“Then the priest shall take some of the log of oil and pour it into the palm of his own left hand. And the priest shall dip his right finger in the oil which is in the palm of his left hand, and with his finger sprinkle some of the oil seven times before Jehovah” (vv. 15-16). This signifies that the Spirit of the Lord’s resurrection has laid a perfect foundation before God.
“And some of the rest of the oil which is in his palm the priest shall put on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot-upon the blood of the trespass offering” (v. 17). This signifies that man can solve the problem of his trespasses only by listening to the word of God, doing the things of God, and taking the ways of God in the Spirit of resurrection, based on the redemption of the blood of the Lord Jesus as our trespass offering.
Here we have two layers: the layer of the blood and the layer of the oil. The blood signifies Christ’s redeeming blood, and the oil signifies the Spirit of resurrection. First, the blood is applied to the tip of the right ear, to the thumb of the right hand, and to the great toe of the right foot. This is for the washing away of our trespasses and wrongdoings. Following the application of the blood is the application of the oil to the places where the blood is applied. This indicates that, based upon the redemption of Christ, the Spirit comes to help us to do the right things-to listen to God’s word, to do the things of God, and to take the ways of God. This will keep us from any kind of trespass.
“And what remains of the oil in the priest’s palm he shall put upon the head of him who is to be cleansed. Thus the priest shall make propitiation for him before Jehovah” (v. 18). Putting the oil on the head signifies that the authority of the headship, the thoughts of the mind, and the control of the entire being of the sinner who is to be cleansed are dealt with in the cleansing Spirit of resurrection.
Only a small amount of oil is put on the tip of the ear, on the thumb, and on the toe. All the remainder of the oil is put on the head. Because the head is the source of many problems, more oil, more Spirit, is applied to it. The problems related to the head are of three categories. First, the head is not under God’s authority. Second, the head is filled with the thoughts of the mind. Third, the head directs our entire being. Therefore, the head is the most troublesome part of the body. For this reason, the head needs all the remainder of the oil, of the Spirit. Having the Spirit poured upon our head will help us to subject ourselves to God’s authority, taking Him as our head. It will also adjust our thoughts and help us to direct, to control, our whole being in the right way.
“The priest shall then offer the sin offering, and make propitiation for him who is to be cleansed” (v. 19a). This signifies that the Lord Jesus was offered as our sin offering to deal with our uncleanness at the root (the sinful nature) of our sins, which are dealt with by the Lord Jesus as the trespass offering.
“And after that he shall slaughter the burnt offering. And the priest shall offer the burnt offering and the meal offering on the altar; and the priest shall make propitiation for him, and he shall be clean” (vv. 19b-20). This signifies that the sinner who is to be cleansed, after having been cleansed from the uncleanness of sin and sins through Christ as his sin offering and trespass offering, offers himself in Christ as the burnt offering to God and lives and walks absolutely for God by the life of Christ as the meal offering. Thus the sinner who is to be cleansed is fully cleansed from his uncleanness. The leper has now been healed, cleansed, and propitiated.
The poor who were not able to afford so much were to offer one male lamb for a trespass offering to be waved and one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour mingled with oil for a meal offering, and a log of oil (vv. 21-32). This signifies that a sinner who is to be cleansed should partake of Christ at least at some minimum level, that is, as much as he can. But in principle he must take Christ as his sin offering, trespass offering, burnt offering, and meal offering, and he must take His mingling and cleansing Spirit.
I would like to close this message with a word concerning certain aspects of Christ unveiled in chapters eleven through fourteen of Leviticus. Chapter eleven unveils that Christ is our food of life, supplying us in the form of food to deal with our uncleanness in the outward contact with people. Chapter twelve unveils that our origin is unclean. Thus, Christ has become our sin offering to deal with our sinful nature. Chapters thirteen and fourteen unveil that what issues from within us also is unclean. Hence, Christ has become our trespass offering to deal with our sinful deeds. Moreover, Christ is our burnt offering and our meal offering that we may have the life supply to live a life which is absolutely for God. With Christ as our offerings we have been brought back to God to live a life that is fully pleasing to Him.
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