Lesson date: 6/9/5856AA

Verses 1-7 – Chapter 14, for me, is the single most important chapter in changing my perception of Torah forever. I had a long standing riddle in the B’rit Hadasha and could not understand why a particular Scripture was included in Scripture and I was given the answer in Torah. Why YHVH chose to reveal it the way He did, I don’t know. Perhaps He knew that by doing so would make a lasting impression on me and thereby alter my appreciation or consideration of Torah in such a way that I would not take Torah lightly ever again. Even now I have a hard time expressing how it changed me but, it did. It definitely made me change my mindset about the B’rit Hadasha and how I would translate it.

For example, in verse 2 the priest had to go outside the camp to the leper. Why? Because the leper was not permitted in the camp. When we read the following Scripture was is the glaring inconsistency about this passage of Scripture: Mat 26:6 And when יהושע was in Běyth Anyah at the house of Shim‛on the leper,

Mat 26:7 a woman came to Him, having an alabaster flask of costly perfume, and she poured it on His head as He sat at the table.

If Simon was a leper as the Scripture states he would not have a house and would not be living in a town as important as Beyt Anyah. He would be living outside of the city’s gate but, if he were a potter rather than a leper he would not only be living in town but much more likely to have a flask in his house, especially a flask of expensive perfume. Why a potter? Because to a non-native Hebrew speaker, such as myself, and especially in pre-Masoretic times, the two words, even though from different root words, would look almost indistinguishable. In more than one version of the Aramaic New Testament the word is translated a potter rather than leper.  But this is not the riddle I mentioned in the first paragraph. That comes later.

In reading the prophets David, Isaiah and Jeremiah we see very important prophecies relative to potters and their trade (Psa. 2; Isa. 29, 42, 64; Jer. 18, 19). In my view potter is more consistent with Torah and the prophets.

Look at the wording of verses 2 & 3 “He shall be brought to the priest,” and “and the priest shall go out of the camp”. This is exactly what Yeshua did for us, He went outside the camp, because we were not of Israel and we had to be brought to Him, by the Ruach Hakodesh, in order to be cleansed. Even now, Chapter 14 shows me something I had not seen before that was staring me in the face.

Verses 4-7 – Now, our High Priest (Heb 6:20 where יהושע has entered as a forerunner for us, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Malkitseḏeq.) has sought us out, outside the camp, and we have been brought to Him, we must now be cleansed of our leprosy (sin). What do we need in order to be cleansed “two live and clean birds, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop”?

Why birds? Birds represent spirits: Mat_3:16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:

Mar_1:10 And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him:

Luk_3:22 And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.

Joh_1:32 And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.

One bird has to die but the blood of the bird is placed in an earthen vessel: Rom_9:21 Does not the potter have authority over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for value and another not for value?

1Th_4:4 that each one of you should know how to possess his own vessel in set-apartness and respect,

2Ti_2:21 If, then, anyone cleanses himself from these matters, he shall be a vessel unto value, having been set apart, of good use to the Master, having been prepared for every good work.

As He cleanses us we must have His blood upon us afterward the second clean bird is allowed to fly into the heavens: 1Th 4:17 Then we, the living who are left over, shall be caught away together with them in the clouds to meet the Master in the air – and so we shall always be with the Master.

NO! This has nothing to do with a “rapture” but rather redemption.

We also need hyssop, the herb that was used to place the Blood of the Passover Lamb on the doorposts and lintel (Exo 12:22 “And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin, and you, none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning). And about which David said: Psa 51:7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I am clean; Wash me, and I am whiter than snow. And we see how it was used in Yeshua’s death: Joh 19:29 A bowl of sour wine stood there, and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and held it to His mouth.

Joh 19:30 So when יהושע took the sour wine He said, “It has been accomplished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.

And, to be properly cleansed we also needed scarlet: Isa_1:18 “Come now, and let us reason together,” says יהוה. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

We also need cedar wood; Cedar has the ability to protect us from pests such as moths: Mat_6:20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.  It is an evergreen that is knot free and rot resistant, it was an essential building material in Shelomoh’s Temple: 1Co_3:16 Do you not know that you are a Dwelling Place of Elohim and that the Spirit of Elohim dwells in you?

