THE LAW OF
THE LEPER
Part 1
Chapter 1
Most of our readers know that the
Bible, especially the Old Testament, is full of most wonderful pictures of our
Lord Jesus Christ, and of those things which concern Him. In the New Testament
these pictures are spoken of as “Shadows” (Col. 2:17, Heb. 8:15, 10:1). “The
Law having a shadow of good things to come.” Some of these shadows are so
plain, and in such wonderful detail, that as we gaze upon them, we are amazed at
their clearness and beauty.
Of all these beautiful shadows,
few, if any, are more beautiful, or shown out in greater detail and fullness
than the “Law of the Leper.”
Leprosy is the most hateful and
loathsome of all diseases, it is a disease which not only ends in death, but
more than any other disease is a picture of death working in life; for the
parts of the body affected really die, while the man lives on.
The beginning of leprosy is like
the beginning of sin. It is small and insidious, and at first not alarming. We
see in Leviticus 13:2 that sometimes it even looks “bright,”—just as sin at the
beginning does not frighten us; and, instead, often appears bright and
attractive,—but in reality death is
there. The wages of sin is death, just as the certain end of leprosy is also
death.
Leprosy may affect almost any part
of the body. It was not what the leper did
that made him unclean, but what he was.
We must each say “I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive
me.” (Ps. 51:5) We were born unclean. It is what we are, as well as what we do, that makes us unclean. Therefore the
leper had to go to the Priest, (not to the doctor), to make clean. Note, it was
not only a question of being healed, but
cleansed. So we may see Leprosy is a
most fitting picture of Sin.
And as Sin, and its Cleansing, is
the theme of the Bible from the beginning of Genesis to the end of Revelation,
so in the 13th and 14th of Leviticus, we will find the
same theme manifested with such power and skill, that we are compelled to bow
in worship, and confess that none but the love of God could devise such a means
of cleansing. Not only is leprosy a picture of sin, but we will find that these
two chapters are full of other most wonderful pictures, if only we have eyes to
see them.
As we read these chapters
together, we will seek, with God’s help, to point out some of the beautiful
details in this picture of Sin and its Cleansing.
First let us notice and always
remember, that GOD—not man—gave us
this wonderful picture.
The introduction to the who
subject is in Chapter 13, verse 1,—“And the
Lord spake unto Moses Aaron, saying”—Let us, as we write, or read, remember
we are considering the very words of the True and Living God.
In chapter 13, verse 2 we read,
“When a man shall have in the skin of his flesh a rising, a scab, or a bright
spot, and it be in the skin of his flesh like the plague of leprosy: then he shall be brought unto Aaron the priest,
or unto one of his sons the priest.” “A rising, a scab, or a bright spot.” How
much these words express! “A rising,” Does this not tell us of pride that puffs
up every one of us? Pride that causes contention? Pride that is of the root and
core of so many sins and evils? Probably not one of us is free form these
hateful risings, and often those who believe themselves to be most humble, are
in reality proud of their humility.
The Word says, “Knowledge puffeth
up,” (1Cor. 8:1), and how striking to see that the “knowledge spoken of here is
a knowledge of the Word and ways of God. It surely should make us stop and
consider, when we realize that even a knowledge of the Bible may puff us up,
and bring out one of those “risings” that hides leprosy. Someone has said that
there is Pride of race, Pride of place, Pride of face, but the worst pride of
all is, Pride of Grace. And so there may be many kinds of risings, but
certainly one of the worst, and one of the commonest, is the rising that is
puffed up through our knowledge of God’s Own Word. The Pharisee in Luke 18:11,
had a very bad rising of this sort. Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar are others who
were afflicted with a “rising,” but of another kind, and our readers can
doubtless think of many others who are troubled with the same kind of leprosy,
possibly themselves included.
