Matthew Henry Commentary Leviticus 14
Matthew Henry Commentary
Leviticus 14
Matthew Henry Commentary
Leviticus 14
"And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing: he shall be brought unto the priest: and the priest shall go forth out of the camp; and the priest shall look; and, behold, if the plague of leprosy be healed in the leper, then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two living clean birds, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop: And the priest shall command to kill one of the birds in an earthen vessel over running water. As 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: And he shall sprinkle upon him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let go the living bird into the open field. And he that is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, and shave off all his hair, and bathe himself in water; and he shall be clean: and after that he shall come into the camp, but shall dwell outside his tent seven days. And it shall be on the seventh day, that he shall shave all his hair off his head and his beard and his eyebrows, even all his hair he shall shave off: and he shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe his flesh in water, and he shall be clean." — Leviticus 14:1-9 (ASV)
The priests could not cleanse the lepers; but when the Lord removed the plague, various rules were to be observed in admitting them again to the ordinances of God and the society of his people. They represent many duties and practices of truly repenting sinners, and the duties of ministers regarding them. If we apply this to the spiritual leprosy of sin, it suggests that when we withdraw from those who walk disorderly, we must not count them as enemies, but admonish them as brothers.
Furthermore, when God by his grace has brought them to repentance, they should be received again with tenderness, joy, and sincere affection. Care should always be taken that sinners are not encouraged, nor penitents discouraged. If it was found that the leprosy was healed, the priest must declare it with the particular solemnities described here.
The two birds—one killed, and the other dipped in the blood of the bird that was killed, and then let loose—may signify Christ shedding his blood for sinners, and rising and ascending into heaven. After the priest had pronounced the leper clean from the disease, the leper must cleanse himself from all its remains. Thus, those who have comfort of the remission of their sins must with care and caution cleanse themselves from sins; for everyone who has this hope in him will be concerned to purify himself.
"And on the eighth day he shall take two he-lambs without blemish, and one ewe-lamb a year old without blemish, and three tenth parts [of an ephah] of fine flour for a meal-offering, mingled with oil, and one log of oil. And the priest that cleanseth him shall set the man that is to be cleansed, and those things, before Jehovah, at the door of the tent of meeting. And the priest shall take one of the he-lambs, and offer him for a trespass-offering, and the log of oil, and wave them for a wave-offering before Jehovah: and he shall kill the he-lamb in the place where they kill the sin-offering and the burnt-offering, in the place of the sanctuary: for as the sin-offering is the priest`s, so is the trespass-offering: it is most holy: and the priest shall take 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. And the priest shall take of the log of oil, and pour it into the palm of his own left hand; and 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 Jehovah: and 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: and 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: and the priest shall make atonement for him before Jehovah. And the priest shall offer the sin-offering, and make atonement for him that is to be cleansed because of his uncleanness: and afterward he shall kill the burnt-offering; and the priest shall offer the burnt-offering and the meal-offering upon the altar: and the priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be clean. And if he be poor, and cannot get so much, then he shall take one he-lamb for a trespass-offering to be waved, to make atonement for him, and one tenth part [of an ephah] of fine flour mingled with oil for a meal-offering, and a log of oil; and two turtle-doves, 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. And on the eighth day he shall bring them for his cleansing unto the priest, unto the door of the tent of meeting, before Jehovah: and 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 Jehovah. And he shall kill the lamb of the trespass-offering; and the priest shall take 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. And the priest shall pour of the oil into the palm of his own left hand; and the priest shall sprinkle with his right finger some of the oil that is in his left hand seven times before Jehovah: and 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: and 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 atonement for him before Jehovah. And he shall offer one of the turtle-doves, or of the young pigeons, such as he is able to get, even such as he is able to get, the one for a sin-offering, and the other for a burnt-offering, with the meal-offering: and the priest shall make atonement for him that is to be cleansed before Jehovah. This is the law of him in whom is the plague of leprosy, who is not able to get [that which pertaineth] to his cleansing." — Leviticus 14:10-32 (ASV)
The cleansed leper was to be presented to the Lord, with his offerings. When God has restored us to enjoy public worship again, after sickness, distance, or otherwise, we should testify our thanksgiving by our diligent use of the liberty. And both we and our offerings must be presented before the Lord, by the Priest who made us clean, even our Lord Jesus.
