Cleansing From Mildew

Leviticus 14:33–57
» View this passage in NIV (Bible Gateway)

The Lord told Moses and Aaron to say to the people (v. 33): After I have given you the land of Canaan, here is what you must do, if I ever put mildew on the walls of any of your homes (v. 34). First, you must say to a priest, “I think mildew is on the wall of my house (v. 35).” The priest will reply, “Empty the house before I inspect it, or else everything in it will be unclean (v. 36).” If the priest discovers mildew on the walls, he will have the house closed for seven days (vv. 37-38). Then he will return to see if the mildew has spread (v. 39). If so, he will have someone scrape the plaster from the walls, then haul everything off and dump it outside the town (vv. 40-41). Afterwards the wall must be repaired with new stones and fresh plaster (v. 42).

If mildew appears again the priest will come and say, “This house is unclean (vv. 43-44). with mildew that can’t be removed.” Then he will have the house torn down and hauled off to a place outside the town (v. 45). If any of you entered the house while it was closed, you will be unclean until evening (v. 46). And if you either slept or ate in the house, you must wash your clothes (v. 47). On the other hand, if the priest discovers that mildew hasn’t reappeared after the house was newly plastered, he will say, “This house is clean-the mildewhas gone (v. 48).” To show that the house is now clean, he will get two birds, a stick of cedar wood, a piece of red yarn, and a branch from a hyssop plant and bring them to the house (v. 49). He will kill one of the birds over a clay pot and let its blood drain into the pot (vv. 50-52). Then he will dip the cedar, the hyssop, the yarn, and the other bird into the blood. Next, he will sprinkle the house seven times with the blood, then the house will be clean. He will release the bird and let it fly away, ending the ceremony for purifying the house (v. 53). These are the things to do if your house is unclean with mildew (vv. 54-57).

Application

Jesus says that if I sin what I need to do is “confess my sin” to Him and He forgive and cleanse me (I Jn 1:9).