“A scab.” This covers up some old
wound, or sore. How many of us are troubled with scabs! Somebody has treated us
badly in the past and it still sticks in our hearts. We have never really
forgiven them, though we have tried to cover up the old sore. I is like the
root of bitterness, (Heb. 12:15), hidden away in the ground, covered up, but
liable to spring up at any time and “defile many,” just as the scab is liable
to hide leprosy at any time, and defile many. Oh, Friends, do be careful about
these scabs, they are most dangerous things. King Saul is an example of a man
terrible ill with “scabs.”
“A Bright Spot.” We read in
Hebrews 11:25 of “The pleasures of sin.” Sin does have its pleasures. Often sin
looks very bright. We read in Heb 3:13 of “The deceitfulness of sin,” and that
is always true. Sin is deceitful. Sin would turn our eyes from the danger of
sin, and would tell us how very profitable, how very bright it is. Do you
remember how the first sin entered this world? Satan presented it to the woman
as a “bright spot.” She saw the forbidden tree of the knowledge of good and
evil. She saw it was “good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and
a tree to be desired to make one wise.” (Gen. 3:6) It all looked so bright,
that she took the fruit and did eat.
Satan has been busy preparing
“bright spots” ever since that day, and they are intended by him to end up in
leprosy. The brightest spots on the streets of Shanghi at night, are generally
the most sinful. They are dens of wickedness, saturated with leprosy. Oh, my Friends,
beware of the “bright spots” sown here. There is a far brighter spot, the
“bright Home of the Saviour,” awaiting His own at the end of the way, and they
can well do without the bright spots down here. They will surely break into
leprosy.
Please notice especially those
words “He shall be brought unto Aaron the priest.” These are very important
words and we find almost the same words in Leviticus 14:2, when it was a
question of cleansing. No matter whether it is a question of deciding whether a
man has leprosy or not, or whether a man is ready to be cleansed from his
leprosy or not, the whole matter depended on the priest. The man and his
friends had nothing to say about it. The man who had a rising, a scab or a
bright spot might say, “I do not consider these things of any importance. In my
opinion, and in the opinion of all the great scientists, these things do not
matter.” Friend, the first thing this man must learn is that his own opinion
and the opinion of every other living man, except the priest, is of absolutely
no value or importance, and is even of no interest whatever. The whole question
is “What does the priest say?”
Perhaps he was not willing to go
to the priest. Perhaps he thought he could decide himself about the rising, the
scab or the bright spot, perhaps he thought the small spot on his body would
soon get better. But the Word of God stands sure, “He shall be brought unto the
Priest.” The Word does not even say, He himself shall go to the Priest,—but “He
shall be brought unto the Priest.”
Therefore those words “He shall be
brought unto Aaron the Priest.” Are most important words. Dear Reader, have you
ever been brought unto the Lord Jesus Christ, the great High Priest? Have you
ever submitted your life to the gaze of His eyes, “which are like a flame of
fire?” There may be things in your life which you know are not quite right,
what about them? Has the Priest “looked” at them? Considered them? You know He
must pronounce them “unclean.” Perhaps your friends have brought you by prayer
many times to the Lord Jesus: but if you have never been brought to that Priest
before, God grant that this little book will bring you to Him this day. Perhaps
you say, “Oh, those things are of no consequence. It is only a rising, a
swelling,”—but is it a swelling of pride? Is sin at the root of the trouble?
The priest alone can decide this. Go to Him, Friend, Go quickly, while there is
time and hope,—far better for you to know the truth now, than to drop into Hell
without even knowing you are on your way there.
You will not find the Priest
impatient or cruel. You will find One who is filled with live and sympathy. He
will look on those risings or swellings—that scab which marks some old trouble,
maybe some old quarrel, or bad feeling: those bright spots which you rather
like, but which tell of something wrong within, perhaps some self-indulgence
which you love. He will not look hurriedly. His eye will never mistake, and if
there is any question He will shut up the one with these complaints, for seven
days,—or even for still another seven days if need be. (see verses 4-7).
