A Survey of the Old Testament Law--Circumcision, Purification, Leprosy (Part 2)

 Having finished Leviticus chapters 12 and 13, let us now move on to Leviticus 14:33-42—33 And the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: “34 When you have come into the land of Canaan, which I give you as a possession, and I put the leprous plague in a house in the land of your possession, 35 and he who owns the house comes and tells the priest, saying, 'It seems to me that there is some plague in the house,' 36 then the priest shall command that they empty the house, before the priest goes into it to examine the plague, that all that is in the house may not be made unclean; and afterward the priest shall go in to examine the house. 37 And he shall examine the plague; and indeed if the plague is on the walls of the house with ingrained streaks, greenish or reddish, which appear to be deep in the wall, 38 then the priest shall go out of the house, to the door of the house, and shut up the house seven days. 39 And the priest shall come again on the seventh day and look; and indeed if the plague has spread on the walls of the house, 40 then the priest shall command that they take away the stones in which is the plague, and they shall cast them into an unclean place outside the city. 41 And he shall cause the house to be scraped inside, all around, and the dust that they scrape off they shall pour out in an unclean place outside the city. 42 Then they shall take other stones and put them in the place of those stones, and he shall take other mortar and plaster the house.”

Notice first of all—where would a leprous plague, that affects a house, originate? From God! Look at verse 34—“When you have come into the land of Canaan, which I give you as a possession, and I put the leprous plague in a house.” Is that really fair? Yes it is. We don’t see it here in the text, but this would be a sign of God’s judgment on a household. That somewhere in that house dwells some sin that the inhabitants don’t want others to know about. But who is the One that knows what goes on in every single house? And isn't God perfectly just in letting those secret things be known? Luke 12:1-3—“1 Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 2 For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. 3 Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.” So you can bet that these people waited as long as they could before they brought the priest into their house to see whether or not the mold and mildew growing on their walls was indeed leprosy. Can you imagine the scandal? “Ooh! The priest is examining Yitzhak and Bethany’s house! Ooohh! I wonder what they did!” Seriously! I mean, think of the scandal that happens when people see a police cruiser pull up into your neighbor’s driveway. This was God’s way of dealing with certain secret sins—sins which were secret to other people, but not to God.

 Now, suppose you did all that. The priest comes in, declares “leprosy,” shuts up the house, and it’s still there so he removes the brick or the timber or whatever else is infected. And what do you know—it’s back. Now what? Leviticus 14:43-45—“43 Now if the plague comes back and breaks out in the house, after he has taken away the stones, after he has scraped the house, and after it is plastered, 44 then the priest shall come and look; and indeed if the plague has spread in the house, it is an active leprosy in the house. It is unclean. 45 And he shall break down the house, its stones, its timber, and all the plaster of the house, and he shall carry them outside the city to an unclean place.” The whole house gets torn down. Every attempt has been made to make the house right, but all human efforts have failed—and now the house is condemned. Sound familiar? Don’t we often try to tidy ourselves up, only to have the sin return, and have to remove those things that make us unclean? And even then, don’t those things always return somehow? Jesus compares the person who turns away from sin for a little while to this leprous house. Matthew 12:43-45—“43 When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. 44 Then he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.' And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. 45 Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.” This person, who realized they were a sinner, decided to be a “good, moral person.” He did all kinds of “good” things, maybe even went to church, sang hymns, and did all kinds of churchy things. They scraped the walls, shut up the house for seven days, took away the dust, made themselves look real pretty. But then, after a while, those old leprous sores started oozing, bringing their filth to the surface. The dust they took out comes back, and this time there is no way to get rid of it. Hebrews 6:4-6—4 It is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame. The leprosy of sin is there to stay, and the person is worse off than they were before they cleaned their house. And like the house, the person faces condemnation. And that condemnation is much sorer than if they had not known the truth. 2^nd Peter 2:20—If, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. John Gill—

 

“Their beginning, or first estate, was that in which they were born, a state of darkness, ignorance, and sin, and in which they were brought up, and was either the state of Judaism, or of Gentilism; their next estate was an outward deliverance and escape from the error of the one, or of the other, and an embracing and professing the truth of the Christian religion, joined with a becoming external conversation; and this their last estate was an apostasy from the truth of the Gospel they had professed, a reception of error and heresy, and a relapse into sin and immorality, which made their case worse than it was at first; for, generally, such persons are more extravagant in sinning; are like raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; and are seldom, or ever, recovered; and by their light, knowledge, and profession, their punishment will be more aggravated, and become intolerable.”

