Leviticus 13

CHAPTER 13THEME: Diagnosis of leprosy; disposal of lepers’ garmentsThis is concerned with the exceeding sinfulness of sin. “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: these are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man” (Mat_15:19-20). We come now to another unusual section of this book, the section on leprosy. Someone may ask whether this is practical for today. May I say that all of this book is practical. We are in the section of the book which we have entitled “Holiness in Daily Life.” God is concerned with the conduct of His children. We saw that He is concerned with their food; now in chapters 13, 14, and 15 we find He is concerned with leprosy and the cleansing of running issues. Leprosy and running issues of the flesh are accurate symbols of the manifestation of sin in the heart of man. It shows the exceeding sinfulness of sin and the effect of sin in action. The emphasis of Leviticus is on sin. In the heart of this book on worship of a holy God is this extended section on leprosy and issues in the flesh. The filthiness and repulsiveness of sin are represented in leprosy. The hopelessness and deadliness of sin are accurately portrayed. The leper who trudged down a hot, dusty, oriental road crying out, “Unclean! Unclean!” was a reminder to the Israelite that he, too, was a moral leper who needed supernatural cleansing. Perhaps you are one of those who thinks that you will be saved by your works and that you don’t need Christ as your Savior. May I say that if you could go to heaven just like you are, without Christ, you would go through heaven crying out, “Unclean! Unclean!” No angel would touch you with a twenty-foot pole. You couldn’t come anywhere near the presence of God. You see, man has the idea that he has some kind of claim on God, but we have no claim upon Him whatsoever. He owes us nothing. He could blot out of existence this little earth that we live on, and it would not even make a dent in this universe. But thank God, He loves us. I’m so glad He loves us! That is the only thing that could bind Him to us. God is driving a point home to us, and it is the same point He was driving home to Israel: Sin is exceeding sinful. This comparison between leprosy and sin is a recurring theme in the Scripture: “There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger; neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin…. My wounds stink and are corrupt because of my foolishness…. For my loins are filled with a loathsome disease: and there is no soundness in my flesh…. For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin” (Psa_38:3, Psa_38:5, Psa_38:7, Psa_38:18). That is the way we look to God. Isaiah also had leprosy in his thinking as he described the sins of his people: “From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment” (Isa_1:6). “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed” (Isa_53:4-5). Now, some folk say he is talking about leprosy here and that he is referring to a physical disease. No, my friend, Isaiah is talking about sin being laid on the Lord Jesus Christ. Can we be sure of that? Listen to the apostle Peter: “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed” (1Pe_2:24). We were dead in sin and He bare our sins in His own body on the tree. By His stripes we are healed. Now it is true that physical disease is a manifestation of sin and that behind disease germs there lies sin. If there were no sin, there would be neither death nor sickness. There are two important considerations we should take into account as we get into this chapter.

1. The Bible does not agree with the generally accepted view that leprosy was incurable in that day. Cleansing is mentioned in Lev_14:2. There were supernatural cures such as Naaman’s in 2 Kings 5. Some expositors think that Job had leprosy. Since there was no scientific diagnosis of the disease in those days, there has been discussion on what the leprosy was. They had medicines in that day which they used for the cure of leprosy. This chapter and the following do not contain a cure for leprosy. This should be carefully noted. It gives instructions to the priest on how a case of leprosy is to be determined, and the measures to be taken to prevent its spreading in the camp. After it had been cleansed, there was a ritual to be followed. It is not a cure that is presented here. In chapter 14 it deals with the ceremonial cleansing of the leper after his cure and not the cure itself. The main objective was to teach great spiritual truths in connection with the cleansing of leprosy as a type of sin.
2. This is not a scientific treatise on the detection, prevention, and cure of leprosy. There is no attempt to give a medical diagnosis of the disease. The diagnosis was a practical one which was adjusted to the knowledge of that day. It has direct and definite spiritual lessons for this day. The ritual was ceremonial rather than curative. There has been some discussion on the part of some Christian physicians as to whether leprosy as we know it is the disease that the Mosaic system is considering. There has been much written in the past, both pro and con. It would seem that the descriptions in these chapters describe leprosy as we understand this loathsome and death-dealing disease but includes also elephantiasis, skin diseases, running issues, cancer, tumors, and social diseases. This is illustrated in chapter 15, and we will amplify this aspect when we come to that chapter. After all, only the first stages of leprosy are described here. By the time the person was declared to be a leper, he was ejected from society. This chapter deals with the cleansing of leprosy, not the cure of leprosy. The leper was cleansed after he had been cured.

