Key Verse Spotlight
Leviticus 14:21 - Meaning and Application
Understand how this verse speaks to what you're facing-and how to apply it today
Translation: King James Version
" And if he be poor, and cannot get so much; then he shall take one lamb for a trespass offering to be waved, to make an atonement for him, and one tenth deal of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering, and a log of oil; "
Leviticus 14:21
Verse in Context
Understanding the surrounding verses prevents misinterpretation:
And the priest shall offer the sin offering, and make an atonement for him that is to be cleansed from his uncleanness; and afterward he shall kill the burnt offering:
And the priest shall offer the burnt offering and the meat offering upon the altar: and the priest shall make an atonement for him, and he shall be clean.
And if he be poor, and cannot get so much; then he shall take one lamb for a trespass offering to be waved, to make an atonement for him, and one tenth deal of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering, and a log of oil;
And two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, such as he is able to get; and the one shall be a sin offering, and the other a burnt offering.
And he shall bring them on the eighth day for his cleansing unto the priest, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, before the LORD.
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Here we have the gracious provision the law made for cleansing poor lepers. If they could not bring three lambs and three-tenths of an ephah of flour, they were to bring one lamb and one-tenth of an ephah of flour, and two turtledoves or two young pigeons instead of the other two lambs (Leviticus 14:21, 22).
Notice two things here. First, poverty did not excuse a person from bringing any offering at all. No one should think that because they are poor, God asks nothing from them. God has taken their situation into account, and he asks for what even the poorest person can give. “My son, give me your heart,” and then “the offering of your lips” will be accepted in place of richer gifts.
Second, God expected the poor to give only according to their ability. His commands are not harsh, and he does not make us serve him with what we do not have. The poor are just as welcome at God’s altar as the rich. If there is a willing mind and an honest heart, two pigeons, when they are all a person can afford, are as acceptable to God as two lambs. He asks according to what a person has, not according to what he lacks.
Still, it is worth noticing that although a smaller sacrifice was accepted from the poor, the same ceremony was used for them as for the rich. Their souls are just as valuable, and Christ and his gospel are the same for both. So let us not show favoritism in our faith in our Lord Jesus Christ (James 2:1).
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From This Chapter
Leviticus 14:1
"And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,"
Leviticus 14:2
"This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought unto the priest:"
Leviticus 14:3
"And the priest shall go forth out of the camp; and the priest shall look, and, behold, if the plague of leprosy be healed in the leper;"
Leviticus 14:4
"Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two birds alive and clean, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop:"
Leviticus 14:5
"And the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel over running water:"
Leviticus 14:6
"As for the living bird, he shall take it, and the cedar wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water:"
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