 The only way a house is going to be completely clean is if Christ Himself cleans it. But the thing is, the priest could look at the wall and say “Aha! There is leprosy!” we, however, cannot look at ourselves and say “I know exactly how many times I have sinned!” because we have no idea how many sins we have committed. We probably sin more times in a day than we can even imagine. Psalm 19:12—Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults. Proverbs 20:9—Who can say, "I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin"? And listen to this promise from God, in Jeremiah 33:8—“I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned and by which they have transgressed against Me.” The writer of Hebrews picks up on this promise in Hebrews 9:14—How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? We can cleanse and wash and scrape and dust and do all kinds of things to make ourselves look pretty in comparison to others. But that is not true cleanliness, that is not true righteousness. 2^nd Corinthians 10:12—But they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise. So that concludes the section on lepers, leprous garments, leprous houses, and the cleansing of lepers.

 Next we move on to regulations concerning bodily discharges. And let’s all say it together—“Ewww!” Leviticus 15:1-18—1 And the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, “2 Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When any man has a discharge from his body, his discharge is unclean. 3 And this shall be his uncleanness in regard to his discharge—whether his body runs with his discharge, or his body is stopped up by his discharge, it is his uncleanness. 4 Every bed…and everything on which he sits shall be unclean. 5 And whoever touches his bed…6 He who sits on anything on which he who has the discharge sat…7 And he who touches the body of him who has the discharge…8 If he who has the discharge spits on him who is clean…9 Any saddle on which he who has the discharge rides…10 Whoever touches anything that was under him…He who carries any of those things…11 And whomever the one who has the discharge touches, and has not rinsed his hands in water, he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 12 The vessel of earth that he who has the discharge touches shall be broken, and every vessel of wood shall be rinsed in water. 13 And when he who has a discharge is cleansed of his discharge, then he shall count for himself seven days for his cleansing, wash his clothes, and bathe his body in running water; then he shall be clean. 14 On the eighth day he shall take for himself two turtledoves or two young pigeons, and come before the LORD, to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and give them to the priest. 15 Then the priest shall offer them, the one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering. So the priest shall make atonement for him before the LORD because of his discharge. 16 If any man has an emission of semen, then he shall wash all his body in water, and be unclean until evening. 17 And any garment and any leather on which there is semen, it shall be washed with water, and be unclean until evening. 18 Also, when a woman lies with a man, and there is an emission of semen, they shall bathe in water, and be unclean until evening.’” We don’t know what kind of discharge is talked about in verses 1-15. But whatever it is, it made the person with the discharge unclean. It also made anything the man touched unclean, it made unclean anybody the person touched. And the person with the discharge had to bring an offering, to atone for the discharge. Also, when a man and women lay together, and the man discharges his semen, he and the woman were to bathe with water and be unclean until evening.

