THROUGH THE BIBLE - Leviticu..

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com. That's cornerstonerbc.com. Chapter 13 from verse one. The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron saying, when a person has on the skin of his body a swelling or an eruption or a spot, and it turns into a case of leprous disease on the skin of his body, that he shall be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons, the priests.

And the priests shall examine the diseased area on the skin of his body. And if the hair in the diseased area has turned white and the disease appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, it is a case of leprous disease. When the priest has examined him, he shall pronounce him unclean. But if the spot is white in the skin of his body and appears no deeper than the skin, and the hair in it has not turned white, the priest shall shut up the diseased person for seven days. And the priest shall examine him on the seventh day.

And if it is in his eyes, the disease is checked and his disease has not spread in the skin, then the priest shall shut him up for another seven days. And the priest shall examine him again on the seventh day. And if the diseased area has faded and the disease has not spread in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him clean. It is only an eruption. And he shall wash his clothes and be clean.

But if the eruption spreads in the skin after he has shown himself to the priest for his cleansing, he shall appear again before the priest and the priest shall look. And if the eruption has spread in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is a leprous disease. When a man is afflicted with leprous disease, he shall be brought to the priest, and the priest shall look, and if there is a white swelling in the skin that has turned the hair white, and there is raw flesh in the swelling, it is a chronic leprous disease in the skin of his body, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean." He shall not shut him up, for he is unclean.

And if the leprous disease breaks out in the skin, so the leprous disease covers all the skin of the diseased person from head to foot, so far as the priest can see, then the priest shall look, and if the leprous disease has covered all his body, he shall pronounce him clean of the disease. It has all turned white, and he is clean. But when raw flesh appears on him, he shall be unclean, and the priest shall examine the raw flesh and pronounce him unclean. Raw flesh is unclean, for it is a leprous disease. 16.

But if the raw flesh recovers and turns white, and then he shall come to the priest, and the priest shall examine him, and if the disease has turned white, then the priest shall pronounce the diseased person clean. He is clean. If there is in the skin of one's body a boil and it heals, and in place of boil there comes a white swelling or a reddish-white spot, then it shall be shown to the priest, and the priest shall look. And if it appears deeper than the skin and its hair has turned white, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is a case of leprous disease that has broken out in the boil.

But if the priest examines it and there is no white hair in it and it is not deeper than the skin, but has faded, then the priest shall shut him up seven days. And if it spreads in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is a disease. But if the spot remains in one place and does not spread, it is a scar of the boil and the priest shall pronounce him clean. Or when the body has a burn on its skin and the raw flesh of the burn becomes a spot, reddish white or white, the priest shall examine it and if the hair in the spot has turned white and it appears deeper than the skin, then it is a leprous disease.

It has broken out in the burn and the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is a case of leprous disease. But if the priest examines it and there is no white hair in the spot and is no deeper than the skin but has faded, the priest shall shut him up for seven days and the priest shall examine him the seventh day. If it is spreading in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is a case of leprous disease.

But if the spot remains in one place and does not spread in the skin, but is faded, it is swelling from the burn, and the priest shall pronounce him clean, for it is the scar of the burn. 29. When a man or a woman has a disease on the head or the beard, the priest shall examine the disease. And if it appears deeper than the skin and the hair in it is yellow and thin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is an itch, a leprous disease of the head or the beard.

And if the priest examines the itch, disease, and it appears no deeper than the skin, and there is no black hair in it, then the priest shall shut up the person with the itching disease for seven days. And on the seventh day, the priest shall examine the disease. If the itch has not spread, and there is no yellow hair, and the itch appears to be no deeper than the skin, then he shall shave himself, but the itch he shall not shave. And the priest shall shut up the person with the itching disease for another seven days." And on the seventh day, the priest shall examine the itch, and if the itch has not spread in the skin, and it appears to be no deeper than the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him clean, and he shall wash his clothes and be clean.

But if the itch spreads in the skin after his cleansing, then the priest shall examine him, and if the itch has spread in the skin, the priest need not seek for yellow hair, he is unclean. But if in his eyes the itch is unchanged and black hair has grown in it, the itch is healed and he is clean and the priest shall pronounce him clean. 38. When a woman or a man has spot on the skin of the body, white spots, the priest shall look and if the spots on the skin of the body are dull white, it is leucodymera that has broken out in the skin. He is clean.

