1 And the LORD spake unto Moses,
saying, 2 This shall be the law of the
leper in the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought unto the priest: 3 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; 4 Then shall the priest command to
take for him that is to be cleansed two birds alive and clean, and cedar wood,
and scarlet, and hyssop: 5 And the priest shall command
that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel over running water: 6 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: 7 And he shall sprinkle upon him
that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him
clean, and shall let the living bird loose into the open field. (Lev 14:1-7)
5 And he shall take of the
congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin
offering, and one ram for a burnt offering. 6 And Aaron shall offer his
bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make an atonement for
himself, and for his house. 7 And he shall take the two
goats, and present them before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the
congregation. 8 And Aaron shall cast lots upon
the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat. 9 And Aaron shall bring the goat
upon which the LORD'S lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering. 10 But the goat, on which the lot
fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an
atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness. (Lev 16:5-10)
The Word of God is filled with wonderful mysteries that need searching out -
mysteries that will remain so until effort is made to understand them. As we
learn more and more of the mysteries of God, a pattern of God's prescience and
will begin to emerge to our consciences that make the intricate design He has
woven even more wonderful for its cohesiveness and continuity. Truly, our Lord
Jesus Christ is the Word from Alpha to Omega, and everything in between. This
truth continually reveals itself as the petals of a rose at its blooming.
We have often compared the deadly and degenerative disease of leprosy to sin in
man's heart. Leprosy is a gradual and progressively debilitating disease. It
is, like sin, a blood disease. It separates its victim from loved ones and
polite society. It is shameful and humiliating for the victim is considered
UNCLEAN. So are all sinners! Its progress begins as an innocent appearing white
patch on some part of the body. The leper may attempt to hide the disease for a
time until it progresses to an unmanageable point at which the sores and stink
of rotting flesh can no longer be concealed. Sin, too, is progressive. The
sinner stinks among the righteous and cannot cover his sins. The leper must be
brought to the priest for ritual cleansing; so the sinner must be brought to
Christ (our High Priest) for cleansing by water and the blood.
The leper needs searching out by the priest just as the sinner needs searching
out by the Holy Ghost. "He shall be brought unto the priest:"
for confirmation of healing. Once as the leper has been pronounced clean by the
priest, as the sinner by Christ, he will bring an offering of two birds to the
priest. The leper is poor and unable to buy a more suitable sacrifice, but he
can, by trick or trapping, acquire two birds for the purpose which he brings to
the priest. Even so, a sparrow would be very economical to purchase if he has a
penny at all. Are not two sparrows sold for a
farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.
(Matt
10:29)
Please search for the markings of Christ in the next
passage: 4 Then shall the priest command to
take for him that is to be cleansed two birds alive and clean, and cedar wood,
and scarlet, and hyssop: 5 And the priest shall command
that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel over running water: 6 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: 7 And he shall sprinkle upon him
that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him
clean, and shall let the living bird loose into the open field. There are symbols of great import found herein. The cedar
wood represents the imputed righteousness of Christ which the born-again
believer is granted. The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he
shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
(Psalm 92:12) The Scarlet Thread is woven
throughout Scripture representing salvation by the Blood of Christ. It also
represents the Seed of Promise. It is the Ark of Christ as was demonstrated by
Rachab: Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of
scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by: and thou shalt
bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father's
household, home unto thee. (Josh 2:18) Just as the entire household of
Noah were saved, so was those of Rachab. The hyssop represents the internal
cleansing of the heart.
Here is beauty untold: The bird sacrificed represents Christ and His
crucifixion for us. The running water is the Living Word of God, and the blood
of the bird is the sacrificial death of Christ in our Redemption. The living
bird represents the resurrected Christ. Though He tastes of death (dipped in
the blood of the sacrifice bird) He rises to eternal life and liberty shall
let the living bird loose into the open field. Remember Naaman who dipped
himself in the Jordan seven times for cleansing of leprosy? And he shall sprinkle upon him that
is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean.
Now, the blood and fresh water have communal applications, I believe. The
living water mixed with the blood is a symbol of the Word of God - the blood to
forgive 7 In whom we have redemption
through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his
grace. (Eph
1:7), and the water
to cleanse That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water
by the word. (Eph
5:26) Now ye
are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. (John 15:3) Perhaps we mix water (the Word)
with the Wine (Blood) at our Holy Communion Service for this reason.
The matter of the Scapegoat has been a source of contention among many
theologians, but, since I am no 'theologian," I have the liberty of
depending upon the plain Word of God in such matters. You will note that two
goats were taken for the sin offering -
two kids of the goats for a sin offering. The same truth is
illustrated by this process as the two birds above; however, even more gems of
beauty pointing to Christ may be discovered here. By the way, Aaron also took a
ram unto himself to sacrifice for his own behalf prior to priestly duties.
That, to me, represents the sacrifice of the Father in sending His only
Begotten Son to die in atonement for our sins.
And (Aaron) he shall take the two goats, and present them before the
LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. Where does Aaron present the two goats?
At the DOOR of the Tabernacle! None can enter without a valid sacrifice. We
have that sacrifice in our Lord Jesus Christ for He is the Door! Verily,
verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. (John 10:7) But wait - we have further signs
and symbols of Christ here! 8 And Aaron shall cast lots upon
the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat. Does this sound familiar? They
part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture. (Psalm 22:18) And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting
lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted
my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots. (Matt 27:35)
Two Goats
One of the Lord, and the other as Scapegoat.
One of the goats will be sacrificed, but which? And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for
the LORD. No one can be saved
without the Blood of our Lord as remittance for our sins. And Aaron shall bring the goat upon
which the LORD'S lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering. Had Christ not arisen from the Tomb, we
would have profited nothing from His death. But His death was unto LIFE for us.
The Lord's goat (representing Christ) was offered up at the DOOR of the
Tabernacle.
What of the Scapegoat? This goat also represents the RISEN Christ: But the goat, on which the lot fell
to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an
atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness. Christ was presented alive before the
Father as a full remission of sin.
Both Goats represent Christ - the first, the crucified Christ; the second
(Scapegoat), the risen Lord.
Unless I miss my guess, you may have thought today's subject would be boring,
but I believe you may have a different opinion now. Do you?