 Leviticus 15:19-33—“‘19 If a woman has a discharge, and the discharge from her body is blood, she shall be set apart seven days; and whoever touches her shall be unclean until evening. 20 Everything that she lies on during her impurity shall be unclean; also everything that she sits on shall be unclean. 21 Whoever touches her bed shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 22 And whoever touches anything that she sat on shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 23 If anything is on her bed or on anything on which she sits, when he touches it, he shall be unclean until evening. 24 And if any man lies with her at all, so that her impurity is on him, he shall be unclean seven days; and every bed on which he lies shall be unclean. 25 If a woman has a discharge of blood for many days, other than at the time of her customary impurity, or if it runs beyond her usual time of impurity, all the days of her unclean discharge shall be as the days of her customary impurity. She shall be unclean. 26 Every bed on which she lies all the days of her discharge shall be to her as the bed of her impurity; and whatever she sits on shall be unclean, as the uncleanness of her impurity. 27 Whoever touches those things shall be unclean; he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 28 But if she is cleansed of her discharge, then she shall count for herself seven days, and after that she shall be clean. 29 And on the eighth day she shall take for herself two turtledoves or two young pigeons, and bring them to the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 30 Then the priest shall offer the one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, and the priest shall make atonement for her before the LORD for the discharge of her uncleanness. 31 Thus you shall separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness, lest they die in their uncleanness when they defile My tabernacle that is among them. 32 This is the law for one who has a discharge, and for him who emits semen and is unclean thereby, 33 and for her who is indisposed because of her customary impurity, and for one who has a discharge, either man or woman, and for him who lies with her who is unclean.’” Any woman who had a flow of blood was unclean for as long as she flowed. Now, before we get started, one  thing: in verse 24, where it says “And if any man lies with her at all, so that her impurity is on him”, the KJV says “And if any man lie with her at all, and her flowers be upon him.” When the KJV says “flowers” it does not mean roses or carnations. Rather than “FLAU-ers”, it should be pronounced “FLOW-ers”. As in “her flow.”

 I think we all know who comes to mind when we read this section. We think of the woman who had the flow of blood for so many years, who merely touched the hem of Jesus’ robe and was made clean from her flow. So let’s go ahead and turn there. Luke 8:43-48—43 Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, 44 came from behind and touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped. 45 And Jesus said, "Who touched Me?" When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, "Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'" 46 But Jesus said, "Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me." 47 Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately. 48 And He said to her, "Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace." And so many times we just kinda gloss over this event, and simply chalk it up to Jesus’ ability to heal physical infirmities. But there is so much more to it than that.

 Was this a physical infirmity the woman had been living with? Yes. But was it only physical? No, it was so much more. For twelve years, she could not go near the tabernacle. For twelve years she could not bring an atonement gift. For twelve years, she was unable to be considered clean, to be married, to…you name it. But she no doubt heard something about this Christ. Something she had heard, in the reading of the scroll of Malachi, who wrote that To you who fear My name The Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings (Malachi 4:2). “How?” you ask. Allow me to explain. It says in Luke that she touched the border of His garment. The garment He wore was called a טַלִּית (tallit), or prayer shawl. The Hebrew word translated ‘border’ (as in, the border of the garment) in the Old Testament is כָּנָף (kanaph). This means either “border” or “corner” or…“wing.” And on the כָּנָף (kanaph) of their טַלִּית (tallit) they would have little tassels, which in Hebrew would be צִיצִת (tzitzith). Numbers 15:38-39—“38 Speak to the children of Israel: Tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a blue thread in the tassels of the corners (כָּנָף (kanaph)). 39 And you shall have the tassel (צִיצִת (tzitzith)), that you may look upon it and remember all the commandments of the LORD and do them.” Malachi was saying that the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His כָּנָף (kanaph)—in His wings, that is, in the borders (or corners) of His garment. She had no doubt heard this somewhere and by faith said, “This is messiah. And in the borders of His garment there is healing. If I can but touch the צִיצִת (tzitzith) on His כָּנָף (kanaph) I can be made clean; I can enter the temple and I can be atoned and I can have full access to God!” And we can all have access to God, if we will but reach out.

 Because we need healing from something a whole lot worse than a flow of blood. We need healing from the curse of sin; we need to be clothed in the robe of Christ’s righteousness; we need Christ to heal the house that is our body; we need to be cleansed and made whole because of the things that come out of our body—whether cursing or theft. We need to be cleansed form our impurity, and be made the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. And there is not one blessing that He will hold back from His children. It may not be what we want. He may not make our lives comfortable. But what He gives us will make us into the person He wants us to be, and what we are is to glorify God in the midst of whatever situation we are in. And whether by life or by death, to magnify Christ in our body.

 Jesus Christ is Lord.

Amen.

