Leviticus 17:1

Leviticus 17:1 says,  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,  Verse two adds, Speak unto Aaron, and unto his sons, and unto all the children of Israel, and say unto them; This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded, saying,  This once again tells us that this is God's word, spoken to Moses, to give to the people of Israel.  When we speak to people about God today, we need to make sure that it is His word that we are speaking.  Verse three continues, What man soever there be of the house of Israel, that killeth an ox, or lamb, or goat, in the camp, or that killeth it out of the camp,  Verse four concludes, And bringeth it not unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to offer an offering unto the LORD before the tabernacle of the LORD; blood shall be imputed unto that man; he hath shed blood; and that man shall be cut off from among his people:  I believe this refers to killing of one of these animals, an ox, lamb or goat, animals of sacrifice, away from the altar.  The person who did kill one of these animals was to bring it to the door of the tabernacle for an offering to God.  Matthew Henry says that after the offering that the rest of the animal was to be returned to the one offering it to be eaten as a peace offering.  He also says that some believe this was only to apply while they were in the wilderness, but since verse seven says this was a statute forever that this doesn't really seem likely.  Anyway, a person who did not bring such an animal to the priest was to be cutoff from the rest of the people.  Verse five states, To the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices, which they offer in the open field, even that they may bring them unto the LORD, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, unto the priest, and offer them for peace offerings unto the LORD.  This verse seems to imply that this referred to an animal that was sacrificed somewhere other than at the altar and by the priest.  Our sacrifices today must be presented in accordance with God's word.  I don't believe that we can just arbitrarily sacrifice something and claim that we did it for God without first ensuring that it is what He wants us to do.  Verse six adds, And the priest shall sprinkle the blood upon the altar of the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and burn the fat for a sweet savour unto the LORD.  The priest was to offer the sacrifice to God when the animal was brought to him, just as Jesus, our High Priest, offers the sacrifice for our sins today.  We cannot just offer a sacrifice on our own terms, but must come to God through the blood of Christ.  Verse seven continues, And they shall no more offer their sacrifices unto devils, after whom they have gone a whoring. This shall be a statute for ever unto them throughout their generations. The people were to no longer offer their sacrifices to devils. which would be anything other than God, and this would be a statute forever, as already stated.  We today need to be careful that we do not start sacrificing the things that God has blessed us with to false gods.  Verse eight says, And thou shalt say unto them, Whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers which sojourn among you, that offereth a burnt offering or sacrifice,  Verse nine concludes, And bringeth it not unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to offer it unto the LORD; even that man shall be cut off from among his people. This law was to apply to the people of Israel as well as to those who had begun to live, or sojourn, with them.  Anyone offering a burnt offering without doing so through the priest was to be cutoff from the people.  We today must be just as serious about our relationship with God, which is only possible by accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior and then allowing Him to be the Lord of our life.

