Post by KingdomWarrior on Jun 12, 2004 18:54:23 GMT -5
The Leper's Annointing by KingdomWarrior
In the Old Testament, there are three types of anointing that is symbolic to us as Believers. The first anointing is the "leper’s anointing." The leper’s anointing comes at salvation.
Several Scriptures show that leprosy was, in some cases, a result of sin. When Miriam murmured against Moses and God, she was struck with leprosy. When Namman the Syrian was healed of leprosy, he brought gifts to Elisha as an offering for his healing. Elisha would not take the gifts, but Gehazi, the servant of Elisha became full of greed and took the gifts. Because of this, Gehazi became leprous.
In 2 Chronicles 26:16, we have the story of King Uzziah. He walks into disobedience when he offered incense unto the Lord. This was the job of the priest. These two offices were not interchangeable, a king could not operate as a priest, or vice-versa. Because of this disobedience, he was also struck with leprosy.
THE LEPER’S ANOINTING
The process for the cleansing of the leper is found in Leviticus 14:2-18. This process is symbolic to the cleansing of a sinner. The items contained in the leper’s anointing are pictures of what Christ did for us at the cross.
The leper was commanded to take two birds that are alive and clean, cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet. The priest would take one of the birds and kill it in an earthen vessel over running water (v.6). To me, this is a representation of Jesus coming in the flesh and being baptized in water by John the Baptist.
The last thing that the priest would do was take the wood, scarlet, hyssop and the other bird and dip them in the blood. The wood represents the cross. Scarlet is representative of sin. Isaiah 1:18 says, "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." Then the bird had to be dipped into the blood. This is a symbol of sinner being cleansed by the Blood of Jesus.
The priest would take the hyssop and sprinkle the leper with blood seven times and pronounce him clean. In the Old Testament, hyssop is associated with cleansing. Psalms 51:7 says, "Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow."
On the eighth day of the leper’s cleansing, he is commanded to take a pitcher of oil and two lambs, one of which is a first year lamb, without blemish. The priest was to offer the lamb as a sin offering (vs. 10-13). Of the blood of the lamb, the priest was to take some of it and place it on the right ear, right thumb, and right toe of the one being cleansed. This is symbolic of the Blood of Jesus being applied to our lives.
The blood was a symbol of cleansing, thus saying that the leper was clean in every area of his life. Placing the blood on the ear of the leper was signifying that his hearing and his thought patterns were clean. The things that we hear soon will become a part of our thought patterns.
By placing the blood on the thumb, it is showing that his actions were cleansed. When we accept the gift of salvation, the blood of Jesus cleanses our actions. He remembers our sin no more. It is just as we have never sinned.
Hebrew 9:13-14 says, "For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God."
The placing of the blood on the toe was symbolic of the cleansing of our walk. Before we accepted the gift of salvation, we were on a path to destruction. Proverbs 14:12 says, "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." When we come to Jesus, He cleanses our walk and set us on the path to life.
Romans 6:21-22 says, "What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life."
The last step of the cleansing process of the leper is the anointing with oil. The priest now takes the pitcher of oil and pours some in his left hand. The priest dips his right finger in the oil and places it over the right ear, right thumb and the right toe of the leper. This signifies that hearing has been sanctified.
His works were also sanctified. The Bible shows us that if our works are not anointed by God, they will be rejected. If our walk is not anointed, we will stumble. God tells us that we must walk in the Spirit in order not to fulfill the lust of the flesh (Rom. 8:13). Then the priest takes the rest of the oil in his hand and pours it over the leper’s head. To me this represents submission to God’s authority.
For those of you who are reading this book that have not experienced the leper’s anointing, I would like to tell you how you can receive it. The first step is to realize that you have sinned against God. Romans 3:23 says, "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God."
Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life though Jesus Christ our Lord." The effect of sin is death. Just as leprosy brought physical death, so sin brought spiritual death.
The next step is to realize that you need a Savior. No man can cleanse himself of sin. No man can heal himself of the effects of sin.
Because of God’s mercy and love, He did not want man to live half dead. God’s Word says in 2 Peter 3:9 that
"The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."
But, because of God’s justice, death was the only payment for sin (Ezek 18:4).
