Oil
Leviticus 14:1-20
Cleansing From Defiling Skin Diseases
1The Lord said to Moses, 2 “These are the regulations for any diseased person at the time of their ceremonial cleansing, when they are brought to the priest: 3 The priest is to go outside the camp and examine them. If they have been healed of their defiling skin disease, 4 the priest shall order that two live clean birds and some cedar wood, scarlet yarn and hyssop be brought for the person to be cleansed. 5 Then the priest shall order that one of the birds be killed over fresh water in a clay pot. 6 He is then to take the live bird and dip it, together with the cedar wood, the scarlet yarn and the hyssop, into the blood of the bird that was killed over the fresh water. 7 Seven times he shall sprinkle the one to be cleansed of the defiling disease, and then pronounce them clean. After that, he is to release the live bird in the open fields. 8 “The person to be cleansed must wash their clothes, shave off all their hair and bathe with water; then they will be ceremonially clean. After this they may come into the camp, but they must stay outside their tent for seven days. 9 On the seventh day they must shave off all their hair; they must shave their head, their beard, their eyebrows and the rest of their hair. They must wash their clothes and bathe themselves with water, and they will be clean.10 “On the eighth day they must bring two male lambs and one ewe lamb a year old, each without defect, along with three-tenths of an epha of the finest flour mixed with olive oil for a grain offering, and one log of oil. 11 The priest who pronounces them clean shall present both the one to be cleansed and their offerings before the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting.12 “Then the priest is to take one of the male lambs and offer it as a guilt offering, along with the log of oil; he shall wave them before the Lord as a wave offering. 13 He is to slaughter the lamb in the sanctuary area where the sin offering and the burnt offering are slaughtered. Like the sin offering, the guilt offering belongs to the priest; it is most holy. 14 The priest is to take some of the blood of the guilt offering and put it on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of their right hand and on the big toe of their right foot. 15 The priest shall then take some of the log of oil, pour it in the palm of his own left hand, 16 dip his right forefinger into the oil in his palm, and with his finger sprinkle some of it before the Lord seven times. 17 The priest is to put some of the oil remaining in his palm on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of their right hand and on the big toe of their right foot, on top of the blood of the guilt offering. 18 The rest of the oil in his palm the priest shall put on the head of the one to be cleansed and make atonement for them before the Lord. 19 “Then the priest is to sacrifice the sin offering and make atonement for the one to be cleansed from their uncleanness. After that, the priest shall slaughter the burnt offering 20 and offer it on the altar, together with the grain offering, and make atonement for them, and they will be clean.
Defiling skin disease in Hebrews means a kind of leprosy(문둥병), which is related to the sins of them who had sickness. What an awful thing it is, I mean the ones who had leprosy had to go through the pain more severely than the skin pain itself, having been condemned by people around them. However, after doing these kinds of ceremonies, they could completely take their positions in society and feel freed from the pain of self-isolation. I never understand the suffering of them, but I hope that less people could experience that kind of pain.
It seems that disease is connected to sin as they had to perform this kind of ceremony of sin offering, burnt offering, grain offering, and the guilt offering, except fellowship offering. So Jesus Christ said to a man whom 4 friends carried down to the roof of the house, " Your sin was forgiven and take off your mat and walk!" No one is free from sins, as no one is perfect, but disease seems deeply related to the sins we commit on a daily basis. It doesn't mean that in case we get sick, we sinned a lot, rather we need to keep our body healthy like our soul as well.
Our soul affects our body as the inner and unconscious part of our body is soul, which controls our body and affects it in many ways. When our soul is healthy, our body could keep healthier than ever. It plays the role of some oil in a lamp, which shines lights on us. Without oil, a car could lose the strength and power. The Holy Spirit, like oil, makes us filled with joy and peace, including the strength and power in life. Though our body naturally gets weaker and older as time goes on, our soul could get stronger and younger, according to the presence of the spiritual oil within us.
The log(0.3L) of oil seems to account for the amount of oil in my heart. How much is it in my heart? If it is necessary and shows the lack of it, it's time to fill it in and get recovered from my spiritual and physical sickness and get completely healed and freed from the chain of isolation, making me stuck in and not move any longer. It is time for me to fill the spiritual oil in my heart and mind and thought in order to do the work that I have been doing with the faith of God, which is seemingly impossible to do on my own. Let me have the power of it and move on to do it until my Father wants me to, in Jesus, the redeemer's name, I pray, amen.