Leviticus 13:1

DIAGNOSIS OF A NEW CASE OF LEPROSYCompared to modern techniques of diagnosis, the methods of Leviticus seem very crude. The procedure was adapted to the knowledge of that day. The diagnosis was not done in order to prescribe a treatment, but rather, it was a religious ritual. This needs to be stated emphatically. Now friends, since I have a cancer, I know how my doctor treated me. He looked at it and just by looking he came to the conclusion that it was a cancer. It was not until a biopsy had been taken in a scientific way that they decided that they should operate. So in that day, they could have known a great deal more than we realize. The priests handled literally thousands of cases, I think, and so they would know what to look for. Perhaps this isn’t as crude as we today think that it was. It may have actually been a pretty good diagnostic system. Still, the emphasis here is upon the spiritual ceremony rather than the physical catharsis. Three symptoms are identified here: a rising or boil, a scab or small tumor, a bright spot. These are symptoms of leprosy, but the person having such a symptom need not necessarily be a leper. The first step was to bring the patient with a symptom to Aaron or one of the priests. Just so, any manifestation of sin, either small or great, should be brought immediately to our Great High Priest, who is also the Great Physician. We are to pray about everything. That includes every manifestation of sin. That is the place to go when we are physically sick, too. I received a caustic letter not so long ago telling me not to be so proud and go to a certain healer. They said I would be healed if my pride would be overcome.

Friends, I took my case to the Great Physician, the Lord Jesus. I go there when I sin, and I go there when I am sick. That is the place to go first. That doesn’t mean I didn’t go to a doctor when I got sick. But I went to the Lord Jesus first! “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need…. Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them” (Heb_4:16; Heb_7:25). “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1Jn_1:9).

Leviticus 13:3

There was no rash judgment made. The man or woman was carefully watched over a period of time. If a lesion on the skin began to disappear, the person was dismissed. If the hair turned white, it was becoming dead and showed that the disease was beneath the skin. Then the priest would pronounce the person unclean. The Great Physician has made a thorough inspection of us and has made a diagnosis. “Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: their feet are swift to shed blood: destruction and misery are in their ways” (Rom_3:13-16). God says, “All have sinned.” We are unclean. You see, just like any doctor, the Great Physician asks us to open our mouth and He looks down our throat. Then He asks us to stick out our tongue and there He finds deceit and lying. We are all spiritual lepers. God cannot have lepers in heaven. He must cure them before they get there. Leprosy is a type of sin.