A Survey of the Old Testament Law--Circumcision, Purification, Leprosy

So, it's been a few years since I have blogged, but I have recently changed jobs, which allows me more time to do so. That being said, let's fire up the engines and get this baby rolling again! 

Leviticus 12:1-8—1 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 "Speak to the children of Israel, saying: 'If a woman has conceived, and borne a male child, then she shall be unclean seven days; as in the days of her customary impurity she shall be unclean. 3 And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. 4 She shall then continue in the blood of her purification thirty-three days. She shall not touch any hallowed thing, nor come into the sanctuary until the days of her purification are fulfilled. 5 But if she bears a female child, then she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her customary impurity, and she shall continue in the blood of her purification sixty-six days. 6 When the days of her purification are fulfilled, whether for a son or a daughter, she shall bring to the priest a lamb of the first year as a burnt offering, and a young pigeon or a turtledove as a sin offering, to the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 7 Then he shall offer it before the LORD, and make atonement for her. And she shall be clean from the flow of her blood. This is the law for her who has borne a male or a female. 8 And if she is not able to bring a lamb, then she may bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons—one as a burnt offering and the other as a sin offering. So the priest shall make atonement for her, and she will be clean.'"

That’s the whole chapter.

Eight verses.

When a male child was born, how long until anyone could be under the same roof with the woman? Seven days. How many days after that until she could come to the tabernacle? Thirty-three days. How many days total? Forty days. And here we have again another period of forty days. How many days did the skies open up and the fountains of the deep break forth for Noah? Forty days. How many days was Moses on the mountain getting the Law? How many days did Jonah warn the Ninevites until their city would be overthrown? Forty days. Forty days. How many days was Jesus fasting in the wilderness? Forty days. How many years did the people wander in the wilderness? Forty years. There is some symbolism to the number forty in God’s economy. In fact, one could not be beaten with more than forty stripes under the Law.

Now, let’s talk a little about the circumcision. We could talk at length about the Judaizers and their heretical belief that unless a Gentile was circumcised, they could not be counted as a Christian. But we won’t. Let me just point out a couple things here. This command for circumcision is not new to the Law. In fact, this was the outward symbol by which one was identified as a Jew. And when do we find the first circumcision? Genesis 17:9-13—9 And God said to Abraham: "As for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. 10 This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised; 11 and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you. 12 He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised, every male child in your generations, he who is born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not your descendant. 13 He who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money must be circumcised, and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant." God incorporates this outward sign into His Law, and commands that every male be circumcised on their eighth day out of the womb. Now remember, all the regulations contained in the old covenant pointed to Christ and the new covenant. That includes circumcision.

 Next, let’s look at the birth of our Lord. Luke 2:21-24—21 And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called JESUS, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb. 22 Now when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the law of the Lord, "Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the LORD"), 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, "A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons." Even in His birth and circumcision He fulfilled the Law. He was circumcised the eighth day, His earthly parents brought the prescribed gift. And it also shows the lowly means He came from. What gift do they bring? "A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons." They did not have the means to bring cattle, or a lamb, or a goat. The best they could do was a couple of pigeons. Point being, He was not rich, He was not (as John Avenzini so wrongly trumpets), “handling big money.” Where did He tell people He lived? Matthew 8:20—“Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests. But the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” Paul tells us in 2^nd Corinthians 8:9—For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor. He did not come and make Himself known to the rich and well-off. He did not hobnob with the rich and famous. He identified with the poor in material things, to show that we all are poor in spiritual things. And Mary, His mother, completed every command that was given to the childbearing woman in the Law.