Leviticus 16:20

Leviticus 16:20 says, And when he hath made an end of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat:  After the holy place, the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar were reconciled, Aaron was to bring in a live goat.  Verse twenty-one adds. And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness:  Aaron was to place his hands on the head of the goat and confess all the sins of the people, symbolically transferring their sins to the goat.  The goat was to then be sent into the wilderness.  When we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we transfer our sins to Him, and He has already made atonement for them, not just figuratively but literally.  Verse twenty-two continues, And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.  When the goat was let go in the wilderness, it was seen to be carrying all the sins of the people with it.  This was not just a onetime thing, but when we put our faith in Christ as our Savior, it is but a onetime thing, though we may have to come back and ask for forgiveness for sin that we commit after that to keep Him as Lord of our life.  Verse twenty-three declares, And Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall put off the linen garments, which he put on when he went into the holy place, and shall leave them there:  Verse twenty-four adds, And he shall wash his flesh with water in the holy place, and put on his garments, and come forth, and offer his burnt offering, and the burnt offering of the people, and make an atonement for himself, and for the people.  After the scapegoat was let go, Aaron was to wash himself and dress in the priestly garments and offer a burnt offering first for himself then for the people.  When we come together as Christians, we should first make sure that we have confessed our sins to God so that we might be washed clean by the blood of Christ.  Verse twenty-five continues, And the fat of the sin offering shall he burn upon the altar.  The fat of the sin offering was to be burned on the altar.  Verse twenty-six states, And he that let go the goat for the scapegoat shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward come into the camp.  The man who had carried the scape goat into the wilderness was to bathe and wash his clothes, which would at least symbolize removing any trace of sin that might have gotten on him.  Verse twenty-seven adds, And the bullock for the sin offering, and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy place, shall one carry forth without the camp; and they shall burn in the fire their skins, and their flesh, and their dung.  The remains of the bull and goat sacrificed for the sin offering were to be taken outside the camp and burned up completely.  Verse twenty-eight continues, And he that burneth them shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp.  The one who burned the bull and goat was also to wash his clothes and bathe.  Verse twenty-nine declares, And this shall be a statute for ever unto you: that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you:  God set aside a day in which no work was to be done, either by the people of Israel or the stranger in the land.  We are told this was to be a statute forever, but Christ fulfilled all the law concerning the sacrificial system at His death and resurrection, so we don't observe this day today as His followers.  Still, we do gather together in His name and we should always remember what God has done for us by sending His only begotten Son to die for us.  Verse thirty adds, For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the LORD.  On that day, the priest was to make an atonement for them, and as followers of Christ, He has already made atonement for us once and for all time through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross.  Verse thirty-one continues, It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever.  This was to be a sabbath day to them, and they were to examine their soul, or life, to make sure that they confessed all their sins.  Verse thirty-two says, And the priest, whom he shall anoint, and whom he shall consecrate to minister in the priest’s office in his father’s stead, shall make the atonement, and shall put on the linen clothes, even the holy garments:  The priest appointed to serve that day in Aaron's place was to make atonement for them.  Jesus Christ, appointed by the Heavenly Father, makes atonement for all who will put their faith in Him today.  Verse thirty-three adds, And he shall make an atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for the tabernacle of the congregation, and for the altar, and he shall make an atonement for the priests, and for all the people of the congregation.  Verse thirty-four concludes, And this shall be an everlasting statute unto you, to make an atonement for the children of Israel for all their sins once a year. And he did as the LORD commanded Moses.  The priest appointed was to make the sacrifices for the tabernacle, the altar and the congregation and this was an everlasting statute.  As stated, these laws were fulfilled by Jesus Christ and He made the sacrifice that fulfills the law forever.  We only have to accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord to be God's people forevermore.

Leviticus 16:11

Leviticus 16:11 says. And Aaron shall bring the bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and shall make an atonement for himself, and for his house, and shall kill the bullock of the sin offering which is for himself:  Aaron was to bring a bull for a sin offering for himself and his house.  Before Aaron could effectively serve the people as their priest, he had to make sure that he had first asked God to forgive his own sins.  Before we can effectively witness to others today, we need to ask God to forgive our sins.  Though Christ died for all our sins for all time, when we allow sin back into our life, we still need to confess and ask forgiveness.  Verse twelve adds, And he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the LORD, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the vail:  Verse thirteen continues, And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not: Aaron was to also offer an offering of sweet incense to the LORD, so that he would not die.  Unless we offer ourselves to Christ as living sacrifice today, we will die spiritually, being eternally separated from God.  Verse fourteen states, And he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy seat eastward; and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times.  This is just a continuation of how the sacrifice was to be presented.  When we offer any sacrifice to God today, it must be on His terms and not ours.  Verse fifteen adds, Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat:  After Aaron offered a sacrifice for his own sins, then he could offer a sacrifice for the sins of the people.  We cannot offer a sacrifice for anyone else's sins, only Jesus Christ can, but we do need to call others to Christ once we have accepted Him as our Savior and Lord.  Verse sixteen continues, And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, that remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness.  Aaron was to make atonement for the tabernacle because of the sins of the people.  Our bodies are our tabernacle, and Jesus Christ makes atonement for us because of our sins, if we put our faith in Him.  Verse seventeen says, And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when he goeth in to make an atonement in the holy place, until he come out, and have made an atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all the congregation of Israel.  No one was to go into the tabernacle, which represented the presence of God,  until Aaron had offered all the sacrifices.  We today cannot go into the presence of God until we accept the sacrifice of Christ on the cross.  Verse eighteen adds, And he shall go out unto the altar that is before the LORD, and make an atonement for it; and shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about.  Then verse nineteen concludes, And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel.  Aaron had to purify everything associated with the sacrifice before it could be used.  Everything that we have today, as followers of Christ, should be sanctified for God's use and His glory.