1. It becomes overt in loathsome ways. One night a drunken man came in off the street and sat in our warm auditorium. Suddenly he collapsed and fell out of the seat. We had to call an ambulance. By the time the ambulance got there, he was a mess. May I say to you, sin is loathsome in many ways.
2. It is a horrible disease. Dr. Kellogg wrote, “From among all diseases, leprosy has been selected by the Holy Ghost to stand …as the supreme type of sin, as seen by God!”
3. It begins in a small way, “a rising, a scab, a bright spot.” Finally it delivers a death-dealing blow. What is at first so very small becomes a frightful and dreadful condition. Lepers in most countries today are isolated from the populace and are segregated into hospitals or colonies. Those of us who have seen pictures of lepers from missionaries in Africa or Asia realize what a dread disease it is. A century ago a missionary, William Thompson, described leprosy in Palestine in The Land and the Book: “As I was approaching Jerusalem, I was startled by the sudden apparition of a crowd of beggars, sans eyes, sans nose, sans hair, sans everything…. They held up their handless arms, unearthly sounds gurgled through throats without palates; in a word, I was horrified!” (Vol. I, pp. 530-531). Sin seems ever so infinitesimal in a child. It may appear as a bright spot at first. The parents and relatives think little Willie is cute when he acts up, yells and kicks his feet in the air. Unless Willie is disciplined and is led to a saving knowledge of Christ, he will become lawless and even criminal. Lenin, Stalin, and Hitler were all cute little babies once upon a time. No drunkard ever became an alcoholic by taking one drink, but no man ever became an alcoholic who did not take the first drink. All sins start small.
4. Leprosy not only progresses slowly from a small beginning, but it progresses surely. From a little beginning, it advances surely and steadily to a tragic crisis. I quote Dr. Thompson again: “It comes on by degrees in different parts of the body: the hair falls from the head and eyebrows; the nails loosen, decay, and drop off; joint after joint of the fingers and toes shrink up and slowly fall away: the gums are absorbed, and the teeth disappear; the nose, the eyes, the tongue, and the palate are slowly consumed; and, finally, the wretched victim sinks into the earth and disappears.” This is the way God says sin is. “Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death” (Jas_1:15). Leprosy is a living death. A leper was treated as a dead man. The wages of sin is death. “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting” (Gal_6:7-8). Like leprosy, sin destroys the whole man. Both are corrosive in their effect, working slowly and surely, until finally they break out in an angry display that eventuates in death. No man ever went wrong overnight. Leprosy did not kill in a dayit is not like a heart attack. The leper’s life was a walking death. Just so, the sinner is also dead even while he lives. Paul writes, “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world …” (Eph_2:1-2). The final, desperate, and inescapable end of sin and leprosy is death.
5. Leprosy does not produce sharp and unbearable pain as some other diseases. Leprosy keeps the man sad and restless. Likewise, sin produces a restlessness and sadness in man that is evident in our culture. Folks want to be amused, want to be made to laugh because they are sad. Crowds flock to places of amusement, to the night clubs, to be entertained. Take a look at the sad faces with vacant stares. Watch the cars filled with restless folk going nowhere fast. We have a generation with itchy feet. It is leprosy. Finally sin brings a person to the point of not having any feeling, just as Paul said, “Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness” (Eph_4:19). They lapse into a state of sad contentment. They can reach the state of having a “…conscience seared with a hot iron” (1Ti_4:2).
6. Leprosy is thought to be hereditary. Whether it is or not, sin is! All that sinners can bring into the world are more sinners. I am interested in the insight of a contemporary psychologist who recognizes that while the assumption of education is that “the moral nature of man is capable of improvement,” the assumption of traditional Christianity is that “the moral nature of man is corrupt, or absolutely bad.” He further observes that while education assumes that an exterior “human agent” may be the means of man’s “moral improvement,” traditional Christianity assumes that “the agent is God” and that rather than the moral nature of man being improved, “it is exchanged for a new one.”
7. Finally, leprosy and sin separate from God. It seemed cruel that the leper was not only shut out from society, but also from the sanctuary. It must be remembered that God is holy, the Author of righteousness and cleanliness. Therefore, leprosy is a fitting symbol of sin that separates from God. “But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear” (Isa_59:2). In the New Jerusalem, the unforgiven and unwashed sinner is shut out from the presence of God according to Rev_21:27 and Rev_22:15. So leprosy stands as a perfect type of sin. It is sin, as it were, made visible in the flesh. The priest was to look on the leper and pronounce him unclean. Just so, the Great Physician looks on the human family and pronounces it unclean. He does this so that we might come to Him for cleansing. He is ready to touch the leper and make him clean. I have spent a long time in the beginning of this chapter because it is so important to see the analogy here and get the great spiritual message for us today. There is not much being said about sin today, yet our basic problem is sin!

Leviticus 13:4

Now in this verse we see that there was no haste in making the judgment. Likewise, God is slow to anger in His relationship with us. God is very patient and He grants every opportunity to the sinner. “…The LORD, The Lord GOD, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation” (Exo_34:6-7). That verse is in the Old Testament. What does the New Testament say about the patience of God? “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2Pe_3:9). You see, the priest shut up the man for seven days. He thought it was leprosy, but he was patient with him. Just so, God has shut up the world in quarantine for the disease of sin. “For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all” (Rom_11:32). “But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe” (Gal_3:22). “Concluded” means to shut up together. God has the world shut up in quarantine, my friend, and He is not going to let man get very far out into His universe. It is rather amusing that when they brought the men back from the moon, they checked to see if they had brought any disease down here. Do you think we left any disease up there? God has us here under quarantine so that He might have mercy on us.

