Offering for Infectious Disease

Leviticus 13:45; 14:4-6

"The person with such an infectious disease must wear torn clothes, let his hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of his face and cry out, 'Unclean! Unclean!" As long as he has the infection he remains unclean. He must live alone; he must live outside the camp . . . . If the person has been healed of his infectious skin disease, the priest shall order that two live clean birds and some cedar wood, scarlet yarn and hyssop be brought for the one to be cleansed. Then the priest shall order that one of the birds be killed over fresh water in a clay pot. He is then to take the live bird and dip it, together with the cedar wood, the scarlet yarn and the hyssop, into the blood of the bird that was killed over the fresh water. Seven times he shall sprinkle the one to be cleansed of the infectious disease and pronounce him clean. Then he is to release the live bird in the open fields."

In this rather difficult passage, it appears that a person who is physically and ceremonially unclean because of an infectious disease must be put outside the camp until the point of his cleanness can be determined by the priest. When the diseased one is healed from his infirmity, the priest then offers a sacrifice of one bird for the man or woman, along with scarlet yarn, cedar wood, and hyssop. The imagery of the cross of Christ is evident here. Although we do not know the type of wood used for the cross, it makes sense that the Romans would have used a wood that would not easily rot from exposure to the elements. It would not be surprising if the wood used were cedar. The scarlet color of the yarn reminds us of the blood of the sacrifice of the Messiah. Then too hyssop points us to the cross, for this shrub was used for cleansing (Psalm 51:7); and we find that the hyssop was found at the scene of the crucifixion of Jesus (John 19:29).

Just as these elements were instruments used to declare the cleanness of the once unclean individual, so too the Cross of Christ is introduced to bring spiritual righteousness to those who would receive the Cross as the sacrifice for sins. One can even see the substitutionary imagery of one bird being sacrificed and the other being released once receiving the blood of the sacrificed bird. With the shedding of blood comes deliverance.

Some would attempt to justify the alienation of the infectious individual for the preservation of the people of Israel from an outbreak leading to complete annihilation. Still, with the dictates of "uncleanness" for non-contagious physical illnesses in Leviticus 15 (e.g. a woman's monthly period), there is something more to the story here. True, the non-contagious issues did not result in separation of the person from the people, but it did result in the declaration of uncleanness and thus the prohibition of approaching the Tent of Meeting for sacrifice. Only until the person with the "infirmity" was declared clean were they to go to present a sin offering and burnt offering for their cleanness.

It was not unusual for people to go regularly to the tabernacle to offer sacrifices for sin; still, the imagery of one being cleansed then coming before the presence of the Lord affirms the Holiness of the Lord, and how sin and imperfection are not allowed into His Holy presence. In fact, we find in Leviticus 15:31 that uncleanness is not allowed in the presence of the Lord because such uncleanness would defile His dwelling place. God's holiness demands that we be spiritually clean. Because we have all sinned and have thus been declared unclean, we are in need of the One who can declare us clean in order that we might approach the presence of God. It is through the Cross of Jesus Christ coupled with His resurrection that we are afforded cleansing. The payment has been made for our sins; what we must do is surrender ourselves to the Lordship of Christ to receive His declaration of righteousness.