But has not our Priest, the Lord
Jesus Christ, already shut up man, already given man every chance to clear
himself of the charges of being a leper? Surely He has. He tried Adam in the
Garden of Eden, in innocence; but soon the leprosy appeared, sin came in. He
tried man before the flood with conscience as his guide, and when God “looked”
on him, He found such terrible leprosy that all were destroyed but eight
persons. There was no other way for such a disease. He tried Noah and his sons,
but again sin appeared. Then He took Abraham and his descendants, shut him up
form other nations, but still out came the leprosy. Then He gave them the law,
but that did not help.
Finally He sent His Own dear Son,
and man murdered Him. Now what does God say? The trial is over. No need to shut
up man any longer. Read Romans 3. Look at verse 10, “There is none righteous,
no, not one.” Verse 12 “There is none that doeth good, no, not one.” Verses,
22, 23, “There is no difference: for all have sinned, and come short of the
glory of God.” And see also Romans11:32, Galatians 3:22. Every mouth has been
stopped, (Rom. 3:19), so that even you
can have not one word to say. The Priest has already pronounced you, and every
man, to be unclean.
The Priest is looking on you,
Friend, and that is what He says. He pronounces you a sinner. He says you
are not righteous. He tells you that you
do not do good. Your mouth is closed.
The best thing you can do is to “cover” it, and cry “Unclean! Unclean!” You
have been brought to the Priest now. He has looked on you. He sees that the
plague in the skin of your flesh is leprosy. He sees the hair is turned white.
What does that mean? It means there is the sign of decay and death. He tells
you that already decay is in your blood; that to His eye, there are already in
you the marks of death, with judgment to follow, and then “the second death.”
Friend, the plague is deeper that
the skin (Lev. 13:3). It is not only a surface trouble with you. No, the real
trouble is far deeper. It is in our heart, and the Priest pronounces it
“deceitful above all things and desperately wicked,” (Jer. 17:9). And He adds
“Who can know it? I the Lord search the heart.” He knows well you do not know
your own heart. Only the Lord knows how bad you really are. He knows well that
you are not willing to believe that your case is so desperate! He knows well
that you are not able to know that your leprosy is so terribly bad that it is
“incurable.” (see Jer. 17:9 N.T.) But this is the truth. This is your
condition.
We read in the Bible that God
looks on this world and the men in it. In Gen., 1:21, we read,—“God saw that
the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the
thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.—And God looked upon the earth, and behold, it was corrupt.” (Gen
6:5-12) And again we read, “The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children
of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are
all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth
good, no, not one.” (Ps. 14:2-3) Plainly we may see our Priest has looked, and
has seen that every man in this world has the disease of leprosy.
The priest has looked on you and pronounced you unclean. Reader, that Priest can never made a mistake. That
Priest loves you far too well to say
such terrible words if there was any way out of it. A few years ago I had
dinner with a doctor. He was an authority on leprosy. He told me that a day or
two before a young man came to his office, and showed him a sore on his hand
that would not heal. The doctor questioned him, examined the hand, and found
that the man had leprosy. He was young, and apparently in good health. He had a
wife and young children. He had not the slightest suspicion that he had
leprosy, and as the doctor told me the story, and of how he had to pronounce
that young man unclean, the tears rolled down his cheeks with grief for that
poor, unclean man. And our Great High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ, had wept
over those who are unclean, but unwilling to come to Him for cleansing.
Reader, the Priest must pronounce you unclean, because you are unclean. You may not have a
suspicion that you are lost, and ruined, and unclean, and on your way to hell,
but this is truly your state and
condition unless that same Priest has already cleansed you.
You say, perhaps, “But I do not
feel unclean.” That has nothing to with it. There is a story that many years
ago M. Damien went to labour amongst the lepers in Molokai, of the Hawaiian
Islands. He worked there in good health for many years. Then one evening while
he was washing his feet, some hot water dropped on his toes: it did not hurt at
all, but the water was so hot that it blistered the skin. Instantly he knew
that he had leprosy, for one of the early symptoms of leprosy is that the
diseased part loses the sense of feeling. Just so, You poor sinner, have lost your sense of feeling, or you, too,
would immediately know that you have undoubtedly got that awful disease. You
can stick a needle in the part affected by leprosy, but the man does not feel
it. So the man going on in sin no longer feels the pricks of the conscience and
does not know he is a sinner. The Priest, The Lord Jesus, has pronounced you
unclean. He says of you: “There is none righteous, no, not one,—not even you.”