Leviticus 16:1

Leviticus 16:1 says, And the LORD spake unto Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered before the LORD, and died;  This would seem to be a look back in time, since the death of Aaron's two sons was before the laws concerning the leprosy and uncleanness were given.  The chronology really doesn't matter, since it all was God's word to Moses whenever it occurred.  Verse two adds, And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the vail before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat.  Moses was to warn Aaron that he was not to come into the holy place without being prepared properly because God would appear before the mercy seat as a cloud.  We should not come to God today without being spiritually prepared, and we certainly should never take God for granted.  Since we as followers of Christ are indwelled by the Holy Spirit, we should realize that we are always in the presence of God and should act according to His word.  Verse three continues, Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bullock for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering.  When Aaron came into the holy place, he was to bring a young bullock for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.   Verse four declares, He shall put on the holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and shall be girded with a linen girdle, and with the garments; therefore shall he wash his flesh in water, and so put them on.  Aaron was to be attired in the holy garments when he went in to make the sacrifice.  We today do not have holy garments, but we should still come into God's presence with reverence.  Again, since we are indwelled with the Holy Spirit, this means the we should always be reverent to God.  Verse five adds, And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering.  Aaron was to take two kid goats and one ram from the people as a sin offering for the people.  Aaron first made a sacrifice for his sins, then he made a sacrifice for the sins of the people.  Before we begin to point out the sins of others, we need to make sure that we have confessed our own sins.  Of course, we cannot make a sacrifice for our own sins, and neither can anyone else, but we must ask for forgiveness from Christ.  Verse six continues, And Aaron shall offer his bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make an atonement for himself, and for his house.  As just stated, Aaron was to first offer a sacrifice to make atonement for his house and himself, just as we must first deal with our own sins.  Verse seven states, And he shall take the two goats, and present them before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.  Then , Aaron was to make the sacrifice for the people of Israel with the animals that they had brought.  Aaron could not just go and get animals to make a sacrifice for the sins of the people, but they had to bring them.  We today cannot offer a sacrifice for our sins, but must simply present our self to Christ as living sacrifice daily.  Verse eight adds, And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat.  Aaron was to cast lots to determine which goat was to be the sacrifice and which was to be the scapegoat.  This was to allow the two to be used under the guidance of God, which the lots represented.  Verse nine continues, And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD’s lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering.  The goat chosen by God to be the sacrifice was to be offered for a sin offering.  God has already chosen the only acceptable sacrifice for our sins today, and that is the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made on the cross.  We simply choose to accept or deny this gift of salvation.  Verse ten concludes, But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness.  The other goat was to be presented to God as a scapegoat, symbolically representing a taking on of the sins of the people and then the goat was to be turned loose in the wilderness.  We have no scapegoat today, but we have something much greater, and that is a Savior Who not figuratively but literally takes on our sins so that we can become a part of God's family.

