timbers and all the plaster–and taken out of the town to an unclean place.
46 “Anyone who goes into the house while it is closed up will be unclean till evening.
47 Anyone who sleeps or eats in the house must wash his clothes.
48 “But if the priest comes to examine it and the mildew has not spread after the house has been plastered, he shall pronounce the house clean, because the mildew is gone.
On verses 33-48: Here the Lord gives Moses and Aaron regulations about how to inspect houses containing mildew. As you read Leviticus, you’ll find that priests in ancient Israel wore many hats – spiritual leader, teacher, butcher, skin examiner, social worker, and here house inspector. Here the priests are given a protocol for dealing with houses containing mold. That protocol could be summed as follows: clear the house (v36), examine it (v37), close it up and leave it for seven days (v38), and re-inspect (v39). If the mildew has spread, tear out the contaminated stones (v40), scrape off all the mold and dump the mold in an authorized dump zone outside of the town (v41), and re-plaster (v42). If the mildew reappears after that, tear down the house (v43-45). If the mildew does not reappear, pronounce the house clean (v48).
What can we learn from this? When facing a situation that has gone wrong, work hard to fix it. But if the problem still won’t go away, you may need to consider tearing down and starting again. May God give you wisdom to know how to apply this principle in a way that honours His Word and bears fruit in your life, because it is also possible to misapply this principle.
I also see this as possibly a picture of the old covenant that God established with His people. It was a good house, but sin got in the way and made it beyond repair. So God tore it down and established a new covenant with us by sending Jesus Christ to be the new, clean, far improved and imperishable house that we live in.
Leviticus 14:49-53 (NIV)
49 To purify the house he is to take two birds and some cedar wood, scarlet yarn and hyssop.
50 He shall kill one of the birds over fresh water in a clay pot.
51 Then he is to take the cedar wood, the hyssop, the scarlet yarn and the live bird, dip them into the blood of the dead bird and the fresh water, and sprinkle the house seven times.
52 He shall purify the house with the bird’s blood, the fresh water, the live bird, the cedar wood, the hyssop and the scarlet yarn.
53 Then he is to release the live bird in the open fields outside the town. In this way he will make atonement for the house, and it will be clean.”
On verses 49-53: Verses 49-53 describe the way a priest is to make atonement for a once unclean house that has since been pronounced clean. As part of this the priest is to take two birds, kill one (v50), dip the live bird in the deceased bird’s blood (v51), dip the live bird also in fresh water, and then release the bird out in the open fields (v53). In this I see a picture of what God in His love did for us. God took His Son Jesus, allowed him to be killed in order that we could be dipped in His blood, be baptized in fresh water and be set free.
Leviticus 14:54-57 (NIV)
54 These are the regulations for any infectious skin disease, for an itch,
55 for mildew in clothing or in a house,
56 and for a swelling, a rash or a bright spot,
57 to determine when something is clean or unclean. These are the regulations for infectious skin diseases and mildew.
On verses 54-57: According to verse 33, these regulations about what an Israelite should do with mold and mildew in a house are specific directions that “the Lord said to Moses and Aaron” (v33). I don’t think most people would expect that God would bother to speak to His people about such a matter, or matters like skin rashes and skin swellings. What can we learn from this? God cares not just for the spiritual condition of people. God also cares for their physical health and safety. When you love someone, you care about them as a whole – not just their body or their mind or their financial condition, but every part. That’s why God’s Word gives us advice that is meant to benefit and help every aspect of our lives, not just our spiritual lives. It contains the best advice on relationships, financial management, career planning, and so much more.
Think about someone you love. Are you caring for them in just a one dimensional way? Are there other aspects of their well being that you should be paying attention to? The classic ones we hear are, for example, parents making sure that their kids are well clothed and well fed but doing little or nothing to raise their kids up spiritually to love and know God, or to manage money well, or to have emotional security. For those in our care, let’s aim to love them not just in a one dimensional way, but aim to care for their whole person.
Heavenly Father, thank You that You care for my entire well being, that Your love in my life is not just one dimensional, but multi-faceted. Thank You for being a God who is constantly making new the things we give to You. I give You my heart today. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