But finally, let us talk about circumcision and the Christian. Are we, as Christians under the new covenant, still required and bound to be circumcised? No. It would be foolish to even try and argue that, since Paul writes at such great lengths—going so far as to even dedicate an entire letter to the church at Galatia—that no, we are not required to be circumcised. To say that one must be circumcised in order to be saved is to preach a different gospel. Galatians 1:6-9—6 I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, 7 which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed. In other words, if anyone tells you that in order to be saved you must do something in addition to what Christ did on the cross, then may God send that person to the fiery depths of Hell. Martin Luther, in his well-known commentary on this epistle, writes—

“Verse 8…Paul’s zeal for the Gospel becomes so fervent that it almost leads him to curse angels. ‘I would rather that I, my brethren, yes, the angels of heaven be anathematized than that my gospel be overthrown’…Paul maintains that there is no other gospel besides the one he had preached to the Galatians. He preached, not a gospel of his own invention, but the very same Gospel God had long ago prescribed in the Sacred Scriptures… Verse 9…Paul repeats the curse, directing it now upon other persons. Before, he cursed himself, his brethren, and an angel from heaven…Paul herewith curses and excommunicates all false teachers including his opponents. He is so worked up that he dares to curse all who pervert his Gospel. Would to God that this terrible pronouncement of the Apostle might strike fear into the hearts of all who pervert the Gospel of Paul.”

Later in that same letter, Paul unleashes this broadside against Law-keepers, Galatians 5:12—I could wish that those who trouble you would even cut themselves off!  Circumcision was for the time being, for the people who lived under the first covenant. It was done away with when Christ established His church. It is not what makes a person a Christian. Romans 2:28-29—28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; 29 but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God. Now, I know what you may be asking. “But God tells Abraham that ‘My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.’ (Genesis 17:13). Doesn't that mean that circumcision is to be forever?” Yes—but with an explanation. Didn’t God establish the Passover as an “everlasting ordinance” (Exodus 12:17)? Yes. But is that “everlasting ordinance” continued in Christ, our Passover [who] was sacrificed for us? Absolutely. Likewise, circumcision—the sign of the covenant God made with Abraham—is kept by the circumcision of the heart, and we who are of faith are sons of Abraham (Galatians 3:7).

You see, the Law was all about outward purity. The gospel, however, is about an inward change that abhors sin before it can even be acted upon. Should we abstain from evil? Of course. The same God who abhorred murder and adultery under the old covenant is the same God who abhors such things under the new. Although we are under grace, that is not an excuse to live wantonly as the lost. Romans 6:15—What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! Galatians 5:13—For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh. So then, as with so many things contained in the Law, the physical has been fulfilled by the spiritual. As the writer of Hebrews tells us, He takes away the first that He may establish the second (Hebrews 10:9). Which is why, when a woman gives birth today, she need not be excluded form church service for forty days (80 if she has a daughter). Because it is no longer about the outward purification. It is no longer about the requirements of a Law that cannot impart life (Galatians 3:19) nor make one righteous.

OK, so, moving on to chapters 13 through 15. We’re gonna try to get through these rather quickly, because they concern just a couple areas: (1) leprous skin, discharges, garments and houses, and cleansing lepers; and (2) bodily discharges. Let’s begin by talking about leprosy.

 

Leviticus 13:1-8—1 And the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: “2 When a man has on the skin of his body a swelling, a scab, or a bright spot, and it becomes on the skin of his body like a leprous sore, then he shall be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons the priests. 3 The priest shall examine the sore on the skin of the body; and if the hair on the sore has turned white, and the sore appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, it is a leprous sore. Then the priest shall examine him, and pronounce him unclean. 4 But if the bright spot is white on the skin of his body, and does not appear to be deeper than the skin, and its hair has not turned white, then the priest shall isolate the one who has the sore seven days. 5 And the priest shall examine him on the seventh day; and indeed if the sore appears to be as it was, and the sore has not spread on the skin, then the priest shall isolate him another seven days. 6 Then the priest shall examine him again on the seventh day; and indeed if the sore has faded, and the sore has not spread on the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him clean; it is only a scab, and he shall wash his clothes and be clean. 7 But if the scab should at all spread over the skin, after he has been seen by the priest for his cleansing, he shall be seen by the priest again. 8 And if the priest sees that the scab has indeed spread on the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is leprosy.”