Leviticus 15:18

Leviticus 15:18 says The woman also with whom man shall lie with seed of copulation, they shall both bathe themselves in water, and be unclean until the even.  Moses speaks about both the man and the woman in this verse, then for the rest of the chapter he speaks to the woman.  Verse nineteen adds, And if a woman have an issue, and her issue in her flesh be blood, she shall be put apart seven days: and whosoever toucheth her shall be unclean until the even.   Then verse twenty continues, And every thing that she lieth upon in her separation shall be unclean: every thing also that she sitteth upon shall be unclean.  This would be the woman's normal monthly period.  Verse twenty-one states, And whosoever toucheth her bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.  The woman was to be separated for a week and considered unclean, and anyone touching where she sat or where she lay was to be considered unclean.  Verse twenty-two adds, And whosoever toucheth any thing that she sat upon shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.  Anyone touching a place where she had sat was to wash himself and his clothes and be considered unclean until the evening.  This only states men, so I am not sure if it applied to women as well or not.  Verse twenty-three continues, And if it be on her bed, or on any thing whereon she sitteth, when he toucheth it, he shall be unclean until the even.  Verse twenty-four concludes, And if any man lie with her at all, and her flowers be upon him, he shall be unclean seven days; and all the bed whereon he lieth shall be unclean.  I believe this means any man having sexual relations with her during this time would likewise be considered unclean for a week.  Verse twenty-five concludes, And if a woman have an issue of her blood many days out of the time of her separation, or if it run beyond the time of her separation; all the days of the issue of her uncleanness shall be as the days of her separation: she shall be unclean.  This refers to an abnormal bleeding by a woman.  She would be unclean for however long this went on.  Matthew Henry says this would be like the woman who came to Jesus for healing in the New Testament.  Verse twenty-six says, Every bed whereon she lieth all the days of her issue shall be unto her as the bed of her separation: and whatsoever she sitteth upon shall be unclean, as the uncleanness of her separation.  This verse and the next verse just repeat was to be done during a woman's normal cycle.  Verse twenty-seven adds, And whosoever toucheth those things shall be unclean, and shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.  Anyone touching her bed or where she sat was wash his clothes and bathe and to be considered unclean until evening.  Verse twenty-eight continues, But if she be cleansed of her issue, then she shall number to herself seven days, and after that she shall be clean. If the abnormal bleeding stopped, the woman was still to be separated for seven days.  Verse twenty-nine states, And on the eighth day she shall take unto her two turtles, or two young pigeons, and bring them unto the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.  On the eighth day, the woman was to bring two turtle doves or two pigeons to the priest at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.  Verse thirty adds, And the priest shall offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering; and the priest shall make an atonement for her before the LORD for the issue of her uncleanness.  The priest was to offer one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering to make atonement for her.  We are so blessed that we do not have to make atonement for each perceived sin today, and that physical conditions are not seen as sins that have to be atoned for.  Verse thirty-one continues, Thus shall ye separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness; that they die not in their uncleanness, when they defile my tabernacle that is among them.  God said this was to be done so that His tabernacle would not be defiled.  Since as followers of Christ we are the tabernacle of the Holy Spirit, we need to take seriously God's warning to not defile His tabernacle.  This means that we should be careful about what position we may put ourselves in and what we put into our bodies I believe.  Verse thirty-two says, This is the law of him that hath an issue, and of him whose seed goeth from him, and is defiled therewith;  Then verse thirty-three adds, And of her that is sick of her flowers, and of him that hath an issue, of the man, and of the woman, and of him that lieth with her that is unclean.  Moses just stated that this was the law concerning men and women with an issue.  

