Message 42
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Scripture Reading: Lev. 14:1-9
In this message we come to a most wonderful thing — the cleansing of the leper. In the foregoing messages we saw a portrait of what we are in a negative way. This portrait exposes us to the uttermost, revealing what we are in ourselves. Now we come to the matter of cleansing, which is the all-inclusive salvation God has prepared and accomplished for us. Here we see a Christ who is all-inclusive. He has the blood, the Spirit, and everything we need to be cleansed. In Him we have the rich, complete, and extensive provision of God’s salvation. We all need to know this cleansing, this salvation, and experience it in full.
“This shall be the law of the leper on the day of his cleansing. He shall be brought to the priest” (Lev. 14:2). The leper being brought to the priest signifies an unclean person being brought to the Lord. In preaching the gospel we are actually bringing unclean persons, sinners, to the Lord.
The priest going outside the camp to examine the leper (v. 3a) signifies the Lord Jesus leaving His original place and humbling Himself to be nigh to the sinner. The Lord came from the heavens to the earth in order to be nigh to us, the sinners. This is portrayed in Matthew 8. “When He had come down from the mountain, great crowds followed Him. And behold, a leper approached and worshipped Him, saying, Lord, if You are willing. You can cleanse me. And stretching out His hand, He touched him, saying, I am willing; be cleansed. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed” (vv. 1-3). This leper should have been isolated, excluded, from the people of God. He should not have been touched by others, lest the contagious disease be passed on to them. Nevertheless, having sympathy in love for the leper, the Lord Jesus came nigh to him and touched him.
In Leviticus 14:4-9 we see that the leper who was to be cleansed needed to seek for cleansing before God. This signifies that the one who is sick of the sin of leprosy, although he has been healed by the life within, still needs to have his shortcomings and defilement dealt with before God that he might be cleansed. Cleansing from leprosy requires not only the action from God’s side but also the coordination from our side. As lepers, as sinners, we need to seek for cleansing. Our seeking is our cooperation with God’s grace and love.
The one who had been healed of leprosy still needed to be cleansed. To be healed is one thing, and to be cleansed is another. The process, the procedure, of cleansing includes many items which we shall now consider.
“The priest shall give orders to take for him who is to be cleansed two live clean birds” (v. 4a). These two birds, which are clean and full of life, are types of Christ. Christ is here typified by the bird life, the life that is able to fly in the air above the earth.
Birds are able to transcend the earth. The birds in verse 4a signify that Christ came from the heavens and that He belongs to the heavens and transcends the earth.
The live birds signify that Christ is full of life. He is living because He is full of life.
The clean birds here signify that only Christ is clean and is without any defilement. In this matter, Christ and we are opposite. With us everything is unclean; with Him everything is clean. We are uncleanness, but He is cleanness.
The two birds signify, on the one hand, that Christ died for us that our filthiness might be taken away and, on the other hand, that He rose for us that we might be delivered from our weakness. Christ died on the cross to take away our sins. This is typified by the first bird. Christ rose from among the dead for us that we might be delivered from our weakness by the power, strength, and energy of life. This life is the resurrection life, life in resurrection. It is also the divine life, the eternal, uncreated life of God. We receive this life from the resurrected Christ, who is typified by the second bird. Hence, these two birds signify two aspects of Christ — Christ in crucifixion and Christ in resurrection.
Cedar wood (v. 4b; cf. 1 Kings 4:33) signifies the honorable and high humanity of the Lord, which enables Him to be our Savior. In the Old Testament, plants are often types of the Lord’s humanity. Wood, in particular, is such a type. Cedar wood typifies the uplifted humanity of the Lord.
In 1 Kings 4:33 Solomon “spake of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall.” Hyssop was among the smallest of the plants. The hyssop in Leviticus 14:4b signifies that the Lord was willing to be lowly in becoming in the likeness of men that He might be nigh to man and become man’s Savior. On the one hand, as typified by cedar wood, the Lord has the highest standard of humanity; on the other hand, as typified by the hyssop, He was willing to be lowly that He might be available to us.
Scarlet (v. 4b), a dark red color, implies much in typology. Scarlet here signifies that the Lord lowered Himself to become a man that He might do the will of God and shed His blood on the cross for our redemption, thus becoming the honorable and high King. The color scarlet signifies the shedding of blood. Thus it signifies Christ’s redemption accomplished by His shedding His blood on the cross. Scarlet also implies kingship. Christ was slain, crucified, for redemption and through that redemption He became the King. The Savior has become the King not by fighting but by dying, by being crucified.
Verse 5 says, “The priest shall order one bird to be killed in an earthenware vessel over fresh water.” The Hebrew word translated “fresh” literally means “living.” An earthenware vessel filled with living water over which one bird was to be killed signifies that through death in the flesh the Lord offered Himself to God through the eternal and living Spirit (cf. Heb. 9:13-14).
The earthen vessel signifies the Lord’s humanity, and the living water signifies the living and eternal Spirit of God. Over an earthen vessel filled with living water a bird was to be killed. This signifies that Christ was killed in His humanity filled with the living, eternal Spirit. In Hebrews 9:14 we have the fulfillment of this type. This verse tells us that Christ through the eternal Spirit offered Himself to God. When He was dying on the cross, He offered Himself to God through the living water — the eternal, living Spirit of God — that filled Him. Christ was not alone when He was on the cross, for the eternal Spirit was in Him and with Him.
Without Paul’s word in Hebrews 9:14 we could not understand the type in Leviticus 14:5. In the type a number of details are covered in a very simple way. Here we have an earthenware vessel, living water, and a bird that was slain. When we put this type together with Hebrews 9:14, we see that when Christ (the slain bird) was being crucified. He was in His humanity (the earthenware vessel), yet within Him was the eternal Spirit, the living Spirit of God (the living water). Through the Spirit who filled Him, Christ offered Himself to God.
