Leviticus 14

And the priest shall take of the blood of the trespass offering, and the priest shall put it on the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.
(Lev 14:14)

And of the rest of the oil in his hand, the priest shall put on the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, on the blood of the trespass offering. And the rest of the oil in the priest's palm he shall pour on the head of him that is to be cleansed. And the priest shall make an atonement for him before Jehovah.
(Lev 14:17-18)

There is so much symbolism in this chapter, so many ways it correlates to our own salvation from sin that we could talk about it for over a week! But, we only have one day so we are going to focus on these verses.

We have two substances (blood and oil) applied to three areas (ear, thumb, toe) by the priest. What is it all about?

First let’s look at the substances:

1. Blood – Blood is a cleanser… we read in Hebrews that without the shedding of blood there can be know remission of sins. The blood of a sacrifice makes an individual clean. This leper was made clean in the sight of God, having been healed of his leprosy, by the shed blood of a sacrifice being applied to him. In the same way we are made clean in God’s sight, cleansed completely of our sin, when the blood of Jesus Christ is applied to our lives!
2. Oil – Oil is symbolic of the Holy Spirit throughout the scriptures. This shows us that once a life is cleansed by Jesus, it can be indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Having been cleansed of our sin, the presence of God can now come into our lives… we can have real intimate fellowship with Him!

Now for the locations they were applied:

1. The Ear – This was the place of hearing, the place where thoughts entered the mind. God is showing us that when receive forgiveness for our sins, our minds are cleansed. The old contaminated way of thinking is washed away, and the Holy Spirit comes in and gives us the mind of Christ.
2. The Thumb – From the the realm of thinking we move to the realm of working. Before Christ we work all sorts of evil with our hands. They can be used to cause great harm, and do all sorts of mischevious things. When we come into relationship with Jesus, that former life, those works of iniquity are done away with. The Holy Spirit comes into our life and empowers us to do good works, to use our hands as instruments of love for the Lord.
3. The Big Toe – Now we enter the realm of walking. The feet of the sinful man take him all sorts of places he shouldn’t be… his walk is one of darkness, and it is on a path that leads to destruction. When the Lord enters our life He changes that. He cleanses our walk, changing the path that we are on, changing the places that we frequent. The Holy Spirit comes along and empowers us to walk in Him. To walk in the will of God, and to walk in a way that is pleasing to the Lord.

When we view these two agents working in three areas of a person’s life, we have one complete picture of salvation. When a person truly meets Jesus Christ, he experiences complete cleansing, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. HIS LIFE IS TRANSFORMED.

It doesn’t end here though, look at verse 18. The remainder of the oil was poured over the head of the individual. This shows us that we can have the Holy Spirit come UPON us. This empowers us to be a light, a witness to the world around us. Have you experienced this sort of complete cleansing from the Leprosy of Sin? If not, come to Jesus your High Priest, and allow Him to cleans you, and fill you with His Spirit.