The Cleansing

“The priest is to take some blood of the guilt offering and put it on the lobe of the right ear of the to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot.”

Leviticus 14:14 NIV
(Also see) Leviticus 8: 23,24

But before both of these:

“Slaughter it, take some of the blood and put it on the lobes of the right ears of Aaron and his sons, on the thumbs of their right hand, and on the big toes of their right feet. Then sprinkle blood against the altar on all sides.”

Exodus 29:20 NIV

But why the right ear, thumb and ear lobe? What does that mean? Have you ever truly looked at the text, wondering? Well don’t stop their dig deeper.

What is this passage for? It is located in the section of consecrating the priest of Israel.


What can we understand about the specific body parts…
The notes located at the bottom of the passage of my NIV study bible say this:

29:20 right ears. Symbolizing sensitivity to God and his word. Right hands…. Right feet. Symbolizing a life of service to others on God’s behalf.

But is that right that’s on person’s interpretation. What do I believe? I think that is right, but I think we may be able to take it even another step farther.

What is the ear used for? Listening. What has God called us to do?

“He said, ‘If you listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, who heals you.’”

Exodus 15:26 NIV


“Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and a voice came from the cloud: ‘This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!’”

Mark 9:7 NIV

We are called to just be doers of the earth, but to listen to the voice of God, no matter how soft the whisper. WE need to tear the distractions away from our lives and take a moment to listen. Which is one reason I believe he created the Sabbath for the Israelites. They have little to do but to listen and think and ponder, something we do not do enough of in our fast paced society.

Last of all he puts blood on the feet., or the big toe. Once again, yes serving, but what else. The Foot is used for what? Well walking and holding us up. Jesus tells us in the Great Commission to:

“(16) Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. (17) When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. (18) Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. (19) Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (20) and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’”

Matthew 28:16-20 NIV

We are called to walk, to reach others, to teach and preach the name of Jesus to the world. Now today you do not necessarily have to walk, but back then to get anywhere or talk to anyone you had to walk and use you feet.

The foot is also used to hold us up. I do not know if you’ve ever thought about that. But foot is a solid foundation and a limb that keeps us upright just like God keeps the world upright. He keeps things going, and also gave us something to stand on: the Word of God and his Son Jesus.

So what about the Hand? The notes say service as well. Yes the foot and hand do many of the same things. They help reach people and hold us up and all that, But the hands do something even greater.

Have you ever meet an animated talker? The one who talks, but has to move their arms to tell the story? Or a deaf person who uses sign language? Or maybe a couple that holds hands? There are numerous examples of this, but the hand is a tool for communication. We help communicate and do things with our hands, and God calls us to do that in a Godly manner.

So what doe that all mean to us? Well this was what was done to cleanse, the body to be clean before God. That is what many of the rules in the books of Moses are for. The rules are for safety, health and to keep the body clean of pure, before God.

But we also need to be clean before God. Now we don’t go through this elaborate ritual to accomplish it, but we can focus on the elements and keep them in mind.

The ear – listen for/to God
Hand – Godly and serving in our communications
Feet – serving others by reaching out, going places, taking that extra effort

And by doing these things we will cleanse ourselves, before God. And it will help us to stop think, reflect, and separate ourselves from the world.