Leviticus 15:1

Leviticus 15:1 says, And the LORD spake unto Moses and to Aaron, saying,  Verse two adds, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When any man hath a running issue out of his flesh, because of his issue he is unclean.  Matthew Henry basically says it didn't matter what this was referring to, but whatever the cause of the condition, it would be leaving stains behind.  Verse three continues, And this shall be his uncleanness in his issue: whether his flesh run with his issue, or his flesh be stopped from his issue, it is his uncleanness.   This continues to refer to his issue, which could be interpreted as a running sore.  Verse four states, Every bed, whereon he lieth that hath the issue, is unclean: and every thing, whereon he sitteth, shall be unclean.  Anywhere the man laid down or sat would be considered unclean, so this would have to be something contagious.  Verse five adds, And whosoever toucheth his bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.  Anyone who just touched the man's bed was to wash his or her clothes and bathe and be considered unclean the rest of the day.  Verse six continues, And he that sitteth on any thing whereon he sat that hath the issue shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.  Even sitting where the man sat would make a person unclean, and the one sitting where the man sat was to wash his or her clothes and himself or herself.  Verse seven says, And he that toucheth the flesh of him that hath the issue shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.  Touching the person had the same effect and proscription to make on clean again.  Verse eight adds, And if he that hath the issue spit upon him that is clean; then he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.  This would seem to be a deliberate attempt to infect someone else, and we only have to look at the news today to know that people would still do this.  Verse nine continues, And what saddle soever he rideth upon that hath the issue shall be unclean.   Even a saddle that the man rode on would be considered unclean.  Verse ten states, And whosoever toucheth any thing that was under him shall be unclean until the even: and he that beareth any of those things shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.  Touching or carrying anything that the man touched would make the person unclean, and once more that person would have to wash his or her clothes and bathe himself or herself.  Verse eleven adds, And whomsoever he toucheth that hath the issue, and hath not rinsed his hands in water, he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.  If the man with the issue touched someone without washing his hands, that person was to be considered unclean.  Even then, the importance of washing ones hands to prevent the transfer of a disease was recognized.  Verse twelve continues, And the vessel of earth, that he toucheth which hath the issue, shall be broken: and every vessel of wood shall be rinsed in water.  Earthen vessels were to be broken if the man touched them, and vessels made of wood were to be washed.  Verse thirteen declares,  And when he that hath an issue is cleansed of his issue; then he shall number to himself seven days for his cleansing, and wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in running water, and shall be clean.  After the man was cleansed of this running sore, he was to wait seven days, then bathe himself, wash his clothes, and be declared clean.  Verse fourteen adds, And on the eighth day he shall take to him two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, and come before the LORD unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and give them unto the priest:  The eighth day, the man was to bring a sacrifice to the priest of two turtledoves or two young pigeons.  Verse fifteen continues, And the priest shall offer them, the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt.  The priest was to offer one of the birds for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering.  Simply being physically clean was not enough, but the man had to be spiritually clean as well, just as we must today.  Verse sixteen states, And if any man’s seed of copulation go out from him, then he shall wash all his flesh in water, and be unclean until the even.  I believe this refers to a sexual situation, and it would make the man unclean until evening.  Verse seventeen adds, And every garment, and every skin, whereon is the seed of copulation, shall be washed with water, and be unclean until the even offering; and the priest shall make an atonement for him before the Lord for his issue.  Once more, the priest would make an offering for the man, after the man had washed his clothes and himself. 