 

Swelling, scab, bright spot—take him to the priest. If the hair inside it is white, and the sore is deeper than the skin—leprosy. If the hair isn't white and the sore is only skin deep—isolate for seven days, check him again. If the sore is gone, it’s all good. But if the scab has stayed the same, isolate him another seven days, examine him again. If the scab is fading, it’s all good—if it starts to spread—leprosy. When the Bible talks about “leprosy,” it is more than likely not talking about the leprosy we think of today, which is known by the term Hansen’s Disease. The Hebrew word translated “leprosy” is צָרַעַת (tsara’ath) which is, according to Brown-Driver-Briggs, “a) in people, malignant skin disease (Lev. 13-14); b) in clothing, a mildew or mould (Lev. 13:47-52); c) in buildings, a mildew or mould (Lev. 14:34-53).” Whereas צָרַעַת (tsara’ath) could be transmitted pretty much by simple contact, Hansen’s disease is only contagious in close quarters, and only after prolonged exposure. If that sounds like what is common for tuberculosis, it should—they are both forms of Mycobacterium. Thus, the incubation period for both TB and Hansen’s is quite long, and requires a long time and close contact for infection to manifest itself in others—like in a prison or a homeless shelter. With צָרַעַת (tsara’ath) you would not get the numbness, the deformity in limbs and phalanges, and the prominent lesions you find with Hansen’s. However, for the sake of simplicity, we will use the terms “leprosy” and “leprous” and “lepers” for our studies.

What you would have would be “subcutaneous nodules…scabs or cuticular crusts…and white shining spots appearing to be deeper than the skin…Other signs are (1) that the hairs of the affected part turn white and (2) that later there is a growth of “quick raw flesh” (ISBE). And as you go through and read all the details about what to look for, and about white skin and white hairs and black hairs and what to do with their clothing and their house and what to do if you examine one of these people and you see your own hairs changing colors and your own skin develops scaly patches and… Well, I think you can understand why the ruling classes came to see lepers (as they were called) as being so troublesome. Not that they were troublesome, but because the priests had to devote so much time to memorizing what was leprous and what was not leprous. And if they missed one of these details, they could wind up defiling themselves, their family, they could wind up being infected themselves and being considered unclean, and suffering the stigma of having to walk through the streets declaring themselves “Unclean! Unclean!” and being barred from performing their priestly duties for the required time.

Now, in verses 9-46 describe other warning signs of leprosy: boils, and scaly skin, and raw flesh, and scabs on the head or the beard, and hair falling out—no kidding, the priest had to learn to differentiate between leprosy and baldness. Leviticus 13:40-44—“40 As for the man whose hair has fallen from his head, he is bald, but he is clean. 41 He whose hair has fallen from his forehead, he is bald on the forehead, but he is clean. 42 And if there is on the bald head or bald forehead a reddish-white sore, it is leprosy breaking out on his bald head or his bald forehead. 43 Then the priest shall examine it; and indeed if the swelling of the sore is reddish-white on his bald head or on his bald forehead, as the appearance of leprosy on the skin of the body, 44 he is a leprous man. He is unclean. The priest shall surely pronounce him unclean; his sore is on his head.”

Now if the person was found to be leprous, they were unclean. They had to separate themselves from the rest of the camp. Leviticus 13:45-46—“45 Now the leper on whom the sore is, his clothes shall be torn and his head bare; and he shall cover his mustache, and cry, 'Unclean! Unclean!' 46 He shall be unclean. All the days he has the sore he shall be unclean. He is unclean, and he shall dwell alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp.” Just as God commanded the people to abstain from eating certain animals to teach them to differentiate between clean and unclean and between holy and profane, God used the exclusion of lepers to teach the people of Jesus’ day the inclusivity of the new covenant. Gentiles were excluded from the old covenant (unless they became Jews through circumcision). But when Jesus came, He came first “to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 15:24). But then something happened. A Gentile woman whose daughter was gravely ill threw herself down before Him and worshiped Him, saying, "Lord, help me!" But when He replied "It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs," she pleaded even more, saying "Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters' table." Thus, our Lord relented, and showed favor to us Gentiles, and has made both one, and broken down the middle wall of separation, and preached peace to you who were afar off.