And all of this had to be done over Mayyim Hayyim, running or living water: Jer_2:13 “For My people have done two evils: they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, to hew out for themselves cisterns, cracked cisterns, which do not hold water.

Joh 4:10 יהושע answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of Elohim, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me to drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”

Joh 4:11 The woman said to Him, “Master, You have no vessel, and the well is deep. From where, then, do You have living water?

Joh_7:38 “As the Scripture said, out of His innermost shall flow rivers of living water.”

Now, put these verses together and what do you have? The plan of Salvation, as the church calls it.

Verses 8-32 – After our High Priest has cleansed us there is more to do; we must wash our clothes Rev_7:14 And I said to him, “Master, you know.” And he said to me, “These are those coming out of the great distress, having washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

We also need oil. Why? Because oil represents Torah and also represents the Ruach HaKodesh but where do we see the oil placed? On the right ear, so we can HEAR the Word, on the right thumb so we can DO the work of the Word: Jas_1:22 And become doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

Then oil is placed on the right big toe so we can walk in His Ways: 1Jn_2:6 The one who says he stays in Him ought himself also to walk, even as He walked.

Mic 6:8 He has declared to you, O man, what is good. And what does יהוה require of you but to do right, and to love loving-commitment, and to walk humbly with your Elohim?

And then and only then will our head be covered in oil. Amein!

And, so also the Blood of the Lamb. Joh 13:8 Kěpha said to Him, “By no means shall You wash my feet, ever!” יהושע answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.”

Joh 13:9 Shim‛on Kěpha said to Him, “Master, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!”

Do you think Peter knew what he was saying and why?

Verses 33-57 – The Torah for cleansing houses. And here is the riddle: Mar 11:11 And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple: and when he had looked round about upon all things, and now the eventide was come, he went out unto Bethany with the twelve.

What was so important about Yeshua going into the temple, looking and then leaving that it was recorded in Scripture?

Look at Leviticus 14:34 again: “When you come into the land of Kenaʽan, which I am giving you as a possession, and I put a plague of leprosy in a house in the land of your possession,

Who put the plague there and why?

Leprosy is a plague that infects a house. What constitutes a house? Let’s find out. Let’s look at some very important houses in scripture. House of Israel first:

Exo 40:38 For the cloud of יהוה was on the Dwelling Place by day, and fire was on it by night, before the eyes of all the house of Yisra’ĕl, in all their journeys.

Lev 10:6 And Mosheh said to Aharon, and to Elʽazar and to Ithamar, his sons, “Do not unbind your heads nor tear your garments, lest you die, and wrath come upon all the people. But let your brothers, all the house of Yisra’ĕl, bewail the burning which יהוה has kindled.

Mat 10:6 but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Yisra’ĕl.

Mat 15:24 And He answering, said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Yisra’ĕl.”

Look again at Matthew 15:24. Yeshua was not sent to anyone but the lost sheep of the House of Israel. If you are not “of Israel” He did not come for you. Please read, reread and read again Romans 11. Sha’ul is explaining who is Israel; those that have been grafted in. Isa_14:1 Because יהוה has compassion on Yaʽaqoḇ, and shall again choose Yisra’ĕl, and give them rest in their own land. And the strangers shall join them, and they shall cling to the house of Yaʽaqoḇ.

We are the strangers that have joined ourselves to Israel, Yah’s Word is talking about spiritual Israel. If you believe in the Messiah Yeshua you are of Abraham: Gal 3:28 There is not Yehuḏite nor Greek, there is not slave nor free, there is not male and female, for you are all one in Messiah יהושע.
Gal 3:29 And if you are of Messiah, then you are seed of Aḇraham, and heirs according to promise.

YOU ARE OF THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL AND AS SUCH YOU WILL RECEIVE BOTH THE BLESSINGS AND THE CURSES. ((LEVITICUS 26 FOR BOTH))

Now let’s look at a couple of more houses:

Dan 4:30 The sovereign spoke and said, “Is not this great Baḇel, which I myself have built, for the house of the reign, by the might of my power and for the esteem of my splendour?”