Leviticus 13:5

After seven days the priest makes another inspection and if there is still an element of uncertainty, then the patient is placed in quarantine for seven more days. There was not a rash or hasty judgment. We should learn from this that we are not to make hasty and rash judgments of others. It is a serious matter to make a false charge against another believer. Paul told Timothy, “Against an elder receive not an accusation, but before two or three witnesses” (1Ti_5:19). He also warned that at the end times there would be false accusers. When I was a pastor I made a rule that no one could come to me to criticize a church officer unless the accused man was present to hear it. Do you know how many accusations I heard in the last twenty-one years? Just one. We need to be careful.

Leviticus 13:6

If the plague in the skin has not spread in fourteen days, but has improved, it obviously was not leprosy and the man is pronounced clean. Those were sweet words for the man, and he surely could sing a jubilee song. He did not need to be separated from his loved ones, but was clean and could go back to them. Remember that the Lord touched the leper who came to Him and made him clean. More than that, He says to the spiritual lepers that their sins are forgiven. He healed the physical disease to demonstrate that He is the Savior who can forgive sins. Remember how the scribes and the Pharisees asked, “…Who can forgive sins, but God alone?” (Luk_5:21). So Jesus first told the man who was paralyzed that his sins were forgiven. Then He said, “But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house.” It is important to recognize that Jesus has the authority to do both. (See Luk_5:17-26.)

Leviticus 13:7

This is the dark side of the picture. This would now be the third inspection. Does God give a man a second chance? My friend, God will give the sinner a thousand chances, if that is what it takes. Finally the verdict must be rendered. The man is declared a leper. It is an awful sentence. The man is put out. Contrast this to the man who was hanging under the sentence of leprosy and was expecting to be put out but then was declared to be clean. That cleansed man did not live like a leper from that day on. He is clean and he lives clean. What a lesson that is for us! There are some folk who make a profession of being converted. They can stand inspection for a while but finally the awful disease of sin will break out in its frightful symptoms and it is obvious they are unclean. John speaks of this in 1Jn_2:19, “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.” Peter describes these unclean and immoral lepers as the dog returning to his own vomit and the sow returning to the mire (2Pe_2:22).

Leviticus 13:9

DIAGNOSIS OF AN OLD CASE OF LEPROSYThis is a case of old leprosy, or we might call it chronic leprosy. There was no need to shut this man up for observation because he was definitely a leper. There are hardened sinners who are so obviously sinners that even their best friends tell them so. Under this class would come the spiritual Mafia, the murderer and the thief and the alcoholic and the drug addict. These people are under the slavery of their sin and only a supernatural remedy can help in cases like this. The polished and slick church member who is unsaved does not believe that he has leprosy. He resents being told that he is a lost sinner. The hardened sinner is easier to reach than he, and is more open to the gospel message. He knows he has leprosy.

Leviticus 13:12

This section shows another aspect of old leprosy. Although the entire body is covered, it does not necessarily follow that the case is hopeless. The remarkable statement here is that if the flesh has turned white, the patient is declared clean. This seems to indicate clearly that no sinner is hopeless. This may be what Isaiah meant when he wrote: “Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint” (Isa_1:5). Then follows the great invitation of the Great Physician, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (Isa_1:18). Notice that the true mark and symptom of leprosy is the raw flesh. The Bible has much to say about the flesh, even flesh as it is manifested in the believer: “…for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth” (Gen_6:12). “…The flesh profiteth nothing …” (Joh_6:63). “For I know that in me, (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing …” (Rom_7:18). “That no flesh should glory in his presence …flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God …” (1Co_1:29 and 1Co_15:50). “…Fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others” (Eph_2:3). “For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh” (Php_3:3). “And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh” (Jud_1:23). It is obvious from these passages that the raw flesh is the old nature which was judged on the Cross. When it manifests itself in a believer, God must judge it. The flesh can never please God. Only that which the Holy Spirit produces in the life of the believer is acceptable to God.

