Cleansed by the Blood
Leprosy is a terrible condition which is curable today, if caught early, but in the Bible times it led to a horrible, lonely death unless the victim was healed by the Lord. Whenever Jewish lepers were found to have been healed, they went to the priest for verification and a cleansing ceremony before returning to a normal life. Part of the ceremony was to take 2 birds, and to kill one, using its blood to anoint the other before setting the live bird free. (Leviticus 14:6,7) This is a beautiful picture of spiritual cleansing, as were all of the Old Covenant animal sacrifices.
For cleansing the bird had to die, and its blood be applied to another bird. Then, the living bird was given freedom to fly away. This is an obvious picture of the leper being set free from his or her uncleanness, so that they were free to live life to the fullest again. However, I believe, it is also a picture of our redemption. Leprosy is like sin. It leads to a slow, horrible death and separation from God forever. Therefore, Jesus became one of us and died for us, so His blood could be applied to our sins to cleanse them. Then, we are really alive, and we are set free to live the abundant life, only because of the One who died for us. We have been pronounced clean by the High Priest, Jesus. One day we will stand before Him and get to thank Him for His blood that cured our sin sickness, so we could go free. What a day that will be!
Tomorrow, I intend to read Leviticus 15-17.
For cleansing the bird had to die, and its blood be applied to another bird. Then, the living bird was given freedom to fly away. This is an obvious picture of the leper being set free from his or her uncleanness, so that they were free to live life to the fullest again. However, I believe, it is also a picture of our redemption. Leprosy is like sin. It leads to a slow, horrible death and separation from God forever. Therefore, Jesus became one of us and died for us, so His blood could be applied to our sins to cleanse them. Then, we are really alive, and we are set free to live the abundant life, only because of the One who died for us. We have been pronounced clean by the High Priest, Jesus. One day we will stand before Him and get to thank Him for His blood that cured our sin sickness, so we could go free. What a day that will be!
Tomorrow, I intend to read Leviticus 15-17.