If a man's hair falls out from his head, he is bald, he is clean. If a man's hair falls out from his forehead and he has baldness of his forehead, he is clean. But if there is on the bald head or on the bald forehead a reddish white diseased area, it is a leprous disease breaking out on his bald head and his bald forehead. Then the priest shall examine him, and if the disease swelling is reddish white on his bald head or on his forehead, like the appearance of leprous disease in the skin of the body, he is a leprous man. He is unclean.

The priest must pronounce him unclean. His disease is on his head." The leprous person who has the disease shall wear torn clothes and let his hair of his head hang loose. And he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, unclean, unclean. He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease.

He is unclean. He shall leave alone. His dwelling shall be outside the camp. When there is a case of leprous disease in a garment, whether a woolen or a linen garment, in wrap, or woof, or linen, or wool, or in the skin, or anything made of skin, if the disease is greenish or reddish in the garment, or in the skin, or in the wrap, or the woof, or in any article made of skin, it is a case of leprous disease, and it shall be shown to the priest. And the priest shall examine the disease and shut up that which has the disease for seven days.

Then he shall examine the disease on the seventh day. If the disease has spread in the garment, in the wrap or the woof of the skin, whatever be the use of the skin, the disease is a persistent leprous disease. It is unclean. And he shall burn the garment or the wrap or woof. the wool or the linen or any article made of skin that is diseased, for it is persistent leprous disease, it shall be burnt in the fire.

And if the priest examines, and if the disease has not spread in the garment, in the wrap or the woof, or in any article made of skin, then the priest shall command that they wash the thing in which is the disease, and he shall shut it up for another seven days. And the priest shall examine the diseased thing after it has been washed. And if the appearance of the diseased area has not changed, though the disease has not spread, it is unclean. You shall burn it with fire, whether the rot is on the back or on the front. But if the priest examines it, if the, so my apologies, 56, but if the priest examines, And if the diseased area has faded after it has been washed, he shall tear it out of the garment or the skin or the wrap or the roof.

Then if it appears again in the garment, in the wrap or the roof or in any article made of skin, it is spreading. You shall burn with fire whatever has the disease, but the garment or the wrap or the roof or any article made of skin from which the disease departs when you have washed it shall then be washed a second time and be clean. This is a law for a case of leprous disease in the garment of wool or linen, either in the wrap or the wolf or in any article made of skin to determine whether it is clean or unclean. Amen. This is the word of the Lord.

Well, brothers and sisters, We, as you're aware, are still in the book of Leviticus and in this section in particular that deals with holiness in the daily lives of these now freed Israelites. The section began in chapter 11 and continues through chapter 15. At the heart of these chapters is the need for ritual purity or ritual cleanliness of the people of God in order to enjoy the presence of God who dwells among them. In other words, The people are to be concerned with every facet of their daily lives so that they remain clean in order to remain fit to worship and have fellowship with Yahweh as His people. You see, throughout the book of Leviticus, the overarching message is this.

God is holy. And so His people must also be holy. A people fully consecrated, set apart for Him. The ancient purity laws that we've just read about and have been meditating upon are very much intended to teach Israel this lesson. The privileged people of God were to know only that which is perfect, clean, whole, and holy is fit to dwell in His camp."

Now these are very much taught in these chapters with the physical things that can be seen and experienced with these people's own eyes. different events and occurrences they witnessed in their everyday lives, many of which were not inherently sinful, yet were still able to make them unclean before the Lord. But of course, what was being taught went beyond the physical. You see, as important as it was to be ritually clean, that wasn't the ultimate goal, but rather it was a picture or a type of a much more important spiritual reality. And that reality was, beloved, the need for people's hearts and souls to be clean.