“As for the live bird, he shall take it, and the cedar wood, the scarlet, and the hyssop, and dip them and the live bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the fresh water. And he shall sprinkle it seven times on him who is to be cleansed of the leprosy, and shall pronounce him clean” (Lev. 14:6-7a). This signifies that the Lord’s perfect redemption not only causes man to be cleansed objectively in his position, but also causes man to experience subjectively in the Holy Spirit the Lord’s suffering in shedding His blood in His noble, high, and lowly humanity, and to experience His death, resurrection, ascension, and glorification. All these matters are implied in the type.
In 14:6 four things — the other bird, the cedar wood, the scarlet, and the hyssop — were dipped in the blood of the killed bird. I believe that these four things were bound together, that the scarlet was a thread that bound together the bird, the cedar wood, and the hyssop and made them into a bundle. This bundle was then dipped in the blood of the killed bird that this blood might be sprinkled seven times on the leper who was to be cleansed.
The Lord’s redemption, His noble, high, and lowly humanity, and His resurrection, ascension, and glorification are all implied in this type. We have seen that the cedar wood typifies Christ’s noble and high humanity, and the hyssop, His lowly humanity. The slain bird, of course, signifies His redemption. What signifies His resurrection, ascension, and glorification? His resurrection is signified by the other bird, the live bird. These two birds signify Christ in two aspects — in His death and resurrection. On the one hand, as signified by the killed bird, He was killed. On the other hand, as signified by the live bird, He was resurrected. The dying Christ became the living Christ through resurrection. Christ’s ascension is signified by the live bird’s flying, soaring, in the air. The Lord’s glorification is signified by the scarlet, which implies kingship. Christ is glorified in His kingship. Christ was humbled in His incarnation, shamed in His crucifixion, and glorified in His kingship. Therefore in this one type we see the all-inclusive Christ, for here we have His humanity, which is both high and lowly, His redemption, and His resurrection, ascension, and glorification.
“He shall let the live bird go free over the open field” (v. 7b). This signifies that the living Christ causes the cleansed sinner not only to die and resurrect but also to experience His ascension. These have all been accomplished for us by Christ, and we only need to experience and enjoy them. In the crucified Christ, the killed bird, we died. Now in the resurrected Christ, the live bird, we are soaring in ascension. We have been freed, and there are no frustrations.
I say once again that to expound this type we need the knowledge of the entire Bible. This is proper theology, biblical theology. Biblical theology has much to do with the leprosy in Leviticus 13 and 14. If this theology were not involved with our leprosy, we would be altogether separated from God. He would be God, having nothing to do with us, and we would be lepers, having nothing to do with Him. But biblical theology is involved with our leprosy, and God can be seen in the typology in Leviticus 14:4-7. In this type we see the Lord’s redemption and the saving power in His resurrection. We have been redeemed by the crucified Christ, and now we are in the resurrected Christ, soaring in the air with Him.
“He who is to be cleansed shall then wash his clothes, and shave off all his hair, and bathe himself in water, and he shall be clean” (v. 8a). This signifies that, on the one hand, a sinner who is to be cleansed needs to experience Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension and, on the other hand, he needs to bear the responsibility himself to deal with and cut off all that is of his old living and natural life.
The leper who was to be cleansed was required to shave off all his hair. The hair of the head signifies man’s glory. Almost everyone can find an area in which to boast, to glorify himself, to make a display before others. This is typified by the hair of the head.
The beard, which also was to be shaved off, signifies man’s honor. People often esteem themselves honorable and have a superior feeling that they are above others. This is a matter of man’s honor typified by the beard.
The beauty of the human face is mainly with the eyebrows. Thus, the eyebrows signify man’s excellencies, merits, and virtues. These are man’s naturally good and strong points, which do not issue from the experience of God’s salvation but from one’s natural birth.
All the hair of the body signifies man’s strength and ability. As human beings, we have our natural strength and ability. This means that we have hair all over our body, and this hair must be shaved off.
Bathing oneself in water signifies dealing with one’s entire being. This is to have our entire being buried in water.
Added together, these five items equal getting rid of the self with all its glory, honor, excellencies, merits, virtues, strength, and ability. If we get rid of ourselves in this way, we shall surely be clean. There will be no leprosy. However, as long as the self exists, we shall have leprosy in some way — in the hair of our head, in our beard, in our eyebrows, in the hair of our body, in our self. Therefore, our entire being should be washed, buried, terminated, in deep water. Then because we have nothing and are nothing, we shall be clean.
“After that he may enter into the camp, but shall remain outside his tent for seven days” (v. 8b). This signifies that a sinner who is to be cleansed is still unable to recover the fellowship with the brothers; he needs to be watchful, to wait, and to be dealt with further. Even after a leper had shaved off all his hair and had bathed himself in water, he still needed to wait, to watch over himself, and to be dealt with further. This indicates that to deal with our sin, our leprosy, our rebellion, which comes from Satan, is a serious matter with God. Because sin is so serious, we should not deal with it in a loose, light, or careless way.
Leviticus 14:9 says, “And on the seventh day he shall shave off all his hair from his head, his beard, and his eyebrows — even all his hair. Then he shall wash his clothes and bathe his flesh in water, and he shall be clean.” After watching and waiting for seven days, he shaved his entire body once more, washed his clothes, and bathed his flesh. This signifies that a sinner who is to be cleansed needs to bear the responsibility for dealing with every part of his natural life and daily walk. This is the way of cleansing shown to us in the divine revelation. Here we see that God wants us to deal with our sin and our sinful self in such a serious way. If we deal with ourselves definitely, thoroughly, and absolutely, we shall be cleansed.