Isa 23:1 The message concerning Tsor. Howl, you ships of Tarshish! For it has been destroyed, without house, without harbour. From the land of Kittim it has been revealed to them. ((Does this scripture sound familiar. There is a reason for that.))

Eze 38:6 Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee.

These are just a few of the houses mentioned in Scripture. There are over 1220 verses of scripture that mention various houses, 294 for Israel alone. A house can be a one room dwelling or a city-state, a nation, kingdom or Empire. Do you live in a house?

What is the High Priest supposed to do?

Lev 14:37 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;
Lev 14:38 Then the priest shall go out of the house to the door of the house, and shut up the house seven days:

The High Priest comes in and inspects for a plague, something that defiles the house. Did our Messiah do that? Let’s look: Joh 2:13 And the Jews’ passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem,
Joh 2:14 And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting:
Joh 2:15 And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables;
Joh 2:16 And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise.
Joh 2:17 And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.

Yeshua went into His Father’s House and it was a house of thieves instead of a house of prayer. This was very early in Yeshua’s ministry. Now, what else will happen to the infected house? Lev 14:39 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;
Lev 14:40 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:
Lev 14:41 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:

Did our Messiah do this? Mat 21:12 And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,
Mat 21:13 And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.
Mat 21:14 And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them.
Mat 21:15 And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; they were sore displeased,

Luk 19:45 And he went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold therein, and them that bought;
Luk 19:46 Saying unto them, It is written, My house is the house of prayer: but ye have made it a den of thieves.

What happens next has always been one of the most puzzling scriptures in the entire Bible. First let’s look at the role of the High Priest if he returns and finds the plague still there: Lev 14:44 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.

Did our Messiah do this as well? You bet He did and now for the most out of place scripture in the Bible: Mar 11:11 And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple: and when he had looked round about upon all things, and now the eventide was come, he went out unto Bethany with the twelve.

Did you see it? Yeshua just walked into the temple and looked around at all THINGS going on in the temple and left. What happens next?  Mat 24:1 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.
Mat 24:2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

Mar 13:1 And as he went out of the temple, one of his disciples saith unto him, Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!
Mar 13:2 And Jesus answering said unto him, Seest thou these great buildings? there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

Luk 21:5 And as some spake of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts, he said,
Luk 21:6 As for these things which ye behold, the days will come, in the which there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

Yeshua, our High Priest drove out the plague, the money-changers, the preachers for profit, turned over their tables and cleared the temple of the plague. Does America have a similar plague today? Hmm? Maybe? Are we not sacrificing our children to Molech? Do we buy and sell in our Father’s House? Do we keep his commands? Do we keep the sabbath holy anymore? What is the judgment that Yeshua brought onto the House of Elohim? Let’s look: Mat 23:37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
Mat 23:38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.

Luk 13:35 “See, your House is left to you laid waste. And truly I say to you, you shall by no means see Me until the time comes when you say, ‘Blessed is He who is coming in the Name of יהוה!’ ”

Act 1:20 For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bishoprick let another take.

Why did I include this verse of Scripture in the KJV? Please look at the word bishoprick. It comes from the Greek word episkope G1984) which comes from G1980 which means…inspection. Let’s look for G1984 in Scripture: Luk_19:44 And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.

The word visitation is from G1984. Visitation=inspection. Jerusalem did not know the day of their inspection. Do we have a day of visitation in the house of America? Will America be judged? I believe that it already has been. The gavel of the judge has already struck the bench. America has been judged. Now, America is living on death row waiting for the day of its judgment to be executed. What kind of judgment will it be? Let’s revisit Isaiah 23:1: The message concerning Tsor. Howl, you ships of Tarshish! For it has been destroyed, without house, without harbour. From the land of Kittim it has been revealed to them.

Rev 18:17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,

Rev 18:18 And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city!

Rev 18:19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.

Ahavah vberakhot