The physical laws were meant to point to the need for the internal holiness, for the internal purity, for the internal perfections that are needed in order to dwell with God. You see, every day, as they were constantly aware of the need to protect themselves physically from that which defiles or corrupts their bodies and would disqualify them from enjoying the covenant privileges, They were even more to be concerned with protecting their souls from sin and iniquity, which corrupts and defiles them from being the spiritual people of God. Beloved, we must see this veracity of truth as we continue in this book. Otherwise, we may fall into the error of thinking God primarily is concerned with the external and not the internal. Because God's ultimate concern is not to have a people who are identified as His because they've been circumcised in the flesh.

Rather, He wants His people to be a people who are known to be His because they are circumcised in the heart. So far in this passage on ritual purity, we've meditated upon the instructions given in chapter 11 about the type of animals that are clean and unclean. We've gone through chapter 12 last week, where childbirth was in view. And if you remember, we concluded that there's absolutely nothing inherently sinful in the process of procreation or childbirth when done within the context of a covenant marriage between a husband and a wife. But due to the prolonged flow of blood, the very blood that is deemed to be life, the new mother is incomplete or unwhole and therefore ritually unfit for the presence of God.

a temporal uncleanliness, at which time she cannot partake in the holy things of worship until her body is made whole again. Now this week, our attention is drawn to the various skin diseases, collectively called leprosy in our text. Leprosy will render a person ritually unclean. Now it seems at least from the descriptions we're given, that not all the skin diseases can be identified as the dreaded disease called leprosy or Hansen's disease as we know it today. Hansen's disease is a chronic bacterial infection of the skin causing serious nerve damage.

Now, it is certainly included in and among the skin diseases that we read of today or this evening in our text, but other serious flesh eating skin diseases seem to be included in the text also. Now it is the priests who are given the details and the criteria of how to diagnose the various skin conditions that could arise amongst the people of Israel. Remember back in Leviticus chapter 10, verse 10, in fact, Aaron was told by God that he was the priest's responsibility to distinguish between that which is holy and that which is common. It was the priest's responsibility to distinguish between that which is clean and that which is unclean. Therefore, in this case, it's the priest's responsibility to examine the people with symptoms.

Now, of course, the priest would examine with his own eyes. He wouldn't touch the people because if he touched them, he would be at risk of being made unclean himself. Now the priest could, if he deemed fit, he could quarantine the person if extra time is necessary in order to make an accurate assessment. Because beloved, this is not child's play. This is important.

The consequences of his decision is a big deal and he had to get it right. And then once he was sure, it was to make a declaration. He examines, he can quarantine if he wishes, and then he makes a declaration. And that declaration is either one is clean or one is unclean. The Israelite, depending on the verdict, would either be restored to the people of God in the camp, if they're declared clean, or be sent outside the camp into isolation if declared unclean.

Now chapter 13 is divided into two sections. The first is from verses 1 through 46. This section really concentrates upon the skin disease of the people themselves, the people of this community called the old covenant community of God. And then the section from verse 47 through 59 concentrates upon a different form of leprosy, what we would probably call mold or mildew on items of clothing. Their clothing was to be undefiled.

If an item was declared unclean, it would be the cut off or completely burnt in fire and destroyed. God was concerned that every facet of his people was clean, undefiled. and everything was completely consecrated, set apart to him. A point that is evident in chapter 13 and indeed chapter 14, because as next week we'll find out, chapter 14 and 13 are both a unit. Both are pertaining to the topic of leprosy as a whole.

In chapter 13, we'll see the diagnosis and the consequence of being declared either clean or unclean. Then chapter 14 states the process of cleansing for a person who has been healed from this skin disease. Now it's in the first section from verses one through 46 where we'll spend the rest of our time together. As I said, this section is concerned only with the people of ancient Israel who are showing symptoms of skin disease. The first subsection in that section is from verses one through 17, which is the initial test and diagnosis by the priest to determine whether the symptoms are indeed a serious skin disease or not.

Now, the four skin symptoms that people were instructed to have inspected by the priests are listed for us in verse 2 and then again in verse 10. First one is swelling, some sort of skin growth or inflammation he has connoted. The second is what the ESV calls eruptions. The original for this word actually connotes a scabby skin due to possibly an opening of the flesh. The third is spots or bright spots, which are markings on the skin.

