Parashah 28-M’tzoro–Person Afflicted With Tzara’at Continuation

This week’s Torah Portion/Reading entitled “M’tzoro,” or a “Person Afflicted with Tzara’at (Leprosy)” is somewhat of a continuation of last week’s reading (ie., Tazaria) that dealt with the diagnosis and consequences of leprosy.

In Tazaria, I discussed how leprosy (a severe skin infection) was to be diagnosed and dealt with by the Levitical Priests. I then highlighted the spiritual “shadow picture” that is germane to the disease and its handling. That spiritual shadow picture is embodied in “sin.” As in leprosy, sin separates the infected individual from YHVH (ie., Yehovah/Yahuah/Yahweh/God) as well as from the uninfected nation.

Leprosy and the Cleansing Process

This week’s reading (Leviticus 14:1-15:33) picks up where last week’s post left off. This reading dealt with the purification process that Abba put in place for when a once leprosy-infected individual is deemed clean by the Levitical Priests. 

Interestingly, once a Levitical Priest cleared a formerly infected member of the nation of leprosy (remember that Biblical leprosy embodied a number of infectious skin diseases), they were permitted back into the community. However, that member still had to be purified before they would be permitted back into fellowship with YHVH. That is, the member could not worship at the Sanctuary/Tent of Meeting/Temple until they completed a purification process. 

The Purification/Cleansing Process in a Nutshell

The purification process is found in Leviticus 14. 

Without going into the specifics of the passage, in a nutshell, the member after being declared clean by a Levitical Priest was subjected to a ritual whereby the blood of a clean bird is sprinkled upon them; he or she bathes and shaves off all their hair; he/she sits outside their home for a week; and then offers a sin and burnt offering upon the altar. 

Interesting Aspects of the Cleansing Process

There are so many amazing elements to the post-leprosy cleansing process that I could spend this entire post enumerating and expounding upon them. And then, I still would not do the subject its due justice.

Suffice for me to elaborate here on just a few of those elements that I found interesting.

1. The Levitical Priest who clears the once infected member would conduct a cleansing ritual outside the camp before the member would be permitted back into the community proper. In that process, the priest would acquire two-clean birds, cedar-wood, scarlet yarn and hyssop leaves. One of the two-birds would be slaughtered with living (ie., running) water. The blood of the slaughtered bird would be caught in a clay pot. The attending priest would then take the living clean-bird, along with the hyssop leaves, cedar-wood and scarlet yarn; dip them all together into the clay-pot containing the slaughtered clean-bird’s blood, and sprinkle that blood upon the member. At the conclusion of this process, the living bird is released freely into the wild (vss. 2-7). 

The release of the live bird has amazing similarities to the goat that is released into the wild by a “strong man” during the “Azazel” ritual practiced on the “Day of Atonement” or Yom Kippur. The Azazel-goat (aka “scapegoat”) symbolizes hasatan who is vanquished into the abyss for a period of time, having the guilt of the nation placed squarely upon it (Leviticus 16). Similarly, the living bird that is released into the wild symbolically carries with it the uncleanness of the once defiled member.

2. The member must shave all the hair from their body. Then the member cleanses his/her body and clothes in water (vs. 8). 

These acts are conducted outside the camp/community. At the conclusion of these rituals, the member is welcomed back into the community.

3. There were a couple other small things the member had to do as part of their cleansing over a week’s time frame (vs. 9). Ultimately, however, the member is required to present sin and burnt offerings to YHVH. (For a detailed explanation of the sin/guilt and burnt offerings, see my earlier Torah Portion/Reading Commentary on this topic.)

Atonement and Fellowship

The sacrifices and offerings presented by the member and mediated by a Levitical Priest to YHVH at the conclusion of the cleansing process served several purposes. But for me, the two most critical purposes were: (1) atonement for sin; and (2) the re-establishing of fellowship between YHVH and the member (vss. 10-32). 

