Leviticus 14:21

14:10-32 The cleansed leper was to be presented to the Lord, with his offerings. When God has restored us to enjoy public worship again, after sickness, distance, or otherwise, we should testify our thanksgiving by our diligent use of the liberty. And both we and our offerings must be presented before the Lord, by the Priest that made us clean, even our Lord Jesus. Beside the usual rites of the trespass-offering, some of the blood, and some of the oil, was to be put upon him that was to be cleansed. Wherever the blood of Christ is applied for justification, the oil of the Spirit is applied for sanctification; these two cannot be separated. We have here the gracious provision the law made for poor lepers. The poor are as welcome to God's altar as the rich. But though a meaner sacrifice was accepted from the poor, yet the same ceremony was used for the rich; their souls are as precious, and Christ and his gospel are the same to both. Even for the poor one lamb was necessary. No sinner could be saved, had it not been for the Lamb that was slain, and hath redeemed us to God with his blood.

And if he be poor, and cannot get so much,.... As three lambs, and three tenth deals of fine flour: then he shall take one lamb for a trespass offering to be waved, to make an atonement for him; one he lamb, and was excused the other he lamb for a burnt offering, and the ewe lamb for a sin offering; but a lamb he must bring, a type of Christ the Lamb of God, for without his blood and sacrifice there is no atonement for rich poor, but for both thereby: and one tenth deal of flour mingled with oil for a meat offering: instead three tenth deals; this abatement in the several kinds of offerings was a great indulgence to the poor, and an instance of God's goodness to them, that they might not be pressed above measure, and yet share the same benefits and advantages as the rich: and a log of oil; here was no abatement in this, nor was there need of any; half a pint of oil, in a country which abounded with it, might be bought for a small price: however, the grace of the Spirit, signified by oil, is to be had freely of Christ, and in as large a quantity by a poor man as by a rich man, and is equally necessary to the one as to the other, who are all one in Christ Jesus; see Galatians 3:28.

Verses 21-32. - And if he be poor, and cannot get so much. The concession to poverty consists in the substitution of two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, for the two lambs required for the sin offering and the burnt offering, and one tenth-deal of flour for three tenth-deals of flour in the meat offering. But no difference is made as to the lamb required for the trespass offering, or the log of oil. These must be provided by the poor as well as by the rich, and the ceremonies used at their offering must be the same for poor and rich, as they are essential to the rite, CHAPTER 14:33-57 Leviticus 14:21

21–32 . The poor man’s offerings. The Sin-Offering and Burnt-Offering are modified; birds may be brought as in Leviticus 1:14 , Leviticus 5:7 , and the amount of the Meal-Offering is reduced, but the Guilt-Offering remains the same; a further indication that this sacrifice is the most important feature of the rite.

The cleansed leper was now in a position to avail himself of the accustomed law of sacrifice as one completely restored. The ewe lamb was now offered in his behalf as a sin-offering, one of the young rams as a burnt-offering, and the fine flour mingled with oil as a meat-offering.

21-32. if he be poor, and cannot get so much; then he shall take one lamb—a kind and considerate provision for an extension of the privilege to lepers of the poorer class. The blood of their smaller offering was to be applied in the same process of purification and they were as publicly and completely cleansed as those who brought a costlier offering (Ac 10:34).

(21) And if he be poor. —The benign consideration for the poor which has been evinced on former occasions in connection with the sacrifices (see Leviticus 5:7 ; Leviticus 5:11 , Lev. 12:18) is also shown here. Three lambs and three tenth deals of flour were more than a poor leper could afford to bring. In such cases, therefore, all that was required was one lamb, which constituted the trespass offering, and one tenth deal of flour for a meat offering, and the log of oil which was needed for his consecration.

In cases of poverty on the part of the person to be consecrated, the burnt-offering and sin-offering were reduced to a pair of turtle-doves or young pigeons, and the meat-offering to a tenth of an ephah of meal and oil; but no diminution was allowed in the trespass-offering as the consecration-offering, since this was the conditio sine qua non of reinstatement in full covenant rights. On account of the importance of all the details of this law, every point is repeated a second time in Leviticus 14:21-32 .

14 . holy ] cf. Exodus 16:23 (P), Exodus 20:8 (E), Isaiah 58:13 , Ezekiel 20:20 , &c. profaneth ] To ‘profane’ is characteristic—like its opposite, to ‘sanctify’—of H, Leviticus 18:21 ; Leviticus 19:8 ; Leviticus 19:12 ; Leviticus 19:29 ; Leviticus 20:3 ; Leviticus 21:4 ; Leviticus 21:6 ; Leviticus 21:9 (twice), Leviticus 21:12 ; Leviticus 21:15 ; Leviticus 21:23 , Leviticus 22:2 ; Leviticus 22:9 ; Leviticus 22:15 ; Leviticus 22:32 , and Ezek. (about 30 times,—6 times, as here, of the sabbath, viz. Ezekiel 20:13 ; Ezekiel 20:16 ; Ezekiel 20:21 ; Ezekiel 20:24 , Ezekiel 22:8 , Ezekiel 23:38 : so Isaiah 56:2 , Nehemiah 13:18 ). In P only once ( Numbers 18:32 ). shall surely be put to death ] cf., in the Book of the Covenant, Exodus 21:12 ; Exodus 21:14-17 , Exodus 22:19 ; and in H, for various moral and religious offences, Leviticus 20:2 ; Leviticus 20:9-13 ; Leviticus 20:15-16 ; Leviticus 20:27 ; Leviticus 24:16-17 (for murder). In Numbers 15:32-36 (P) this penalty for sabbath-breaking is said to have been inflicted. that soul , &c.] See on Exodus 12:15 , and Exodus 30:33 .

25 . profane wicked prince ] Or, and thou wicked one, who art to be slain, prince of Israel. The sense “profane” is not quite certain, cf. fem ., Leviticus 21:7 ; Leviticus 21:14 . when iniquity … an end ] in the time of the iniquity of the end , i.e. when iniquity shall receive its final chastisement—in the downfall of the state and captivity of the king. Cf. Ezekiel 35:5 .