And the fourth, for chronic leprosy, the priest would look for raw flesh or an open wound. And we find that in verse 10. See all these symptoms can be signs of infection or skin disease. The priest will diagnose these things in a number of different ways, the colour of the hair in that region, the depth of the damage, and he'll see whether it is indeed a serious skin infection or simply some sort of maybe, for example, eczema which will deem a person clean and he'll be restored back into the community He may choose, that is the priest, to quarantine if more time is needed. He may need to monitor the skin for seven days just to monitor the spread of this disease.

However, in some cases, the signs are immediately clear and a conclusive diagnosis can be made to declare a person as leprous and unclean, whereby that person is sent to dwell outside the camp, away from his family, away from the covenant community, not to return until he or she is healed and made whole. You see, the obvious reason is that this disease could be contagious and spread among the community. But also, if the disease wasn't physically contagious, the presence of an unclean person would cause ritual uncleanliness, ritual defilement in the camp, which must always, always be ritually clean. Remember that. We have serious skin diseases that arise from what seems to be secondary conditions.

What do I mean by that? Well, from verses 13 through 23, the skin conditions that arise from boils from 24 through 28. We see skin conditions or possible skin conditions that rise from burns to the skin. Then we have from verses 29 through 37, skin conditions that could arise from itchy scabs. on the head or on the beard.

And then we have from verse 38, 39, we have skin conditions that arise from white spots on the body, which actually turn out to be superficial and clean after all. And then from verse 40 through 44, on bald areas of a man, areas where no hair is on the man. In all of these symptoms, the priest is to diagnose the disease and declare a person either clean or the dreaded unclean. Beloved, can you imagine, can you imagine how the heart of the Israelite would sink in the moment he hears the words unclean. He or she had done nothing wrong.

They were living lives and saw some blotches on their skin, that's it. Their skin disease is not a result of any specific sins that they had committed. But nonetheless, the Israelite would be sent out from among his family, from among his covenant community, and most importantly, sent out or exiled from fellowship and corporate worship of God. The leper is now deemed as an outcast, not fit to be among the people of God until he or she is healed of their skin disease. Even though, as I said earlier, this person has done absolutely nothing wrong, this disease, beloved, still carried with it a certain stigma.

Over time, the Jews would associate leprosy with God's judgment, as though in every case, the leper has the disease because of sin. Now, let's be fair. To be sure, God did inflict some with leprosy as judgment, but that wasn't always the case. Not at all. This type of thinking is seen later in the Pharisees in what is called retribution theology.

It's faulty, but it's sad. It's so sad because rather than these people having pity upon the sick, many would look down upon them with disdain and contempt. Although restoration was possible, once healed, the sick person was able to come back into the community of people if he were to be or she were to be healed. We all know, beloved, that unfortunately for some that never happened. Unfortunately for some this isolation, this exile from among the people of God and the presence of God, the community of believers was an isolation that was permanent.

For many chronic leprosy, people with chronic leprosy, It was known as an incurable disease. And apart from divine healing, it meant a lifelong exile. Beloved, this is absolutely heartbreaking because the people of God wanted nothing more than to be in the presence of God and his people and to be able to worship him in the covenant community. This is the heart and the soul of a person who actually belongs to Yahweh. You remember the words of David in Psalm 27, when he says, one thing I have asked, I asked of the Lord that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.

That is the heart of a true believer, to be with God and among God's people. but for no fault of their own, some were deprived of this privilege. And then you see what we have in verse 44 through 46, which tells us that once these people were confirmed to be leprous, the leper would wear torn clothing that would neglect their hair, cover their upper lip in shame, and then cry out, unclean, unclean. no doubt wanting others of their uncleanliness. All of this happens outside the camp, all alone.

These things described for us in verse 45 and 46 according to Ezekiel 24 in a passage referring to the death of that prophet's wife are all, in fact, things that pertain to mourning. Indeed, the leper is sent outside the camp to a perpetual mourning. Mourning over who, you might ask? Himself. It's a mourning at one's own funeral, you could almost say.

Because beloved, to be removed from God and his people is to be as good as dead. True life is found only with God and his people. Apart from him is death. Not long from now, Moses' sister, Miriam, will speak against her brother, Moses, and be struck with leprosy. And in Numbers chapter 12, Aaron, her brother, will liken her condition as one who is dead.

