Leviticus 14:17-35
Having put the oil upon the right ear, the right thumb, and the great toe of the right foot of the man who was to be cleansed, the rest of it was then poured over his head. In this we see that the Spirit of God is now to control our very thoughts, and they are to be brought under His power, while we ourselves are brought by the Spirit into the enjoyment of the atoning work which has been accomplished.
After this there was the sin offering, for not only has the work of Christ met the actual sins which I have committed, but the very nature that produced the sins has been judged and condemned at the cross. Then, in the burnt offering which follows, we see how God has been fully glorified as to the whole question of sin through Christ’s finished work. Oh how fully all our need has been met in what Christ has done, and how wondrous the place into which we have been brought!
Our Appreciation of Christ’s Work
The leper had been pronounced clean before this, but we read here again after all this had taken place, “And he shall be clean.” This is now our appreciation and enjoyment of what Christ has done, for God would have us to enter into our new standing “in Christ.” How many dear believers, although they have faith in Christ and in Him alone, are not in the enjoyment of this.
The Poor Leper
We notice also that if the cleansed leper was so poor that he could not get a lamb for his trespass offering, then he could bring turtledoves or young pigeons, such as he was able to get. God, who knows the hearts of all, knows the capacity of each one, whether young or old, and He does not warn us to pretend to have the same measure as someone else when we have not. He accepts the measure we have, but it must be Christ, for His name alone avails. “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
Leprosy in the House
We now come to instructions about dealing with leprosy in houses. We noticed first how leprosy might appear on a person, or in a piece of cloth or skin, but now we see that it can appear in a house. That is, the working of sin may be a personal thing, or it might be through our associations of life, or it might appear in a Christian home or among a company of Christians as it would in the house of an Israelite. The man who owned the house, like the father in a home, or the leaders in an assembly, were to call the priest to investigate it.
This subject is very solemn, and it deserves our special consideration, for it shows the great responsibility of those of us who are the heads of homes, as well as those who take the place of leaders in the assembly. We will speak first of it as applied to a Christian home. It is most important that the father in the home takes a faithful stand so that “leprosy” (a type of sin) does not get working in his house. The greenish or reddish streaks, of which we read in our chapter, might look very insignificant at first, but if left unchecked they would lead to the ruination of the whole house so that it would have to be torn down completely. Alas, how many Christian homes have been “torn down” as to their testimony, because of unfaithfulness on the part of the father. The house of Eli in the Old Testament is a sad example of this (1 Samuel 3:11-14).
For Further Meditation
1. How did God make a special provision for the poor Israelite?
2. What is meant by having “leprosy” in the house? What does our God give to the Christian parent to detect and remove the leprosy from the house?
3. If you’ve been enjoying meditating on this chapter, then you may benefit from reading The Poor Leper from the Bible Treasury Volume N4 found, among other places, in the bibletruthlibrary.org.