Cleansing a Leprous House
33The Lord further spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying:
34“When you enter the land of Canaan, which I give you for a possession, and I put a mark of leprosy on a house in the land of your possession, 35then the one who owns the house shall come and tell the priest, saying, ‘Something like a mark of leprosy has become visible to me in the house.’ 36The priest shall then command that they empty the house before the priest goes in to look at the mark, so that everything in the house need not become unclean; and afterward the priest shall go in to look at the house. 37So he shall look at the mark, and if the mark on the walls of the house has greenish or reddish depressions and appears deeper than the surface, 38then the priest shall come out of the house, to the doorway, and quarantine the house for seven days. 39The priest shall return on the seventh day and make an inspection. If the mark has indeed spread in the walls of the house, 40then the priest shall order them to tear out the stones with the mark in them and throw them away at an unclean place outside the city. 41He shall have the house scraped all around inside, and they shall dump the plaster that they scrape off at an unclean place outside the city. 42Then they shall take other stones and replace those stones, and he shall take other plaster and replaster the house.
43“If, however, the mark breaks out again in the house after he has torn out the stones and scraped the house, and after it has been replastered, 44then the priest shall come in and make an inspection. If he sees that the mark has indeed spread in the house, it is a malignant mark in the house; it is unclean. 45He shall therefore tear down the house, its stones, and its timbers, and all the plaster of the house, and he shall take them outside the city to an unclean place. 46Moreover, whoever goes into the house during the time that he has quarantined it, becomes unclean until evening. 47Likewise, whoever lies down in the house shall wash his clothes, and whoever eats in the house shall wash his clothes.
48“If, on the other hand, the priest comes in and makes an inspection and the mark has not indeed spread in the house after the house has been replastered, then the priest shall pronounce the house clean because the mark has not reappeared. 49To cleanse the house then, he shall take two birds and cedar wood and a scarlet string and hyssop, 50and he shall slaughter the one bird in an earthenware vessel over running water. 51Then he shall take the cedar wood and the hyssop and the scarlet string, with the live bird, and dip them in the blood of the slain bird as well as in the running water, and sprinkle the house seven times. 52He shall thus cleanse the house with the blood of the bird and with the running water, along with the live bird and with the cedar wood and with the hyssop and with the scarlet string. 53However, he shall let the live bird go free outside the city into the open field. So he shall make atonement for the house, and it will be clean.”
54This is the law for any mark of leprosy—even for a scale, 55and for the leprous garment or house, 56and for a swelling, and for a scab, and for a bright spot— 57to teach when they are unclean and when they are clean. This is the law of leprosy.
10On the twenty-fourth of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Haggai the prophet, saying, 11“Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Ask now the priests for a ruling: 12If a man carries holy meat in the fold of his garment, and touches bread with this fold, or cooked food, wine, oil, or any other food, will it become holy?’ ” And the priests answered, “No.” 13Then Haggai said, “If one who is unclean from a corpse touches any of these, will the latter become unclean?” And the priests answered, “It will become unclean.” 14Then Haggai said, “ ‘So is this people. And so is this nation before Me,’ declares the Lord, ‘and so is every work of their hands; and what they offer there is unclean. 15But now, do consider from this day onward: before one stone was placed on another in the temple of the Lord, 16from that time when one came to a grain heap of twenty measures, there would be only ten; and when one came to the wine vat to draw fifty measures, there would be only twenty. 17I smote you and every work of your hands with blasting wind, mildew and hail; yet you did not come back to Me,’ declares the Lord. 18‘Do consider from this day onward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month; from the day when the temple of the Lord was founded, consider: 19Is the seed still in the barn? Even including the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate and the olive tree, it has not borne fruit. Yet from this day on I will bless you.’ ”
20Then the word of the Lord came a second time to Haggai on the twenty-fourth day of the month, saying, 21“Speak to Zerubbabel governor of Judah, saying, ‘I am going to shake the heavens and the earth. 22I will overthrow the thrones of kingdoms and destroy the power of the kingdoms of the nations; and I will overthrow the chariots and their riders, and the horses and their riders will go down, everyone by the sword of another.’ 23‘On that day,’ declares the Lord of hosts, ‘I will take you, Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, My servant,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will make you like a signet ring, for I have chosen you,’ ” declares the Lord of hosts.
16Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.
1) How can physical neglect reflect spiritual decay?
2) Why does cleansing begin at the house of יהוה?
3) What makes community holiness essential for His presence?
Job Says There Is No Arbitrator between God and Man
1Then Job answered,
2“In truth I know that this is so;
But how can a man be in the right before God?
3If one wished to dispute with Him,
He could not answer Him once in a thousand times.
4Wise in heart and mighty in strength,
Who has defied Him without harm?
5It is God who removes the mountains, they know not how,
When He overturns them in His anger;
6Who shakes the earth out of its place,
And its pillars tremble;
7Who commands the sun not to shine,
And sets a seal upon the stars;
8Who alone stretches out the heavens
And tramples down the waves of the sea;
9Who makes the Bear, Orion and the Pleiades,
And the chambers of the south;
10Who does great things, unfathomable,
And wondrous works without number.
11Were He to pass by me, I would not see Him;
Were He to move past me, I would not perceive Him.
12Were He to snatch away, who could restrain Him?
Who could say to Him, ‘What are You doing?’
13“God will not turn back His anger;
Beneath Him crouch the helpers of Rahab.
14How then can I answer Him,
And choose my words before Him?
15For though I were right, I could not answer;
I would have to implore the mercy of my judge.
16If I called and He answered me,
I could not believe that He was listening to my voice.
17For He bruises me with a tempest
And multiplies my wounds without cause.
18He will not allow me to get my breath,
But saturates me with bitterness.
19If it is a matter of power, behold, He is the strong one!
And if it is a matter of justice, who can summon Him?
20Though I am righteous, my mouth will condemn me;
Though I am guiltless, He will declare me guilty.
21I am guiltless;
I do not take notice of myself;
I despise my life.
22It is all one; therefore I say,
‘He destroys the guiltless and the wicked.’
23If the scourge kills suddenly,
He mocks the despair of the innocent.
24The earth is given into the hand of the wicked;
He covers the faces of its judges.
If it is not He, then who is it?
25“Now my days are swifter than a runner;
They flee away, they see no good.
26They slip by like reed boats,
Like an eagle that swoops on its prey.
27Though I say, ‘I will forget my complaint,
I will leave off my sad countenance and be cheerful,’
28I am afraid of all my pains,
I know that You will not acquit me.
29I am accounted wicked,
Why then should I toil in vain?
30If I should wash myself with snow
And cleanse my hands with lye,
31Yet You would plunge me into the pit,
And my own clothes would abhor me.
32For He is not a man as I am that I may answer Him,
That we may go to court together.
33There is no umpire between us,
Who may lay his hand upon us both.
34Let Him remove His rod from me,
And let not dread of Him terrify me.
35Then I would speak and not fear Him;
But I am not like that in myself.
11I have become foolish; you yourselves compelled me. Actually I should have been commended by you, for in no respect was I inferior to the most eminent apostles, even though I am a nobody. 12The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with all perseverance, by signs and wonders and miracles. 13For in what respect were you treated as inferior to the rest of the churches, except that I myself did not become a burden to you? Forgive me this wrong!
14Here for this third time I am ready to come to you, and I will not be a burden to you; for I do not seek what is yours, but you; for children are not responsible to save up for their parents, but parents for their children. 15I will most gladly spend and be expended for your souls. If I love you more, am I to be loved less? 16But be that as it may, I did not burden you myself; nevertheless, crafty fellow that I am, I took you in by deceit. 17Certainly I have not taken advantage of you through any of those whom I have sent to you, have I? 18I urged Titus to go, and I sent the brother with him. Titus did not take any advantage of you, did he? Did we not conduct ourselves in the same spirit and walk in the same steps?
19All this time you have been thinking that we are defending ourselves to you. Actually, it is in the sight of God that we have been speaking in Christ; and all for your upbuilding, beloved. 20For I am afraid that perhaps when I come I may find you to be not what I wish and may be found by you to be not what you wish; that perhaps there will be strife, jealousy, angry tempers, disputes, slanders, gossip, arrogance, disturbances; 21I am afraid that when I come again my God may humiliate me before you, and I may mourn over many of those who have sinned in the past and not repented of the impurity, immorality and sensuality which they have practiced.