Brothers and sisters, there are many things we can say and apply to this text. But we cannot move off this passage before we recognize that this disease, which is called leprosy, although not inherently sinful, does indeed so clearly point to the natural person and sin in so many ways. As I said earlier, the physical things have always got a deeper spiritual reality that is being taught here, in particular to the people of Israel, and of course us here today. In this case, the ancient Israelites would learn that leprosy was the physical corruption of the body that pointed to sin, which is the spiritual corruption of the soul. Leprosy in the Old Testament was very much a synonym the sin.

This is evident in the words of David in his anguish as he pleads with the Lord for forgiveness for committing adultery with Bathsheba and essentially murdering her husband Uriah. In Psalm 51 he writes, purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean. Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow. You see, he pleads with God to purge his sin with hyssop. Brothers and sisters, the only time hyssop is used in the law, it is in Leviticus 14, in the very next chapter, in the prescription given to cleanse and purify a leper.

David speaks of the same prescription because he recognizes that leprosy is a physical picture of spiritual sin. Think about it. Think about the similarities, beloved. Just like a leper, sin or leprosy, sin starts small and it begins to grow. It spreads slowly but surely.

At times, as in verse 35 of our passage, it seems to have abated, to be under control, but it's not. It returns again because it never left. It spreads and spreads, going from bad to worse. This is no superficial discoloration. It's not skin deep.

It penetrates into the flesh. And as time goes on, it infects more and more of the body. The itch and the initial pain subdues because it attacks the nerves. As a result, the senses are numbed. Beloved, the senses are numbed.

There comes a point where pain is no longer felt, even though the flesh is still being eaten up by this disease. It continues to destroy and consume until it deforms and decays the whole person. In some cases, the gums and tongue are absorbed into the mouth. The lips begin to rot and the nose fades away. Hair falls out.

This disease keeps consuming and consuming from limb to limb. It eats away until a person's appearance becomes so hideous, even beyond recognition. And as long as this disease is found within a person, that person remains separated from God and his people. Beloved, there's no cure. There's no remedy.

No help can be found. This sickness binds a person like a prisoner, not letting them go. The priest is able to diagnose, yes, and even offer a sacrifice if healing comes about, but he himself cannot offer a remedy. He has no power to set a leper free from his disease. helpless in bondage to a flesh-consuming disease that will ultimately lead to his or her lonely death.

Beloved, only God can help a leper now. Is this disease really unlike sin, beloved? So many similarities. And just like leprosy, sin can be identified, but no one in this world can rescue one from the damaging and damning effects of sin. Help must come from above.

And that help comes, beloved, in the form of the incarnate Son of God. Because when we fast forward about 1500 years to Matthew chapter eight, verse one, and we'll end on this point, He reads like this, Jesus had just finished preaching the Sermon on the Mount. He says, and it says, when he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him and behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him saying, Lord, if you will, You can make me clean. And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him saying, I will be clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

And Jesus said to him, see that you say nothing to anyone, but go show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded for a proof to them. Now that gift and sacrifice, our brother will tell us about next week. But imagine the joy and tribulation of this leper, once exiled from among the people, deemed to be an outcast and loathsome by all, unable to worship within the people of God, unable to offer sacrifice in the temple. But now Jesus has set him free and made him whole again. Ritually clean.

He's healed. He is set free. Beloved, The healing this man experienced when Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him saying, I will be clean, is a picture, a picture of the spiritual reality that is accomplished in the finished work of the incarnate Son of God for all who believe. He came to reconcile the spiritual outcasts, exiled because of their own sin and their own unrighteousness, their abhorrence before God. He came to reconcile them back to God, to make the unclean clean.

And he does this through a new and better covenant, a covenant in his shed purifying blood, which makes spiritual lepers like us, beloved, forever clean. forever clean, never to be defiled again, chains broken, freedom from the bondage of sin and infection of the sin that infected every single part of our being taken care of because of what Jesus has done. Beloved, if the son has set you free, you are free indeed. Let's pray.