Lepers were considered unclean, and had to go around trumpeting their uncleanness, enduring the scorn of the entire camp. By the time Jesus came to Jerusalem, lepers were hated perhaps even more than were Gentiles. And yet in the first chapter of Mark, a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, "If You are willing, You can make me clean." Knowing that Jesus is our High Priest, what should His response have been, according to the Law? He should have declared the man unclean and sent him out of the city. But not only does Jesus not do that, He actually touches the man! Mark 1:41 (KJV)—And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean. And aren’t you glad He did that? Aren’t you glad He reached out and not only healed lepers, but made physical contact with them? If you're not, you should be. We are covered with something a whole lot worse than leprous scabs, scales, and white hairs. We are covered in sin. We need Jesus to touch us and make us clean—not from some physical deformity, but from the soul-damning effects of that spiritual death that our father Adam passed along to us. Of this, Charles Spurgeon once preached,

“You that feel as if you were possessed with evil spirits, and you that are leprous with sin, you are the persons in whom Jesus will find ample room and verge enough for the display of his holy skill. Of you I might say, as he once said of the man born blind: you are here that the works of God may be manifest in you. You, with your guilt and your depravity, you furnish the empty vessels into which his grace may be poured, the sick souls upon whom he may display his matchless power to bless and save. Be hopeful, then, ye sinful ones! Look up this morning for the Lord's approach, and expect that even in you he will work great marvels. This leper shall be a picture-yea, I hope a mirror- in whom you will see yourselves. I do pray that as I go over the details of this miracle many here may put themselves in the leper's place, and do just as the leper did, and receive, just as the leper received, cleansing from the hand of Christ. O Spirit of the living God, the thousands of our Israel now entreat thee to work, that Jesus, the Son of God, may be glorified here and now!”

Leprosy affected not only the skin of the infected person. It also found its way into their clothing. The condensed version of Leviticus 13:47-59—“47 Also, if a garment has a leprous plague in it, whether it is a woolen garment or a linen garment, 48…whether in leather or in anything made of leather, 49 and if the plague is greenish or reddish in the garment or in the leather…it is a leprous plague and shall be shown to the priest. 50 The priest shall examine the plague and isolate that which has the plague seven days. 51 And he shall examine the plague on the seventh day. If the plague has spread in the garment…the plague is an active leprosy. It is unclean. 52 He shall therefore burn that garment in which is the plague…53 But if the priest examines it, and indeed the plague has not spread in the garment…54 then the priest shall command that they wash the thing in which is the plague; and he shall isolate it another seven days. 55 Then the priest shall examine the plague after it has been washed; and indeed if the plague has not changed its color, though the plague has not spread, it is unclean, and you shall burn it in the fire; it continues eating away, whether the damage is outside or inside. 56 If the priest examines it, and indeed the plague has faded after washing it, then he shall tear it out of the garment…57 But if it appears again in the garment…it is a spreading plague; you shall burn with fire that in which is the plague. 58 And if you wash the garment…if the plague has disappeared from it, then it shall be washed a second time, and shall be clean. 59 This is the law of the leprous plague in a garment of wool or linen, either in the warp or woof, or in anything made of leather, to pronounce it clean or to pronounce it unclean.”

 

Many times the Scriptures talk about being “clothed.” The covering a man puts on tells a lot about the man. And if his clothing is diseased, then it is likely that the man is also. The ordinances in the Law could not prevent a man from sinning. That is one thing we need to never forget. No amount of human laws, dealing with human situations, is ever going to stop crime. But what do we always hear, when some tragedy happens, we get people running around screaming “We need more laws! We need more laws!!” Or they will say something like “Oh, if we had only had a law against _____ this never would have happened!” Yes, it would have happened. Because laws do not prevent crime. In much the same way, this garment with the leprous discharge—was it just naturally leprous? Or was that the outward manifestation of the disease it covered? What we clothe ourselves in is the result of what we are inside. We don’t like a piece of clothing because we bought it—we bought it because we liked it.

