Cleansing From Mildew
March 2, 2022
Commentary
The Lord told Moses and Aaron to say to the people (v. 33): After I have given you the land of Canaan, here is what you must do, if I ever put mildew on the walls of any of your homes (v. 34). First, you must say to a priest, “I think mildew is on the wall of my house (v. 35).” The priest will reply, “Empty the house before I inspect it, or else everything in it will be unclean (v. 36).” If the priest discovers mildew on the walls, he will have the house closed for seven days (vv. 37-38). Then he will return to see if the mildew has spread (v. 39). If so, he will have someone scrape the plaster from the walls, then haul everything off and dump it outside the town (vv. 40-41). Afterwards the wall must be repaired with new stones and fresh plaster (v. 42).
If mildew appears again the priest will come and say, “This house is unclean (vv. 43-44). with mildew that can’t be removed.” Then he will have the house torn down and hauled off to a place outside the town (v. 45). If any of you entered the house while it was closed, you will be unclean until evening (v. 46). And if you either slept or ate in the house, you must wash your clothes (v. 47). On the other hand, if the priest discovers that mildew hasn’t reappeared after the house was newly plastered, he will say, “This house is clean-the mildewhas gone (v. 48).” To show that the house is now clean, he will get two birds, a stick of cedar wood, a piece of red yarn, and a branch from a hyssop plant and bring them to the house (v. 49). He will kill one of the birds over a clay pot and let its blood drain into the pot (vv. 50-52). Then he will dip the cedar, the hyssop, the yarn, and the other bird into the blood. Next, he will sprinkle the house seven times with the blood, then the house will be clean. He will release the bird and let it fly away, ending the ceremony for purifying the house (v. 53). These are the things to do if your house is unclean with mildew (vv. 54-57).
Application
Jesus says that if I sin what I need to do is “confess my sin” to Him and He forgive and cleanse me (I Jn 1:9).
Leviticus 14:33– 57 (NET)
33 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: 34 “When you enter the land of Canaan which I am about to give to you for a possession, and I put a diseased infection in a house in the land you are to possess, 35 then whoever owns the house must come and declare to the priest, ‘Something like an infection is visible to me in the house.’ 36 Then the priest will command that the house be cleared before the priest enters to examine the infection so that everything in the house does not become unclean, and afterward the priest will enter to examine the house. 37 He is to examine the infection, and if the infection in the walls of the house consists of yellowish green or reddish eruptions, and it appears to be deeper than the surface of the wall, 38 then the priest is to go out of the house to the doorway of the house and quarantine the house for seven days. 39 The priest must return on the seventh day and examine it, and if the infection has spread in the walls of the house, 40 then the priest is to command that the stones that had the infection in them be pulled and thrown outside the city into an unclean place. 41 Then they shall scrape the house all around on the inside, and the plaster which they have scraped off must be dumped outside the city into an unclean place. 42 They are then to take other stones and replace those stones, and he is to take other plaster and replaster the house.
43 “If the infection returns and breaks out in the house after he has pulled out the stones, scraped the house, and it is replastered, 44 the priest is to come and examine it, and if the infection has spread in the house, it is a malignant disease in the house. It is unclean. 45 He must tear down the house, its stones, its wood, and all the plaster of the house, and bring all of it outside the city to an unclean place. 46 Anyone who enters the house all the days the priest has quarantined it will be unclean until evening. 47 Anyone who lies down in the house must wash his clothes. Anyone who eats in the house must wash his clothes.
48 “If, however, the priest enters and examines it, and the infection has not spread in the house after the house has been replastered, then the priest is to pronounce the house clean because the infection has been healed. 49 Then he is to take two birds, a piece of cedar wood, a scrap of crimson fabric, and some twigs of hyssop to purify the house, 50 and he is to slaughter one bird into a clay vessel over fresh water. 51 He must then take the piece of cedar wood, the twigs of hyssop, the scrap of crimson fabric, and the live bird, and dip them in the blood of the slaughtered bird and in the fresh water, and sprinkle the house seven times. 52 So he is to purify the house with the blood of the bird, the fresh water, the live bird, the piece of cedar wood, the twigs of hyssop, and the scrap of crimson fabric, 53 and he is to send the live bird away outside the city into the open countryside. So he is to make atonement for the house and it will be clean.
54 “This is the law for all diseased infections, for scall, 55 for the diseased garment, for the house, 56 for the swelling, for the scab, and for the bright spot, 57 to teach when something is unclean and when it is clean. This is the law for dealing with infectious disease.”
Illustration: Disintegration is a Sad Thing
Last year I went to my grandparents’ old home place. It is amazing what happens when a place becomes vacant. Their old home-place was surrounded by weeds that were chest high. No longer a green lawn but vines, fallen limbs, and tangled underbrush covered the entire yard. The roof was sagging, paint was faded and chipped, window panes were broken, and window sills were rotten. No longer could bright sunlight filter through the dinghy glass. Dust choked the interior and mildew had found the walls and ceilings. There were no voices in the old house. No laughter around a table. It was a sad sight. . .that old house. But even more sad than this, is the slow disintegration of a family. (Philip Harrelson – Sermon Central)