Mercy and Justice. They seem like two contradictory ideals. With God, in Whom there is no contradiction, how can these two ideals meet? With a compromise? NO! With one ideal outweighing the other? Absolutely not!
God cannot compromise with Himself neither does one attribute outweigh the other. God had an awesome plan. He knew before He breathed life into man what He would have to do.
God knew man would fail. Jesus, the only Son of God, also knew what man would do. So one day Jesus walks up to the Father and says, "I know that they are going to fail. Father, I know it will break you heart when they do, because You love Your creation. But Father, Your justice demands payment for their turning away from You."
The Father then turns to Jesus and says, "Yes, You’re right My Son, but there is only one way that My mercy and My justice can be reconciled."
Jesus then says, "I know, Father. Someone must take their place. Someone who has no sin. Father, I will take their place."
A tear rolls from the Father’s eye. "Yes, My Son, take their place. At the appointed time, You will be born of a woman. Not just any woman, but a virgin. You will enter the world as one like as they are, but You will be different. Your purpose in being born is to die, for them.
They will despise You and reject You. You will be beaten, nailed to a cross, and Your side pierced, all for them. Many will follow You, though. They will see You as You really are, their Savior and Deliverer."
And this is exactly what happened. Jesus was born of a virgin. God wrapped in human flesh, so that He could rescue us from sin and death.
Do you know what the best part is? All of this is free. It doesn’t cost you anything to receive it. Jesus has already paid the price for you. All you have to do is ask Him for it.
If you are ready to receive this gift of salvation, pray with me.
Dear God, I know that I have sinned against You. I am truly sorry, for I know that I have broken Your heart. Forgive me. I ask You to allow Jesus’ death to pay the price for my salvation. Jesus, I accept Your gift of salvation now and I thank You for it. I will follow You with all of my heart. Amen.
Praise God! You have just been cleansed from your sin. You are now a part of the family of God. As you prayed that prayer, the angels of heaven began to rejoice over you. All heaven is having a party because of what you have done.
Do you know that God’s not through with you yet? He wants to fill you with His Holy Spirit. He wants to lead you into all truth. He wants you to become intimate friends with Him. Isn’t that awesome!!
In the Old Testament, there are three types of anointing that is symbolic to us as Believers. The first anointing is the "leper’s anointing." The leper’s anointing comes at salvation.
Several Scriptures show that leprosy was, in some cases, a result of sin. When Miriam murmured against Moses and God, she was struck with leprosy. When Namman the Syrian was healed of leprosy, he brought gifts to Elisha as an offering for his healing. Elisha would not take the gifts, but Gehazi, the servant of Elisha became full of greed and took the gifts. Because of this, Gehazi became leprous.
In 2 Chronicles 26:16, we have the story of King Uzziah. He walks into disobedience when he offered incense unto the Lord. This was the job of the priest. These two offices were not interchangeable, a king could not operate as a priest, or vice-versa. Because of this disobedience, he was also struck with leprosy.
THE LEPER’S ANOINTING
The process for the cleansing of the leper is found in Leviticus 14:2-18. This process is symbolic to the cleansing of a sinner. The items contained in the leper’s anointing are pictures of what Christ did for us at the cross.
The leper was commanded to take two birds that are alive and clean, cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet. The priest would take one of the birds and kill it in an earthen vessel over running water (v.6). To me, this is a representation of Jesus coming in the flesh and being baptized in water by John the Baptist.
The last thing that the priest would do was take the wood, scarlet, hyssop and the other bird and dip them in the blood. The wood represents the cross. Scarlet is representative of sin. Isaiah 1:18 says, "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." Then the bird had to be dipped into the blood. This is a symbol of sinner being cleansed by the Blood of Jesus.
The priest would take the hyssop and sprinkle the leper with blood seven times and pronounce him clean. In the Old Testament, hyssop is associated with cleansing. Psalms 51:7 says, "Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow."
On the eighth day of the leper’s cleansing, he is commanded to take a pitcher of oil and two lambs, one of which is a first year lamb, without blemish. The priest was to offer the lamb as a sin offering (vs. 10-13). Of the blood of the lamb, the priest was to take some of it and place it on the right ear, right thumb, and right toe of the one being cleansed. This is symbolic of the Blood of Jesus being applied to our lives.