And when we try to clothe ourselves in our own righteousness—when we seek to protect ourselves from God’s justice by surrounding ourselves with “good deeds” and “doing alms” and whatever else man might call “good”—we are like the leper whose disease is showing forth through his clothing. And when those people teach others that they too must somehow “earn” God’s favor, they take that leprous garment, they place it on that person’s shoulders, and they transfer the plague to the unsuspecting person. The central accusation Jesus made against the Pharisees was that they were seeking to clothe themselves in layer upon layer of vile human works—seeking to be beautiful outward while they were dead inside. Yet even their outward “beauty” (so-called) they had turned to ugliness:

Matthew 6:1-2, 5, 16—“1 Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward…5 And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward…16 Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.”

Matthew 23:15, 25-28—“15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves…25 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence…27 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. 28 Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”

 

The leprosy of sin that dwelt within them had bled through and polluted their works. They did not do these works to display the glory of God—they performed these works to shame others, to lift up their own countenance above their countrymen and to exalt themselves over all others. Some more verses that talk about being clothed in shame. Job 8:22—“Those who hate you will be clothed with shame.” Psalm 35:26—“Let them be ashamed and brought to mutual confusion who rejoice at my hurt; Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor who exalt themselves against me.” When we are born, we are born with a spirit within us that is always set on doing what we want to do—whether it pleases God or not. In fact, we don’t even give a whit about whether it pleases God, just so long as we please ourselves. And we are born thinking that the songwriter was absolutely correct in saying that “learning to love yourself is the greatest love of all.” But loving one’s own flesh is not the greatest love of all—in fact, we don’t need to learn how to love ourselves because it just comes naturally to us. It is just as easy for the natural man to love himself as it is for him to breathe. And that love manifests itself in the works of the flesh. Galatians 5:19-21—19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

 

When the life of a man lives itself out in lust and evil and sin, that is a sign that the person has probably not been born from above. For if they had been born from above, they would abhor these things, they would, as Paul warned us, flee sexual immorality (1st Corinthians 6:18) and would put to death [their] members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry (Colossians 3:5). These are the things which defile a man—not what one eats. But the Pharisees had long ago lost that notion, and so rebuked our Lord for not washing His hands before He ate. But Christ, foreshadowing the words Paul would write, said Matthew 15:17-20—“17  Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? 18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. 19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. 20 These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.” We are clothed in this filthy rag we call flesh. But the skin and other tissues we are covered with are not evil of themselves. They are simply the covering, the vehicle, if you will, that the spirit inside us, called “the flesh”, moves and leads to commit our various acts of rebellion against God. Allow me to share a quote from Paul Washer—

“The greatest, most commendable deeds of men are nothing but a few filthy rags before God. One might clothe a leper in the finest, white silk to cover his sores, but immediately, the corruption of his flesh would bleed through the garment, leaving it as vile as the man it seeks to hide. So are the “good works” of men before God. They bear the corruption of the man who does them. When speaking about the moral corruption of man, special attention must be given to the heart. In the Scriptures, the heart refers to the seat of the will and the emotions. It represents the very core of one’s being. According to the Scriptures, the very heart of man is corrupt and from it flows every form of sin, rebellion, and perversity.”

However, when we trust in Christ, we are circumcised in our heart (as we saw earlier). And although we still walk around in these dingy bodies; even though we still have upon us this skin and muscle and tissues which the spirit called “the flesh” (which still resides within us) uses for its own ends from time to time, we are no longer covered in the filthy rags of our own vile human works. We have the very righteousness of Christ upon us. 2nd Corinthians 5:21—For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. And because we are the righteousness of God in Christ, we are justified in the sight of God. Psalm 132:9—Let Your priests be clothed with righteousness, and let Your saints shout for joy. We can say with Job, “I put on righteousness, and it clothed me” (Job 29:14). We can rejoice with the repentant sinner in Isaiah 61:10—“I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.” We can thank God, as Paul did, that He has made us righteous and delivered us from the penalty we deserved for allowing our rebellious spirit to overwhelm our physical body and use it as a tool for our own desires. Romans 7:24-25—24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.

 

Thank God that Christ has cleansed us, not only our bodies from  the scourge of leprosy, but from the eternal vestiges and punishment of sin!

Amen