Now, this whole purification process–the sprinkling of blood upon the member by the priest, the shaving of the hair from the member’s body, the washing of the member and his/her clothes in water beforehand; and then the presentation of sacrifices and burnt-offerings, in total, are illustrative of the process of being cleansed and forgiven of our sins as Yeshua-centric Torah observant believers in Messiah. 

Unrequited Sin

As I mentioned in my three-previous Torah Portion/Reading Commentary posts, holiness and spiritual purity is essential to the overall health of every disciple’s relationship with YHVH. And one of the biggest impediments to our maintaining spiritual purity (ie., holiness; righteousness) and a substantive relationship with YHVH is unrequited sin.

Keeping Fellowship With Father

Back in the day when Torah was being written and practically walked out by our forefathers, ritual-purity was an absolute requirement for not only maintaining ongoing  fellowship with YHVH through Temple/Sanctuary/Tent of Meeting worship, but also for maintaining fellowship within the community of Israel. 

Apart from the many natural occurrences of day-to-day life that caused our forefathers to fall into a state of ritual-impurity, unaddressed sin in the lives of the members also set the members of the community into a state of ritual impurity. 

Ritual Purity a Requirement

Ritual impurity–be it in the form of an infectious skin disease or in the form of unaddressed sin–separated the member from YHVH (ie., through the member being denied worship at the Sanctuary)  and in many cases, separated him/her from living in the community. 

With the passing away of the Temple/Sanctuary/Tent of Meeting, and the advent of the atoning sacrifice and the assumption of the Melchezekian Priesthood by our Master Y’shua Messiah, we no longer are held to the specific ritual-purity laws of Torah. However, the spirit of those ritual-purity laws remain ever so in effect for us today.

Leprosy and Sin and Spiritual Defilement and Impurity

As I mentioned in my previous Torah Portion Commentary piece, leprosy is allegorical and can be viewed as illustrative of sin. We know that unaddressed sin in a child of God’s life results in that believer being in what I call a state of spiritual impurity or spiritual defilement. That spiritual impurity or defilement has the effect of: (1) hindering or damaging our relationship and fellowship with YHVH; and (2) separating us from our brothers and sisters in Messiah. Furthermore, unaddressed sin places us at risk of experiencing the curses of Deuteronomy 28. (Unaddressed sin is certainly a viable “cause and effect” to our prayers going unanswered; the many unrelenting challenges and difficulties–personal and financial–some of us face each day; chronic, debilitating and potentially fatal diseases and illnesses some of us are enduring; etc.)

Yeshua Our Mediator

While we live in these bodies here in this dispensation, we are in perpetual need for a priest to act as our mediator to YHVH. That High Priest, of course, is none other than Y’shua Messiah. He alone is our intermediary to YHVH; our healer; our atonement; our role model; our peace; our Truth and our hope.

If we desire to remain in a perpetual state of spiritual cleanliness and purity, we must follow the directions and intervention of our High Priest, Y’shua Messiah. And in the inevitable chance that we fall into spiritual defilement and impurity because of sin, we must act swiftly to ensure that we return to the state of spiritual cleanliness and purity that Father demands of his children in order to maintain a true and substantive relationship with Him. 

It is the blood of Y’shua that cleanses us from all unrighteousness (Mat. 6:12; Joh. 5:14; 8:11; Rom. 8:3;  2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Joh. 1:7, 29; 2:1; 3:5 1 Pet. 1:19). 

Call to Action

 In the spirit of this Torah Reading, let us strive to be in a perpetual state of spiritual cleanliness and purity.  Let us seek forgiveness of sins through a continuous searching and assessment of our thoughts and actions. Approach Father’s throne boldly and call out to Father for His forgiveness.

And upon being forgiven for those sins once they’ve been identified and brought before Father for forgiveness, let us “stop sinning.” 

And let us not forget: as Father forgives us, we too must forgive others. Failure to forgive others may result in our sins not being forgiven (Joh. 5:14). For true forgiveness comes when we forgive others  (Mat. 6:12-15; 9:6; Mar. 2:10, 25, 26). 

Shabbat Shalom. 

Until next time.