The leper might reply “but I feel in excellent health, I never felt better in
my life,” “I am sorry” the Priest replies,” “but it is my sad duty to pronounce
you unclean.” The man’s feelings and opinions had nothing to do with the case,
all rested on the Word of the Priest. “The Priest shall look on him, and
pronounce him unclean.” That ended the matter. That settled the case. The man
knew he was unclean, because the Priest said
so, not because he felt unclean, or thought he was unclean, or his friends
had that opinion. All rested on the Word of the Priest.
When it was decided to isolate the
lepers in the Hawaiian Islands to a rugged triangular piece of land known as
Kalawao, on the Island of Molokai (where M. Damien laboured) “Then it was
resolved to deport every person, young or old, rich or poor, prince or commoner
in whom the slightest taint of leprosy could be found. The law was carried into
effect with the utmost rigor. All over the islands lepers and those suspected
of having leprosy were hunted out by the police, dragged away from their homes,
and if certified by a doctor as touched by the disease, at once shipped off to
the leper settlement as if to a state prison. Children were torn from their
parents and parents from their children. Husbands and wives were separated for
ever. In no case was any respect of persons shown, and a near relative of the
Hawaiian Queen was among the first to be seized and transported.” (Missionary
Heroes in Oceana). This is just what SIN
does to us. Husbands and wives, parents and children, nearest and dearest of
friends, must part forever, if Sin is not cleansed.
Chapter 2
Let us now go down to verses 12
and 13. There we read a most extraordinary statement. “If the leprosy break out
abroad in the skin, and the leprosy cover all the skin of him that hath the
plague from his head even to his foot, wheresoever the priest looketh; Then the
priest shall consider, and, behold, if the leprosy have covered all his flesh,
he shall pronounce him clean that hath the plague: it is all turned white: he
is clean.” Strange! Strange!! Strange!!! When a few months or years before he
was brought to the priest with only one tiny rising, scab, or bright spot, the
Priest pronounced him unclean, and he had to go outside the camp and dwell
alone. Now he is all covered, and
what says the priest? “You are clean!” Strange indeed! What can the meaning be
of this?
It tells us of a poor sinner, who
has not one word of good to say about himself. We may see many lepers who were
covered with leprosy in the Bible, and all were cleansed. Look at Peter in Luke
5. He finds out for the first time he is covered with leprosy. Hear him,
“Depart from me, for I am a sinful man” (or “A man full of sin.”) If you have a
cup full of water, you have no room for anything else in it. If you have a man
full of sin, you have no room for any good in him. Such was the Apostle Peter.
Look further in the same chapter, verse 12, “It came to pass, when He was in a
certain city, behold a man full of leprosy: who seeing Jesus fell on his
face and besought Him, saying, Lord if thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean. And
He put forth His hand and touched him, saying, I will: Be thou clean.” Never
was a man full of sin or full of leprosy who need wait longer to be cleansed.
The Priest, our Saviour, is just waiting for such men. Look at the thief on the
cross, “We receive the due reward of our deeds” (Luke 23:41). And that day he
was in Paradise with his Saviour and Lord. See the Prodigal Son, Luke 15:21, “I
have sinned against heaven and in thy sight,” and instantly the Father’s arms
were round his neck and “He covered him with kisses.” Look at the Publican in
Luke 18:13, “God be merciful to me a sinner,” and he went home justified. Look
at Paul, “I know that in me (that is in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing.”
(Rom. 7:18). Look at Job, “I am vile, what shall I answer Thee? I will may my
hand upon my mouth.” 40:4); and again “I abhor myself, and repent in dust and
ashes.” (42:6). But, justified at once.
See again Isaiah, “Woe is me! For
I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips.” (6:5). Instantly, “Thine
iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.”