Leviticus 13:18

DIAGNOSIS OF LEPROSY FROM A BOIL OR A BURNThese verses give the details of the inspection of a boil. It was to be inspected by the priest because of a possibility of leprosy beginning there. It is just like a small sore which may become cancerous. They followed the same process as in the new case of leprosy. If there were white hair in the boil and it penetrated lower than the skin, these indicated deep-seated trouble. The seven days of inspection permitted the priest to determine which direction the boil would take. There is always the danger of old sins spreading and becoming malignant. Often a new convert speaks of deliverance from some evil habit and then years later that old sore may break out again. It does happen. The person who has had such an experience may have been unsaved all along, or he may have been genuinely saved but the old flesh is reappearing. A careful inspection should be made and no cursory judgment is to be pronounced. Several years ago, a man who was an alcoholic accepted Christ as his Savior. Then he got sick and I went to visit him. I found out he wasn’t really sick of anything. The place reeked of alcohol. He began to weep and said he’d slipped back. May I say to you, one might feel like taking a fellow like that and putting him across your knee and paddling him. But that wouldn’t do a bit of good. We need to make an inspection and diagnose the leprosy. But we need to tell that man that his leprosy can be cured. He has a Savior. We are not to stand there and condemn him and scold him and then leave. That would make him feel bad and make me feel bad. No one would be helped. This man needed to know that he had a Savior who would forgive him. The Savior heals the leprosy that breaks out.

Leviticus 13:24

This describes a leprosy that comes from a hot burning. This hot burning is not a definite identification. It would be a burning from a hot object or it might mean the burning of an infection that has fever in it. At any rate, there was the danger of leprosy developing in it. This seems to confirm the Scriptures that teach us that the flesh must be kept under close observation, for it can break out in the most alarming manner. “I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness” (Rom_6:19). “But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway” (1Co_9:27). All of these passages teach us to watch carefully for the presence of a pimple in the flesh. The flesh cannot please God.

Leviticus 13:29

DIAGNOSIS OF LEPROSY LOCATED IN THE HEAD OR THE BEARDLeprosy could break out in the most unlikely spots. If it were hidden by the hair of the head or beard, it might not be discovered for some time. Special observation must be made of leprosy in these areas. The same techniques were applied here as to any other area to determine the presence of leprosy. A yellow hair indicated that the infection was beneath the epidermis and was leprosy. You know, sin sometimes insinuates itself in the chief places in the church, into a Sunday school teachers’ meeting or a board meeting or a mission meeting. It enervates and vitiates the witness of the entire body of believers when there is sin at the head. Again, one must be careful in judging these things. There must be time to make a judgment.

Leviticus 13:31

So these verses go on to show that it might not be leprosy. Here again time is taken before a judgment is made and the patient is put in quarantine for seven days and then another period of seven days if that is necessary. This should teach us that accusations against the leadership in God’s work should be received with a great deal of caution. Careful investigation must be made before a decision is determined. The priest was given ample opportunity to observe the lesions. If the lesion spread later, the priest could still declare the man unclean. On the other hand, if black hair began to grow in the lesion, the priest would pronounce the man clean.

Leviticus 13:38

These verses point out that a freckle is not leprosy, and then the following verses show that baldness is not leprosy, although leprosy can break out in a bald spot.

Leviticus 13:45

DISPOSAL OF LEPERS’ GARMENTSThe garments of a leper were to be torn. He was to cover his upper lip and go about crying, “Unclean, unclean.” The condition of the leper is revealed in his awful state. He was capable of transmitting the disease by contact. The sinner spreads his sin wherever he goes! His disease is contagious and he infects others. A father has a right to live his own life as he pleases, but he has no right to take a precious son to hell with him. Many fathers are doing just that. The leper had defiled everything that was around him. That is what this teaches us. Even the garments would spread the infection. Just so, everything sin touches is defiled by it.

Leviticus 13:46

Many sinners comfort themselves by saying they will have plenty of company in hell. Notice that the leper was alone. He was separate.

Leviticus 13:47

This is an extended passage relative to the disposing of the garments. The quality of the garment made no difference. The best garments were just as infected as the cheap garments. There is a great lesson for us to learn through this. The righteousness of man is filthy rags in God’s sight. Anything a sinner does or touches is contaminated by his sin. Even the garments of those with lesser infections were to be washed. This passage shows an amazing insight into the spread of infection. We are all as an unclean thing and we, too, need washing. Only God has the remedy for the sinner.