Besides the usual rites of the trespass-offering, some of the blood, and some of the oil, was to be put upon him who was to be cleansed. Wherever the blood of Christ is applied for justification, the oil of the Spirit is applied for sanctification; these two cannot be separated. We have here the gracious provision that the law made for poor lepers.
The poor are as welcome to God's altar as the rich. But though a lesser sacrifice was accepted from the poor, yet the same ceremony was used for the rich; their souls are as precious, and Christ and his gospel are the same to both. Even for the poor one lamb was necessary.
No sinner could be saved, had it not been for the Lamb that was slain, and has redeemed us to God with his blood.
"And Jehovah spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, When ye are come into the land of Canaan, which I give to you for a possession, and I put the plague of leprosy in a house of the land of your possession; then he that owneth the house shall come and tell the priest, saying, There seemeth to me to be as it were a plague in the house. And the priest shall command that they empty the house, before the priest goeth in to see the plague, that all that is in the house be not made unclean: and afterward the priest shall go in to see the house: and he shall look on the plague; and, behold, if the plague be in the walls of the house with hollow streaks, greenish or reddish, and the appearance thereof be lower than the wall; then the priest shall go out of the house to the door of the house, and shut up the house seven days. And the priest shall come again the seventh day, and shall look; and, behold, if the plague be spread in the walls of the house; then the priest shall command that they take out the stones in which the plague is, and cast them into an unclean place without the city: and he shall cause the house to be scraped within round about, and they shall pour out the mortar, that they scrape off, without the city into an unclean place: and they shall take other stones, and put them in the place of those stones; and he shall take other mortar, and shall plaster the house. And if the plague come again, and break out in the house, after that he hath taken out the stones, and after he hath scraped the house, and after it is plastered; then the priest shall come in and look; and, behold, if the plague be spread in the house, it is a fretting leprosy in the house: it is unclean. And he shall break down the house, the stones of it, and the timber thereof, and all the mortar of the house; and he shall carry them forth out of the city into an unclean place. Moreover he that goeth into the house all the while that it is shut up shall be unclean until the even. And he that lieth in the house shall wash his clothes; and he that eateth in the house shall wash his clothes. And if the priest shall come in, and look, and, behold, the plague hath not spread in the house, after the house was plastered; then the priest shall pronounce the house clean, because the plague is healed. And he shall take to cleanse the house two birds, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop: and he shall kill one of the birds in an earthen vessel over running water: and he shall take the cedar wood, and the hyssop, and the scarlet, and the living bird, and dip them in the blood of the slain bird, and in the running water, and sprinkle the house seven times: and he shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird, and with the running water, and with the living bird, and with the cedar wood, and with the hyssop, and with the scarlet: but he shall let got the living bird out of the city into the open field: so shall he make atonement for the house; and it shall be clean." — Leviticus 14:33-53 (ASV)
The leprosy in a house is difficult for us to understand, much like the leprosy in a garment; but sin, where it reigns in a house, is a plague there, just as it is in a heart.
Masters of families should be aware and afraid of the first appearance of sin in their families, and should put it away, whatever it is. If leprosy gets into the house, the infected part must be removed. If it remains in the house, the entire house must be pulled down. The owner would be better off without a dwelling than to live in one that was infected.
The leprosy of sin ruins families and churches. Thus, sin is so interwoven with the human body that it must be taken down by death.
"This is the law for all manner of plague of leprosy, and for a scall, and for the leprosy of a garment, and for a house, and for a rising, and for a scab, and for a bright spot; to teach when it is unclean, and when it is clean: this is the law of leprosy." — Leviticus 14:54-57 (ASV)
When God who is rich in mercy, for his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, has quickened us by his grace (Ephesians 2:4–5), we will manifest the change by repenting, and forsaking former sins. Let us follow after holiness, and let us have compassion on other poor lepers, and desire, seek, and pray for their cleansing.
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