Yes, Friend, all these men got
cleansing in the same way. They all found out that not only were they lepers,
but that they were full of leprosy, from the top of their heads to the soles of
their feet. Not one of these men will be in heaven by his own good works. They
all stand up and witness to that, “There is none that doeth good, no, not one.”
Dear Reader, where Peter and Paul and Job and Isaiah, and every other saint has
failed, you cannot succeed. They were each one lost and ruined and on the way
to hell, and they all owned it, and took their place as poor lost ruined
sinners, and in that place alone did they obtain pardon and cleansing. In that
state alone can you also obtain
pardon and cleansing.
We read in Job 33:27, (New
Translation) “He will sing before men, and say, I have sinned, and perverted
what was right, and it hath not been requited to me; he hath delivered my soul
from going into the pit, and my life shall see the light.” There will not be
one person in heaven who will sing, “I have never sinned, and so I have got
here myself.” The song up there tells of our hopeless ruin, but the grace of
God.
Come then! Come now! Come just as
you are! to that gracious Priest. He is waiting. He says, “Come now, let us
reason together, saith Jehovah: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as
white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” (Isaiah
1:18 N.T.) He knows you are full of leprosy,—full of sin,—but will you believe
His testimony of yourself? Will you take that place of a lost sinner, full of
sin? If so, cleansing, pardon, peace, and blessing are yours.
But one word more before we turn
from these verses. We read, “But when raw flesh appeareth in him, he shall be
unclean, and the priest shall see the raw flesh, and pronounce him to be
unclean: for the raw flesh is unclean: it is a leprosy.” (Verses 14, 15). This
tells us of the man who is willing to go on in sin, even though he owns himself
to be a sinner. He is all covered with leprosy, but there is raw flesh, sin,
actively working in him. It is very remarkable that although there are many men
in Scripture who take the place of saying, “I have sinned,” yet not all obtain
cleansing. David (ii Sam. 12:13); Nehemiah (9:33); Job (40:4, 42:6); Isaiah
(6:5, 64:63); Jeremiah (14:7, 20); Daniel (9:5); Micah (7:9); The Prodigal Son
(Luke 15:21); The thief on the Cross (Luke 23:41). These all took the place of
sinners and all got cleansing or blessing. But look at Pharaoh (Ex. 9:27,
10:16); Balaam (Num. 22:34); Achan (Josh. 7:20); Saul (i Sam. 15:24, 26:21);
Shimei (ii Sam. 19:20) and Judas (Matt. 27:4); these all confess they have
sinned, yet they perish. These all admit the leprosy, but they have the raw
flesh appearing. There was no hatred of the sin. There was no desire to turn
from it and give it up. There was no true repentance. But the active evil was
still working in their flesh.
When we know the wonderful grace
of God that takes me, a poor sinner full of son, and in that terrible condition
cleanses and pardons me, and brings me to God,—This grace makes me long to be
holy, and long that sin shall not have dominion over me. (See Rom. 6:14). If I
allow active sin to go on working in me unchecked, it is a proof that I do not
know the grace of God that cleanses and pardons. John writes, “He that
practices sin is of the devil.” (i John 3:8).
This does not mean that after we
are saved we will never sin again. The Apostle John plainly writes of people
who say this, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves.” (i John
1:8). Note that we do not deceive God, or other people, but only ourselves.
Nor does this verse in Leviticus
mean that if we sin, it is proof that we were never saved. How often the devil
has tormented young Christians in this way. A sheep may fall into the ditch and
get dirty, but that does not mean it is not a sheep, and it is unhappy till it
gets out, and is clean once more. A pig delights in the dirt and the filth of
the ditch. The one “practices” dirt, the other does not, but hates it. A sow
that is washed will always return to its wallowing in the mire. (See 2Peter
2:22.) But it has always been a sow—it never became a sheep.
The one whom the Lord Jesus
cleanses is changed, not only on the outside, but also on the inside, when he
is born again. The Lord gives him a clean heart, a new nature that hates and
loathes and abhors sin, and is never happy if one in whom that nature dwells
has fallen in sin, until he is restored.