The blood was a symbol of cleansing, thus saying that the leper was clean in every area of his life. Placing the blood on the ear of the leper was signifying that his hearing and his thought patterns were clean. The things that we hear soon will become a part of our thought patterns.
By placing the blood on the thumb, it is showing that his actions were cleansed. When we accept the gift of salvation, the blood of Jesus cleanses our actions. He remembers our sin no more. It is just as we have never sinned.
Hebrew 9:13-14 says, "For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God."
The placing of the blood on the toe was symbolic of the cleansing of our walk. Before we accepted the gift of salvation, we were on a path to destruction. Proverbs 14:12 says, "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." When we come to Jesus, He cleanses our walk and set us on the path to life.
Romans 6:21-22 says, "What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life."
The last step of the cleansing process of the leper is the anointing with oil. The priest now takes the pitcher of oil and pours some in his left hand. The priest dips his right finger in the oil and places it over the right ear, right thumb and the right toe of the leper. This signifies that hearing has been sanctified.
His works were also sanctified. The Bible shows us that if our works are not anointed by God, they will be rejected. If our walk is not anointed, we will stumble. God tells us that we must walk in the Spirit in order not to fulfill the lust of the flesh (Rom. 8:13). Then the priest takes the rest of the oil in his hand and pours it over the leper’s head. To me this represents submission to God’s authority.
For those of you who are reading this book that have not experienced the leper’s anointing, I would like to tell you how you can receive it. The first step is to realize that you have sinned against God. Romans 3:23 says, "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God."
Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life though Jesus Christ our Lord." The effect of sin is death. Just as leprosy brought physical death, so sin brought spiritual death.
The next step is to realize that you need a Savior. No man can cleanse himself of sin. No man can heal himself of the effects of sin.
Because of God’s mercy and love, He did not want man to live half dead. God’s Word says in 2 Peter 3:9 that
"The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."
But, because of God’s justice, death was the only payment for sin (Ezek 18:4).
Mercy and Justice. They seem like two contradictory ideals. With God, in Whom there is no contradiction, how can these two ideals meet? With a compromise? NO! With one ideal outweighing the other? Absolutely not!
God cannot compromise with Himself neither does one attribute outweigh the other. God had an awesome plan. He knew before He breathed life into man what He would have to do.
God knew man would fail. Jesus, the only Son of God, also knew what man would do. So one day Jesus walks up to the Father and says, "I know that they are going to fail. Father, I know it will break you heart when they do, because You love Your creation. But Father, Your justice demands payment for their turning away from You."
The Father then turns to Jesus and says, "Yes, You’re right My Son, but there is only one way that My mercy and My justice can be reconciled."
Jesus then says, "I know, Father. Someone must take their place. Someone who has no sin. Father, I will take their place."
A tear rolls from the Father’s eye. "Yes, My Son, take their place. At the appointed time, You will be born of a woman. Not just any woman, but a virgin. You will enter the world as one like as they are, but You will be different. Your purpose in being born is to die, for them.
They will despise You and reject You. You will be beaten, nailed to a cross, and Your side pierced, all for them. Many will follow You, though. They will see You as You really are, their Savior and Deliverer."
And this is exactly what happened. Jesus was born of a virgin. God wrapped in human flesh, so that He could rescue us from sin and death.
Do you know what the best part is? All of this is free. It doesn’t cost you anything to receive it. Jesus has already paid the price for you. All you have to do is ask Him for it.
If you are ready to receive this gift of salvation, pray with me.
Dear God, I know that I have sinned against You. I am truly sorry, for I know that I have broken Your heart. Forgive me. I ask You to allow Jesus’ death to pay the price for my salvation. Jesus, I accept Your gift of salvation now and I thank You for it. I will follow You with all of my heart. Amen.
Praise God! You have just been cleansed from your sin. You are now a part of the family of God. As you prayed that prayer, the angels of heaven began to rejoice over you. All heaven is having a party because of what you have done.
Do you know that God’s not through with you yet? He wants to fill you with His Holy Spirit. He wants to lead you into all truth. He wants you to become intimate friends with Him. Isn’t that awesome!!