Leviticus 14:33

Leviticus 14:33 says, And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,  Then verse thirty-four adds, When ye be come into the land of Canaan, which I give to you for a possession, and I put the plague of leprosy in a house of the land of your possession;  Verse thirty-five continues, And he that owneth the house shall come and tell the priest, saying, It seemeth to me there is as it were a plague in the house:   After the people of Israel got to the land of Canaan, the Promised Land, and a person discovered leprosy in their house, they were to come to the priest.  As followers of Christ, if we discover sin in our house, we need to come to our heavenly Priest, Jesus Christ, and confess it.  Verse thirty-six states, Then the priest shall command that they empty the house, before the priest go into it to see the plague, that all that is in the house be not made unclean: and afterward the priest shall go in to see the house:  The house was to be emptied and the priest was to go see it.  Verse thirty-seven adds, And he shall look on the plague, and, behold, if the plague be in the walls of the house with hollow strakes, greenish or reddish, which in sight are lower than the wall;  Verse thirty-eight continues, Then the priest shall go out of the house to the door of the house, and shut up the house seven days:  Verse thirty-nine concludes, And the priest shall come again the seventh day, and shall look: and, behold, if the plague be spread in the walls of the house;  If the priest saw evidence of the plague on the walls of the house, then he was to shut it up for seven days, then come and look at it again.  Verse forty says, Then the priest shall command that they take away the stones in which the plague is, and they shall cast them into an unclean place without the city:  If the plague had spread, then the stones of the house were to be taken away outside the city.  If we find sin in our lives today, we need to remove it as far away from us as possible.  The Holy Spirit will make us aware of any sin that gets into our life.  Verse forty-one adds, And he shall cause the house to be scraped within round about, and they shall pour out the dust that they scrape off without the city into an unclean place:  Verse forty-two continues, And they shall take other stones, and put them in the place of those stones; and he shall take other morter, and shall plaister the house.  The rest of the house was to be scraped and the stones that were taken away were to be replaced.  Just as the plague of leprosy was taken seriously then, we need to take sin seriously today.  Verse forty-three states, And if the plague come again, and break out in the house, after that he hath taken away the stones, and after he hath scraped the house, and after it is plaistered;  Verse forty-four adds, Then the priest shall come and look, and, behold, if the plague be spread in the house, it is a fretting leprosy in the house: it is unclean.  If the plague had returned, then it was to be declared fretting leprosy and the house was to be declared unclean.  Verse forty-five continues, And he shall break down the house, the stones of it, and the timber thereof, and all the morter of the house; and he shall carry them forth out of the city into an unclean place.  In this case, the whole house was to be taken apart and taken out of the city into the unclean place.  It is much better that we lose everything we have materially than to allow sin to continue to contaminate our life.  Verse forty-six declares, Moreover he that goeth into the house all the while that it is shut up shall be unclean until the even.  Not only was the house to be destroyed, but anyone who went into it was to be declared unclean.  Verse forty-seven adds, And he that lieth in the house shall wash his clothes; and he that eateth in the house shall wash his clothes.  Everyone who had slept or eaten in the house was to wash their clothes.  Verse forty-eight continues, And if the priest shall come in, and look upon it, and, behold, the plague hath not spread in the house, after the house was plaistered: then the priest shall pronounce the house clean, because the plague is healed.  If the priest went into the house after it had been replastered and there was no evidence of the plague, then the house was to be pronounced clean.  Verse forty-nine states, And he shall take to cleanse the house two birds, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop:  There was a sacrifice to be made by the priest, just as Jesús, our High Priest, is a sacrifice for all our sins today.  Verse fifty adds, And he shall kill the one of the birds in an earthen vessel over running water:  One of the birds of the sacrifice was to be killed.  Verse fifty-one continues, And he shall take the cedar wood, and the hyssop, and the scarlet, and the living bird, and dip them in the blood of the slain bird, and in the running water, and sprinkle the house seven times:  The living bird and the things associated with the sacrifice were to be sprinkled with the blood of the dead bird, which was then to be used to cleanse the house.  Verse fifty-two says, And he shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird, and with the running water, and with the living bird, and with the cedar wood, and with the hyssop, and with the scarlet:  The priest was to cleanse the house with the blood of the sacrifice.  Being physically clean was not enough, but the house needed to be spiritually clean as well.  We may remove things form our lives today that would lead us to sin or are even a sin already, but until we confess our sins to God and ask His forgiveness, we cannot be spiritually clean.  Verse fifty-three adds, But he shall let go the living bird out of the city into the open fields, and make an atonement for the house: and it shall be clean.  The living bird was to be set free outside the city, and atonement would be made for the house, and it would be pronounced clean.  Verse fifty-four continues, This is the law for all manner of plague of leprosy, and scall,  Verse fifty-five states, And for the leprosy of a garment, and of a house,  Verse fifty-six adds, And for a rising, and for a scab, and for a bright spot:  Then verse fifty-seven concludes, To teach when it is unclean, and when it is clean: this is the law of leprosy.  This was the law of leprosy to determine if a person or place was contagious.  If we allow sin into our lives today, we can be certain that we are in danger of affecting others if we do not take it seriously and allow God to remove it from our lives.