Chapter 3
“Utterly Unclean”
We must now notice verses 42 to
44. These are most solemn, and should have a voice to many in our day. “And if
there be in the bald head, or bald forehead, a white reddish sore; it is a
leprosy sprung up in his bald head, or forehead. Then the priest shall look
upon it: and, behold, if the rising of the sore be white reddish in his bald
head, or in his bald forehead, as the leprosy appeareth in the skin of the
flesh: he is a leprous man, he is unclean: the priest shall pronounce him utterly
unclean: his plague is in his head.”
The forehead is a common place for
leprosy to show itself. How many there are today who have the plague of leprosy
in their heads, yet have not he least idea that they are “utterly unclean.” They have their own ideas. They reason things
out with their own mind. They trust to their own heads, instead of to the Word
of God. Pride, and especially the pride of intellect, is the root of the
trouble when the leprosy is in the head. How many “men of science,” as they
call themselves, are in reality men with leprosy in their heads. We may see a
terrible example of this in Uzziah whose pride made him take the place that
belonged alone to the priests. “His heart was lifted up to his destruction: for
he transgressed against the Lord to burn incense upon the altar of incense… the
leprosy even rose p on his forehead before the priests in the house of the
Lord, from beside the in the house of the Lord, from beside the incense alter.
And Azariah the chief priest, and all the priests, looked upon him, and behold,
he was leprous in his forehead.” (ii Chron. 26: 16-20).
Chapter 4
“Unclean!
Unclean!”
“And the leper in whom the plague
is, his close shall be rent and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon
his upper lip, and he shall cry, Unclean, Unclean. All the days wherein the
plague shall be in him he shall be defiled; he is unclean: he shall dwell
alone: without the camp shall his habitation be.” (Verses 45:46).
These sad verses give us a vivid
picture of the sinner. It might be that formerly he was able to use his clothes
to cover the spots of leprosy. But now his clothes must be rent. There is no
way now to cover his defilement. “All things are naked and opened unto the eyes
of Him whom we have to do.” Heb. 4:13. Adam tried to cover himself with the fig
leaves, but he failed, and when God came down into the Garden he had to own, “I
heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid
myself.” (Gen. 3:10).
Poor sinner, your clothes are rent
to the eyes of God, He sees you naked. Every spot of sin and defilement is
clear and plain to Him. You cannot cover it. Where Adam failed, you cannot
succeed, and remember “He that covereth his sin shall not prosper: bur whoso
confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” (Prov. 28:31).
“And his head bare.” There is
nothing to cover your guilty head. Between you and High Heaven there is nothing
to shelter you. All the wrath of a sin-hating God rests on your bare,
unsheltered head. “The wrath of God abideth on him.” John 3:36. The Priest
uncovers the head of the unfaithful wife in Num. 5:18. There is nothing under
which she may hide.
We read of some who can say “Thou
hast covered my head” (Ps. 140:7) but the poor leper must take off any covering
that he may have had. “His head bare,” tells forth one of the most awful and
one of the most solemn truths about the defiled sinner that it is possible for
the mind to understand.
Dear Reader, is your head covered?
Or does the eye of God see nothing but uncleanness and defilement,—with nothing
under which you can hide?
“And he shall put a covering upon
his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, Unclean: Though his head must be bare,
his mouth must be covered. The very breath of the leper can only bring
defilement. There is not a suggestion that b doing his very best he may someday
be fit for the presence of a holy God. No, he is not even fit for company with
his fellowmen who are not likewise defiled. His only cry is a san wail of
warning, “Unclean! Unclean!” What a
folly for any poor sinner to suggest that he can cleanse himself when he is in
such an awful condition that every breath he takes is defiled and defiling.
The rest of the chapter speaks of
leprosy in a garment or a skin. If the Lord will, we may look at these verses
later on, but now we will follow the path of the poor defiled leper, and see
God’s way of cleansing,—when man is hopeless and helpless, when he has no way
to cleanse himself.