What is the meaning of Leviticus 14:51? Then he shall take • The “he” is the priest who has first inspected the house for mold (Leviticus 14:48-49). • God appoints the priest as mediator; cleansing comes only through the means He ordains (Hebrews 5:1). • This action underscores that holiness is never self-achieved; it is administered under God’s authority (Leviticus 14:20). the cedar wood, the hyssop, the scarlet yarn, and the live bird • These four items echo the ingredients used in the red-heifer purification rite (Numbers 19:6), linking house-cleansing with personal purification. • Cedar wood: durable, fragrant, resisting decay—picture of incorruptibility (1 Kings 4:33). • Hyssop: small plant used to apply blood at Passover (Exodus 12:22) and prayed for by David, “Purify me with hyssop” (Psalm 51:7). • Scarlet yarn: evokes redemption through blood; Rahab’s scarlet cord marked her house for salvation (Joshua 2:18-21). • Live bird: a creature of the heavens, released later as a sign that cleansing brings freedom (Leviticus 14:53). • Together they point ahead to Christ’s cross (wood), shed blood (scarlet), offered with humility (hyssop, John 19:29), bringing liberty to the captives (Luke 4:18). dip them in the blood of the slaughtered bird and the fresh water • Blood: “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (Hebrews 9:22). • Fresh (running) water: symbolizes life and continual cleansing (Jeremiah 17:13; John 4:14). • Blood and water mingled anticipate the moment when “one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water flowed out” (John 19:34), confirming that Jesus fulfilled every purification type (1 John 5:6). • The slain bird dies so that the house—and by extension its inhabitants—may live; a vivid foreshadowing of substitutionary atonement (Isaiah 53:5). and sprinkle the house seven times • Sprinkling distributes the atoning blood where corruption had spread, just as Christ’s blood purifies “our hearts from an evil conscience” (Hebrews 10:22). • Seven represents completion (Genesis 2:2-3). By sevenfold sprinkling God declares the cleansing perfect and final (Leviticus 4:6; Revelation 1:5). • The act consecrates the entire dwelling, teaching that God intends redemption not only for individuals but for every sphere they occupy (Joshua 24:15). summary Leviticus 14:51 pictures a God-given, priest-administered remedy for impurity: durable cedar, humble hyssop, crimson yarn, and a living bird are immersed in blood and water, then applied seven times to the house. Each detail affirms that cleansing is by substitutionary blood, applied completely, producing freedom and wholeness. The ritual’s vivid imagery finds its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ, whose blood and water secure perfect, comprehensive redemption for all who trust Him. |
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