Leviticus 14:49-53 - ”To purify the house he is to take two birds and some cedar wood, scarlet yarn and hyssop. He shall kill one of the birds over fresh water in a clay pot. Then he is to take the cedar wood, the hyssop, the scarlet yarn and the live bird, dip them into the blood of the dead bird and the fresh water, and sprinkle the house seven times. He shall purify the house with the bird’s blood, the fresh water, the live bird, the cedar wood, the hyssop and the scarlet yarn.  Then he is to release the live bird in the open fields outside the town. In this way he will make atonement for the house, and it will be clean.”

The two birds - This ceremony is a beautiful, poetic metaphor for salvation.  The bird that is killed and whose blood is spilled into the clay pot is the Lord Jesus, while the believer is bird that, after being dipped in the blood of the other, is set free.  The purification of the house from mildew, which is described in the preceding verses, illustrates how an individual needs to address sin (the mildew) when it contaminates his or her spiritual life (the house).  

The live bird dipped in blood - The live bird would have sprinkled blood everywhere as it fluttered in the hands of the priest.  Similarly, the servant who is covered by the blood also blesses those who are around him or her when that servant pleads.  

Cedar wood, scarlet yarn, and hyssop - Cedar wood and scarlet yarn were materials that Solomon used to construct the temple.  Cedar wood is a soft, fragrant wood and symbolizes a believer who is filled with and directed by the Spirit.  These materials, along with the hyssop and the live bird, are dipped in the blood of the other bird.  So the symbolism of the ceremony encompasses not only our own house, but God’s house as well.  That is, of course, the whole point.  When our own lives are pure and sanctified, then we can be like cedar wood and scarlet yarn, carved and woven and integrated into God’s temple.  This happens only through the blood. 

Hyssop refers to the atonement and was used to sprinkle most of the tabernacle furnishings after having been dipped in the blood of an animal sacrifice.  As Jesus was dying, the soldiers offered him wine vinegar on a stalk of hyssop. (see John 19:29).  Jesus died immediately after tasting it.  David writes in Psalm 51:7, “Cleanse me with hyssop and I will be clean, wash me and I will be whiter than snow.”  Hebrews 9:19 says, “When Moses had proclaimed every commandment of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves, together with water, scarlet wool and branches of hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people.”  (See Exodus 12:22; Numbers 19:6, and Numbers 19:18 for more examples of hyssop as a metaphor for atonement) 

Pleading with a repentant heart - The ceremony takes place only after the house was inspected and entirely cleansed from mildew.  It does not take place before or during the mildew removal process.  The application of Jesus’ blood to our lives is not a substitute for eschewing or eliminating sin.  We need to plead with sincerity and reverence, having made a commitment to repent of what grieves the Lord.  To plead the blood as we continue to sin is inappropriate.  

The redemption of the faithful church - In Psalm 68:13 the Lord says, “The wings of my dove are sheathed with silver, its feathers with shining gold,” referring to his people (the dove=Israel/the church) and the blood of redemption (the silver, for which Jesus was sold to be crucified) covering it, in addition to the power of God (the gold) and revelation (the “shining” light from the gold).  The Lord’s primary concern in the Old Testament was for the nation of Israel, and Jesus’ attention has always centered on the faithful church.  While Jesus died so the believer may experience salvation personally, his death more importantly secured the redemption of the faithful church and her deliverance into eternity, an act that is reflected in the sacrifice of one bird and the liberation of the other.  Like the bird, dipped in the blood of the other and then released, so the faithful church will ascend to the heavens on the day of the Rapture.